A militant of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic patrols the damaged building of a local school located near the line of separation from the Ukrainian armed forces in the settlement of Molodizhne (Molodezhnoye) in the Luhansk region, Ukraine February 17, 2022.
Alexander Ermochenko | Reuters
The Ukrainian government and Russian state-controlled media on Friday exchanged fresh accusations of cease-fire violations near the country’s eastern border.
In a statement on Facebook, the Ukrainian Joint Forces Operation said 20 cease-fire violations had been recorded in eastern Ukraine on Friday as of 9 a.m. local time.
The JFO alleged that 15 of those violations included the use of weapons prohibited by the Minsk agreements, which Russia, Ukraine and pro-Moscow separatists signed in 2014 and 2015 to prevent a war in eastern Ukraine. No fatalities were reported.
Ukraine also claimed that separatist forces were “placing their artillery systems near residential buildings.” The JFO added, “United forces control the situation and respond appropriately to potential threats from the enemy.”
Meanwhile, Russian state-controlled media agency RIA claimed on Friday that Ukrainian government forces had launched three shelling strikes against Russian-backed separatists.
CNBC was unable to verify either report. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe on Thursday said its mission in Ukraine had reported almost 600 cease-fire violations in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions,...
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