OSCE names hot spots of Donbas in past weeks

OSCE observers recorded nearly 20,000 ceasefire violations in eastern Ukraine from November 27 to December 10, 2017, according to a status report of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (OSCE SMM) as of December 13, which was posted on the OSCE website.

"Between November 27 and December 10, the security situation in eastern Ukraine further deteriorated. The SMM recorded close to 19,700 ceasefire violations in total - a 25% increase on the previous two weeks. The vast majority of recorded ceasefire violations were concentrated in the Avdiivka-Yasynuvata-Donetsk airport area; areas south-west, south, and south-east of Svitlodarsk; the Popasna-Pervomaisk area; areas east and northeast of Mariupol; and the western and northern outskirts of Horlivka," observers said. 

The report notes that the "SMM's freedom of movement remained restricted on both sides of the contact line, especially around Travneve, where mines and unexploded ordnance prevented repeated attempts to enter the village, and close to the border areas with the Russian Federation around Siedove (southern Donetsk region), where patrols have been consistently denied access by armed members of the 'DPR' since April 2017."

"The SMM faced impediments in the air as well, with one of its unmanned aerial vehicles being fired upon while in nongovernment-controlled Dovhe on November 27," the OSCE added.

The report also says that as of December 13, the OSCE mission consisted of 697 observers (585 men and 112 women), including 59 observers from the United States, 53 from the United Kingdom, 40 from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and 39 from Russia.

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