Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine, based on information received as of 19:30, 29 August 2016

This report is for media and the general public.

In Donetsk region, the SMM noted a relative decrease in the number of explosions recorded (nearly 400) compared with 28 August (nearly 1,000). In Luhansk region, the SMM neither registered ceasefire violations during the night of 28 August nor the daytime of 29 August. It followed up on reports of civilian casualties and analysed craters in Petrovskyi district, Yasynuvata, Horlivka, and Pikuzy (formerly Kominternove). The SMM observed preparations for the start of the school year. The Mission visited two border areas not controlled by the Government. It faced four restrictions to its freedom of movement, all but one in areas not controlled by the Government.* The Mission observed a calm situation along the administrative boundary line with Crimea. The SMM monitored public gatherings in Kyiv.

The SMM noted fewer ceasefire violations including nearly 400 explosions recorded in Donetsk region, compared with 28 August (nearly 1,000 explosions).[1]

During the night of 29 August, whilst in Donetsk city centre the SMM heard ten undetermined explosions 7-15km north-west of its position.

The SMM camera in government-controlled Avdiivka (17km north of Donetsk) recorded 45 undetermined explosions 4-5km south-east of its location on the night of 28 August, and 27 explosions assessed as caused by impacts of undetermined weapons 3-6km north-east, east and south-east of its location during the day of 29 August. Positioned in Avdiivka, the SMM heard, between 10:50 and 15:50, 142 explosions (52 of which were assessed as caused by outgoing 82mm mortar rounds and 33 of which as caused by impacts of 82/120mm mortar rounds) and numerous bursts of small-arms fire mostly 2-7km south-east of its position. Whilst positioned at the Yasynuvata railway station (16km north-east of Donetsk) between 14:15 and 15:31, the SMM heard 37 undetermined explosions 2-7km west and west-north-west of its position. In the morning, armed “DPR” members delayed the SMM for over two and half hours, when it attempted to reach Yasynuvata.*

On the evening of 28 August, while in government-controlled Svitlodarsk (57km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard 46 explosions, 36 of which it assessed as outgoing 82 mm mortar rounds 1-3km north-west, north-north-west and north-east of its position. On the night of 28 August whilst in “DPR”-controlled Horlivka (39km north-east of Donetsk) the SMM heard and saw 31 explosions assessed as caused by artillery rounds 8-15km north-west, and heard 46 explosions assessed as caused by artillery rounds 4-6km north-north-west of its position.

Positioned in “DPR”-controlled Uzhivka (formerly Leninske, 24km east of Mariupol), the SMM saw six airbursts assessed as caused by artillery rounds, as well as heard six explosions assessed as outgoing rounds of undermined weapons and numerous bursts of small-arms fire, all 3km south-south-west. 

In Luhansk region, for the first time since 7 August, the SMM neither recorded any ceasefire violations during the night of 28 August nor the daytime of 29 August.

The SMM continued to follow up on reports of civilian casualties by shelling – in the  below-mentioned occasions accompanied by the Russian Federation Armed Forces officer at the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC). At the Kalinina morgue in Donetsk city, the SMM observed the body of a woman (in her mid-fifties) with a bullet wound in the neck. The head of the morgue informed the SMM that the victim was a resident of Petrovskyi district (“DPR”-controlled, 15km south-west of Donetsk city centre) and her body had been delivered to the morgue on the night of 28 August from Petrovskyi district. At the Railway Hospital in Yasynuvata, a woman (aged 65) stated that she had sustained a gunshot wound in the knee with an exit wound in the calf on the evening on 28 August, when she was at home in Yasynuvata. The SMM saw her leg bandaged. At Horlivka Hospital no. 2, medical staff told the SMM that a woman with several minor shrapnel wounds had been brought to the hospital the night of 28 August and had been released after receiving treatment.

The SMM also observed the results of shelling and analysed craters. On 28 August, in “DPR”-controlled Pikuzy (formerly Kominternove, 23km east-north of Mariupol), the SMM, accompanied by armed “DPR” members, observed three impact sites. At the first site, the SMM saw the destroyed roof facing north-east of an abandoned house and found a projectile of a recoilless gun (SPG-9, 73mm). At the second and third sites, the SMM observed two fresh craters on an asphalt road – one 2-3m from an inhabited house and another 3m from an abandoned house – and assessed them as caused by recoilless gun (SPG-9, 73mm) rounds fired from a north-westerly direction. A resident told the SMM that the village had been shelled in the evening of 27 August.

On 28 August, in an open sandy field surrounded by trees in government-controlled Stanytsia Luhanska (16km north-east of Luhansk) – located 350m from Stanytsia Luhanska hospital and 400m from a residential area – the SMM observed,  judging from the shape, depth and width of the holes in the sand, what it assessed as three mortar firing positions oriented toward a southerly direction. A group of ten residents told the SMM that since 22 August they had heard the Ukrainian Armed Forces firing mortars from the aforementioned location almost every night.

The SMM continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons, in implementation of the Package of Measures and its Addendum, as well as the Minsk Memorandum.

In violation of the withdrawal lines, the SMM observed in government-controlled areas: one stationary anti-tank guided missile (9M113 Konkurs, 135mm) in Zolote-1 (60km west of Luhansk); and six self-propelled howitzers (2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm) loaded on six trucks together with one armoured personnel carriers (APC; MT-LB) in Verkhnokamianka (84km north-west of Luhansk) heading south.

The SMM revisited an “LPR” heavy weapons permanent storage site, whose location corresponded with the withdrawal lines. The SMM noted that seven towed howitzers 9D-30 Lyagushka, 122mm) were missing as it had observed previously.

The SMM observed the presence of armoured combat vehicles, an anti-aircraft weapon, and other hardware in the security zone. In government-controlled areas the SMM observed: two APCs (MT-LB) – one mounted with a heavy machine-gun and another mounted with anti-aircraft gun (ZU-23) in Zolote-1 and one light-armoured vehicle (Kraz cougar) mounted with a heavy machine-gun in Zolote-4. The SMM saw a convoy of three APCs (BTR- 80), three military-type trucks (one Kamaz and two Ural) and one jeep (Uaz), accompanied by a civilian vehicle, heading in the direction of the city centre in Leninskyi district of “DPR”-controlled Donetsk city.

The SMM, following up on the incident in “DPR”-controlled Lukove (72km south of Donetsk) on 22 August when armed men aggressively demanded to search the SMM vehicles (see Spot Report 23 August 2016), met with senior “DPR” members at a checkpoint in Lukove. The SMM outlined its mandate and the Addendum to the Package of Measures. One of the interlocutors apologized and assured that there would be no more such incidents.

The SMM observed preparations for the start of the school year on both sides of the contact line. In “DPR“-controlled Ilovaisk (30km south-east of Donetsk), the director of secondary school no. 14 told the SMM that the school had been damaged by shelling in 2014 and renovations had only recently been completed, adding that 164 students had enrolled. The SMM assessed that the building had been fully restored and ready for students to begin classes. In Kalininskyi district (“DPR”-controlled, 5km north-west of Donetsk city centre), the director of secondary school no. 96 informed the SMM the school had been operational throughout the conflict, while the number of enrolled students had decreased from 550-580 before the conflict to 270 at present. On 28 August, in “DPR”-controlled Samiilove (89km south of Donetsk), the SMM observed a former school building was being used by at least five armed men; the said building is located 30m from a school building which, according to three resident (women in their seventies), is functional. The SMM also noted ten red mine signs (red board with white letters stating “Mines” in Cyrillic) placed in the vicinity of the occupied building. In government-controlled Sievierodonetsk (74km north-west of Luhansk), the head of the education department for Luhansk region told the SMM that 299 schools in government-controlled areas of the region would be open and ready for students to begin on 1 September.

At a checkpoint in “DPR”-controlled Olenivka (23km south-west of Donetsk), a man wearing military-type clothes, who appeared to be intoxicated, claiming to be a “volunteer” from the Russian Federation.

The SMM also observed three new mine warning signs (red boards with white letters in Cyrillic) along the road along the Ukrainian Armed Forces positions in Zolote-1. In the vicinity of government-controlled Viktorivka (74km west of Luhansk) the SMM observed a lot of rubbish and debris lying in trenches and bunkers of an abandoned military position. Among this debris, the SMM noted two anti-tank mines – one whose explosive charge had been removed and another appeared to be intact but without the detonator.

The SMM monitored two border areas not controlled by the Government.* At the pedestrian border crossing point in “LPR”-controlled Novoborovytsi (79km south of Luhansk) during its 20-minute observation the SMM did not observe any people crossing the border. At the border crossing point in “LPR”-controlled Dovzhanskyi (84km south-east of Luhansk), the SMM saw nine cars (seven with Ukrainian and two with Russian Federation licence plates) and one minibus (with Ukrainian licence plates) waiting to cross into the Russian Federation, all of which it observed, within 20 minutes, had crossed the customs area. During its 45-minute observation, the SMM observed that the nine cars (four with Ukrainian, four with Russian and one with Polish licence plates) and five cargo trucks (all with Ukrainian licence plates) entered Ukraine. Prior to its observation, in “LPR”-controlled Dovzhanskyi, an armed man wrote down the names of the SMM monitors before it was allowed to proceed to the border crossing point.*

The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential infrastructure. The SMM monitored the cleaning of water canals in and around the power plant in government-controlled Shchastia (20km north of Luhansk) and repair works on electrical cables of a water pump in “LPR”-controlled Krasnyi Lyman (30km north-west of Luhansk).

The SMM continued to monitor the situation along the administrative boundary line between the mainland and Crimea. At the Kalanchak, Chaplynka and Chonhar crossing points (67km, 72km and 167km south-east of Kherson, respectively) and in adjacent areas, the SMM observed a calm situation. On 28 August, the SMM saw three stationary military trucks (Zil, Kamaz and Kraz) some 500m west of a checkpoint located at the entrance to the Chonhar Peninsula (162km south-east of Kherson).

In Kyiv, the SMM monitored public gatherings in Kyiv. On 27 and 28 August the SMM monitored the continuation of a protest in front of the entrance of the General Prosecutor’s Office demanding the resignation of the military prosecutor general in connection to the “Ilovaisk events” (see SMM Daily Report 27 August). The number of protestors varied from five to 30, most of them middle-aged men in uniforms or T-shirts with the insignia of former volunteer battalions of Aidar and Donbas. On 29 August the SMM observed a gathering of 300-400 people (90 per cent middle-aged men) at the Mykhailivska Square commemorating the second anniversary of the “Ilovaisk battle”. Most people were wearing different types of military-style clothing with patches of former volunteer battalions of Donbas, Dnipro-1, Myrotvorets, Kryvbas and Svitiaz. The Ukrainian Armed Forces’ official ceremonial guard fired salutes and laid flowers at the memorial wall near the Mykhailivskyi monastery. The event passed off peacefully overseen by around ten police officers.

*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 to 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 to the SMM’s freedom of movement constitutes a violation, and on the need for rapid response to these violations.

Conditional access:

• In the morning, at a checkpoint on the eastern edge of Yasynuvata, armed “DPR” members denied the SMM access to the town, citing security concerns. The SMM informed the JCCC. Two hours and 35minutes later the SMM was only allowed to enter the town under escort by a “DPR” member.
• In “LPR”-controlled Dovzhanskyi, an armed man wrote down the names of the SMM monitors before it was allowed to proceed to the border crossing point. The JCCC was informed.
• The border guard unit commander escorted the SMM during its observation at the Valok tourist resort (205km south-east of Kherson), where the border guard position is located. He told the SMM that as of that day a border guard officer would always accompany the SMM, adding that border guard personnel do not have permission to answer SMM questions.

Delay:

• At a checkpoint in “DPR”-controlled Olenivka, armed “DPR” members stopped the SMM and said it had to wait in a queue alongside civilians, referring to an instruction to do so. After having waited in a queue for approximately 35 minutes, the SMM was able to pass the checkpoint.

[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.