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Mr. President, I thank you for convening this open briefing in view of the recent deterioration of the situation in eastern Ukraine and continuous violations of the Minsk agreements. Both Russia and the Russian-sponsored illegal militants persist with  interpreting the ceasefire in their own twisted way: Ukraine must cease while the militants can continue to fire.

Mr. President, I believe no one in this room has any doubts that a country under attack would do its utmost to protect itself.  In the face of aggression, it is the inherent right of each and every state to defend its soil and its people. It is exactly what Ukraine is doing: defending itself in the face of the ongoing  attacks against its unity, sovereignty,  and territorial integrity.  

Time and again, its leadership has sought to salvage the ceasefire with new proposals, new deadlines, new periods of silence. The militants, however, benefited from Ukraine’s restraint by regrouping, rearming, and grabbing more land.  Since the start of the ceasefire, the militants captured an extra 550 km2 of the Ukrainian territory between Donetsk and Mariupol and, to listen to their commanders, have no intention to stop.

In spite of the many calls by the international community to close its borders to the illegal flows of arms and foreign fighters, Russia’s borders remain wide open to the flow of deadly weaponry and soldiers of fortune.

Here’s a typical  excerpt from the January 16 report by OSCE SMM: "The SMM saw three unmarked trucks towing three D-30 122mm Howitzers on the southern edge of Donetsk city travelling west past a “DPR”-controlled checkpoint. Two unmarked T-80 battle tanks were seen by the SMM travelling south - east in Makiivka  (5km east of Donetsk, “DPR”-controlled). The SMM observed a convoy of 21 military-style Ural and KAMAZ trucks, also unmarked, heading south on a highway near Starobesheve (45km south of Donetsk, “DPR”-controlled). Four of the trucks carried what appeared to be communication equipment, while the remaining trucks were covered.”

And another. In the weekly update for the period 15 – 21 January 2015, OSCE Observer Mission at Gukovo and Donetsk notes: “The OM continued to observe a number of persons in military-style clothing crossing the border in both directions…. During the reporting period, the OTs observed 493 men and women in military-style dress crossing the border in both directions…. Ninety five percent of border crossings occurred at the Donetsk BCP.”

The little that can be seen and reported from the two kilometres where the OSCE observer mission is active is clearly indicative of what's happening away from the eyes of the observers. No wonder Russia keeps blocking all attempts to expand the OSCE border observer mission to cover more ground.

The Ukrainian sources estimate that as of January 15, the separatists had 542 tanks, 990 APCs, nearly 700 artillery systems, some 70 GRADs and 57 air defense systems.

How on earth- but for Russia’s continued supply - can a rag tag bunch of illegal militants obtain such an impressive arsenal of sophisticated heavy weaponry and arms which by now could well rival the arsenals of the smaller European states?

And where on earth - but for Russia’s continued support- can a rag tag bunch of militants get the millions needed to buy all that heavy weaponry and machinery? Especially in an area where local inhabitants  are said to starve and local hospitals can't even buy bread for their  patients?

So much for Russia’s claims it is not a party to this conflict. The war in eastern Ukraine is not a civil war - but a  calculated and systematic attempt to destabilize Ukraine, a foreign-sponsored war.

Backed by sophisticated weaponry including Grads, artillery systems, modern tanks, armored personnel carriers, and an influx of foreign mercenaries, the militants continue their barrage of deadly attacks. The past few weeks in particular have seen a disturbing increase in ceasefire violations, including a massive onslaught by the militants on the Donetsk airport. Yesterday again intensive fighting was reported in several locations, including north-west from Lugansk, where militants destroyed, with massive artillery fire, and occupied one of the checkpoints of the Ukrainian military.

Growing evidence points to a systemic use by the militants of residential areas as a cover for launching Grad rockets and shelling the Ukrainian forces. Overall, since the announcement of the ceasefire on 5 September 2014, Ukrainian forces and civilians have been shelled more than 5660 times; some 1500 Ukrainian military killed and wounded, and at least 151 civilians killed.

We look forward to the results of a thorough investigation of the Volnovakha  bus attack. We must make sure that perpetrators of this reprehensible act - and all the countless acts of violence and gross violations of human rights, especially rampant in the areas held by the illegal separatist groups – are brought to account.   

Mr. President,

While every defensive move by Ukraine is blasted by the Russian propaganda as ceasefire violations, Russia has never even once condemned or disowned the illegal and lawless separatist militants.

On the contrary.  Russia’s intentions to rewrite the Minsk agreements in a way that would legitimise and accept the territorial gains achieved by the militants speaks to Kremlin’s wholehearted support for those criminals.

Lithuania rejects all calls to renegotiate the terms of the ceasefire. The agreed parameters of the ceasefire already exist and must be respected .  We urge all sides, in particular Russia, to engage and fully implement Minsk agreements in their entirety and without any further delay.

If Russia is genuinely interested in putting an end to the devastating violence and deaths in eastern Ukraine, including the deaths of its own nameless soldiers sent to wage a war against a brotherly nation, it must stop destabilising Ukraine, stop military supplies to its proxies, the illegal separatist groups, and withdraw all military equipment. The Ukrainian - Russian state border must be secured. Continuous monitoring by the OSCE must be ensured.  

All hostages and illegally detained persons must be released, including the Ukrainian pilot Nadia Savchenko who was kidnapped and is held illegally in Russia.

International observers, including the UN and OSCE monitoring missions must be allowed full and unconditional access throughout Ukraine’s territory, including Crimea. International monitors’ full, unobstructed access to Crimea remains particularly important in the light of the continuous deterioration of the situation of the indigenous Tatar community since Russia’s annexation of the region.

Mr. President,

My delegation firmly supports Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and will not recognize the illegal annexation of Crimea. We urge the Minsk signatories to spare no effort in seeking a peaceful solution to this crisis. We urge Russia in particular to embrace the fundamental principles enshrined in the UN Charter and put an end to its destabilizing, expansionist and revanchist  policies in the region, including Ukraine, Moldova, and South Caucasus, where , contrary to Russia's commitments under the 2008 August and September Agreements, it  is pursuing the annexation of Georgia’s Abkhaz and Tskinvali regions under the guise of the so-called treaties on alliance and strategic partnership with.