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Let me thank you for convening this meeting on a short notice. Under-secretary General Jeffrey Feltman and Alexander Hug, Deputy Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, delivered clear assessment of the reality on the ground in Donbass, Eastern Ukraine. When in February Russia-backed forces occupied Debaltsevo in violation of existing ceasefire agreements, many worried that this violation would not be the last. And that just like the September 2014 Minsk agreements, the February 2015 agreement was signed only to be broken. The only question was when. The latest developments suggest that time is now.

For some time now, the OSCE SMM has been reporting violations of Minsk agreements and an increased movement of heavy weaponry in the territories held by the illegal militants.  For example, the June 3 OSCE SMM report reads: “The SMM observed the movement of a large amount of heavy weapons in “Donetsk People’s Republic” (“DPR”)-controlled areas – generally in a westerly direction towards the contact line – close to Mariynka, preceding and during the fighting. … Between 22:30hrs on 2 June and 05:30hrs on 3 June, the SMM – positioned in the “Donetsk People’s Republic” (“DPR”)-controlled Tekstilshchik area of Donetsk city (14km east-north-east of Marinka) – made a number of observations. It observed, inter alia, eight tracked armoured vehicles moving west, four of which were main battle tanks (MBT) at 22:30hrs; four MBTs at 23:03hrs; a military-type truck moving west, towing a 122mm artillery piece at 23:45hrs; two T-64 MBTs moving west at 04:30hrs; and, a column of one infantry fighting vehicle (BMP-2), three military trucks (one carrying an ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft gun), and two T-72 MBTs, moving west, at 04:50hrs.”

The military attack against the Ukrainian positions in Mariynka and Krasnogorivka, as well as the use of multiple rockets launcher systems against Pisky, Nevelske and Vodiane in pre-dawn hours of June 3 is the most serious blow to the increasingly fragile status quo of the implementation of Minsk agreements, bad enough to explode into another prolonged hot conflict. Under attack, the Ukrainian military were confined to inform the SMM that in order to defend themselves they would need to move weapons toward the line of contact to respond to this attack by Russian-separatist forces.

Notably, the SMM made several attempts to contact “DPR” leaders, including the  self-proclaimed “prime minister”, “parliamentary speaker”, “minister of defence” and “chief of the general staff”, in order to facilitate a cessation to the fighting around Mariynka. None of the calls were taken. According to the mission staff, all were either unavailable or did not wish to speak. This is not how anyone caring for the fragile peace would behave.

On the contrary, such behaviour speaks of a clear intent to go on the offensive in breach of all existing agreements. Notably, according to OSCE SMM, last week outgoing automatic grenade launcher fire from within the city was heard - evidence that “DPR” is using residential to launch their attacks, posing deliberate and grave risks to the local population.

Furthermore, the self-proclaimed leaders of the illegal armed groups don’t hide their intention to seek more territory. Just recently the self-proclaimed militant boss Zakharchenko told journalists: "Slaviansk, Konstantynivka, Krasnoarmiysk are towns of the DPR." Little does it matter to him and his likes that they have no legitimate claims whatsoever on  the sovereign territory of the state of Ukraine and its people, to which he and his likes, supported and armed by Russia, have done and continue to do  incalculable damage.  

Mr. President,

This Council has put its weight behind the Minsk agreements unequivocally demanding their implementation in its resolution 2202 (2015). It demanded full withdrawal of heavy weapons, foreign armed formations, military equipment as well as mercenaries from the territory of Ukraine. It called for safe, free and unrestricted access for the monitors of Special Monitoring Mission in all parts of Eastern Ukraine. It stressed the release of all hostages. A total of 13 points of the Minsk agreements all ignored or willfully breached by the Russian proxy militants.

Persistent flows of foreign fighters and weapons from the Russian Federation, as noted in the latest report by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, continue to fuel this conflict. Ukraine’s eastern borders remain open to the supply of arms and heavy weapons. Thanks to such supplies, the illegal militants have a larger and better equipped military force than quite a few European states and NATO members, and probably the largest illegal army ever.

The comings and goings across the border of individuals in military uniforms without insignia, and most recently – with the insignia of the Russian Federation, as reported by OSCE SMM. OSCE monitors can observe less than one per cent of the conflict border. If this is happening under their eyes, t is much too easy to guess what is happening where away from the eyes of international monitors.

OSCE observers continue to be intimidated, threatened, and systematically denied access by the illegal Russian militant proxies, OSCE UAVs - jammed. The training, arming and financing of those militants continues unimpeded. Heavy weapons have not been completely withdrawn, have been moved around a lot, and are being returned to the front-line.  Ukrainian coal is being smuggled out of the country and into Russia in broad daylight while Ukraine itself suffers from its shortage. The so-called “humanitarian” convoys, a total of 29 by now, continue their comings and goings as if eastern Ukraine was Russia’s own backyard.

Prisoner exchanges are stalling. The former UN peace-keeper, Ukrainian pilot Nadia Savchenko remains illegally imprisoned, other Ukrainian citizens- illegally detained in Russia.

Mr. President,

We support the efforts of the UN, OSCE and other international actors aimed at finding solution to this conflict, including through the strengthened good offices of the Secretary General. We call on the Secretary-General to redouble his efforts and to act fast, before the conflict claims more lives and flares up once again. We also support the idea of strengthening UN presence on the ground, including through the setting up of a UN support office.  

We reiterate our strong support for the independence, unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, with Crimea as its integral part.

Today, because of a Russia-supported asymmetrical war accompanied by an aggressive propaganda campaign, Ukraine finds itself in the "top ten" of countries in terms of the number of IDPs.  The conflict has claimed more than 6 500 lives, while many more are wounded, displaced, living in subhuman conditions and constant fear, including the children of eastern Ukraine.

Today, as tensions risk to explode into open military conflict once again, sadly, Russia chooses once again to blame the victim – Ukraine, for defending itself, while protecting and arming the illegal militants. 

We have said time and again – it is up to Russia to reign in the illegal militants and put an end to this bloody conflict which it started with the occupation of Crimea over a year ago. Ukraine on its part has done and continues to do all within its power to uphold the fragile ceasefire agreement. But like any country under attack, Ukraine has the right and the duty before its citizens to defend itself in the face of aggression. No one can take that right away.

As the illegal militants and Russian proxies continue their blatant attempts to change facts on the ground, we must stand firmly with the people of Ukraine and the UN Charter  in condemning such criminal efforts and call on all the parties to respect all existing agreements as well as the international law.