Members of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (OSCE SMM) have finally managed to visit the Donetsk airport, the site of months-long fierce hostilities between the Ukrainian army and militants, mission spokesman Michael Bociurkiw said.
He told a press briefing in Kyiv on April 3 they had had their first chance to examine the parking area in front of the airport and the third and fourth floors of the terminal.
The officer added that many monitors had been to conflict zones before and seen extensive damage but they were amazed at the scale of airport destruction and large quantities of spent munitions.
The mission realizes how difficult it will be to demine the area, Bociurkiw said.
There are still bodies on the premises of Donetsk airport and the large number of spent munitions makes their extraction challenging, he noted. The monitors saw at least one body lying in front of the terminal. The officer added that the bodies had been affected by the weather.
The mission is unaware as to how many dead servicemen may remain under the debris but it is ready to assist in the transfer of the bodies to the Ukrainian side, Bociurkiw said.
The only living being seen by the monitors at the Donetsk airport was a cat walking across the terminal, he said, adding that not a single shot was fired, even from a handgun, during their visit to the airport.
