Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 8 August 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. An explosion occurred less than 150m from an SMM patrol at the entry-exit checkpoint near Marinka. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske, and observed ceasefire violations near the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas as well as in Novolaspa and, again, in Novoazovsk, Bezimenne and Zaichenko.*The Mission’s long-range unmanned aerial vehicle spotted convoys of trucks entering and exiting Ukraine via a dirt track where there are no border crossing facilities in a non-government-controlled area of Donetsk region in the middle of the night. The SMM continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station, including through monitoring the security situation around the station, as well as repairs and maintenance works to critical civilian infrastructure in Luhansk region. 

In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations[1], including about 160 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (about 140 explosions).[2]

On the evening and night of 7-8 August, the SMM camera 1km south-west of Pyshchevyk (government-controlled, 25km north-east of Mariupol) recorded 29 undetermined explosions, 167 projectiles in flight, a muzzle flash and two illumination flares, all 2-5km at easterly directions.

On 8 August, positioned on the eastern edge of Avdiivka (government-controlled, 17km north of Donetsk), the SMM heard 19 undetermined explosions and 14 bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire 3km north-north-east as well as ten undetermined explosions and 26 bursts and shots of heavy-machine-gun and small-arms fire 1km south-east.

While passing through the entry-exit checkpoint 2km south-east of Marinka (government-controlled, 23km south-west of Donetsk) at 14:47, the SMM heard an explosion and felt a shock wave emanating from a field just north-west of the checkpoint, 100-150m north-west of the SMM’s position. The SMM observed checkpoint personnel taking cover, but noted that pedestrians queuing at the checkpoint remained in place. A member of the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service at the checkpoint did not provide the SMM with further information. According to media reports, the explosion was caused by the detonation of a hand grenade.

In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations (six explosions) compared with the previous reporting period (eight explosions).

The SMM continued to monitor the disengagement process and to pursue full access to the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska (16km north-east of Luhansk), Zolote (60km west of Luhansk) and Petrivske (41km south of Donetsk)[3], 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.*

In the early morning of 8 August, the SMM camera at the Prince Ihor Monument south-east of the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge (15km north-east of Luhansk) recorded six explosions 2-6km north-east (assessed as outside the disengagement area).

Positioned near the Petrivske and Zolote disengagement areas, the SMM observed calm situations. 

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, an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) spotted two tanks (T‑72),  one probabletank and three towed howitzers (D-30 Lyagushka, 122mm) near Novohryhorivka (non-government-controlled, 33km west of Luhansk) on 8 August.Also on 8 August, the SMM saw three multiple launch rocket systems (BM-21 Grad, 122mm) in violation of withdrawal lines near Bakhmut (formerly Artemivsk, government-controlled, 67km north of Donetsk). 

Beyond withdrawal lines but outside of designated storage sites, in non-government-controlled areas, the SMM saw a tank (T-72) in the south-eastern outskirts of Luhansk city, and six towed howitzers (D-30) and five self-propelled howitzers (2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm) near Myrne (28km south-west of Luhansk).

The SMM observed armoured combat vehicles[4] and other signs of military presence in the security zone. In government-controlled areas, the SMM saw an armoured personnel carrier (BTR-80) near Volnovakha (53km south of Donetsk),an infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) (BTR-4) near Novobakhmutivka (28km north of Donetsk) and an IFV (undetermined BMP variant) near Zolote-4/Rodina (59km west of Luhansk). 

An SMM long-range UAV spotted convoys of trucks entering and exiting Ukraine via a dirt track where there are no border crossing facilities in the middle of the night. At 22:15 on 7 August, an SMM long-range UAV spotted a convoy of eight canvas-covered six-wheeled cargo trucks (five KamAZ-4310 and the rest undetermined) travelling east along a road near Chystiakove (non-government-controlled, 62km east of Donetsk). Near Manych (non-government-controlled, 76km east of Donetsk), approximately 3.5km before reaching Ukraine’s border with the Russian Federation, the convoy turned east onto a dirt track that leads across the border. The UAV then spotted a second convoy (consisting of an off-road vehicle (UAZ) leading six canvas-covered six-wheeled KamAZ cargo trucks and a box body truck) travelling westwards from the border with the Russian Federation along the same dirt track. The two convoys passed each other about five minutes after the second convoy entered Ukraine. At around 23:25, the UAV spotted the first convoy exiting Ukraine via the same dirt track. The second convoy was later joined by two additional KamAZ cargo trucks also coming from the direction of the border with the Russian Federation. Each of the convoys separately stopped for about three minutes next to an off-road vehicle that was parked in a field along the above-mentioned dirt track, 1.7km from the border, and again next to two trucks parked at the intersection of the dirt track and the paved road (3.5km from where the convoys crossed the border). At both spots, the occupants of the parked vehicles (the off-road vehicle in the field and the two trucks at the intersection) can be seen interacting with the drivers of each convoy’s lead vehicle. The convoy seen heading westward into Ukraine was observed driving west and finally parking at the southern outskirts of Khrustalnyi (formerly Krasnyi Luch, non-government-controlled, 56km south-west of Luhansk) at 01:16 on 8 August.

On 7 August, the SMM for the first time observed what it assessed to be an improvised camp consisting of six armoured reconnaissance vehicles (BRDM variants) and 15 military-type trucks (two KamAZ variants, four Ural variants, two KrAZ variants, six ZIL variants and one of undetermined manufacture, all painted in shades of green), one bearing white-on-black licence plates with the prefix “DK” in Cyrillic letters, 2km east of Cheremshyne (non-government-controlled, 59km south-east of Luhansk). The vehicles were parked close to one another and camouflage netting was strung from one of them. About 1.6km east of the camp, there is an unguarded road crossing into the Russian Federation which is barricaded with a metal bar. 

The SMM saw a previously unobserved mine hazard sign. In Popasne (government-controlled, 59km north-west of Luhansk), the SMM for the first time saw a red, 20x20cm square sign reading “Stop mines” in Russian near a house on Lenina Street, in the front yard of which it observed five soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. One of the soldiers told the SMM that the sign had been placed there to deter local residents from approaching the premises. 

The SMM continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station, including through monitoring adherence to the ceasefire. Positioned in areas near the station, the SMM heard ceasefire violations, despite explicit security guarantees (see table below).

The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repair works to a water pumping station near Artema, to water distribution infrastructure near Obozne (non-government-controlled, 18km north of Luhansk), Stanytsia Luhanska, Nyzhnie (government-controlled, 56km north-west of Luhansk) and Novotoshkivske (government-controlled, 53km west of Luhansk), electrical infrastructure in Obozne and Zolote-5/Mykhailivka (non-government-controlled, 58km west of Luhansk) and Berezivske (non-government-controlled, 53km north-west of Luhansk) and a parking lot in Popasna (government-controlled, 69km west of Luhansk).  

In Kyiv, on 7 August, the SMM observed about 70 men (in their twenties), many with the insignia of groups such as Sich, National Corps and Natsionalni Druzhyny,gathered in a courtroom of the Kyiv Court of Appeals (2A Solomianska Street) for the hearing of a petition by a senior member of Sichto modify the terms of his house arrest. The SMM also saw ten media crews and about ten national police officers and 50 National Guards. The court changed the terms of the appellant’s house arrest from 24 hours a day to night hours only.

In Odessa on 7 August, the SMM followed up on investigations related to recent incidents of defamatory graffiti (see SMM Daily Report 27 July 2018). A representative of the regional police department told the SMM that three recent incidents, as well as similar incidents from winter 2018, were under investigation and suspects had been identified and questioned by police. 

In Dnipro on 6 August, the SMM followed up on conditions of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in a dormitory in Zaporizhzhia (69km south of Dnipro). The SMM saw small, non-air-conditioned rooms with mould and fungus inside, and was told by an interlocutor that 68 families lived in the dormitory which, they said, had no heating in winter. Some residents of the dormitory told the SMM that they had met the criteria for financial aid from the Zaporizhzhia City Aid Centre but had not received such aid, possibly based on their communal utilities debts. In response to the difficult living conditions and lack of aid, the same interlocutor said that about ten IDPs at the dormitory had commenced a hunger strike on 25 July 2018 that has since ceased.  

The SMM continued monitoring in Kherson, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Chernivtsi and Kyiv.

*Restrictions of the 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 Coordination (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 of 7 August 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

Denials of access:

• At a checkpoint 2.5km west of Bezimenne (non-government-controlled, 30km east of Mariupol), two armed members of the armed formations again denied the SMM passage to road E58.
• At a checkpoint 800m north of Zaichenko (non-government-controlled, 26km north-east of Mariupol), armed members of the armed formations again stopped the SMM and denied it passage westward to Pikuzy (formerly Kominternove, non‑government-controlled, 23km north-east of Mariupol) and southward to Sakhanka (non-government-controlled, 24km north-east of Mariupol).
• The SMM was able to pass through a checkpoint near Novoazovsk (non-government-controlled, 102km south-east of Donetsk) towards Novoazovsk, where its passage has been denied on numerous occasions (see SMM Daily Report of 4 August 2018) but, upon its return to the checkpoint, was told by five armed men that it could not travel east (toward a nearby crossing point on the border with the Russian Federation) nor turn around back towards Novoazovsk. The SMM was able to travel north through the checkpoint. (The SMM spoke with a member of the armed formations in Bezimenne regarding the frequent restrictions to its freedom of movement near Novoazovsk and was told that the armed formations were undertaking these actions in order to “safeguard” persons taking summer holidays in the area. He added that once the holiday season ends, the impediments of the SMM’s patrols to Novoazovsk will likely cease.)
• At a checkpoint on the eastern edge of Novolaspa (non-government-controlled, 50km south of Donetsk), five men in military-style clothing (two armed) prevented the SMM from entering the village.

Regular restrictions 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 telephone 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 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 telephone that no demining had taken place during the previous 24 hours. The SMM did not consider it safe to proceed and informed the JCCC.
• The SMM was prevented from accessing secondary roads south of the Zolote disengagement area due to the possible presence of mines and UXO. A member of the armed formations 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 Boikivske (formerly Telmanove, non-government-controlled, 67km south-east of Donetsk), where the SMM was attempting to follow up on reports of a civilian casualty, a doctor aggressively stated that the SMM was not allowed to enter the hospital without first receiving permission from local armed formations members and refused to provide the SMM with any information regarding the reported casualty.

[1]  For a complete breakdown of the ceasefire violations, please see the annexed table. 

[2]  Further review of imagery from SMM cameras at the DFS indicated that the projectiles, initially assessed in the SMM Daily Report of 7 August 2018 as multiple launch rocket system rounds, werefired from undetermined weapons.

[3]  Due to presence of mines, including those on a road between Bohdanivka and Petrivske, the SMM’s access to its camera in Petrivske remained limited; thus, the review of the camera footage may take place days later.

[4]  This hardware is not proscribed by the provisions of the Minsk agreements on the withdrawal of weapons.

[5]  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.