Observers of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine over the past week have recorded more than 8,000 violations of the ceasefire regime in Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Last week, the sides confirmed their commitment to a ceasefire regime which is not new. We already heard such statements, and therefore treat them with cautious optimism … the day before the announced day, we recorded more than 2,700 cases of the cease-fire regime, and gradually the statistics decreased. The parties demonstrate that when they want to stop the violence, they are able to do it. Over the week, the cease-fire regime was violated 8,292 times, which is 50 percent more than a previous week, first deputy head of the OSCE SMM Alexander Hug said at a briefing in Kyiv on July 5.
The OSCE SMM has confirmed 140,000 such cases since the beginning of the year, including 6,000 cases where fire was conducted from weapons prohibited by the Minsk agreements on the settlement in Donbas, he said.
Monitors also recorded 51 instances where heavy weapons were deployed in violation of the agreements with 31 cases in government-controlled areas and 20 on territories uncontrolled by Kyiv, he said.
On June 26, an unmanned aerial vehicle operated by the mission spotted three self-propelled howitzers deployed near the uncontrolled populated locality of Tavrychanske in violation of the Minsk agreements. Three days before that, five howitzers were seen once again on Kyiv-controlled territory, Hug said.
More than 2,000 cases where such heavy weapons are deployed in restricted areas have been recorded so far this year, he added.
Meanwhile, six civilians were hurt in the area of the Donbas military operation in the past week, Hug said.
Since the beginning of 2018, the OSCE SMM has confirmed reports about 150 civilian casualties, including 29 fatalities, he said.
Hug also revealed that 15 people were killed and 34 injured in the explosions of mines or unexploded munitions.
