Spot Report by OSCE Observer Mission: A twenty third Russian convoy of 62 vehicles crossed into Ukraine and returned back through the Donetsk Border Crossing Point

This report is for media and the general public.

On 16 April 2015 at 07:14hrs (Moscow time), a Russian convoy arrived at the Donetsk Border Crossing Point (BCP). A total of 62 vehicles were checked by the Russian border guard and customs services. All the vehicles had crossed back into the Russian Federation by 17:45hrs on 16 April.

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DETAIL

Leaving the Russian Federation

On 16 April 2015 at 07:14hrs, the Observer Mission observed the arrival of a Russian convoy at the gate of the Donetsk BCP. The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations team led the process of the convoy’s movement. The convoy consisted of 55 cargo trucks and 7 support vehicles. All cargo trucks bore the inscription “Humanitarian help from the Russian Federation”. On the dashboards of a few cargo trucks the Observer Mission observed flags of the Russian Federation and the so-called “Novorossiya” as well as Saint George’s ribbons.

The vehicles stopped at the customs control area in three lines, backdoors of most of the cargo trucks were opened and visually checked from the outside by Russian border guards and customs officers. When the backdoors were not opened, the tarpaulins were lifted and Russian border guards visually checked the cargo from the outside. One service dog was used to check most of the cargo trucks. Ukrainian officers – 6 border guards and 1 customs officer – were present on site during the check. They performed visual observation of the opened trucks from the outside. By 08:27hrs all vehicles had left the BCP towards Ukraine.

Returning to the Russian Federation

At 16:15hrs on 16 April, the convoy arrived and lined up at the customs area. The backdoors of the trucks were opened and both Russian and Ukrainian border guards and customs officers visually checked the returning convoy. One service dog was used to check some of the cargo trucks. By 17:45hrs on 16 April all 62 vehicles had returned and crossed back into the Russian Federation.