Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 24 October 2017

This report is for the media and the general public.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations both in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission followed up on reports of a man in Donetsk city injured by the explosion of an explosive device while handling it. The SMM continued monitoring all three disengagement areas and recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere, including near Khrustalnyi. The SMM saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in Kostiantynivka and Tsukuryne. The Mission facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance to the thermal power plant in Shchastia, a water pumping station near Artema and a water pipeline between Olenivka and Dokuchaievsk. In Kyiv, the SMM monitored the security situation at a court and an ongoing gathering in front of the national Parliament building. 

In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations,[1] including about 90 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (about 50 explosions).

On the evening and night of 23-24 October, while in government-controlled Svitlodarsk (57km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard 40 explosions (27 assessed as outgoing mortar (82mm and 120mm) rounds, two as outgoing recoilless-gun (SPG-9, 73mm) rounds, four as impacts of rounds of unknown weapons and the remainder undetermined), about 680 bursts and shots of automatic-grenade-launcher, heavy-machine-gun and small-arms fire, and a total of nine minutes of uncountable overlapping bursts and shots of heavy-machine-gun and small-arms fire, all 1-5km at directions ranging from east to south. During the day on 24 October, while at the same location, the SMM heard five undetermined explosions 2-5km south-west, as well as 11 explosions (one assessed as an outgoing mortar (82mm) round, two as outgoing recoilless-gun (SPG-9) rounds and the remainder undetermined), about 20 bursts of automatic-grenade-launcher, heavy-machine-gun and small-arms fire, and one minute of uncountable overlapping bursts and shots of heavy-machine-gun fire, all 2-5km south-east.

During the day on 24 October, positioned on the south-western edge of government-controlled Avdiivka (17km north of Donetsk) for about five hours, the SMM heard 12 undetermined explosions 3-5km east-south-east and south, and about 30 bursts of heavy-machine-gun and small-arms fire 1-3km east-south-east and south-east.

On the morning of 24 October, positioned about 3km south-south-east of government-controlled Lozove (52km north-east of Donetsk) for about two hours, the SMM heard and saw two explosions assessed as outgoing rounds of undetermined weapons 3-6km north-east, and heard three undetermined explosions 3-6km north.

During the day on 24 October, positioned 800m south of “DPR”-controlled Novohryhorivka (61km north-east of Donetsk) for about one hour, the SMM heard and saw two explosions assessed as impacts 4-8km north-west, and heard four undetermined explosions 8-10km north-west.

The same day, positioned 1km north of government-controlled Pyshchevyk (25km north-east of Mariupol), the SMM heard four undetermined explosions 2-3km south-south-west.

Positioned about 2km west of “DPR”-controlled Khreshchatytske (formerly Krasnoarmiiske, 33km north-east of Mariupol), the SMM heard four undetermined explosions at unknown distances south-south-west.

In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, including about 40 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (14 explosions).

On the evening and night of 23-24 October, while on the northern edge of government-controlled Popasna (69km west of Luhansk), the SMM heard 24 explosions (22 assessed as outgoing rounds of infantry-fighting-vehicle (IFV) (BMP-1) cannon (73mm) fire and the remainder undetermined) and about 120 bursts and shots of IFV (BMP-2) cannon (30mm), heavy-machine-gun and small-arms fire, all 3-8km south-south-east and south-east. In the early morning of 24 October, the SMM heard three undetermined explosions 5-7km south-south-east.

On the morning of 24 October, positioned in “LPR”-controlled Kruta Hora (16km north-west of Luhansk), the SMM heard four undetermined explosions 5-10km west-south-west and an explosion assessed as the detonation of a mine 2km north-north-west.

During the day on 24 October, positioned in “LPR”-controlled Sentianivka (formerly Frunze, 44km west of Luhansk), the SMM heard three explosions assessed as impacts 5km south-east.

The same day, positioned in government-controlled Plotyna (28km north-east of Luhansk), the SMM heard six undetermined explosions 5-6km south-west.

Positioned in “LPR”-controlled Shymshynivka (27km south-west of Luhansk), the SMM heard three undetermined explosions assessed as tank rounds and about 20 bursts of heavy-machine-gun and small-arms fire, all 2km south-west and assessed as part of a live-fire exercise (see below).

The SMM followed up on reports of a civilian casualty. Medical staff at a hospital in “DPR”-controlled Donetsk city told the SMM that a man (aged 47) had been admitted with severe wounds to his left hand and fingers on 12 October. At the hospital, the man told the Mission that at about 20:00 on 12 October, he had been in an apartment building near the Donetsk central railway station (6km north-west of Donetsk city centre) handling the fuse of a hand grenade and the fuse subsequently exploded in his hand. He added that he had undergone surgery and lost one finger on his left hand while two other fingers had been severely injured. The SMM saw bandages on his left hand.

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 evening of 22 October, the SMM camera in government-controlled Zolote recorded 11 projectiles in flight from north-west to south-east, all 3-7km east and assessed as outside the disengagement area. In the early hours of 23 October, the same camera recorded a projectile in flight from south to north 3-7km east, assessed as outside the disengagement area.

On 24 October, positioned in and around the disengagement areas near Zolote and Petrivske, the SMM observed calm situations.

The SMM continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons, in accordance with 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 saw four self-propelled howitzers (2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm), of which two were loaded on a train and two were stationary next to the same train, at the railway station in Kostiantynivka (60km north of Donetsk) and four towed howitzers (2A65 Msta-B, 152mm) each being towed by a truck on the southern edge of Tsukuryne (38km west of Donetsk) heading south.

Beyond the respective withdrawal lines but outside designated storage sites, in government-controlled areas, the SMM saw three trucks each transporting a self-propelled howitzer (2S1) travelling south-east near the railway station in Rubizhne (84km north-west of Luhansk).

In non-government-controlled areas, the SMM saw two flatbed trucks each transporting a tank (T-64), which appeared to be well-maintained without visible damage, on the south-eastern outskirts of Luhansk city, heading south-east, and four stationary tanks (type unknown) near Shymshynivka.

The SMM observed weapons that could not be verified as withdrawn, as their storage did not comply with the criteria set out in the 16 October 2015 notification from the SMM to the signatories of the Package of Measures on effective monitoring and verification of the withdrawal of heavy weapons. In government-controlled areas, the SMM saw three self-propelled howitzers (2S1) and two mortars (2B9 Vasilek, 82mm). It noted that three self-propelled howitzers (2S1) continued to be missing.

The SMM observed an armoured combat vehicle and an anti-aircraft gun[2] in the security zone. In a non-government-controlled area, the SMM saw an armoured personnel carrier (BTR-70) near Holubivka (formerly Kirovsk, 51km west of Luhansk) moving east.

In government-controlled areas, on 23 October, the SMM saw an anti-aircraft gun (ZU-23, 23mm) being towed east by a truck in Stanytsia Luhanska (outside the disengagement area).

The SMM observed mine hazard signs. The SMM saw for the first time three red-and-white mine warning signs placed around dugouts on the top of a hill about 2km north-east of government-controlled Lobacheve (17km north-west of Luhansk).

The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs and maintenance works, co-ordinated by the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC), to the thermal power plant in government-controlled Shchastia (20km north of Luhansk), the Petrivske water pumping station near government-controlled Artema (26km north of Luhansk) and a water pipeline between “DPR”-controlled Olenivka (23km south-west of Donetsk) and Dokuchaievsk (30km south-west of Donetsk).

In Kyiv, at the Sviatoshynskyi District Court on Zhylianska Street, the SMM followed up on media reports that activists of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) Volunteers Movement, a non-governmental organization (NGO), had barricaded themselves inside a court room and that the court hearing of an activist of the NGO had been suspended. On the morning of 24 October, the Mission saw seven to ten people (mostly men, aged 40-50), including the activist being tried, who had barricaded themselves inside the court room using furniture, and another 20 people (mostly men, aged 40-50) gathered outside the room. The SMM observed about 100 National Guard and police officers in riot gear positioned both inside and outside the court building, some of whom subsequently moved into the court room. Shortly thereafter, the Mission heard an announcement in the court that the aforementioned activist, who appeared to have bruises on his head, would be transported to a hospital for a medical check. Later in the day, the SMM observed that the activist had returned and the court hearing resumed in another court room without any incidents. The police announced on its website that around 30 activists of the NGO had been detained.

The SMM also continued to monitor the gathering in front of the national Parliament building. (See SMM Daily Report 24 October 2017.) The SMM saw about 150 people (mostly men, aged 40-60) outside the tents in front of the Parliament building. The Mission observed a similar number of law enforcement officers compared with the day before (about 300 police and National Guard officers). The SMM did not observe any incidents during its presence.

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 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 Mission’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. Nonetheless, the armed formations in parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions frequently deny the SMM access to areas adjacent to Ukraine’s border outside control of the Government, citing orders to do so. (See, for example, SMM Daily Report 23 October 2017.) The Mission’s freedom of movement is also restricted by security hazards and threats on both sides of the contact line, including those related to mines, unexploded ordnance (UXO), some of which vary from day to day. The SMM’s operations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions remain restricted following the fatal incident of 23 April near Pryshyb; these restrictions continued to limit the Mission’s observations.

Denial of access:

• Two armed men in military-style clothing denied the SMM access to a compound 5km north of “LPR”-controlled Khrustalnyi (formerly Krasnyi Luch, 56km south-west of Luhansk). 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. A Ukrainian Armed Forces officer of the JCCC at a checkpoint north of the Zolote disengagement area told the Mission 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 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.

Conditional access:

• A man in military-style clothing stopped the SMM at a “DPR” checkpoint on road H15 east of Kreminets (16km south-west of Donetsk) and demanded to check an SMM trailer. The SMM was allowed to proceed only after its trailer was checked.

 

[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.

* 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.