Russia intimidates OSCE for support of its 'peacekeeping' initiative - Foreign Ministry

"After well-known problems with ensuring the security of the OSCE SMM office in Donetsk, we see the stripping of the OSCE SMM's forward patrol base in the city of Horlivka of physical security and protection as continuing the deliberate practice of intimidating the mission's observers," reads the document.

According to the ministry, there is no doubt that these purposeful steps are aimed, among other things, at creating additional artificial arguments in favor of the initiative proposed by Russia and not supported by Ukraine and its international partners to deploy UN peacekeeping forces solely to protect OSCE SMM personnel along the contact line.

The ministry stressed that ensuring the security of OSCE observers during the fulfillment of the tasks outlined by the mission's mandate remained a key commitment in the context of the implementation of the Minsk agreements, which was also signed by Russia as a party to the conflict.

"We demand that the Russian Federation take urgent measures to ensure the full security of the personnel, facilities and property of the OSCE SMM in the temporarily occupied territory of certain districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and provide the mission with full and unhindered access to all areas temporarily not controlled by the government of Ukraine, including the entire uncontrolled section of the Ukrainian-Russian state border," reads the statement.

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