U.S. at OSCE: Despite Russia's denial, its role in Donbas conflict confirmed
U.S. Ambassador to the OSCE James S. Gilmore said this during an online meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on Thursday, May 21, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
"Regardless of how often Moscow denies its role, the presence of Russia-trained forces utilizing Russia-provided equipment in the Donbas has been confirmed on multiple occasions by media and non-governmental organizations. Russia continues to feed this conflict with troops, ammunition, weapons, training, and leadership from across its border with Ukraine," he said.
The U.S. ambassador emphasized that Russia is the instigator and perpetuator of this conflict and must exert control over the forces it arms, trains, leads, finances, and fights alongside in eastern Ukraine.
He noted that the Russia-fomented conflict in eastern Ukraine threatens the lives of the local population, and the number of ceasefire violations and injuries to civilians continues to grow.
In addition, Ambassador Gilmore condemned the fact that Russia-led forces continue to hinder the movement of the Special Monitoring Mission’s personnel, impeding the Mission from fulfilling its critical mandate.
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