OSCE SMM records over 5,300 truce breaches in Donbas over week

Observers of the Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) recorded over 5,300 ceasefire violations in eastern Ukraine in the past week, OSCE SMM Principal Deputy Chief Monitor Alexander Hug said.

The situation in eastern Ukraine remains unstable, and monitors of the mission recorded over 5,300 ceasefire violations, bringing the total in May to 28,000, he said during a conference via Skype on Friday afternoon.

According to Hug, weapons which were supposed to have been withdrawn from the contact line under the Minsk Agreements were used 2,248 times.

Last month, monitors recorded the deployment of banned 430 weapons and the deployment of 48 multiple-launch rocket systems in territories outside Kyiv's control and 22 of them in areas controlled by Kyiv in violation of the agreed-on withdrawal lines, he said.

The parties are not only failing to demine, but also laying new mines, and they are not disengaging forces and hardware, Hug said.

The deterioration of the security situation has already resulted in 11 civilian deaths and 32 civilian injuries, Hug said, adding that information about other victims is being verified and their number is likely to increase.