RIA Novosti: Putin: Civil War Rages in Ukraine Despite Reconciliation Deals

November 5 (RIA Novosti) – The civil war rages in eastern Ukraine despite reconciliation agreements reached this fall with the participation of Russia and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Russian president said Wednesday.

“A civil conflict, which in fact is a civil war, rages in Ukraine, near Russian borders. Despite Minsk agreements, peaceful cities are being shelled and civilians get killed,” Vladimir Putin said at a meeting on Russia’s military-technical cooperation.

Putin added that ties with a number of Ukrainian entrepreneurs have been harmed as a result of the civil conflict.

An armed conflict started in eastern Ukraine in mid-April, when Kiev launched a military operation against independence supporters in the region.

According to the UN data as of October 31, more than 4,000 people have been killed and 9,000 injured in the conflict.

Representatives from Russia, Ukraine, the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe agreed on a ceasefire at a meeting of the so-called Contact Group on Ukraine held in Minsk on September 5. Another meeting of the Contact Group on September 19 resulted in a memorandum, specifying the implementation of the ceasefire. Since the establishment of the truce, the sides have been accusing each other of numerous violations.