Александр Хуг. Фото СММ ОБСЄ

OSCE SMM: The number of ceasefire violations increased by 10 percent last week

WATCH IN ENGLISH

Last week, SMM OSCE recorded 4,827 ceasefire violations in eastern Ukraine, which is a ten-percent increase compared to the week before. “OSCE SMM observed an almost nine-fold increase in instances where weapons proscribed under the Minsk agreements were used”, reported Alexander Hug, Principal Deputy Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, via Skype at Ukraine Crisis Media Center.

Last week, the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission observed 144 weapons in violation of withdrawal lines, 95 of them in areas not controlled by the Government.

OSCE monitors confirmed that 11 civilians were injured and dozens of civilian houses or apartment buildings were damaged in eastern Ukraine last week. “In just one small area of Staromykhailivka – within a radius of just 800 meters – our monitoring officers, for example, last week observed 13 homes damaged,” elaborated Alexander Hug.

Resulting from Tuesday’s attack on Donetsk Filtration Station, five workers were wounded, and one more injured.  “On Wednesday this week, the Donetsk Filtration Station was closed and sealed; and its operations ceased,” Alexander Hug noted.