Despite Photos, Witnesses, Ukraine Denies Rebels Withdraw Weapons

Ukraine Military Claims They're Secretly Building Up Forces

On Sunday, Ukraine’s rebels announced they were withdrawing heavy weapons from the front lines of the civil war, per the agreement reached on a ceasefire in Minsk earlier this month.

There are photos of the pullout, and Reuters reporters witnessed multiple rebel convoys of artillery and anti-aircraft weapons being withdrawn from Debaltseve to the capital of Donetsk. The Ukraine military still says its all a trick.

Military spokesmen claimed the pullout was “empty words,” and that the rebels were actually building up forces on the front line, despite all the evidence to the contrary.

The military’s denials are more about justifying their own decision to renege on the heavy weapon pullback, but reflects their bizarre disconnect with facts and evidence. In addition to claiming Russian invasions that no one ever sees, they are also claiming that the things people actually are seeing aren’t actually happening.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.