Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 8 September 2017

This report is for the media and the general public.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. Its access remained restricted there and elsewhere, including in Verkhnoshyrokivske.* The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. It facilitated and monitored mine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance, co-ordinated by the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC), enabling the SMM to pass along the M03 road between Svitlodarsk and Debaltseve. The Mission monitored and facilitated a transfer of funds from non-government to government-controlled areas in Luhansk region. It facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance of essential infrastructure in Shchastia and to the Artema-Petrivske pumping station. The SMM visited one border area not under government control.

In Donetsk region the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations[1], including 74 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (about ten explosions).

On the night of 7-8 September the SMM camera in Shyrokyne (20km east of Mariupol) recorded, in sequence, 30 tracer rounds in flight from east to west and six from west to east, followed by a total of 294 tracer rounds (289 from east to west and five from west to east), one rocket-assisted projectile in flight from east to west (and subsequent explosion) and one explosion (assessed as outgoing), all at undetermined distances north.

Positioned at different observation posts in south-western “DPR”-controlled Yasynuvata (16km north-east of Donetsk) the SMM heard 15 undetermined explosions 2-3km west and small-arms fire 1-4km west and north over a period of about six hours.

Positioned in “DPR”-controlled Oleksandrivka (23km south-west of Donetsk) the SMM heard 21 undetermined explosions and small-arms fire 2-4km west.

While in government-controlled Svitlodarsk (57km north-east of Donetsk) the SMM heard 25 undetermined explosions, one explosion assessed as an impact and three assessed as outgoing rounds, all 6-8km south.

In Luhansk region the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, including 17 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (no violations). Positioned in government-controlled Toshkivka (60km north-west of Luhansk) the SMM heard 16 undetermined explosions 7-9km north-west.

A Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier at a checkpoint north of the Zolote disengagement area (60km west of Luhansk) showed the SMM a document with signatures of, he said, personnel in his battalion, stating that they had received orders on the recommitment to the ceasefire.

The SMM continued to monitor the disengagement process and to pursue full access to the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska (16km north-east of Luhansk), Zolote 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.*

While in Stanytsia Luhanska the SMM heard one undetermined explosion 8km south-east (assessed as outside 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 an SMM mid-range unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) spotted two towed howitzers (D-30, 122mm) under camouflage netting and one mortar (2B9 Vasilek, 82mm) in a firing pit near the T0519 road north of government-controlled Lebedynske (16km north-east of Mariupol) on 1 September; and one mortar (2B9) in a firing position about 1km south of Kamianka (20km north of Donetsk) on 4 September.

In violation of withdrawal lines in non-government-controlled areas, an SMM mini-UAV spotted 14 stationary multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) (one BM-27 Uragan, 220mm and 13 BM-21 Grad, 122mm) near Lisne (67km south-west of Luhansk) on 4 September and six tanks (T-64) at a repair-type facility in Luhansk city on 6 September.

Beyond the withdrawal lines but outside designated storage sites in non-government-controlled areas an SMM mini-UAV spotted ten self-propelled howitzers (2S1, Gvozdika 122mm), 12 towed howitzers (D-30) and 18 tanks (T-64) near Lisne on 4 September.

The SMM observed armoured combat vehicles and anti-aircraft weapons[2] in the security zone. In government-controlled areas the SMM observed three armoured combat vehicles (ACV) (BRDM-2) stationary in the south-eastern part of Svitlodarsk. An SMM mid-range UAV spotted, on 1 September, one armoured personnel carrier (APC) (BTR-70) and one anti-aircraft gun (ZU-23, 23mm) north of Lebedynske; one anti-aircraft gun (ZU-23, 23mm) about 1km south of Pyshchevyk (84km south of Donetsk); one APC (MT-LB) about 2km north-west of Pikuzy (formerly Kominternove, 23km north-east of Mariupol) and 15 anti-tank mines on the road near Pikuzy. On 4 September, an SMM mid-range UAV spotted one APC (BTR) and 28 crates of a size large enough for artillery rounds and about five crates for MLRS (Grad, 122mm) rounds adjacent to houses in government-controlled Avdiivka (17km north of Donetsk), and four APC (BMP-2) in an industrial yard in the town.

In areas not under government control the SMM observed one stationary APC (BRDM-2) near Svitle (11km north of Luhansk). An SMM mid-range UAV spotted one APC (MT-LB) near Pikuzy on 1 September. An SMM mini-UAV spotted ten APC (three BMP-2 and seven BTR-70/80) and an APC (BRDM-2) and 16 partially disassembled ACVs (12 BTR and four BMPs) and six partially disassembled APC (BRDM) at two different repair-type facilities in Luhansk city on 6 September.

In government-controlled Teple (31km north of Luhansk) the SMM observed the Ukrainian Armed Forces using part of a building which houses a canteen for a school next door. The SMM observed pupils in their classrooms and about five Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers around the buildings. A teacher at the school told the SMM that they had 91 pupils enrolled aged between 6 and 17 years old. The teacher said that pupils use one door to enter the building and that Ukrainian Armed Forces use another.

The SMM facilitated and monitored clearance of mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO), co-ordinated by the Joint Centre for Control and Coordination (JCCC), of the M03 road between Svitlodarsk and Debaltseve (58km north-east of Donetsk). Demining teams of the State Emergency Service and deminers from non-government-controlled areas cleared the section of road between the forward positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and those of the armed formations, while the SMM monitored from a distance. The removal of mines allowed the SMM to travel between Svitlodarsk and Debaltseve for the seventh time in 2017.

From positions on both sides of the bridge south of Shchastia (20km north of Luhansk), the Mission monitored and facilitated a transfer of funds from non-government to government-controlled areas; a Ukrainian officer of the JCCC said that the funds were in relation to a water utility debt.

A worker from the Voda Donbassa water company in government-controlled Toretsk (formerly Dzerzhynsk, 43km north of Donetsk) told the SMM by phone that repair works on the Toretsk-Horlivka pipeline had been completed. In “DPR”-controlled Horlivka (39km north-east of Donetsk) a worker from Voda Donbassa told the SMM that the amount of water passing through the pipeline had doubled to about 30,000 cubic metres following completion of repairs.

The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs and maintenance work, co-ordinated by the JCCC, to the power plant in government-controlled Shchastia and to the Petrivske water pumping station near government-controlled Artema (26km north of Luhansk).

The SMM visited one border area not under government control. At the Dovzhanske (84km south-east of Luhansk) border crossing point for about an hour the SMM observed seven cars (with the following plates: four Ukrainian, one Russian Federation, and one Georgian licence plate, and one with a “DPR” plate), two buses (both with Ukrainian licence plates, one with a “Rostov-Stakhanov” sign and one with a “Alchevsk-Yalta” sign, each carrying about 40 passengers) and three covered trucks (all with Ukrainian licence plates) enter Ukraine. The SMM observed 32 cars (with the following licence plates: 19 Ukrainian, 11 Russian Federation, one Georgian, one Belarusian), two buses (one with a “Krasnyi Luch-Rostov” sign carrying about 45 passengers and one with a “Luhansk-Rostov” sign carrying about 20 passengers, both with Ukrainian licence plates), and three trucks (all with Ukrainian licence plates) exit Ukraine.

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. 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.

Denial of access:

• Three armed men stopped the SMM at a checkpoint on the western side of “DPR”-controlled Verkhnoshyrokivske (formerly Oktiabr, 29km north-east of Mariupol) and denied it passage to the east. The SMM informed the JCCC.

Related to disengagement areas and mines/UXO:

• The SMM was prevented from accessing secondary roads south of the Zolote disengagement area due to the possible presence of mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO). Armed “LPR” members positioned on the southern side of the Zolote disengagement area told the SMM that no demining had taken place during the previous 24 hours. The SMM did not consider it safe to proceed and informed the JCCC.
• The SMM was prevented from accessing secondary roads in the Zolote disengagement area due to the possible presence of mines and UXO. Ukrainian Armed Forces officers of the JCCC at a checkpoint on the northern side of the Zolote disengagement area told the SMM that no demining had taken place during the previous 24 hours. The SMM did not consider it safe to proceed and informed the JCCC.
• The SMM was prevented from accessing parts of the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area, with the exception of the main road, due to the possible presence of mines and UXO. A Ukrainian Armed Forces officer of the JCCC told the SMM that no de-mining had taken place during the previous 24 hours. The SMM did not consider it safe to proceed and informed the JCCC.

[1] For a complete breakdown of the ceasefire violations, please see the annexed table. During this reporting period the SMM camera at the Oktiabr mine (Donetsk) remained non-operational.

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