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OSCE reports increased ceasefire violations in Ukraine's unrecognized Donetsk republic

The SMM said it had heard a total of 125 explosions and "intensive exchanges of small-arms and light-weapons, heavy machine-gun and automatic grenade launcher fire"

VIENNA, August 7. /TASS/. Monitors of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have reported increased ceasefire violations at and around the Donetsk airport, according to a daily update of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine for August 6 that was posted on its website on Friday.

There was a significant increase in ceasefire violations at and around "Donetsk People’s Republic" ("DPR")-controlled Donetsk airport compared with the previous day," the SMM said in the report. The SMM said it had heard a total of 125 explosions and "intensive exchanges of small-arms and light-weapons, heavy machine-gun and automatic grenade launcher fire."

In Gorlovka, the SMM monitors observed the consequences of artillery sh

elling and confirmed the death of one civilian. "The SMM observed the corpse of a man (aged 65-70 years old) who had soft tissue damage to the lower limbs, which may have been caused by shrapnel," the report said.

In the settlement of Primorskoye some 39 kilometres northeast of Mariupol, local residents told the SMM that shelling had taken place overnight to August 6. "The SMM observed 18 craters in the village, and conducted analysis on 12. The analysis showed that the craters were caused by mortars (120mm calibre) fired from the north-west," the report said.

In the government-controlled settlement of Schastye, the OSCE monitors observed damage done to the local electricity plant. "A Ukrainian Armed Forces officer explained to the SMM that shelling at approximately 22:30hrs on 5 August had damaged a high-voltage cable supplying the northern part of the region. The SMM saw a destroyed 220 kV cable. The SMM was unable to identify what had caused the damage," the report said.