Germany: The ceasefire in the east of Ukraine is not observed
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany stated that the "harvest ceasefire," which took effect in eastern Ukraine on June 24, is not being observed. The Foreign Ministry of Germany noted that the agreed upon truce is not being maintained and there are numerous cases of weapons use on the line of contact. The department said that “the parties to the conflict lack the will” for a long-term ceasefire.
According to the German Foreign Ministry, "every day there are new victims in eastern Ukraine, including civilians." The Ministry stated that in the last few days 14 Ukrainian servicemen were killed and 13 were wounded.
The department urged all parties to "immediately implement the agreements reached," otherwise there is a risk of "intensifying a military conflict that will take even more lives and the political process will be fully stopped."
"The most intensive efforts in the negotiation process are meaningless, if there is no political will to implement [the agreements]. Eastern Ukraine needs at least obvious steps towards peace," the Ministry’s statement says.
The contact group on Ukraine agreed on a "harvest ceasefire" at a meeting in Minsk. The ceasefire in the Donbas was supposed to last from midnight on June 24 to August 31 for the harvest period.
It was previously reported that the headquarters of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported 29 cases of shelling on July 20 by the separatists, a results of which five soldiers were killed and eight others were injured.