Weekly Update from the OSCE Observer Mission at Russian Checkpoints Gukovo and Donetsk based on information as of 9 February 2016
SUMMARY
Kamensk-Shakhtinskiy, Russian Federation. The Observer Mission (OM) continues to operate 24/7 at both Border Crossing Points (BCP). The overall cross-border traffic increased at both BCPs.
OPERATIONAL REMARKS
The OM is currently operating with 21 permanent international staff members (incl. the Chief Observer).
The mission is fulfilling its mandate without major difficulties.
After the mandate having been extended by the Permanent Council, all Participating States also extended the secondment of their Border Observers.
OBSERVATIONS AT THE BORDER CROSSING POINTS
Persons crossing the border
The profile of the people crossing the border has not significantly changed and can be categorized as follows:
- Adults with no luggage or empty cars;
- Families (including elderly people and children) or groups on foot or by car with a lot of luggage;
- People wearing military-style clothing or footwear, with or without backpacks.
The average number of entries/exits increased overall from 8,053 to 9,029 per day for both BCPs compared to last week; the average net flow for both BCPs went from plus 57 to 48 (i.e. more entries to the Russian Federation). The Donetsk BCP continued to experience more traffic than the Gukovo BCP. The cross-border movements registered at both BCPs accounted for just over 38 % of all entries/exits in the Rostov region.
People in military-style clothing
During the reporting period, the number of men and women in military-style clothing, crossing the border in both directions, slightly decreased from 137 to 133 at both BCPs. Approximately 78 % of this category’s crossings occurred at the Donetsk BCP. These people continued crossing the border individually or in groups and by foot or, in addition to private vehicles, from time to time travelling on busses or in minivans, making it more difficult for the Observer Teams (OTs) to observe their movement across the border.
Furthermore, the OTs continued to observe physically fit young and middle-aged men in civilian clothing, with short haircuts, many of whom carried camouflage-coloured backpacks.
Bus connections
Regular local and long-distance bus connections continued to operate between Ukraine (Luhansk region) and cities in the Russian Federation. In addition to regular bus connections, the OTs continued to observe bus connections on non-regular routes: often the busses do not state their route; instead they just have a sign on the windshield saying “Non-regular” or “Children transport”.
Among these bus connections observed by the OTs, the following routes were noted: Luhansk-Kharkiv, Moscow-Kirovsk, Luhansk-St. Petersburg, and Luhansk-Volgograd.
On some occasions, the OTs noticed the bus drivers removing the itinerary signs from the windshields of their busses once they entered the BCP to cross into Ukraine or leave the BCP into the Russian Federation.
Cargo trucks
During the reporting period, the OM continued to observe trucks, crossing the border in both directions and at both BCPs. The OTs observed trucks predominantly registered in the Luhansk region, however, the OTs on single occasions saw trucks registered in the Donetsk, Vinnica, Chmelnits and even Crimea region.
In addition, the OTs also frequently observed trucks registered in the Russian Federation and Republic of Belarus that crossed the border. During the reporting period, the number of trucks registered in the Republic of Belarus decreased from 52 to 37; these trucks were observed crossing the border only at the Donetsk BCP.
During the reporting period, the OTs also observed one truck registered in Georgia that crossed the border at the Donetsk BCP to the Russian Federation.
Separately, the OTs also observed tanker trucks crossing the border in both directions at both BCPs. The number of tanker trucks decreased from 36 last week to 20 this week. Nineteen of these trucks crossed at the Donetsk BCP and only one truck crossed at the Gukovo BCP. These trucks, for the most part, had the words “Propane” and “Flammable” written across the tanks in Russian or Ukrainian. The majority of tanker trucks have hazard signs, indicating that they are transporting propane or a mix of propane with butane.
Minivans[1]
During the reporting period, the OM continued to observe passenger and cargo minivans, crossing the border in both directions and at both BCPs. The OTs observed minivans predominantly registered in the Luhansk region; however, the OTs frequently saw minivans registered in the Russian Federation.
Compared to the previous week, the number of cargo minivans increased from 295 to 347; 184 crossed to the Russian Federation and 163 to the Ukraine, whereas the number of passenger minivans decreased from 325 to 264; 135 crossed to the Russian Federation and 129 crossed to the Ukraine.
Trains
The OTs continued to pick up on the sound of trains running on the train tracks located approximately 150 meters south-west of the Gukovo BCP. During the reporting week, the OTs heard trains on 13 occasions; the OTs estimated that 9 trains were going to the Russian Federation and 4 trains were bound for Ukraine, in which case they immediately informed SMM. In the most cases, visual observation was not possible because of the line of trees in between the train tracks and the BCP and unfavourable light conditions.
Other observations
The majority of the vehicles crossing the border have number plates issued in Luhansk region or in the Russian Federation. The majority of long-distance coaches commuting between Luhansk region and cities in the Russian Federation have number plates issued in Luhansk region.
The OTs continued to observe vehicles with Ukrainian license plates, including articulated trucks, with “LPR” (“Luhansk People’s Republic”) or “Novorossiya” stickers, in rare cases “DPR” (“Donetsk People’s Republic”) stickers on their license plates masking the Ukrainian flag.
During the reporting week, OTs at the Donetsk BCP observed two cars with Lithuanian and one with Armenian registration plates crossing the border from Ukraine to the Russian Federation, as well as one car with Lithuanian registration plates crossing the border to Ukraine.
During the reporting week, the OTs observed also four ambulances at the Donetsk BCP. On one occasion, an OT observed three ambulances with Ukrainian registration plates entering the BCP from the Ukrainian side, all in one convoy. The OT could observe two medical personnel in each ambulance and one civilian personnel in one of them. After having undergone the border formalities, all three ambulances left the BCP to the Russian Federation and later were observed crossing back to the Ukraine.
During the reporting week, the OTs were approached by people crossing the border to express their concerns about the current situation in Luhansk region. On one occasion, there were concerns expressed about a serious influenza epidemic in Luhansk region. The OM immediately passed this information to SMM for cross-checking.
The OTs continued to observe some very detailed checks of vehicles crossing into the Russian Federation by border guard and customs services.
[1] Passenger Minivans: Vehicles with more than 8 + 1 seats and a maximum of 16 + 1 seats (light busses which correspond to driving license D1). Cargo Minivans: Light commercial vehicles with a maximum authorized mass of more than 3.5 t and not more than 7.5 t; with or without a trailer with a maximum mass of less than 750 kg (small cargo vehicles which correspond to driving license C1).