OSCE Mission Reports Flare-Up of Hostilities at Contact Line in Donbass

Observers of the OSCE Monitoring Mission to Ukraine reported Monday a flare-up of hostilities at the separation line between Kiev and Donbass forces near the village of Shirokino in eastern Ukraine over the weekend.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the most recent report, the monitors registered frequent exchanges of small arms and artillery fire near Shirokino on April 25 and witnessed on April 26 the most intensive shelling of the village since mid-February.

In addition, the mission registered the use of 120-mm mortars in the vicinity of the Donetsk airport and the town of Avdeevka, located north of the city of Donetsk, during the same period.

A full ceasefire and the establishment of a secure buffer zone in southeastern Ukraine through the withdrawal of heavy weaponry from the line of conflicting sides’ contact were stipulated in a peace deal, signed on February 12 in the Belarusian capital, Minsk.

It was signed by both Kiev and the self-proclaimed people's republics of Donetsk and Lugansk (DPR and LPR) and international mediators, including leaders of Russia, Germany and France.

The OSCE has been monitoring the situation in the region, which remains tense.