Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine based on information received as of 18:00 (Kyiv time), 29 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). Ukrainian Border Guard representatives in the Kherson region told the SMM that train connections to Crimea have been suspended.
At the JCCC headquarters (HQ) in government-controlled Debaltseve (55km north-east of Donetsk) the SMM observed officers from the General Staffs of Ukraine (GSU) and the Russian Federation (GSRF) working with members of the “Donetsk People’s Republic” (“DPR”) and “Lugansk People’s Republic” (“LPR”). GSU and GSRF chiefs of staff reported 25 incidents in the 24 hours up to 10:00hrs. They said that the situation in “DPR”-controlled Horlivka (40km north of Donetsk) remained tense but the situation in government-controlled Shumy (50km north of Donetsk) was reported as calmer than in the previous 24 hours. They also said that the majority of incidents were reported as having occurred in the Donetsk area, in particular at the Volvo Centre (“DPR”-controlled, located on the north-western outskirts of Donetsk), at Donetsk airport and at government-controlled Pisky (7km north-west of Donetsk) where two incidents involved 152mm artillery. According to the interlocutors, these incidents were recorded by the JCCC but were not verified by JCCC personnel.
The SMM visited Pisky and stopped at a former motel, currently used as a barracks for Ukrainian volunteers and a military medical unit. According to a military medical officer, on 29 December at 09:30hrs a nearby checkpoint had been attacked. During the attack two Ukrainian soldiers received fatal injuries – one to the head and one to the spinal area – and a further two soldiers were wounded. The soldiers close to the barracks told the SMM that at a nearby checkpoint they were shelled every night, and sometimes during the day. While in the area, the SMM heard shelling from the direction of Donetsk airport and the area surrounding Pisky. The SMM, however, could not ascertain whether the shelling was outgoing or incoming.
The SMM met a representative of the local authorities in government-controlled Starohnativka (48km south of Donetsk) who said that the local kindergarten had closed because of previous regular shelling of the village, but local authorities plan to open it again if the current ceasefire holds. He also said that the school in Starohnativka was open, but lessons lasted 30 minutes due to security concerns and the cost of heating. The interlocutor said that lack of coal was a major problem for residents, since, even before the conflict, only 29 households out of a total of 800 were connected to gas pipelines.
The SMM spoke to a Ukrainian army commander of a checkpoint (CP) west of government-controlled Popasna (85km west of Luhansk) who stated that no shelling or shooting had taken place in the area since 26 December. The SMM spoke to local inhabitants in Pylypchatyne (government-controlled, 87km west of Luhansk) who confirmed the information provided by the CP commander. They also said that schools in Popasna were not open for the past month. However, the SMM could not independently verify the information. The SMM observed civilian traffic between government-controlled Popasna and Artemivsk (95km west of Luhansk).
On 29 December the SMM contacted the press office of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) at Enerhodar (205km south-west of Dnipropetrovsk) to follow up on media reports of an incident at the plant. According to the press officer on 28 December at 22.35hrs Unit No.6 of the plant was reconnected to the network after a temporary disconnection. The disconnection of the unit was caused by the automatic activation of the protection system following a technical failure. All six units are currently operating again. The press officer informed the SMM that the background radiation measures 8-12 micro roentgens per hour, which, according to the interlocutor, corresponds to the standard radiation level.
On 29 December the SMM spoke to the Head of the Railway Station Border Guards Unit of Novooleksiivka (190km south of Kherson). He said that trains were not running south towards Crimea further than Novooleksiivka (approximately 26km north of Chongar, located at the administrative boundary line with Crimea). The SMM also spoke with the Head of the Special Azov and Black Sea Regional Administration of the Border Guards Service of Ukraine, responsible for railway stations, who confirmed that public transportation from mainland Ukraine to the Crimean peninsula had come to a halt.
In Odesa the SMM spoke with a press officer at the Regional HQ of the Ministry of Interior regarding an explosion in the city’s Sehedska Street. (See Daily Report 29 December.) The press officer said that the incident was being investigated under Article 258 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine as an act of terrorism and that forensic evidence gathered by the police will be transferred to the Special Security Service (SBU) as the agency responsible for the investigation.
In Kharkiv and Chernivtsi the situation remained calm.
The SMM in Ivano-Frankivsk observed a public lecture organized by an activist of “Euromaidan” in one of the city’s bookstores, focused on the creation of contacts and dialogue between the people of Donbas and western Ukraine. Around 10 people, both men and women, were in attendance. The main speaker of the event, a person displaced from Luhansk, compared the Donbas and western parts of the country. The speaker suggested that despite existing differences, the basic values of residents in the east and west of Ukraine were similar and that there was a potential for dialogue and co-operation.
On 29 December the SMM observed a protest of miners from Chervonohrad (80km north of Lviv), who claimed they had not been paid since November and demanded support from the Lviv regional administration. Approximately 60 men from seven Chervonohrad coal mines gathered in front of the regional administration building. The SMM observed representatives of the regional authorities inviting trade union delegates into the building. The SMM observed seven police officers present during the protest, which ended peacefully.
In Kyiv the situation remained calm.