An OSCE patrol observed craters made by 120mm shells in the town of Zaitseve on Monday, which proved the use of weapons prohibited by the Minsk agreements, OSCE SMM Principal Deputy Chief Monitor Alexander Hug said.

He said in a program, aired by the 122 Ukraine television channel on Tuesday, that the patrol visited a government-controlled area in Zaitseve, on Monday, to verify and assess three fresh craters. The mission observers said that the craters were created by 120mm mortar shells fired from the south.

The OSCE SMM principal deputy chief monitor expressed concern about the developments in Zaitseve.

In addition, last Saturday in Horlivka, the OSCE SMM patrol heard the sound of nearly 46 explosions within a 30 minute period, and 160 large-caliber machinegun bursts coming from the side of Zaitseve.

Pavlo Zhebrivsky, head of Donetsk Region Military-Civilian Administration, said on February 1, it was decided to temporarily shut down the Zaitseve checkpoint on Wednesday, February 3, in connection with the increased number of shelling incidents.