18:12 27.05.2016

Hug notes threefold increase in Donbas ceasefire violations in past two days

2 min read
Hug notes threefold increase in Donbas ceasefire violations in past two days

Principal Deputy Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) in Ukraine Alexander Hug has noted a threefold increase in the number of cease-fire violations in Donbas in the past two days.

"So far, what I have seen does not entirely encourage me. One can never be categorical in such matters – as the level of violence ebbs and flows. Since Easter, however, there has been a definite improvement in the security situation. We also had some positive political messages from Berlin and Minsk. As a result, I had hoped that concrete actions could be taken on the ground to make the partially restored ceasefire more sustainable. I am less hopeful today, however. Yesterday, we registered a three-fold increase in the number of ceasefire violations compared to the previous day," Hug said at a briefing via Skype from Donetsk on Friday.

In his words, government-controlled Avdiyivka and areas around Donetsk airport were particularly violent. "Initial reports suggest that three Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers were injured, one seriously," he said.

The deputy chief monitor said they have always noted the connection between restrictions on the SMM and violence or other breaches of the Minsk agreements. Last Friday, the so-called DPR disabled two SMM cameras in the area where most of the violence happened yesterday. Hug said the monitors can clearly see that certain people are intent on hiding things from the public view.

On Wednesday, an SMM unmanned aerial vehicle observed 20 infantry fighting vehicles and a number of fuel and military-type trucks at a rail yard in the city.

On Thursday, another UAV was actually shot at near government-controlled Bohoyavlenka, about 50 kilometers south-west of Donetsk. Initial analysis of retrieved footage from the UAV revealed the presence of trucks loaded with ammunition boxes hidden in a nearby forest and an object which appears to be a towed artillery piece. The weapon is just inside the 25 kilometer withdrawal line.

The OSCE SMM deputy chief monitor recalled the need to de-mine the territories and observe the truce.

"There is a sense that this violence is yet again beginning to spiral out of control. The sides are getting caught up in a cycle of violence. More worryingly, they are failing to seize the opportunity that has existed since the Normandy 4 meeting in Berlin to end the violence," Hug said.

AD
AD
AD
AD