On October 29, members of the Russian-controlled armed groups delayed the passage of an SMM patrol at a checkpoint near Olenivka (non-Ukraine-controlled, 23km south-west of Donetsk).
The armed men comprised four vehicles and seven monitors, traveling from Donetsk city towards government-controlled areas, citing "a need for authorization from their superiors," the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission wrote in its spot report on Thursday.
At about 14:10, after almost two hours of waiting, the OSCE team were allowed passage and then they proceeded towards the most forward checkpoint of the armed formations, about 2.5 km south-west of Olenivka.
The delay, monitors state, "contributes to restriction of the SMM's freedom of movement across the contact line, thus impeding the implementation of its mandate."
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