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OSCE mission in Ukraine reports fighting around Donetsk airport, east of Mariupol

The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has released its daily update for March 12

VIENNA, March 13. /TASS/. Areas around the Donetsk airport and outside the city of Mariupol remain flash points in eastern Ukraine, where the biggest number of violations of ceasefire has been reported this month, the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) in Ukraine says in its daily update for March 12.

"Whilst at a location 180m south-east of Donetsk airport new terminal’s entrance, the SMM heard 90 explosions. The SMM could not ascertain the type, source or target of the firing," it said.

"At 11:55hrs the SMM heard an anti-tank guided missile fly over the area of the airport. The SMM could not ascertain the source and target of the missile," it continued.

Observers said they heard explosions outside Volnovakha, south-south-west of Donetsk, in the village of Kruta Balka north of Donetsk, and in Dzherzhinsk, 42 kilometers north of Donetsk.

They reported an exchange of fire involving mortar, tank, anti-aircraft and heavy machine gun fire in the settlement of Berdyanskoye east of Mariupol.

"The SMM visited four Ukrainian Armed Forces weapons storage sites compliant with Measure 2 of the Minsk Package where it saw 10 multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) (122mm), five mortars (122mm), four self-propelled howitzers (152mm), four self-propelled howitzers (122mm), six Uragan systems and 28 towed howitzers (152mm)," it continued.

It was the fourth time the SMM visited these sites and confirmed that all the weapons previously observed at these sites remained there, the daily update said.