Observers of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (OSCE SMM) have spotted 28 tanks and over 30 other armored vehicles in the industrial zone of the occupied city of Donetsk, the Ukrainian side of the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) has reported.
“The Ukrainian side of the JCCC informs that Russia-backed separatists, despite the requirements of the Minsk agreements on the withdrawal of hardware and weapons from the contact line of the parties, continue to build up their combat potential in settlements that are temporarily not controlled by the Ukrainian government. In particular, according to the OSCE SMM, in the industrial zone of the city of Donetsk, the mission’s observers confirmed the fact of the location of 28 tanks and more than 30 units of armored vehicles of another purpose,” the Ukrainian side of the JCCC reported on the Facebook page of the Ukrainian Ground Forces on February 27.
In addition, according to the JCCC, three T-64 tanks were recorded in the southwestern part of militant-controlled Slovianoserbsk, and a BM-21 Grad multiple launch rocket system was seen north of militant-controlled Ambrosivka.
“The Ukrainian side of the JCCC considers this as clear disregard by the leaders of the Russia-backed separatists of the provisions of the Geneva Convention, the norms of international law, and the Minsk agreements on banning the deployment (use) of heavy weapons and equipment in populated localities,” reads the statement.
The Ukrainian side of the JCCC stresses that such actions on the part of separatists pose a threat to the lives and health of civilians and the proper functioning of enterprises and infrastructure in Donbas.
