During a working trip to Donetsk region, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky paid tribute to the memory of the Ukrainian military that died in the battles for Avdiyivka, and also stressed the need for a ceasefire.
“Today marks exactly 200 days since we agreed on a comprehensive ceasefire. And we all see that the number of attacks from militants has increased recently. However, no matter how skeptical anyone is about the word ‘truce’, a ceasefire is needed and is an achievement. It saved the real lives of our military and civilians,” the presidential press service said, citing Zelensky.
In this context, the president recalled that in 2018, some 121 servicemen were killed and 799 were wounded in Donbas. In 2019, some 100 servicemen were killed and 507 were wounded. In 2020, some 50 servicemen were killed and 338 were wounded.
Zelensky noted that in recent weeks the number of shellings has increased, “which is associated, in particular, with attempts to put pressure on the Ukrainian side of the Trilateral Contact Group on the peaceful settlement of the situation in Donbas”.
It is also reported, that the ambassadors of foreign states laid flowers at the memorial and honored the memory of the Ukrainian soldiers with a minute of silence.
A memorial sign to the Ukrainian soldiers, who died in battles defending Avdiyivka, was installed in September 2017 at the initiative of the command of the 72nd separate mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The memorial has the form of a cross, next to which military equipment broken in battles and fragments of enemy shells were installed.
