Ukrainian Defense Ministry: Armed Forces of Ukraine will not unilaterally withdraw troops from Donbas
Ukraine will not unilaterally withdraw troops from the demarcation line in accordance with the framework agreement. This was said on the 112 Ukraine TV channel by the Deputy Head of the Department of Information Technology of the Ministry of Defense, Serhiy Halushko.
"It is not just unilateral actions on our part. There is a control mechanism, and our intelligence sees what the enemy is doing. If we see that their party does not do something, or is trying to deceive us, then our units will not withdraw,” he said.
Halushko said that “a certain mechanism or algorithm has to be worked out” in areas such as Zolote, Petrovske and Stanytsia Luhanska. “We have to understand if the enemy has the will to fulfill these agreements. If this works, it will give us a reason to continue this pilot project in other settlements where there are many attacks and where our troops suffer heavy losses. We have to proceed with this. If it does not work, we will look for other ways. If it does work, we will continue with this practice in other towns,” he explained.
The First Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada and Ukraine's representative in the humanitarian subgroup of the Tripartite Contact Group, Iryna Herashchenko, had previously said that after the completion of the withdrawal process, Ukrainian representatives in the Contact Group will insist on opening the border checkpoint at Zolote. They will also insist on the restoration of the damaged bridge in the village of Stanytsia Luhanska.
The framework agreement on the withdrawal of troops in three locations along the demarcation line in Donbas was signed on the 21st of September this year in Minsk, with the participation of the Tripartite Contact Group. The document makes provision for the creation of three security zones in Zolote, Petrovske and Stanytsia Luhanska.