Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 21 June 2017

This report is for the media and the general public.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM followed up on reports of casualties in Yasynuvata and Pikuzy and observed fresh impact sites south of the bridge in Shchastia. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas; it recorded ceasefire violations near Zolote disengagement area and inside Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. Its access remained restricted there and elsewhere, including Pisky, Trudivskyi area, Kreminets, Verkhnoshyrokivske and Dovhe.* The SMM continued to observe long queues of civilians travelling across the contact line at Stanytsia Luhanska bridge. The SMM noted severe damage of the wooden part of the bridge and saw at least four civilians fall down. It continued to facilitate and monitor repairs to power lines between Almazna and Zolote. In Kyiv the SMM continued to observe public gatherings and in Kharkiv, the SMM observed civilians being temporarily blocked from entering a city council meeting.

In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded a similar number of ceasefire violations[1], including, however, more explosions (over 90), compared with the previous reporting period (80 explosions).

On the evening and night of 20-21 June the SMM camera in government-controlled Avdiivka (17km north of Donetsk) recorded, in sequence, two undetermined explosions, one projectile in flight from north to south, 27 tracer rounds in flight from west to east, one illumination flare in vertical flight, two projectiles in flight from south to north, five tracer rounds in flight from west to east, five projectiles in flight from west to east, one explosion assessed as an impact, two projectiles in flight from west to east, five illumination flares in vertical flight, two undetermined explosions, all 3-6km in directions ranging from east-north-east to south-east. The following day the same camera recorded two explosions assessed as impacts 3-7km east-south-east and south-south-east. Positioned in Avdiivka the same day, the SMM heard two undetermined explosions 2-5km south-east.

On 21 June, positioned in “DPR”-controlled Yasynuvata (16 north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard six undetermined explosions, heard and saw four explosions assessed as impacts, heard 12 bursts and 24 shots of small-arms fire, 2-4km south-west, west-south-west, and west. During the same period, the SMM also heard three undetermined explosions 10km west-south-west and 18 bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire 3-7km north-west, north-north-west.

Positioned at the Donetsk railway station (6km north-west of Donetsk city centre), the SMM heard five undetermined explosions 4-6km north-west, heard one undetermined explosion and heard and saw one explosion assessed as an impact 1-3km north, and heard eight shots and four bursts of small-arms fire 2-6km north-west.

On the evening of 20 June, while in “DPR”-controlled Horlivka (39km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard one undetermined explosion 3-5km west. The following day, over about 75 minutes, the SMM heard 185 shots of small-arms-fire 0.8-1.5km south-west.

Over ten minutes on the evening of 20 June, while in government-controlled Svitlodarsk (57km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard 14 undetermined explosions 8-10km south-west.

On the evening and night of 20-21 June the SMM camera in Shyrokyne (20km east of Mariupol) recorded, in total, 19 undetermined explosions, two rocket-assisted projectiles in flight from east to west and subsequent explosions assessed as their impacts, 85 tracer rounds and three rocket-assisted projectiles in flight from west to east, nearly 220 tracer rounds and two rocket-assisted projectiles in flight from east to west, one tracer round and one rocket-assisted projectile in flight from south to north, one rocket-assisted projectile in flight from south-west to north-east, all at unknown distances north.

On the evening of 20-21 June, while in government-controlled Mariupol (102km south of Donetsk), the SMM heard 32 undetermined explosions at unknown distances north-east, east and east-south-east.

In Luhansk region the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, including, more explosions (55), compared with the previous reporting period (12 explosions).

During the night of 20-21 June, while in “LPR”-controlled Kadiivka (formerly Stakhanov, 50km west of Luhansk), the SMM heard 39 undetermined explosions 15km north-north-east.

In less than ten minutes on 21 June, positioned about 1km south of “LPR”-controlled Zhovte (17km north-west of Luhansk), the SMM heard six explosions assessed as impacts of artillery (calibre unknown) rounds 10km west, heard one explosion assessed as an impact of an artillery round 3km west, and heard and saw five explosions assessed as impacts of artillery rounds 2.5km west.

Following the latest attack on the SMM in Yasynuvata on 20 June, the SMM received a letter that a Russian Federation officer of the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC) issued to a senior “DPR” member stating that according to information from the JCCC, the SMM had been fired upon in Yasynuvata and requesting an investigation be conducted and the outcome be communicated to the JCCC (see SMM Spot Report 20 June). On 21 June, while positioned at the Yasynuvata railway station an SMM patrol was approached by a man dressed in civilian clothing who said his name was “Kursk” (approximately 40 years old) and who said he was looking into the attack of Tuesday. Another man in civilian clothing was speaking with a railway station employee. Neither of the men in civilian clothing were visibly armed and they were accompanied by three armed men in military-type clothing. When asked by the SMM, “Kursk” said he did not have any information related to the incident, including the identity of the perpetrators.

The SMM followed up on reports of a casualty in Pikuzy, confirmed the death of an elderly woman in Yasynuvata, and observed fresh impacts in Shchastia. On 20 June in “DPR”-controlled Pikuzy (formerly Kominternove, 92km south of Donetsk) three residents (women in their forties and fifties) told the SMM that a 19-year-old girl had died on the night of 18-19 June. They said they had known her since her early childhood and that she had recently finished studying in Mariupol and had since been living with her parents in Pikuzy. The three women were visibly upset, and told the SMM that continuous shelling in their village has had serious psychological impacts on them and other villagers. On 21 June in “DPR”-controlled Novoazovsk (101km south-east of Donetsk), a resident dealing with public matters told the SMM that a 19-year-old  girl had been hit in the head by shrapnel and died on the spot when she had gone outside the house on Pobeda Street in Pikuzy around midnight on 18-19 June. He said that her body had been found by her relatives some hours later. Medical staff in Novoazovsk district hospital told the SMM that her body had been brought to a morgue in “DPR”-controlled Starobesheve (32km south-east of Donetsk).

On 21 June, medical staff in a hospital in Yasynuvata told the SMM that an 81-year-old female resident of the town had passed away in the early morning of 21 June after the amputation of her left arm and leg and traumatic shock as a result of multiple shrapnel wounds. They said that she had been seriously injured by an explosion that had occurred in the garden of her house at 74 Babushkina Street at about 15:40 on 19 June, and that she had been treated in the intensive care unit of the hospital thereafter. (See SMM Daily Report, 21 June 2017.)

At an “LPR” checkpoint south of the bridge to government-controlled Shchastia (20km north of Luhansk), an armed “LPR” member (50 years old) showed the SMM five impacts near the checkpoint. One impact was located about 50m north of the checkpoint, 5m east of the paved road, and approximately 80cm in diameter. A second impact was located 50m west of the checkpoint where the SMM observed scorched grass up to 3m in diameter. The third impact was located 80m south of the checkpoint and 3m east of the road, where the SMM observed scorched grass and earth up to 2m in diameter. The fourth impact was located 90m south of the checkpoint and 3m east of the road, where the SMM observed scorched grass and earth up to 2m in diameter. The fifth impact was located 100m south of the checkpoint and 2m east of the road, where the SMM observed scorched grass and earth up to 1.5m in diameter. The SMM assessed all the impacts to be fresh and caused by 82mm mortar shells. In two cases the SMM could assess that the direction of fire was north and north-westerly; however for three of the five impacts, the SMM was unable to assess the direction of fire.

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 night of 19-20 June the SMM camera in government-controlled Zolote recorded, in sequence, four undetermined explosions 5.5km east (assessed as outside the disengagement area), three bursts of small-arms fire about 1.7km east-south-east (assessed as outside the disengagement area), and one undetermined explosion 4-5km east (assessed as outside the disengagement area.

On the night of 20 June, the SMM camera in government-controlled Stanytsia Luhanska (16km north-east of Luhansk) recorded one flare in flight from south to north (assessed as inside the disengagement area).

The SMM remained unable to access the SMM camera in “DPR”-controlled Petrivske (41km south of Donetsk) due to security considerations.

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

Beyond withdraw lines but outside designated storage sites, in government-controlled Urzuf (132km south-west of Donetsk), the SMM observed four 120mm mortars being used in a training exercise by a group of 20-25 soldiers outside a military compound. On 20 June, an SMM unmanned aerial vehicle revealed two tanks (T-72) on the side of road N-20 facing south-west near government-controlled Berestok (63km north of Donetsk).  

Beyond withdrawal lines but outside designated storage sites in non-government-controlled areas, the SMM observed three tanks (T-72) in a static position at a training area near Kruhlyk (31km south-west of Luhansk).

The SMM facilitated and monitored repairs to essential infrastructure, co-ordinated by the JCCC. Near “LPR”-controlled Pervomaisk the SMM continued to observe repairs to high voltage power lines between the Mykhailivka substation in an “LPR”-controlled part of Zolote and “LPR”-controlled Almazna (55km west of Luhansk).

The SMM continued to monitor the situation of civilians travelling across the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge. On 21 June at a the government checkpoint at 10:20, the SMM saw about 800 people queuing to enter government-controlled areas and 1,000 people queuing in the opposite direction. About three and a half hours later, the queues had grown in both directions to 1,100 queuing to enter government-controlled areas and 1,300 queuing in the opposite direction.

While present, the SMM assessed that the wooden section of the broken bridge had seriously deteriorated. From the underside of the bridge, the SMM observed that 2.5m from the base of the bridge, a wooden support beam had broken almost entirely, causing the bridge to sag considerably, creating instability when the beam bore weight. The SMM observed three pedestrians fall and about ten more lose their footing, all at that same location on the bridge. The SMM observed as local porters lost their footing and as a result dropped a man with a disability who they were carrying in the same spot, all of whom later complained to the SMM about the lack of repair to the bridge.

The SMM continued to observe a protest by supporters of the former Aidar volunteer battalion in Kyiv. (See SMM Daily Report 20 June 2017.) On Bankova Street the SMM saw a gathering of up to 30 people (almost all men, aged between about 20 and 50 years old, three wearing military-style camouflage fatigues). The SMM among them recognized the former Aidar commander, a Member of Parliament. The SMM observed about 35 police and National Guard officers, about 30 of them wearing riot gear. The protest passed off peacefully.

Also in Kyiv, the SMM observed about 1,000 people (male and female, all ages) gathered in front of the national parliament building. The SMM could see flags of various political parties and groups. Some protestors held signs with political messages related to elections and reform. The SMM saw about 150 National Police and National Guard onsite, which was peaceful while the SMM was present. It reportedly ended with no security incidents.

The SMM observed some people temporarily blocked from a city council meeting in Kharkiv. On 21 June, the SMM saw a group of seven people (between 25 and 35, men and women) four of whom are known to the SMM as activists and journalists and three of whom are known to the SMM as members of political party Samopomich including a member of the regional council and two members of the city council, prevented from entering the city council building by two uniformed members of the city council’s security personnel. The SMM saw that the door of the main building was closed from inside. The SMM saw minor scuffles between the seven people seeking entry and a group of unidentified people including two members of the city council’s security personnel. The SMM was allowed to enter the building through a side entrance and observed that inside the building the city council session had already started. Thirty minutes after the start of the session the members of the Samopomich political party, as well as the activists and two journalists were eventually allowed to enter.

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

*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. 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; these restrictions continued to limit the Mission’s observations, including at the disengagement area near Petrivske.

Denial of access:

• A Ukrainian officer of the JCCC told the SMM that no demining activities had taken place during the previous 24 hours in the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area and that, with the exception of the main road, the SMM’s safety could not be guaranteed in the surrounding areas due to the possible presence of mines and UXO. The SMM did not consider it safe to proceed and informed the JCCC.
• A Ukrainian officer of the JCCC told the SMM that no demining had taken place over the previous 24 hours in the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM did not consider it safe to proceed. The JCCC was informed.
• Armed “LPR” members positioned on the southern side of the Zolote disengagement area (3km north of Pervomaisk) told the SMM that they could not guarantee the safety of the Mission on side roads due to the possible presence of mines and UXO. The SMM did not consider it safe to proceed and informed the JCCC.
• The SMM could not travel across the bridge in government-controlled Shchastia (20km north of Luhansk) as Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel said the road south of the bridge was still mined. The SMM informed the JCCC.
• At a checkpoint near government-controlled Pisky (11km north-west of Donetsk), a Ukrainian Armed Forces commander prevented the SMM from proceeding toward the village, citing security concerns and incoming fire. The Ukrainian Armed Forces representative of the JCCC present was unable to resolve the situation.
• At a checkpoint near a bus station in the Trudivskyi area of “DPR”-controlled Petrovskyi district (20km south-west of Donetsk) a “DPR” member told the SMM that they had orders from their commander to prevent the SMM from continuing to the village. A Russian Federation officer of the JCCC present at the site did not resolve the situation, and told the SMM that there were Ukrainian Armed Forces snipers in the area. The Russian Federation representative to the JCCC later expressed regret about the incident.

Conditional access:

• At a checkpoint on highway H-15 near the Kargil plant in “DPR”-controlled Kreminets (16km south-west of Donetsk), armed “DPR” members delayed the SMM for 53 minutes. During the entire period, one armed “DPR” member appeared to record the SMM vehicles and members with his cellphone. The SMM was only allowed to proceed through the checkpoint in the direction of “DPR”-controlled Petrovskyi district under escort by three “DPR” members in civilian vehicle, at least one of whom was armed. The SMM informed the JCCC.

Delay:

• At a “DPR” checkpoint about 500m west of “DPR”-controlled Verkhnoshyrokivske (formerly Oktiabr, 29km north-east of Mariupol), armed “DPR” members delayed the SMM for 20 minutes, saying that they were unable to use landline telephones to contact their “superiors”. The patrol was allowed to proceed 20 minutes later.
• At a checkpoint near “LPR”-controlled Dovhe (22km north-west of Luhansk), three armed “LPR” members prevented the SMM from proceeding, citing shelling in the area. The SMM informed the JCCC, which intervened, and after 60 minutes, the SMM was allowed to proceed.

 

[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.

* Please see the section at the end of this report entitled “Restrictions of SMM’s freedom of movement or other impediments to fulfilment of its mandate”.