Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 15 May 2017

This report is for the media and the general public.

The SMM’s operations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions remained restricted following the fatal incident of 23 April near Pryshyb; these restrictions continued to limit the Mission’s observations. The Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous 24-hour period. The Mission continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons and observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines. The SMM continued to follow up on reports of a civilian casualty in Pikuzy and observed damage to a house in Zhovte; medical personnel in Makiivka refused to co-operate with the SMM in the follow-up on reports of civilian casualties saying the SMM needed written permission. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. Its access remained restricted there and elsewhere.* The SMM visited one border crossing point currently not under government control.

In Donetsk region the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations[1], including fewer explosions (about 120), compared with those recorded between the evenings of 13 and 14 May (about 500 explosions).

On the evening and night of 14 May the SMM camera in government-controlled Avdiivka (17km north of Donetsk) recorded, in sequence, two projectiles in flight from west to east and one undetermined explosion, both 3-4km east-south-east. About two hours later, the camera recorded, in sequence, one airburst, one projectile in flight from east to west and one airburst, all 4-6km east-south-east. The following day, positioned in Avdiivka for about six hours, the SMM heard 24 undetermined explosions 2-3km south-east.

On the night of 14 May the SMM camera at the “DPR”-controlled Oktiabr mine (9km north-west of Donetsk city centre) recorded two projectiles in flight from north to south, 6-8km north-east. In the afternoon on 15 May, the camera recorded one undetermined explosion 6-10km north-east.

While in government-controlled Svitlodarsk (57km north-east of Donetsk) on the evening and night of 14-15 May, the SMM heard ten undetermined explosions and a couple of dozen shots and bursts of small-arms and heavy-machine-gun fire 3-6km south-east.

Positioned in government-controlled Berezove (32km south-west of Donetsk), in 15 minutes in the morning, the SMM heard four undetermined explosions at an undetermined distance east as well as four undetermined explosions, 20 explosions assessed as caused by multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) rounds and 43 explosions assessed as caused by outgoing 82mm mortar rounds, all at unknown distances south-east.

On the evening and night of 14-15 May the SMM camera in Shyrokyne (20km east of Mariupol) recorded, in sequence, one rocket-assisted projectile in flight from south to north, one undetermined explosion, one airburst and one rocket-assisted projectile in flight from south to north, all at unknown distances north. About two hours later, the camera recorded, in sequence, three tracer rounds in flight from south-east to north-west, three undetermined explosions and eight tracer rounds in flight from south-west to north-east, followed by a total of 56 tracer rounds (36 in flight from south-east to north-west, ten from west-north-west to east-south-east, six from north-west to south-east, four from south-west to north-east) and three rocket-assisted projectiles in flight from south-east to north-west, all at unknown distances north-east. Two hours later, the camera recorded one undetermined explosion at an unknown distance north.

In Luhansk region the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations, two explosions, compared with those recorded between the evenings of 13 and 14 May (about 40 explosions).

Positioned north-east of government-controlled Orikhove (57km north-west of Luhansk) the SMM heard one undetermined explosion 5-8km south-east.

The SMM continued to follow up on reports of civilian casualties and observed damage to a house due to gunfire. In Pikuzy (formerly Kominternove, “DPR”-controlled, 23km north-east of Mariupol) the SMM continued following up on the young man who died. (See SMM Daily Report 15 May 2017.) A neighbour told the SMM that the man, a local civilian, had been struck by small-arms fire while tending to a beehive in his garden on 17 Kirova Street. According to the neighbour, there had been small-arms fire near Pikuzy in the afternoon before the man was struck by a bullet.

In “LPR”-controlled Zhovte (18km north-west of Luhansk), the SMM a resident told the SMM that a house at 8 Haharina Street had been hit by small-arms fire. At the house (located about 500m south-east of the contact line), the SMM saw a hole in a window frame, about two metres above the ground on the north-facing side of the house (towards the street). A young man, who was alone at the house at the time of the SMM’s visit, told the Mission that on 13 May a bullet had come through the window frame at 19:40. According to him, his parents had been home at the time of the incident, but no one had been injured. The SMM assessed the hole had been caused by a bullet (7.62mm) fired from a north-westerly direction.

The SMM continued to monitor the disengagement process and to pursue full access to the disengagement areas of 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 relating to disengagement of forces and hardware of 21 September 2016. The SMM’s access remained restricted but the Mission was able to partially monitor them.*

Positioned at the parking lot, in “LPR”-controlled areas south of the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge, the SMM heard an undetermined explosion 0.5km south, assessed as inside the disengagement area.

While the SMM attempted to reach the camera site in Petrivske, an armed “DPR” member at a checkpoint demanded to know the gender of the patrol members; the Mission was allowed to proceed only after revealing the information. The SMM informed the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC).* In the pre-dawn hours on 13 May, the camera in Petrivske recorded, in sequence, five projectiles in flight from south-east to north-west and 13 undetermined explosions, all at unknown distances west-north-west and assessed as outside the disengagement area.

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

In violation of respective withdrawal lines in government-controlled areas, the SMM saw four MLRS (BM-21 Grad, 122mm) near Khlibodarivka (65 km south-west of Donetsk).

Beyond withdrawal lines, but outside storage sites, in government-controlled areas, the SMM saw: eight self-propelled howitzers (2S3 Akatsiya, 152mm) and seven towed howitzers (2A36, Giatsint-B, 152mm) near Khlibodarivka; one tank (T-64) on a flatbed truck, moving north near Spirne (96km north of Donetsk); one tank (modified T-54) on a flatbed truck moving west and one tank (T-64) on a flatbed truck moving south near Dmytrivka (43km north of Luhansk); and one tank (T-64) mounted on a flatbed truck moving east near Novoaidar (49km north-west of Luhansk).

The SMM observed armoured combat vehicles[2] in the security zone. In government-controlled areas the SMM saw on 14 May an armoured personnel carrier (BTR-80) near Toshkivka (60km north-west of Luhansk). On 15 May the SMM saw two infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) (BMP) near Umanske (26km north-west of Donetsk) heading west.

In “LPR”-controlled Znamianka (36km north-west of Luhansk), the SMM saw two armed men walking along a road with a spool of wire (assessed as communications-related) unwinding it as they went along the north-east side of the main road between Sokilnyky (38km north-west of Luhansk) and Znamianka. They SMM noted that the wire stretched for about 2km, all the way back to Sokilnyky, where there is an “LPR” checkpoint.

The SMM visited a border area currently not under government control. At the Dovzhanskyi border crossing point (84km south-east of Luhansk), in an hour, the SMM saw the following exit Ukraine: 22 civilian cars (13 with Ukrainian and nine with Russian Federation licence plates); one covered minivan (with Ukrainian licence plates, driven by a man in civilian clothes); one passenger bus (with Ukrainian licence plates marked Luhansk-Yalta, with around 50 people on board) and four pedestrians (men in civilian clothing). The SMM saw the following enter Ukraine: 20 civilian cars (12 with Ukrainian licence plates, six with Russian Federation licence plates and two with “LPR” plates), two covered unmarked minivans (with Ukrainian licence plates), driven by men in civilian clothing (one driver in each minivan); five covered cargo trucks (with Ukrainian licence plates); one covered cargo truck (with “LPR” plates, with a white unmarked trailer); one passenger bus (with Ukrainian licence plates, marked  Rostov-Stakhanov, with around 32 people on board) and seven pedestrians (men in civilian clothing). On arrival, the SMM saw 11 civilian cars (nine with Ukrainian, one with Russian Federation and one with Polish licence plates) in the parking lot.

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 (UXO) 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. They have also agreed that the JCCC should contribute to such response and co-ordinate mine clearance.

Denial of access:

• An armed “LPR” member told the SMM that that he could not guarantee the safety of the Mission in the Zolote disengagement area due to the possible presence of mines and UXO. The SMM did not consider it safe to proceed and informed the JCCC.
• A Ukrainian officer of the JCCC told the SMM that no demining activities had taken place during the previous 24 hours in the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area and that, with the exception of the main road, the SMM’s safety could not be guaranteed in the surrounding areas due to the possible presence of mines and UXO. The SMM did not consider it safe to proceed and informed the JCCC.
• The SMM could not travel across the bridge in government-controlled Shchastia (20km north of Luhansk) as Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel said no demining had taken place and that the road south of the bridge remained mined. The SMM informed the JCCC.

• The SMM could not travel west from “DPR”-controlled Petrivske due to a lack of security guarantees and the possible presence of mines. The SMM informed the JCCC.
• Armed men denied the SMM access to a compound in LPR”-controlled Khrustalnyi (formerly Krasnyi Luch, 56km south-west of Luhansk). The SMM informed the JCCC.
• Medical staff at a hospital in “DPR”-controlled Makiivka (12km north-east of Donetsk) refused to talk to the SMM regarding a civilian casualty the Mission was following up on, saying the SMM needed to obtain written permission from “DPR” members.

Conditional:

• While the SMM attempted to reach the camera site in Petrivske, an armed “DPR” member at a checkpoint allowed the SMM to proceed only after it revealed the gender of the patrol members. The SMM informed the JCCC.

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

* Please see the section at the end of this report entitled “Restrictions of SMM’s freedom of movement or other impediments to fulfilment of its mandate”.

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