Ukraine Crisis Escalates... Both Government and Rebel Forces Accuse Each Other of Deploying Banned Heavy Weapons

On the 19th (local time), a government soldier in Luhansk, eastern Ukraine, is pointing in the direction from which a mortar shell fired by pro-Russian rebels came, next to a building damaged by the shell.
[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Amid escalating tensions in Ukraine, the Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian rebels are accusing each other of using prohibited heavy weapons.

According to local media on the 21st (local time), the government forces and rebels are blaming each other for the armed clashes, including shelling, that have continued since the 17th in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, a conflict zone. Donbas saw a ceasefire agreement under the Minsk accords between government forces and rebels in 2015, but clashes have repeatedly occurred in reality.

The self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), a rebel force controlling Donbas, claimed on the same day that the government forces used heavy weapons such as artillery in violation of the Minsk agreement. The DPR delegation, dispatched to the 'Joint Centre for Control and Coordination of Ceasefire and Stabilization of the Frontline' (JCCC), which monitors the Donbas ceasefire, alleged that government forces used 26 rounds of 120mm mortars, 3 anti-tank shells, and grenade launchers that morning.

The DPR also claimed that on the 20th, government forces attacked Donetsk using weapons confirmed to be produced in Bulgaria. The government forces fired 30mm rounds from grenade launchers, which were manufactured at a Bulgarian factory.

Another rebel faction in Donbas, the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) delegation, also claimed that government forces continued shelling, violating the ceasefire agreement. The LPR particularly asserted that two civilians were killed and three injured in the recent clashes.

The government forces immediately denied these claims, countering that the rebels were the ones using heavy weapons. They argued that the shelling in Donbas the previous day was a staged act by the rebels using their own heavy weapons, and that the government forces are complying with the Minsk agreement.

Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine’s Minister of Defense, attending the Munich Security Conference in Germany on the 19th, also claimed that Russia was behind provocations involving the deployment of heavy weapons and armored vehicles in residential areas of peaceful regions.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.