Ukrainian Foreign MInister accuses all Russians in OSCE Special Monitoring Mission of espionage
Ukraine believes that all Russian citizens in the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) in the Donbas are Russian intelligence agents, stated Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, as reported by Radio Liberty.
“When I tell European friends about the OSCE mission, they ask: why are the mission’s patrols sometimes detained? I say, let’s look at the statistics: our boys detain the patrols only if there are Russians there. Because they come, and within 15-20 minutes the firing begins. We are sure that all of the Russians in the mission staff work in the intelligence services. The only thing I don’t know is whether they work for one intelligence agency, or for all of them together,” Klimkin said at press conference after trilateral negotiations on gas in Berlin.
At the same time, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister stressed the importance of the SMM’s work in the Donbas conflict zone, and called the observers “devoted” to their work.
“There are also other cases, but this includes attempting to destroy the mission from within… It is very good that ARD journalists uncovered this fact: public TV, which is functioning. Now nobody will say anymore that it is biased. This was done by German journalists, and now, following the words of the Russian president, what Russia is actually doing will go throughout the world,” Klimkin added.
Russia’s intelligence agency, the FSB, got hold of the contents of internal documents of the OSCE SMM in Ukraine, according to an investigation by the German TV channel ARD.
According to the media, the Russian intelligence agency intercepted SMM documents containing information on incidents in the militant-controlled part of the Donbas, as well as communication data pertaining to the mission’s deputy chief, Alexander Hug.
Furthermore, ARD claims that short dossiers on SMM observers in eastern Ukraine were also leaked to the FSB. These files contained information on their marital status, health, habits and preferences, vulnerability to alcohol and financial standing.
The journalists presume that the confidential documents were sent to the FSB by a mission staff member.
The SMM said that it will look into the ARD’s investigation materials.