Kyiv demands OSCE monitors security in Donbas be ensured
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has demanded that provocative actions against monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Special Monitoring Mission (OSCE SMM) to Ukraine be ended and that the mission members have safe and unimpeded access to the entire territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
"The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry strongly condemns the shooting at an OSCE SMM vehicle by militants near Snizhne on April 7, 2016. We see this incident as yet another blatant attempt to intimidate the OSCE SMM monitors," the ministry said in a statement.
"We demand putting an end to provocations against OSCE monitors and guaranteeing the SMM absolutely safe and unimpeded access to the entire territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, including the sections of the Ukrainian-Russian border that are not under Ukraine's control, as is stipulated by the Minsk Agreements," it said.
Ukraine guarantees the OSCE monitors safe and unimpeded access to the entire territory of Ukraine, as is stipulated by the mission's mandate, the ministry said.
OSCE Deputy Chief Monitor to Ukraine Alexander Hug had said earlier that an SMM vehicle had come under fire on Thursday, April 7.