Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (OSCE SMM) Ertugrul Apakan has that current environmental threats in the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine can affect the civilian population and the mission's observers, so they cannot be ignored, according to a report posted on the OSCE SMM's Facebook page on Wednesday.

"Environmental threats stemming from the conflict in eastern Ukraine must not be overlooked – they may affect civilian population that lives and works in the area, as well as the staff of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine," he said at a meeting of the OSCE Economic and Environmental Committee in Vienna.

Apakan said that these threats represent a joint challenge to all concerned and to the entire area.

He reiterated that the protection of infrastructure is critical to the environment and should be a shared responsibility.