Ukrainian Army asking Donbass self-defence to open fire at Azov battalion

Ukrainian servicemen from the “Azov” battalion escort men detained at a site of battle with pro-Russian separatists in the eastern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol. ©Reuters/Osman Karimov

TASS reports:

MOSCOW, April 25. /TASS/. Ukrainian Armed Forces’ officers use open communication lines to make contacts with the officers of self-defence forces of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, in the course of which they ask to open fire at the highly controversial Azov ‘volunteer’ battalions, Eduard Basurin, the spokesman for the DPR Defence Ministry said.

They accompany their requests by references to the battalion’s total uncontrollability.

“Commanders of the Ukrainian Armed Forces are trying to provoke our servicemen for violations of the ceasefire regime,” Basurin said. “These army men are asking the officers of the DPR defence forces to open mortar or artillery fire at the positions of the Azov battalion under the pretext that Azov is uncontrollable and mistreats the local population aggressively.”

Self-defence units have ignored these provocative appeals until now and continue ignoring them, he indicated.

“It’s highly advisable for the Ukrainian Armed Forces to put things into order within their formations with the aid of their own means and capabilities,” Basurin told the Donetsk News Agency.

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