OSCE Reports Intense Fighting Between Ukraine And Pro-Russian Rebels As Foreign Ministers Meet ...

As foreign ministers of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine prepared to meet in Berlin Monday to push for a lasting peace deal in eastern Ukraine, fighting on the ground intensified. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe reported areas around the rebel-held city of Donetsk and the contested village of Shyrokyne near Mariupol have witnessed “intensive fighting." The organization, which is responsible for overseeing the conditions of the February ceasefire between Ukraine and pro-Russian forces are met, reported more than 1,100 explosions in areas near Donetsk and hundreds of instances of artillery and mortar fire around the southern port city of Mariupol.

While it has yet to gain access to the area, the OSCE has previously reported shelling increasing on the edges of Shyrokyne, with experts saying fighting there could result in a return to the sort of intense warfare seen across the Donbass region before the ceasefire took effect Feb. 15.

Speaking at the end of March, Ertuğrul Apakan, chief monitor of the OSCE special monitoring mission to Ukraine, said he was “profoundly disappointed that, in the face of mounting deaths and injuries among the civilian population, the calm that prevailed in Shyrokyne for two days has not endured.”

The OSCE brokered a local ceasefire, but it collapsed after two days.

http://www.ibtimes.com/osce-reports-intense-fighting-between-ukraine-pro-russian-rebels-foreign-ministers-1879529