Number of ceasefire violations in eastern Ukraine increases by 95% over a week

"Another worrying trend is that the security situation on the contact line continues to deteriorate as the rhetoric on the Russian leadership intensifies. Of particular concern is the 95 percent increase in ceasefire violations over the week. There was an average of 739 violations every day, much more than before July 2020 (620 violations)," Ambassador Yevhenii Tsymbaliuk, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the International Organizations in Vienna, said at the OSCE Permanent Council meeting in Vienna on Thursday, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.

The Ukrainian ambassador also informed the delegations of the participating States that the Russian armed forces were increasing the intensity of shelling of settlements and civilian objects. "In September, Ukraine recorded seven such attacks, in October – nine. And as of November 16, eight such attacks were recorded," Tsymbaliuk said.

He stressed that Russia was violating the rules of warfare, including by attacking medical personnel. "Last week, two medical vehicles were damaged and one Ukrainian serviceman was seriously wounded," the diplomat said.

Over the past day, the OSCE SMM recorded 408 ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and 256 ceasefire violations in Luhansk region.

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