In the evening of Sept. 10, some 100 activists came to the official residence of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky in the high-end village of Koncha-Zaspa near Kyiv to protest against what had been declared as an inspection of Ukrainian defense lines in the war zone of Donbas with the direct involvement of Russian envoys.
The inspection was scheduled on Sept. 10 afternoon after Russian-backed militants accused Ukrainian forces of installing new field works near the front-line village of Shumy close to the occupied city of Horlivka. The commission was meant to consist of Ukrainian envoys, Russian-backed militants, and monitors of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) mission in Donbas.
The plan drew a fierce backlash in Ukraine’s media space, with many perceiving it an unacceptable step from the Zelensky administration, which in fact betrayed Ukrainian national interests by admitting the enemy to inspect the army’s combat lines.
Nonetheless, just hours before the scheduled start, the Ukrainian party to the talks canceled the inspection “due to Russia issuing new contradicting demands” for the controversial deal.
The rally near Zelensky’s residence took place anyway, with activists calling for impeachment of Zelensky due to his policy on Donbas.
