Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 15 January 2018

This report is for the media and the general public.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region compared with the previous 24 hours and one ceasefire violation in Luhansk region. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations inside the Petrivske disengagement area. The Mission’s access remained restricted in all three areas and elsewhere, including at a checkpoint near Horlivka.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Ternove. The Mission observed newly extended trenches close to a water pumping station near Vasylivka. The SMM monitored the situation at a school and a kindergarten near Novoluhanske. The Mission visited a border area not under government control.

In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations[1], including about 125 explosions, compared with the previous 24 hours (about 65 explosions).

In continuation of the sequence of ceasefire violations recorded in the early evening of 14 January (see SMM Daily Report 15 January 2018), the SMM camera at the Donetsk Filtration Station (15km north of Donetsk) on the evening and night of 14-15 January recorded two projectiles in flight from west to east and three projectiles from east to west, followed by 43 undetermined explosions and 75 projectiles (49 from west to east and 26 from east to west), all 0.5-1.5km south.

On the evening of 14 January, the SMM camera in government-controlled Avdiivka (17km north of Donetsk) recorded 25 projectiles in flight from north to south 4-6km south-east. The following day, positioned on the south-western edge of Avdiivka for about five and a half hours, the SMM heard five undetermined explosions and 100 shots and bursts of infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) (BMP-2) cannon (30mm), heavy-machine-gun and small-arms fire, all 2-4km east-south-east and south.

On the evening of 14 January, the SMM camera at the entry-exit checkpoint in government-controlled Maiorsk (45km north-east of Donetsk) recorded 14 undetermined explosions and 12 projectiles in flight (trajectory undetermined), all at unknown distances and directions.

On the evening of 14 January, while in government-controlled Svitlodarsk (57km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard 52 undetermined explosions and over 860 shots and bursts of IFV (BMP-2) cannon, heavy-machine-gun and small-arms fire, all 3-5km east.

The following day, positioned in government-controlled Novoluhanske (53km north-east of Donetsk) for two hours, the SMM heard two undetermined explosions 2-4km east and west.

On the evening of 14 January, the SMM camera 1km south-west of Shyrokyne (20km east of Mariupol) recorded 17 projectiles in flight from east to west, followed by an undetermined explosion, all 5-8km north. In the early evening of 15 January, the camera recorded, in sequence, an undetermined explosion, three projectiles in flight from east to west, an undetermined explosion, 18 projectiles from east to west and an undetermined explosion, all 5-8km north.

In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded a ceasefire violation (explosion); it had recorded about 40 ceasefire violations, including 11 explosions, in the previous 24 hours.

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 13 January, the SMM camera in “DPR”-controlled Petrivske recorded four tracer rounds in flight from east to west, followed by three undetermined explosions, all 1-2km south-west and assessed as inside the disengagement area. Approximately an hour and a half later, the same camera recorded a shot from an undetermined weapon 1-2km south (assessed as inside the disengagement area).

During the day on 15 January, positioned on the north-western edge of “LPR”-controlled Pervomaisk (58km west of Luhansk), south of the Zolote disengagement area, the SMM heard an undetermined explosion 4-6km west-north-west, assessed as outside the disengagement area.

The same day, positioned in the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area, the SMM observed a calm situation.

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 withdrawal lines, in a non-government-controlled area, an SMM mini unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on 13 January spotted three self-propelled howitzers (2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm) and four towed howitzers (D-30 Lyagushka, 122mm) about 4km south-east of Ternove (57km east of Donetsk).

Beyond withdrawal lines but outside designated storage sites, in a government-controlled area, the SMM saw four self-propelled howitzers (2S3 Akatsiya, 152mm) each loaded on a stationary flatbed truck and another self-propelled howitzer (2S3) loaded on a flatbed truck heading south near Novoolenivka (48km north-west of Donetsk).

In a non-government-controlled area, an SMM mini-UAV on 13 January spotted 20 tanks (ten T-64 and ten T-72) and a self-propelled mortar (2S9 Nona-S, 120mm) about 4km south-east of Ternove.

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 beyond the respective withdrawal lines, the SMM saw 13 towed howitzers (D-20, 152mm), and noted that 12 towed howitzers (D-20), seven self-propelled howitzers (2S3) and six anti-tank guns (D-48, 85mm) continued to be absent. The SMM also noted that five heavy weapons holding areas remained abandoned, with 60 towed howitzers (16 D-20 and 44 2A36 Giatsint-B, 152mm) and 11 self-propelled howitzers (2S3) missing.

The SMM revisited a Ukrainian Armed Forces permanent storage site whose location corresponded with the respective withdrawal lines and noted that the site remained abandoned, with 14 mortars (2B11 Sani, 120mm) missing.

The SMM observed armoured combat vehicles, an anti-aircraft gun[2] and other indications of military-type presence in the security zone. In government-controlled areas, the SMM on 15 January saw an IFV (BMP-2) near Novotroitske (57km north-west of Donetsk) and a stationary reconnaissance vehicle (BRDM-2) near Muratove (51km north-west of Luhansk). On 12 January, an SMM mini-UAV spotted a probable anti-aircraft gun (ZU-23-2, 23mm) mounted on a stationary truck east of Mariupol (102km south of Donetsk).

In a non-government-controlled area, positioned south-east of Vesela Hora (16km north of Luhansk), the SMM on 15 January saw fresh tracks assessed as those of at least two tanks (T-64) leading north-east.

On 11 January, aerial imagery revealed the presence of newly extended trenches (about 110m in length) as well as at least two probable IFVs (type undetermined) about 1km north of a water pumping station 2.5km south-west of Vasylivka (20km north of Donetsk). The extended trenches were running south towards the pumping station and connected to existing 150m-long trenches further north leading to Ukrainian Armed Forces positions. The SMM assessed the extended trenches as one month old. (For previous observations of trenches around the pumping station, see SMM Daily Report 20 October 2017.)

The SMM continued to monitor the situation at schools and kindergartens near the contact line. In Novoluhanske, the SMM on 15 January revisited a school and a kindergarten, both of which were damaged by shelling on 18 December. (See SMM Daily Report 22 December 2017.) The director of the school told the SMM that after the shelling five out of 200 pupils enrolled had been transferred to a school in government-controlled Bakhmut (67km north of Donetsk). The director of the kindergarten told the SMM that the number of children enrolled had decreased from 72 to 66 since the shelling on 18 December.

The SMM visited a border area not under government control. During one hour at a border crossing point near Dovzhanske (84km south-east of Luhansk), the SMM saw six cars and a covered cargo truck exiting Ukraine and 13 cars, a bus and a truck with a covered cargo trailer (the truck with Ukrainian licence plates and the trailer with “LPR” plates) entering Ukraine.

The SMM continued monitoring in Kherson, Odessa, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv and 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 Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (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 12 January 2018.) The SMM’s operations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions remain restricted following the fatal incident of 23 April 2017 near Pryshyb; these restrictions continued to limit the Mission’s observations.

Denial of access:

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 UXO. An “LPR” member 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. 
• 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 told the SMM that he had no information regarding de-mining in the area during the previous 24 hours. The SMM did not consider it safe to proceed and informed the JCCC.[3]
• 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 he had no information regarding demining activities over the previous 24 hours. The SMM did not consider it safe to proceed and informed the JCCC.4
• The SMM did not travel across the bridge in government-controlled Shchastia (20km north of Luhansk) 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.[3]

Conditional access:

• The SMM was stopped by an armed “DPR” member at a checkpoint near “DPR”-controlled Horlivka (39km north-east of Donetsk) and was allowed to proceed only after he checked the interior of the trunk of the SMM’s vehicle.

[1] Please see the annexed table for a complete breakdown of the ceasefire violations as well as a map of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions marked with locations featured in this report. Two SMM cameras continue to be tested until the end of January 2018.

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

[3] The SMM informed Ukrainian Armed Forces officers of the JCCC. Russian Federation Armed Forces officers of the JCCC have withdrawn from the JCCC as of 18 December 2017.