The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) doesn't blame Ukrainian troops for shelling of the mission's convoy near the populated locality of Maryinka in Donetsk region, mission's spokesperson Michael Bociurkiw reported.
We clearly described in our report that we there is nobody we lay the blame on since the details are blurred, he said at a briefing in Kyiv on Thursday, Nov. 20.
The spokesperson said that the mission would cooperate with the Ukrainian troops to hold inquiry into this incident adding that he hopes there will be details in few days.
Meanwhile, Chief Monitor of OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) Ertugrul Apakan has told the Interfax-Ukraine that this incident was atypical and called it an individual occasion.
Besides, he has assured that the mission cooperates with the Ukrainian authorities and will favor investigation into this incident.
As previously reported, a military personnel shot in the direction of an OSCE convoy in eastern Ukraine, the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (OSCE SMM) said in a report on Thursday, Nov. 20.
It said the incident occurred near the populated locality of Maryinka, west of Donetsk, on Wednesday.
“Near the area of Maryinka, about 80m ahead of the convoy, there was a flat-bed cargo truck carrying a large green wooden box, with two uniformed personnel on board wearing helmets. The SMM observed tactical marks of two white vertical lines on the tail-gate of the vehicle and on the passenger door,” the report said.
“One of the soldiers stood up and fired two shots in the direction of the OSCE convoy. The bullets struck about 2m from the second OSCE vehicle. The SMM staff travelling in this vehicle heard sharp sounds originating from road or bullet fragments impacting on their car,” it said.
“Due to the security concerns, the SMM left the area immediately,” the mission reported.
In its part, the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine said that the mission’s car shelling near Maryinka was a provocation of the militants, who used tactical marks of the anti-terrorist operation’s forces.
“We many times warned that the terrorists indicate their machinery with tactical marks of the ATO forces to organize provocations. This is what happened in this very case,” the NSDC spokesman Andriy Lysenko said at a briefing.
He said that the Ukrainian side doesn’t deny the information provided by the OSCE and is grateful the observers for the registration of these incidents, however, Ukrainian party urged them to immediately inform on any incidents occurred for possible response, since the latter discovered the event from the SMM’s report and it was late to respond to it in any way.
Moreover, Lysenko stressed that under the decision of the ATO commanding, the Ukrainian military move on the indicated territories in the columns consisting of at least two cars, but according to the mission’s report the shelling was made from one vehicle.
