Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 12 June 2018

This report is for the media and the general public.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission followed up on reports of civilian casualties in Holubivske. The SMM observed damage caused by shelling at a civilian residence in Dokuchaievsk. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations nearby and observed military equipment and new positions of the armed formations inside the Zolote disengagement area. The Mission’s access remained restricted in all three areas and it was also prevented from following up on civilian casualties at a hospital in an area outside of government control. The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in Zolote (outside the disengagement area) and Khlibodarivka. The Mission continued to facilitate the access of Voda Donbassa water company employees to the Donetsk Filtration Station through monitoring the security situation around the station. It continued to monitor and facilitate repairs to the Petrivske pumping station near Artema and water repairs near Holmivskyi.

In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations[1], including about 230 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (280 explosions).

On the evening and night of 11-12 June, the SMM camera at the Donetsk Filtration Station (DFS) (15km north of Donetsk) recorded, in sequence, two projectiles in flight from east to west, a projectile from west to east, a projectile from east to west, a projectile from west to east, two undetermined explosions and a projectile from west to east, all 3-5km south.

During the day on 12 June, positioned north-west of the railway station in Yasynuvata (non-government-controlled, 16km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard 14 undetermined explosions 5-8km north-north-west, small-arms fire 1km north-north-west, as well as two undetermined explosions and bursts of small-arms fire 1-3km west-south-west.

The same day, positioned on the south-eastern edge of Avdiivka (government-controlled, 17km north of Donetsk), the SMM heard two undetermined explosions 3-4km south-east. Positioned on the eastern edge of Avdiivka, the SMM heard an undetermined explosion and small-arms fire 3-4km south-east and south-south-east.

On the evening and night of 11-12 June, while in Svitlodarsk (government-controlled, 57km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard about 125 undetermined explosions and about 300 bursts of heavy-machine-gun and small-arms fire, all 3-5km south-east. During the day on 12 June, at the same location, the SMM heard five undetermined explosions 3-5km south-east.

On the evening and night of 11-12 June, the SMM camera at the entry-exit checkpoint in Maiorsk (government-controlled, 45km north-east of Donetsk) recorded, in sequence, three projectiles in flight from south to north, two bursts in flight from south-east to north-west, a projectile from south-east to north-west and six projectiles from south to north, followed by totals of nine undetermined explosions, 224 projectiles (172 from south to north, 51 from north to south, and one from south-east to north-west), 30 bursts (18 from south-east to north-west, 11 from south to north, and one from north to south) and an illumination flare from east to west, all 4-6km east-north-east.

In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations, including, however, two explosions, compared with the previous reporting period  (no explosions).

At a checkpoint of the armed formations in the Trudovski area of the Petrovskyi district in Donetsk city (non-government-controlled, 15km south-west of Donetsk city centre), a man in military-type clothing, who appeared to the SMM to be inebriated, threw a hammer in the direction of the SMM patrol members. The hammer flew over the patrol members’ heads and landed about 2m from two parked SMM vehicles, and the inebriated man then left the spot. A member of the armed formations from the nearby checkpoint apologized to the SMM for the other man’s behaviour.

The SMM continued to follow up on media reports of civilian casualties. In Holubivske (non-government-controlled, 51km west of Luhansk), a woman (45 years old) told the SMM that she had been a passenger on a bus that had been damaged during an explosion on 7 June. (See SMM Daily Report 8 June 2018.) The woman told the SMM that she had been injured and had shrapnel removed from her right shoulder. The woman said she had been standing behind the bus driver, and at about 10:30 she heard an explosion on the passenger side of the bus, which immediately blew out all the windows. She said there had been 18-19 passengers on the bus and she had heard screaming, and many of the passengers had blood and broken shards of glass on them. She said she had been treated at, and later released from the hospital in Holubivka (formerly Kirovske, 51km west of Luhansk) the same day.

The SMM observed damage caused by shelling at a civilian residence in Dokuchaievsk (non-government-controlled, 30km south-west of Donetsk). On the third floor of an apartment building at 15 Vatutina Street, the SMM observed damage to the outer wall and window frame of a balcony on the south-west side of the building, assessed as caused by shrapnel. The SMM saw that the glass had been broken out of the window frame and that the frame and window sill were dotted with holes caused by shrapnel. The SMM saw a hole caused by shrapnel in the ceiling of the living room. The SMM assessed that the damage was caused by a round fired from a south-westerly direction. A couple residing in the apartment told the SMM that they had heard shooting and explosions that caused the damage around 06:00 on 12 June and that they had been at home with their daughter (13 years old) at the time. 

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 11 June, an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) spotted an infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) (BMP-2) in Katerynivka (government-controlled, 64km west of Luhansk) (inside the Zolote disengagement area). The same day, an SMM mini-UAV spotted an anti-aircraft gun (ZU-23, 23mm) mounted on a truck inside the southern edge of the Zolote disengagement area, about 2km north-east of Molodizhne (non-government-controlled, 63km north-west of Luhansk). The SMM mini-UAV also spotted new military-type positions under construction adjacent to previously observed trenches of the armed formations, about 60m inside the southern edge of the disengagement area (not visible in imagery from 28 May 2018).

On the night of 12 June, the SMM camera in Zolote recorded, in sequence, an undetermined explosion and three projectiles in flight from north-west to south-east, all 4-8km east-north-east and east (all assessed as outside the disengagement area).

While on the eastern edge of Stanytsia Luhanska during the early morning of 12 June, the SMM heard an explosion 5-7km west (assessed as outside the disengagement area). During the day, positioned in the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area, the SMM observed a calm situation.

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 12 June, the SMM saw four multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) (BM-21 Grad, 122mm) in a military compound near Khlibodarivka (65km south-west of Donetsk) (see SMM Daily Report 22 May 2018), and a surface-to-air missile system (9K35 Strela-10) in Zolote-3 (government-controlled, 61km west of Luhansk), about 1.5km north-west of the Zolote disengagement area.

Beyond withdrawal lines but outside of designated storage sites in government-controlled areas, the SMM saw three tanks (T-72) near Zelene Pole (40km north-west of Donetsk), two towed howitzers (2A36 Giatsint-B, 152mm) near Khlibodarivka and eight self-propelled howitzers (2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm) in a military compound near Kalynove (formerly Kalinine, 65km south-west 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 beyond the respective withdrawal lines in Luhansk region, the SMM saw five towed howitzers (2A65 Msta-B, 152mm) and four anti-tank guns (MT-12 Rapira, 100mm) and noted that 34 towed howitzers (26 2A65 and eight 2A36) and twelve anti-tank guns (MT-12) continued to be missing.

The SMM observed armoured combat vehicles (ACV), an anti-aircraft weapon[2] and fresh craters in the security zone. In government-controlled areas, on 11 June, an SMM long-range UAV spotted eight IFVs (two BMP-1, three BMP-2 and three BMP variants) and an armoured personnel carrier (APC) (MT-LB) near Troitske (30km north of Donetsk), an IFV (BMP-1) near Hranitne (60km south of Donetsk) and three IFVs (two BMP-1 and a BMP-2) in Novoselivka (66km south of Donetsk). On 12 June, the SMM saw two IFVs (BMP variant), one of which was next to a school, in Zolote-3.

In non-government-controlled areas, on 11 June, an SMM long-range UAV spotted a camouflaged ACV (type unknown) near Veselohorivka (64km west of Luhansk), an IFV (BMP-1) near Kalynove (60km west of Luhansk) and an anti-aircraft gun (ZU-23) mounted on a truck near Shyroka Balka (34km north-east of Donetsk). On 12 June, the SMM saw an APC (BTR-80) in Holubivske (51km west of Luhansk) and six APCs (MT-LB) near Pervomaisk (58km west of Luhansk).

On 11 June, near Popasna (government-controlled, 69km north-west of Luhansk), an SMM mini-UAV spotted six fresh craters in a field about 1.3km north-east of the closest civilian house, assessed as caused by 122mm artillery rounds fired from a south-easterly direction.

The SMM continued to facilitate the access of Voda Donbassa water company employees to and from the DFS, as well as demining activities around the station, through monitoring adherence to the ceasefire. Positioned in areas near the DFS, the SMM heard ceasefire violations, despite explicit security guarantees (see above and the table below for ceasefire violations).

The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs to the Petrivske pumping station near Artema (government-controlled, 26km north of Luhansk) and to 3km of a water pipeline by a Voda Donbassa repair team near Holmivskyi (non-government-controlled, 49km north-east of Donetsk). The SMM also facilitated and monitored ongoing construction of a winter shelter near the Maiorsk entry-exit checkpoint by an international organization. 

The SMM continued to see unexploded ordnance (UXO). On 11 June, in Pervomaisk, the SMM saw an 82mm mortar round on the territory of a coal mine. On road T-0504, the SMM saw the remnants of an artillery shell (122mm) embedded in the concrete and two rounds of ammunition (7.62mm) near an abandoned fuel station on the north-western edge of Pervomaisk. About 8m west of a road 700m south-west of Molodizhne, the SMM saw the tailfin of an artillery round lodged in a tree, about 120-150cm from the ground, and an expended rocket-propelled-grenade round near a building on the north-eastern edge of Molodizhne.

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, 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 12 June 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:

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. 4
• 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.

Other impediments:

• At a hospital in Rovenky (non-government-controlled, 54km south of Luhansk), while the SMM was speaking to the chief doctor, the hospital “administration” instructed the doctor not to speak to the SMM and said that all future visits by the SMM should be co-ordinated with the armed formations in Luhansk city.

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