The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's Special Monitoring Mission (OSCE SMM) to Ukraine has recorded an increase in the use of prohibited weapons in Donbas, OSCE SMM Principle Deputy Chief Monitor Alexander Hug said at a press briefing.

The total number of ceasefire breaches last week was 5,500, and roughly 3.5 times more cases involving weapons prohibited under the Minsk Agreements were recorded than in the previous week, he said.

The main hotspots are still the area of Avdiyivka - Donetsk Airport - Yasynuvata, the southern and eastern sectors of Svitlodarsk, some neighborhoods of Mariupol, and the village of Zholobok, Hug said.

In all of those places, OSCE SMM recorded an increase in the number of ceasefire violations, except in the eastern sector near Mariupol, where the number decreased, he said.

The SMM is also seeing cases where civilian infrastructure is destroyed as a result of the ongoing hostilities, Hug said.

He also said that after the Mayorsk checkpoint was reopened, lines of people were observed there, probably due to the fact that it had been closed for several days.

Before the checkpoint was closed, the SMM had recorded ceasefire violations in its immediate vicinity, Hug said.

The SMM spent several days establishing a dialogue between the conflicting parties, which led to the opening of the Mayorsk checkpoint this morning, he said.