Russian-backed forces in Donbas refusing to withdraw amid attacks

Russian-backed forces in Donbas have been
refusing to withdraw their forces at designated areas agreed upon at the
Normandy Format summit in December, said on Feb. 18 Oleksiy Danilov, the
secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. In
particular, the fighters don’t want to withdraw at the Luhansk region towns of
Stanytsia Luhanska and Novoselivka 2, where the military is seeking to create a
pedestrian corridor. “The arguments are pseudo-military. Each side has the
desire to maintain its positions. We are more concerned with humanitarian concerns
… That side is looking at all this from the viewpoint of a military process and
this is a matter of principle for them,” Danilov told the 24 television news
network.

The Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk agreed on
Jan. 24 to conduct the next three forces withdrawals at the Hnutove checkpoint
in the Donetsk region, the metal bridge in the town of Stanytsia Luhanska and
the second town of Novoselivka in the Luhansk region. Recall, Ukrainian
President Zelensky said in late December that a forces withdrawal had been completed at
Stanytsia Luhanska.

The U.S. government accused Russia of
undermining the Minsk Accords in authorizing the Feb. 18 attacks on Ukrainian
positions along the separation line in Donbas, as reported by the Ukrinform
news agency. At the United Nations, Acting U.S. Deputy Representative Chaleth
Norman Chalit noted the attacks occurred on the five-year anniversary of the
battle of Debaltseve. “Now, as it was then, the forces led by Russia continue
to violate promises offered by President Putin and Russian officials, and kill
Ukrainians on Ukrainian territory,” he said.

The morning of Feb. 18, Russian-backed forces attacked Ukrainian
positions at five locations, inflicting a Ukrainian casualty near the Luhansk region town of Zolote, which had
been the site of an alleged successful forces withdrawal. The attack was
condemned by leading state officials in Ukraine, the E.U. and the U.S. “We are
confident that this provocation won’t change our course. Because only with a
strong army can we sit at the negotiating table. The course we are pursuing is
confidently drawing us closer to a ceasefire and peace,” Zelensky told
journalists, as reported by the pravda.com.ua news site.

Zenon Zawada: The Zelensky administration
is trying to make progress towards peace amid an unstable situation in Donbas.
So far, the Ukrainian public is tolerating this and giving Zelensky the benefit
of the doubt. We expect Zelensky will continue to enjoy the public’s trust in
these repeatedly disrupted attempts at forces withdrawal since the other option
of extending warfare is mostly opposed. So such attacks, like what occurred on
Feb. 18, will not derail the process of withdrawing forces. But they are
intended to make the process humiliating for Ukraine.