OSCE intends to increase the number of observers of the Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, strengthen its technical capacity, increase hours for patrolling the contact line, Austrian Foreign Minister, OSCE Chairman Sebastian Kurz said at the UN Security Council.

One of the central issues that the OSCE was dealing with was the crisis in and around Ukraine, he said, adding that the annexation of Crimea, the flow of arms into Donbas, the role of the Russian Federation, implementation of the Minsk agreements, and repeated acts of violence were all discussed regularly.

Kurz stressed that the level of violence observed in eastern Ukraine in the past few days is absolutely unacceptable. The OSCE chairman called all sides to implement the Minsk agreements in full and ensure strict observance of the ceasefire.