HORLIVKA, Donetsk Oblast - The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine exposed five reasons why the truce has not been observed in Donbas.
There are several reasons why the ceasefire regime has been violated: the first, is that the order to withhold the fire has not been obeyed by either side, which points to a defect in the control system: the passage of orders is not strict enough, Deputy Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine Alexander Hug told reporters on Dec. 9.
The fact that the positions of both sides are rather close to each other is believed to be the second reason for the hostilities to [have started up] again, he said. A demonstrative example of that was the village of Shyrokyne, and another being Pisky and the Volvo dealing center, Hug said.
The third reason is an incomplete withdrawal of weapons, he said.
The fourth reason is the lack of understanding of the opposing side’s maneuvers and actions: when one side is executing personnel replacement, (which suggests a large number of movements observed), then the other side is watching [the replacement] and can see the movements and the military hardware, interpreting it as a starting attack and opens fire, Hug said.
The fifth reason is the long length of the contact line, which is almost 500 km: it is difficult to maintain [a] truce along the entire line, Hug said.
