The special monitoring mission (SMM) of the OSCE in Donbas (SMM) will be expanded to 1,300 people by the end of March 2016, Deputy Head of the OSCE SMM Alexander Hug has said.

The mission will be expanded to 1,300 people by the end of March 2016, including 800 observers, who will work in eastern Ukraine, Hug said in an exclusive interview with DW on Wednesday.

Hug expressed his hope that the OSCE Permanent Council will be able to reach a consensus and extend the work of the mission after March 31 next year.

The deputy head of the OSCE mission noted that access to the sites of permanent patrolling from both sides is often obstructed or impossible. Sometimes this happens because the safety of the observer cannot be guaranteed. However, sometimes the access is obstructed for no apparent reason, Hug said.

Also, according to him, the control of the Russian-Ukrainian border in areas not controlled by the Ukrainian authorities is being obstructed. In particular, the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic systematically denies entry to OSCE observers to the LPR-controlled areas of the border.

Hug also said that the humanitarian situation, particularly along the contact line was critical. In many areas there is no gas, water and light. Many schools and kindergartens are closed. The health care situation is also difficult.

The observers visited a hospital in Debaltseve, and saw that there were no drugs for anesthesia, so surgeries cannot be conducted there, Hug said.