Permanent Mission of Ukraine
to the International
Organizations in Vienna
Statement on “Russia’s on-going aggression
against Ukraine
and illegal occupation of Crimea”
As delivered by the Delegation
of Ukraine
to the 1108th meeting of the Permanent Council,
14 July 2016
Mr. Chairman,
On 11 July Ukraine paid tribute to the memory of 39
Ukrainian servicemen, who were killed two years ago near the border village of
Zelenopillya in Luhansk oblast in a Russian artillery attack from the territory
of the Russian Federation. This tragedy and thousands of other lost lives
remain today a strong reminder of the ultimate price the Ukrainians pay for
defending their country, the values of democracy, freedom and independence from
external aggression.
The patterns of the Russia hybrid war against Ukraine
and its strategies of deception have not sustained significant change in the
last two years. Presently, security situation in Donbas again deteriorates.
Over the past week the level of violence increased as the combined
Russian-separatist forces intensified their armed provocations against the
Ukrainian servicemen and the civilian population in the region.
We strongly support the view, expressed by the Chief
Monitor, Ambassador Apakan in his statement of Tuesday, that a ceasefire is a
key step towards the restoration of stabilization, normalization and
ultimately, peace. It is of great concern that the number of ceasefire
violations remains high along most of the contact line. Heavy weapons, mostly
mortars and high caliber artillery, are widely used by the Russia-backed
illegal armed formations. The real number of heavy weapons in possession of
these hybrid forces, in particular in the exclusion zone, remains unchecked as
many have not been declared to deceive the SMM verification.
For instance, the so-called “LPR” militants hold few
heavy weapons in two storage sites immovable to demonstrate their compliance
with the Minsk agreements. On the one hand, the information about presence of
all previously recorded weapons is regularly included in the SMM reports, on
the other – the SMM registers the presence and use of heavy weapons in the
exclusion zone. Last week the SMM observed some of these undeclared weapons,
notably 9 self-propelled howitzers “Gvozdika” near Bugaivka in the exclusion
zone of the occupied part of Luhansk region. Yesterday the SMM reported
spotting by UAV in just one Budyonivskiy district of the city of Donetsk 3
self-propelled howitzers, 1 MLRS “Grad”, 23 tanks and numerous other pieces of
military hardware. It is the fraction of the weapons that have not been
declared and are used for provocative shellings. We condemn such deception practice
by the combined Russian-separatist forces and urge Russia to deliver on its
commitments to ceasefire, withdrawal of heavy weapons and unhindered OSCE
monitoring and verification.
While the regular shellings, sniper fire and
subversive activities by the militants persist, the direct attacks on the
Ukrainian positions become more and more frequent. A subversive group of about
20 terrorist fighters attacked on a Ukrainian unit deployed in the vicinity of
Troitske on 10 July. The attack was repelled and the group had to retreat,
leaving behind three fighters killed and wounded. Two of them were Russian
citizens, notably Natan Tsakirov from Omsk and Aleksey Sedikov from
Severodvinsk in Arkhangelsk region. The Security Service of Ukraine made public
their Russian IDs and uploaded on its web-page the footage of confessions of
Sedikov, placed in a hospital ward. The detainee confirmed that the so-called
“military forces” of pseudo-republics were run by undercover Russian servicemen
and the shelling by hybrid forces of both government-controlled and
non-government-controlled areas.
Intensive shellings increase the toll of casualties.
Just on 6-12 July 10 Ukrainian servicemen were killed and 51 were wounded. The
UN mission reports the highest number of casualties among civilians since
August 2015.
The Russian hybrid forces continue to resort to the
cynical tactics of using the civilian population of Donbas as a human shield.
The SMM, referring to the evidence of local residents of Dokuchayivsk, again
reported on 11 July” of positions of the so-called “DPR in the residential
areas of the city.
Distinguished colleagues,
The urgent need to put an end to the security
degradation in the conflict-affected areas, in particular by full and
good-faith implementation of the initial security provisions of the Minsk
agreements, was emphasized by the Ukrainian side at the yesterday’s meeting of
the Trilateral Contact group in Minsk. We are concerned that the recently
agreed initiative on pilot disengagement areas is jeopardized by the Russian
hybrid forces, denying access of the SMM to areas near Petrivske and hampering
the disengagement process.
The persistent impediments to the SMM monitoring and
verification activities by the combined Russian-separatist forces have not been
removed and seriously undermine the efficiency of monitoring and de-escalation
efforts. During the past week the Mission again reported on numerous cases of
freedom-of-movement restrictions, again with over 90% of them in the occupied
areas. These restrictions breach the agreed mandate of the SMM and its ability
to report objectively on the situation. We urge Russia to deliver on its
commitment on the SMM’s full freedom of movement.
We find deeply worrying and unacceptable the attempts
to undermine the important part of the SMM activities on the ground, relating
to facilitation of repairs of essential infrastructure in the conflict-affected
areas. In particular, on 7 July the SMM had to leave the area of repair works
in the area of a factory near Toretsk after the militants from the so-called
“DPR” had announced the withdrawal of security guarantees. It is just one in a
chain of examples of utmost disregard to the humanitarian needs of the local
population. Others relate to the ongoing shellings of the areas around the
contact-line entry-exit points, strict restrictions on operation of
humanitarian organizations and delivery of humanitarian aid.
Mr.Chairman,
Once and again we have emphasized in the Permanent
Council that the uncontrolled part of the state border between Ukraine and
Russia is a crucial impediment to de-escalation. The present security
degradation in Donbas proves the importance of resolving this problem as
Russian fighters, weapons and ammunition continue to flow into Ukraine. We encourage
the Chairmanship to take forward the discussions on the OSCE role in
establishing security zones in border areas of Ukraine and Russia, agreed in
Minsk. There is also an immediate need to establish a respective working group
in the TCG.
We note with deep regret that the TCG meeting in Minsk
again reached no progress in releasing the hostages and illegally detained
persons on the basis of “all-for-all” principle. We call on Russia to stop
using the Ukrainian hostages as an instrument of blackmailing Ukraine and to
unblock the release process. We also underline that the relevant provision of
the Minsk Package of measures applies equally to the Ukrainian citizens, who
are held in illegal detention in Russia. One of them is a Ukrainian filmmaker
Oleh Sentsov, who celebrated yesterday his birthday, already third in illegal
detention in a Russian prison.
Distinguished colleagues,
The human rights situation in the Autonomous Republic
of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, illegally occupied by Russia, remains extremely
worrisome.
Since the beginning of the illegal occupation of
Crimea journalists have been one of the main targets for attacks. They have
been detained, beaten, deprived of their job and expelled from the native land.
Recent official labeling of journalists Mykola Semena and Anna Andrievska as
“terrorists and extremists” is another example of repressive practices. We
share concerns, expressed by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media,
and urge Moscow to immediately stop attacks against Ukrainian journalists in the
illegally occupied Crimea.
We also call on Russia, as an occupying power, to take
responsibility for stopping human rights violations on the peninsula and to
facilitate free and unconditional access for permanent international monitoring
in Crimea.
Mr.Chairman,
The sequence and logic of the Minsk agreements is
clear. We urge Russia to stop fuelling the conflict in Donbas, to take
practical steps to implement its commitments on peaceful resolution, undertaken
in Minsk, and to exert its influence on the militants it supports to do
likewise.
We urge Russia to restore its respect for the norms of
international law and the OSCE principles and commitments, halt its aggression
against Ukraine and reverse the illegal occupation of the Autonomous Republic
of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.
Thank
you, Mr.Chairman.
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