Putin accuses Zelensky of indulging nationalists and inability to withdraw troops in Donbass

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Zelensky of not providing for the disengagement of forces in the Donbass. He said this today at a meeting of the Council of CIS Heads of State, - TASS reports.

"We agreed on the disengagement of forces, but the incumbent president (of Ukraine) cannot provide the disengagement of military units and equipment - he just cannot. The nationalist military units arrived there and publicly stated: if the army leaves these positions, we will stand there. The army does not leave", - Putin noted.

According to him, representatives of the "DNR/LNR" "already gave a signal of readiness for the disengagement of forces twice or thrice - they launched a white rocket, but there was no answer from the Ukrainian party".

"Manifestation of political will is needed there", - Putin believes.

As previously reported, the so-called "LNR" and "DNR" accused the Ukrainian party of allegedly disrupting the "disengagement of forces and means" on the site of contact line in the area of Zolote in the Luhansk region and Petrovske. In fact, the militants of the "republics" imitated their readiness for the withdrawal of troops, knowing full well that the Ukrainian party set the conditions for a seven-day ceasefire. Representatives of the "DNR/LNR" insist on the withdrawal of the AFU troops, even if they regularly shell pilot sites. Therefore, they decided to "set" a new date for the disengagement of forces and assets on Thursday for propaganda purposes.

Naturally, having not received a security guarantee and without waiting for a stable ceasefire at the disengagement sites, the AFU refused to take part in this pretence.