It is the second day that President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy is staying in the zone of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO). The Head of State have personally seen that the full and comprehensive ceasefire is in effect. In only two days, Volodymyr Zelenskyy drove over 100 km along the contact line.
On the night between August 6 and August 7, the Head of State was near one of the sectors on the front line and made sure that the ceasefire was also in effect at this time of day.
"I want to fully understand, communicate, and see how everything is controlled. I am grateful to everyone for the morale. Indeed, our side complies with the ceasefire, everything is under control," the President said speaking to the media representatives.
During the trip, the Head of State spoke to the Ukrainian military frankly and informally in order to understand the mood of the soldiers.
"They are surprised. They say that they were not visited like that before, during the night," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
At one of the forward positions, the Head of State asked the military about the situation in their sector of the front.
"Are they shelling now?" the President asked.
"There are some provocations from the other side. But, everything is fine with us," the serviceman replied.
Another soldier told Volodymyr Zelenskyy that he maintains a fighting spirit and is always ready to defend the homeland and confront the enemy.
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Ruslan Khomchak called on the society to distinguish between single shots, which are now recorded in the JFO from the militants, from shelling. And it is precisely the shelling on the front line that has not yet taken place since the beginning of the ceasefire.
"In our territory in Ukraine, where there is no war, every day there are so many shooting and explosions... But here is the confrontation line. And in general, there were such single shots before during more serious shelling," he said.
So, according to him, not a single shot was recorded on the contact line on August 6. And on August 7, two shots were made in different places.
"Previously, we did not record them at all. They are occasional, they do not reach our positions. But we have clearly determined that we are not deceiving anyone. First of all, society, so that everyone understands what is happening. In general, they could not be taken into account," Ruslan Khomchak said.
In almost two weeks of the ceasefire, the Armed Forces and residents of Donbas began to feel the end of the war, and life in the region began to revive, Minister of Defense of Ukraine Andriy Taran said. Both the Armed Forces and civilians are tired of the war, he said.
"Everyone wants peace on this earth. What is happening now gives hope, gives people hope that we will finally settle this. Undoubtedly, now it is not the Armed Forces that decide. We must resolve this issue in a political way," the minister said.
"The soldiers said that if the politicians didn't decide, they couldn't decide, we would have nothing left but to rely only on the Armed Forces," Andriy Taran said.
According to the Minister of Defense, it was such a trip along the contact line that made it possible to understand the mood of the Ukrainian soldiers who defend the state. Now the army trusts the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine, Andriy Taran said.
"This is really well received by the personnel. They are glad to see the President – not somewhere else, appearing only on television, but the one who comes to them, involved in every aspect, and holds discussions. Every time the President comes to the front line the psychological atmosphere is very warm," he said.
