Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 19 September 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 Mission followed up on reports of a civilian casualty and observed fresh damage to residential areas in Donetsk city. It continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske and recorded ceasefire violations near the three disengagement areas. Its access remained restricted in all three areas.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance of essential infrastructure near Shchastia and Artema. The SMM observed long queues of civilians at the Stanytsia Luhanska checkpoint. The Mission visited a border area not under government control in Donetsk region. In Odessa the SMM followed up on an alleged violent incident and detention after a trial in relation to events in Odessa on 2 May 2014.
In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations,[1] including about 60 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (22 explosions).
On the night of 18-19 September, the SMM camera at the Donetsk Filtration Station (15km north of Donetsk) recorded three undetermined explosions 2-3km south.
On the evening of 18 September, the SMM camera in government-controlled Avdiivka (17km north of Donetsk) recorded five tracer rounds in flight from west to east 2-3km east-south-east.
On the evening of 18 September, while in government-controlled Svitlodarsk (57km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard two bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire 5-6km south-west. In the early morning of 19 September, while in the same location, the SMM heard two undetermined explosions 6-7km south-east, followed by 14 undetermined explosions 10-12km south-east.
On the morning of 19 September, while in “DPR”-controlled Horlivka (39km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard 18 undetermined explosions 7-8km west and four bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire 4-5km west. About three hours later, while in the same location, during about 20 minutes the SMM heard 21 undetermined explosions, 19 bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire and five shots of small-arms fire, all 3-4km north-west.
On the evening of 18 September, during 20 minutes the SMM camera in Shyrokyne (20km east of Mariupol) recorded, in sequence, 31 tracer rounds in flight from east to west, two tracer rounds from west to east, 18 tracer rounds from east to west, five tracer rounds from west to east, five tracer rounds from east to west, two undetermined explosions, four tracer rounds from east to west, one explosion assessed as an outgoing round of an undetermined weapon, one projectile in flight from west to east and one explosion assessed as an impact, all at unknown distances north. In the early morning of 19 September, the same camera recorded two tracer rounds in flight from east to west at an unknown distance north.
In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, including, however, fewer explosions (about 20), compared with the previous reporting period (about 40 explosions).
On the evening of 18 September, while in “LPR”-controlled Luhansk city centre, the SMM heard one undetermined explosion 500-700m south-south-west, assessed as having occurred near a monument dedicated to a deceased member of armed formations.
On 19 September, positioned 2.5km south of government-controlled Muratove (51km north-west of Luhansk), the SMM heard one undetermined explosion about 15km east and five undetermined explosions 7-10km west and north-west.
Positioned about 1km north of “LPR”-controlled Azarivka (32km south-west of Luhansk), the SMM heard 50 bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire 3-5km north-north-west, and ten undetermined explosions assessed as tank rounds and 35 bursts of infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) (BMP-2) cannon (30mm) and heavy-machine-gun fire, all about 5km east and assessed as part of a live-fire exercise.
The SMM followed up on reports of a civilian casualty and damage to residential areas caused by shelling in the Trudivski area of “DPR”-controlled Donetsk city’s Petrovskyi district (15km south-west of city centre). On 19 September, accompanied by a Russian Federation Armed Forces officer of the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC) and a “DPR” member, the SMM visited Hospital no. 14 in Donetsk city to follow up on a report that on 18 September between 18:35 and 18:45, a 65-year-old man had been injured by shelling that had occurred near his house at 18 Tomska Street in the Trudivski area. The SMM met with medical staff who told the Mission that a 65-year-old man had been admitted to the hospital on 18 September and undergone surgery. The SMM also met with the injured man in the hospital and saw bandages on his head, right hand and abdominal area.
At 1 Dunaievskoho Street in the Trudivski area, the SMM saw shrapnel damage to a wooden frame of the north-facing window of a functioning school building. The Mission assessed the damage as fresh and to have been caused by a round of an undetermined weapon fired from a north-westerly direction. The SMM also saw a 20cm hole in the roof of the south-western side of the same school building. The Mission was unable to assess the direction of fire or the weapon used. The school director told the SMM that the school buildings had been damaged by shelling on 17 September between 22:00 and 23:00.
The SMM continued to monitor the disengagement process and to pursue full access to the disengagement areas near 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 17 September, the SMM camera in government-controlled Zolote recorded eight projectiles in flight 5-8km south, all assessed as outside the disengagement area.
On the same evening, during seven minutes the SMM camera in Petrivske recorded more than 65 tracer rounds in flight from west to east, all 2-3km south-south-west and assessed as outside the disengagement area.
On the night of 18-19 September, while on the eastern edge of government-controlled Stanytsia Luhanska, the SMM heard a burst of heavy-machine-gun fire 4-5km south-west, assessed as outside the disengagement area. In the early morning of 19 September, while in the same location, the SMM heard an undetermined explosion 4-5km south, assessed as outside the disengagement area.
On 19 September, positioned south of the disengagement area near Zolote, 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 government-controlled areas, on the morning of 19 September the SMM saw three armoured personnel carriers (APC) (BRDM-2) each mounted with an anti-tank guided missile system (9M113 Konkurs, 135mm) in Muratove moving south. About two hours later, the SMM saw a convoy of the same type and number of weapons on the eastern edge of Kriakivka (38km north-west of Luhansk) moving north. Later in the day, the SMM saw five APCs (BRDM-2), four of which were each mounted with an anti-tank guided missile system (9M113), in Muratove heading south.
In non-government-controlled areas, on 14 September, an SMM mini-range unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) spotted three self-propelled howitzers (2S5 Giatsint-S, 152mm) and three towed howitzers (D-30, 122mm) near Shymshynivka (27km south-west of Luhansk) in what the Mission assessed as a training formation. In the same area, the UAV also spotted three anti-tank guns (MT-12 Rapira, 100mm) and two self-propelled howitzers (type unknown).
Beyond the withdrawal lines but outside designated storage sites, on 19 September, in non-government-controlled areas, the SMM observed three stationary tanks (T-64) in firing positions at a training area near Myrne (28km south-west of Luhansk) and, on 18 September, an SMM mid-range UAV spotted 48 tanks (34 T-72 and 14 T-64) 3.7km east-south-east of Ternove (57km east of Donetsk).
In non-government-controlled areas, on 14 September, an SMM mini-range unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) spotted 19 tanks and a surface-to-air missile system (9K330 Tor) near Shymshynivka in what the Mission assessed as a training formation (see above). In the same area, the UAV spotted three mortars (120mm).
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 from the SMM to the signatories of the Package of Measures on effective monitoring and verification of the withdrawal of heavy weapons. In government-controlled areas beyond the respective withdrawal lines, the SMM saw one surface-to-air missile system (9K35 Strela-10) and 11 multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) (BM-21 Grad, 122mm); at one holding area, the SMM saw a self-propelled howitzer (2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm) for the first time.
The SMM observed armoured combat vehicles[2] in the security zone. In government-controlled areas, the SMM saw a military truck with a large trailer carrying one IFV (BMP-1) near Klynove (68km north-east of Donetsk) heading north, and one flatbed trailer transporting one IFV (BMP-1) in Muratove moving north.
In non-government-controlled areas, the SMM saw a convoy of one APC (BTR-variant) and 20 military-type trucks in Kadiivka (formerly Stakhanov, 50km west of Luhansk) moving south, and nine IFVs (BMP-variant) and two APCs (MT-LB and BTR-variant) stationary in Nova Marivka (64km south of Donetsk). On 14 September, an SMM mini UAV spotted an IFV (BMP-2) near Petrivske.
The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs and maintenance, co-ordinated by the JCCC, to the thermal power plant in Shchastia and to the Petrivske water pumping station near government-controlled Artema (26km north of Luhansk).
The SMM observed long queues at a checkpoint at the contact line. At the government checkpoint north of the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge, at 08:00 on 19 September, the SMM saw about 1,200 pedestrians queuing to travel further into government-controlled areas and about 600 pedestrians queuing to travel in the opposite direction. About eight hours later, at the same checkpoint, the SMM saw no pedestrians queuing to travel further into government-controlled areas and about 600 pedestrians queuing to travel in the opposite direction.
The SMM visited a border area not under government control. At a border crossing point near Marynivka (78km east of Donetsk), during about half an hour, the SMM saw 33 cars (15 with Russian Federation and 13 with Ukrainian licence plates, and five with “DPR” plates), three covered cargo trucks (two with Ukrainian licence plates and one with “DPR” plates) in a queue to exit Ukraine and 11 cars (five with Ukrainian, three with Russian Federation licence plates, and three with “DPR” plates) enter Ukraine.
In Odessa, the SMM followed up on a report that one of the 19 acquitted people had been physically assaulted on 18 September after the closing session of a trial in relation to events in Odessa on 2 May 2014. (See SMM Daily Report 19 September 2017.) A defence attorney told the SMM that the acquitted person (a man) had been violently attacked by activists passing by, while he had been hitchhiking on the side of road M27 between Odessa and Chornomorsk (formerly Illichivsk, 20km south of Odessa) after the session. The attorney also said that he had gone to the scene after receiving a phone call from the acquitted man and seen blood on his face. The attorney added that he had taken him to a hospital in Chornomorsk. Local police subsequently confirmed on a social media page that police were preliminarily investigating the incident.
Another defence attorney told the SMM that her client and another person acquitted at the abovementioned session had been brought to Kyivskyi District Court in Odessa on suspicion of having violated Article 110 of the Criminal Code (trespass against territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine), for a hearing regarding measures of restraint. According to the attorney, the court ordered her client to remain in pre-trial detention for up to 60 days.
The SMM continued monitoring in Kherson, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, 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.
Denial of access:
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 north of the Zolote disengagement area. At a checkpoint on the northern edge of the area a Ukrainian Armed Forces officer of the JCCC told the SMM that no demining had taken place over the previous 24 hours. The SMM 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 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.
Other impediments:
On 17 September, positioned about 50m away from a border guard checkpoint near a dam about 6km west of government-controlled Ataman (161km south-east of Kherson), an SMM patrol saw three dogs come out of the border guard position and they showed aggressive behaviour which prevented the patrol from walking towards the checkpoint. When the SMM requested a border guard commander to call back the dogs, he did so, after which, however, he released them two more times and they aggressively ran after the patrol. The SMM departed the area safely.
[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.
* 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.