The opening of a new forward patrol base (FPB) of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Special Monitoring Mission (OSCE SMM) to Ukraine will broaden the mission's ability to monitor the situation in Donbas, the mission's press service told Interfax on Thursday.

"The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine opened a new forward patrol base in the government-controlled town of Schastia in the Luhansk region today [on May 25]. The FPB will increase the Mission's ability to monitor the security situation in both government- and non-government-controlled areas," the press service said.

OSCE SMM Principal Deputy Chief Monitor Alexander Hug, for his part, said that "the newly-established FPB is located less than 500 meters from the contact line."

"This will bring our monitors closer to the areas where most violations take place and will help them follow up on reports about incidents faster," he said.

"The SMM's permanent presence should also encourage the sides to adhere to the ceasefire and the Minsk agreements more eagerly," Hug was quoted as saying by the OSCE press service.

"The SMM informed the Joint Center for Control and Coordination [JCCC] of the opening of a new FPB and secured support from both the Ukrainian and the Russian Federation sides to the JCCC [...]. The Mission is looking to open more such bases on both sides of the contact line to enhance its monitoring and reporting," the press service said.