It’s pretty obvious that a withdrawal of forces and equipment along the demarcation line (if synchronized) will only play into the hands of the occupation corps. In most places, the illegal armed groups will only nominally withdraw their forces, says military expert Mikhail Zhyrokhov in his article for Business Capital.

According to Zhyrokhov, if one looks at the geography, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be losing dominant positions almost everywhere, not to mention three dozen settlements. …

The combat readiness of military units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be strengthened during weekends and holidays, reads the statement of the press service of the Ukrainian General Staff published on its Facebook page.

"By the order of the Chief of the General Staff, the Ukrainian Armed Forces strengthen the combat readiness during weekends and holidays in the places of permanent deployment and in areas of combat operations," reads the message.

The security of military facilities has …

The Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko, in an interview with Ukrinform, provided the reasons for the failure to withdraw forces in the Donbas.

Prystaiko admitted that in Ukrainian society withdrawal of the troops deeper into Ukraine is perceived as a retreat. "To move away deeper into our territory is painful," he said. The Minister noted that now it is "a hot topic that causes a lot of emotions" in Ukraine.

"The Ukrainian Armed Forces were withdrawing, but the Ukrainian government, …