"Seven-and-a-half thousand [Russian] soldiers is a number that is 'floating' without any reference to reliable sources," Kelin said in an interview with Rossiya-24 television.
"Nobody has shown a single piece of evidence, despite our direct appeal and requests to do so," Kelin said.
"The [OSCE] monitors working in eastern Ukraine, in the zone of Kiev's operation, at two checkpoints in Gukovo and Donetsk, could never confirm these [aggression] claims," the diplomat added.
After a military confrontation broke out in Ukraine between the Kiev forces and the independence supporters of the country's eastern regions in April 2014, the West has been accusing Russia of escalating the Ukrainian crisis.
Moscow has denied its involvement in the conflict in eastern Ukraine, urging consistently for a peaceful settlement to the crisis, and acted as a mediator, alongside the OSCE, at the Contact Group reconciliation talks in September in Minsk. The negotiations resulted in the ceasefire agreement between the warring sides, although both parties have reported truce violations.
Since March 2014, OSCE monitors have been deployed in eastern Ukraine, following a request from the Kiev government. The OSCE monitors are tasked with watching the situation in the conflict-torn regions, where numerous ceasefire violations have been reported.
Monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) will continue attempts to assess the on-site situation at the contested Donetsk airport, Russian Ambassador to OSCE, Andrei Kelin said Friday.
"They [the monitors] have already made two or three attempts to reach the airport…and these attempts will continue," Kelin said in an interview with Rossiya-24 television.
The Donetsk international airport has become one of main areas of fighting between Kiev-led forces and independence militia in eastern Ukraine.
With the OSCE mediation, the warring sides have recently agreed to establish a localized ceasefire around the airport, but the truce has not lasted long.
"We will continue the on-site work to ensure the resumption of the ceasefire…and to make it long-lasting," Kelin stressed.
Earlier on Friday the DPR headquarters confirmed that airport area is fully under their control, adding, however, that some 10 Ukrainian troops have taken up defensive positions near the airport’s destroyed control tower.
The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine was deployed on March 21, 2014 following a request to the OSCE by Ukraine’s government and a consensus agreement by all 57 OSCE participating states. On July 24, the mission’s mandate was extended by six months. The monitors main goals are observing the situation in the region and facilitation dialogue among conflicting parties.
