DONETSK (Sputnik) — The SMM is an unarmed mission which requires security guarantees in order to conduct its work, he added, stating that nearly 80 percent of the 90 interference incidents experienced by the mission had occurred on territory not controlled by the Ukrainian government.
"We have started to formally request intervention from the joint center in case our monitor work is being interfered with," Hug told reporters after meeting representatives from Kiev and Moscow at the JCCC.
Kiev authorities launched a military operation against independence militias in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions in April 2014. The confrontation has claimed over 9,000 lives, according to UN estimates.
In February 2015, Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine agreed on a ceasefire deal later signed by Kiev and the Donbass militia. Despite the fact that the agreement was reached a year ago, both sides have been repeatedly reporting violations of the deal.
