On 28 May, the OSCE Permanent Council adopted the consensus decision to extend the mandate of the OSCE Observer Mission at the Russian Checkpoints Gukovo and Donetsk until 31 July.

The Russian Federation has prevented extension of the Mission's mandate for a standard four-month period, decreasing its duration to two months for no objective reason.

The Mission’s work is important in the context of implementation of the Minsk agreements, in particular paragraph 4 of the Minsk Protocol of 5 September 2014 on ensuring permanent monitoring on the Ukrainian-Russian state border.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine considers the position of the Russian Federation on shortening duration of the Mission’s mandate to be unconstructive.

This decision significantly increases administrative burden for international observers and undermines the Mission’s monitoring capacities, which have already been seriously challenged by the ungrounded restrictions imposed by Russia.

Obstructing the Mission’s activities, Russia seeks to continue unimpeded supplies of weapons, military equipment, ammunition, regular troops and mercenaries to the occupied territories of Ukraine.

The Russian Federation must consistently adhere to the commitments it has undertaken as a party to the conflict and signatory of the Minsk agreements, which remains critical for de-escalation of the security situation and politico-diplomatic settlement of the Russian-Ukrainian armed conflict.