Ceasefire achieved for two days in Zolote, Petrivske, Zelensky notes

A ceasefire has been achieved for two days in the
Luhansk towns of Zolote and Petrivske, Ukrainian President Zelensky noted on
Oct. 16 during a press conference. He said his administration will be waiting
for the OSCE to confirm seven days of no warfare in these two towns. “We will
believe, we will wait for silence for seven days. And then we can talk about
withdrawals,” he said. Forces withdrawals in the towns of Zolote and Petrivske
were supposed to begin on Oct. 7, but were disrupted by shooting from
Russian-backed forces. The Zelensky administration is requiring a ceasefire of
seven days to renew withdrawal plans.

Paramilitary leader Andriy Biletskiy issued his latest
statement opposing the withdrawal at Zolote on Oct. 16. The Ukrainian side will
be surrendering population centers and strategic heights, he said, while the
Russian-backed separatists will be merely giving up empty fields. “Even in this
small withdrawal, we already can see what awaits us in the Minsk Accords and
the Steinmeier formula. This is elementary fraud. This is not a equal exchange
and it doesn’t benefit Ukraine,” he said. Biletskiy has called for a national
mobilization of paramilitaries to prevent forces withdrawals at Zolote and
Petrivske, prompting Russian President Putin to argue that these nationalist
fighters are undermining the peace process.

Zenon Zawada: The
Zelensky administration is closely monitoring ceasefire efforts and taking
peace efforts seriously. Unfortunately, the Putin administration sees this as
weakness and is exploiting the situation. So we can expect a deliberately slow
and painful process of withdrawing forces aimed at discrediting Zelensky with
the public. In the meantime, the Putin regime will be deliberately stoking the
conflict between Ukrainians who want peace at any cost, and those who are
opposed.