DONETSK, February 13. /TASS/. The staff of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine from the US and the UK received orders to leave Donbass, Vladislav Berdichevsky, chairman of the Donetsk People’s Republic’s (DPR’s) parliamentary committee on foreign affairs, international ties, information policy and information technology told the Donetsk News Agency on Sunday.
"As far as I know, OSCE representatives from the UK and the US received orders to leave from their leadership. As of yesterday, the representatives from those countries remained in place (in Donetsk - TASS). I don’t know what the situation is as of today. But I think, they will be leaving Donbass," the lawmaker noted.
Since July 27, 2020, a package of additional measures to ensure a ceasefire has been formally in effect in Donbass. The document, among other things, bans the use of weapons, the stationing of heavy armaments in populated localities, engineering works at positions and the launching of drones except those belonging to OSCE observers. Since January 9, the situation has been aggravating in Donbass with Ukrainian forces opening fire along the entire line of engagement.
Lately, Ukraine and the West have been increasingly echoing claims of an alleged possible Russian "invasion" of Ukraine ever more frequently. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov branded such information as an "empty and groundless" escalation of tensions, emphasizing that Russia does not pose a threat to anyone. That said, he didn’t exclude the possibility of provocations being whipped up in order to justify such claims and warned that attempts to resolve the problem in southeastern Ukraine through the use of force would have the most serious consequences.