Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine based on information received as of 18:00 (Kyiv time), 22 December 2014

This report is for media and the general public.

The SMM continued to monitor the implementation of the provisions of the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum and the work of the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC).

In government-controlled Debaltseve (55km north east of Donetsk) at the JCCC headquarters (HQ), the SMM met Ukrainian and Russian armed forces officers, together with members of “Donetsk People’s Republic” (“DPR”) and “Luhansk People’s Republic” (“LPR”). Maj-Gen Razmaznin of the Ukrainian General Staff (GSU), who was present at the JCCC HQ, said that Maj-Gen Vyaznikov of the General Staff of the Russian Federation (GSRF) was in Donetsk in order to prepare for the JCCC working group meetings planned to take place on 24 December in Luhansk and on 26 December in Donetsk. He stated that Ukrainian and Russian JCCC representatives – including the Ukrainian Army deputy chief of staff – were currently meeting in Spartak (20km north of Donetsk) near Donetsk Airport. The interlocutor explained that the aforementioned representatives were currently negotiating an agreement in Spartak on safety conditions for future rotations of Ukrainian armed personnel deployed at Donetsk Airport. 

Maj-Gen Razmaznin also stressed that Russian media had erroneously reported that he had officially stated the entry into force of a full ceasefire by 28 December. He stated that he had never mentioned any ceasefire or provided any specific deadline. He explained that it had thus far not been possible to implement a genuine ceasefire or to start JCCC joint patrolling due to ongoing security incidents and subsequent concerns.

The JCCC HQ representatives handed over to the SMM the joint log listing ceasefire violations of the past 24 hours. The log noted 41 incidents, including 24 instances of artillery shelling and 17 small arms and light weapons (SALW) firing.

In government-controlled Maiorosk (45km north of Donetsk), the Ukrainian Armed Forces commander in charge of the local checkpoint (CP) reported three targeted light mortar shelling incidents, as well as SALW shooting at the local Ukrainian Armed Forces positions throughout 19 and 20 December. The commander added that a rocket-propelled-grenade hit the vicinity of his CP on 22 December. He could not assess the origin of all the aforementioned shelling and shooting. The SMM could not independently verify the reports provided by the commander.

The SMM assessed that the situation was calm at the respective CPs located in government-controlled Kramatorsk (95km north of Donetsk), Kostantynivk (60km north of Donetsk),    Artjomivsk (85km north east of Donetsk) and Maiorsk.

At the JCCC Coordination Group in Donetsk, the SMM met Ukrainian and Russian armed forces officers and a member of “DPR”. As reported at JCCC HQ, the JCCC representatives stated that they were planning a joint working group meeting in Donetsk on 26 December in order to discuss future joint patrolling plans and future rotations of the Ukrainian Armed personnel stationed at Donetsk Airport.

Regarding ceasefire violations, the interlocutors stated that the situation had generally remained calm since 9 December. They noticed sporadic shelling incidents and reported several cases of SALW shooting. Interlocutors reported that two Ukrainian armed personnel had been seriously wounded in a shooting at Donetsk Airport on 20 December before being evacuated – with the joint help of the JCCC – to government-controlled territories.

The SMM met representatives of the Regional Social Protection Department in Vinnytsya (300km north-west of Chernivtsi). The interlocutors said that the flow of incoming internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Vinnytsya region had slowed down over the last days. They stated that 264 new IDPs had registered on 19 December, while 505 new IDPs had settled in the region a week earlier. On 19 December, there were 8806 living IDPs in the Vinnytsya region, out of which 95 percent had already been registered in accordance with government resolutions 509 and 505 (registration and allowances allocation) and the current Ukrainian Law on IDPs. The interlocutors explained that 11158 IDPs had transited the area since March 2014. Approximately 20 percent of IDPs who used to stay in the Vinnytsya region had left the region since then. Vinnytsya City is hosting 34 percent of all IDPs in the region. The interlocutors did not provide information regarding the gender composition of the aforementioned IDPs.

The situation remained calm in Luhansk, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Odesa, Kyiv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv.