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In Donbass children continue to suffer from shelling by Ukrainian servicemen, envoy says

According to the envoy, the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine this year has documented the consequences of the shelling of schools in session three times

VIENNA, June 3. /TASS/. Children remain the most vulnerable category of civilians in Donbass which still suffers from shelling by Ukrainian servicemen, Russia’s Permanent Envoy to the OSCE Alexander Lukashevich said at a meeting of the organization’s Permanent Council in Vienna on Thursday.

"On June 1, the International Day for Protection of Children was marked. Unfortunately, this is the most unprotected category during an armed conflict and it continues to suffer from shelling by the Ukrainian servicemen. Children’s educational institutions also find themselves under fire," he said.

According to the envoy, the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) this year has documented the consequences of the shelling of schools in session three times. "All the incidents occurred on the territory of various regions of Donbass. In February and March, a school was shelled in the Lugansk settlement of Zolotoye-5. In May - a school in the Petrovsky district of Donetsk. Also in May, as a result of the shelling of a residential building on the northern outskirts of Donetsk, a 12-year-old child was wounded," the diplomat said.

The children, along with adults, also fall victim to mine explosions and the detonation of other explosive objects in the conflict zone. The SMM’s report on civilian losses caused by the mines, encompassing a period from November 1, 2019 through March 31, 2021, includes data on three children killed and eight wounded. In the reports for April-May, the mission confirmed three more children killed and two wounded. In all, the SMM’s report on this topic confirmed information on 20 killed and 56 wounded civilians, the envoy said. "The mission concluded that a full-fledged mine clearance in the region is impossible in the conditions of a ceasefire not being observed," he explained.