Photo from UNIAN
The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) has said that it did not attend the military parades, but the presence of heavy weapons in the occupied cities of Luhansk and Donetsk in Ukraine's east for 9 May Day parades were in violation of the Minsk agreements.
"The SMM did not attend the military parades but monitored the general security situation on the ground. The OSCE fully respects the right of people to celebrate events of cultural, religious or historical importance," the OSCE SMM wrote on Facebook.
Read alsoOSCE drones spot large concentration of weaponry near Svitlodarsk in Donbas"The SMM is mandated to monitor the ceasefire and other provisions of the Minsk agreements including the withdrawal of weapons, and the presence of heavy weapons in Luhansk and Donetsk cities for 9 May Day parades are in violation of the Minsk agreements and a threat to people," the report says.