Donbas needs urgent withdrawal of heavy equipment - UN official

There is a high risk of escalation of large-scale military actions in eastern Ukraine if heavy equipment is not withdrawn, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ivan Simonovic said.

Since mid-April, OSCE monitors have registered an increase in the amount of heavy military equipment near the contact line, where the sides have become close to each other, and there is a high risk of escalation of large-scale actions here if urgent actions to draw the sides apart and withdraw heavy military equipment are not taken, he told a press conference in Kyiv.

Simonovic said the established ceasefire was failing due to the fighting near the cities of Avdiyivka and Yasynuvata.