New ceasefire in force in eastern Ukraine

After more than 20 attempts, a new ceasefire came into force in the war zone in eastern Ukraine on Monday. According to the presidential office in Kiev, the "complete and all-embracing cessation of fire" officially applies from 23.01 hrs CEST - 0.01 h local time. In the early hours of the morning, the Ukrainian army reported individual violations of the ceasefire. Army positions were shot at with heavy machine guns, and the Donetsk separatists rejected the allegations of the army leadership in Kiev. "This declaration is another information provocation on the Ukrainian side aimed at destabilizing the situation," said the Donetsk representatives in the ceasefire monitoring commission.
Army continues to use reconnaissance drones
Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Kravchenko said that no one would prohibit soldiers from returning fire in the event of a life-threatening situation. In addition, the army continues to use drones for reconnaissance along the front line. According to the agreements between the conflicting parties last week, the use of drones is completely prohibited. In addition, "reply fire" should only be possible after an order from the High Command.
The Ukrainian military and representatives of the pro-Russian separatists from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions had announced on Sunday that they had prepared everything for the end of the fighting. Around two dozen attempts for a complete ceasefire have so far failed after a short time.
 

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(Image: APA / AFP / Sputnik / Mikhail Klimentyev)
Head of the Kremlin Vladimir Putin and the Ukrainian President Volodomyr Selenskyj praised the agreement on a new ceasefire over the phone. At the same time, they called for more efforts in the Ukraine contact group to implement the previous peace agreements.

Volodymyr Selenskyj
(Image: APA / AFP / Sergei Supinsky)
"More peace for civilians"
The representative of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Ukraine, Heidi Grau, said that there are a number of steps to be taken to implement the ceasefire. "I hope that the agreed measures will bring the long-awaited peace in the conflict zone and more peace for the civilian population," she said before the agreement entered into force.
No ceasefire since 2014
Since spring 2014, Ukrainian government troops have been fighting in the Donbass mining district against the insurgents supported by Russia. According to UN estimates, more than 13,000 people have been killed since then. A peace plan agreed with Franco-German mediation in Minsk in 2015 provides for elections and a gradual reintegration of the region into Ukraine after an armistice.

Ukrainian soldiers stand guard in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk.
(Image: AFP)
Prerequisite for Ukraine crisis summit
On Sunday, Pope Francis in Rome expressed hope that this time peace could be achieved in Ukraine. The ceasefire is an important prerequisite for a new Ukraine crisis summit, which had already been planned in Berlin in the spring. Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron want to bring Putin and Selenskyj together again after the last summit in Paris in early December.