Updated 4:23 p.m. Moscow Time
MOSCOW, September 9 (RIA Novosti) – The concentration of Ukrainian troops near the city of Debaltseve in the country's east calls for concern, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday.
“We know that the independence supporters and we as a country that witnessed the agreement reached in Minsk on September 5 that there are calls for concern over yesterday’s announcement of a concentration of heavy artillery in the region of Debaltseve, weaponry from the Ukrainian military forces,” Lavrov said during a joint press conference with Malian Foreign Minister Teiman Coulibaly.
Representatives from Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) agreed to a ceasefire between Kiev and independence supporters during the September 5 meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine in Minsk. The ceasefire started at 15:00 GMT the same day.
The sides also agreed to allow international monitoring of the truce’s implementation.
On Monday, monitors from the OSCE released a report on a series of shootings that were recorded in different areas of Donbas, Ukraine’s southeastern regions, over the weekend.
On Sunday, both the Ukrainian military and the militia accused each other of violating the ceasefire.
The chairman of the OSCE Permanent Council, Thomas Greminger, said Monday that the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine has been "as a whole" observed, while Kai Vittrup, an OSCE representative working in the conflict zone, said the recent ceasefire violations should not affect the truce.
