Reported violations of the ceasefire between Ukraine and Russian-backed separatist forces on the front line in the Donbas were infrequent over the course of January and the early days of February. But according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence (MoD), there were more recorded violations of the ceasefire on 17 February than there were in the entire month of January.
In a press release published by the MoD today (18 February), 60 incidents of ceasefire violation “by the Russian occupation forces” were recorded, including 43 incidents in which weapons prohibited by the Minsk agreements were utilised.
The US has suggested the number of Russian troops on Ukraine’s borders is significantly higher than previously thought at 190,000 (a total that includes separatists). Michael Carpenter, the US ambassador to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation, described this as “the most significant military mobilisation in Europe since the Second World War”.
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