Knowledge about Russian troops and their movements in Ukraine
Question for written answer to the Council
What European intelligence information about Russian troops in Ukraine was available and was used as grounds for the decision to ratchet up EU sanctions against Russia despite the fact that, at the time of the decision, there was already a truce between the Ukrainian Government and the authorities in place in eastern Ukraine?
Do European intelligence agencies or the EU institutions have means of monitoring and surveillance that are more extensive or more efficient than those of the OSCE observers on the ground, who concluded in their report (for the period from the end of August to shortly before the NATO summit in early September) that no troops had crossed the Russian-Ukrainian border in the previous two weeks and no ammunition or weapons had been brought across?
To what extent is the Council of Europe involved in the process of monitoring and accurately evaluating information about these matters from the secret services?
