Lugansk People’s Republic militia responded to Ukrainian army strikes at the LPR territory by opening retaliatory fire with weapons not banned by the Minsk Agreements, the LPR People’s Militia press service reported.

Over the past 24 hours, Kiev forces fired at LPR areas six times. Ukrainian representatives at the Joint Centre for Control and Coordination (JCCC) routinely ignored “the attempt by the LPR Office at the JCCC to use the coordination mechanism to secure immediate ceasefire,” the press service said.

“Guided by instructions of the Head of the Republic and Article “F” of the Additional Measures to Strengthen the Ceasefire, our units returned fire with weapons not banned by the Minsk Agreements in order to suppress the enemy fire activity and destroy the position that was delivering fire at the civil infrastructure of our Republic,” the report said.

The information on enemy losses is being updated, the press service said.

The Additional Measures to Strengthen the Ceasefire, effective since 00:01 July 27, 2020, ban offensive and commando operations, use of unmanned aerial vehicles, deployment of heavy armaments in or in proximity to residential areas etc.  The additional measures envision punishment for violators and the use of the coordination mechanism to respond to ceasefire violations. Return fire is allowed in case of offensive, if the order is given by the leadership of Ukrainian forces or DPR and LPR People’s Militias after the unsuccessful attempt to use the coordination mechanism. The Contact Group shall be notified about such orders.

The Ukrainian government launched the so-called anti-terrorist operation against Donbass in April 2014. Conflict settlement relies on the Package of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements, signed on February 12, 2015 in the Belarussian capital by the Contact Group members and coordinated by the Normandy Four heads of states (Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine).

The document provides for comprehensive ceasefire, withdrawal of all heavy weapons from the contact line, starting a dialog on reconstruction of social and economic ties between Kiev and Donbass. It also envisages carrying out constitutional reform in Ukraine providing for decentralization and adopting permanent legislation on a special status of certain areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions. *i*s