According to the Russian News Agency reported on the 24th, Edward Basulin, spokesman for the donetsk civil armed forces in eastern Ukraine, said on the same day that the fighting was proceeding along the entire contact line in Donetsk and called on Ukrainian armed personnel to lay down their weapons. He also claimed that the Donetsk civilian armed forces were not currently turning (from defense) to offense.
Screenshot of the Russian news agency report
According to Bassolin, there are about 800 mercenaries inside Ukraine, but even Kiev does not know the exact number. "Probably the Ukrainian side itself can't tell how many mercenaries there are in the country, I said recently that there are about 700-800 people," he said. ”
In addition, in response to Kiev's statement that civilian installations were destroyed, Basulin said that all these claims were lies and that only military installations were destroyed in Ukraine.
According to the representative office of the Joint Centre for Ceasefire Control and Coordination of Civilian Armed Forces in Donetsk (JCCC), the Ukrainian armed forces have violated the ceasefire regime 45 times in the past 24 hours, firing a total of 452 munitions.
Ukrainian soldiers Image source: Ministry of Defense of Ukraine
A spokesman for the Luhansk civil armed forces said that an operation had been launched in Luhansk to "liberate the temporarily occupied zone", firing only at the military installations, gathering places and military equipment of the Ukrainian army and not posing a threat to civilians, while urging residents in the front-line areas and the "temporary control zone" of Kiev not to leave their homes and, if possible, to go to the bomb shelters.
Luhansk civilian militants Source: Russian News Agency
The spokesman also called on Ukrainian militants to hand over their weapons, leave their positions and refrain from carrying out orders issued by the Ukrainian military that "can constitute crimes." According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Ukrainian government, Kiev has lost control of two villages in the Luhansk region.
Previously, on the 19th local time, the luhansk civil armed leaders issued a general mobilization order, conscripting all adult men aged 18 to 55 into the army, and prohibiting adult men aged 18 to 55 from leaving the Luhansk region. On the same day, Dennis Pushlin, the leader of the Donetsk civil armed forces, said that a decree on the full mobilization of the Donetsk region had been signed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order on the evening of the 21st to recognize the "Donetsk People's Republic" and the "Luhansk People's Republic" established by civilian armed forces in eastern Ukraine, and ordered the Russian army to provide "peace guarantees" for these two regions. (Editor: HHJ)