The mandate of the OSCE mission in Georgia expired on 1 January 2009, after Russia vetoed its extension. OSCE monitors had been denied access to South Ossetia since the war. The mandate of the UNOMIG expired on 16 June 2009; its extension was also vetoed by Russia, which argued that the mandate did not properly reflect Russia's position of recognising Abkhazia as an independent state. According to UN mission head Johan Verbeke, about 60,000 ethnic Georgians in Abkhazia became vulnerable after the mission's end. As of 5 January 2015, 259 European Union Monitoring Mission  monitors operate in Georgia and 2 in Brussels. Russia does not allow EUMM monitors into Abkhazia and South Ossetia.. How many total European Union Monitoring Mission monitors operated in Georgia and Brussels?