You're reading: OSCE mission reports tanks, howitzers in occupied Donbas

The Ukrainian side of the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) has confirmed a report by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission on the concentration of military hardware and weapons beyond withdrawal lines, in violation of the Minsk agreements.

“The Ukrainian side of the JCCC informs that gunmen of illegal armed formations operating in certain areas of Luhansk region continued the practice of concentrating military hardware and weapons outside withdrawal lines, which is a violation of the Minsk agreements. In particular, on February 22, OSCE SMM observers spotted 36 T-64 tanks in the settlement of Kruhlyk and five D-30 howitzers near the settlement of Yasne,” the Ukrainian side of the JCCC reported on the website of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry on February 24.

In addition, according to preliminary information, ten tanks were seen on the territory of a secondary school on Khmelnytsky Street in Donetsk, as well as artillery systems and mortars on the northeastern outskirts of Kalynivka.

“This indicates that the Russian occupation administration neglects the requirements of acts of international law, the ban on the placement of heavy weapons and equipment in populated localities, as well as systematic violation of the agreements reached on the withdrawal of weapons from the line of contact in accordance with the Minsk agreements,” reads the report.