Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 18 February 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 between the evenings of 16 and 17 February, compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions between the evenings of 17 and 18 February, compared with the previous 24 hours. The SMM observed fresh damage, caused by gunfire and shelling, to civilian properties in residential areas of Horlivka and Pikuzy as well as to a building where a television station in Luhansk city is located. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three areas and elsewhere, including at checkpoints near Betmanove and Kreminets as well as near Leonove and Izvaryne, in border areas close to the Russian Federation.* The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Novooleksandrivka. The SMM continued to monitor the situation of civilians living near the contact line in Betmanove and Pivdenne. The SMM visited five border areas outside of government control. In Kyiv, the SMM followed up on reports of an incident at the Russia Centre for Science and Culture on 17 February and saw a group of people throwing eggs and stones at the building of the Centre as well as at a Sberbank branch office the following day. The SMM also monitored two gatherings in Kyiv and one in Kharkiv.

In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations[1], between the evenings of 16 and 17 February, including about 530 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (about 120 explosions). Between the evenings of 17 and 18 February, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations, including about 90 explosions, compared with the previous 24 hours.

On the evening and night of 16-17 February, the SMM camera at the Donetsk Filtration Station (15km north of Donetsk) recorded, in sequence, an undetermined explosion, seven projectiles in flight from east to west, six undetermined explosions and three projectiles from west to east, followed by totals of 18 undetermined explosions and ten projectiles (three from east to west and seven from west to east), all 0.5-1.5km south. During the evening and night of 17-18 February, the camera recorded, in sequence, four undetermined explosions, a projectile in flight from east to west, an illumination flare in vertical flight and nine undetermined explosions, followed by totals of 12 undetermined explosions and nine projectiles (six from east to west and three from west to east), all 0.5-1.5km south. During the day on 18 February, the camera recorded two undetermined explosions and an illumination flare in vertical flight 0.5-1.5km south.

On the evening and night of 16-17 February, while in Svitlodarsk (government-controlled 57km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard about 440 explosions (17 assessed as outgoing artillery rounds, 20 as outgoing mortar rounds, 35 as outgoing rounds of infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) (BMP-1, 73mm) cannon, 12 as outgoing explosions from undetermined weapon systems and the remainder undetermined), about 260 bursts and shots of heavy-machine-gun and small-arms fire, as well as a total of 23 minutes of overlapping and uncountable bursts and shots of small-arms and heavy-machine-gun fire, all 3-15km at directions ranging from east to north. During the day on 17 February, while at the same location, the SMM heard an undetermined explosion 5-8km south-east. On the evening and night of 17-18 February, the SMM heard ten undetermined explosions and about 100 bursts and shots of heavy-machine-gun fire, all 5-8km south-east and south-south-east.

On the evening and night of 16-17 February, the SMM camera at Oktiabr mine (non-government-controlled, 9km north-west of Donetsk) recorded two illumination flares followed by 11 undetermined explosions at undetermined distances north. During the day on 18 February, the camera recorded an undetermined explosion 2-3km north. 

On the night of 16-17 February, the SMM camera at the entry-exit checkpoint in Maiorsk (government-controlled, 45km north-east of Donetsk) recorded six projectiles in flight from south to north followed by four undetermined explosions 2-4km south-east.

On the evening of 16 February, while in Horlivka (non-government-controlled, 39km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard 21 undetermined explosions and 17 bursts of small-arms fire 2-5km south-west.

On the evening and night of 17-18 February, the SMM camera 1km south-west of Shyrokyne (20km east of Mariupol) recorded, in sequence, two undetermined explosions, a projectile in flight from south to north and an undetermined explosion, all 5-8km north. 

During the day on 17 February, positioned 1km north-north-west of Pyshchevyk (government-controlled, 25km north-east of Mariupol) for one hour, the SMM heard eight undetermined explosions and about 50 shots and bursts of small-arms fire 2-3km north-north-east.

During the day on 17 February, positioned about 4km north of Novotroitske (government-controlled, 36km south-west of Donetsk) for about half an hour, the SMM heard three explosions assessed as outgoing rounds of undetermined weapon systems 2-4km east.

During the day on 18 February, positioned in Pikuzy (non-government-controlled, formerly Kominternove, 25km north-east of Mariupol) for one hour, the SMM heard 25 undetermined explosions and 25 bursts of small-arms and heavy-machine-gun fire at undetermined distances north-west.

In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations, including 16 explosions, between the evenings of 16 and 17 February, compared with the previous reporting period (about 70 explosions). Between the evenings of 17 and 18 February, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations, including seven explosions, compared with the previous 24 hours.

During the evening of 16 February, while in non-government-controlled Luhansk city, the SMM heard two undetermined explosions 0.6km north-east. 

During the day on 17 February, while in Kadiivka (non-government-controlled, formerly Stakhanov, 50km west of Luhansk), the SMM heard 11 undetermined explosions 15-17km west-south-west.

During the day on 17 February, positioned on the northern edge of Kalynove-Borshchuvate (non-government-controlled, 61km west of Luhansk) for about 20 minutes, the SMM heard three undetermined explosions 10km north-east and ten shots of small-arms fire 2-3km south-west.

During the day on 18 February, positioned in Almazna (non-government-controlled, 55km west of Luhansk) for ten minutes, the SMM heard three undetermined explosions 5-6km north-west.

The SMM continued to follow up on reports of fresh damage, caused by gunfire and shelling, to civilian properties in residential areas of Horlivka, Pikuzy and Luhansk city.

On 17 February, at 50/1 Vitchyzniana Street in Horlivka, the SMM saw a fresh bullet hole in the south-facing wall of a barn approximately 3m south of a one-storey house. The SMM also saw a fresh richochet mark on the outer north-facing wall of the house. It assessed the damage as caused by a round of an undetermined weapon fired from a west-north-westerly direction.

On 17 February, at 25 Demokhina Street in Luhansk city, the SMM observed that two radio cables and one television cable, laying bundled atop an elevated metal structure next to a four-storey brick building where the television station is located, had been damaged. The SMM also saw ten shattered windows on the south-west-facing side of the building of the television station. The SMM assessed the damage as fresh and caused by a round of a rocket propelled grenade (RPG-26) fired from a south-westerly direction. Approximately 100m south-west of the television station building, on a platform inside a park, the SMM saw exhaust marks in the snow; it assessed these as caused by blast dust from an outgoing round of a rocket propelled grenade launcher (RPG-26). During the evening of 16 February, while in Luhansk city, the SMM heard two undetermined explosions 0.6km north-east (see ceasefire violation section above).

On 18 February, the SMM saw fresh impact sites in Pikuzy. The SMM saw a fresh crater in the front yard of a one-storey house at 10 Peremohy Street, adjacent to an abandoned school. Approximately 5m from the crater, it saw holes in a west-facing metal gate and shrapnel damage to the west-facing outer wall of the house; all windows on the west-facing side of the building had been broken. The SMM assessed the crater as caused by an artillery round fired from a westerly direction. The SMM saw a second fresh crater in the backyard of an unoccupied one-storey house and shrapnel damage to its west-facing outer wall; it assessed the crater as caused by an artillery round fired from a westerly direction. In a field within the village, approximately 300m from the closest building, the SMM saw three additional fresh craters (approximately 200-300m from each other). The SMM assessed each crater as caused by a mortar round; it was unable to assess the direction of the fire.

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.*

During the day on 17 February, positioned in government-controlled Zolote 2 (Karbonit) for about 50 minutes, the SMM heard two shots of small-arms fire 2-4km south-south-west (assessed as outside the disengagement area) and a shot of small-arms fire 1km north-north-east (assessed as outside the disengagement area).   

During the day on 18 February, positioned in Katerynivka (government-controlled, 64km west of Luhansk) for about 50 minutes, the SMM heard three undetermined explosions and a burst of small-arms fire 3km south-south-west (assessed as outside the Zolote disengagement area).

During the day on 17 and 18 February, positioned near the Stanytsia Luhanska and Petrivske disengagement areas, the SMM noted 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, the SMM saw on 17 February 13 towed howitzers (D-30 Lyagushka, 122mm) near non-government-controlled Novooleksandrivka (75km south-east 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 a non-government-controlled area, the SMM noted that 15 mortars (PM-38, 120mm) and 15 towed howitzers (D-30) continued to be 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, on 17 February, the SMM saw three armoured personnel carriers (APC) (BTR-variant) and two IFVs (BMP-1) in Avdiivka (17km north of Donetsk), five IFVs (BMP-1) and two armoured reconnaissance vehicles (one BRM-1K and one BRDM-2 RKhB) in Popasna (69km west of Luhansk), five reconnaissance vehicles (BRDM) in Orikhove-Donetske (44km north-west of Luhansk) and an IFV (BMP-2) on the northern edge of the Zolote disengagement area. On 18 February, the SMM saw two IFVs (one BMP-1 and one BMP-2) in Vozdvyzhenka (66km north-east of Donetsk), an anti-aircraft gun (ZU-23, 23mm) near Ozarianivka (52km north of Donetsk), three IFVs (BMP-2) near Pivdenne (formerly Leninske, 40km north-east of Donetsk), four armoured reconnaissance vehicles (BRDM-2) and a trench digger (TMK) in Orikhove-Donetske.

In non-government-controlled areas, on 18 February, the SMM saw a trench digger (TMK) in Tsvitni Pisky (11km north of Luhansk) and an armoured personnel carrier (BTR-80) in Pikuzy.

On 18 February, the SMM saw freshly dug trenches extending for about 800m along a road 2.5km south of Krasnohorivka (government-controlled, 21km west of Donetsk). About 1.3km north-east of the north-eastern edge of the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area, the SMM saw for the first time barbed wire blocking one of the lanes of road P-22.

The SMM continued to observe the presence of mine hazard signs. On 18 February, 6km south-east of Dokuchaievsk (non-government-controlled, 30km south-west of Donetsk) the SMM saw again a square red sign with a skull and “mines” written on it in Russian language on wooden planks 3-5m west of a road.

The SMM continued to monitor the situation of civilians living close to the contact line. On 18 February, a resident (a woman, aged 50-60) of Betmanove (non-government-controlled, formerly Krasnyi Partizan, 23km north-east of Donetsk) told the SMM that in the village there had been regular power cuts due to shelling. The woman told the SMM that she worked in Verkhnotoretske (government-controlled, 23km north-east of Donetsk), and that the road from Betmanove to Verkhnotoretske was only accessible on foot and she needed to walk approximately 10km in both directions each day. Two men (aged 40-50) told the SMM that vehicles were not allowed to drive through the road between Betmanove and Verkhnotoretske. They added that residents needed to make a 160km-long detour around the entry-exit checkpoint in Maiorsk to reach Verkhnotoretske. At a “DPR” checkpoint on the north-western edge of Betmanove, three armed “DPR” members,  saying that it was unsafe to proceed towards Verkhnotoretske due to security reasons, denied the SMM access to Verkhnotoretske.* About 100m north-west from the checkpoint, the SMM saw a newly dug two-metre wide trench on the road.

Three residents of Chyhari (all women, aged 60-70), a settlement within the village of Pivdenne, told the SMM there were no means of transportation to and from nearby locations, and that the closest checkpoint and bus stop are about 2km away and the road was only accessible on foot. The residents said that not even emergency vehicles, such as ambulances or fire brigades, could reach the settlement. They added that they had to walk to Toretsk (government-controlled, formerly Dzerzhynsk, 43km north of Donetsk) or Horlivka to receive basic services, including healthcare.

The SMM visited five border areas not under government control. On 17 February, while at a border crossing point near Izvaryne (52km south-east of Luhansk) for about one hour, the SMM saw 15 cars (seven with Ukrainian and four with Russian Federation licence plates, and four with “LPR” plates), seven covered-cargo trucks (five with Ukrainian and one with Belarusian licence plates, and one with “LPR” plates) and approximately 25 pedestrians exiting Ukraine. The SMM also saw seven cars (four with Ukrainian and three with Russian Federation licence plates), a covered-cargo truck with Ukrainian licence plates, a bus with Ukrainian licence plates and approximately 40 passengers on board, as well as 31 pedestrians, including a five-year-old child, entering Ukraine. An armed “LPR” member, citing new “instructions” from his superiors, told the SMM that it could not approach the checkpoint closer than 50m from the first gate.*

On 17 February, while at a pedestrian border crossing point near Verkhnoharasymivka (57km south-east of Luhansk) for about one hour, the SMM saw two women (aged 35-50) and two men (aged 30-50) exiting Ukraine and no traffic in the opposite direction.

On 18 February, while at a border crossing point near Marynivka (78km east of Donetsk) for about 30 minutes, the SMM saw two cars (one with Ukrainian licence plates and one with “DPR” plates) exiting Ukraine and four cars (two with Ukrainian licence plates and two with “DPR” plates) as well as a minivan with Ukrainian licence plates entering Ukraine.

On 18 February, while at a border crossing point near Uspenka (73km south-east of Donetsk) for about 15 minutes, the SMM saw 20 curtain-sided heavy goods articulated trucks (17 with Ukrainian and one with Russian Federation licence plates as well as two with “DPR” plates) and a car with Ukrainian licence plates exiting Ukraine. The SMM also saw three cars (one with Ukrainian licence plates and two with “DPR” plates) entering Ukraine.

On 18 February, while at a border crossing point near Novoazovsk (102km south-east of Donetsk) for about 30 minutes, the SMM saw 15 cars (five with Ukrainian and four with Russian Federation licence plates as well as six with “DPR” plates) and two covered-cargo trucks (one with Ukrainian licence plates and one with “DPR” plates) exiting Ukraine. The SMM also saw seven cars (six with Ukrainian licence plates and one with “DPR” plates) entering Ukraine.

On 17 February 2018, the SMM followed up on reports of an incident at the building where the Russian Centre for Science and Culture (Rossotrudnichestvo) is located, at 2A Borysohlibska Street in Kyiv, and observed an incident there the following day. (See SMM Spot Report Incidents at Russian Centre for Science and Culture in Kyiv 18 February 2018). On 17 February, inside the building, the SMM saw multiple phrases, including “Death to Russia” in Ukrainian language freshly spray-painted on the interior walls on the ground floor and in the stairwell. The SMM also saw scattered chairs and furniture, broken information boards, and the flag of the Russian Federation which had been torn apart. The Centre’s staff members told the SMM that about 50 people (young men, aged 15-25, and three women, aged 20-25), most of whom were wearing face masks, had broken, earlier during the day, into the building and started spray-painting the walls and damaging property while classes were ongoing (a total of 20 staff members and 30 children as well as around 50 visitors were present in the building at that time). The SMM saw three police officers and a police vehicle parked near the entrance of the Centre.

On 18 February, at 09:30 the SMM saw two police officers in front of the building. At 15:00, the SMM observed 120 police officers and three police buses in front of the building. Between 15:00 and 16:00, the SMM saw a group of about 70 people (all men) walking from Independence Square in the direction of the Centre; some of them smash windows of the Sberbank branch office at 25 Petra Sahaidachnoho Street with stones. The SMM saw about six members of the group throw stones and eggs in the direction of the building where the Centre is located, which broke three windows and damaged the façade. After this incident, the SMM saw police officers cordoning off the area outside the building. The SMM also noted the presence of about 100 police officers in riot gear. Later during the day, the SMM noted that all protestors had left and that approximately 200 riot police officers were present in front of the building.

The SMM monitored two gatherings in Kyiv. On 18 February, the SMM monitored a gathering of about 1,500-2,000 people (both men and women, mostly aged 50-70) near the Parliament and Cabinet of Ministers buildings on Hrushevskoho Street. The SMM saw many of the participants carrying flags of two political parties, as well as banners with messages demanding higher pensions and salary. The protest ended without incidents.

On 18 February, the SMM also saw about 10,000 people (aged 30-70) marching from Shevchenko Park to Mikhailivska Square. Some of the participants were wearing Movement of New Forces badges while others gave speeches criticising state authorities and corruption and protesting the readmission to Poland of Mikheil Saakashvili. The SMM observed about 40 police officers. The gathering ended without incidents.

On the same day, the SMM also monitored a similar gathering in Kharkiv. About 300 people (aged 20-70) carrying Movement of New Forces flags, among others, march from Constitution Square to Shevchenko Street. The SMM noted that about 100 police officers (some of which were wearing riot gear) were present. The gathering ended without incidents.

The SMM continued monitoring in Kherson, Odessa, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, 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 below). 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:

• On 17 February, at a border crossing point near Izvaryne, an armed “LPR” member, citing new “instructions” from his superiors, told the SMM that it could not approach the checkpoint closer than 50m from the first gate of the border crossing point.*
• On 17 and 18 February, at a “DPR” checkpoint on road H15 east of Kreminets, an unarmed “DPR” member told the SMM, on both occasions, that it could not approach the checkpoint at a distance closer than 500m in either direction.
• On 18 February, at a “DPR” checkpoint on the north-western edge of Betmanove, three armed “DPR” members, saying that it was unsafe to proceed towards Verkhnotoretske due to security reason, denied the SMM access.
• On 18 February, at a checkpoint approximately 4km north of a border crossing point near Leonove (non-government-controlled, formerly Chervonyi Zhovten, 70km south of Luhansk), two armed “LPR” members, warning of ongoing demining activities in the area, stopped the SMM and did not allow it to proceed.

Related to disengagement areas and mines/UXO:

• On 17 and 18 February, 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.
• On 17 and 18 February, 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 on both occasions.4
• On 17 and 18 February, 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 on both occasions.[3]
• On 17 and 18 February, the SMM did not travel across the bridge in Shchastia (government-controlled, 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 on both occasions.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 February 2018. The SMM camera at the entry-exit checkpoint in Marinka and the SMM camera at the entry-exit checkpoint in Pyshchevyk were not operational during the reporting period. 

* 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.