Ukraine observers told they are playing impossible game of 'hide and seek' as they search for weapons in bid to monitor ceasefire

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Ukraine observers told they are playing impossible game of 'hide and seek' as they search for weapons in bid to monitor ceasefire
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Pro-Russian rebels and Ukraine troops accused of concealing weapons
Organization for Security and Europe trying to monitor both warring sides
Both have to remove heavy weapons from the front line as part of deal
Eye-witnesses told how the opposing forces were breaking agreement

Published: 14:19 EST, 21 March 2015 | Updated: 14:41 EST, 21 March 2015

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International observers trying to monitor the ceasefire in the Ukraine are being led on an impossible game of 'hide and seek' that could shatter the peace deal.

Both pro-Russian rebels and government troops have been accused of concealing weapons from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) which could threaten the treaty.

Under the agreement heavy artillery should have been pulled back from the front line, but just last week the opposing forces were seen to be breaking the deal.

International observers of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) look at an armoured vehicle of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DNR)

The inspection by the international observers took place in 100km easts of Donetsk

Yesterday eye-witnesses saw two rebel controlled tanks pushing forward and days earlier Ukraine troops were seen transporting a tank and a large calibre gun close to the battlefront.

In a bid to monitor the fragile ceasefire the OSCE has asked to know how many weapons each side has and where they are being stored.

Armed with cameras and clipboards the international observers have been driving around eastern Ukraine looking for rocket launchers and artillery.

'Some information has been provided from both sides, but we still need substantial information,' said Michael Bociurkiw, the OSCE mission spokesman.

It is unclear to what extent the OSCE teams are able to decide on their own where to inspect.

The monitors are also regularly complaining that they are not being allowed to travel through Ukraine freely.

Sometimes they are made to wait at checkpoints, forcing delays, while in more extreme cases they are blocked entirely from reaching their destination.

Mr Bociurkiw said even a short wait violates the verification process.

'Any delays are unacceptable in our books,' he said.

This week a group of inspectors travelled from Donetsk to Novoamvrosiivske, a village near the Russian border, to visit a cement factory in the rebel controlled territory.

Here they scrutinized dozens of tanks, rocket launchers and howitzers taking photographs and making notes.

As they made there way back fresh tracks could be seen indictating that a convoy of heavy machinery had passed through while the inspectors were engaged elsewhere.

In a bid to monitor the fragile ceasefire the OSCE has asked to know how many weapons each side has and where they are being store

Journalists in the Ukraine who followed the tracks found two tanks in a multi-vehicle convoy that included truck-pulled cannons and troop carriers full of rebel fighters.

Two days earlier a Ukraine solider had boasted that a cease-fire busting cannon was being taken towards the front line.

Ukrainian military officials have at times conceded that they are refraining from a complete withdrawal of heavy weapons, citing what they say is rebel reluctance to do the same.

'We will not withdraw all our weapons, as we have no confirmation that the same is being done by the enemy,' military spokesman Andriy Lysenko told reporters earlier this month.

'It would be wrong and criminal to leave our troops without any cover.'

Armed with cameras and clipboards that international observers have been driving around eastern Ukraine looking for rocket launchers and artillery

And Ukrainian authorities say artillery fire continues in sporadic clashes along the front line.

Donetsk region police chief Vyacheslav Abroskin said a resident of Avdiivka was killed yesterday after a shell struck a home in the town.

In addition, neither side is willing to agree that tanks fall under the weapons to be withdrawn, although the cease-fire clearly envisions their removal.

The conflict in the Ukraine has already left more than 6,000 dead in a year