Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 30 May 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. Small arms were fired in the direction of an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle near Krynychanske. The SMM followed up on reports of a civilian casualty in Holmivskyi. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. It heard an explosion and saw dark grey smoke 200-300m from its position near the Petrivske disengagement area. The Mission’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere, including near Izvaryne and Dovzhanske at the border with the Russian Federation. The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Novotroitske, Mykolaivka and Novoselivka. The Mission’s facilitation of the access of Voda Donbassa water company employees to the Donetsk Filtration Station and of repair works and demining activities in the area, in order to keep the station operational, was interrupted due to ceasefire violations in the area, despite security guarantees. The SMM continued to monitor and facilitate repairs to high-voltage power lines near Yuzhna-Lomuvatka and Almazna and to the Petrivske pumping station near Artema.

In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations[1], including, however, fewer explosions (about 130), compared with the previous reporting period (about 215 explosions).

On the evening of 29 May, the SMM camera at the Donetsk Filtration Station (DFS) recorded, in sequence, a tracer round in flight from south to north, six tracer rounds from south-east to north-west and three tracer rounds from north to south, followed by a total of seven projectiles in flight (two from north to south, three from south to north and two from east to west), all 200-500m west.

During the day on 30 May, positioned in Yasynuvata (non-government-controlled, 16km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard four undetermined explosions 2-3km south-west. Positioned about 1km north-west of the railway station in Yasynuvata, the SMM heard six undetermined explosions 3-5km west-south-west and a burst of small-arms fire 2km north-north-west.

On the evening and night of 29-30 May, while in Svitlodarsk (government-controlled, 57km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard 19 explosions assessed as outgoing mortar rounds 1-2km south-south-east and their subsequent impacts 5-6km south-south-east, as well as 72 explosions assessed as impacts (45 of mortar rounds and the remainder undetermined), two undetermined explosions and more than 600 bursts and shots of heavy-machine-gun, infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) (BMP-2) cannon fire, automatic-grenade-launcher and small-arms fire, all 1-5km at directions ranging from south-east to south. During the day on 30 May, the SMM heard four explosions (two assessed as impacts of mortar rounds and two undetermined) 3-6km south-east.

On the evening of 29 May, while in Horlivka (non-government-controlled, 39km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard seven undetermined explosions and heard and saw four illumination flares, all 3-5km north-west.

In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, including 21 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (two explosions).

During the day on 30 May, positioned 0.4km east of Mykolaivka (government-controlled, 77km west of Luhansk), the SMM heard 14 explosions assessed as outgoing rounds as well as 15 bursts of heavy-machine-gun and 32 shots of small-arms fire, all 3-4km north-west (assessed as part of a live-fire training exercise outside the security zone).

Small-arms fire was directed at an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Positioned about 600m west of Krynychanske (non-government-controlled, formerly Chervonohvardiiske, 42km west of Luhansk) while conducting three simultaneous mini-UAV flights in the area, the SMM heard 20 shots of small-arms fire 800-900m north-west, in the area where one of the mini-UAVs was flying. The Mission assessed the fire as directed at the mini-UAV, which the SMM landed without damage.

The SMM followed up on reports of a civilian casualty in Holmivskyi (non-government-controlled, 49km north-east of Donetsk). Medical staff at hospital no. 2 in Horlivka told the SMM on 7 May that an 80-year-old man from Holmivskyi had been admitted with shrapnel wounds to the chest on 6 May and released the same day. On 30 May, the man’s daughter-in-law and a neighbour separately told the SMM that they had seen the man with shrapnel wounds in the garden of his house on 2 Zahorodnia Street in Holmivskyi during the day on 6 May. The neighbour also said that she had seen the shelling.

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 the evening of 29 May, while on the eastern edge of Stanytsia Luhanska, the SMM heard an undetermined explosion and 19 bursts of small-arms fire, all 3-5km south-south-east and south (assessed as outside the disengagement area).

On 30 May, the SMM observed reinforcement works with tyres and sand bags at the forward position of the armed formations, south of the wooden ramps connecting the broken parts of the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge.

On the evening and night of 29-30 May, the SMM camera in Zolote recorded, in sequence, two undetermined explosions, 11 projectiles and two bursts in vertical flight, four projectiles from south to north, a projectile from north to south and a projectile from south to north, all 3-14km east and south-east (all assessed as outside the disengagement area).

During the day on 30 May, positioned at the SMM camera site just outside the disengagement area near Petrivske, the SMM heard a whistling sound followed by an explosion and saw dark grey smoke 200-300m south-south-west, assessed as outside the disengagement area. The SMM assessed the explosion as an impact of a mortar (82mm) round (see SMM Spot Report 30 May 2018).

On 29 May, an SMM long-range UAV spotted four IFVs (BMP-2) north-east of Bohdanivka (41km south-west of Donetsk) and about 1.5km north of the Petrivske disengagement area.

The SMM continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons in implementation of the Memorandum and the Package of Measures and its Addendum.

In violation of withdrawal lines, in government-controlled areas, on 29 May, an SMM long-range UAV spotted an anti-tank gun (MT-12 Rapira, 100mm) north-east of Novotroitske (36km south-west of Donetsk). On 30 May, the SMM saw a surface-to-air missile system (9K33 Osa) south of Mykolaivka (77km west of Luhansk), heading south-east.

In violation of withdrawal lines, in a non-government-controlled area, aerial imagery on 26 May revealed the presence of six towed howitzers (or mortars) (type undetermined) 1km east of Novoselivka (37km north-east of Donetsk).

Beyond withdrawal lines but outside designated storage sites in a government-controlled area, on 29 May, an SMM long-range UAV spotted a surface-to-air missile system (9K33 Osa) near Kalynove (35km north of Donetsk).

The SMM observed armoured combat vehicles[2] in the security zone. In government-controlled areas, on 29 May, an SMM long-range UAV spotted two armoured reconnaissance vehicles (BRDM-2) and an IFV (BMP-1) near Nevelske (18km north-west of Donetsk), two IFVs (BMP-2 and a BMP variant) north-east of Novomykhailivka (28km south-west of Donetsk), an IFV (BMP variant) near Novohnativka (40km south of Donetsk), 15 IFVs (nine BMP variants and six BMP-1) near Novotroitske, an APC (MT-LB) and three IFVs (two BMP-1 and one BMP-2) near Berezove (31km south-west of Donetsk) and two IFVs (BMP variants) near Slavne (26km south-west of Donetsk). The same day, the SMM saw two IFVs (BMP-1) and an armoured recovery vehicle (BREM-Ch) near Popasna (69km west of Luhansk).

In non-government-controlled areas, an SMM long-range UAV on 29 May spotted three IFVs (BMP-1) near Styla (34km south of Donetsk), two IFVs (BMP variants) near Dokuchaievsk (30km south-west of Donetsk) and two IFVs (one BMP-1 and one BMP-2) near Olenivka (23km south-west of Donetsk).

In non-government-controlled areas, aerial imagery on 26 May revealed at least 115 impacts of undetermined weapon rounds (not seen in imagery from 28 April 2018) 2km north-west of Shyroka Balka (non-government-controlled, 34km north-east of Donetsk) and 9km west of Horlivka.

The SMM’s facilitation of the access of Voda Donbassa water company employees to the DFS, as well as of repair works to the DFS and demining activities around the station was interrupted due to ceasefire violations in the area (see above and the table for ceasefire violations heard from the SMM’s positions in Yasynuvata and Avdiivka), despite explicit security guarantees. At the junction of road H20 and M04, about 1km south of the DFS, the SMM saw two armed men in military-style clothing walking along road M04.

The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs to high-voltage power lines near Yuzhna-Lomuvatka (non-government-controlled, 60km west of Luhansk) and Almazna (non-government-controlled, 55km west of Luhansk) and the Petrivske pumping station near Artema (government-controlled, 26km north of Luhansk). 

The SMM visited two border areas not under government control. 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 there for about 20 minutes, the SMM saw nine cars and a bus (licence plates not visible) exiting Ukraine and three cars (two with Russian Federation and one with Ukrainian licence plates) and 26 pedestrians (15 women and 11 men, between 35 and 65 years old) entering Ukraine.

While at a border crossing point near Dovzhanske (84km south-east of Luhansk) for about 20 minutes, the SMM saw three cars with Ukrainian licence plates entering Ukraine. A member of the armed formations then approached the SMM and told it to leave the area.*

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 (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:

• At a border crossing point near Izvaryne, an armed member of the armed formations told the SMM to leave the area.
• At a border crossing point near Dovzhanske, an armed member of the armed formations told the SMM to leave the area.

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 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.[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.5
• 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:

• An SMM mid-range UAV was jammed while flying over an area near Chermalyk (government-controlled, 31km north-east of Mariupol). The SMM landed the UAV without any damage. [4]
• Positioned west of Krynychanske, the SMM heard 20 shots of small-arms fire in the area where it was flying a mini-UAV and assessed them as directed at the UAV, which was landed without any damage.
• The SMM long-range UAV was jammed while flying over areas near Talakivka (government-controlled, 90km south of Donetsk), Mykolaivka (non-government-controlled, 70km south of Donetsk) and east of Novolaspa (non-government-controlled, 50km south of Donetsk). The UAV was then landed without any damage.

[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 camera at the entry-exit checkpoint in Marinka was 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.

[4] The interference could have originated from anywhere in a radius of several kilometres of the UAV’s position.