OSCE reports on renrewed fighting in eastern Ukraine

The OSCE has published a report on the fighting which took place in the east of Ukraine near the town of Marinka on June 3. The report states that “a large amount of heavy weapons” was moved towards the contact line in areas controlled by the separatists.

OSCE observers first noticed that heavy weapons were moving towards the contact line on the night of June 2 and in the early morning hours of June 3. At 5 AM local time, observers heard approximately 100 heavy-artillery rounds aimed at Ukrainian government-controlled territory. After this, artillery rounds were heard from both sides of the contact line.

The report states that on June 3, the observers tried and failed to communicate with the leadership of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic.

At 3 PM on June 3, the OSCE received a letter from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, stating that the army may deploy heavy weapons at the contact line, with the aim of preventing any “real threat” to Marinka, which is controlled by Ukrainian government forces. Ukrainian officials acknowledged that weapons had been used by the Ukrainian army, claiming this was necessary to thwart the attack from the separatists.

At around 19:00hrs a representative of the Anti-Terrorist Operation command in Kramatorsk and the “DPR” “ministry of defense” confirmed to the SMM that Marinka was under government control.

OSCE

• Over the course of June 3, fighting took place between the Ukrainian army and the separatists in the east of Ukraine, near the Ukrainian government-controlled town of Marinka. According to reports, both sides used heavy weapons, which is prohibited by the terms of the ceasefire put in place by the Minsk Peace Talks.
• Ukrainian officials blamed the separatists for launching an offensive on Marinka. The separatists claim that the fighting began after provocations from the side of the Ukrainian army.
• Read more: The fight for Marinka—Heavy shelling returns to eastern Ukraine