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Reports by OSCE SMM prove Ukraine’s offensive in Donbass, diplomat says

Maria Zakharova specified that, according to the evaluations of observers, the Ukrainian servicemen moved their fortifications at least one kilometer forward

MOSCOW, November 25. /TASS/. The reports by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) indicate the offensive actions of Ukraine’s armed forces in Donbass, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Thursday.

"The reports by the SMM indicate the offensive actions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the area of the populated localities of Granitnoye, Staromaryevka," she said.

The diplomat specified that, according to the evaluations of observers, the Ukrainian servicemen moved their fortifications at least one kilometer forward in this area.

On July 22, 2020, the Contact Group on settling the situation in eastern Ukraine coordinated the introduction of additional measures to ensure a ceasefire starting on July 27, 2020. However, despite these agreements on additional measures, the situation in Donbass had started to worsen as of late February. Heavy gunfire resumed along the line of engagement resulting in casualties on both sides, with civilians among them. The situation has aggravated further after Ukrainian intelligence kidnapped a Lugansk People’s Republic’s (LPR) observer at the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of ceasefire (JCCC) on October 13.

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