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Russia urges OSCE monitoring mission to report on Kiev’s offensives in Donbass

According to Alexander Lukashevich, the Ukrainian armed forces are provoking tension in the buffer zone and have established control of the settlement of Staromaryevka in the south of the Donetsk Region

VIENNA, October 28. /TASS/. Russia wants the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine to include the confirmed facts of the Ukrainian armed forces’ offensive operations in its reports, Russia’s OSCE Permanent Representative Alexander Lukashevich said at a session of the international organization’s Permanent Council in Vienna on Thursday.

The Ukrainian armed forces are provoking tension in the buffer zone and have established control of the settlement of Staromaryevka in the south of the Donetsk Region. These actions run counter to the additional ceasefire control measures that took effect in Donbass on July 22, 2020, and ban the conflicting parties from conducting any offensive operations, equipping their positions or relocating their troops, the Russian diplomat pointed out.

"A question arises: where is the SMM’s early warning about the amassment of the troops by one of the conflicting parties and their advance? Where is a prompt report on this situation? It is necessary to thoroughly monitor the situation ‘on the ground’ and include the confirmed facts of the Ukrainian military’s offensives in reports," the envoy said.

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