Written by Nikolaus von Twickel
Summary
Despite the end of the Football World Cup in Russia and the US-Russian summit in Helsinki, the current “harvest ceasefire” is holding, prompting some separatists to praise the OSCE and even Ukraine. And a key “DNR” military commander claims that the OSCE enables communication channels between separatists and Ukraine. The Donetsk separatist leader continues to keep a low profile and there is worrying news about detained journalist Stanislav Aseyev.
Separatists praise OSCE Mission for ceasefire
The fact that the latest ceasefire initiative is bringing positive results has elicited rare praise from some separatist leaders for the Organization of Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Ukrainian side. Denis Pushilin, the Donetsk “People’s Republic” chief Minsk negotiator and Speaker of “Parliament” said that the so-called harvest ceasefire, announced on June 27, has brought “positive dynamic”.
Speaking during an interview with the official DAN news site, published on July 17, Pushilin argued that the biggest improvement had been at the Donetsk Filtration Station, which had been the scene of violent fighting earlier this year.
Pushilin said that the stabilization surrounding the station, which lies direct on the frontline, was the personal achievement of the OSCE Monitoring Mission’s first deputy head Alexander Hug and of the representatives of the “DNR” and Ukraine in the Joint Control and Co-ordination Centre (JCCC) – the military monitoring mission originally set up between Ukraine and Russia in 2014.
His comments were echoed by Ruslan Yakubov, the “DNR” representative to the JCCC, who said in an interview published by DAN on July 9 that it was the OSCE’s Hug alone who brokered the agreement between both sides at the Filtration Station. “This case shows that if the sides want, they can reach agreements. We would like to see more of that,” he was quoted as saying.
Public praise for the OSCE is extremely rare from the separatists, who have staged a number of demonstrations against the Mission in both Donetsk and Luhansk. Last month, the “DNR” Information “Ministry” published a video report in which civilians say that the international observers are useless.
Both Pushilin and Yakubov also accused Ukraine of being an unreliable adversary blaming Kiev for torpedoing a new list of ad-hoc measures to make ceasefires more stable. Pushilin also claimed that Ukraine had planned an attack during World Cup, but called it off after Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a stern warning to Kiev in June.
Both Russian, separatist and Ukrainian media had been awash with speculation that either side might use the World Cup and the ensuing media coverage for “provocations” on its behalf. In one of the more bizarre statements, the “LNR” State Security “Ministry” claimed that Ukraine was preparing radical football fans to infiltrate the “People’s Republic”.
US President Donald Trump’s meeting with Putin in Helsinki also did not show any immediate effect in Donbass. The head of the OSCE Mission, Ertugrul Apakan said on July 19 that “kinetic activity” (shelling and shooting) decreased by 85 per cent along the contact line during the first seven days since the “harvest ceasefire” began.
Russia’s departure from JCCC did not change anything – DNR commander
The head of the Donetsk separatists’ JCCC team Ruslan Yakubov also made interesting comments about the Centre’s work since Russia withdrew its officers in December.
Contrary to fears that the withdrawal would lead to a deterioration of the security situation (see our annual report 2017, p. 4), Yakubov argued that nothing substantial had changed because the “DNR” had 100 per cent taken over the Russians’ role, and that co-operation with the Ukrainian military was now being done via the OSCE.
“Through the (OSCE) Mission, the sides inform each other online about ceasefire violations … in order to achieve a quick cessation of hostilities. Also via the Mission the sides request security guarantees to allow repair works along the Contact Line. Direct dialogue does not exist,” he was quoted as saying.
The JCCC is headquartered in Soledar, a government-controlled town in the Donetsk region. Russia withdrew its soldiers from the Centre in December, arguing that Ukraine had made the conditions for their work too harsh.
But Yakubov said that the JCCC’s efficiency had already been greatly reduced in 2015, when Ukraine introduced a permit system that made it impossible for “DNR” officers to cross into government-held areas.
The OSCE Mission has not commented on Yakubov’s statement. Its deputy head Alexander Hug said in an interview in February, that the Mission “engages with the sides directly to ensure the continuation of its operations, including those operations that the JCCC has been involved in.”
Yakubov has been the “DNR” JCCC representative since October 2017. Before, he was Chief of Staff of the Donetsk separatist forces and widely believed to be the single most influential military commander. Nothing is known of Yakubov’s previous biography, and according to the Ukrainian database “Myrotvorets”, he hails from Russia.
Where is Zakharchenko?
Meanwhile, “DNR” leader Alexander Zakharchenko conspicuously failed to make public appearances. The last update of his website, a short interview with Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency, dates from July 5. The last video of his regular programme “Otvet za Respubliki” was uploaded on June 30, two days after Zakharchenko had his last TV appearance for a question and answer show (see Newsletter 35).
Konstantin Dolgov, a former Donetsk-based video blogger now living in Russia, pointed out that that Zakharchenko failed to appear for the locally important “Metallurgy Workers’ Day” on July 15 – unlike his Luhansk colleague Leonid Pasechnik, who held a meeting with factory directors.
In his latest video blog, Dolgov keeps up his mocking criticism of Zakharchenko, e.g. by recalling the first anniversary of the “DNR” leader’s ill-fated proclamation of “Malorossia”, a state comprising the “People’s Republics” and Ukraine proper (see Newsletter 23).
Even longer absent from public view has been Zakharchenko’s main critic, former commander Alexander Khodakovsky, who has not updated his Facebook and vkontakte accounts since early May. Khodakovsky’s vanishing has been linked with the upcoming elections in both “DNR” and “LNR”, expected to be held in November. Zakharchenko has said that he will run, but has notably abstained from declaring the election campaign open.
No good news from captured journalist Aseyev
The separatists also continued to release no information about Stanislav Aseyev, a journalist from Donetsk who vanished last summer and is believed to be held by the separatists on spying charges.
Aseyev, whose name is sometimes spelt Aseev, went on a hunger strike at the end of June to protest against his bad treatment in detention, according to Yehor Firsov, a former MP and friend of Aseyev, who moved from Donetsk to Kiev in 2014. On July 18, Firsov said that separatists were publishing a falsified diary of Aseyev in which he writes about working for Ukrainian intelligence.
That diary can be found in a news group called “a Russian in Donbass” on the Russian Yandex zen platform.
In his Facebook post, Firsov says that those texts are fake and publishes images of what he says is Aseyev’s real diary. He also warns that the separatists are threatening to imprison Aseyev’s mother if he does not confess the spying allegations.
Aseyev, who wrote under the pseudonym Stanislav Vasin for Ukrainian media, is believed to have been abducted last summer by the infamous “DNR” State Security “Ministry”. In January, Ihor Kozlovsky, a scientist who was freed after almost two years of captivity, confirmed that Aseyev is being held in a Donetsk factory.
The OSCE Media Freedom Representative has demanded Aseyev’s immediate release, saying that his “continued illegal detention is abhorrent and cannot be tolerated.”
