OSCE reported on the escalation of the situation near Mariupol
On October 22, OSCE observers noted a deterioration of the security situation in the Donbas to the southeast of Mariupol. This was announced by the deputy chief monitor of the Special Monitoring Mission of the OSCE in Ukraine, Alexander Hug.
“According to our reports, you can see that, indeed, we have recorded the escalation of the situation in the south of the Donetsk region, namely in the areas to the southeast of Mariupol. We recorded the use of heavy weapons, which is prohibited by the Minsk agreements for parties on both sides of the line of contact, and these are not isolated cases over the last 10 days,” he said on the Ukrainian Suspilne Movlennya TV channel.
Hug clarified that the violations were recorded not only during the day but also at night.
The “silence mode” in eastern Ukraine was introduced at midnight on September 1, in connection with the beginning of the school year. However, starting on September 5 information about systematic violations of the truce began to appear.
This marks the ninth attempt to establish a ceasefire in the conflict zone. According the OSCE and United Nations’ estimates, in September, the situation in the conflict zone was the most peaceful since the beginning of 2016.