The Ukrainian side of the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) hopes that with the assistance of the Special Monitoring Mission (SMM), the OSCE will be able to start the work on repairing the damaged equipment of the Vodafone Ukraine mobile network operator in nongovernment controlled area in Donetsk region.

"As of January 16, 2018, the Ukrainian side has taken all procedural steps to ensure the start of work to restore the operability of the damaged equipment of the Vodafone Ukraine mobile operator and provided the necessary security guarantees for holding this work," the Ukrainian side of the JCCC said on the Facebook page of the press center of the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) headquarters on Tuesday, January 16.

At the same time, the Ukrainian side noted that the process on the settlement of this problem by illegal armed groups operating in Donetsk region had stalled and there are no security guarantees on their part for making repairs.

Ukraine's representatives in the JCCC reported that as of January 16, they received 27 applications for repair and restoration works at infrastructure facilities in Donetsk region, of which 20 applications have been agreed upon and the necessary security guarantees have been provided by the ATO headquarters. At the same time, only one application has been approved by representatives of certain areas of Donetsk region (ORDO).

"The Ukrainian side of the JCCC hopes that with the assistance of the OSCE CMM, it will still be possible to begin work on the restoration of the damaged equipment of the Vodafone Ukraine mobile operator, which will allow Ukrainian citizens, forced to stay on the territory temporarily beyond the control of the Ukrainian government, to hear the voices of their relatives and friends," reads the report.

As reported, the "mass communications ministry of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR)" said earlier that Vodafone Ukraine's service in the LPR was lost on January 11 due to a fiber optic cable rupture near the village of Olenivka in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic. Vodafone Ukraine said it cannot repair damage if the cable is damaged in an area not controlled by Kyiv.