Russian envoy to OSCE: Ceasefire regime observation in eastern Ukraine deteriorates
MOSCOW. Nov 11 (Interfax) - The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has registered a major exacerbation of the situation in eastern Ukraine, Russian envoy to the OSCE Andrei Kelin said.
"What is happening now [in eastern Ukraine] is an exacerbation. Every day a significant number of shelling incidents is registered on both sides," he told Interfax.
Kelin said the OSCE expected the situation in eastern Ukraine to deteriorate after the Verkhovna Rada elections and the vote in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk republics. "We have actually expected a major exacerbation and it is really happening now," he added.
It is hard to say which conflicting side bears greater responsibility for violations of the ceasefire regime, Kelin said. "It is hard to say who is shooting more often. The data is collected by a joint coordination center, which employs both Russian and Ukrainian officers. The army shelling is much worse because it does vast damage to the civilian population," the envoy noted.
He said the damage done to Donbas cities was being recorded. "Calculations are being done in Donbas - an enormous number of towns have been affected and approximately 5,000 buildings have been destroyed," Kelin said.