UNITED NATIONS, June 24. /TASS/. The United Nations is concerned over the decision of the Kiev authorities to relocate two checkpoints closer to the contact line in eastern Ukraine, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General Farhan Haq told reporters.
"The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is concerned by the Government of Ukraine's decision to relocate two key checkpoints in Donetsk closer to the 'contact line', as this puts civilians at further risk of mortar shelling and sniper fire," Haq said.
In May alone, some 430,000 people crossed the two checkpoints located in Zaitsevo and Novotroitskoye, he said. On June 22, more than 32,000 pedestrians and 4,600 vehicles passed through the five crossings in the buffer zone, according to the Ukraine’s State Border Guards.
The self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic has registered many times the relocation of Kiev forces’ positions in violation of the Minsk accords. Ukraine’s army units moved their positions 1,100 meters deeper inside the buffer zone north of Gorlovka, Eduard Basurin, a spokesman for the DPR operative command, said last week.
The deputy spokesman also expressed concerns over the situation with the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Donbass areas not controlled by Kiev. He called on the authorities of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics to "provide the UN and international NGOs immediate and unimpeded access to people in need.".