Invaders impeding OSCE SMM access to three settlements in Donbas – Ukraine military

That’s according to the press service of the Joint Forces Operation Headquarters, Ukrinform reports.

The invaders did not allow the Mission's patrols to pass through checkpoints near the settlements of Novoazovsk, Bezimenne, and Shevchenko, citing "demining works" and "security considerations," the report says referring to the Ukrainian delegation to the Joint Ceasefire Control and Coordination Center.

At the same time, while at the checkpoints, OSCE monitors observed “civilians and vehicles crossing without hindrance,” the statement reads.

It is noted that at the checkpoints outside Olenivka and Donetsk, armed mercenaries were blocking the movement of the SMM patrol for half an hour. The invaders also obstructed SMM UAV flights. The Mission's monitoring drones had their GPS signal jammed over areas near the settlements of Holubivske and Ternove (non-government-controlled), as well as two times over the village of Novodvirske.

The JFO HQ press service also noted that the systematic facts of obstruction of the Mission's work in the territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions temporarily beyond the Ukrainian government control testify to the intentions of the Russian occupation forces to further conceal violations of Minsk agreements.

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