MOSCOW, October 29. / TASS /. Russia calls on the Normandy contact group and the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) to urge Kiev to stop violence amid the recent hostilities in the Staromaryevka village, located in the south of the demarcation line between the territory controlled by Ukraine and the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), the Russian foreign ministry stated on Friday.
"We are closely monitoring the recent developments. We call on our partners in the Normandy Format and the OSCE to encourage Kiev to stop violence against local residents. For our part, we will make every effort to protect the rights and interests of Russian citizens, including in Donbass," the statement reads.
The foreign ministry noted that the situation in the village remained challenging since the Ukrainian servicemen carried out so-called filtration measures. "They are introducing a kind of curfew, the residents are banned from leaving their homes due to the passport regulation. The most severe measures were carried out at the beginning of this week. The citizens who had the Russian or the DPR passports suffered violence, while their documents were seized. It even resulted into an armed escalation, which was discussed at the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine’s meeting on October 27. Fortunately, no casualties have been reported during the shelling, only some buildings have been damaged," the Russian foreign ministry said.
Meanwhile, the ministry noted that the situation had calmed down. "<…> The representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross have arrived to supply local residents with food and basic necessities. The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission is near the village and carrying out remote monitoring of the situation, including with the help of drones," the foreign ministry stated.
On Tuesday, DPR Plenipotentiary in the Contact Group on Ukraine Natalia Nikonorova reported that the Ukrainian army tried to take over the Staromaryevka village. Then the situation on the contact line further exacerbated. From early in the morning till late evening on October 26, the Kiev forces attacked the village in all directions, using artillery, mortars, infantry fighting vehicles and grenade launchers.