Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine, based on information received as of 19:30hrs, 9 May 2016

This report is for media and the general public.

In Donetsk region, the SMM noted a lower number of ceasefire violations compared with the previous day, with over 80 explosions recorded. In Luhansk region it noted a low level of violence with 16 explosions recorded. The Mission observed the presence of numerous weapons in violation of the respective withdrawal lines on 9 May military-style parades in Donetsk and Luhansk cities. The Mission observed 9 May commemorations across the country. Most of those events passed off peacefully with the strong presence of law enforcement, while in several occasions the SMM saw minor incidents of scuffles and altercations.

The SMM observed a lower number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region compared with the previous day, with 84 explosions recorded.[1] In contrast to the past several days, the vast majority of ceasefire violations including 77 explosions were observed during the daytime. Positioned at “DPR”-controlled Donetsk central railway station (6km north-west of Donetsk city centre), the SMM heard 15 undetermined explosions, over 25 bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire, and over 14 bursts and 53 single shots of small-arms fire 3-10km north-west, north-north-west, north, north-north-east and east-south-east of its position.

During the night hours of 8 May, whilst in government-controlled Svitlodarsk (57km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard seven explosions (among them one assessed as caused by 82mm mortar and three assessed as automatic-grenade-launcher fire) 5-10km south-east of its position.

Whilst in government-controlled Avdiivka (17km north of Donetsk), the SMM heard 36 undetermined explosions, several bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire and seven single shots of small-arms fire 2.5-6.5km south and south-east of its position, as well as four explosions caused by impacts of automatic-grenade-launcher fire 4km north of its position. While stationary in “DPR”-controlled Yasynuvata (16km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard 22 undetermined explosions at locations ranging from south-south-west to west at 3-6km of its position.

In Luhansk region the SMM recorded a low number of ceasefire violations including 16 explosions. On the night of 8 May, whilst 3km north of the bridge at government-controlled Stanytsia Luhanska (16km north-east of Luhansk), the SMM heard 16 explosions (15 of them were recorded within a five-minute period and assessed as outgoing fire) 600-800m south-west of its position. Positioned in government-controlled parts of Zolote (60km north-west of Luhansk) at 10:06, the SMM heard one burst of small-arms fire 2km south-south-east. Whilst in “LPR”-controlled parts of Zolote at 11:55, the SMM heard one undetermined explosion 4-5km north-west of its position.   

In relation to the implementation of the Addendum to the Package of Measures, the SMM revisited Ukrainian Armed Forces permanent storage sites, whose locations corresponded with the withdrawal lines, and noted that 49 tanks (T-64), eight mortars (2B9M, 82mm) and six anti-tank guns (D-48, 85mm) previously observed at those sites, were absent. 

In violation of the respective withdrawal lines, the SMM observed: six tanks (three T-64 and three T-72) and three mortars (120mm) in “DPR”-controlled Donetsk city; [2] five tanks (T-72) in “LPR”-controlled Luhansk city.[3] Later during the day, the SMM also observed six tanks (T-72) travelling away from Luhansk city towards west.

The SMM continued to monitor the withdrawal of heavy weapons foreseen in the Minsk Package of Measures. The SMM has yet to receive the full information requested in the 16 October 2015 notification.

In violation of the respective withdrawal lines, the SMM observed: in government-controlled areas: five self-propelled howitzers (2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm) in Tarasivka (41km north-west of Donetsk); 18 towed howitzers (D-20, 122mm) in Zelene Pole (42km north-west of Donetsk), and 12 anti-tank guns (MT-12 Rapira, 100mm) in Kremenivka (27km north-west of Mariupol); in “DPR”-controlled areas: three multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS; three BM-21 Grad, 122mm), three self-propelled howitzers (2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm), seven towed howitzers (three S-30 Lyagushka, 122mm and four unidentified) towed by trucks, three anti-tank guns (MT-12 Rapira, 100mm) and three surface-to-air missile systems (9K35 Strela-10, 120mm) in Donetsk city;[4] in “LPR”-controlled areas: five MLRS (BM-21 Grad, 122mm), five self-propelled howitzers (2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm) and ten towed howitzers (five 2A65 Msta-B, 152mm, and five D-30 Lyagushka, 122mm), and five surface-to-air missile systems (9K35 Strela-10, 120mm) in Luhansk city.[5] Later during the day, the SMM also observed seven self-propelled howitzers (2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm) and five towed howitzers (2A65 Msta-B, 152mm) towed by trucks travelling away from Luhansk city towards south-west.

The SMM revisited locations known to the SMM as heavy weapons holding areas, even though they do not comply with the specific criteria set out for permanent storage sites in the 16 October 2015 notification.

In government-controlled areas beyond the respective withdrawal lines, the SMM revisited such locations and observed: 31 Addendum-regulated tanks (T-64) and 12 Addendum-regulated mortars (2B11, 120mm). It noted that seven Addendum-regulated mortars (two 2B9, 82mm, and five PM-38, 120mm) were missing.  

The SMM observed the presence of armoured combat vehicles, anti-aircraft guns and other hardware within the security zone. In “DPR”-controlled areas the SMM noted: three armoured personnel carriers (APCs) with 4-6 armed men in military-type uniforms sitting on top of each, six infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs; three BMP-1, and three BMP-2), two anti-aircraft guns mounted on two trucks in Donetsk city.[6] In “LPR”-controlled areas the SMM noted five APCs (BTR-80) and five IFVs (BMP-2) in Luhansk city.[7]

The SMM monitored the situation of civilians at checkpoints near the contact line. In the morning hours, at a Ukrainian Armed Forces checkpoint in government-controlled Marinka (23km south-west of Donetsk), the SMM noted 650 civilian cars and 12 buses waiting to travel towards government-controlled areas. In the afternoon, at the same checkpoint, the SMM observed a queue of 550 civilian cars and eight buses waiting to travel west. In the morning hours, at the “LPR” checkpoint south of the bridge in Stanytsia Luhanska, the SMM observed 150 people waiting to walk towards government-controlled areas and no one waiting to walk in the opposite direction. At the Government checkpoint north of the bridge the SMM observed 250-300 people waiting to enter government-controlled areas and 20 people waiting to walk in the opposite direction. In the early afternoon, at the Government checkpoint the SMM observed a queue of 70 people waiting to travel to government-controlled areas and no queue in the opposite direction.

The SMM monitored a border area not controlled by the Government. At the border crossing point in “LPR”-controlled Dolzhanskyi (84km south-east of Luhansk), over the course of 45 minutes, the SMM observed one civilian bus (with Ukrainian licence plates) and six civilian cars (three with Ukrainian licence plates and three with Russian Federation licence plates) crossing into the Russian Federation.  

The SMM observed 9 May military-style parades in Donetsk and Luhansk cities. On Artema street in Donetsk city centre, the SMM observed 2,000-3,000 people (men and women of all ages) watching a parade of “DPR” members and weapons. The SMM saw 15 echelons: seven echelons of armed men in military-type clothing, and seven echelons of men and one echelon of women both without weapons in police/military-type clothing. Several civilians showed an offensive attitude or gestures towards the SMM. On Kotsiubynskoho street in Luhansk city centre, the SMM observed several thousand people (men and women of all ages) attending a parade with eight formations of armed “LPR” members and weapons followed by civilian participants in various groups.

On the Soldiers-Liberators square in Mariupol (102km south of Donetsk), the SMM observed a 9 May commemoration of 1,500 people, including 70 Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers and ten men carrying Right Sector flags, which passed off peacefully. The SMM also observed commemorations of 9 May in government-controlled Raihorodka and Trokhizbenka (34 and 33km north-west of Luhansk, respectively), where 150 and 100 people respectively were in attendance.

The SMM also observed 9 May commemorations in Odessa (1,500 and several thousand people attended in two separate locations, respectively), in Lviv (in three separate locations), in Kharkiv (2,000-3,000 people attended), in Dnepropetrovsk (5,000 people) and in Kyiv (3,000 and 1,500 in two separate locations, respectively). Most of those events passed off peacefully with a large presence of law enforcement (from several hundred to several thousand law enforcement officers were observed), while in several occasions the SMM saw minor incidents of scuffles and altercations, with police intervening and preventing further escalation. At the Monument of the Unknown Sailor in the Alley of Glory in Odessa, the SMM observed 20 elderly women and a group of pro-Maidan activists, separated by police officers and National Guard, exchanging insults. At the Glory Memorial in Kharkiv, the SMM observed scuffles and altercations involving 50-60 activists (aged 30-40) and dozens of elderly people wearing St. George ribbons, with police officers intervening. It also noted 20-30 activists (aged 30-40) wearing camouflage uniforms shouting at 10-15 motorcyclists, blocking them from accessing the monument, and subsequently observed police officers intervening between the two groups. At the Glory Monument in Dnepropetrovsk, the SMM observed several young men demanding that supporters of the Opposition Bloc remove St. George ribbons and blocking their access to the monument, which caused a scuffle between them. In Glory Park in Kyiv, the SMM observed a dispute between a group of men (between 30 and 40 years old, some of them in mixed camouflage) and a woman in her thirties. The men took away a St. George ribbon from the woman and ignited it with a lighter.

In Lviv, the SMM observed approximately 30 activists (men aged between 20 and 40) –  wearing balaclavas and other types of masks – attempting to demolish a monument of Stepan Tudor (early Soviet-era communist and Ukrainian writer) on Malaniuka Square, with some of the participants hitting it with various tools such as metal poles. The SMM observed that 50 anti-riot police officers arrived at the scene, and started beating the activists with batons. Subsequently, activists dispersed in several directions, followed by the police officers with batons. The SMM saw at least four activists who had sustained bruises and injuries. The National Police in Lviv told the SMM that two law enforcement officers had been injured during the incident, which was confirmed by the trauma unit of the city clinical emergency hospital in Lviv.

The SMM continued to monitor the situation in Kherson, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Chernivtsi.

*Restrictions to SMM’s freedom of movement or other impediments to the fulfilment of its mandate

The SMM’s monitoring is restrained by security hazards and threats, including risks posed by mines and unexploded ordnance, and by restrictions of its freedom of movement 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.

Denial of access: 

• At a Ukrainian Armed Forces permanent weapons storage site, the commander did not allow the SMM access to one of the buildings on the compound. The SMM informed the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC).
• In government-controlled Dmytrivka (56km south-west of Donetsk), Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel did not allow the SMM to enter a military compound, stating that the commander was absent and he had no authority to do so. The SMM informed the JCCC.

Delay:

• At a “DPR” checkpoint 17km south-west of Donetsk, armed men delayed the SMM for 20 minutes, while demanding that SMM members show their national passports. After armed men wrote down the name and OSCE ID numbers of the SMM members and the vehicle registration numbers, the SMM was allowed to proceed further west.  The SMM informed the JCCC.

Other impediments:

• The SMM’s long-range unmanned aerial vehicle was subject to continuous jamming while flying over “DPR”-controlled Donetsk city, which forced the UAV to make an emergency landing in government-controlled areas.

[1] Please see the annexed table for a complete breakdown of the ceasefire violations as well as map of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions marked with locations featured in this report

[2] These weapons were observed at a May 9 military-style parade.

[3] These weapons were observed at a May 9 military-style parade.

[4] These weapons were observed at a May 9 military-style parade.

[5] These weapons were observed at a May 9 military-style parade.

[6] These weapons were observed at a May 9 military-style parade.

[7] These weapons were observed at a May 9 military-style parade.