Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine, based on information received as of 19:30, 4 September 2016

This report is for media and the general public.

The power to the SMM’s camera at the Oktiabr mine in Donetsk had been cut off and auxiliary equipment had been stolen. The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region on both 3 and 4 September - with 26 and 43 explosions, respectively, compared with three during the previous reporting period. In Luhansk region the SMM continued to note a relatively calm situation, with no ceasefire violations recorded on 3 September and three single shots of small-arms fire on 4 September. The SMM followed up on reports of casualties. The SMM observed heavy weapons in violation of withdrawal lines and the presence of armoured combat vehicles and other hardware in the security zone. The SMM continued to monitor the situation of civilians living near the contact line and noted long queues at entry-exit checkpoints. The SMM monitored five border areas not under government control. The Mission monitors encountered impediments to its freedom of movement on both sides of the contact line. The SMM continued to monitor a calm situation along the administrative boundary line between the mainland and Crimea.

On 3 September, the SMM visited the Oktiabr mine (“DPR”-controlled, 8km north-east of Donetsk city centre) to assess the equipment of the SMM camera at the site. Armed “DPR” members had blocked the road to the entrance of the mine and kept the SMM waiting for ten minutes while seeking permission from their superiors. After the SMM was allowed to enter the upper floor of the mine shaft where the equipment was located, the SMM saw that the power and network cables to the camera had been cut, the storage metal boxes had been damaged, and the equipment inside them was missing.*

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations[1] in Donetsk region on both 3 and 4 September. It recorded 26 explosions on 3 September compared with three in the previous reporting period, and 43 explosions on 4 September. 

On 3 September, positioned at the Donetsk central railway station (“DPR”-controlled, 6km north-west of Donetsk city centre), the SMM heard four undetermined explosions 5-10km north-north-east of its position. The following day, the Mission monitors heard eight undetermined explosions 5-7km north-east of its position.

During the day on 3 September, positioned in “DPR”-controlled Yasynuvata (16km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard 12 undetermined explosions 3-5km north-west of its position. The following day the SMM heard, within 90 minutes, 17 undetermined explosions 1-5km west-south-west and west of its position.

On 3 September, positioned in Avdiivka (government-controlled, 17km north of Donetsk) the SMM heard one undetermined explosion 2-4km south-east of its position, and five undetermined explosions 7-9km south-east of its position. The following day the SMM heard six undetermined explosions 4-7km south-east of its position. The SMM also recorded seven explosions - two assessed as outgoing and three as impacts of recoilless-gun (SPG-9,73mm) fire, and two as impacts of rounds from unknown weapons, all 2-4km south-east of its position.

On 3 September, the SMM camera in Avdiivka, facing east-south-east, recorded three airbursts 3-4km east-south-east of its location. The following day, the SMM camera recorded five columns of smoke and five undetermined explosions 5-7km east, east-south-east, and south of its position.

The SMM observed no ceasefire violations in Luhansk region on 3 September, while it recorded three single shots of small-arms fire on 4 September. On 4 September, whilst north of “LPR”-controlled Zhovte (17km north-west of Luhansk) the SMM heard three single shots of small-arms fire, 0.6km north of its position. The SMM heard the shots in the area where it was flying a mini unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

The SMM followed up on reports of casualties. On 3 September, an officer at the police department in government-controlled Vuhledar (48km south-west of Donetsk) confirmed to the SMM an incident that had occurred on 26 August where a civilian had been stabbed fatally with a knife allegedly by a member of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Aidar battalion. According to the police, the suspect had been arrested and criminal proceedings had been initiated. On 4 September, the SMM followed up on reports of several individuals injured by the explosion of a hand grenade in a military vehicle. The SMM visited the government-controlled Stanytsia Luhanska (16km north-east of Luhansk) hospital where military police confirmed the incident, saying that the vehicle was a military ambulance transporting a patient from Stanytsia Luhanska to government-controlled Sievierodonetsk (74km north-west of Luhansk). Medical staff at the hospital said that four Ukrainian Armed Forces members had been injured in the incident. The SMM observed four heavily wounded persons being prepared for medical evacuation.

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

In violation of the withdrawal lines the SMM observed four multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS; BM-21 Grad, 122mm) in government-controlled Ivanivka (59km south-west of Donetsk) and an anti-tank guided missile launcher (9M14 Malyutka, 125mm) near Haiove (14km west of Luhansk) on 3 September, and two anti-tank guns (MT-12 Rapira, 100mm) at a Ukrainian Armed Forces compound in Novozhelanne (34km north-west of Donetsk) on 4 September. On 2 September an SMM mini UAV recorded what was assessed to be either an anti-tank gun (MT-12 Rapira, 100mm) or a 120mm mortar 750m north-west of the contact line in government-controlled Lobacheve (17km north-west of Luhansk).

The SMM observed weapons that could not be verified as withdrawn, as their storage does not comply with the criteria set in the 16 October 2015 notification. The SMM revisited Ukrainian Armed Forces areas and observed that they continued to be abandoned, with eight self-propelled howitzers (2S3 Akatsiya, 152mm) missing as first noted on 27 September 2015, and 24 self-propelled howitzers (2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm) missing as first noted on 28 May 2015 (six pieces) and on 18 December 2015 (18 pieces).

The SMM observed the presence of armoured combat vehicles, anti-aircraft weapons, a UAV, and other hardware in the security zone. In government-controlled areas the SMM observed two infantry fighting vehicles (IFV; one BMP-2 and one BMP-1KSh) and one armoured personnel carrier (APC; Saxon) stationary in Nyzhnie (56km north-west of Luhansk); one stationary IFV (BMP-2) in Krymske (42km north-west of Luhansk); and three stationary IFVs (BMP-2) at a checkpoint 3.5km east of Novotoshkivske (53km west of Luhansk), all on 3 September. In “DPR”-controlled areas the SMM observed two APCs mounted with heavy machine-guns at a checkpoint in Maiorsk (45km north-east of Donetsk) on 2 September, and a mid-range UAV flying fast at approximately 1.5km altitude over the railway station in Yasynuvata towards north-west, on 3 September. In “LPR”-controlled areas the SMM observed: on 2 September, an anti-aircraft gun (ZU-23, 23mm) mounted on a military-type truck in Sokilnyky (38km north-west of Luhansk); on 3 September, three IFVs - two BMP-1 armed with 73mm guns (2A28 Grom) and one BMP-2 armed with a 7.62mm machine-gun - and an anti-tank guided missile launcher (9M14 Malyutka, 125mm) - towed by military-type trucks near Haiove, as well as two IFVs (BMP) on the road H-21 14km west of Luhansk city; and on 4 September, an anti-aircraft gun (ZU-23, 23mm) mounted on a military-type truck in Raivka (16km north-west of Luhansk).

On 4 September, on the southern edge of “DPR”-controlled Khartsyzk (26km east of Donetsk), the SMM observed 29 civilian trucks (all with covered cargo areas) and one car marked “DPR” “military traffic police”, parked in a convoy facing north. All trucks had their licence plates either covered or completely removed. One truck had Russian Federation license plates whose cover had partially fallen off.

The SMM continued to observe the presence of mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO). On 3 September, at the government checkpoint at Stanytsia Luhanska bridge, the SMM observed and informed the Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel present about the presence of various pieces of UXO on the bridge, in the area between the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the “LPR” forward positions. The SMM also observed Russian Federation Armed Forces officers from the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC) marking one piece of UXO (assessed as 82mm mortar) in the area between the forward positions, a piece of UXO on the main road and three others near the parking lot south of the bridge in “LPR”-controlled areas. They told the SMM that they would inform an “LPR” demining team to demine the pieces of UXO in the area. On 4 September the SMM observed the presence of an anti-tank mine without a detonator two meters from the road, near a Ukrainian Armed Forces position west of government-controlled Popasna (69km west of Luhansk). On 3 September, in the eastern part of Donetsk, the SMM observed a military-type truck with an uncovered cargo bed stationary on the right lane of the road towards Makiivka (12km north-east of Donetsk). The SMM observed that the part of the cage it could see carried 100-125 anti-tank mines. On 3 September, in Novooleksandrivka (64km west of Luhansk), while conducting a mini UAV flight the SMM observed a man, who the SMM assessed to be under the influence of alcohol, approaching the SMM while carrying a piece of UXO (RPG grenade). The SMM asked him to leave the site, which he then did.

The SMM continued to observe queues at entry-exit checkpoints along the contact line. On 3 September, at a checkpoint in government-controlled Marinka (23km south-west of Donetsk) the SMM noted 170 civilian cars and 20 pedestrians queuing to leave government-controlled areas and five civilian cars and 20 pedestrians queuing in opposite direction. At a checkpoint in government-controlled Zaitseve (62km north-east of Donetsk) at 18:30 on 3 September, the SMM noted about 40 civilian vehicles still waiting in the area between the checkpoints. The next day, the SMM noted some 200 pedestrians, 90 civilian cars, two buses and ten minibuses queuing to leave government-controlled areas. The SMM noted a similar situation at a government checkpoint in Maiorsk with about 20 civilian cars still queuing in the area between the checkpoints at 18:30 on 3 September, travelling towards government-controlled areas. The following day the SMM noted 100 pedestrians, 25 civilian cars, five buses and ten minibuses leaving government-controlled areas and 300 pedestrians, 60 civilian cars, and five minibuses queuing in opposite direction. At checkpoints on road H-15 “DPR” members told the SMM that “DPR” checkpoints were open from 5:00 to 19:00, while Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers said that, starting from 1 September, government checkpoints were open from 7:00 to 18:30. On 3 September, at the “LPR” checkpoint south of the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge the SMM saw in the morning hours some 80 civilian cars and seven minibuses parked and a queue of about 150 pedestrians waiting to travel towards government-controlled areas, as well as around 350-400 pedestrians queuing to enter non-government-controlled areas. In the afternoon hours, the SMM observed still around 100 pedestrians queuing to travel towards government-controlled areas and 350-400 pedestrians queuing in the opposite direction. After 30 minutes of observation the SMM noticed that the speed of processing documents increased. The SMM observed no queue at the government checkpoint north of the bridge.

The SMM monitored five border areas not under government control. On 3 September, the SMM monitored the border crossing points in “LPR”-controlled Sievernyi and Izvaryne (50km and 52km south-east of Luhansk, respectively). At the latter, the SMM observed 55 civilian cars (the majority with Ukrainian licence plates) and 40 pedestrians waiting to leave Ukraine, and three buses and ten pedestrians crossing into Ukraine, as well as three commercial lorries (with Ukrainian licence plates) parked 700m from the border. Whilst at the area, eight local residents complained to the SMM about increased transportation prices from Luhansk to Sievierodonetsk, which they said used to cost 80 UAH, while now it cost about 1000 UAH as they had to cross the border - as well as about bureaucracies at the borders, explaining that different people on both sides of border crossing points conducted their duties in different ways. On 4 September, the SMM visited a former border crossing point in Ulianivske (“DPR”-controlled, 61km south-east of Donetsk), and two pedestrian ones in “LPR”-controlled Krasnodarskyi (58km south-east of Luhansk) and noted a calm situation. The SMM continued to observe no “LPR” members at any of the two pedestrian border crossing points in Krasnodarskyi.

The SMM monitored the situation of civilians living near the contact line. In “LPR”-controlled Kamiane (46 south of Luhansk), Chervona Poliana (39km south-west of Luhansk), and Illiriia (30km south-west of Luhansk) residents complained about a difficult financial situation due to lack of employment opportunities. In Kamiane two men (70 and 44 years old) said that most people in their village of 1,500 inhabitants (from 2,700 prior to the conflict) had stopped receiving pensions from the Government. In government-controlled Boiove (29km north-west of Mariupol), on 2 September, two village council officials (women, 40 years) said that the schools in Boiove and Malynivka (25km north-west of Mariupol) would provide education only up to the ninth grade (previously up to the 11th grade) due to reorganization. Now students had to take a bus to government-controlled Nikolske (formerly Volodarsk, 21km north-west of Mariupol), they said. They added that the kindergarten in Malynivka was used to accommodate a Ukrainian Armed Forces military hospital, also confirmed by Ukrainian Armed Forces members.

The SMM continued to monitor the situation along the administrative boundary line between the mainland and Crimea. At the crossing points in Kalanchak, Chaplynka and Chonhar (67km, 77km and 163km south-east of Kherson, respectively) and in adjacent areas, the SMM observed a generally calm situation. On 2 September in Chonhar, the SMM noticed that the portrait of Noman Çelebicihan, the first president of the short-lived independent Crimean People's Republic established in November 1917, was no longer attached to the concrete road blocks that had been lying on the main road leading to Crimea since 20 September 2015. Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen stationed nearby said that they had asked former blockade activists to remove it as they would use the blocks as a pillbox and the portrait was blocking their view. The SMM also noted at the encampment premises inhabited by members of the Asker civil formations that all the vehicles previously seen with Asker license plates did not have any plates. On 3 September, at the Chonhar crossing point a group of 14 persons (men and women of different ages) said independently that they had been waiting in line for eight hours as people were not being allowed to enter Crimea by Russian Federation border guards. On 4 September, north of the crossing point at Chaplynka in the area of Kairka (85km south-east of Kherson), in an unused farm building, the SMM observed several military trucks, a tracked vehicle, and three towed artillery guns (assessed as either 2A65/2A36 or BS-3).

*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:

• Ukrainian Armed Forces members denied SMM access to a military compound in government-controlled Khlibodarivka (65km south-west of Donetsk) citing orders from their superiors. The SMM informed the JCCC.

Conditional access:

• Whilst near government-controlled Novooleksiivka (32km north of Mariupol) a Ukrainian Armed Forces commander denied SMM access to a military compound. The SMM informed the JCCC and after twenty minutes the commander granted access to only one of the SMM members present.
• A border guard unit commander escorted the SMM during its observation at the Valok tourist resort (205km south-east of Kherson) (see SMM Daily Report 30 August), where the border guard position is located.

Other impediments:

• On 3 September, in “DPR”-controlled area of Oktiabr Mine (8km north-east of Donetsk city centre) armed “DPR” members had blocked the road to the entrance of the Oktiabr mine and kept the SMM waiting for ten minutes while seeking permission from their superiors. After the SMM was allowed access to the upper floor of the mine shaft where the camera equipment was located, the SMM saw that the power and network cables to the camera had been cut; the storage metal boxes had been damaged, while the equipment inside them was missing.

[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.