Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 3 May 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 reporting period. The SMM followed up on reports of a civilian casualty in Bakhmut. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere, including at one of the four crossing points visited at the border with the Russian Federation in non-government-controlled areas. The SMM observed a weapon in violation of withdrawal lines in Pobeda. The SMM continued to facilitate access to the Donetsk Filtration Station for Voda Donbassa water company employees to keep the station functioning; it heard ceasefire violations in the area despite security guarantees. It also continued to facilitate and monitor repairs to high-voltage power lines near Yuzhna-Lomuvatka and to the Petrivske pumping station. In Balakliia, the Mission followed up on reports of explosions at an ammunition storage depot. In Vinnytsia, the SMM monitored a gathering of internally displaced persons.

In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations[1], including about 1,240 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (about 170 explosions).

On the evening and night of 2-3 May, while in Svitlodarsk (government-controlled, 57km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard about 360 undetermined explosions, 721 bursts of heavy-machine-gun and infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) (BMP-2) cannon (30mm) fire, 58 rounds of anti-aircraft cannon fire and 65 shots of small-arms fire, all 5-8km at directions ranging from south-east to south-west. During the day on 3 May, the SMM heard about 870 undetermined explosions and about 680 bursts of heavy-machine-gun and IFV (BMP-2) cannon fire, all 3-6km at directions ranging from east to south-east.

On the night of 2-3 May, the SMM camera at the Donetsk Filtration Station (DFS) (15km north of Donetsk) recorded, in sequence, two projectiles in flight from south to north, three projectiles from north to south and a projectile from south to north, followed by totals of three undetermined explosions, 26 projectiles from north to south and a projectile from south to north, all 1-3km west. During the day on 3 May, positioned at the DFS, the SMM heard two undetermined explosions 2km south-west.

On the night of 2-3 May, the SMM camera at the entry-exit checkpoint in Maiorsk (government-controlled, 45km north-east of Donetsk) recorded, in sequence, four projectiles in flight from north to south, an illumination flare in vertical flight and nine projectiles from north to south, followed by totals of seven undetermined explosions and two projectiles from south to north, all 1-2km east.

On the evening of 2 May, while in Horlivka (non-government-controlled, 39km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard 36 undetermined explosions 6-8km south-west.

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

The SMM followed up on reports of a civilian casualty. On 2 May, police in Bakhmut (government-controlled, 67km north of Donetsk) told the SMM that on 1 May at 12:30 a man (aged 25) had sustained injuries when he had stepped on an unknown explosive device while walking into a forest near the Maiorsk entry-exit checkpoint. A member of the medical staff of the military section of Bakhmut Central Hospital told the SMM that on 1 May a man (aged 25) had been admitted to the hospital with dozens of soft tissue shrapnel injuries all over his body, including a fragment stuck in his upper jaw, but no damage to internal organs. The staff member added that the man had then been transported to a hospital in Dnipro for further treatment.

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 27 April, the SMM camera in Petrivske recorded nine undetermined explosions 2-3km south, south-south-west and south-west, assessed as inside the disengagement area.

On the evening of 29 April, the SMM camera in Zolote (government-controlled, 60km north-west of Luhansk) recorded a projectile in flight from west to east, 300-500m south (the SMM was unable to assess if inside or outside the disengagement area).

On 1 May, an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) spotted an anti-aircraft gun (ZU-23, 23mm) inside the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. During the day on 3 May, while on the eastern edge of Stanytsia Luhanska, the SMM heard two undetermined explosions 5km south-west (assessed as outside the disengagement area).

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 government-controlled area, the SMM saw a surface-to-air missile system (9K35 Strela-10) on the eastern edge of Pobeda (27km west of Donetsk).

In a non-government-controlled area, in a zone within which deployment of heavy armaments and military equipment is proscribed according to Point 5 of the Memorandum of 19 September 2014, the SMM saw ten tanks (T-64) near Svobodne (73km south 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, the SMM saw 12 multiple-launch-rocket systems (BM-27 Uragan, 220mm).

The SMM observed armoured combat vehicles and an anti-aircraft gun [2] in the security zone. In government-controlled-areas, on 1 May an SMM mid-range UAV spotted three armoured personnel carriers (APC) (MT-LB) in a residential area of Kamianka (20km north of Donetsk). On 2 May, an SMM mid-range UAV spotted five APCs (BTR-70), an IFV (BMP-1), and an anti-aircraft gun (ZU-23) in residential areas in Avdiivka (17km north of Donetsk). On 2 May, the SMM observed eight IFVs (BMP-1) and an armoured recovery vehicle (BREM-Ch) near Popasna (69km west of Luhansk). On 3 May, the SMM saw an APC (BTR-80) near Komyshuvakha (68km west of Luhansk).

In a non-government-controlled area, in a zone within which deployment of heavy armaments and military equipment is proscribed according to Point 5 of the Memorandum of 19 September 2014, the SMM observed five IFVs (BMP-2) near Svobodne. In non-government-controlled areas, an SMM mid-range UAV spotted four APCs (three BTR-70 and an MT-LB) in a residential area of Vasylivka (20km north of Donetsk). On 3 May, an SMM patrol observed an armoured recovery vehicle (BREM-1) in Donetsk city centre.

The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs to high-voltage power lines near Yuzhna-Lomuvatka (non-government-controlled, 60km west of Luhansk) and to the Petrivske pumping station near Artema (government-controlled, 26km north of Luhansk)

The SMM continued to facilitate the access of Voda Donbassa water company employees to the DFS in order to keep the station operational. Despite security guarantees having been provided, positioned 1.1km north-west of Yasynuvata (non-government-controlled, 16km north-east of Donetsk), in Kruta Balka (non-government-controlled, 16km north of Donetsk) and at the DFS, the SMM heard ceasefire violations in the area (see ceasefire violations table below).

The SMM visited four border areas not under government control. While at a pedestrian border crossing point near Verkhnoharasymivka (57km south-east of Luhansk) for about 25 minutes, the SMM did not observe any cross-border traffic.

Upon arrival at a border crossing point near Izvaryne (52km south-east of Luhansk), a member of the armed formations told the SMM to leave the area.* While present for ten minutes, the SMM saw 47 cars (26 with Ukrainian, 18 with Russian Federation licence plates and three with “LPR” plates), 25 pedestrians (14 men and 11 women, 20-60 years old), a bus (with Ukrainian licence plates) and 13 cargo trucks (contents not visible)  (six with Ukrainian, three with Russian Federation and four with Belarussian licence plates) queuing to exit Ukraine.

While at a border crossing point near Marynivka (78km east of Donetsk) for 50 minutes, the SMM saw 20 cars (nine with Ukrainian, nine with Russian Federation licence plates, and two with “DPR” plates) and four trucks (three with Ukrainian licence plates, one with “DPR” plates) exiting Ukraine. The SMM also saw 16 cars (eight with Ukrainian, four with Russian Federation and one with Polish licence plates, and three with “DPR” plates) and three pedestrians (one woman in her 30s, one in her 50s; and a man in his 30s) entering Ukraine. 

While at a border crossing point near Novoazovsk (102km south-east of Donetsk) for about 20 minutes, the SMM observed eight cars (five with Ukrainian licence plates, three with “DPR” plates) and two cargo trucks (with “DPR” plates) exiting Ukraine, and four cars (with “DPR” plates) entering Ukraine.

The SMM followed up on reports of explosions in Balakliia (74km south-east of Kharkiv). A police officer from Balakliia district told the SMM that a series of explosions had begun at 13:00 on 3 May at the ammunition storage depot in the city. In Balakliia city centre, two interlocutors (man and woman, mid-30s) told the SMM that they had heard explosions in Balakliia during the day. The abovementioned woman told the SMM that from 13:00 to 14:00 she had seen black smoke coming from the depot and heard explosions every 3-5 minutes. On 4 May (outside of the reporting period), another woman (40 years old) told the SMM that she had heard a loud explosion at 05:00 on 4 May, followed by other occasional explosions and seen firefighters working through the night and helicopters flying over the city.  

The SMM monitored a gathering of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Vinnytsia (214km north-east of Chernivtsi) outside the City Council building. About 150 IDPs (equal numbers of men and women, most aged over 40 years old) collected signatures for a petition and held posters and banners calling on the mayor to provide more social housing for IDPs in Vinnytsia region. The SMM saw about ten police officers present, and the gathering ended peacefully.

The SMM continued monitoring in Kherson, Odessa, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Dnipro 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 (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:

• While present at a border crossing point near Izvaryne, a member of the armed formations demanded that the SMM leave the area.
• During the day on 3 May, two members of the armed formations stopped an SMM patrol 1.2km north-west of Donetsk city and denied it access to SMM acoustic sensor equipment in Donetsk city, saying that it needed permission from other members of the armed formations.

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 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.

Other impediments:

• The SMM temporarily lost communication with a mid-range UAV flying over an area south-east of Lomakyne (government controlled, 15km north-east of Mariupol), assessed as due to jamming. The SMM was able to recall the UAV.

[1] For a complete breakdown of the ceasefire violations, please see the annexed table. The SMM camera at the entry-exit checkpoint in Marinka was 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.