UNIAN
Russian-backed militants are preventing the OSCE special monitoring mission from visiting many areas of the Donbas, and they are still using heavy weapons to attack Ukrainian forces, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said during a seminar on "International practice on Humanitarian Assistance" in Kyiv on Tuesday, according to an UNIAN correspondent.
"There are constant violations by the militants. They do not provide the OSCE mission with access to many areas, and they use heavy weapons almost along the whole demarcation line," Klimkin said.
"It is a source of suffering, and in spite of all our strong efforts, we can’t provide access to Ukrainian and European humanitarian aid in Donetsk and Luhansk, even for those who are most in need," Klimkin said.
"In this case, we need a real de-escalation and stabilization of the region," he said.
As UNIAN reported earlier, pre-marked ballot papers for a sham "referendum" on the accession of the Donbas to Russia have been brought by Russian-backed militants to Torez, according to several sources.