MOSCOW, July 15 /ITAR-TASS/. The Russian Defense Ministry has invited military attaches from 18 countries accredited in Moscow to learn the real situation at the Russia-Ukraine border in the Rostov Region, Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said on Tuesday.

“The Russian Defense Ministry has taken a decision to acquaint foreign military specialists with the real situation in the town of Donetsk in the Rostov Region and the Donetsk cross-border checkpoint, which were subjected to artillery and mortar fire from the Ukrainian territory,” the deputy defense minister said.

“For this purpose, we have invited military attaches from 18 countries (USA, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Ukraine, China, Japan and others) to visit the abovementioned area on July 15, 2014,” Antonov said.

Russia’s initiative on the deployment of observers of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) on checkpoints on the Ukrainian border “is facing the unconstructive approach of some OSCE delegations, first of all Great Britain, deputy spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Yuri Materiy stated.

“Despite this, the Russian side will continue to insist on the implementation of this initiative, meeting the interests of normalisation of the situation in Ukraine and aimed at the formation of the confidence mechanism elements,” he added.

“At the urgent request of Russia, the OSCE assessment mission is to depart for the Donetsk and Gukovo checkpoints on July 16,” Materiy said.