Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine based on information received as of 18:00 (Kyiv time), 15 March 2015

This report is for media and the general public.

The SMM monitored the implementation of the “Package of measures for the Implementation of the Minsk agreements”. The SMM, based on its monitoring – which was restricted by third parties and by security considerations* – directly observed fighting in and around the Donetsk airport and in the areas to the east of Mariupol. The SMM visited Debaltseve and Vuhlehirsk. (* Please see the section at the end of this report entitled “Restrictions on SMM access and freedom of movement” for further information.)

At the Donetsk airport* (“Donetsk People’s Republic” “DPR”-controlled, 10km north-west of Donetsk), on 14 March, at 10:37hrs SMM heard three light machine gun rounds fired north-east of the SMM position, which was near the old terminal. At 11:15hrs the SMM heard one mortar round fired from an estimated 200m to the south-west of the SMM position. The SMM could not ascertain the direction of either of these firing incidents. On 15 March, at the Donetsk airport, at 09:50hrs the SMM heard one explosion, approximately 3km north-west of the SMM position (which was 2km south-east from the new terminal). The SMM could not ascertain the type of the weapon used and whether it was outgoing or incoming fire. The SMM remained at the same position, and from 09:55 to 10:10hrs heard sporadic small arms fire, approximately 1km to the north-west.

On 14 March, while in Pisky (government-controlled, 12km north-west of Donetsk), the SMM heard 10 to 12 mortar impacts in the vicinity of Pisky village. Ukrainian volunteer battalion personnel of the Pravyy Sektor battalion 1 said that there had also been mortar shelling 60 minutes prior to the SMM’s arrival; the SMM saw the impact of this shelling, including damage to the roof of a building. The SMM did not see and were not told of any casualties. The SMM heard from residents in Donetsk city’s Lozovskyi area (“DPR”-controlled, 8km west of Donetsk city-centre) that while there had been no shelling in their area in the last 3-4 days, they had heard small arms fire in the areas of the Donetsk airport and Pisky.

In Donetsk city’s Petrovskyi district (“DPR”-controlled, 18km south-west of Donetsk), residents told the SMM that the situation in the area had been calm for the past week. The SMM also visited a vehicle workshop in the area; a person who introduced himself as “chief of security” did not allow the SMM to enter the facility,* but stated that there were no heavy weapons at this location. The SMM returned to the Petrovskyi district on 15 March, and from 10:15 to 10:26 hrs heard nine outgoing explosions, consistent with mortar rounds being fired, approximately one kilometre to the north-west of the SMM position. The SMM could not assess in which direction they were being fired.

On 14 March, in government-controlled Kurakhove (38km west of Donetsk), the SMM met two Russian Federation and three Ukrainian Armed Forces officers of the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC). They said that for security reasons their unit had been relocated from Krasnohorivka (government-controlled, 20km west of Donetsk). The Ukrainian ranking officer said that his officers conducted daily patrols with their own vehicle, without the Russian officers, again citing security concerns.

On 15 March, in Soledar (government-controlled, 77km north-east of Donetsk), the Ukrainian Major-General, head of the Ukrainian side of the JCCC, said that the JCCC was reconnoitring the Donetsk Airport to determine where to set up a permanent JCCC presence.

On 15 March the SMM visited “DPR”-controlled Debaltseve, Vuhlehirsk and Yenakiieve* (57km, 49km and 37km north-east of Donetsk, respectively). The “DPR” commander of Debaltseve told the SMM that while electricity has been restored in the city, the repair of water pipes is ongoing and that there is no gas supply. The SMM visited the main city hospital in Debaltseve, which is still being repaired and only offers limited outpatient services. The SMM also met the “mayor” of Yenakiieve, who also covers Vuhlehirsk. The “mayor” told the SMM that electricity, gas and water is available in Vuhlehirsk, but schools remain closed because of damage they sustained during past fighting in Vuhlehirsk. The SMM saw damage to the windows and roof of the school, and was told by the “mayor” that students from Vuhlehirsk currently attend school in Yenakiieve.

At a “DPR” checkpoint on the southern side of Debaltseve, on 15 March, the SMM saw six stationary unmarked tanks (two T-64 and four T-72).

In Luhanske (government-controlled, 57km north-east of Donetsk), on 14 March, the SMM was told by Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel and police that that the situation was calm, but that there was a low volume of traffic in the area, no water or electricity, and that the majority of residents had left the village.

The SMM observed fighting around Shyrokyne (20km east of Mariupol; 102km south of Donetsk). To the east of its observation point in Berdianske (government-controlled, 19km east of Mariupol; 98km south of Donetsk), the SMM heard 82mm and 102mm mortars, grenade launchers, small arms and tank fire at various times on 14 and 15 March. The firing was estimated by the SMM to have been outgoing towards Shyrokyne, based on the SMM seeing the direction some of these weapons were pointed in when they fired, and on seeing some impacts in the area of Shyrokyne. In total, across both days, the SMM heard the firing of over 100 mortar rounds and dozens of tank rounds.

In Kominternove (88km south-east of Donetsk), on 14 March, the SMM facilitated the hand-over of the remains of three Ukrainian soldiers from the “DPR” to a Ukrainian Armed Forces medical unit. The bodies had been excavated by “DPR” in “DPR”-controlled Zaichenko, which is immediately adjacent to government-controlled Kominternove, where they had remained since September 2014. The SMM were told by a “DPR” commander that a new Ukrainian Armed Forces checkpoint has been established to the west of Kominternove. The SMM observed the checkpoint construction site and saw concrete blocks, freshly dug trenches and a mixture of regular Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel and members of Dnipro-1 battalion. 

On 14 and 15 March the SMM visited a total of three Ukrainian Armed Forces sites in the Donetsk region and two in Zaporizhzhia, in order to monitor the storage of heavy weaponry. The SMM confirmed that all the weapons previously observed at each of these sites remain there.

In the Luhansk region the SMM did not monitor any ceasefire violations. The JCCC in Starobilsk (government-controlled, 84km north-west of Luhansk) had recorded nine small arms incidents in the 48hrs preceding 07:00hrs on 15 March 2015 in the surrounding area. The SMM did not witness these incidents. On 14 March, residents of government-controlled Kapitanove (50km north-west of Luhansk) told the SMM that the situation was calm.

In Lviv, on 15 March, the SMM monitored around 100 people (even mix in gender and age) at an event called “Crimea is Ukraine”, organised by people displaced from Crimea. The event marked one year since the Autonomous Republic of Crimea held a referendum over its status. The crowd displayed Ukrainian flags and the flags of Crimean Tatars. Speakers addressed the crowd with anti-war and pro-Ukrainian unity speeches. Five police officers were present and the event proceeded peacefully.

In Kherson, on 15 March, the SMM monitored around 80 people (even mix in gender and age) watch the burning of a small effigy of the Russian Federation President. The crowd carried Automaidan, Svoboda and Sokil (Svoboda youth organization) flags. Later the SMM saw personnel from the Ministry of Emergency Situations arrive after an anonymous phone call alleged a bomb threat in Kherson’s main square, where the event was taking place. The SMM saw some of the crowd disperse and others move to a different location. A police officer later told the SMM that no explosives were found and the episode was being treated as a hoax.

In Odessa, on 15 March, the SMM monitored around 80 people (even gender mix; ranging from 35 to 75 in age) stage a weekly gathering of anti-Maidan minded people in front of the former trade union building in Odessa. The speeches delivered were critical of the Ukrainian Government, the EU and the USA. The gathering was peaceful. The SMM saw approximately 35 police in front of the building, and one bus with riot police on standby behind the building.

The SMM continued to monitor the situation in Chernivtsi, Dnepropetrovsk, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv and Kyiv.

* Restrictions on SMM access and freedom of movement:

The SMM is restrained in fulfilling its monitoring functions by restrictions imposed by third parties and security considerations including the lack of information on whereabouts of landmines.

The security situation in the Donbas is fluid and unpredictable and the cease-fire does not hold everywhere. For this reason, the SMM requires security guarantees from “DPR” and “Lugansk People’s Republic” (“LPR”) which are not always provided. Where such guarantees are limited to escorted movements, and escorts are not provided for all planned patrols or are delayed, this also represents a restriction of SMM’s freedom of movement. In particular:

• The SMM intended to monitor a church approx. 700m south of the Donetsk airport in order to assess reported shelling damage, but was told by a “DPR” member escorting SMM not to do so; according to him it was unsafe. No specific security threat was explained.
• In “DPR”-controlled Donetsk city’s Petrovskyi district the SMM was denied entry to a workshop for civilian and military vehicles; an individual introducing himself as the “security chief” at this location said that it was a military installation and therefore the SMM could not enter.
• The SMM was stopped at a “DPR” checkpoint on the outskirts of Novoazovsk (“DPR”-controlled, 100km south of Donetsk); “DPR” members here granted the SMM access to pass north-east but not north-west due to the fighting in Shyrokyne.
• The SMM was not allowed by the Ukrainian Armed Forces to pass its checkpoint in Hranitne (government-controlled, 57km south of Donetsk). No reason was given, aside from the checkpoint personnel saying that they would refuse passage to all.
• The “LPR” commander of the crossing point at the Ukrainian-Russian Federation border at Izvaryne (“LPR”-controlled, 53km south-east of Luhansk) prevented the SMM from remaining in the area, reading from a prepared statement that he had not received instruction from his leaders authorizing “unrestricted” patrolling by the SMM; he then provided an escort to be sure the SMM left the border zone.