OSCE mission says cease-fire violations at "worrying levels":
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) monitoring mission in eastern Ukraine says that the number of violations of the cease-fire deal between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists is at the highest level in months.
Ertugrul Apakan, the chief monitor for the OSCE mission, said in Vienna that during the past few weeks, "armed violence in eastern Ukraine has once again reached worrying levels."
Meanwhile, at a security conference in Moscow on April 28, OSCE Secretary-General Lamberto Zannier spoke out against the idea of giving weapons to the unarmed monitors.
Zannier said arming the OSCE monitors should only be done if there is consensus and clear agreements are in place, and if their tasks are clearly understood.
He said that first and foremost, the warring sides should respect the cease-fire brokered as part of the February 2015 Minsk accords. (AFP, Interfax, TASS)
Here's today's map of the latest situation in the volatile Donbas conflict zone, courtesy of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry (CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE):
