KYIV. Oct 3 (Interfax) - The defense of civilians living in the area close to the warzone in Donbas is a priority for the Ukrainian government throughout the disengagement process, and the Ukrainian armed forces remain fully on alert to protect the country's territorial integrity, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said.
"In planning the disengagement process, the command of the Ukrainian armed forces took into consideration various possible scenarios. In particular, if the Russian occupying troops ignore the agreements and try to return to the positions they held before, Ukrainian service members will act accordingly," the ministry said in a statement clarifying the disengagement process at certain sections of the contact line.
Protection of civilians in the combat area is a priority for the Ukrainian military personnel, the ministry said.
"Knowing the price and efforts spent on holding each meter of Ukrainian land, the personnel of the Ukrainian Armed Forces remain fully on alert to defend Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty. The army will continue to stand on guard of sovereignty to allow for restoring Ukraine's territorial integrity in a diplomatic way," it said.
Ukrainian law entitles military personnel to use firearms if their lives and health are endangered, it said.
The disengagement process provides that the troops and hardware are to be pulled back one kilometer away from the line of contact, and this process shall go symmetrically. The main precondition for starting the process is the observance of a ceasefire agreement at a given section for seven days.
"The disengagement process will go consistently, in two stages; the first stage provides for the withdrawal of the personnel on both sides; the second, the dismantlement of engineer works and the further demining of the territories. If the abovementioned preconditions are not complied with, the disengagement of the troops shall be stopped," the Defense Ministry said.
The disengagement process should help create security areas for international humanitarian organizations and organizations specializing in security measures and make it possible to demine the territories, it said.
"The said sections are about three kilometers long (of the 410 kilometers of the general disengagement line). The Ukrainian Armed Forces are technically prepared for a disengagement process, adhering to all obligations they have undertaken and will do all they can to prevent casualties among Ukrainian service members and protect the people," it said.
It had been reported earlier that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on October 1 that the members of the Trilateral Contact Group for settling the conflict in Donbas agreed to start the disengagement process in the villages of Petrivske in the Donetsk region, and Zolote in the Luhansk region.