Russia calls on Ukraine to stop worsening humanitarian situation in Donbass

Russia calls on the Ukrainian side to refrain from any actions that might deteriorate the humanitarian situation in Donbass, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday, commenting on a report of the Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) about problems of water supplies in Donbass.

“The report says that as of July 2015 access to drinking water had been limited for 1.3 million people living in Donbas, primarily in territories controlled by (the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics) DPR and LPR,” the ministry said.

“The mission cites as key causes of such a catastrophic situation damage done to vital infrastructure facilities in shelling and the restrictions imposed by the Ukrainian authorities on free movement of cargoes and water across the line of engagement in the conflict zone,” the ministry noted. “Of special notice is the fact that the OSCE monitoring mission considers these actions as a flagrant violation of the norms of international humanitarian law, including its provisions applicable to internal conflicts.”

“We completely share the opinion of the Special Monitoring Mission (of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, or OSCE) that lack of access to water nor merely endangers people’s lives but also may cause aggravation of tensions in the conflict zone,” the ministry said.

“We call on the Ukrainian side to refrain from any actions that might further aggravate humanitarian problems of Donbass population, as it is provided by the Minsk Package of Measures,” the ministry said.