Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 18 January 2018

This report is for the media and the general public.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region compared with the previous 24 hours. It followed up on reports of the deaths of two persons in Donetsk city. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it saw an armoured personnel carrier near the Petrivske disengagement area. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three areas and elsewhere.* The Mission again facilitated and monitored repairs to a fibre optic cable near Shchastia. In Khartsyzk, it continued to monitor the situation of internally displaced persons. The SMM followed up on reports of flooding in Chihari due to a leaking water pipeline. The Mission visited two border areas not under government control. It monitored the administrative boundary line between Kherson region and Crimea and noted a calm situation.

In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations[1], including about 200 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (about 60 explosions).

On the evening and night of 17-18 January, the SMM camera at the Donetsk Filtration Station (15km north of Donetsk) recorded, in sequence, two projectiles in flight from west to east, 26 undetermined explosions, a projectile from west to east, three undetermined explosions, and a projectile from west to east, followed by totals of 27 undetermined explosions, 115 projectiles (two from east to west and 113 from west to east) and an illumination flare in vertical flight, all 0.5-1.5km south.

On the evening of 17 January, the SMM camera in government-controlled Avdiivka (17km north of Donetsk) recorded six undetermined explosions followed by a projectile in flight from north to south, all 4-6km south-east. During the day on 18 January, positioned on the south-western edge of Avdiivka for over five and a half hours, the SMM heard 12 undetermined explosions and almost 50 bursts and shots of heavy-machine-gun fire, all 2-5km at directions ranging from east-south-east to south-west.

On the evening of 17 January, while in government-controlled Svitlodarsk (57km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard 26 undetermined explosions and over 650 bursts and shots of heavy-machine-gun and small-arms fire, all 2-5km east and south-east. On the afternoon of 18 January, while at the same location, the SMM heard 15 explosions assessed as impacts 2-4km at undetermined directions.

On the morning of 18 January, positioned in government-controlled Myronivskyi (62km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard 18 undetermined explosions 2-5km north-east.

On the evening of 17 January, while in “DPR”-controlled Debaltseve (58km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard 23 undetermined explosions 6-8km west-south-west.

On the morning of 18 January, positioned 4.7km north-west of “DPR”-controlled Vuhlehirsk (49km north-east of Donetsk) for 50 minutes, the SMM heard 24 explosions assessed as outgoing rounds – 20 as those of a multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) (type unknown) and four as those of undetermined weapons – 6-8km south-west and an undetermined explosion 6-8km west-south-west.

Positioned in “DPR”-controlled Verkhnoshyrokivske (formerly Oktiabr, 29km north-east of Mariupol), the SMM heard almost one hour of uncountable bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire at an undetermined distance south-west.

In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations, including 13 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (about 75 explosions).

The SMM followed up on reports of the deaths of two persons. On 17 January, at the morgue in “DPR”-controlled Donetsk city’s Kalininskyi district, staff told the Mission that the body of a man (born in 1970) had been delivered to the morgue from 56 Kirova Street on 11 January, and that a post-mortem examination had indicated that the man had died due to injuries sustained from the explosion of a hand grenade. On 18 January, the man’s wife told the Mission that “DPR” members had told her that they had found pieces of a grenade in the man’s hands after an explosion at a bus stop at 56 Kirova Street. Two workers at a business near the bus stop told the SMM that an explosion had occurred on 11 January in the early evening while they were inside.

On 17 January, the Kalininskyi district morgue staff also told the Mission that the body of a man (born in 1945) had been delivered to the morgue on 14 January, and that a post-mortem examination had indicated that he had died of a heart attack. The staff said that the man had died while passing through a checkpoint on road H15 east of “DPR”-controlled Kreminets (16km south-west of Donetsk).

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 17 January, the SMM saw a stationary armoured personnel carrier (APC) (BTR-80) about 140m east-north-east of the site of the Mission’s camera in “DPR”-controlled Petrivske, parked behind a house.

On 18 January, positioned near all three disengagement areas, 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.

Beyond withdrawal lines but outside designated storage sites, in government-controlled areas, the SMM saw 14 probable MLRS (BM-21 Grad, 122mm) stationary north of Oleksiievo-Druzhkivka (66km north of Donetsk).

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 noted, for the first time, 11 anti-tank guns (MT-12 Rapira, 100mm) and six MLRS (BM-21). The Mission noted as missing: 30 mortars (2B11 Sani, 120mm), four surface-to-air missile systems (9K35 Strela-10), three towed howitzers (D-44, 85mm), 20 self-propelled howitzers (2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm), 20 self-propelled howitzers (2S3 Akatsiya, 152mm) and, missing for the first time, 12 anti-tank guns (MT-12). Another heavy weapons holding area in government-controlled areas was noted as abandoned, as previously observed, with 18 towed howitzers (2A36 Giatsint-B, 152mm) missing.

The SMM revisited a permanent storage site in government-controlled areas beyond the respective withdrawal lines and noted that it was abandoned, as previously observed, with 75 tanks (T-64), ten towed howitzers (D-44, 85mm) and 18 mortars (both 2B9 Vasilek, 82mm, and 2B11, 120mm) missing.

The SMM observed armoured combat vehicles, anti-aircraft guns[2] and other indications of military-type presence in the security zone. In government-controlled areas, the SMM saw a reconnaissance vehicle (BRDM-2) and six APCs (BTR-80) in Stanytsia Luhanska, an anti-aircraft gun (ZU-23-2, 23mm) on a truck near Zolote, three APCs (BTR-80) in Shchastia (20km north of Luhansk), an anti-aircraft gun (ZU-23-2) on a truck near Novotoshkivske (53km west of Luhansk) and a turretless reconnaissance vehicle (BRDM-2) near Lebedynske (16km north-east of Mariupol).

In non-government-controlled areas, on 17 January the SMM saw a stationary APC (BTR-80) near Petrivske (see above). On 18 January, the Mission saw an automatic grenade launcher (40mm) mounted on a military-style pick-up truck travelling west from Yasynuvata (16km north-east of Donetsk) toward the contact line. An hour and a half later, the SMM saw a vehicle assessed as the same truck returning eastward without the grenade launcher.

The SMM again facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire on both sides of the contact line to enable repair works to a fibre optic cable about 2km north-west of an “LPR” checkpoint south-east of the bridge near Shchastia. (See SMM Daily Report 18 January 2018.) Cable damage had been reported as linked to the disruption in telecommunications observed in non-government-controlled areas. (See SMM Daily Report 15 January 2018.)

The SMM continued to monitor the situation of internally displaced persons (IDPs). At an IDP centre in “DPR”-controlled Khartsyzk (26km east of Donetsk), an SMM interlocutor told the Mission that the centre currently housed 83 persons, including 32 children, who had been displaced from the “DPR”-controlled settlements of Spartak (9km north of Donetsk), Ilovaisk (30km south-east of Donetsk), Donetsk city’s Petrovskyi district (15km south-west of city centre) and Yasynuvata. One resident with two young children told the Mission that the family had moved to the centre three months earlier and had not yet received financial or humanitarian assistance.

The SMM followed up on reports of flooding of about 20 houses in Chihari, a community in Pivdenne (formerly Leninske, 40km north-east of Donetsk) between the forward positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the armed formations. A resident told the SMM by telephone that a pipeline had been leaking water since it was damaged by shelling in early autumn 2017, and that some of the water subsequently had been contaminated by methane from a nearby flooded coalmine. An official from government-controlled Toretsk (43km north of Donetsk) told the SMM by telephone that the pipeline had been partially repaired, but that remaining damage was causing flooding in Chihari. A representative of a local non-governmental organization told the SMM by telephone that pumps had been delivered to Chihari to help remove water from flooded basements and cellars.

The SMM visited two border areas not under government control. During 55 minutes at a border crossing point near Izvaryne (52km south-east of Luhansk), the SMM saw 24 cars (two with “LPR” plates, and the rest with Ukrainian or Russian Federation licence plates) and 52 pedestrians (men and women, aged 20-60) exiting Ukraine and five cars (all with Ukrainian or Russian Federation licence plates) and 18 pedestrians (men and women, aged 20-60) entering Ukraine. During 40 minutes at a border crossing point near Verkhnoharasymivka (57km south-east of Luhansk), the SMM saw three men (aged 20-25) exiting Ukraine and a woman (aged about 25) entering Ukraine.

The SMM monitored the administrative boundary line between Kherson region and Crimea. The Mission visited crossing points at Chonhar (167km south-east of Kherson) (on 14 January), Chaplynka (77km south-east of Kherson) (on 17 January) and Kalanchak (67km south-east of Kherson) (on 17 January) and noted calm situations. It also visited, on 16 January, a State Border Guard Service outpost near Valok (205km south-east of Kherson) and noted a calm situation.

In Kyiv, during discussion and adoption of legislation by Parliament in the morning, the SMM did not observe any gatherings in front of the Parliament building.

The SMM continued monitoring in 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 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:

• At a heavy weapons holding area in government-controlled areas, a Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier, citing the commanding officer’s absence, did not allow the Mission to check the serial numbers of certain weapons.

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 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.4

 

[1] For a complete breakdown of the ceasefire violations, please see the annexed table. Two SMM cameras continue to be tested until the end of January 2018.

* 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.

[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.