EU concerned about ceasefire violations in Donbas

The EU is deeply concerned about ceasefire violations and casualties among the Ukrainian military as a result of shelling by Russian-backed armed formations last week.

This was said in the EU statement on Russia’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine and illegal occupation of Crimea, which was made public at the OSCE Permanent Council meeting in Vienna on Thursday, November 5, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

“These three months of relative calm in the conflict zone since the ceasefire came into effect have had a significant positive impact on the lives of civilians. This is especially welcome in the context of the aggravation of the pandemic situation in the region. However, we are deeply concerned about the ceasefire violation and new casualties among the Ukrainian military as a result of shelling by Russian-backed armed formations last week," the report reads.

At the same time, the EU praised Ukraine's restraint in response to armed provocations, as well as its willingness to use the Trilateral Contact Group to de-escalate tensions.

"We call on Russia to show the same constructive attitude within the TCG in order to restore a constructive discussion of political issues," the EU said.

As Ukrinform reported, last week the number of ceasefire violations by the Russian occupation forces in Donbas increased, as a result of which Joint Forces units suffered losses.

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