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Russia refuses to take responsibility for inciting the conflict in Donbas and continues lying about its role in the fighting, a U.S. official said at a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council during the discussion of the situation in Ukraine, U.S. Mission to OSCE reported on Twitter.
"Moscow continues to arm, train, and fight alongside separatists in eastern Ukraine. Direct Russian involvement in the Ukraine conflict has continued up to the present day. U.S. and European sanctions against Russia for aggression in eastern Ukraine will remain until Russia fully implements Minsk commitments," the report says.
It is reported that "Russia again seeking to play the victim, shift blame to Kyiv for the conflict it started and continues to fuel in Ukraine."
Read alsoPoroshenko's administration confirms U.S. lobbying firm hired for UkraineAt the same time, it is noted that "in December, OSCE Observer Mission reported high number of ambulances and funerary vehicles, including w/ signage that Russian mil casualties on-board."
The U.S. Deputy Permanent Representative and Deputy Chief of the U.S. Mission to the OSCE Kate Byrnes said that "since start of the conflict, overall of restrictions imposed on OSCE SMM far greater on separatist-held territory."
"Russian-separatist forces need to come clean abt actual arsenal, enable new timeline for weapons withdrawal in line w/ existing agreements," the report reads.