Parties to the conflict in the east of Ukraine have not only disengaged forces and equipment in the area of the village of Stanytsia Luhanska region, but they are also building up their military presence there, SMM deputy chief Alexander Hug said.

He said right now they do not fix any disengagement in the area of the bridge of Stanytsia Luhanska. On the contrary, they saw the parties were placing their equipment and armed personnel there, Hug said. This led to an increase in the number of cases of violation of the ceasefire, he said during a Skype conference on Friday.

Hug stressed that the observers had repeatedly called on the parties to fulfill the Minsk agreements and called for a dialogue, in particular for the possibility of carrying out repair works on the damaged infrastructure.