Weekly digest by the delegation of Ukraine to the OSCE, 27 March – 2 April 2020

 1. Developments related to the ongoing Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and illegal occupation of Crimea

Executive summary:

Throughout the week, the Russian armed formations in Donbas continued to deny attempts of the SMM to travel towards Russia-occupied parts of Donbas along official crossing routes, impeding the implementation of the Mission’s mandate. Denial of access of the SMM patrols to Russia-occupied areas of Donbas has undermined the SMM’s ability to register Minsk-proscribed weapons: only four were spotted, seven times less than a week before.

At the TCG meeting held on 24–26 March, the key issues raised by the Ukrainian side were related to the security situation in Donbas and the mutual release of detained persons.

Illegal crossings of the uncontrolled segment of the Ukrainian-Russian state border continued (for instance, “four probable military-type trucks” near Russia-occupied Oleksiivske, in an area about 3.5km west of the border where there are no border crossing facilities, and about 60 covered cargo trucks queuing to exit Ukraine at the border crossing point near Voznesenivka).

The MFA of Ukraine shared previously expressed concerns of France and Germany over the lack of progress in the peaceful resolution in Donbas amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Government of Ukraine has temporarily cancelled the requirement for IDPs to confirm their registration every 60 days, which means they will continue to receive social payments including pensions without crossing the contact line.

For the period of 26 March – 1 April, the Russian occupation forces unleashed fire against the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on 92 occasions, including with the use of 120- and 82-mm mortars and 152- and 122-mm artillery systems, which are prohibited by the Minsk agreements. Antitank missile systems, infantry fighting vehicles, different grenade launchers, heavy machine guns and other small arms (including sniper rifles) were also widely used. UAFs opened adequate fire in response to the armed provocations to save lives of civilians and Ukrainian servicemen. As a result of these acts of aggression 12 Ukrainian servicemen were wounded and 2 killed.

The lives of civilians and safety of their property in Avdiivka and Novotoshkivske were endangered as a result of the shelling of the Russian occupation forces. 

According to the SMM reports, violations of disengagement of forces and hardware by the Russian side in 3 respective areas continued.

Russian proxies in Donbas continued their practice of planting anti-personnel landmines, violating the norms of international humanitarian law, further exposing civilians to heightened risks.

According to the MoD of Ukraine, the Russian occupation authorities continued the campaign of disinformation of the local population of allegedly no COVID-19 infections recorded in the temporarily occupied territories of Donbas. They conceal information on patients staying in hospitals with COVID-19 symptoms. Only during the last week, 9 deaths from pneumonia were recorded.

Since the beginning of March, approximately 8 thousand tons of fuel and lubricants, 10 tanks, combat vehicles, communication assets and optical sights were delivered by Russia to the temporarily occupied territories. On 28 March, the SMM reported on the traces of such supplies.

Friday, 27 March:

On 24–26 March, a meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group took place (in video format due to the spread of the coronavirus epidemic). No documents were signed during the meeting. As informed by the Office of the President of Ukraine, the key issues raised by the Ukrainian delegation were related to the security situation in Donbas and the mutual release of detained persons:

• The Ukrainian side reaffirmed its commitment to a sustainable and complete ceasefire and called on TCG participants to support this initiative;
• The work is underway to form lists in the framework of the mutual release of detained persons;
• TCG participants continued consultations on the next areas of disengagement of forces and assets, primarily with regard to humanitarian criteria.

CiO Special Representative in Ukraine and in the TCG Heidi Grau in her statement to the press after the TCG meeting informed on the consultations, which took place in the TCG and its groups. Ambassador Grau has in particular underlined that unhindered crossing of the line of contact in Donbas is important for the activities of international humanitarian organizations, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross. The delegation of Ukraine to the OSCE wishes to remind in this regard that the Government of Ukraine made a duly exception for the representatives of the monitoring missions of the OSCE, the UN, and the ICRC, who continue to cross the contact line in accordance with the earlier established procedures. We express our gratitude to the participating States, which exert diplomatic efforts aimed at urging Russia to make its occupation authorities in Donbas stop denying access of the OSCE SMM and other international bodies.

The Russian armed formations shelled civilian infrastructure in residential area of Avdiivka industrial area, inflicting an injury to a woman, who later received treatment in the hospital of Avdiivka. These actions reflect full disregard by Russian proxies of the safety of civilians in the conflict area, who continue to bear the brunt of Russia’s ongoing aggression in the Donbas region of Ukraine. The SMM corroborated of the incident in its daily report of 31 March. 

The SMM reported that on 25-27 March, near occupied Molodizhne, it observed an anti-personnel mine (MON-200). We express our strong condemnation and indignation against the use by the Russian occupation forces of APLs. These indiscriminate instruments of war mainly kill or maim mostly innocent and defenseless civilians. We strongly urge the Russian side to immediately cease the supply and further contamination of the temporarily occupied areas of Ukraine with APLs and other types of mines and explosive devices and to remove all mines, which its armed formations planted in these areas. We call upon international community to exert pressure on Russia with the view to halt these dangerous activities.

Saturday, 28 March:

In the SMM daily report of 28 March, the Mission informed that on 25 March, aerial imagery available to the SMM revealed the presence of four probable military-type trucks near temporarily occupied Oleksiivske (74km east of Donetsk), in an area about 3.5km west of the border where there are no border crossing facilities. These observations by the SMM clearly prove ongoing supplies by Russia of weapons, military equipment and manpower to its armed formations in Donbas, in clear violation of territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. These supplies further fuel hostilities, reflecting Russia’s reluctance to genuine peaceful settlement of the conflict it started and continues to sustain. 

Starting from 8am of 28 March, the Government of Ukraine introduced the restriction of access of civilians moving from Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions to the area of operation of the Joint Forces of Ukraine in Donbas and back, as a part of measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 virus. A number of exceptions was made, in particular for: civilians living or working in Donetsk and Luhansk regions; representatives of the international missions of the OSCE, the UN and the ICRC; logistic, transport and communication companies; medics; journalists. Exceptions can also be made in individual cases for humanitarian or emergency reasons. Until the COVID-19 related restrictions are lifted, the Government of Ukraine cancelled the requirement for IDPs to confirm their registration every 60 days, which means they will continue to receive social payments including pensions without crossing the contact line.

Russian occupation forces shelled UAFs positions near the residential area of Shumy with the use of 120mm mortars (18 mines were fired), weapons forbidden by the Minsk agreements. Video footage of this shelling is available on the Joint Forces Operation Facebook page. As a result of this shelling, one Ukrainian serviceman sustained shrapnel wound. Another Ukrainian military received a wound from sniper fire near Hutir Vilnyi.

According to the SMM weekly report for 23-29 March, on 25 March, the Mission spotted radar and electronic warfare systems near temporarily occupied Verbova Balka in the Donetsk region. Similar systems were previously observed by the SMM along with other electronic warfare systems (R-330Zh Zhitel, R-934B Sinitsa and RB-636 Svet-KU) in the same area on 17 February 2020. The majority of these jamming systems are in service exclusively with the Russian Armed Forces and operated by personnel of the RAFs. They were illegally delivered to the temporary occupied territories of Ukraine by Russia and widely used by its forces in Donbas to interfere with the SMM UAVs and other purposes inconsistent with peaceful efforts to resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Monday, 30 March:

In its spot report, the SMM confirmed that the denials of access to Russia-occupied parts of Donbas imposed earlier by the Russian side, remained in place: on 28, 29 and 30 March, members of the Russian armed formations again denied attempts of the SMM to travel towards Russia-occupied parts of Donbas – seven times in Donetsk region, and three times in Luhansk region, along official crossing routes. We reiterate that restriction of the OSCE SMM access to the temporarily occupied areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions imposed under the pretext of preventive measures against the spread of coronavirus COVID-19 is unacceptable, including with regard to the safety of international observers. We fully share the SMM’s position that this restriction impedes the implementation of its mandate throughout the country, and reiterate our call to the Russian side to immediately lift the restriction.

Aerial imagery available to the SMM “revealed the presence of about 60 covered cargo trucks queuing to exit Ukraine at the border crossing point near Voznesenivka”. We urge the Russian side to provide explanation to these facts of illegal trade carried out through the segment of the border uncontrolled by the Government of Ukraine.

Tuesday, 31 March:

Prisoners from the temporarily occupied Crimea report that even in the case of evident COVID19 symptoms (dry cough, fever for several days, etc.) there is no hospitalization. Moreover, such people are not tested on COVID-19, and they continue to contact other prisoners. The examination of prisoners by medical staff is usually limited to measuring the body temperature. Despite international recommendations to reduce the number of people in places of detention, Crimean “judges” continue to extend periods of detention in politically motivated criminal cases, ignoring lawyers' requests to change the restrictive measure to house arrest. For instance, on March 23 and 24 so-called “Supreme Court of Crimea” extended detention periods for defendants of the ‘Crimean Muslims Case’ till 15 June. In total, 19 judgments on extending detention periods within this case were passed after 17 March.

Ukrainian serviceman was severely wounded after stepping on the anti-personnel mine near Katerynivka in the Donbas region of Ukraine. Preliminary information suggests that this banned mine was produced in Russia.

Wednesday, 1 April:

The MFA of Ukraine in its Commentary shared previously expressed concerns of France and Germany over the lack of progress in the peaceful resolution in Donbas amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and called on the Russian Federation to implement immediately its security commitments under the Minsk agreements, to fully guarantee the right to life and access to healthcare for illegally detained Ukrainians, and to provide full and comprehensive access for the monitoring missions and ICRC representatives, as well as Ukrainian doctors to the population of the temporarily occupied territories for qualified medical examination and treatment.

The SMM weekly report stated that all but one (23 out of 24) active restrictions of the SMM’s freedom of movement took place in Russia-occupied parts of Donbas. The number of registered weapons in violation of their withdrawal lines, which were observed by the SMM in the occupied territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, has drastically dropped following the denial of access towards those areas imposed by the Russian side: from 28 a week earlier to only four last week. The delegation of Ukraine reiterates its call to the SMM, which was expressed at the SMM briefing for participating States on 27 March, to provide references in its reports to the undermined ability of the Mission to register Minsk-proscribed weapons stemming from the abovementioned restrictions.

Armed formations of the Russian Federation shelled Ukrainian Armed Forces positions. By using 120mm mortars, prohibited by the Minsk agreements, they endangered the lives of civilians living close to the contact line. One of the shells exploded just few meters from the multistory house in Novotoshkivske settlement. Such actions reflect the intention of the Russia and its armed formations to pursue with further escalation of the conflict.

2. Other developments

Tuesday, 31 March:

So-called "presidential and parliamentary elections" were held on 31 March in the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, the Republic of Azerbaijan. The MFA of Ukraine strongly condemns them and doesn’t recognize the results of these pseudo-elections as they have no legal consequences whereas they are contrary to the rules and principles of international law. Ukraine once again expresses its support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan in its internationally recognized borders and stands for peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.