Militants in Donbas increase number of prohibited weapons by 750% – OSCE

This is stated in the report, released on the website of the U.S. Mission to the OSCE.

"Despite a deliberate pattern of behavior by Russian-led separatist forces aimed at weakening the SMM and preventing the international community from observing separatist activities, over the last three months the SMM has documented a 750 percent increase in proscribed heavy weapons on territory the separatists control," the report says.

As reported, last week, the SMM observed 44 weapons in violation of withdrawal lines, 42 of which were in areas not controlled by the government of Ukraine.

As noted, in Luhansk city, the SMM continues to observe the presence of about 30 weapons, including tanks, howitzers, and multiple launch rocket systems. Moreover, Russian-led separatist forces have used proscribed weapons more than five times as often as Ukrainian forces, according to SMM data. “The real numbers are certainly much higher, given the over 250 access restrictions imposed on the SMM by Russian-led separatist forces since January,” the report reads.

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