DISINFO: Ukraine failed to withdraw its armed forces according to Steinmeier formula
SUMMARY
The so-called Steinmeier formula has its first failure. It’s about last week’s agreement that Ukraine and the self-proclaimed republics will withdraw their armed forces. They promised to begin from two settlements in Donbas – Petrovskyy and Zolotoye. What happened instead? Petrovskyy was shelled by the Ukrainian security officers. In Zolotoye they carry out a certain operation of the combined forces.
RESPONSE
One of the pro-Kremlin messages about the Kyiv government sabotaging peace in the Donbas region. See previous cases about the Minsk agreements and the war in Ukraine. According to the daily report by the SMM OSCE, the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions, but those violations were fixed from both sides. The same situation is with the withdrawal of forces. The SMM OSCE saw 16 weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. Specifically, Steinmeier's formula calls for elections to be held in the separatist-held territories under Ukrainian legislation and the supervision of the OSCE. The withdrawal of forces is the other step that should be done before the planned elections. "There won't be any elections there if the troops are still there," said the president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.