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

This report is for the media and the general public.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region between the evenings of 13 and 14 April, compared with the previous reporting period. Between the evenings of 14 and 15 April, it recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske and recorded ceasefire violations inside the Petrivske disengagement area. The SMM heard shots in close proximity to its position while conducting a mid-range unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flight near the Petrivske disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs to the Petrivske pumping station and a high-voltage powerline near Yuzhna-Lomuvatka. In Kyiv, the SMM followed up on media reports of an explosion near a one-storey building.

In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations[1] between the evenings of 13 and 14 April, including fewer explosions (about 40), compared with the previous reporting period (about 280 explosions). Between the evenings of 14 and 15 April, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, including about 360 explosions, compared with the previous 24 hours.

On the evening and night of 13-14 April, the SMM camera at the Donetsk Filtration Station (15km north of Donetsk) recorded, in sequence, two undetermined explosions, a projectile in flight from west to east and seven projectiles from east to west, followed by a total of six undetermined explosions and 27 projectiles (ten from west to east and 17 from east to west), all 1-3km south. On the night of 14-15 April, the same camera recorded, in sequence, 15 projectiles in flight from west to east and four undetermined explosions, followed by a total of 30 undetermined explosions, 50 projectiles (41 from west to east and nine from east to west) and an illumination flare in vertical flight, all 1-3km south.

On the evening and night of 14-15 April, the SMM camera at the entry-exit checkpoint in Pyshchevyk (government-controlled, 25km north-east of Mariupol) recorded, in sequence, eight projectiles in flight from east to west, an undetermined explosion and 21 projectiles from west to east, followed by a total of five undetermined explosions and 205 projectiles (120 from east to west and 85 from west to east), all 0.5-2km east-north-east, east-south-east and north-west. During the day on 15 April, positioned 1km north-north-west of Pyshchevyk, the SMM heard 21 explosions assessed as outgoing mortars rounds and 21 explosions assessed as incoming mortars rounds, all at undetermined distances north-north-east.

On the evening of 13 April, while in Svitlodarsk (government-controlled, 57km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard an undetermined explosion and about 95 bursts and shots of automatic-grenade-launcher, heavy-machine-gun and small-arms fire, all 3-5km at directions ranging from east to south-east. On the evening of 14 April, the SMM heard six undetermined explosions and almost 65 bursts and shots of heavy-machine-gun and small-arms fire, all 3-10km at directions ranging from east to south-west. On 15 April, the SMM heard 220 undetermined explosions and three bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire, all 3-10km at directions ranging from east to south-west.

On the morning of 14 April, while in Horlivka (non-government-controlled, 39km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard 12 undetermined explosions 4-5km west.

During the day on 14 April, positioned on the south-western edge of Yasynuvata (non-government-controlled, 16km north-east of Donetsk) for about one hour, the SMM heard 29 undetermined explosions and about 45 bursts and shots of small-arms fire, all 3km north-north-west. During the day on 15 April, positioned 2km west of Yasynuvata for about one hour, the SMM heard ten undetermined explosions and about 20 bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire, all 2km north-west.

During the day on 14 April, positioned on the south-western edge of Avdiivka (government-controlled, 17km north of Donetsk) for about two hours, the SMM heard 22 undetermined explosions and about 30 shots of heavy-machine-gun fire, all 3-10km at directions ranging from north-north-east to south-south-east. 

During the day on 15 April, positioned in Chermalyk (government-controlled, 31km north-east Mariupol), the SMM heard 28 explosions assessed as outgoing mortar rounds and two explosions assessed as impacts of artillery rounds, all 1.5-3km south-south-east.

In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations between the evenings of 13 and 14 April, including about 30 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (14 explosions). Between the evenings of 14 and 15 April, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations, including six explosions, compared with the previous 24 hours.

During the day on 14 April, while on the north-eastern edge of Popasna (government-controlled, 69km west of Luhansk), the SMM heard two explosions assessed as outgoing mortar rounds and seven shots of heavy-machine-gun fire, all 1.5-5km north-east.

The SMM continued to monitor the disengagement process and to pursue full access to the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska (government-controlled, 16km north-east of Luhansk), Zolote (government-controlled, 60km west of Luhansk) and Petrivske (non-government-controlled, 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 14 April, positioned 250m south-east of the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge (15km north-east of Luhansk) for about three and a half hours, the SMM heard 18 explosions and about 50 shots of small-arms fire, all 1km south-east, and an undetermined explosion 5-10km west (all assessed as outside the disengagement area). A man in military-type clothing approached the SMM and said that the 18 explosions were the result of a fire at a nearby ammunition depot. Following the explosions, the SMM saw dark grey smoke 1km south-east. On the morning of 15 April, the SMM heard two undetermined explosions 5-6km south-west (assessed as outside the disengagement area).

On 15 April, the SMM saw an armoured reconnaissance vehicle (BRDM-2) travelling west inside the Zolote disengagement area. About an hour later, the SMM saw it travelling in the opposite direction with four armed Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel inside.

On 14 April, positioned in Petrivske for about two hours, the SMM heard four shots of small-arms fire 1-2km south-west (assessed as inside the disengagement area) and seven bursts and shots of small-arms fire 1-2km north and east (assessed as outside the disengagement area). During the day on 15 April, positioned 3km north of Petrivske for about 15 minutes, the SMM heard ten undetermined explosions 10-15km west-north-west (assessed as outside the disengagement area).

The SMM heard shots in close proximity to its position while conducting a mid-range UAV flight. On 15 April, positioned about 6km east of the north-eastern edge of the Petrivske disengagement area, the SMM conducted a mid-range UAV flight. Less than one minute after take-off, while the UAV was less than 1km west of the SMM patrol, the SMM noticed that it had lost the UAV’s Global Positioning System (GPS) signal. The UAV then flew in a north-westerly direction until it disappeared from the SMM’s line of sight. While the SMM was trying to establish the UAV’s location, it heard a burst of small-arms fire (three shots in total), 100-300m south-west of its position. The SMM immediately left the area and safely returned to base.* The UAV has not been recovered.

On 14 and 15 April, positioned near the Stanytsia Luhanska and Zolote 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.

In violation of withdrawal lines in government-controlled areas on 13 April an SMM mid-range UAV spotted five self-propelled howitzers (three 2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm and two 2S3 Akatsiya, 152mm) within 100m of a residential area in Vidrodzhennia (66km north-east of Donetsk). On 14 April the SMM saw a towed howitzer (type undetermined) on the eastern edge of Bohdanivka (41km south-west of Donetsk).

Beyond withdrawal lines but outside designated storage sites in government-controlled areas, on 14 April the SMM saw a surface-to-air missile system (9K35 Strela-10) on a flatbed trailer near Metolkine (69km north-west of Luhansk) and another surface-to-air missile system (9K35) mounted on a truck in Ocheretyne (31km north-west of Donetsk). The SMM saw a self-propelled howitzer (assessed as a probable 2S3) between Popasne (60km north-west of Luhansk) and Stepnyi Yar (57km north-west of Luhansk).

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 non-government-controlled areas beyond the respective withdrawal lines, the SMM saw five self-propelled howitzers (2S1). The SMM noted that four multiple launch rocket systems (BM-21 Grad, 122mm) were missing for the first time, and that 11 self-propelled howitzers (2S1) and two anti-tank guns (MT-12 Rapira, 100mm) were again missing.

The SMM observed armoured combat vehicles[2] and anti-aircraft guns in the security zone. In government-controlled-areas on 13 April an SMM mid-range UAV spotted an armoured personnel carrier (APC) (MT-LB) near Roty (66km north-east of Donetsk). On 14 April the SMM saw two infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) (BMP-1 and BMP-2) on the eastern edge of Bohdanivka. On 14 and 15 April the SMM saw two APCs (BTR-80) and an anti-aircraft gun (ZU-23, 23mm) mounted on a truck near Kyrylivka (53km south-west of Donetsk).

In non-government-controlled areas, the SMM saw two APCs (BTR-70) in Uzhivka (formerly Leninske, 96km south of Donetsk).

The SMM continued to observe unexploded ordnance (UXO), mines and mine hazard signs. In non-government-controlled areas on 14 April at the junction between the roads leading from Starobesheve (32km south-east of Donetsk) to Styla (34km south of Donetsk) and to Zernove (33km south of Donetsk), the SMM saw an anti-tank mine (TM-62M) in the grass about 10m from the road. (See SMM Daily Report 10 April 2018.) In government-controlled areas, at a cemetery in Chermalyk (77km south of Donetsk), the SMM saw an unexploded round of a recoilless gun (SPG-9) buried in the soil about 1.5m from the north-western fence of the cemetery. In north-western Ivanivka (39km north-west of Donetsk) the SMM saw two improvised incendiary devices about 1.5m from a road.

In non-government-controlled areas, on the west side of the road between Styla and Petrivske, the SMM saw a red square mine hazard sign with “Stop Mines” written in white in Russian and English pointing east. About 1.5km south-west of Sarabash (26km south of Donetsk), approximately 20m south-east of the edge of road CO-51533, the SMM saw two red square mine hazard signs reading “Stop Mines” in white letters in English and Russian with a skull-and-crossbones.

The SMM facilitated the handover of the remains of a Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier on 15 April near Marinka (government-controlled, 23km south-west of Donetsk).                         

The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs to the Petrivske pumping station near Artema (government-controlled, 26km north of Luhansk) and a high voltage powerline near Yuzhna-Lomuvatka (non-government-controlled, 60km west of Luhansk). On 13 April, while monitoring repairs in Obozne (non-government-controlled, 18km north of Luhansk), two “LPR” members, each holding cameras and filming the SMM, alleged that a repair team had come under small-arms fire while at the repair site and showed the SMM broken glass from the passenger-side window of the repair vehicle. The SMM noted that the outer pane was cracked but that the inner pane was intact. The SMM could not confirm the small-arms fire. (See SMM Daily Report 14 April 2018.) 

In Kyiv, on 15 April the SMM followed up on media reports of an explosion on the night of 14 April near a one-storey building at 93 Peremohy Avenue in Sviatoshynskyi district. At the site the SMM saw broken glass and pieces of plastic on the pavement as well as damage to the glass entrance door and the façade of the building. The SMM saw red-and-white tape fencing off the damaged door and graffiti to the right of the door on the wall of the building reading “Where is hot water?” in Russian. The SMM could not assess if the graffiti was fresh.

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 monitoring and freedom of movement are restricted by security hazards and threats, including risks posed by mines, 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 (see SMM Daily Report 14 April 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:

• While conducting a scheduled mid-range UAV flight above the Petrivske disengagement area on 15 April, the SMM heard a burst of small-arms fire – three shots in total – 100-300m south-west. The SMM immediately left the area and safely returned to base.

Related to disengagement areas and mines/UXO:

• On 14 and 15 April, 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.
• On 14 and 15 April, 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 by phone that he had no information regarding demining in the area during the previous 24 hours. The SMM did not consider it safe to proceed and informed the JCCC on both occasions.
• On 14 and 15 April, the SMM was prevented from accessing secondary roads south of the Zolote disengagement area due to the possible presence of mines and UXO. An armed formation 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. 

[1] For a complete breakdown of the ceasefire violations, please see the annexed table. The SMM camera at the entry-exit checkpoint in Maiorsk was not operational from 13-14 April.

* 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.