DONETSK: Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian rebels marked a month since the signing of a Kremlin-backed truce yesterday by engaging in one of the most heated battles of their six-month war over the ex-Soviet state’s eastern rustbelt.
The artillery blasts that rocked the frontline city of Donetsk were yet another blow to the 12-point peace agreement signed on September 5, and which is officially still in force. “There is no ceasefire. You hear?” 31-year-old resident Yekaterina Manannikova said, pointing in the direction of Donetsk airport, once a glittering showcase for the biggest city in the east, now the battered scene of a non-stop firefight.
“Peace is already declared, how many times should it be declared to be effective? Two, three times?” said another local, Vitaliy Chura, 29, blaming the separatists for the continued fighting.
The agreement — aimed at ending almost six months of war that has claimed over 3,300 lives — included a promise to create a 30km buffer zone between the two forces.
Yesterday, military spokesman Volodymyr Polyovy said rebels had launched two more airport attacks “with support of tanks” over the past 24 hours, but were repelled. Two soldiers and at least three civilians died, putting the death toll since the ceasefire at 80, excluding rebel losses. AFP
