On the ground, Ukrainian army shelling continues to wreak havoc in the breakaway republics in the Donbas region. According to the Donetsk News Agency, shelling knocked out the electricity in the village of Vasilyevka, to the northeast of Donetsk city. The D.P.R. representative in the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) this morning reported eight ceasefire violations by Ukrainian forces in the previous 24 hours, involving 89 rounds fired from grenade launchers and mortars. In addition to the power outage in Vasilyevka, a water pumping station in another village was also knocked out.
In light of these provocations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed doubt as to whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky even controls the Ukrainian army along the line of contact. “So far, we can’t see signs indicating that the Ukrainian side wants to somewhat calm down, drop bellicose rhetoric hidden behind the talk about some imaginary threat and take control of its army units that are deployed directly along the contact line [in Donbas] and that often become a source of provocations,” he said, reported TASS. According to the Kremlin spokesman, during a telephone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, Russian President Vladimir Putin “clearly worded” Moscow’s concerns over the situation in Ukraine. “Other capitals have also been informed about our concerns. Indeed, the situation leaves much to be desired,” Peskov added.
