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

This report is for the media and the general public.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations and fewer explosions in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous 24 hours. The SMM confirmed the death of a man in Zhovte and observed damage caused by shelling in Pikuzy and Sakhanka. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas; it recorded ceasefire violations in Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area and heard an explosion near Zolote. Its access remained restricted there and elsewhere, including in Khreshchatytske when the SMM attempted to corroborate reports of a civilian casualty in the area.* The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. It continued to facilitate and monitor repairs to power lines between Almazna and Zolote. The SMM observed a protest by supporters of the Aidar battalion outside the Kyiv City office of the Security Service of Ukraine.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region including about 100 explosions, compared with about 500 in the previous 24 hours.[1]

On the night of 18-19 June the SMM, positioned in Donetsk city centre, heard six undetermined explosions 10-15km north.

On the night of 18-19 June the SMM camera in Shyrokyne (20km east of Mariupol) recorded a sequence that began with three tracer rounds in flight from west to east, two from east to west and five from south-west to north-east, all at an undetermined distance north. Thereafter, the camera recorded a total of 241 tracer rounds in flight from east to west, 71 tracer rounds in flight from west to east, one tracer round in flight from south-west to north-east, one tracer round in flight from south to north and five undetermined explosions, all at an undetermined distance north.

While in government-controlled Svitlodarsk (57km north-east of Donetsk) on the same night, the SMM heard 40 undetermined explosions and small-arms and heavy-machine-gun fire 5-7km south-east.

Positioned in “DPR”-controlled Horlivka (39km north-east of Donetsk) on the night of 18-19 June the SMM heard eight undetermined explosions and small-arms and heavy-machine-gun fire 3-4km south-west and 3-5km west.

On the same night the SMM camera in government-controlled Avdiivka (17km north of Donetsk) recorded a total of four explosions assessed as impacts, 230 tracer rounds and 18 projectiles in flight from south-west to north-east, 40 tracer rounds in flight from south to north, one tracer round in flight from north to south, ten tracer rounds in flight from north-east to south-west, all 3-5km east-south-east and 4-6km south-east. On 19 June the camera recorded 25 explosions assessed as impacts 4-5km east-south-east and one undetermined explosion 5-6km east-north-east.

Positioned in Avdiivka for about five hours, the SMM heard 17 undetermined explosions 2-5km east-south-east.

In Luhansk region the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations compared with the previous 24 hours (20 explosions), including seven explosions.

The SMM confirmed the death of a man in “LPR”-controlled Zhovte (17km north-west of Luhansk). A group of seven residents (two woman and five men aged between 35 and 55 years old) and two “LPR” members told the SMM that the body of a man (born in 1969) had been discovered on a river bank on the morning of 19 June. According to residents, the man had gone fishing nearby on 18 June. One woman (about 35 years old) said she heard a single explosion at about 13:50 on 18 June. On the morning of 19 June two residents (both men) found the body of the man and retrieved it using boats as, according to them, the river bank is not accessible due to the threat of mines. The SMM later observed the body in the village.

The SMM observed houses damaged by shelling and assessed a number of impact sites. In “DPR”-controlled Pikuzy (formerly Kominternove, 23km north-east of Mariupol) on 18 June the SMM observed a house at 15 Akhmatovoi Street with a hole in the north-west-facing wall, which it assessed had been caused by a mortar round (82mm). The SMM assessed that damage to the north-west-facing side of the roof had been caused by a 73mm round. At 18 Akhmatovoi Street, the SMM observed a hole in a west-facing wall and shrapnel spray which it assessed had been caused by a mortar round (82mm). The SMM saw a burnt out shed that, according to the owner of the house, had been destroyed in the shelling. She added that the shelling had happened at about 22:30 on 13 June. In all cases, the SMM assessed the damage was caused by rounds fired from a north-westerly direction.

On 18 June the SMM observed a house at 2 Konstytutsii Street in “DPR”-controlled Sakhanka (24km north-east of Mariupol) with broken windows, a damaged TV aerial and shrapnel damage on the southern side. It could not assess the direction of fire or weapon used. A man (aged in his fifties) told the SMM that the damage had been caused between 22:30 and 23:00 on 18 June. Separately, a female resident (aged in her fifties) also said she heard explosions around the same time and showed the SMM minor damage to the corner of a concrete wall of the shed about 30m across the street from 2 Konstytutsii Street. The SMM assessed that a bullet had struck the wall, having been fired from a north-westerly direction.

The SMM continued to monitor the disengagement process and to pursue full access to the disengagement areas in 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.*

On the night of 17 June the SMM camera in government-controlled Zolote recorded one projectile in flight from north-west to south-east 3-4km east-south-east (assessed as outside the disengagement area).

Positioned 3km north of “LPR”-controlled Pervomaisk (58km west of Luhansk) on the southern edge of Zolote disengagement area, the SMM heard one undetermined explosion 5km south-south-west, assessed as outside the disengagement area. 

On the night of 18-19 June the SMM camera in Stanytsia Luhanska recorded four undetermined explosions: two 300m south-west, one 18km west-north-west (assessed as outside) and one 1.6km south-south-east (assessed as inside the disengagement area).

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

In violation of the respective withdrawal lines in government-controlled areas the SMM observed six towed howitzers (2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm) moving on the H-20 road near Volnovakha (53km south of Donetsk).

In violation of the respective withdrawal lines in non-government-controlled areas the SMM observed a mortar (120mm) being towed by a military-type truck heading north on the northern edge of Holubivka (formerly Kirovsk, 51km west of Luhansk).

The SMM reviewed imagery from its mini unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flight near government-controlled Pidhorodne (73km north of Donetsk) which on 16 June was interrupted when the SMM heard small-arms fire assessed as targeting the UAV. (See SMM Daily Report, 17 June 2017). Imagery showed at least five persons in the area, one of whom appeared to be kneeling and firing with a rifle at the UAV.

Near government-controlled Hrodivka (43km north-west of Donetsk) an SMM mid-range UAV lost contact with ground control. The SMM informed the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC). The Ukrainian Armed Forces later recovered the UAV and returned it to the SMM. It had sustained minor scratches.

The SMM facilitated and monitored repairs to essential infrastructure, co-ordinated by the JCCC. Near “LPR”-controlled Pervomaisk the SMM observed repairs to high voltage power lines between the Mykhailivka substation in an “LPR”-controlled part of Zolote and “LPR”-controlled Almazna (55km west of Luhansk). The SMM observed a team of 15 workers and a demining team of five.

The SMM observed a protest outside the Kyiv city office of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) on Askoldiv Lane. The SMM observed about 100 people (almost all men aged between about 30 and 60 years old, about half wearing military-style camouflage fatigues) gathered outside. Some protestors told the SMM that they had gathered to support the former Aidar commander, a Member of Parliament, who they said was being questioned inside in regard to alleged acts of terrorism in August 2014 in the ATO zone. The SMM saw about 12 protesters carrying signs with messages supporting the Aidar Battalion. The SMM observed yellow flags with “24th Ministry of Defence Separate Assault Battalion Aidar” inscribed on it, as well as a blue Aidar battalion flag. Nearby, the SMM saw about 50 police officers in riot gear sitting in a bus. The protest passed off peacefully. The SMM later saw about 12 men on Bankova Street: five sat in two minivans and eight nearby, all wearing military-style camouflage fatigues. The SMM saw Aidar patches on several of the men’s fatigues.

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. 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; including at the disengagement area near Petrivske.

Denial of access:

• Armed “LPR” members positioned on the southern side of the Zolote disengagement area (3km north of Pervomaisk) told the SMM that they could not guarantee the safety of the Mission on side roads 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 had taken place over the previous 24 hours in the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM did not consider it safe to proceed. The JCCC was informed.
• 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 the road south of the bridge was still mined. The SMM informed the JCCC.
• Armed men wearing military-style uniforms stopped the SMM at a checkpoint near “DPR”-controlled Khreshchatytske (formerly Krasnoarmiiske, 33km north-east of Mariupol) and denied the SMM access to the village.

Conditional access:

• On 18 June armed “DPR” members made the SMM wait at a checkpoint on highway H-15 near the Kargil plant in “DPR”-controlled Kreminets (16km south-west of Donetsk). The SMM left the area and took an alternative route after one hour. 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.