The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission observed escalating fighting between Ukrainian forces and separatists in the village of Shyrokyne on March 27th, counting over 225 mortar shells fired. The next day, monitors were aggressively halted at a separatist checkpoint at the edge of Shyrokyne and ordered to leave, with the fighter firing warning shots as they departed. Tensions and violence have increased in the village, which has been the scene of ongoing clashes between government and separatist-controlled areas.