Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe Special Monitoring Missions to Ukraine; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Alan Duncan, Minister of State for Europe and the Americas at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office: The UK is a long-standing supporter of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine. The UK contingent is the second largest in the Mission; we are one of the largest contributors to its budget, and have provided specialist training and support. We receive regular reports from the OSCE on the SMM's work. These highlight a worrying level of ongoing ceasefire violations in the Donbas, which continue to cause casualties on a daily basis. They also show persistent obstruction of monitors, in the vast majority of cases by Russian-backed separatists. SMM public reports can be found on the OSCE website.

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