OSCE Chief Monitor Apakan calls for restraint and full adherence to the agreed ceasefire in eastern Ukraine

KYIV, 15 October 2018 - Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) Ertugrul Apakan called today for restraint and full adherence to the agreed ceasefire in eastern Ukraine.

“The Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine has observed another spate of violence which again is taking the lives of innocent civilians,” Apakan said on the eve of the meetings of the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) and its working groups in Minsk. He expressed his sympathy to the families of the civilians who recently lost their lives in eastern Ukraine as a result of the conflict and urged those responsible to deliver on the commitments they have undertaken.

The Chief Monitor emphasized that last week the SMM observed a sharp deterioration of the security situation in eastern Ukraine. The level of violence has reached the number of almost 13,000 ceasefire violations for the past week in comparison with July this year, when the Mission recorded less than 17,000 ceasefire violations for the entire month.

“We still observe forward movement and weapons in violation of withdrawal lines. Instead of de-mining activities, we still observe the laying of new mines. Eighteen civilians this year lost their lives due to mines and unexploded ordnance,” Apakan stressed.

The Chief Monitor reiterated the SMM’s readiness to continue facilitating dialogue and to monitor and verify the implementation of the Minsk agreements. “Fighting must stop so that civilians may start returning to normality. Resuming their everyday lives without fear of shelling and landmines is an important step to sustainable peace,” he said.