OSCE: The aggravation of the situation in the Donbas was not spontaneous Saturday, February 4, 2017 10:12:00 AM

The Deputy Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, Alexander Hug, said that the aggravation of the situation in the Donbas region near Avdiivka was not spontaneous.

"This escalation did not happen spontaneously. Somewhere, certain people consciously decided to start it. Before it's completely out of control, before even more people are involved, more lives get lost, more homes are destroyed, before a real humanitarian and ecological catastrophe starts, these individuals must change their course completely," Hug said.

He expressed confidence that the parties to the conflict are able to ensure a ceasefire in the Donbas.

"This week showed us that those who make decisions need to start making smart choices, choices that will benefit people, not harm them," he added.

The fierce fighting continues near Avdiivka, which erupted on January 29th. The parties to the conflict accused each other of initiating the battle.

In addition, the Ukrainian military and pro-Russian separatists accuse each other of using weapons banned by the Minsk agreements.

According to the first deputy head of the joint operational headquarters, Andriy Tsvetkov, 10 Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 66 injured since January 29th as a result of the deterioration of the situation near Avdiivka in the Donetsk region.

According to the separatists from the DPR, six civilians were killed and 34 were injured this week due to the fighting.

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