Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine based on information received as of 19:30 (Kyiv time), 12 August 2015

This report is for the media and the general public.

The SMM monitored the implementation of the “Package of measures for the implementation of the Minsk agreements”. Its monitoring was restricted by the parties – with its UAV experiencing severe jamming – and security considerations*. Ceasefire violations were recorded in numerous locations, especially at and around Donetsk airport.

The situation at and around the destroyed “Donetsk People’s Republic” (“DPR”)-controlled airport (9km north-west of Donetsk) remained volatile. Positioned 1km south-east of the airport between 09:00 and 13:00hrs, the SMM heard 28 explosions and more than 400 rounds of small-arms and light-weapons fire, most emanating from the airport. From 13:00 to 17:55hrs, the SMM observed 135 explosions.

The SMM observed fresh craters and heard a number of explosions and small-arms and heavy-machine-gun fire as it facilitated ongoing repair work to water infrastructure between “DPR”-controlled Horlivka and government-controlled Maiorsk (39 and 45km north-north-east of Donetsk, respectively).

Positioned 5km west-north-west of Shyrokyne (20km east of Mariupol), the SMM heard two explosions, of an undetermined nature, approximately 10km to the north-east. Later, on the north-western outskirts of the village, the SMM heard small-arms fire approximately 500m to the north-east. Positioned 1.5km west-north-west of Shyrokyne, the SMM subsequently heard heavy machine-gun fire 500 metres to the north-east, assessed to have been fired around the last Ukrainian Armed Forces checkpoint before Shyrokyne (1km north-west of Shyrokyne).

On its first day of flying – since a jamming incident on 22 July which caused the destruction of another SMM unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and its camera – an SMM UAV experienced what the SMM assesses as severe military-grade video signal and Global Positioning System (GPS) jamming in numerous areas east, north-east, north and west of government-controlled Mariupol (100km south of Donetsk). Both camera-feed and control over the vehicle were affected*.

The SMM UAV did, however observe shell impacts in an area east of government-controlled Starohnativka (51km south of Donetsk, 53km north-east of Mariupol). To the east of “DPR”-controlled Bila Kamyanka (52km south of Donetsk, 54km north-east of Mariupol), the UAV spotted three armoured personnel carriers (APC). One APC was observed by the UAV in “DPR”-controlled Novolaspa (49km south of Donetsk, 58km north-east of Mariupol), and a further two APCs in “DPR”-controlled Starolaspa (52km south-east of Donetsk, 61km north-east of Mariupol). East of government-controlled Starohnativka (53km south of Donetsk, 53km north-east of Mariupol), the SMM UAV noted signs of shelling. In government-controlled Mykolaivka, 14km north-north-west of Starohnativka, local interlocutors told the SMM that shelling from 152mm artillery guns, and later from Grad multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), had occurred in the area the previous night. The SMM did not hear or see anything to indicate fighting was taking place while it was in the area.

In government-controlled Artemivsk (66km north-north-east of Donetsk), the deputy director of the town’s labour and social protection service told the SMM that the number of registered internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the town – 49,000 in April – had risen to 65,049, of whom 52,221 were pensioners. She said the majority of these people still lived in “DPR”-controlled areas, registering in Artemivsk only to collect pensions. She added that of the 120,000 current residents of nearby Horlivka, approximately one third were pensioners.

In government-controlled Staryi Aidar (20km north-north-west of Luhansk), the SMM heard two heavy artillery explosions 5-6km to the south-east in a “Lugansk People’s Republic” (“LPR”)-controlled area. In government-controlled Nyzhni (58km north-west of Luhansk), the SMM heard – all within a minute – eight explosions 8-10km to the south-east. 

Close to an “LPR” checkpoint south of government-controlled Stanytsia Luhanska (16km north-east of Luhansk), the SMM observed and carried out analysis on 37 craters, all of which appeared to be fresh and the majority of which were caused by 82mm mortars fired from the north.

Near government-controlled Krymske (40km north-west of Luhansk), the SMM observed eight craters 100m from a Ukrainian Armed Forces position. It carried out analysis on all of them, assessing they had been caused by 122mm artillery shells fired from the south-east. A Ukrainian Armed Forces brigade commander present told the SMM that approximately 70 rounds had been fired on the position on the night of 9 August.

Five kilometres east of “LPR”-controlled Raivka (15km north-north-west of Luhansk), the SMM monitored the successful repair of electrical cables which, according to one of the repair crew members, has restored electricity to residents of Raivka and the nearby “LPR”-controlled villages of Vesela Hora (15km north of Luhansk) and Metalist (6km north of Luhansk).

The SMM re-visited two Ukrainian Armed Forces’ and four “DPR” heavy-weapons holding areas, the locations of which comply with the respective Minsk withdrawal lines. At one Ukrainian Armed Forces’ area, all weapons previously registered were present. At the other, however, four Grad MLRS were absent. At two “DPR” sites, all weapons previously recorded were present. At the third “DPR” site, however, two artillery pieces were absent; and at the fourth, six 100mm anti-tank guns were absent.

At SMM-facilitated focus group discussions in Zaporizhzhia (71km south of Dnepropetrovsk), a number of IDPs said they had been forced to leave their homes in areas not controlled by the government. One said she had refused to pay “taxes” to Cossack armed personnel in Luhansk city. They confiscated her shop as a result, she said. Another IDP, from Snizhne (72km east of Donetsk), said he had been threatened – and continued to receive threats via social media – because of his pro-Ukrainian views.

In Horodok in the Khmelnytskyi region (107km north-north-east of Chernivtsi), five men – some dressed in military-type clothing and some claiming to be reporters and later civil society activists – insisted on being present at a scheduled meeting the SMM had arranged with municipal officials in the town. The men accused the SMM of lacking independence. They said the SMM should only patrol in and report from areas not under government control. The men followed the SMM into the municipal building, maintaining an aggressive demeanour. Later, the police arrived and escorted the SMM from the building.

The SMM continued to monitor the situation in Kharkiv, Odessa, Kherson, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv and Kyiv.

*Restrictions on SMM monitoring, access and freedom of movement:

The SMM is restrained in fulfilling its monitoring functions by restrictions imposed by the parties and security considerations, including mine threats, and damaged infrastructure. The security situation in Donbas is fluid and unpredictable and the ceasefire does not hold everywhere. Self-imposed restrictions on movement into high-risk areas have impinged on SMM patrolling activities, particularly in areas not controlled by the government. Members of the “LPR” continue to prevent the SMM from monitoring most areas close to the border with the Russian Federation.

Delayed access:

• “DPR” armed members at a checkpoint close to “DPR”-controlled Olenivka (23km south-west of Donetsk) delayed the SMM for almost an hour, insisting they fill in “emigration” forms before leaving the “DPR”-controlled area. A number of the “DPR” members behaved aggressively towards the SMM, with two of them taking the safety-catch off their AK-47s and another screaming at the SMM, accusing the SMM of “lying”.

Denied access:

• At a Ukrainian Armed Forces checkpoint outside government-controlled Troitske (69km west of Luhansk), checkpoint personnel told the SMM it was unsafe for them to proceed to the village.
• Three armed “DPR” members in a vehicle blocked the SMM’s passage on a road near Horlivka, and aggressively ordered them to leave the area, accusing them of dropping transponders used as locators for shelling.

Conditional access:

• Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel at a checkpoint near government-controlled Krymske (41km north-west of Luhansk) insisted on seeing the passports of SMM monitors and on visually inspecting their vehicle before allowing them to proceed.
• At a “DPR” checkpoint approximately 8km north-west of Horlivka, armed “DPR” members demanded to see SMM monitors’ IDs and to open the trunk of their vehicle.
• Ukrainian Armed Forces checkpoint personnel near the government-controlled towns of Marinka and Kurakhove (23km west-south-west and 40km west of Donetsk, respectively) demanded to know the name and nationality of the SMM patrol leader.

For a complete breakdown of the ceasefire violations observed, please see the annexed table.