OSCE records almost 6,500 ceasefire violations over past week

The security situation in eastern Ukraine has worsened over the past week, with the number of ceasefire violations increasing by almost 70% compared to the week before.

Principal Deputy Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine Alexander Hug said this at a briefing on Friday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"There was last week yet again deterioration in the security situation in eastern Ukraine. Last week, the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission recorded almost 6,500 ceasefire violations, an almost 70% increase on the previous week," he said.

According to Hug, last week the OSCE SMM recorded also a civilian injury.

"Last week, even in a period of relative calm, the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission reported on a man in Makiyivka injured by shrapnel with wounds to his left shoulder and right leg and to his back of his neck. He had been working as a taxi driver when a mortar round exploded close to him. An everyday occurrence in the lives of people in eastern Ukraine, very far from reality for most of us," Hug added.

He said that the increase in the number of recorded uses of proscribed weapons was even more pronounced - 317 last week, compared to six the week before.

"These numbers, however, do not tell us the full story of what has been happening in eastern Ukraine. Whether we in the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission report 500 or 5,000 ceasefire violations, the basic reality remains the same. The conflict continues," Hug said.

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