Yermak’s deputy discussed situation in Donbas with Head of NATO Mission in Ukraine

Roman Mashovets, Deputy Head of the Office of the President met with Alexander Vinnikov, Head of the NATO Mission to Ukraine, to discuss the escalation of the situation in eastern Ukraine by the Russian Federation.

The press service of the Office of the President of Ukraine reports.

Mashovets informed Vinnikov about the deteriorating security situation in Donbas. He said that since the beginning of this year, Russian troops had violated the ceasefire more than 570 times.

"The Russian Federation doesn't abide by international agreements and demonstrates its unwillingness to hold a dialogue in the format of the Trilateral Contact Group and the Normandy format. The Russian party is trying to disrupt the peace process and full ceasefire established on July 27, 2020," Roman Mashovets said.

According to him, there's currently a concentration of Russian troops near the state border of Ukraine. Therefore, organizing joint exercises of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the NATO military, in particular joint air patrols with NATO countries' aviation in the Ukrainian airspace, will help stabilize the security situation in the region.

The Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine also stressed the importance of a political response from the NATO leadership to Russia's actions.

Alexander Vinnikov, Head of NATO mission in Ukraine, expressed condolences over Ukraine's losses in recent weeks in the fight against Russian aggression in Donbas. He stressed that all information on the security situation in the east of our country and on the border with Russia would be passed to the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels.

The NATO representative recalled that in a recent fruitful conversation between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, the parties agreed on the need to focus on implementing reforms that would bring Ukraine closer to NATO.

Alexander Vinnikov noted positive developments in Ukraine's security and defense. First, the adoption of laws on intelligence and defense procurement in 2020.

"We'd like to mention the adoption of the law on the Security Service of Ukraine in the first reading and look forward to the adoption of the law in the second reading, which will be a historic step towards rapprochement with NATO," he said.

The Head of the NATO Mission to Ukraine also noted the approval of the National Security Strategy of Ukraine in September 2020 and the Military Security Strategy of Ukraine in March this year, which contain a clear strategic vision of the country's defense policy and provide a platform for further development and adoption of the Strategic Defense Bulletin and other strategic documents in national security and defense of Ukraine.