Observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe announced on Saturday that they had noticed a “significant increase” in ceasefire violations in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists have been clashing with Ukrainian forces since 2014, AFP reported.
The organization noted, in a statement, that its observers “noted a significant increase” in armed actions along the front line.
She added that there are currently as many incidents as those that occurred before an agreement signed in July 2020 to strengthen the ceasefire.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe reported 222 violations of the ceasefire, Thursday, on the front line in the Donetsk region, which is controlled by pro-Russian separatists, including 135 “explosions”, compared to 189 on Wednesday and 24 Tuesday, according to AFP.
In Luhansk, another city in eastern Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian separatists, the organization recorded 648 violations, including 519 “explosions”, compared to 402 on Wednesday and 129 on Tuesday.
In its statement, the organization called on “the parties to strictly abide by all the commitments they have undertaken, to take all necessary measures to reduce tension and work for an immediate cessation of escalation for the benefit of innocent civilians on both sides of the front line who are still suffering because of this conflict,” according to the French agency.
It is noteworthy that the Luhansk region, the self-declared republic, witnessed two explosions on Saturday night, according to the Russian TASS news agency, quoting the local authorities in Luhansk.
The Russian news agency Interfax reported that the second explosion occurred about 40 minutes after the publication of reports of an explosion in a gas pipeline near Luhansk.
There were no reports of injuries.