European Commission: Fighting in Ukraine's Marinka Huge Ceasefire Violation

The Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) observed the movement of heavy weapons and fighting around Kiev-controlled Marinka, as well as other areas in the Donetsk region on Wednesday morning.

BRUSSELS, June 4 (Sputnik) – The European Union believes Wednesday’s fighting around the eastern Ukrainian city of Marinka is a huge violation in the ceasefire between the country’s east and west that could lead to a new escalation in violence, EU Foreign Affairs & Security Policy spokeswoman Maja Kocijančič said Thursday.

According to a Donetsk People's Republic's official, Ukrainian forces began shelling along the entire contact line early Wednesday morning, killing at least 15 DPR military personnel.

“In our opinion, yesterday’s fighting around Marinka near Donetsk in eastern Ukraine is a huge violation in the Minsk ceasefire agreement,” Kocijančič told journalists.

She said the escalations in the conflict had led to the redeployment of a large number of heavy artillery back near the line of contact.

“This fighting threatens the launching of a new spiral in violence and human suffering,” she added.

French Foreign Ministry spokesman Romain Nadal said it was necessary to stick to the Minsk agreements and ceasefire near Marinka immediately, while German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier called for immediate efforts to put an end to the hostilities in Ukraine’s east on Thursday.