Russian Mercenaries Pulling Heavy Armour to Line of Contact in Donbas

Ukrainian representatives at the Joint Centre for Control and Coordination (JCCC) report gross violations by the armed formations of the Russian Federation and Russian-backed militants.

As the press service of the Joint Forces Operation Headquarters informs, the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission recorded and published in their latest report the facts of the militants’ disregard for the requirements for deployment of weapons and military equipment. Agreements on withdrawal lines and military presence in the security zone are being violated.

In particular, three self-propelled howitzers (2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm) and 15 tanks in a training area near Novoselivka and seven infantry fighting vehicles in the security zone were spotted in non-government-controlled areas.

“These actions may indicate the strengthening of units on the line of contact to increase armed provocations and further aggravate the situation. The Russian-occupation forces once again banned the Mission’s team from moving at a checkpoint near Starolaspa and detained it for half an hour at a checkpoint near Debaltseve,” the statement reads.

In addition, in the locality of Nova Maryivka, Russian-backed mercenaries opened fire from small arms (15 rounds) on an OSCE drone, the flight of which had been agreed in advance.

The Joint Forces Operation Headquarters emphasises that all these facts indicate that the representatives of the illegal armed formations of the Russian Federation in Donbas are not going to fulfill the previously reached agreements.

Bohdan Marusyak