British ambassador calls on Russia to withdraw its personnel, weapons from Ukraine

01.10.2021 13:58

Ukrinform

Russia must withdraw its personnel and weapons from Ukraine and stop access restrictions to the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission so as not to endanger the civilian population, British Ambassador to Ukraine Melinda Simmons has said.

According to Ukrinform, she wrote this on her Twitter account.

"Horrified by OSCE SMM reports that the number of civilian casualties by shelling in eastern Ukraine is at its highest since the July 2020 ceasefire. Russia must withdraw its personnel & weapons from Ukraine and stop access restrictions to SMM. Transparency matters. Innocent lives are at risk," she wrote.

An average of over 250 ceasefire violations per day were recorded in eastern Ukraine during September, the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), Ambassador Mikko Kinnunen, said in a press statement after a regular TCG meeting on September 29.

He said that of special concern is the high number of civilian casualties by shelling and shooting, which in September 2021 reached the highest number since July 2020 ceasefire measures.

The OSCE SMM recorded 15 ceasefire violations in the Donetsk region and 28 ceasefire violations in the Luhansk region on September 30.

The majority of ceasefire violations occurred at easterly directions of Maiorsk and in areas south-east and north-east of Popasna.