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

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region during the reporting period and fewer in Luhansk region, compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM recorded the majority of the ceasefire violations around the Avdiivka-Yasynuvata-Donetsk airport area. The SMM continued to monitor the disengagement areas in Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske, and faced restrictions of its freedom of movement in all three areas.* The SMM camera at the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge recorded at least two ceasefire violations within the disengagement area. The Mission followed up on reports of an accidental civilian casualty in Dokuchaievsk and three non-civilian casualties in Novozvanivka. It continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons and noted weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines in government-controlled areas. The SMM monitored repairs to essential infrastructure providing water to 50,000 people in and around Toretsk.   

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations[1] in Donetsk region including some 550 explosions, compared with about 100 explosions in the previous reporting period. Nearly 70 per cent of the explosions were noted in the Avdiivka-Yasynuvata-Donetsk airport area and just over 20 per cent in areas north-east of Mariupol.

While in “DPR”-controlled Donetsk city centre the SMM heard 37 undetermined explosions on the evening and night of 28 November 7-10km north-west. On the evening of 28 November to the evening of 29 November, the SMM camera in government-controlled Avdiivka (17km north of Donetsk) recorded about 80 indirect rocket-assisted projectiles in flight from south-west to north-east, nine from north-east to south-west and two from south to north, all 4-6km south-east and east-south-east.

Positioned in “DPR”-controlled Yasynuvata (16km north-east of Donetsk) in the morning and early afternoon of 29 November, the SMM heard nearly 270 undetermined explosions 2-7km south-west, west, north-west and north. Positioned in government-controlled Avdiivka on 29 November the SMM heard one explosion assessed as an outgoing 120mm mortar round 4km south-east and 22 undetermined explosions 3-4km south and south-east.

Positioned in government-controlled Krasnohorivka (21km west of Donetsk) on the morning of 29 November the SMM heard 33 undetermined explosions 1-4km east and north of its position.

Positioned in “DPR”-controlled Bezimenne (30km east of Mariupol) the SMM heard 22 undetermined explosions shortly after noon 4-5km and at an unknown distance north-west. Positioned 1km east of government-controlled Berdianske (18km east of Mariupol) the SMM heard 12 explosions assessed as outgoing rounds from an undetermined weapon at an unknown distance north and heard what were assessed as their subsequent impacts at an unknown distance north-east.

Positioned 2-3km north-west of government-controlled Lebedynske (16km north-east of Mariupol) the SMM heard at least nine undetermined explosions at unknown distances north and north-east. A short time later, from the same position, the SMM heard an exchange which included at least 60 explosions assessed as outgoing rounds and impacts, ten airbursts and continuous bursts and single shots of small-arms fire for more than 15 minutes between points about 3-5km east and 3-5km north-east.

Positioned in government-controlled Yasnobrodivka (25km north-west of Donetsk) the SMM saw and heard seven bursts from a heavy machine-gun mounted on a tank (T-64) and one explosion assessed as an outgoing round from a recoilless gun (SPG-9, 73mm) 50-100m west. The SMM assessed them as part of a live-fire exercise within the security zone, in violation of the ceasefire and of the Trilateral Contact Group decision of 3 March 2016 on the prohibition of live-fire exercises within the security zone.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Luhansk region, including at least 30 explosions, compared with more than 350 during the previous reporting period, all near the contact line west and north-west of Luhansk city.

Positioned in government-controlled Lopaskyne (23km north-west of Luhansk) the SMM heard eight explosions assessed as 120mm mortar rounds. Positioned in government-controlled Trokhizbenka (32km north-west of Luhansk) the SMM heard two explosions assessed as 120mm mortar rounds 5km south and six outgoing shots of automatic-grenade-launcher fire (AGS-17) 3km south-west. Positioned in government-controlled Orikhove-Donetske (44km west of Luhansk) the SMM heard three explosions assessed as impacts of 120mm mortar rounds and 15 outgoing shots of automatic-grenade-launcher (AGS-17) fire, all 1.5-2km south.

Positioned in “LPR”-controlled Kalynove (60km west of Luhansk) the SMM heard two explosions assessed as impacts of artillery rounds 3km west. Positioned in “LPR”-controlled Veselohorivka (64km west of Luhansk) the SMM heard one explosion assessed as an impact of an artillery round 3km north.

The SMM followed up on reports of military and civilian casualties.

Five Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers, a battalion commander and five Ukrainian Armed Forces medical personnel separately told the SMM that three Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel were injured in government-controlled Novozvanivka (70km west of Luhansk). Medical personnel at a hospital in government-controlled Popasna (69km west of Luhansk) told the SMM that one soldier had been admitted to the hospital with a concussion from an explosion and two had suffered shrapnel wounds. According to the medical personnel, the condition of the injured men had stabilized.

Medical staff at a hospital in “DPR”-controlled Dokuchaievsk (30km south-west of Donetsk) told the SMM that a grenade had exploded in the hand of a man at a wedding in Dokuchaievsk and that in addition to having to amputate his hand had caused severe shrapnel wounds.

The SMM continued to monitor the disengagement areas and to pursue full access to the areas near Stanytsia Luhanska (16km north-east of Luhansk), Zolote (60km west of Luhansk) and Petrivske (41km south of Donetsk), as foreseen in the Framework Decision of the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) relating to disengagement of forces and hardware of 21 September 2016.  The Mission’s access to most of these areas remained restricted. The SMM did not note any signs of further disengagement or any demining activity in the three areas during the reporting period.

Before midnight on 27 November the SMM camera at the bridge south of Stanytsia Luhanska (16km north-east of Luhansk) recorded two undetermined projectiles in flight from north-west to south-east at an unknown distance south of the camera, assessed as within the disengagement area. The camera also recorded small, undetermined flashes on both sides of the river.

On 28 November, accompanied by a Ukrainian Armed Forces officer at the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC), the SMM observed three fresh impacts on the southernmost Ukrainian Armed Forces position north of the bridge, assessed as possibly caused by automatic-grenade-launcher (AGS-17) rounds. The SMM could not assess the direction of fire.

Between the southernmost Ukrainian Armed Forces position and the northernmost “LPR” position the SMM observed two fresh impacts assessed as caused by high-explosive anti-tank rounds fired from a south-easterly direction. Some 100-150m north of the wooden ramps over the broken section of the bridge the SMM observed about 20 fresh impacts, including from automatic-grenade-launcher (AGS), rocket-propelled-grenade and under-barrel-grenade-launcher (GP-25) rounds. The SMM could not assess the direction of fire.

At the “LPR” checkpoint just south of the bridge, in the presence of an armed “LPR” member, the SMM observed fresh ricochet marks of small-arms fire on the southernmost bunker and a fresh rocket-propelled-grenade impact in a nearby parking lot, all assessed as fired from a north-westerly direction.

The SMM observed a calm situation in the Zolote-Pervomaisk disengagement area.

The SMM camera in Petrivske (41km south of Donetsk) recorded one illumination flare 1-3km west of its location, assessed as inside the disengagement area, shortly after midnight on 28 November.

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

In violation of the withdrawal lines the SMM observed in government-controlled areas: two tanks (T-64) in Yasnobrodivka (25km north-west of Donetsk) and, as previously observed (see SMM Daily Report 12 November), four multiple-launch rocket systems (BM-21 Grad, 122mm) in Ivanivka (59km south-west of Donetsk)

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. In government-controlled areas the SMM observed 29 tanks (T-64), two surface-to-air missile systems (9K35 Strela-10, 120mm) and six anti-tank guns (MT-12 Rapira, 100mm). The SMM noted as missing: one tank (T-64) and six anti-tank guns (MT-12 Rapira, 100mm) (all previously recorded as missing), as well as two surface-to-air missile systems (9K33 Osa, 120mm) which were noted as missing for the first time.

The SMM observed armoured combat vehicles and an anti-aircraft gun in the security zone.[2] In government-controlled areas the SMM observed one IFV (BMP) in Stanytsia Luhanska (outside the disengagement area), one armoured personnel carrier (APC; BRDM-2) and an anti-aircraft gun (ZU-23, 23mm) near Novozvanivka (70km west of Luhansk), six IFV (BMP-1) near Zhelanne Pershe (29km north-west of Donetsk) and one APC (BTR-60) in Marinka (23km south-west of Donetsk). An SMM mini unmanned aerial vehicle spotted two IFVs (one BMP or BRM-1K, inside the disengagement area, and one BRM-1K, outside the disengagement area) near government-controlled Stanytsia Luhanska on 27 November.

The SMM monitored repairs to essential infrastructure co-ordinated by the JCCC. The SMM monitored the ongoing repair of water pipes near government-controlled Leninske (40km north-east of Donetsk) reportedly damaged by shelling on 22 November which left more than 50,000 residents in and around government-controlled Toretsk (formerly Dzerzhynsk, 43km north of Donetsk) without water. The SMM has observed water distribution taking place in the area and residents collecting water in buckets over the past few days. The SMM also monitored repair work on damaged electrical infrastructure near government-controlled Lozove (52km north-east of Donetsk).

The SMM continued monitoring in Kherson, Odessa, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Chernivtsi, and Kyiv.

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

The SMM’s monitoring and freedom of movement are restricted by security hazards and threats, including risks posed by mines, unexploded ordnance, 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:

• The SMM was unable to proceed towards the railway bridge (inside the disengagement area) south of Stanytsia Luhanska bridge due to the presence of a mine hazard sign. Armed “LPR” members told the SMM that area was not demined and there were no plans to demine it. The SMM informed the JCCC.
• While positioned at the edge of the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area south of the bridge, armed “LPR” members told the SMM that they could not guarantee the SMM’s safety in fields and secondary roads leading to the west. The SMM observed that the road to the west was blocked by an anti-tank obstacle (“Czech hedgehog”). The SMM informed the JCCC.
• At an “LPR” checkpoint on the southern edge of the Zolote-Pervomaisk disengagement area, the SMM was not able to access fields and areas off of main roads located in the disengagement area as armed “LPR” members present said that they could not guarantee the security of the SMM due to the possible presence of mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) in those areas. The SMM informed the JCCC.
• The SMM was not able to travel further west from “DPR”-controlled Petrivske due to the lack of security guarantees, as an armed “DPR” member told the SMM that demining activity had not taken place during the last 24 hours. The SMM informed the JCCC.
• The SMM was denied access to the bridge south of government-controlled Shchastia (20km north of Luhansk). Initially a Ukrainian Armed Forces commander told the SMM that they could only proceed if they disclosed the nationalities of the patrol members. The SMM refused to provide the requested information. One hour later, after having contacted the JCCC, a Ukrainian Armed Forces commander informed the SMM that they could proceed but that the bridge was still mined. A Ukrainian Armed Forces officer at the JCCC was present during the entire time.
• In government-controlled Novoselivka Pershe (29km north-west of Donetsk) a Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier did not allow the SMM to access a compound. The SMM informed the JCCC.

Conditional access:

A Ukrainian Armed Forces checkpoint commander asked the SMM to open its trunk for inspection while crossing through a checkpoint near government-controlled Berezove (31km south-west of Donetsk). The SMM informed the JCCC.

[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] This hardware is not proscribed by the provisions of the Minsk agreements on the withdrawal of weapons.