Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 25 June 2017

This report is for the media and the general public.

Between the evenings of 23 and 24 June the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. Between the evenings of 24 and 25 June the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted there and elsewhere, including at a checkpoint near Novoazovsk from where it observed a convoy of 17 vehicles, including military-type trucks and buses; this restriction prevented the SMM from visiting a border area.* It followed up on reports of civilian casualties in Dokuchaievsk and in Kadiivka. The SMM observed impact sites in Holubivka and near Shchastia. It facilitated and monitored repairs to a gas pipeline in Zhovte. The SMM monitored two border areas not under government control.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region between the evenings of 23 and 24 June, including 55 explosions, compared with about 160 in the previous reporting period.[1] It recorded fewer ceasefire violations, including about 20 explosions, between the evenings of 24 and 25 June compared with the previous 24 hours.

On the night of 23-24 June the SMM, while in Donetsk city centre, heard eight undetermined explosions and small-arms fire 3-5km north-north-west.

On the night of 23-24 June the SMM camera in Shyrokyne (20km east of Mariupol) recorded a total of five undetermined explosions, 290 tracer rounds in flight from west to east, 275 from east to west, 24 from north to south, five from south to north, two from south-west to north-east, one airburst, two rocket-assisted projectiles in flight from east to west and two from west to east, all at an undetermined distance north.

While in government-controlled Svitlodarsk (57km north-east of Donetsk) on the same night, the SMM heard 24 undetermined explosions and heavy-machine-gun fire 4-5km south-east.

On the same night the SMM camera in government-controlled Avdiivka (17km north of Donetsk) recorded a sequence of eight projectiles in flight from east to west, six from west to east, followed by one from west to east 3-5km east-south-east. The camera also recorded two undetermined explosions and a total of 23 illumination flares 3-5km east-south-east.

On 24 June, positioned in “DPR”-controlled Yasynuvata (16km north-east of Donetsk) for about six hours, the SMM heard 13 undetermined explosions, heavy-machine-gun and small-arms fire 1-3km west and south-west and 2-4km south-west. On 25 June, positioned in Yasynuvata for about six hours, the SMM heard ten undetermined explosions and small-arms fire 1-2km west and 2-3km west and north-west.

On the night of 24-25 June the SMM camera in Shyrokyne recorded a total of four undetermined explosions, 123 tracer rounds in flight from east to west, 11 from south-east to north-west, five from west to east, one from south to north and one from south-east to north-west, all at an undetermined distance north, north-east and north-west.

In Luhansk region the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations, including eight explosions, between the evenings of 23 and 24 June compared with the previous reporting period (55 explosions). Between the evenings of 24 and 25 June it recorded fewer ceasefire violations, including no explosions, compared with the previous 24 hours.

The SMM followed up on reports of civilian casualties. At the trauma hospital in Donetsk city medical staff told the SMM that a woman had been admitted on the morning of 24 June and that she was awaiting surgery. The woman’s husband (aged in his fifties) told the SMM that on the evening of 23 June as he walked with his wife and granddaughter on Kuibysheva street in “DPR”-controlled Dokuchaievsk (30km south-west of Donetsk), he had heard a “crack” and then had seen his wife bleeding from a wound on her right hip. He said she had been struck by a bullet. He added that he had taken her to hospital in Dokuchaievsk and then driven her, on 24 June, to the trauma hospital in Donetsk.

The SMM followed up on reports from the Joint Centre for Control and Coordination (JCCC) that a boy had been injured following an explosion in “LPR”-controlled Kadiivka (formerly Stakhanov, 50km west of Luhansk). Medical staff at the hospital in Kadiivka told the SMM that a 12-year-old boy had been brought in on the evening of 23 June with shrapnel injuries to his back and to one leg. The SMM was unable to reach the alleged impact site at 13 Zelena Street due to security restrictions. A Russian Federation officer of the JCCC and “LPR” members told the SMM that the boy had been wounded between 16:30 and 17:00 on 23 June while playing outside.

The SMM observed a number of impact sites on both sides of the contact line. In “LPR”-controlled Holubivka (formerly Kirovsk, 51km west of Luhansk) at 40 Tolstoho Street the SMM observed shrapnel damage to the west-facing exterior walls, interior kitchen walls and to an outhouse west of a house. Windows were broken on the west-facing side of the house. The owner (a woman aged 70 years old) said an explosion had caused the damage on the evening of 23 June. The SMM observed a fresh crater about 30m west of the house that it assessed was consistent with an artillery round (152mm) fired from a north-westerly direction. The round had struck an outhouse at 9 Tolstoho Street and destroyed it. According to the woman, no-one had been injured.

An armed man at the “LPR” checkpoint south of the bridge near government-controlled Shchastia (20km north of Luhansk) showed the SMM several impact sites that he said were the result of shelling on the evening of 23 June. The SMM observed several fresh impact sites from a distance and assessed them to have been caused by mortar shells and artillery rounds. At one impact site about 130m south of the checkpoint the SMM saw an unexploded 120mm mortar round embedded in the H-21 road; the SMM assessed that the round was fired from a north-westerly direction. The SMM observed an impact site about 200m south of the checkpoint and a 30-40m long and 2-3m wide strip of burnt grass on the H-21 road central reservation that divides the north and south-bound lanes of traffic. The SMM assessed that it had probably been caused by an incendiary round. At another impact site about 140m south of the checkpoint, 2m off the H-21 road, the SMM observed a crater surrounded by a 5m circle of burnt grass. The SMM assessed the crater had been caused by a projectile fired from a westerly direction.

The SMM observed three other impact sites 50m north-west of the checkpoint, all of which were surrounded by 3-4m circles of burnt grass. The SMM assessed they had been caused by mortar (82mm) rounds probably fired from a north-westerly direction. Two other impact sites 60-70m north-west, surrounded by a 5m circle of burnt grass, were assessed as caused by 120mm mortar or 122mm artillery rounds. A woman in “LPR’-controlled Khrystove (18km north of Luhansk) told the SMM that she had heard a number of explosions on the evening of 23 June. The SMM spoke separately to three residents in “LPR”-controlled Vesela Hora (16km north of Luhansk) (two men aged 35-40 years old and a woman about 30-35 years old) said that on 23 June between 20:00 and 21:30, they heard numerous explosions in the area of the “LPR” checkpoint.

On 24 June the SMM observed one fresh crater about 200m west of Shchastia power plant that it assessed had been caused by a mortar round (82mm) impact. Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel at the power plant said that the area had come under fire on 23 June.

The SMM observed the situation of civilians crossing the contact line. On 25 June, just east of the entry-exit crossing point in government-controlled Pyshchevyk (84km south of Donetsk), the SMM observed the body of a man on the ground surrounded by a crowd. Some of those present told the SMM that the man had died.

The SMM continued to monitor the disengagement process and to pursue full access to the disengagement areas in 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 22 June, the SMM camera in government-controlled Zolote recorded 14 projectiles in flight from north to south 2-3km east, one projectile in flight from north-west to south-east 1.7-2.7km east, and one undetermined explosion 3-5km east, all assessed as outside the disengagement area.

On the night of the 23-24 June the same camera recorded four undetermined explosions 3-5km east-north-east, east and east-south-east, 4-10km south-east and small-arms fire 1.4km south-east, all assessed as outside the disengagement area.

On 24 June, positioned 1.5km west of Zolote (on the edge of the disengagement area), the SMM heard two undetermined explosions 12-15km south-east (assessed as outside the disengagement area). On 24 June positioned in “LPR”-controlled Pervomaisk (58km west of Luhansk) the SMM heard one explosion assessed as impact 6-7km north-west, assessed as outside the disengagement area.

On 24 June armed “LPR” members on the bridge south of Stanytsia Luhanska refused to talk to the SMM.

On 25 June positioned in the government-controlled Bohdanivka (43km south-west of Donetsk) the SMM noted a calm situation in the Petrivske disengagement area. Ukrainian officers of the JCCC in Bohdanivka said they were not aware of any demining having taken place.

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

Beyond the withdrawal lines but outside assigned areas the SMM observed a tank (T-72) being transported east on a truck near “DPR”-controlled Khartsyzk (26km north-east of Donetsk).

The SMM observed an armoured combat vehicle and anti-aircraft weapon[2] in the security zone. In government-controlled areas the SMM observed one stationary infantry fighting vehicle (BMP-2) in Stanytsia Luhanska on 25 June and a military truck with a mounted anti-aircraft gun (ZU-23-2) at a checkpoint near Lomakyne (15km north-east of Mariupol), also on 25 June.

The SMM continued to observe the presence of mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO). It observed 12 anti-tank mines on two wooden platforms placed in the middle on the road (in the “LPR”-controlled area) between Pervomaisk and government-controlled Popasna (69km west of Luhansk). “LPR” members removed them to allow the SMM to pass. In government-controlled Popasna the SMM observed a crater, about 1m in diameter, in the middle of Obizna Street in the north-east of the town. A red wooden sign warning of mines had been placed in the crater.

On 25 June, positioned at a “DPR” checkpoint on the E58 road to the north of “DPR”-controlled Novoazovsk (40km east of Mariupol) the SMM observed a convoy of four military-type trucks, two minibuses, one bus and ten civilian vehicles – all full of people wearing military-style clothing - headed east in the direction of Boikivske (formerly Telmanove, “DPR”-controlled, 67km south-east of Donetsk). The drivers of all vehicles wore military-style clothing, with the majority wearing balaclavas. One of the trucks had “Chechen” written in the Russian language displayed on a board at the front of the vehicle. Other vehicles had the letters “TBG” (in Cyrillic) displayed on them. Armed “DPR” members at the checkpoint twice denied the SMM access further east toward the border area.* (“DPR” members also denied the SMM entry to Novoazovsk on 23 June.) (See SMM Daily Report 24 June 2017).

In “DPR”-controlled Horlivka (39km north-east of Donetsk) on 23 June the SMM observed  about 200 men in military-type clothing, eight military-type transport trucks, one bus and two cars outside a concert hall  at 76 Dymytrova Boulevard in the city.

The SMM facilitated and monitored repairs to essential infrastructure, co-ordinated by the JCCC. On 24 and 25 June, near “LPR”-controlled Pervomaisk, the SMM observed 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). On 24 June the SMM observed two teams of workers, one on the western outskirts of Pervomaisk and another group 200m south of the “LPR” checkpoint on the edge of the Zolote disengagement area. 

The SMM visited two border areas not under control of the Government. At the pedestrian border crossing point in Verkhnoharasymivka (57km south-east of Luhansk), for about an hour on 24 June, the SMM observed ten pedestrians exit Ukraine and ten enter. At the Uspenka border crossing point (73km south-east of Donetsk), for about 40 minutes, the SMM observed 60 civilian vehicles (30 with Ukrainian, twelve with Russian Federation licence plates and 15 with “DPR” plates), 12 trucks and two buses (one with Ukrainian and one with Russian Federation licence plates) queued to leave Ukraine and two civilian vehicles enter.

The SMM continued monitoring in Kherson, Odessa, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, 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, 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; including at the disengagement area near Petrivske.

Denial of access:

• On 24 and on 25 June, 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.
• On 24 and on 25 June 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. 
• On 25 June Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel at a checkpoint on the northern edge of the Zolote disengagement area told the SMM that no de-mining had taken place over the previous 24 hours and that, due to the possible presence of mines and/or UXO, they could not guarantee the SMM’s safety. The SMM did not consider it safe to proceed and informed the JCCC.
• On 24 and on 25 June the SMM could not travel across the bridge in government-controlled Shchastia as Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel said the road south of the bridge was still mined. The SMM informed the JCCC.
• On 24 June 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 more than 30 minutes, after which the SMM left the area.
• On 24 June, “DPR” members refused to give written security guarantees for planned maintenance of the SMM camera in Shyrokyne. The SMM was unable to go to the site.
• On 24 June armed men in “DPR”-controlled Karlo-Marksove (38km north-east of Donetsk) told the SMM to leave the area. Some of them filmed SMM members. The SMM informed the JCCC.
• On 25 June armed “DPR” members at the checkpoint on the E58 road north of Novoazovsk denied the SMM access to the border area. The SMM withdrew 150m away but was approached by an armed “DPR” member who said the SMM could travel to Novoazovsk, but not any further east towards the border with the Russian Federation. A Russian Federation officer of the JCCC office in Bezimenne then arrived and said the SMM could not travel to the border area. The SMM asked the officer from the JCCC to assist in ensuring rapid response to the restriction. He said the SMM needed written permission from the “DPR” to travel east. The SMM approached the checkpoint a second time but “DPR” members denied the SMM access to the border area. As the SMM waited at the checkpoint it observed a convoy of military-type vehicles pass from the west, then turn and head north (see above).

Conditional access:

• On 25 June armed “DPR” members stopped the SMM at a checkpoint near Verkhnoshyrokivske (formerly Oktiabr, “DPR”-controlled, 29km north-east of Mariupol) and allowed the SMM to proceed only after searching its vehicles. The SMM 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.* 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”.

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