Russian representatives in The Hague claim separatists found weapons in the mines of the Donbas
The Russian Delegation to the UN International Court of Justice in The Hague claims that militants in the Donbas do not receive weapons from the Russian Federation, but rather "find them on their own".
This statement was made by Ilya Rogachev, a Russian representative involved in the process, Evropeyskaya Pravda news website reports.
Rogachev named the main source of weapons as "stocks from the Soviet times" that were located on Ukrainian territory.
"A large share of these reserves were left in the mines of the Donbas, and were found by the rebels," Rogachev said, noting also that another portion of the militants’ weapons were allegedly weapons abandoned by the Ukrainian army in retreat.
Rogachev did not comment on presented evidence that separatists have used weapons only available in the Russian army.
Iryna Herashchenko, the Ukrainian President's Humanitarian Envoy at the Minsk Peace Talks, commented on the statement of the Russian side.
"So, at the UN international court in The Hague, the Russians stated that the weapons lay in mines. According to this logic, there also lay the "Buk", which shot down the Malaysian Boeing ... the mines contain the newest "Grads" (Multiple rocket launcher),"Buratinos" (TOS-1 Heavy flamethrower system) and other deadly weapons; and therefore the OSCE mission is not allowed into them. Friends, read between the lines, and put all into context; it is vital for the debunking of every word of Russian lies. And how important it is, that the whole world hears the fabrications that the Moscow liars now dare to claim in Court,” wrote Herashchenko on Facebook.
A large repository of old Soviet weapons in the Donbas is located in Bakhmut (formerly Artemivsk). In 2014, the militants tried for a long time to seize the appropriate military unit in Artemivsk, but were met with resistance and never got into the territory.