OSCE confirms buildup of Ukrainian forces in Donbas buffer zone

The Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has confirmed the buildup of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the buffer zone near the line of contact in the Donbas region, Deputy Chief Monitor of the OSCE mission Alexander Hug said on Tuesday.

 

According to Hug, the mission’s representatives visited the village of Pavlopol where they saw an increase in the number of Ukrainian troops, Donetsk News Agency reports.

 

Spokesman for the Defense Ministry of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) Eduard Basurin earlier said that, as part of the so-called "passive offensive", the Ukrainian military gained control over five inhabited localities in the buffer zone near the line of contact, among them Pavlopol. Until recently, it was considered a no-man’s land.