LUHANSK. Dec 20 (Interfax) - The withdrawal of Russian representatives of the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) from Donbas has resulted in the deterioration of the situation on the contact line, Andrei Marochko, spokesman for the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic's (LPR)'s militia, said.
"We link the escalation of the situation to the withdrawal of the JCCC representatives, as well as the last round of the Minsk negotiations this year," Marochko told reporters on Wednesday.
"Provocations by the Ukrainian Armed Forces' with ensuing accusations against the LPR militia of violations are likely," he said.
The overall situation on the contact line in the area of the LPR militia's responsibility is consistently tense, he said.
"Ukrainian troops violated the ceasefire seven times in the past 24 hours," Marochko said.
The Ukrainian side opened fire in the vicinities of the populated localities of Donetskyi, Sanzharivka, Kalynove, Pervomaisk, Almazna, Holubivka, and Sokilniki, he said.
"The Ukrainian Armed Forces also used 120mm and 82mm mortars, weapons of infantry fighting vehicles, grenade launchers of various types, and small arms during the attack. Over 160 mortars and grenades were fired at the territory of the republic," Marochko said.
A decrease in the number of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission's (SMM) patrols along the contact line in Donbas prevents observers from recording ceasefire violations accurately, Marochko said.
"The OSCE SMM's principle of working in the LPR territory still causes concern. Representatives of the mission significantly decreased the number of patrols carried out to monitor the contact line, which prevents them from evaluating the observance of the ceasefire by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in an objective manner," he said.
The OSCE SMM's weekly report published on the organization's website on Wednesday lacks information about damage and civilian victims caused by the Ukrainian Armed Forces' attacks on the LPR in the early hours of December 19, Marochko said.