Battalion commander killed in Donbass

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On 6th of November, 3 servicemen of the DPR were killed in action. One of them was Andrey Pankin, a battalion commander. He tried to save his soldier who was wounded by a mortar fire from the Ukrainian troops. The commander was killed by a Ukrainian sniper, which severely contradicts «the logic of the current unconditional and indefinite ceasefire, as well as the internationally recognized humanitarian norms» — said the plenipotentiary of the DPR at the negotiations of the trilateral contact group, the Foreign Minister of the DPR, Natalia Nikonorova.

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Starting from 2017 to September of 2020, 161 civilians died in Donbass on the both sides of the contact line as a result of the shelling, and explosive injuries. 785 people were injured, the fate of 41 more is being investigated. 100 children were injured. This was announced by the Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the OSCE, Vladimir Zheglov, with a reference to the report from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission on the victims of the on-going conflict among the civilian population in the eastern Ukraine.

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1 Ukrainian military truck «Ural», loaded with ammo, exploded in Donbass. This was reported on 8th of November by the press service of the People’s Militia Department of the DPR. The military of the DPR reported, with a reference to the intelligence service, that the explosion took place during the unloading of ammo at the Ukrainian positions in the occupied zone of the DPR. The information was provided by an officer of the military department of the DPR, Oleg Nikitin. 1 Ukrainian soldier died from the explosion, 2 others were wounded and taken to a clinic in the town of Krasnoarmeysk. The event took place in the village of Avdeevka, currently occupied by Ukraine.

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Despite the fact that the Donetsk filtering station supplies water not only to the territory of the DPR, but also to the settlements of Donbass, currently controlled by Kiev, the Ukrainian troops constantly shell the water station. On 6th of November they opened fire on the station once again. The staff were forced to take cover.

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»The action plan, aimed to resolve the conflict in Donbass, proposed during the meeting of the trilateral contact group by the Ukrainian delegation, contradicts the Minsk agreements, and it involves an armed seizure of the DPR and the LPR» — the plenipotentiary representative of the DPR at the negotiations, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the DPR, Natalia Nikonorova, stated. In early November, Kiev presented a new program for the resolution of the conflict in Donbass, the so-called «Plan for Joint Steps». The plan suggests to completely end the conflict, and demilitarize the uncontrolled territories of Donbass by the start of 2021. Ukraine also wants to take the border with Russia their under control, before the local elections. According to the plenipotentiary of Russia, Boris Gryzlov, «the presented plan is an another imitation of the negotiation process, the purpose of which is to convene the next summit in the Normandy format».

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In early November, the government of Denis Shmyhal published a draft law «on the amendments to certain laws of Ukraine, aimed to stream-line the issues, related to PoWs and internees during special period». The bill was published on the website of the Ukrainian parliament. The document proposes the forced re-settlement of Russian citizens — namely, a detention of Russian citizens and the following sending them to places of forced settlement, under the pre-text of a threat to the national security of Ukraine. The Ukrainian experts have no single opinion about the plan of the Shmygel government. Many believe that the project is a link in the global process of rejection of Donbass. The very prospect of being sent in a special settlement can hardly motivate the Donbass residents to get closer to Ukraine. Constantine Reztsov, specially for ANNA NEWS.