The Contact Group on Ukraine (Minsk Group) has recently been debating a proposal to turn the Ukrainian stronghold Shyrokyne, key to defending the Azov Sea port city of Mariupol (Mariupil), into a “demilitarized zone.” The Contact Group—comprised of Russia, Ukraine, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics” (“DPR, LPR”)—meets at fairly frequent, but irregular, intervals in Minsk.
If the proposal is approved, the village of Shyrokyne would become the first-ever demilitarized zone in the ongoing conflict, and potentially a precedent-setting case for more demilitarized zones to appear on Ukrainian territory. The Russian …read more
Source: The Jamestown Foundation