Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 16 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 SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. Near Verkhnoshyrokivske the SMM heard a shot of small-arms fire nearby. The SMM continued to follow up on a report of a civilian casualty in Chermalyk and observed damage to civilian property due to shelling in Sakhanka. It continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; the Mission’s access remained restricted there and elsewhere.* The SMM continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons and observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines. It continued to monitor the situation of civilians travelling across the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge. The Mission visited a border area currently not under government control. In Kyiv, the SMM monitored three peaceful gatherings.

In Donetsk region the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations,[1] including about 180 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (about 120).

On the evening of 15 May the SMM camera at the “DPR”-controlled Oktiabr mine (9km north-west of Donetsk city centre) recorded, in sequence, one illumination flare in vertical flight, two projectiles in flight from west to east, 14 undetermined explosions, and four more illumination flares in vertical flight, all 3-4km north-north-east.

On the night of 15-16 May, the SMM camera in government-controlled Avdiivka (17km north of Donetsk) recorded, in sequence, two undetermined explosions, one projectile in flight from west to east, eight tracer rounds in flight from south to north, 12 more projectiles from west to east, one illumination flare in vertical flight, and five more projectiles in flight (two from north to south, three from west to east), all 3-5km at south-easterly directions.

During the day on 16 May, positioned in Avdiivka, the SMM heard 30 undetermined explosions and seven bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire, all 2-4km east-south-east. In the afternoon, the SMM camera in Avdiivka recorded one airburst followed by totals of about 50 undetermined explosions and four airbursts, all 3-5km at south-easterly directions.

The same day, positioned in “DPR”-controlled Yasynuvata (16km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard about 60 undetermined explosions, 16 shots of infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) (BMP-2) cannon (30mm), and nine bursts of small-arms fire, all 1-6km at distances ranging from west to north.

Positioned at the “DPR”-controlled Donetsk central railway station (6km north-west of Donetsk city centre), the SMM heard 13 undetermined explosions and about 40 shots of small-arms fire, and also heard and saw two airbursts and one explosion assessed as the impact of a round of an undetermined weapon, all 3-5km north and north-north-east.

On the night of 15-16 May, the SMM camera in Shyrokyne (20km east of Mariupol) recorded 74 tracer rounds in flight (in sequence, 21 from east to west, 19 from west to east, seven from east to west, 18 from south-east to north-west, and nine from east to west), as well as two undetermined explosions, all at unknown distances north and north-east.

On the afternoon of 16 May, positioned 3km north-east of government-controlled Hnutove (20km north-east of Mariupol), an SMM patrol heard at least five undetermined explosions and ten shots of small-arms fire at an unknown distance east.

About five minutes later, an SMM patrol arrived at an entry-exit checkpoint 6km east, on the western edge of “DPR”-controlled Verkhnoshyrokivske (formerly Oktiabr, 29km north-east of Mariupol). While the patrol was gathering additional information on the ceasefire violations heard by the patrol near Hnutove, an armed “DPR” member told the Mission to pass through the checkpoint. The SMM travelled forward and stopped 20m west of the checkpoint to re-assess the situation, at which time it heard a shot of small-arms fire 20m east, assessed as an attempt by the “DPR” member to hasten the patrol’s departure from the area.* The SMM departed due to security concerns.

In Luhansk region the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, including three explosions, compared with the previous reporting period.

While in government-controlled Zolote-4 (60km north-west of Luhansk), the SMM heard three undetermined explosions 10-12km south-east, assessed as outside the disengagement area south of Zolote. Positioned almost 2km north-east of Zolote-4, the SMM heard five shots of automatic-grenade-launcher fire and ten shots of heavy-machine-gun fire, all 8-10km east and assessed as outside the disengagement area.

The SMM continued to follow up on a report of a civilian casualty and observed damage to civilian property due to shelling. At a hospital in government-controlled Mariupol (102km south of Donetsk), a woman (59 years old) told the SMM that on the afternoon of 12 May she had been outside her house in government-controlled Chermalyk (31km north-east of Mariupol) when she had felt a sharp pain in her leg and had fallen to the ground. (See SMM Daily Report 15 May 2017.) The hospital’s head doctor told the SMM that a bullet had shattered bones in the woman’s left leg.

On 15 May, accompanied by Russian officers of the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC), the SMM saw a fresh crater 3m from two houses on Zhovtneva Street in “DPR”-controlled Sakhanka (24km north-east of Mariupol), assessed as caused by a mortar round fired from a south-westerly direction. The Mission saw holes, assessed as shrapnel damage, in a fence 3m west of the crater and in a car about 6m north-east. The car’s four tyres were deflated. The north-west-facing side of one of the houses had four broken windows. Residents of one of the houses (a man and a woman in their sixties) told the SMM that they had heard explosions nearby on the afternoon of 13 May.

On 15 May, the SMM saw a fresh crater about 70m south-west of a house at 7 Tsentralna Street in government-controlled Kodema (57km north-east of Donetsk). The SMM could not assess the weapon used or the direction of fire. The owner of the house (woman, aged about 70) said she had heard an explosion near her house on the evening of 12 May.

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 in and near Zolote-4, the SMM recorded ceasefire violations assessed as outside the disengagement area (see above).

While present in the disengagement areas near government-controlled Stanytsia Luhanska and “DPR”-controlled Petrivske, the SMM noted calm situations.

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 six anti-tank guns (MT-12 Rapira, 100mm) near Zhelanne (36km north-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 12 towed howitzers (2A65 Msta-B, 152mm) and noted that 13 towed howitzers (2A65) remained absent.

The SMM observed armoured combat vehicles[2] in the security zone. In non-government-controlled areas the SMM saw one IFV (BMP-1) near Starolaspa (51km south of Donetsk) and one armoured personnel carrier (BTR-variant) travelling south near Molodizhne (63km north-west of Luhansk).

The SMM continued to monitor the situation of civilians travelling across the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge. At the government checkpoint north of the bridge, the SMM saw about 900 people queuing to enter government-controlled areas and about 350 people queuing in the opposite direction. At the “LPR” checkpoint south of the bridge, the Mission saw about 600 people queuing to walk toward government-controlled areas and no queue in the opposite direction. Three women (50-85 years old) in the queue at the “LPR” checkpoint told the SMM that they had been queuing for two hours.

The SMM visited one border area currently not under government control. During 30 minutes at a border crossing point near Uspenka (73km south-east of Donetsk), the SMM saw 55 civilian cars (about half with Russian Federation and 15 with Ukrainian licence plates, and about 15 with “DPR” plates) and seven trucks (all with Ukrainian licence plates; six with covered cargo areas and one carrying a propane tank) in a queue to exit Ukraine, and 15 civilian cars and three trucks with covered cargo areas enter Ukraine (the SMM could not see the plates of these vehicles from its position).

In Kyiv, the SMM monitored three gatherings (totalling about 250 people, of mixed ages and gender) in front of the national parliament building. Addresses by speakers and text on posters indicated that one group advocated improved labour and pension laws, another opposed draft legislation affecting anti-corruption efforts, and a third advocated for enhanced protection of victims of domestic violence. Between 20 and 30 police officers and National Guard officers secured the parliament building. The gatherings took place peacefully.

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

*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:

• 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 Mission’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.
• 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.
• 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 Mission informed the JCCC.

Delay:

• A Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier denied the SMM access to a compound near government-controlled Topolyne (19km north-west of Mariupol) for almost one hour and a half until, following JCCC intervention, the soldier allowed the SMM access.

Other impediments:

• At a checkpoint near Verkhnoshyrokivske, the SMM heard a shot of small-arms fire 20m east, assessed as an attempt by a “DPR” member to hasten the patrol’s departure from the area (see above).

 

[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.

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