Further information on OSCE vehicles filmed in Donbas

On 15 January 2023, reports with video footage and images appeared on social media showing OSCE-branded vehicles being transported on trucks through the Russian Federation border checkpoint of Izvaryne into the Luhansk region of Ukraine.

These vehicles had been temporarily stored in a parking facility in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. They were stored there after OSCE personnel drove the vehicles from non-government-controlled areas in Donetsk and Luhansk to Rostov-on-Don — the safest and quickest evacuation route at the time — following 24 February 2022.

While those personnel were able travel onward, however the vehicles were held back for customs processing. Since then, the OSCE has persistently worked with the Russian Federation in order to retrieve the vehicles, but despite numerous efforts and proposals, including at the level of Secretary General, the Russian Federation had not yet authorized the OSCE to retrieve its property.

Upon seeing the reports of the vehicles being moved from Rostov-on-Don, the OSCE immediately has sent a formal request to Permanent Delegation of the Russian Federation to the OSCE seeking an explanation as to the vehicles’ whereabouts.

The Secretary General provided an overview of the current state-of-play to the Permanent Council on Thursday 19 January.

The OSCE has not had a presence in areas outside of the Ukrainian government’s control since March 2022. As such, the OSCE cannot independently verify the physical location of the vehicles. Any use of OSCE-marked vehicles in the Donbas region is unauthorized and is not undertaken by the OSCE.