Weapon withdrawal from line of contact with Ukraine volunteer battalions must be observed by intl monitors - Donetsk republic
DONETSK. Feb 16 (Interfax) - The defense ministry of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic has blamed the Ukrainian volunteer battalions for violating the cease-fire and for the delay in removing artillery systems.
"They have not halted the fire, or removed their artillery systems, which is clear from radio intelligence. Therefore, in compliance with the order issued by the leader of the Donetsk People's Republic, we will be ready to remove the weaponry. But we will do so along the line of contact with the volunteer battalions exclusively under international monitor control," senior official of the Donetsk Peoples Republic defense ministry, militia spokesman Eduard Basurin told reporters.
Chaotic shelling attacks and radio intelligence "suggest that Kyiv does not control Ukrainian forces. "This refers in the first place to the so-called volunteer battalions Aidar, Azov, Donbas and Krivbas, and other formations which have actually gone out of the Ukrainian General Staff's control and launch artillery attacks on the Donetsk republic after receiving mobile calls from the so-called commanders in Kyiv," he said.
He also said the Ukrainian military shelled the Donetsk airport earlier on Monday. "A deputy defense minister and two reporters came under fire at the airport. Shells fell nearby. Ten 152-millimeter shells landed in the village of Vesyoloye at about the same time," Basurin said.