VIENNA, February 10./TASS/. The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) reports over 8,000 ceasefire violations in the east of Ukraine this year, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the OSCE Alexander Lukashevich told a meeting of the European security agency’s Permanent Council in Vienna on Thursday.
"By the way, since the start of the year, the SMM has counted in Donbass already over 8,000 violations of ceasefire," Lukashevich said, wondering whether this number would decrease after arms supplies to Ukraine.
The Contact Group on settling the situation in eastern Ukraine introduced additional measures that have been in effect since July 27, 2020, to control the ceasefire in Donbass.
Under the agreement, the conflicting parties in Donbass are prohibited from opening fire, carrying out offensive, reconnaissance and subversive operations, using any types of aircraft or deploying heavy weapons in populated localities. Only the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) Special Monitoring Commission in Ukraine can use drones in its activities to control the ceasefire observance.
One of the key provisions is the use of disciplinary measures for ceasefire violations. Furthermore, any retaliatory fire in the event of an offensive is allowed only after a commander's direct order.
Tension has escalated in Donbass since January 9, with the Ukrainian military conducting bombardments along the entire engagement line.