Deputy commander of Ukrainian Joint Forces Operation: We will not surrender our positions in Donbas Saturday, October 19, 2019 11:00:29 AM

Bohdan Bondar, the Deputy Commander of the Joint Forces Operation, said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces would not surrender their their positions, reports Hromadske TV channel.

"We will not surrender and will not give up our positions. What is being carried out now and what is proposed to be carried out in the future are certain steps towards a real cessation of hostilities. Five years is a period that has sufficiently shown that it is necessary to use other options to end the hostilities," said Bondar.

According to him, the success of the withdrawal of troops in Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote, and Petrovske won't be a decisive step for the further resolution of the conflict, but only a step that will allow parties to move forward.

Earlier, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said that cessation of hostilities should continue for at least seven days to start the withdrawal process.

During negotiations in Minsk on October 1, parties agreed to withdraw their forces near Petrovske and Zolote.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are technically ready to withdraw their troops in Petrovske and Zolote.

The OSCE previously said that the withdrawal of troops should begin on October 7, but this did not happen, as the militants fired on the site of troops withdrawal near these settlements.

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