02/02/2017 (Agence Europe) – Calling for an immediate cessation of fighting in eastern Ukraine, where there has been a "sharp increase in violence", the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, said on Thursday 2 February that ceasefire violations in recent days had "demonstrated a new level of intensity and brutality" (see EUROPE 11715). At a press conference, he said that the humanitarian situation in the Avdiivka region north of Donetsk was becoming critical. This fighting reminds us again of the "continued challenge posed by Russia's aggression in eastern Ukraine as well as the threat to the implementation of the Minsk agreement", he stressed. He called upon Russia to use its influence to persuade the separatists to disengage. "Weapons need to be withdrawn and the OSCE given unhindered access", he concluded. (CG)