ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE
On January 21st, the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) positioned 30 battle tanks on the premises of a factory near the Gorlovka settlement.
The distance from the position to the separation line is not more than 5 kilometers.
A few days earlier it became known that the Kiev government transported three battle tanks and other heavy equipment to the frontline. Now 30 more battle tanks were positioned near it. It stands to reports that the UAF may have been preparing for an offensive in the region of Donbass or at the least a provocation.
The DPR Ministry of Defense claimed that it continues to receive verifiable intelligence on the Kiev regime’s preparations for provocations on its territory, with the aim of causing a large-scale ecological catastrophe. The plans include for Kiev to accuse the DPR and the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) for the incidents.
On January 22nd, the DPR announced a further reinforcement of UAF battle tanks to the Donbass.
Daniel Bezsonov, head of the press service of the DPR people’s militia said that Ukrainian troops hide behind the civilian population and keep military equipment near civilian infrastructure, which violates the Minsk Agreement.
Bezsonov claimed that the Ukrainian military is increasing the combat strength of the brigades that perform tasks in the environmental protection zone. He also reported on the deployment of each motorized infantry brigade of the tank battalion instead of the existing tank company.
Bezsonov stressed that “over the past day, 16 violations of the cease-fire regime by the Ukrainian militants were recorded, while ten settlements of our republic [DPR] were subjected to shelling”.
Reportedly, earlier the UAF shelled at DPR militia positions in the area of the Lenin village. In response to the aggression, the leadership of the LPR and the DPR decided to conduct military maneuvers.
The OSCE reported on January 22nd that during the previous 24 hours there were more ceasefire violations in the Donetsk region and fewer in the Luhansk region.
The Mission saw weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines in government-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
There is still a much larger concentration of weapons beyond the withdrawal lines and in the security zones for government-controlled areas compared to those under DPR and LPR control.
