OSCE SMM has problems with cell service in Donbas

13:17, 16.01.2018 1 min read

Employees of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine are having problems with mobile phone coverage in militant-held parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, OSCE SMM Principal Deputy Chief Monitor Alexander Hug said.

The SMM is facing difficulties with access to GSM services in some territories in militant-held districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, Hug told Interfax-Ukraine in Kyiv on Tuesday, adding that if measures were taken in the area to fix these problems, the SMM would be prepared to monitor them.

There has been a gradual escalation of the conflict in the region since the beginning of 2018, and monitors have observed greater use of banned heavy weapons on both sides of the contact line, he said.

Media outlets reported, citing Vodafone's PR department head Viktoria Ruban, that the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) has accepted Vodafone's request to receive access to a damaged cable causing problems with cell service in militant-held territories of Donbas.