The representatives of the Special Monitoring Mission of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE SMM) were threatened with firearms by the people, who presented themselves as the Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen, in Luhansk region, the SMM press service said on Wednesday.

"At 10:10 on August 2, an armed man at a known Ukrainian Armed Forces position wearing military-style clothing with no markings stopped two SMM vehicles in government-controlled areas travelling east on the road from Lopaskyne (government-controlled, 24km north-west of Luhansk) to Lobacheve (government-controlled, 17km north-west of Luhansk). When one of the SMM monitors stepped out of the vehicle to speak with the man, the latter chambered a round into his submachine gun (AKSU-74) and after removing the weapon's safety, pointed it at the SMM monitor and put his finger on the trigger. Speaking in Russian, the armed man told the SMM 'Stop. You are not going anywhere'," the press service said.

The SMM said that later, at the observers' request, the commander arrived on the site accompanied by another three armed men, who, according to the observers, were under the influence of alcohol.

"Using Russian and speaking in an aggressive manner, the man said that he and the other armed men present were members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces," the SMM said.

The OSCE SMM representatives managed to convince them to put the weapons down, the SMM said. After the negotiations the SMM vehicles were able to leave for Lobacheve to perform their tasks.

The observers reported the incident to the Joint Center for Control and Coordination, the SMM said.