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DPR reports Ukrainian snipers opened fire on OSCE observers, journalists

The DPR Defense Ministry says Ukrainian snipers fired on observers, Chinese, Russian journalists when they were at the site where the Ukrainian forces earlier tried to break through the DPR positions

© Mikhail Sokolov/TASS

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Donbass military says Ukrainian forces try to break through DPR positions

MOSCOW, May 27. /TASS/. Ukrainian snipers fired on Friday on a group of observers of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine and the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) of the ceasefire regime in Donbass that was accompanied by journalists of China’s Xinhua news agency and Russian TV channels Zvezda and RT, the Defense Ministry of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) whose officers were also at the site reported.

"During the evacuation of the bodies of killed DPR military servicemen outside Avdeyevka, Ukrainian snipers opened aiming fire on the OSCE observers, representatives of JCCC and the Defense Ministry", the Donetsk News Agency quotes a DPR defense spokesman. Journalists of the Xinhua news agency, TV crews of the Zvezda and RussiaToday came under fire. The journalists are trying to leave the dangerous zone.

The DPR Defense Ministry reported earlier on Friday that a group of OSCE SMM observers JCCC arrived to conduct an inspection at the site where the Ukrainian security forces made an attempt on Thursday to break through the DPR positions. The JCCC delegation is headed by Major General Igor Mishutkin, and the OSCE group - by Principal Deputy Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission Alexander Hug. The observers are accompanied by representatives of the DPR Defense Ministry. The group will examine the area and record the consequences of the ceasefire regime violation.

Members of the Contact Group on settling the situation in east Ukraine agreed on observing Easter ceasefire starting from April 30. However, the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk republics (DPR and LPR) and Kiev forces continue accusing each other of violating the ceasefire regime in Donbass.

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