Facts

Russia-led forces do not let OSCE SMM into ORDLO territory - Ukrainian JCCC

Illegal armed groups in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions do not allow OSCE SMM representatives to territories not controlled by the government of Ukraine, including to areas of the disengagement of forces and hardware, the Ukrainian side of the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) dealing with ceasefire issues and stabilizing the sides in Donbas reported.

"The mandate of the SMM implies free and safe access for the OSCE SMM representatives throughout Ukraine. All signatories of the Set of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements agreed on the need for free and safe access, as well as the fact that restricting the freedom of movement of the SMM is a violation," the Joint Forces Operation said on Facebook.

However, the Ukrainian side of the JCCC notes that armed groups in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions daily refuse the SMM access the territories not controlled by the Ukrainian government and to areas of the disengagement of forces and means.

"According to the OSCE SMM report dated December 13, 2019, representatives of armed groups of the Russian Federation twice detained Mission patrols at a checkpoint about 2.5 km north of the disengagement site in the area of Petrivske settlement and allowed the Mission patrol to travel only after 20 minutes of waiting; at the checkpoint, west of the village of Verkhnioshyrokivske, only after about an hour of waiting," the report reads.

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