OSCE promises to increase number of SMM monitors in Ukraine

Ukrinform learnt this from the OSCE Headquarters in Vienna.

"I am convinced that the mission’s footprint can now be enlarged, which will increase the reach and accuracy of monitoring," OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz said.

He praised the fact that the close consultations with both the Ukrainian and the Russian Foreign Ministers “yielded the intended common result." In particular, he welcomed the increased number of monitors and the plan to procure additional technical equipment including thermal cameras, acoustic sensors and unmanned aerial vehicles. “This will sharpen the eyes and ears of the international community in eastern Ukraine,” highlighted Kurz.

Currently, more than 700 OSCE SMM monitors from 44 countries are working in eastern Ukraine every day.

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