The Ukrainian side will continue its work at the Joint Centre for Control and Coordination of Ceasefire in Donbas, but will have to withdraw its monitors from the occupied territory, deputy spokesman for Ukraine’s Armed Forces Yuzef Venskovych said.
The official noted that the Russian Federation’s statements about the alleged disrespectful attitude of Ukrainian servicemen toward their Russian counterparts at the JCCC are untrue: “These insinuations do not correspond to reality, those on the allegedly disrespectful attitude, and so on.” Venskovych has stressed the fact that the Ukrainian side continues and will continue to fulfill its responsibilities in accordance with the responsibilities assigned to JCCC in the framework of the implementation of Minsk agreements. “Meanwhile, this will certainly complicate the activities of the Joint Centre, since there will be no representatives on the other side if they withdraw their military personnel … If Russian officers withdraw from the JCCC, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are forced to pull back from the occupied territories its monitors who were acting there on behalf of the JCCC to the territory controlled by Ukraine due to the fact that their safety will not be ensured,” said Venskovych.
