Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 20 July 2017

This report is for the media and the general public.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. In the Trudovskyi area of Petrovskyi district in Donetsk city, an armed man told the Mission not to fly an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV); the SMM then heard small-arms fire near the area where it was flying the UAV.* The SMM followed up on reports of civilian casualties and damage to civilian properties caused by shelling in Donetsk city. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote and Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement areas. Its access remained restricted there and elsewhere, including in Kozatske.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Pikuzy and Pisky. The Mission continued to facilitate and monitor repairs to the Mykhailivka-Shchastia Thermal Power Plant high-voltage power lines near Sentianivka and facilitated and monitored an attempt to demine the area of a gas station in Krasnohorivka. It continued to follow up on the water situation in Vesela Hora, Obozne and Nova Marivka. The SMM visited one border area not under government control in Luhansk region. The Mission monitored public gatherings in Kyiv and Kharkiv and continued to monitor a protest in Kherson.

In Donetsk region the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations[1], including about 140 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (about 200 explosions).

On 20 July, positioned at the “DPR”-controlled Donetsk central railway station (6km north-west of Donetsk city centre) for about four hours, the SMM heard six undetermined explosions and seven bursts of small-arms fire, all 2-5km north.

On the evening and night of 19-20 July, while in government-controlled Svitlodarsk (57km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard almost 120 undetermined explosions and about 150 bursts and shots of heavy-machine-gun and small-arms fire, all 2-5km south-east.

On the evening and night of 19-20 July the SMM camera in Shyrokyne (20km east of Mariupol) recorded, in sequence, two tracer rounds in flight from east to west, three tracer rounds in flight from west to east, five tracer rounds in flight from east to west, followed by aggregated totals of six undetermined explosions, one illumination flare in vertical flight, 14 rocket-assisted projectiles in flight (ten from east to west and four from west to east) and 538 tracer rounds in flight (362 from west to east, 175 from east to west and one in vertical flight), all at unknown distances north.

On the evening of 20 July, while the SMM was preparing to launch its mini unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in the Trudovskyi area of Petrovskyi district (15km south-west of Donetsk city centre), an armed “DPR” member approached the Mission and demanded that it not  fly the UAV, stating that the SMM had no right to be in the area. Shortly thereafter, when the SMM was conducting the UAV flight, it heard 17 shots of small-arms fire 300-400m south-south-west of its position, assessed as aimed at the UAV. The SMM immediately ended the flight, landing the UAV safely and without damage. The Mission informed a Russian Federation officer of the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC) who was present at the site.

In Luhansk region the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, including over 60 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (two explosions).

On the night of 19-20 July, while in government-controlled Popasna (69km west of Luhansk), within about 90 minutes the SMM heard 50 undetermined explosions and 145 bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire, all 5-8km south-south-east.

The SMM followed up on reports of civilian casualties in Donetsk city. Medical staff at the Donetsk Trauma Hospital told the SMM that a man (aged 79) had been admitted with shrapnel injuries to his chest and both legs. His wife (aged 70) and daughter (aged 40), who were also at the hospital, told the Mission that they had heard an explosion near their house at 344 Petrovskoho Street in the Trudovskyi area in Donetsk city at about 16:30 on 19 July and had seen him kneeling down on the ground in the garden of the house. They said that he had crawled back to the house while bleeding heavily. Later in the day, the SMM visited the abovementioned house and saw damage to trees and cut branches in the back garden of the house, assessed as having been caused by an explosive projectile (type unknown). The SMM was not able to assess the direction of fire.

At the Donetsk Kalinina Hospital a man (aged 40) told the SMM that he had heard bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire at about 20:30 on 19 July while he had been in a garage near his house on 5/2 Sotsmistechko Street in Donetsk city. He said that immediately after that he had felt a pain in his chest and then realized that a bullet had hit him. Medical staff at the same hospital told the SMM that the wound in his chest was not deep, having caused minor skin and muscle injuries.

The SMM followed up on reports of damage to civilian properties in residential areas caused by shelling. On 19 July, the SMM visited impact sites near the Donetsk central railway station. Around 15 residents (men and women of different ages) separately told the Mission that shelling had taken place on the evening of 17 July between 20:30 and 21:15.

At 205 Artemivska Street, the SMM saw several holes in the west- and south-facing walls of a house and shattered windows on the south-facing walls. The Mission also saw slight shrapnel damage to the south-facing door of an adjacent house at 207 Artemivska Street.

At 360 Artemivska Street, the SMM saw a crater in the backyard of a house and shrapnel damage to a west-facing door and window of the house. It also saw damage to the west-facing garage and window of an adjacent house at 362 Artemivska Street.

At 366 Artemivska Street, the SMM saw multiple holes in the south-facing wall of a house, all the south-facing windows of the house shattered and its entrance gate inside of the yard had been damaged.

At 30b Rybalka Street, the SMM saw a hole in the roof of a two-story house and shattered windows on the east-facing exterior wall. Inside the house, the Mission observed that the second floor had burned down in a fire.

The SMM could not assess the direction of fire or the weapons used at the abovementioned impact sites as the sites appeared to have been cleaned up before the Mission’s visit.

On 20 July, the SMM visited 229 Petrovskoho Street and saw extensive fire damage to a wooden structure in the backyard of a house, assessed as caused by a projectile (unknown calibre and direction of fire). A female resident (aged 77) told the SMM that the wooden structure was a pigeon house and that her 70 pigeons had died as a result of the impact and fire. She also said that the impact had occurred at about 14:20 on 16 July.

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 18-19 July, the SMM camera in government-controlled Zolote recorded three projectiles in flight from north-west to south-east about 3km east, assessed as outside the disengagement area.

The SMM continued to see a north-facing camera on top of a pole inside the Zolote disengagement area. (See SMM Daily Report 20 July 2017.)

On 20 July, positioned inside Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area in an “LPR”-controlled area 400m south-south-east of the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge, the SMM heard 11 explosions (nine undetermined and two assessed as impacts of rounds of undetermined weapons) 5-10km north-west, assessed as outside the disengagement area. The SMM also heard shots of small-arms fire 1-2km west but it was unable to assess whether these had occurred inside or outside the disengagement area.

Near an “LPR” checkpoint south of the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge, an armed “LPR” member (male) made offensive remarks toward an SMM female monitor.

While present in government-controlled Bohdanivka (41km south-west of Donetsk), west of the Petrivske disengagement area, for about one hour, the SMM observed a calm situation.

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, an SMM mid-range UAV spotted one surface-to-air missile system (9K35 Strela-10, 120mm) near Pikuzy (formerly Kominternove, 23km north-east of Mariupol).

In government-controlled areas, on 19 July the SMM saw 12 anti-tank guns (MT-12 Rapira, 100mm) near Sievierodonetsk (74km north-west of Luhansk). An SMM mini UAV spotted two 120mm mortars near Pisky (11km north-west of Donetsk) on 20 July.

Beyond withdrawal lines but outside designated storage sites, the SMM saw four tanks (T-64) being carried by trucks (MAZ-536) moving north-west in the south-eastern edge of government-controlled Lysychansk (75km north-west of Luhansk) and four tanks (T-64B) stationary on the ground at a railway station in government-controlled Rubizhne (84km north-west of Luhansk).

The SMM observed weapons that could not be verified as withdrawn, as their storage does not comply with the criteria set out in the 16 October 2015 notification. In government-controlled areas the SMM observed nine towed howitzers (2A65 Msta-B, 152mm) and six anti-tank guns (MT-12). The SMM observed that the following weapons were again missing: 15 towed howitzers (eight 2A65 and seven 2A36 Giatsint-B, 152mm, three of which were noted as missing for the first time) and 27 anti-tank guns (24 MT-12, 12 of which were noted as missing for the first time, and three D-48, 85mm).

The SMM observed armoured combat vehicles, anti-aircraft guns[2], as well as tracks of military-type vehicles in the security zone. In non-government-controlled areas, the SMM saw one armoured personnel carrier (APC) (MT-LB) and fresh tracks assessed as those of infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) (BMP-variant) near Yasnodolsk (41km west of Luhansk), and eight IFVs (seven BMP-1 and one BMP-2) and one APC (MT-LB) near Nova Marivka (64km south of Donetsk).

In government-controlled areas, on 19 July an SMM mid-range UAV spotted two APCs (BTR-70 and BTR-60 variant), one anti-aircraft gun (ZU23-2, 23mm) in the rear bed of a truck and one probable anti-aircraft gun (ZU23-2) in the rear bed of another truck 65m west-south-west of a Ukrainian Armed Forces checkpoint on road T0519, from which a secondary road leads to Vodiane (94km south of Donetsk).

On 19 July, an SMM mid-range UAV spotted the presence of 21 anti-tank mines (TM-62), 13 of which have been previously observed, laid across road T-0519 between the abovementioned Ukrainian Armed Forces checkpoint near Vodiane and a “DPR” checkpoint near Pikuzy. (See SMM Daily Report 21 June 2017.) The same UAV spotted ten additional anti-tank mines (TM-62) nearby that appeared to have been burned.

The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs, co-ordinated by the JCCC, to the Mykhailivka-Shchastia Thermal Power Plant high-voltage power lines near “LPR”-controlled Sentianivka (formerly Frunze, 44km west of Luhansk) where it saw a truck and 11 workers present. (See SMM Daily Report 20 July 2017.) The SMM, in co-ordination with the JCCC, also facilitated and monitored an attempt to demine the area around a gas station in government-controlled Krasnohorivka (21km west of Donetsk) in order to restore the local gas distribution. The demining team, however, was unable to complete the demining due to overgrown vegetation.

The SMM continued to follow up on the water situation near the contact line. In “LPR”-controlled Vesela Hora (16km north of Luhansk), the SMM saw about 50 people (men and women of different ages, some of them with children) with plastic bottles queuing to receive water from a water tank truck. Three residents of the village (all women, aged 50-75) separately told the Mission that there has been no regular water supply since March 2017. In “LPR”-controlled Obozne (18km north of Luhansk), five residents (two men and three women, aged 30-70) told the SMM that their village has also been without water since March 2017. In Nova Marivka a couple (in their sixties) told the SMM that no potable water was available in the village, while non-potable water could be taken from wells.

The SMM visited one border area not under government control. At the border crossing point in Izvaryne (52km south-east of Luhansk), in about 50 minutes the SMM saw 82 cars (53 with Ukrainian and 26 with Russian Federation licence plates, and three “LPR” plates) and about 50 pedestrians in a queue to exit Ukraine. The SMM also saw three buses (with Ukrainian licence plates) and about 80 pedestrians enter Ukraine.

In Kyiv and Kharkiv, the SMM monitored public gatherings, one year after the killing of the journalist, Pavel Sheremet, by a car explosion. (See SMM Daily Report 21 July 2016.) In Kyiv, the SMM saw about 200 people (men and women of different ages) and about 100 people, who appeared to be representatives of various media, march for about two and a half hours in the centre of the city. Participants stood in silence for about 45 minutes on Bankova Street and about 30 minutes on Akademika Bohomoltsia Street. Some participants carried banners in Ukrainian language reading “Who killed Pavlo?” In Kharkiv, the SMM saw about 35 people, mostly local journalists known to the SMM (middle-aged men and women), who gathered for about half an hour in the early evening in front of the Taras Shevchenko monument in the city centre and held a similar commemorative event.

On 19 and 20 July in Kherson, the SMM continued to monitor a protest in front of the office of the Presidential Representative of Ukraine for Crimea. (See SMM Daily Report 19 July 2017.) As first observed on 17 July, the SMM noted that on 19 and 20 July, the doors of the office remained closed and that members of the public were still not being received. On 20 July, the SMM saw 13 male protestors near the two tents.

The SMM continued monitoring in 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, including at the disengagement area near Petrivske.

Denial of access:

• On the north-eastern edge of “DPR”-controlled Kozatske (36km north-east of Mariupol), an armed “DPR” member prevented the SMM from proceeding east towards “DPR”-controlled Porokhnia (85km south of Donetsk), claiming that it had not been allowed to proceed further “out of consideration for the safety of the patrol”. The SMM informed the JCCC.
• Two men in military-style clothing, one of them armed, denied the SMM access to a compound in Kozatske, claiming that prior permission from senior “DPR” members in Donetsk city or “DPR”-controlled Novoazovsk (40km east of Mariupol) was needed for such access. The SMM informed the JCCC.

Related to disengagement areas and mines/UXO:

• 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.
• At a checkpoint on the northern edge of the Zolote disengagement area a Ukrainian Armed Forces officer of the JCCC 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.
• 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 there were mines on the road south of the bridge. The SMM informed the JCCC.

Delay:

• Armed “DPR” members at a checkpoint near a bus station in Petrovskyi district of Donetsk city delayed the SMM passage for 20 minutes as the JCCC was not able to provide an escort. The SMM informed the JCCC.

Other impediments:

• The SMM was not able to continue flying a mini UAV in the Trudovskyi area of Petrovskyi district in Donetsk city as it heard shots of small-arms fire nearby, assessed as aimed at the UAV. The SMM informed the JCCC (see above).

 

[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.