SUMMARY
Kamensk-Shakhtinskiy, Russian Federation. The Observer Mission (OM) continues to operate 24/7 at both Border Crossing Points (BCPs). The overall number of border crossings by persons decreased at both BCPs compared to the previous week. The ninetieth Russian convoy crossed into Ukraine and returned through the Donetsk BCP.
OPERATIONAL REMARKS
The OM is currently operating with 22 permanent international staff members, including the Chief Observer (CO). The Mission is supported administratively by a staff member and the Chief of Fund Administration based in Vienna.
OBSERVATIONS AT THE BORDER CROSSING POINTS
Persons crossing the border
The profile of persons crossing the border can be categorized as follows:
- Adults travelling on foot or by car with little or no luggage;
- Persons in military-style outfits;
- Families (often including elderly persons and/or children) travelling on foot or by car with a significant amount of luggage.
The average number of entries/exits decreased from 11,177 to 10,563 per day at both BCPs compared to last week.
During the reporting period, the majority of border crossings were to the Russian Federation, with an average net flow of 63 per day for both BCPs.
The Donetsk BCP continued to experience much more traffic than the Gukovo BCP.
Persons in military-style outfits
During the reporting period, the number of persons in military-style outfits crossing the border in both directions at both BCPs was 24 this week compared to 11 last week: 14 of them crossed into the Russian Federation, and 10 into Ukraine (75 per cent of this category’s crossings occurred at the Donetsk BCP). They continued to cross the border individually or in groups. Most individuals crossed on foot, however, some made use of private vehicles, buses or minivans, making it more difficult for the observer teams (OTs) to observe their movement across the border, especially since some of the private vehicles had tinted windows, and buses and minivans had drawn curtains.
Families with a significant amount of luggage
The OTs continued to report on families, sometimes with elderly persons and/or children, crossing the border at both BCPs with a significant amount of luggage, or travelling in heavily loaded cars. During this reporting week, four families were observed crossing into the Russian Federation and two were observed crossing into Ukraine, compared to the previous reporting period when two families were observed crossing to the Russian Federation and nine to Ukraine.
Bus connections
Regular local and long-distance bus connections continued to operate between Ukraine (mostly from/to the Luhansk region) and the Russian Federation. In addition to regular bus connections, the OTs continued to observe bus connections on irregular routes. Often the buses did not state their route; instead they had a sign on the windshield stating “irregular”.
During the reporting period, the OTs observed a decrease in the overall number of buses crossing the border at both BCPs (475 compared to 483 observed during the previous week). There were 222 buses bound for the Russian Federation and 253 bound for Ukraine.
On some occasions, the OTs noticed the bus drivers removing the itinerary signs from the windshields of their buses, while some buses did not display their route at all. The majority of long-distance buses commuting between the Luhansk region and cities in the Russian Federation had Ukrainian licence plates issued in the Luhansk region and “LPR” plates.
Trucks
During the reporting period, the OTs observed 813 trucks (compared to 903 during the previous reporting week) crossing the border in both directions at both BCPs (354 at the Gukovo BCP and 459 at the Donetsk BCP); 432 of these trucks crossed into the Russian Federation and 381 crossed into Ukraine. Most of the trucks observed by the OTs had Ukrainian licence plates issued in the Luhansk region; however, on a daily basis, the OTs also noted trucks registered in the Russian Federation and also with “LPR” plates.
The OTs also continued to observe tanker trucks crossing the border in both directions. During the reporting week, the number of tanker trucks decreased from 80 to 56. These trucks were observed crossing the border at both BCPs. The trucks had the words “Propane” and “Flammable” written across the tanks in either Russian or Ukrainian. The majority of tanker trucks had hazard signs, indicating that they were transporting propane or a mix of propane and butane.
All trucks underwent systematic inspection by Russian Federation officials, which could include an X-ray check. Due to the unfavourable observation position at the Gukovo BCP, the OTs continued to be unable to observe any X-ray checks.
Compared to the previous week, the total number of X-ray checks at the Donetsk BCP decreased from 194 to 132; 81 trucks (61 per cent) were bound for Ukraine, the remaining 51 trucks (39 per cent) crossed into the Russian Federation.
Minivans
The OM continued to observe passenger and cargo minivans crossing the border in both directions at both BCPs. The OTs observed minivans predominantly with Ukrainian licence plates issued in the Luhansk region; however, the OTs also frequently saw minivans registered in the Russian Federation. Compared to the previous week, the number of cargo minivans slightly decreased from 153 to 134 vehicles; 63 crossed into the Russian Federation and another 71 into Ukraine.
Trains
The OTs continued to pick up the sound of trains on the railway tracks located approximately 150m south-west of the Gukovo BCP. During the reporting week, the OTs heard trains on eight occasions; the OTs assessed that six trains were travelling to the Russian Federation and two to Ukraine (more details are provided in the sections “trends and figures at a glance” below).
The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine was regularly informed about the trains bound for Ukraine.
Visual observation was not possible because of the line of trees located between the train tracks and the BCP.
Other observations
The majority of vehicles crossing the border had Ukrainian licence plates issued in the Luhansk region, or Russian Federation licence plates. A significant number of vehicles with “LPR” plates were also observed crossing the border in both directions on a daily basis. The OTs also observed cars with licence plates from Georgia.
On 21 November at 07:19, the OT at the Donetsk BCP observed an ambulance entering the BCP from Ukraine. The ambulance had its flashing lights on and quickly crossed into the Russian Federation.
On 25 November 2019 at 14:28, the OT at the Donetsk BCP observed a funeral minivan with Russian Federation licence plates entering the BCP from the Russian Federation side. The minivan bore the inscription “Funeral service” in Russian, on the side. It underwent border control and crossed into Ukraine. ** **
Convoy
On 21 November at 06:30 (Moscow time), the ninetieth Russian convoy arrived at the Donetsk BCP. A total of eight vehicles were checked by Russian Federation border guards and customs officers prior to their crossing into Ukraine. All eight vehicles had crossed back into the Russian Federation by 11:25 on 21 November. Ukrainian border guards and custom officers were present during the checking processes.
(See OM Spot Report of 21 November 2019: https://www.osce.org/observer-mission-at-russian-checkpoints-gukovo-and-donetsk/439700.)
For trends and figures at a glance covering the period from 22 October to 26 November 2019, please see the attachment here
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