The news of the April 23 death of one and injury of several observers from the OSCE’s Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) in the territory temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation in certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions was met with deep pain and sadness in Ukraine.

We express our sincere condolences to the family of the deceased and wish speedy recovery to the injured.

We consider the serious incident, which occurred inside territory controlled and supported by Russia and illegally armed groups, a confirmation of Moscow’s and its puppets’ attempts to intimidate the OSCE and  nullify the efforts of Ukraine and the SMM to stabilize the situation on the contact line.

We call on Russia to fulfill its obligations under the Minsk agreements, to take all urgent measures in order to immediately stop provocations against OSCE observers, and to ensure full security of the SMM and its unhindered access to all occupied territory, including to the temporarily uncontrolled sections of the Ukrainian-Russian border.

Ukraine will do everything possible to ensure an immediate, full and impartial investigation of the crime in order to bring the perpetrators to justice.