U.S. condemns attacks on special monitoring mission in eastern Ukraine

A member of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic forces inspects a building, damaged during battles with Ukrainian armed forces, in Donetsk, Ukraine February 23, 2017. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Sunday condemned an attack on special monitoring missions in eastern Ukraine and called on Russia and the separatist forces it backs to immediately observe the ceasefire under the Minsk agreements.

?"We condemn Friday's targeting of OSCE special monitoring mission (SMM) monitors and the seizure of a SMM unmanned aerial vehicle by combined-Russian separatist forces," the State Department said in a statement.