Veterans Remove Legal Arms from Zolote in Donbas

Volunteer veterans carrying legal weapons took them out of the Zolote-4 village in the Luhansk region of Ukraine, accompanied by police.

This was stated by the Deputy Head of the National Police Vadym Troyan, reports press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Zolote-4 is one of the settlements where separation of forces is expected as per the Steinmeier formula agreed by the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

READ MORE: The Steinmeier Formula: What Could It Mean For Ukraine?

"According to the meeting with President of Ukraine Zelenskyy and a conversation with the police, volunteer veterans who are in Zolote-4 with legal weapons of their own have taken them out," Troyan said.

According to him, now only a group of volunteers without weapons remains in the area of ​​preparation for the disengagement of troops where the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) is in place, in this case in Zolote-4 and the nearby village of Katerynivka.

“There are six National Police patrols in Zolote-4 and Katerynivka, as well as a National Police station receiving citizens. According to the decision of the JFO leadership, the National Guard will be dispatched there to ensure public order and security. Citizens can feel safe,” Troyan added.

There were some posts on Facebook page and Telegram channel of the “Last Checkpoint "No Capitulation" movement on October 26 showing Zelenskyy arrive in the village of Zolote and speak to volunteers and veterans who came there to prevent withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the settlements.

Zelenskyy said that the residents were in favor of troop separation and told volunteers to remove their weapons. However, volunteers said they would not retreat and would not allow troops to withdraw.

The JFO headquarters reported that the people the president had communicated with are not representatives of any law enforcement agency nor the Armed Forces of Ukraine and are in possession of weapons in the settlement illegally.