Ban Ki-moon Supports OSCE Call for Civilian Evacuation From Debaltseve

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon gravely concerned over the situation in eastern Ukraine, particularly the plight of civilians trapped without basic services in the city of Debaltseve.

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) – UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is concerned about civilians trapped in the city of Debaltseve in Ukraine, where independence supporters are clashing with Kiev forces, and is calling on both sides to halt fighting in order for the people to be evacuated, as proposed by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

"The Secretary-General remains gravely concerned over the situation in eastern Ukraine, particularly the plight of civilians trapped without basic services in the city of Debaltseve," the United Nations said in a Wednesday statement, stressing that "civilians are dying on a daily basis".

According to the statement, Ban Ki-moon is calling on both sides in the Ukrainian conflict "to immediately move their military positions away from densely populated civilian areas" in order to create a safe route for the people to leave the city.

"The Secretary-General stands with others in the international community in support of the proposal by the Chairperson-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) for a temporary truce that would allow for the immediate evacuation of civilians from Debaltseve," the UN statement said.

Earlier, the head of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) urged all sides of the Ukrainian conflict to establish a temporary ceasefire agreement that would allow for the creation of humanitarian corridors in areas affected by deadly military action, especially around Debaltseve.

Despite the Minsk ceasefire agreement, fighting continues in Ukraine's southeast, where the eastern Donetsk region has seen a sharp increase in deadly clashes between Kiev-led forces and independence supporters in recent days.

On Wednesday, officials of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) reported uncovering Kiev's plans to attack civilian targets in the town of Debaltseve, ahead of this week's Munich Security Conference.

Debaltseve, which is located in the Donetsk region, has been at the forefront of increased clashes between local militia and Kiev forces that launched a military operation in Ukraine's southeast last spring. Thousands of Ukrainian troops are currently trapped within in the city, and pro-independence forces surround the area.