Statement of Delegation of Ukraine on "Russia's on-going aggression against Ukraine and illegal occupation of Crimea"
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.