Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 24 April 2018

This report is for the media and the general public.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM followed up on reports of a civilian casualty in Vrubivskyi. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations inside the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska and Petrivske, including shots fired 200m and 700m from a patrol inside the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere, including in Dovhe.* The Mission observed weapons in violation in Lysychansk and Vrubivka. The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs of water pipelines in Maiorsk and electricity lines near Yuzhna-Lomuvatka, as well as to facilitate access to the Donetsk Filtration Station for its employees.

In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations,[1] including about 240 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (about 70 explosions).

Positioned 5km north-north-west of Vuhlehirsk (non-government-controlled, 49km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard 70 undetermined explosions 5km north-north-west over a period of 30 minutes.

Positioned 1km north of Zaichenko (non-government-controlled, 26km north-east of Mariupol), the SMM heard 28 undetermined explosions and 66 bursts of heavy-machine-gun and small-arms fire, all 2-4km south-west and south-south-west.

While in Svitlodarsk (government-controlled, 57km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard about 100 undetermined explosions and 19 bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire, all 2-6km south-east, south-south-east and south-west, as well as five undetermined explosions 3-5km north-east.

In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, including about 30 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (one explosion).

While in Kadiivka (formerly Stakhanov, non-government-controlled, 50km west of Luhansk), the SMM heard 13 undetermined explosions and 500 shots and bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire, all 10-15km west and west-north-west.

The SMM followed up on media reports of a civilian killed by an explosion. At the hospital in Lutuhyne (non-government-controlled, 20km south-west of Luhansk), a paramedic told the SMM that she had responded to a call received in the evening on 21 April regarding an explosion in Vrubivskyi (non-government-controlled, 22km south-west of Luhansk) and that in a garden behind a house at 38 Frunze Street in Vrubivskyi she had found the body of a man (late fifties) lying on his back with a pool of blood around his hips. The paramedic told the SMM that she had assessed the death as caused by the explosion of a wire-tripped grenade but that, due to the possible risk of the body having been booby-trapped, she did not attempt a closer inspection. On Frunze Street, two men living on the street separately told the SMM that between 15:00 and 16:00 on 21 April they had heard an explosion nearby and seen smoke rising from behind the house at 38 Frunze Street. They said that when they had gone to the source of the smoke they saw the body of a man with injuries to his back and hips. The SMM was unable to observe the site of the incident due to security restrictions.

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.*

During the day on 24 April, positioned in Petrivske, the SMM heard 13 shots and a single burst of small-arms fire 1km south, assessed as inside the disengagement area. An armed man in camouflage clothing approached the SMM and said that the SMM was “not allowed” to fly unmanned aerial vehicles in the area and should it attempt to do so, it would be shot down.

While on the eastern edge of Stanytsia Luhanska during the day on 24 April, the SMM heard eight undetermined explosions 3-5km south (unable to assess whether inside or outside the disengagement area), two explosions assessed as artillery rounds  1-2km west (assessed as outside the disengagement area) and an undetermined explosion 3-4km west (assessed as outside the disengagement area). Positioned 200m south of the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge, the SMM heard a rifle shot 200m south-west, which it assessed as having originated from within the part of the disengagement area controlled by the armed formations. Two minutes later, the SMM heard five shots of small-arms fire 700m north-north-east, which it assessed as having originated from near the northern end of the railway bridge  and as having fired in the direction of armed formation positions south-west of the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge, both inside the disengagement area. Five minutes later, positioned 1km south-east of the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge, the SMM heard a shot of small-arms fire 1.3km north (assessed as inside the disengagement area).

On 23 April, the SMM saw six soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, one visibly armed, inside the disengagement area near Zolote.

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, the SMM saw four stationary tanks (T-64) in Vrubivka (72km west of Luhansk) on 23 April and four multiple launch rocket systems (BM-21 Grad, 122mm) moving west from Lysychansk (75km north-west of Luhansk) on 24 April.

Beyond withdrawal lines but outside of designated storage sites in government-controlled areas, on 23 April, the SMM saw four surface-to-air missile systems (9K33 Osa) near Sloviansk (95km north of Donetsk) and two self-propelled mortars (2S9 Nona-S, 120mm) in Kurakhove (40km west of Donetsk).

The SMM observed armoured combat vehicles and an anti-aircraft gun[2] in the security zone. In government-controlled-areas, the SMM saw an anti-aircraft gun (ZU-23, 23mm) mounted on a truck near Orikhove (57km north-west of Luhansk), three infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) (one BMP-1, one BMP-2 and another BMP variant) near Zolote, 17 IFVs (BMP variants) near Popasna (69km west of Luhansk) and three armoured personnel carriers (APC) (MT-LB) near Vrubivka, all on 23 April. The following day, the SMM saw five IFVs (BMP-1) near Popasna and an APC (MT-LB) and an IFV (BMP-2) near Nyzhnie (56km north-west of Luhansk).

The SMM continued to observe mines near Marinka (23km south-west of Donetsk), where it again saw at least three mines (TM-62) in a row south of road H-15. (See SMM Daily Report 10 April 2018.)

The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs to power lines near Yuzhna-Lomuvatka (60km west of Luhansk) and to water pipelines near Maiorsk (45km north-east of Donetsk).  

The SMM facilitated the access of Voda Donbassa water company employees to the Donetsk Filtration Station (DFS) (15km north of Donetsk) in order to keep the DFS operational. Along road H-20 from Yasynuvata (16km north-east of Donetsk) towards the DFS, the SMM observed three de-miners from non-government-controlled areas collect a high-explosive launched grenade (VOG-25, 40mm). The SMM observed a de-mining team of the Ukrainian State Emergency Service that was clearing road H-20 from Kamianka (20km north of Donetsk) towards the DFS – including the western lane of H-20 south of the DFS – collect about 40 explosive remnants of war, including grenades (VOG-25 and VOG-17), pieces of high-explosive anti-tank warheads (PG-7VL, 93mm, and PG-18, 64mm) and rounds of ammunition (14.5mm).  The SMM observed the de-miners of the Ukrainian State Emergency Service remove the previously observed improvised explosive devices about 300m south of the DFS (see SMM Daily Report 24 April 2018). After the de-mining works, the SMM facilitated the transfer of one shift of DFS employees to the station and the return of another shift from the station to Yasynuvata.

Despite the provision of security guarantees, the SMM, positioned in Kruta Balka (non-government-controlled, 16km north of Donetsk) about 1.6km north-east of the DFS, heard five bursts of small-arms fire 100m north-west as well as an explosion and about 30 shots and bursts of small-arms fire, 1-5km south and north-west.

The SMM continued monitoring in Kherson, Odessa, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, 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 (for example see SMM Daily Report 23 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:

• In Dovhe (non-government-controlled, 22km north-west of Luhansk), an armed man in camouflage clothing told the SMM to immediately leave the area, adding that the SMM should inform the armed formations prior to visiting the village.

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 demining had taken place 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 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 no demining had taken place during the previous 24 hours. The SMM did not consider it safe to proceed and informed the JCCC.4
• 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] 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. The SMM cameras at the entry-exit checkpoints in Marinka, Maiorsk and Pyshchevyk were not operational during the reporting period.

[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.