The third round of mutual withdrawals of Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed militants in the war zone of Donbas has been successfully completed, according to the Ukrainian military.
The gradual withdrawal process was initiated at noon on Nov. 9 in the frontline section of Petrivske in Donetsk Oblast, a town some 600 kilometers southeast of Kyiv. The disengagement is expected to last up to three years.
On Nov. 11 Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on the completion of the “practical phase” of the disengagement operation near Petrivske.
Starting on Nov. 12 at noon, minesweeping will be initiated in the demilitarized area.
Under the agreement, Ukrainian forces were expected to withdraw 42 troops and three armored vehicles one kilometer from the frontline, taking up new combat posts closer to the Ukrainian-controlled town of Bohdanivka, some five kilometers west of Petrivske.
According to the deputy commanding general of Ukraine’s Joint Forces in Donbas, Bohdan Bondar, Ukrainian troops were relocated to fully-equipped, properly fortified lines beyond the zone of direct contact with the enemy. The new Ukrainian defenses in the area envisage manning primary combat posts and also maintaining alternate and reserve entrenchments.
At the same time, Russian-backed militants reported to OSCE on their withdrawal under the agreement as early as Nov. 9.
Nonetheless, the area still saw serious ceasefire violations committed by Russian-backed militants. On Nov. 10, four Ukrainian soldiers with the 128th Mountain Brigade were wounded as the enemy targeted a military truck moving on a road with an anti-tank missile near the village of Starohnativka, some 10 kilometers southwest of Petrivske.
The disengagement operation near Petrivske marks the third round of the mutual withdrawal of manpower and weapons in Donbas, part of a peace initiative from Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Previously, Russian-backed militants and Ukrainian forces were disengaged near the entry point of Stanytsia Luhanska in late July, and near the town of Zolote in late October.
The Ukrainian military says creating a wider demilitarized zone between the warring parties along the frontline will ensure better security for local civilians and allow for rebuilding of vital infrastructure.
The demilitarized zones will be patrolled by Ukrainian police and National Guard units to ensure law and order, while Ukrainian-controlled towns like Zolote are to be governed by Ukrainian civilian authorities, according to the military.
Nonetheless, Russian-backed militants associated with the so-called and unrecognized “Donetsk People’s Republic” vowed on Nov. 11 to send their armed formations back to Petrivske in case Ukrainian police or National Guards enter the demilitarized zone.
A successful mutual withdrawal from all three disengagement points was agreed upon as far back as in 2016, and is seen by the Zelensky administration as a step toward a new Normandy Four summit among Ukrainian, Russian, French and German leadership, during which president Zelensky hopes to negotiate a comprehensive roadmap to peace in a region ravaged by five years of Kremlin-sponsored proxy war.
Nonetheless, the initiative has drawn fierce criticism from segments of Ukrainian society that consider the withdrawal of forces in Donbas “capitulation” to the Kremlin and the surrender of the country’s territory to the enemy.
The prospects of another Normandy Four summit, meanwhile, remain uncertain as the Kremlin continues to avoid setting certain dates for a top-level meeting on Donbas.
On Nov. 11, Yuriy Ushakov, an aide to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, reportedly asserted that a Normandy summit could happen by the end of the year.
