Russia Proposes Demilitarized Zone in Ukraine's Donbas Region - OSCE Report

MOSCOW, February 9 (Sputnik) — Russia has proposed to establish a demilitarized zone in contested Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, the latest report of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) said Monday.

According to the report, SMM officials visited on February 8 the headquarters of the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC), established by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine in co-operation with military representatives of the Russian Federation to help monitor the implementation of ceasefire in Donbas.

"The Ukrainian Major-General, Head of the Ukrainian side to the JCCC and the Russian Major-General, Representative of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation at the JCCC, told the SMM about a Russian initiative for a demilitarized zone, which had been sent to the Ukrainian and Russian Armed Forces General Staffs for further discussion," the report said.

Russia's Defense Ministry has not yet commented on the new initiative.

Despite the ceasefire agreement reached between the independence supporters and Kiev last September, fighting has continued in the Donbas region. The clashes intensified in recent weeks, with the warring sides trading blame for numerous shelling attacks in eastern Ukraine. More than 5,000 people died since the start of the military conflict in eastern Ukraine last April, according to the UN.