OSCE mission reports significant decline in violence in east Ukraine

He reiterated that the sides have recommitted not to violate the ceasefire. “We had a similar pledge last year. It brought considerably reduced levels of violence for almost two months,” he said. Hug said in the week before last – between 15 and 21 August – the SMM recorded more than double the number of ceasefire violations, compared to the previous week. According to him, the number of recorded mortar rounds nearly tripled and the number of artillery rounds recorded doubled in Donetsk region during that week, between 15 and 21 August. “We have not seen such intense violence since April 2016,” he stressed. OSCE SMM recorded a 25% decrease in the number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region between August 22 and August 28 and a 150% increase in Luhansk region compared to the previous week.