Forces, hardware to be disengaged in Donbas in simultaneous, mirror-image manner

Members of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) will conduct round-the-clock surveillance in the areas of disengagement of forces and hardware of the Ukrainian army and individual districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions in Donbas, Ukrainian representative to the security subgroup Yevhen Marchuk has said.

"Importantly, the OSCE has pledged round-the-clock monitoring for the first time ever. This means we will be fully aware of who commits a violation and when," Marchuk told the Apostrophe online edition in an interview published on Thursday.

The disengagement mechanism is rather complex, he said. There will be a preparatory phase, during which the sides will demonstrate the current location of their units and their relocation areas to the OSCE. The OSCE monitors will record and verify everything. The withdrawal will be conducted in a simultaneous and mirror-image manner, to the same distances and under mandatory control of the OSCE, he said.

"It is also planned to block violations. Most violations are military, for instance, someone opens fire, yet we have described absolutely all types of violations, including those non-military, during three months of our work and in the course of numerous coordination sessions. For example, unauthorized persons may be found within any disengagement zone, or OSCE activity may be hindered and monitors may not be allowed to access a facility of their choice at a time they want. Liability of the sides and things that need to be done when violations are recorded are clearly defined," the Ukrainian representative to the security subgroup said.

Marchuk said he hoped that the document would be honored because all sides were interested in its success in exactly those three zones.

"I have already said that their significance is purely humanitarian rather than military. So, we say that if we succeed we will set a precedent and an example of disengagement between the Donbas warring sides. We understand there are no ideal situations, the state of war persists, and the level of mistrust remains very high," he said.

"Disengagement of the sides is definitely due to begin this week," the Ukrainian representative to the security subgroup said.