Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 3 May 2017

This report is for the media and the general public.

The SMM’s operations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions remained restricted following the fatal incident of 23 April near Pryshyb; these restrictions continued to limit the Mission’s observations. The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region – including, however, fewer explosions – compared with the previous reporting period. It followed up on reports of civilian casualties in Marinka, Dokuchaievsk and Horlivka. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. Its access remained restricted there and elsewhere.* The SMM recorded a ceasefire violation inside the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. It facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to a gas pipeline in Zhovte. The SMM monitored a border area currently not under government control. In Kharkiv, the Mission monitored the situation of internally displaced persons. In Odessa it continued to monitor the commemoration of events that took place on 2 May 2014 in the city.

In Donetsk region the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations,[1] including about 120 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (about 320 explosions).

On the evening of 2 May the SMM camera at the “DPR”-controlled Oktiabr mine (9km north-west of Donetsk city centre) recorded six tracer rounds in flight from east to west, followed by aggregated totals of two explosions assessed as impacts of rounds of undetermined weapons, three projectiles in flight (one from north-east to south-west, one from east to west, one from south-west to north-east) and 135 tracer rounds in flight (54 from east to west, 81 from west to east), all 2-10km north-east.

On the same evening the SMM camera in government-controlled Avdiivka (17km north of Donetsk) recorded, in sequence, nine explosions assessed as impacts of rounds of undetermined weapons, one projectile in flight from north to south, and one more explosion assessed as the impact of a round of an undetermined weapon, all 1-5km east-south-east.

On 3 May, positioned at the “DPR”-controlled Donetsk central railway station (6km north-west of Donetsk city centre), the SMM heard four explosions – and saw four plumes of smoke – assessed as impacts of multiple-launch rocket system (MLRS) (type undetermined) rounds 3-4km north. The SMM also heard 20 undetermined explosions and heavy-machine-gun and small-arms fire, all 2.5-8km at directions ranging from north-west to north-east.

Positioned in “DPR”-controlled Yasynuvata (16km north-east of Donetsk) the SMM heard 14 undetermined explosions and small-arms fire 1-5km at directions ranging from west to north-north-west.

On the evening of 2 May, while in government-controlled Svitlodarsk (57km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard about 20 explosions assessed as impacts of 120mm mortar rounds 2-4km south-east. While in “DPR”-controlled Horlivka (39km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard about 30 undetermined explosions 3-13km at directions ranging from south-west to north-west, two airbursts 15-20km south and south-south-west, and small-arms fire 2-5km west and north-west.

On the night of 2-3 May the SMM camera in Shyrokyne (20km east of Mariupol) recorded nine tracer rounds in flight from east to west, followed by aggregated totals of three explosions (one assessed as the impact of a round of an unidentified weapon, and two undetermined), two rocket-assisted projectiles in flight (one from south to north, one from south-west to north-east) and 15 tracer rounds in flight from east to west, all at unknown distances at directions ranging from north to north-east.

In Luhansk region the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations – including, however, fewer (seven) explosions – compared with the previous reporting period (12 explosions).

Positioned in government-controlled Popasna (69km west of Luhansk) the SMM heard one shot of automatic-grenade-launcher fire and four explosions assessed as impacts of automatic-grenade-launcher rounds, all 2-3km north-east. Positioned in government-controlled Raihorodka (34km north-west of Luhansk) the SMM heard six explosions assessed as outgoing rounds of infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) (BMP-1) cannon (73mm) 15km north, assessed as part of a live-fire exercise.

The SMM followed up on reports of civilian casualties. On 2 May medical staff at a hospital in government-controlled Kurakhove (40km west of Donetsk) told the SMM that on 22 April a resident (woman, aged 26) of government-controlled Marinka (23km south-west of Donetsk) had been admitted with shrapnel wounds on her right knee. On 3 May police in Marinka told the SMM the woman had been in the garden of her house at 219 Shevchenko Street when she was injured.

While at the same hospital on 2 May the SMM saw bandages on the left temple and left arm of a man, who told the Mission that on 30 April, while on the roof of his house at 8B Polihrafichna Street in Marinka he heard small-arms fire and an explosion, and that a shrapnel fragment subsequently struck him. Medical staff at the hospital told the SMM the man (aged 52) had been admitted on 30 April with shrapnel wounds.

The SMM also followed up on a report from a Ukrainian officer of the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC) that two men living at 220 Prokofieva Street in Marinka had been injured by shelling. According to a logbook in the hospital in Kurakhove, one man (65 years old) with shrapnel injuries to his back, right elbow and left thigh and another (44 years old) with shrapnel injuries to his left thigh and abdomen had been admitted on 2 May.

The SMM followed up on a report from a Russian officer of the JCCC that a woman had been shot while standing outside a factory at 2 Teatralna Street in “DPR”-controlled Dokuchaievsk (30km south-west of Donetsk). Medical staff at a hospital in Dokuchaievsk  told the SMM that a woman had been admitted to the hospital on the morning of 3 May with a serious wound in her back, a penetrated lung, and damage to her heart, and that she had died less than two hours later. The SMM was unable to visit the site of the reported incident due to security concerns.

The SMM followed up on another report from a Russian officer of the JCCC that two women had been injured by a mine while walking on a path between Horlivka and government-controlled Toretsk (formerly Dzerzhynsk, 43km north of Donetsk). Medical staff at a hospital in Horlivka told the SMM that two women had been admitted to the hospital on 2 May with injuries. One had already left the hospital, and the other (aged about 45) remained in the hospital in stable condition, with injuries to her head and chest.

The SMM continued to monitor the disengagement process and to pursue full access to the disengagement areas of Stanytsia Luhanska (16km north-east of Luhansk), Zolote (60km west of Luhansk) and Petrivske (41km south of Donetsk), as foreseen in the Framework Decision of the Trilateral Contact Group relating to disengagement of forces and hardware of 21 September 2016. The SMM’s access remained restricted but the Mission was able to partially monitor them.*

On the evening of 2 May the SMM camera in government-controlled Stanytsia Luhanska recorded one projectile in flight (trajectory undetermined) and an explosion assessed as its impact, both at unknown distances south. The Mission could not assess whether the violation occurred inside or outside the disengagement area. The camera also recorded one rocket-assisted projectile in flight from north-north-east to south-south-west fewer than 100m south-south-east of the camera; the projectile’s flight path was assessed as inside the disengagement area.

On the night of 1-2 May the SMM camera in government-controlled Zolote recorded two bursts of small-arms fire 4.2km south-south-west, followed by aggregated totals of six projectiles in flight (five from north to south, one from north-east to south-west) and three bursts of small-arms fire, all about 3km east-north-east and east, and all assessed as outside the disengagement area.

On 3 May, positioned 1.5km west of government-controlled Zolote-4 (60km north-west of Luhansk), the SMM heard two explosions assessed as mortar rounds, ten shots of IFV (BMP-2) cannon (30mm), and ten bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire, all 3-4km east and assessed as outside the disengagement area.

The SMM continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons, in implementation of the Memorandum, the Package of Measures and its Addendum.

In violation of withdrawal lines in non-government-controlled areas, the SMM again saw seven MLRS (BM-21 Grad, 122mm), seven self-propelled howitzers (2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm), ten towed howitzers (five D-30 Lyagushka, 122mm; five 2A65 Msta-B, 152mm), and seven tanks (T-72) at an aerodrome in the south-eastern outskirts of Luhansk city. The SMM also saw a towed howitzer (type undetermined) being towed by a truck travelling south in Donetsk city.

In violation of withdrawal lines in government-controlled areas, the SMM saw three stationary self-propelled howitzers (2S1) near Anadol (39km north of Mariupol).

The SMM observed armoured combat vehicles[2] and a large group of armed persons in the security zone. In non-government-controlled areas the SMM saw three armoured personnel carriers (APCs) (BTR-variant) travelling south in Donetsk city and 17 APCs (ten MT-LB, seven BTR-80) and seven IFVs (BMP-2) in the south-eastern outskirts of Luhansk city, along with about 400 persons, of whom about 300 were armed. The people, dressed in military-style clothing, were marching or cleaning and repairing weapons at the site (see above).

In government-controlled areas the SMM saw one APC (BRDM-2) travelling south near Petrivka (27km north of Luhansk).

The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire, co-ordinated by the JCCC, to enable repairs to a gas pipeline in “LPR”-controlled Zhovte (17km north-west of Luhansk). The Mission saw six gas company workers using a grader, steam roller and two trucks to build a road to the pipeline.

The SMM continued to monitor the situation of civilians living near the contact line. At a hospital in “LPR”-controlled Pervomaisk (58km west of Luhansk), medical staff told the SMM that the town’s water supply had been restored in late April but that, because water had been cut off for a long time, the pipeline connected to the hospital had cracked in several places. As a result, according to the medical staff, the hospital was still receiving water by truck delivery.

The SMM again saw long lines of people waiting to cross the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge.

On the afternoon of 2 May, at the government checkpoint north of the bridge, the SMM saw about 200 people queuing to travel to government-controlled areas and about 1,000 people queuing in the opposite direction. On the morning of 3 May, at an “LPR” checkpoint south of the bridge, the SMM saw about 600 people queuing to walk toward government-controlled areas and about 25 people queuing in the opposite direction.

The SMM continued to monitor a protest site at a former blockade of a railway route near government-controlled Bakhmut (formerly Artemivsk, 67km north of Donetsk). (See SMM Daily Report 24 April 2017.) On 2 May the SMM saw seven men and two women (various ages), some of whom were wearing military-style clothing, and continued to note that obstacles previously observed on the railroad tracks were no longer present. The Mission also saw an armoured vehicle parked near the site. A man (in his fifties) who identified himself as the camp’s leader told the SMM that a supporter had donated the vehicle.

The SMM monitored a border area currently not under government control. During about 50 minutes at a border crossing point near Voznesenivka (formerly Chervonopartyzansk, 65km south-east of Luhansk), the SMM observed 49 civilian cars (40 with Ukrainian and nine with Russian Federation licence plates) and one bus (with Russian Federation licence plates) in a queue to exit Ukraine, as well as 20 civilian cars (12 with Ukrainian and six with Russian Federation licence plates, and two with “LPR” plates) enter Ukraine. The SMM also saw three pedestrians exiting and one person on a bicycle enter Ukraine. At a railway station in Voznesenivka the SMM saw five trains (60-70 wagons each) without locomotives. One of the trains included wagons containing 6-8 cisterns, but the SMM could not see whether other wagons (in that train or the others) contained cargo, as the wagons were closed.

The SMM continued to monitor the situation of internally displaced persons (IDPs). On 2 May near Kharkiv, at an IDP camp that was scheduled to close in June (see SMM Daily Report 16 February 2017), a man and woman in their thirties (who said they were displaced from Luhansk region) told the SMM that they and their ten-year-old son had found accommodation elsewhere in Kharkiv city, which will be paid for by a non-governmental organization. A woman (aged about 35), who said she and her daughter (aged about ten) were displaced from Crimea, told the SMM that she had found temporary accommodation in Vovchansk (61km north-east of Kharkiv).

The SMM continued monitoring the commemoration of the events of 2 May 2014 in Odessa. (See SMM Daily Report 3 May 2017.) On the evening of 2 May, in Hretska Square, the SMM saw about 300 people (mostly men, 20-60 years old), some of whom identified themselves as members of the Right Sector, Right Youth, National Corps, and State Initiative of Yarosh. About 150 police officers were present at the square. The SMM did not observe any incidents.

The SMM continued monitoring in Kherson, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Dnipro, Chernivtsi and Kyiv.

*Restrictions of SMM’s freedom of movement or other impediments to fulfilment of its mandate

The SMM’s monitoring and freedom of movement are restricted by security hazards and threats, including risks posed by mines, unexploded ordnance (UXO) and other impediments – which vary from day to day. The SMM’s mandate provides for safe and secure access throughout Ukraine. All signatories of the Package of Measures have agreed on the need for this safe and secure access, that restriction of the SMM’s freedom of movement constitutes a violation, and on the need for rapid response to these violations. They have also agreed that the JCCC should contribute to such response and co-ordinate mine clearance.

Denial of access:

• At the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area, a Ukrainian officer of the JCCC told the SMM that its safety still could not be guaranteed in the areas surrounding the main road due to the possible presence of mines and UXO. The SMM informed the JCCC.
• At an “LPR” checkpoint on the edge of the Zolote disengagement area, armed men told the SMM that its safety still could not be guaranteed in the fields and side roads due to the possible presence of mines and UXO. The SMM informed the JCCC.
• The SMM could not travel west from “DPR”-controlled Petrivske due to a lack of security guarantees and the possible presence of mines. It informed the JCCC.
• At a checkpoint north of the bridge in government-controlled Shchastia (20km north of Luhansk), Ukrainian Armed Forces officers told the SMM that no demining had taken place during the previous 24 hours and that the road south of the bridge was still mined. The SMM did not consider it safe to proceed and informed the JCCC.

[1] Please see the annexed table for complete breakdown of the ceasefire violations as well as map of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions marked with locations featured in this report.

[2] This hardware is not proscribed by the provisions of the Minsk agreements on the withdrawal of weapons.