Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 12 September 2018

This report is for the media and the general public.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote and Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement areas. It observed multiple launch rocket systems in violation of agreed withdrawal lines near Khrustalnyi. The Mission’s access remained restricted in the disengagement areas, as well as again near Verkhnoshyrokivske.* The SMM continued to facilitate the process of restarting operations at the Donetsk Filtration Station, following a power outage. The SMM continued to monitor repairs and maintenance work to water infrastructure in Stanytsia Luhanska and near Zolote, Artema and Krasnyi Lyman. In Kyiv, the SMM monitored a trial hearing of five former “Berkut” members accused of murder related to events at Maidan in 2014.

In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations,[1] including about 130 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (24 explosions).

On the evening and night of 11-12 September, the SMM camera in Svitlodarsk (government-controlled, 57km north-east of Donetsk) recorded six undetermined explosions, about 170 projectiles in flight (most from south-west to north-east) and seven muzzle flashes, all 1-4km in south-easterly directions. On the same evening and night, while in Svitlodarsk, the SMM heard 57 undetermined explosions and about 95 bursts of heavy-machine-gun and small-arms fire, all 2-6km south-east. On the morning of 12 September, at the same location, the SMM heard two undetermined explosions and four bursts of small-arms fire, all 2-4km south-east and south-west.  

On the same evening and night, the SMM camera at the Donetsk Filtration Station (DFS) (15km north of Donetsk) recorded 43 undetermined explosions, 54 projectiles in flight (most from east to west) and 45 muzzle flashes, all 0.3-3km in southerly directions.

During the day on 12 September, positioned about 1.5km south-east of Kamianka (government-controlled, 20km north of Donetsk) for about three hours, the SMM heard two undetermined explosions and about 110 shots and bursts of heavy-machine-gun and small-arms fire, all 1-3km south-south-east.

During the day on 12 September, positioned about 1km north-west of the railway station in Yasynuvata (non-government-controlled, 16km north-east of Donetsk) for about seven hours, the SMM heard ten undetermined explosions and about 105 shots and bursts of heavy-machine-gun and small-arms fire, all 1.5-3km south-east and south-west.

On the same evening and night, the SMM camera in Chermalyk (government-controlled, 31km north-east of Mariupol) recorded about 140 projectiles in flight (most from north-north-west to south-south-east) 2-4km south-east.

On the same evening and night, the SMM camera 1km south-west of Pyshchevyk (government-controlled, 25km north-east of Mariupol) recorded an undetermined explosion, 195 projectiles in flight (most from north to south) and four muzzle flashes, all 1-3km in easterly directions.

In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, including 85 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (six explosions).

Positioned on the western edge of Kriakivka (government-controlled, 38km north-west of Luhansk) for about ten minutes, the SMM heard 21 undetermined explosions and 50 bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire, all 2-3km south-south-west.   

The SMM continued to monitor and to pursue full access to the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska (government-controlled, 16km north-east of Luhansk), Zolote (government-controlled, 60km west of Luhansk) and Petrivske[2]  (non-government-controlled, 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.*

In the early morning of 12 September, while on the eastern edge of Stanytsia Luhanska, the SMM heard an undetermined explosion 5-6km south-west (unable to assess whether inside or outside the disengagement area).

During the day on 12 September, positioned on the south-western edge of Zolote for about an hour and a half, the SMM heard and saw 21 explosions (20 undetermined and one assessed as an impact) and heard 19 undetermined explosions and seven shots and bursts, including of heavy-machine-gun and small-arms fire, all 3-5km at directions ranging from north-east to east-south-east, all assessed as outside the disengagement area.

The same day, the SMM saw two infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) (BMP-1) about 300m north of the northern edge of the Zolote disengagement area. 

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

In violation of withdrawal lines in a non-government-controlled area, the SMM saw ten multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) (BM-21 Grad, 122mm) near Khrustalnyi (formerly Krasnyi Luch, 56km south-west of Luhansk). 

Beyond withdrawal lines but outside designated storage sites in non-government-controlled areas, on 11 September, an SMM long-range unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) spotted 20 tanks (undetermined variants) in a training area near Ternove (57km east of Donetsk). On 12 September, the SMM saw three towed howitzers (D-30 Lyagushka, 122mm) and five tanks (type undetermined) in a training area near Myrne (28km south-west of Luhansk). 

The SMM revisited a heavy weapons permanent storage site in a non-government-controlled area of Luhansk region and noted that four MLRS (BM-21), three self-propelled howitzers (2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm) and six towed howitzers (one 2A65 Msta-B, 152mm and five D-30 Lyagushka, 122mm) remained missing. 

The SMM observed armoured combat vehicles and an anti-aircraft gun[3] in the security zone. In non-government-controlled areas, on 11 September, an SMM long-range UAV spotted an anti-aircraft gun (ZU-23, 23mm) mounted on an armoured personnel carrier (APC) (MT-LB) near Vilkhivka (40km north-east of Donetsk).

In government-controlled areas, on 12 September, the SMM saw an APC (MT-LB) and an armoured reconnaissance vehicle (BRDM variant) near Shchastia (20km north of Luhansk).

The SMM observed mine hazard signs. On the north side of a road adjacent to a small wooded area near Blyzhnie (government-controlled, 48km south-west of Donetsk), the SMM saw for the first time several rectangle-shaped mine hazard signs with “Mines” written on them in white Ukrainian letters on a red background.

The SMM continued to facilitate the process of restarting operations at the DFS, including through monitoring adherence to the ceasefire, following a power outage at the station on 6 September. Positioned in areas near the station, the SMM recorded ceasefire violations nearby, despite explicit security guarantees (see above and the table below). 

The SMM monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair and maintenance works to water infrastructure in Stanytsia Luhanska and near Zolote, Artema (government-controlled, 26km north of Luhansk) and Krasnyi Lyman (non-government-controlled, 30km north-west of Luhansk).   

In Kyiv, the SMM monitored a hearing in the ongoing trial of five former “Berkut” members accused of murder related to the events of Maidan in Kyiv in 2014. At Sviatoshynskyi District Court of Kyiv, the court heard testimony from family of one of the victims, and the jury examined forensic reports, photographs and videos related to the events.  

The SMM continued monitoring in Kherson, Odessa, 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 Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC) should contribute to such response and co-ordinate mine clearance. Nonetheless, the armed formations in parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions frequently deny the SMM access to areas adjacent to Ukraine’s border outside control of the Government (for example, see SMM Daily Report 12 September 2018). The SMM’s operations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions remain restricted following the fatal incident of 23 April 2017 near Pryshyb; these restrictions continued to limit the Mission’s observations.

Denials of access:

• At a checkpoint of the armed formations west of Verkhnoshyrokivske (formerly Oktiabr, non-government-controlled, 29km north-east of Mariupol), members of the armed formations denied the SMM passage for the fifth consecutive day (see SMM Daily Report 12 September 2018). The SMM observed civilian vehicles passing through the checkpoint in both directions. 

Regular restrictions related to disengagement areas and mines/UXO:

• The SMM was prevented from accessing parts of 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 had taken place during the previous 24 hours. The SMM did not consider it safe to proceed and informed the JCCC.[4]
• The SMM was prevented from accessing secondary roads in the Zolote disengagement area due to the possible presence of mines and UXO. A Ukrainian Armed Forces officer of the JCCC told the SMM by telephone that no demining had taken place during the previous 24 hours. The SMM did not consider it safe to proceed and informed the JCCC.5
• The SMM was prevented from accessing secondary roads south of the Zolote disengagement area due to the possible presence of mines and UXO. A member of the armed formations positioned on the southern side of the Zolote disengagement area told the SMM that no demining had taken place during the previous 24 hours. The SMM did not consider it safe to proceed.

Other impediments:

• In Holmivskyi (non-government-controlled, 49km north-east of Donetsk), staff at a school refused to provide the Mission with information, citing the need for prior permission from the armed formations.

[1]     For a complete breakdown of the ceasefire violations, please see the annexed table.

[2]     Due to the presence of mines, including on a road between Bohdanivka and Petrivske, the SMM’s access to its camera in Petrivske remains limited, and thus the SMM has not been able to access observations from the camera since 22 June 2018.

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

[4]     The SMM informed Ukrainian Armed Forces officers of the JCCC. Russian Federation Armed Forces officers of the JCCC withdrew from the JCCC as of 18 December 2017.