U.S. voices concern about violence against monitors in east Ukraine

Servicemen of the separatist self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic gather at the site of a recent incident, when a vehicle of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) struck a mine, near the village of Pryshyb outside Luhansk, Ukraine, April 25, 2017. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department said on Thursday it was "deeply concerned" about a pattern of violence by Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine targeting unarmed civilians of a European mission monitoring the conflict in region.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said members of a special monitoring mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe were harassed, threatened and ultimately fired upon on June 20. A U.S. medic serving with the monitors was killed in April when his truck hit an explosive.