Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 27 September 2017

This report is for the media and the general public.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission followed up on reports of a civilian casualty from Vasylivka. It again observed damage to buildings from gunfire in Dokuchaievsk. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas and recorded ceasefire violations inside the disengagement area near Petrivske. Its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere, including in Horlivka, Trokhizbenka and Novoazovsk near the border with the Russian Federation.* The Mission facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance of essential infrastructure in Shchastia and near Artema, Almazna, Luhanske and Krasnyi Lyman. The SMM followed up on reports of an incident at an ammunition depot in Kalynivka, Vinnytsia region.

In Donetsk region the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations,[1] including, however, fewer explosions (18), compared with the previous reporting period (about 50 explosions).

On the evening of 26 September, while in government-controlled Svitlodarsk (57km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard two undetermined explosions and small-arms fire, all 2-5km east-south-east and south-east. On 27 September, while in Svitlodarsk, the SMM heard two undetermined explosions 4-5km south-east.

On the evening and night of 26-27 September, the SMM camera in Shyrokyne (20km east of Mariupol) recorded, in sequence, eight tracer rounds in flight from west to east, six tracer rounds from east to west, four tracer rounds from west to east, two tracer rounds from east to west, four tracer rounds from west to east and one illumination flare in vertical flight, followed by aggregated totals of 279 tracer rounds (209 from east to west and 70 from west to east), one undetermined explosion and three illumination flares in vertical flight, all at undetermined distances north.

During the day on 27 September, positioned at the railway station in “DPR”-controlled Yasynuvata (16km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard two undetermined explosions 3-5km west and north-west.

Positioned in government-controlled Pavlopil (26km north-east of Mariupol), the SMM heard seven undetermined explosions at unknown distances south-east.

Positioned at the entry-exit checkpoint near government-controlled Maiorsk (45km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard two undetermined explosions 3-4km south-east.

Positioned on the northern edge of “DPR”-controlled Vuhlehirsk (49km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard one undetermined explosion 2-4km north-north-west.

In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, including, however, no explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (no ceasefire violations).

During the day on 27 September, positioned 3km south-west of “LPR”-controlled Almazna (55km west of Luhansk), the SMM heard five shots of small-arms fire 3km north-north-east.

Positioned on the western edge of government-controlled Shchastia (20km north of Luhansk), the SMM heard one shot of infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) (BMP-2) cannon (30mm) fire 1-2km north-north-east.

The SMM followed up on reports of a civilian casualty. At a hospital in Yasynuvata, the SMM spoke with a man (in his sixties) who said that on the morning of 27 September, his mother (aged 80) had been wounded in “DPR”-controlled Vasylivka (20km north-east of Donetsk) and taken to a hospital in Yasynuvata. He told the SMM that he lived next door to his mother on Lisna Street in Vasylivka and that his wife, as well as another neighbour, had heard a gunshot. When he reached his mother, he said, she was in front of the house and had a wound on the left side of her abdomen. Medical staff at a hospital in Yasynuvata told the SMM that an 80-year-old woman from Vasylivka had been admitted to the hospital on 27 September with a gunshot wound to her left lumbar region and was undergoing surgery.

The SMM continued to follow up on damage from gunfire to buildings in “DPR”-controlled Dokuchaievsk (30km south-west of Donetsk). (See SMM Daily Report 27 September 2017.) At a two-storey building at 38 Tsentralna Street, the SMM saw a hole (about 1m diameter) in the south-west-facing side of the roof. The Mission assessed that it had been caused by IFV (BMP-2) cannon fire from a south-westerly direction.

At 8a Nezalezhnosti Street, the SMM saw shrapnel scars to two parts of the south-facing wall of a building, above the fifth-floor windows, and small pieces of brick on the ground in front of the building. The Mission assessed that the damage had been caused by IFV (BMP-2) cannon fire from a south-westerly direction. A resident of a nearby building (a man in his twenties) told the SMM that he had heard two impacts on the evening of 25 September.

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 (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 26-27 September, the SMM camera in “DPR”-controlled Petrivske recorded ten tracer rounds in flight from west to east 1-2km south-south-west, assessed as inside the disengagement area.      

Positioned in and around the disengagement areas near government-controlled Stanytsia Luhanska and Zolote, the SMM observed calm situations.

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

The SMM observed armoured combat vehicles, an anti-aircraft weapon[2] in the security zone. In government-controlled areas, on 25 September, an SMM mid-range unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) spotted a stationary IFV (BMP-2) near Luhanske (59km north-east of Donetsk).

In non-government-controlled areas, on 25 September, an SMM mid-range UAV spotted a stationary IFV (BMP-2) and a stationary armoured personnel carrier (APC) (BRDM-2) near Lohvynove (59km north-east of Donetsk). On 27 September, the SMM saw a military-type vehicle travelling south and towing a covered APC (type unknown) with at least one anti-aircraft gun (ZU-23, 23mm) in Donetsk city.

The SMM saw two mine hazard signs for the first time (both red and triangle-shaped) next to road T0519, 3-4km north-east of government-controlled Mariupol (102km south of Donetsk).

The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs and maintenance work, co-ordinated by the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC), to the thermal power plant in Shchastia, the Petrivske water pumping station near government-controlled Artema (26km north of Luhansk), the Yuzhna Lomuvatka-Veselohorivka power lines near Almazna, electric power lines near Luhanske and water wells near “LPR”-controlled Krasnyi Lyman (30km north-west of Luhansk).

At the government-controlled border crossing point near Prosiane (117km north of Luhansk), in 40 minutes, the SMM saw three cars (with Ukrainian licence plates) enter Ukraine and four cars and a mini-van (with Ukrainian licence plates) in a queue to exit Ukraine.

On the morning of 27 September, armed guards returned to the SMM’s forward patrol base in “DPR”-controlled Horlivka (39km north-east of Donetsk).

The SMM followed up on reports of an incident at an ammunitions depot in Kalynivka, Vinnytsia region (230km north-east of Chernivtsi) on the evening of 26 September. On 27 September, at a police checkpoint on road M21, about 20m south of Kalynivka, the SMM saw smoke coming from the direction of the depot. Near the checkpoint, the SMM saw about 500 people, a high police presence and ambulances. Three police officers told the SMM that residents of the area were being evacuated.

The SMM continued monitoring in Kherson, Odessa, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Dnipro, 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:

• An armed man stopped the SMM at a checkpoint in Horlivka and did not allow it to pass. The SMM informed the JCCC.

  Related to disengagement areas and mines/UXO:

  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.

• The SMM was prevented from accessing secondary roads south of the Zolote disengagement area due to the possible presence of mines and 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 possible presence of mines and UXO prevented the SMM from accessing the road leading west from Petrivske. The Mission informed the JCCC.

• The SMM could not travel across the bridge in Shchastia due to the presence of mines. A Ukrainian Armed Forces officer of the JCCC said there were mines on the road south of the bridge. The SMM informed the JCCC.

  Delay:

• At a government checkpoint at the southern edge of government-controlled Trokhizbenka (32km north-west of Luhansk), an unarmed Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier told the SMM that he would not open the wire barrier. The SMM left the checkpoint and informed the JCCC. After about 45 minutes, the SMM returned and noted that the barrier was open, and the Mission was able to proceed. 

  Conditional access:

• Four armed persons at a “DPR” checkpoint on road E-58 north of Novoazovsk (40km east of Mariupol) prevented the SMM from proceeding south towards the town unless it was escorted. After about 20 minutes, SMM interlocutors from Novoazovsk arrived and accompanied the SMM to the town, as well as back to the checkpoint two hours later. 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. 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.