Kyiv, self-proclaimed Donbas republics trade accusations of ceasefire breaches

DONETSK/KYIV. July 12 (Interfax) - The self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) has seen two ceasefire breaches by the Ukrainian army in the past 24 hours, the DPR representative at the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) told the press on Thursday.

"The Ukrainian army breached the truce twice over the day. The army attacked Horlivka (Holmivskyi) and Bila Kamyanka," the representative said.

Five homes were damaged in Horlivka as a result, he said.

The militia of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) said, for its part, that the Ukrainian army breached the truce once by firing weapons of an infantry combat vehicle at Sokilnyky. There was no damage to civilian infrastructure or casualties, the militia said.

In turn, the press center of the Ukrainian Joint Forces said on Thursday that the militia continued to breach "the bread truce" established on July 1 and launched 17 attacks on Ukrainian army positions over the past day.

A provocation was staged in the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area in the Luhansk sector, where Ukrainian army positions came under several bursts of heavy machinegun fire, the press center said.

The ceasefire was breached five times in the Donetsk and Mariupol sectors. Ukrainian army positions came under attack of heavy machineguns and small arms near Mariinka, Berezove, Troitske, and Vodyane, the press center said.

The comprehensive and open-ended "bread truce" took effect at 12:01 a.m. on July 1, as agreed on by the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine (TCG) in Minsk. This is the 23rd truce declared by the conflicting sides since 2014, but none of them have been held to the full extent.

Te gc mk

(Our editorial staff can be reached at eng.editors@interfax.ru)