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

This report is for the media and the general public.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, including more explosions, in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas; it recorded a ceasefire violation near Stanytsia Luhanska. Its access remained restricted in the disengagement areas and elsewhere, including in Horlivka and Rozivka. A “DPR” member again prevented the SMM from flying its unmanned aerial vehicle over the Donetsk Filtration Station. Aerial imagery available to the SMM revealed the presence of four self-propelled howitzers in violation of withdrawal lines near Ternove. The Mission continued to facilitate and monitor repairs and maintenance to infrastructure in Vesela Hora, Shchastia and Krasnyi Lyman. The SMM visited a border area not under government control in Luhansk region. In Poltava region, the Mission monitored four public gatherings.

In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations,[1] including about 35 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (about 30 explosions).

On the night of 29-30 August, while in “DPR”-controlled Donetsk city centre, the SMM heard five undetermined explosions 8-12km north-west. On 30 August, positioned at the Donetsk central railway station (6km north-west of Donetsk city centre) for about two hours, the SMM heard seven undetermined explosions 3-6km west and north-north-west. The same day, positioned at the railway station in “DPR”-controlled Yasynuvata (16km north-east of Donetsk) for about five hours, the SMM heard 18 undetermined explosions 2-4km west-south-west.

In the early morning of 30 August, the SMM camera in government-controlled Avdiivka (17km north of Donetsk) recorded one projectile in flight from south-west to north-east 3-5km east-south-east. Later in the day, the SMM camera at the Donetsk Filtration Station (15km north of Donetsk) recorded one undetermined explosion 1-2km south.

On 30 August, positioned in “DPR”-controlled Dokuchaievsk (30km south-west of Donetsk) for about one hour and a half, the SMM heard two undetermined explosions 3-4km south-west.

On the evening and night of 29-30 August, the SMM camera in Shyrokyne (20km east of Mariupol) recorded, in sequence, three tracer rounds in flight from east to west, two tracer rounds from west to east, three tracer rounds from east to west, one tracer round from west to east, four tracer rounds from east to west, nine tracer rounds from west to east, one undetermined explosion, followed by a total of 153 tracer rounds in flight (142 from east to west and 11 from west to east), as well as one minute of uncountable tracer rounds from east to west, all at unknown distances north.

In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations (one shot), compared with the previous reporting period (48 explosions).

On 30 August, a deputy commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces at a checkpoint on the eastern edge of government-controlled Popasna (69km west of Luhansk) told the SMM that he and his unit were aware of the recommitment to the ceasefire for the start of the new school year. At the entry-exit crossing point in government-controlled Pyshchevyk (25km north-east of Mariupol), a Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier told the SMM that he had received information from his superiors about the recommitment to the ceasefire.

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 28 August, positioned north of the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge, the SMM saw a 2.5m-high and 2m-wide structure made of concrete blocks inside the disengagement area near an area where civilians queue to travel north through the entry-exit checkpoint. (See SMM Daily Report 28 August 2017.) A Ukrainian Armed Forces officer of the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC) told the SMM that the concrete structure had been erected to provide Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers relief from the sun. The Mission has not seen any further work on the concrete structure after 28 August.

In the early morning of 30 August, while on the eastern edge of government-controlled Stanytsia Luhanska, the SMM heard one shot of small-arms fire 2km south-west, assessed as outside the disengagement area. Later in the day, positioned in government-controlled Zolote and in “DPR”-controlled Petrivske the SMM observed a calm situation.

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

In violation of withdrawal lines, in non-government-controlled areas, aerial imagery revealed the presence on 28 August of four self-propelled howitzers (type unknown) in a training area 3.7km east-south-east of Ternove (57km east of Donetsk).

Beyond the respective withdrawal lines but outside designated storage sites, in government-controlled areas, the SMM saw two flatbed trucks each carrying a self-propelled howitzer (2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm) on road H20 3km north of Kramatorsk (83km north-of Donetsk) heading north and one surface-to-air missile system (9K33 Osa) in Kyrylivka (53km south-west of Donetsk) moving north. On 28 August, an SMM mid-range unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) spotted two surface-to-air missile systems (9K37), six self-propelled howitzers (2S19 Msta-S, 152mm) and 14 towed howitzers (2A65 Msta‑B, 152mm) near Hrodivka (43km north-west of Donetsk).

In non-government-controlled areas, the SMM saw a tank (T-72) loaded on a truck trailer about 3km south of Luhansk city heading east. Aerial imagery revealed the presence on 28 August of 49 tanks (type unknown) in a training area 3.7km east-south-east of Ternove and 37 tanks (type unknown) in a compound 3.2km west of Manuilivka (65km east of Donetsk).

The SMM observed weapons that could not be verified as withdrawn, as their storage did not comply with the criteria set out in the 16 October 2015 notification. In government-controlled areas the Mission observed one towed howitzer (D-30 Lyagushka, 122mm) for the first time. It also observed that six towed howitzers (D-30), one of which was missing for the first time, and 15 mortars (PM-38, 120mm) were absent.

The SMM observed the presence of armoured combat vehicles[2], other military-type armoured vehicles and tracks of military-type vehicles in the security zone. In non-government-controlled areas, the SMM saw fresh tracks assessed as those of a tank (T-72) and an infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) (BMP-2) near Kalynove (60km west of Luhansk); and fresh tracks assessed as those of at least nine armoured personnel carriers (APCs) (MT-LB) between Kadiivka (formerly Stakhanov, 50km west of Luhansk) and Irmino (54km west of Luhansk).

Aerial imagery revealed the presence on 28 August of two military-type armoured vehicles near Pikuzy (formerly Kominternove, 92km south of Donetsk). It also revealed the presence on the same day of five military-type armoured vehicles and about 50 military-type trucks near Kalmiuske (formerly Komsomolske, 42km south-east of Donetsk), in a zone within which deployment of heavy armaments and military equipment is proscribed according to Point 5 of the Memorandum of 19 September 2014.

In government-controlled areas, on 29 August, an SMM mid-range UAV spotted four IFVs (three BMP-1 and one BMP-variant) and one APC (BTS-2) in Popasna. Aerial imagery revealed the presence on 28 August of two military-type armoured vehicles near Vodiane (19km north-east of Mariupol).

The SMM continued to observe the presence of mines at three locations where the Mission had previously observed anti-tank mines. On 26 August, in government-controlled areas, an SMM mid-range UAV spotted nine anti-tank mines (TM-62) in a row laid across road M03 between “DPR”-controlled Debaltseve (58km north-east of Donetsk) and government-controlled Svitlodarsk (57km north-east of Donetsk) about 1.6km south of a Ukrainian Armed Forces checkpoint. (See SMM Daily Report 20 July 2017.) On the same road the SMM UAV spotted eight anti-tank mines (TM-62) 1.3km south-south-east of the abovementioned mines and about 80m north-north-west of an “LPR” checkpoint. The UAV also spotted 23 anti-tank mines (TM-62) about 20m north-north-west of the aforementioned “LPR” checkpoint, ten of which were laid across road M03 and 13 of which were piled nearby in the grass on the side of the road. (See SMM Daily Report 10 August 2017.)

The SMM facilitated and monitored the clearance of mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO), co-ordinated by the JCCC, on road M03 between Svitlodarsk and Debaltseve, enabling the Mission to travel along the road for the sixth time in 2017. (See SMM Daily Report 28 August 2017).

The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs and maintenance, co-ordinated by the JCCC, to the thermal power plant in government-controlled Shchastia (20km north of Luhansk), to the water wells in “LPR”-controlled Krasnyi Lyman (30km north-west of Luhansk) by a water company and to the Vesela Hora-Khrystove power transmission line near “LPR”-controlled Vesela Hora (16km north of Luhansk).

The SMM visited one border area not under government control. On 30 August, at the border crossing point near Voznesenivka (formerly Chervonopartyzansk, 65km south-east of Luhansk), in about one hour, the SMM saw 13 cars (six with Ukrainian, four with Russian Federation, one with Polish, one with Latvian and one with Georgian licence plates), one bus with Russian Federation licence plates, one truck with Ukrainian licence plates and 14 pedestrians exit Ukraine. The SMM also saw eight cars (five with Ukrainian and three with Russian Federation licence plates) and 19 pedestrians enter Ukraine.

In Poltava region, the SMM monitored four public gatherings in commemoration of the “Ilovaisk battle” that took place in August 2014. On the morning of 29 August, in Kremenchuk (225km south-west of Kharkiv), the Mission saw a gathering of 150 people (mixed gender and ages), including regional state administration representatives, Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers and ATO veterans, at a park at 2 Pushkina Street. Some of them were carrying Ukrainian national flags and ATO veteran association flags. About 20 police officers were present. During the event, participants gave speeches, noting those volunteers from Kremenchuk who had lost their lives in the “Ilovaisk battle”. One hour later at the city cemetery in Svishtovska Street in Kremenchuk, the SMM saw a similar gathering of about 100 people (mixed gender and ages), including government officials, religious representatives, Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers  and ATO veterans. Two police officers were present.

The same day, in Poltava (86km south-east of Kharkiv), the SMM monitored a gathering in front of the regional state administration building. The Mission saw about 50 people (mixed gender and ages), some of whom laid flowers in front of the building. About 30 participants then walked to the city cemetery, as announced during the event, to honour four Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers from Poltava who had lost their lives in the “Ilovaisk battle”. Later the same day, the SMM saw about 80 people (mixed gender and ages) gathered in front of the Mazepa Monument at Soborna Square in the centre of Poltava, including about 30 men in uniforms (ten in National Guard and 20 in Ukrainian Armed Forces uniforms) holding flags of different former battalions. Five police officers were present. All events ended peacefully.

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

*Restrictions of the 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.

Denial of access:

• Armed “DPR” members at a checkpoint on the outskirts of “DPR”-controlled Horlivka (39km north-east of Donetsk) denied the SMM passage, saying that the patrol did not have “permission” to pass. The Mission informed the JCCC.
• Four armed “DPR” members at a checkpoint at the western entrance to “DPR”-controlled Rozivka (61km south-east of Donetsk) denied the SMM passage, saying that they had orders not to allow anyone through due to “subversive activity” in the area.  The Mission informed the JCCC.
• A “DPR” member in Yasynuvata again prevented the SMM from flying its UAV over the Donetsk Filtration Station (see SMM Report 28 August 2017), although the SMM had informed the JCCC in advance about the flight. The “DPR” member said that he had been ordered by his superiors to open fire at any UAVs he saw and not to allow the SMM to fly its UAV in the area. He also said that if the SMM flew the UAV, “DPR” members under his command would shoot it down. The SMM informed the JCCC.

Related to disengagement areas and mines/UXO:

• The SMM was prevented from accessing areas in the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area, with the exception of the main road, due to the possible presence of mines and UXO. A Ukrainian Armed Forces officer of the JCCC told the SMM that no demining activities had taken place during the previous 24 hours in the area. The SMM did not consider it safe to proceed and informed the JCCC.
• The possible presence of mines and UXO prevented the SMM from accessing secondary roads south of the Zolote disengagement area. Armed “LPR” members positioned on the southern side of the disengagement area told the SMM that no demining activity had been conducted in the area. The SMM did not consider it safe to proceed and informed the JCCC.
• The possible presence of mines and UXO prevented the SMM from accessing the road leading west from Petrivske. The SMM informed the JCCC.
• The SMM could not travel across the bridge in Shchastia due to the presence of mines. A Ukrainian Armed Forces officer of the JCCC told the SMM that mines on the road south of the bridge were still present. The SMM informed the JCCC.

[1] For a complete breakdown of the ceasefire violations, please see the annexed table.During this reporting period the SMM camera at the Oktiabr mine (Donetsk) remained non-operational.

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