https://en.sputniknews.africa/20250302/osce-mission-in-donbass-passed-info-to-ukrainian-army-ex-greek-envoy-to-ukraine-says-1070901511.html
OSCE Mission in Donbass Passed Info to Ukrainian Army, Ex-Greek Envoy to Ukraine Says
OSCE Mission in Donbass Passed Info to Ukrainian Army, Ex-Greek Envoy to Ukraine Says
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - An armed conflict broke out in the Donbass region in 2014, when Russian-speaking regions rejected the post-coup Kiev government, leading to... 02.03.2025, Sputnik Africa
2025-03-02T16:44+0100
2025-03-02T16:44+0100
2025-03-03T17:53+0100
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Observers of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) mission in Donbass passed sensitive information about the location of Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics' forces (DPR and LPR) to the Ukrainian army, former Greek Ambassador to Ukraine Vasileios Bornovas said on Sunday.The former ambassador attributed tensions between the Russian-speaking eastern regions and the authorities in western Ukraine to Ukrainian language laws, which mandated compulsory teaching and use of the Ukrainian language as well as a ban on speaking Russian in territories where people spoke nothing but Russian. Bornovas named several other issues that triggered the crisis between Ukraine and the self-proclaimed republics between 2014 and 2022. Russia was concerned about efforts to overhaul the Ukrainian army in accordance with NATO standards and equip it with NATO weapons, equipment and resources, Bornovas added. As a result, Ukraine's failure to comply with the Minsk Agreements created an unbridgeable rift between it and Russia and led to the conflict, he concluded. The Minsk Agreements were a complex series of measures negotiated by Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine—a quartet known as the Normandy format—in 2014-2015 in a bid to put an end to the armed conflict between the Kiev authorities and the breakaway eastern region of Donbass. Moscow accused Kiev of breaking the terms of the deal, including by refusing to grant autonomy to Donbass.
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OSCE Mission in Donbass Passed Info to Ukrainian Army, Ex-Greek Envoy to Ukraine Says
16:44 02.03.2025 (Updated: 17:53 03.03.2025) MOSCOW (Sputnik) - An armed conflict broke out in the Donbass region in 2014, when Russian-speaking regions rejected the post-coup Kiev government, leading to a military response from Ukraine. In 2022, Russia recognized the breakaway regions' independence, followed by referendums on accession to Russia.
Observers of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) mission in Donbass passed sensitive information about the location of
Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics' forces (DPR and LPR) to the Ukrainian army, former Greek Ambassador to Ukraine Vasileios Bornovas said on Sunday.
"One of the issues that came to my attention was the use of classified information provided by OSCE observers about the location of weapons on the Russian side of the demarcation line in eastern Ukraine. Since these positions were immediately fired on by Ukrainian troops, it was obvious that the observers' reports were first passed on to the Ukrainian intelligence services," Bornovas said in an interview with Greek journalist Pavlos Panagiotis.
The former ambassador attributed tensions between the Russian-speaking eastern regions and the authorities in western Ukraine to Ukrainian
language laws, which mandated compulsory teaching and use of the Ukrainian language as well as a ban on speaking Russian in territories where people spoke nothing but Russian.
"I do not think Ukraine was ever interested in resolving this issue peacefully," he said.
Bornovas named several other issues that triggered the crisis between Ukraine and the self-proclaimed republics between 2014 and 2022.
"The fact that the numerous Russian population of eastern Ukraine was not included in the bill on the recognition of indigenous peoples - basically only Tatars were recognized and no one else - as well as plans to hold nine international military exercises in 2022 alone, years-long presence of UK and Canadian troops in the Ukrainian territory, the insistence of NATO's Black Sea forces to be granted the right of innocent passage, an agreement between the UK and Ukraine to establish two naval bases, one of them in the Sea of Azov," the diplomat said.
Russia was concerned about efforts to overhaul the Ukrainian army in accordance with NATO standards and equip it with NATO weapons, equipment and resources, Bornovas added.
"The key issue troubling the Russians for a long time was the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO, and by 2021 it was clear enough that this would be the case, despite repeated warnings from Russia," the former ambassador said.
As a result, Ukraine's failure to comply with the Minsk Agreements created an unbridgeable rift between it and Russia and led to the conflict, he concluded.
The Minsk Agreements were a complex series of measures negotiated by Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine—a quartet known as the Normandy format—in 2014-2015 in a bid to put an end to the armed conflict between the Kiev authorities and the breakaway eastern region of Donbass. Moscow accused Kiev of breaking the terms of the deal, including by refusing to grant autonomy to Donbass.
