Daniel Baer, the U.S. ambassador to the OSCE, warns that the Russian-backed separatists and the Russian military are breaking the Minsk ceasefire every day, even engaging in joint attacks against Ukrainian military and industrial positions:

Last week’s reports from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) had described lower levels of fighting, but in the last few days the SMM has reported intensive shelling in and around Donetsk airport, Avdiivka, and Shyrokyne. The shelling has come from mortars, heavy artillery, and tanks, which were supposed to have been withdrawn according to the Minsk agreements.

Russian-separatist forces are responsible for the overwhelming majority of the ceasefire violations as they attack Ukrainian positions on the Ukrainian side of the line of contact, in clear violation of the Minsk agreements. Each Russian-separatist attack, each new provocation of a defensive response, is a violation that makes a real ceasefire more difficult to attain.

We again call for a full cessation of the fighting and for full implementation of the Minsk agreements, including unrestricted and safe access for SMM monitors so that they can monitor and verify the ceasefire and heavy weapons withdrawal.

According to SMM reports, more than 200 explosions, consistent with rounds from heavy weapons, were recorded in and around Donetsk airport on May 24. That same day in Shyrokyne, the SMM observed intensive shelling as well as anti-aircraft and heavy machine gun fire. We condemn these ceasefire violations that undermine the peace initiatives laid out in Minsk.

We, like others, were alarmed by the report of bullets from small-arms fire coming dangerously close to SMM monitors. This is unacceptable. We once again call on all actors to cease and desist from actions that threaten the safety of SMM monitors or restrain their ability to carry out their mission.

The SMM observed the presence and movement of heavy weapons, contrary to the Minsk agreements. On different days during the past week the SMM made observations such as 10 tanks in an area controlled by the so-called “Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR)” and 11 tanks in an area controlled by the so-called “Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR).” These weapons were observed in the areas the SMM could access or observe. However, combined Russian-separatist forces consistently deny the SMM access to large portions of territory, and the SMM has been unable to report on what weapons are kept in these areas and what kind of military activities are being carried out there. We know from other sources that what is occurring in these black holes are large-scale exercises by combined Russian-separatist forces, such as the live fire exercise carried out last week in separatist-controlled territory in Luhansk.

Images of the exercise circulated via social media show tanks, armored personnel carriers, trucks, and military personnel on maneuvers.

Russian support for the separatists and active participation continues to fuel the violence in eastern Ukraine. In the last week, combined Russian-separatist forces attacked a coke and chemical plant in Avdiivka, 13 kilometers from Donetsk. The Avdiivka coke and chemical plant employs over 30,000 people, and serves as a temporary home for many who are unable to return safely to their houses in nearby areas.

Combined Russian-separatist forces began their attack with a bombardment on May 21 that damaged the plant’s facilities and killed one worker. They continued their attack through May 23.

The SMM, which was in the area at that time, reported artillery impacts on the plant that injured one person, started a fire, and created an ammonium leak.

Over the course of several days, Russian-separatist forces hit the plant with 45 mortar and artillery rounds. More than 200 shells are estimated to have hit the plant since it first came under attack in July 2014. The plant’s ability to continue operating amidst the incessant shelling is becoming more tenuous.

The SMM’s weekly report, issued on May 27, called the latest attack on the plant “a critical and worrying turning point.” Considering the central role the plant plays in the region’s economy, the SMM concluded that the consequences of the most recent attack “may reverberate long after the fighting ends.”

These attacks by combined Russian-separatist forces threaten both the security of the area and the economy. Russia and the separatists insist they are concerned about the residents of eastern Ukraine. Yet, by destroying the plant, all they will have accomplished is to damage the region’s economy, destroy more lives, and further destabilize Ukraine.

Once again, we have evidence that Russia’s aggression has tremendous human costs.