Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 27 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 24 hours. The Mission confirmed three civilian casualties in Zaitseve and Horlivka. It saw fresh damage from gunfire to a civilian property in a residential area of Staromykhailivka. The SMM saw a new position and trench inside the Zolote disengagement area, assessed as belonging to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. It heard ceasefire violations near the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas, as well as again in Zaichenko and near Novoazovsk, near the border with the Russian Federation.* The SMM observed a weapon in violation of withdrawal lines near Vodiane. The Mission observed that the entry-exit checkpoint in Maiorsk remained closed. The SMM continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station. It facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to water infrastructure in Luhansk region as well as repairs to residential houses in Avdiivka.

In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations[1], including about 120 explosions, compared with the previous 24 hours (about 70 explosions).

On the evening of 26 August, the SMM camera at the Donetsk Filtration Station (DFS) (15km north of Donetsk) recorded 36 undetermined explosions, about 100 projectiles in flight, three bursts and an illumination flare, all 1-4km at directions ranging from south-east to south-west.

On the evening of 26 August, while in Svitlodarsk (government-controlled, 57km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard eight undetermined explosions and about 70 shots and bursts of small-arms fire, all 3-8km east and south-east. The following day, while at the same location, the SMM heard about 70 undetermined explosions 2-6km east and south-east.

On 27 August, positioned in Horlivka (non-government-controlled, 39km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard four bursts of small-arms fire 1km south-east assessed as live-fire training inside the security zone, in violation of the decision of the Trilateral Contact Group of 3 March 2016 that prohibits the conduct of live-fire training in the security zone.

In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations and no explosions, compared with the previous 24 hours (about ten explosions).

The SMM confirmed three civilian casualties in Zaitseve and Horlivka from May and June 2018. In the first case, medical staff at hospital no. 2 in Horlivka told the SMM that a man (in his thirties) from Zaitseve (50km north-east of Donetsk) had been admitted on 8 June with a bullet wound to his chest. The SMM spoke by telephone with the man who said he had been injured in the afternoon of 8 June in the garden of his house on Yesenina Street in Zaitseve. A neighbour of the injured man told the Mission by telephone that on 8 June he had seen his neighbour lying on the ground in the garden of his house.

In the second case, on 4 July, a representative of the local community in Zaitseve told the SMM that on 15 June a woman (in her eighties) had sustained injuries outside her house during shelling. On the same day, the woman’s daughter told the Mission by telephone that her mother (in her eighties) had been injured outside her house on Brusylova Street in Zaitseve during shelling on the evening of 15 June and had been subsequently taken to no. 2 hospital in Horlivka. On 27 August, medical staff at hospital no. 2 in Horlivka told the SMM that the above-mentioned woman had been admitted on 15 June with multiple shrapnel wounds on her face, right shoulder, right thigh and left shin.

In the third case, on 27 August, medical staff at hospital no. 2 in Horlivka told the SMM that a man (in his forties) had been admitted on 13 May with a fractured right shoulder. A neighbour of the injured man told the SMM that on 13 May he had seen the man and his family entering the basement of their house on Polosukhina Street in the north-western part of Horlivka during shelling, when a shell had hit the western side of the roof, parts of which had subsequently fallen on the man causing injuries. On the site of the incident, the Mission saw that the front part of the house was damaged.

In the last two months, medical staff at hospital no. 2 in Horlivka repeatedly refused to share information with the SMM.

The SMM observed fresh damage to a civilian property in a residential area of Staromykhailivka (non-government-controlled, 15km west of Donetsk). At 101 Lenina Street, the SMM saw a 30-cm hole in a brick wall on the west-facing corner of a one-storey house. The SMM assessed the fire to have come from a westerly direction but it was unable to determine the type of weapon. A man who introduced himself as a neighbour told the Mission that there was shelling in the area on the evening of 24 August. (See also SMM Daily Report 27 August 2018.)

The SMM continued to monitor 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)[2], 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 25 August, an SMM mid-range unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) spotted three men in military-style clothing inside the Zolote disengagement area, about 160m from its southern edge and 780m from its eastern edge. On the same day, an SMM mini-UAV spotted a new position and a 15m-long trench system west of road T1316 inside the disengagement area, about 1km from its northern edge (not visible in imagery from 19 August 2018), assessed as belonging to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. On 27 August, the SMM saw newly built defensive positions surrounded by sandbags about 100m south of the bridge, assessed as belonging to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. On the road between the bridge and the Ukrainian Armed Forces checkpoint the Mission saw for the first time four concrete road barriers spaced approximately 3m apart.

Positioned on the eastern edge of the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area, the SMM heard 15 shots of small-arms fire 1-1.5km south-south-west (assessed as outside the 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 a government-controlled area, the SMM saw a surface-to-air missile system (9K35 Strela-10) near Vodiane (19km north-east of Mariupol).

Beyond withdrawal lines but outside designated storage sites in government-controlled areas, on 23 August an SMM mini-UAV spotted three tanks (T-72) and three towed howitzers (2A65 Msta-B, 152mm) near Manhush (111km south of Donetsk). On 25 August, an SMM mid-range UAV spotted a surface-to-air missile system (9K35) near Spirne (96km north of Donetsk) and five surface-to-air missile systems (9K33 Osa) near Verkhnokamianka (84km north-west of Luhansk).

The SMM observed armoured combat vehicles (ACV) and an anti-aircraft gun[3] in the security zone. In government-controlled areas, on 25 August, an SMM mini-UAV spotted six infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) (BMP-2) and an armoured recovery vehicle (BREM-2) near Zaitseve (62km north-east of Donetsk). On the same day, an SMM mid-range UAV spotted five IFVs (BMP-2) and two ACVs (type undetermined) near Zaitseve, an ACV (type undetermined) and two armoured personnel carriers (MT-LB) near Vershyna (63km north-east of Donetsk), an IFV (BMP-1) near Troitske (69km west of Luhansk), two IFVs (BMP variants) near Novotoshkivske (53km west of Luhansk) as well as an ACV (type undetermined) and an IFV (BMP-1) near Novozvanivka (70km west of Luhansk). On 27 August, the SMM saw two IFVs (BMP-1) in Popasna, three IFVs (BMP-2) near Zaitseve (62km north-east of Donetsk) and a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun system (ZSU-23-4 Shilka, 23mm) near Vodiane.

In non-government-controlled areas, on 25 August, an SMM mid-range UAV spotted a combat engineering vehicle (IMR-2) near Kalynove (60km west of Luhansk) and four ACVs (type undetermined) near Pervomaisk (58km west of Luhansk).

The SMM observed demining-related activities. About 500m from the north edge of Nikishyne (non-government-controlled, 60km north-east of Donetsk) the Mission saw two trucks parked next to the road and, in a field, ten members of the armed formations wearing clothes with “MChS” written on them. The Mission saw that the area was fenced off by tape.

The SMM continued to follow up on the closure of the entry-exit checkpoint in Maiorsk (government-controlled, 45km north-east of Donetsk) since 23 August (see SMM Daily Report of 27 August 2018). It saw no traffic through the checkpoint in either direction. At the checkpoint in Horlivka, across the contact line from the entry-exit checkpoint in Maiorsk, the Mission saw six people (four women and two men, in their fifties and sixties) waiting for the checkpoint in Maiorsk to be re-opened. One woman told the Mission she had been coming to the checkpoint to try to cross for the last four days and one man said he needed to travel to government-controlled areas as otherwise he would lose his pension.

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

The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to the Petrivske pumping station near Artema (government-controlled, 26km north of Luhansk), a water channel junction in Stanytsia Luhanska as well as a water pipeline near Zolote. The Mission continued to facilitate and monitor adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to residential houses in Avdiivka (government-controlled, 17km north of Donetsk) and demining on the western edge of Berezove (government-controlled, 31km south-west of Donetsk).

The SMM visited two border areas not under government control. While at a border crossing point near Marynivka (78km south-east of Donetsk) for about 30 minutes, the SMM saw 12 cars (two with Ukrainian and three with Russian Federation licence plates, as well as seven with “DPR” plates), one covered cargo truck with Ukrainian licence plates, a bus with “DPR” plates and nine pedestrians (six men and three women, age 30-50) exiting Ukraine. During the same time period, the Mission saw five cars (one with Ukrainian, two with Russian Federation and one with Armenian license plates, and one with “DPR” plates), and a bus with “DPR” plates entering Ukraine.

While at a border crossing point near Novoazovsk (40km east of Mariupol) for about 50 minutes, the SMM saw 15 cars (seven with Ukrainian, three with Russian Federation and one with Georgian licence plates, and four with “DPR” plates) entering Ukraine. During the same time, it saw 13 cars (four with Ukrainian and five with Russian Federation licence plates, and four with “DPR” plates) exiting Ukraine.

The SMM continued monitoring in Kherson, Odessa, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Dnipro, 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 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 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 checkpoint 800m north of Zaichenko (non-government-controlled, 26km north-east of Mariupol), two 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), citing “the SMM’s security”.
• At a checkpoint near Novoazovsk, two armed members of the armed formations again denied the SMM passage, citing “an ongoing operation in the area”. The SMM saw civilian cars passing the checkpoint.

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 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 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 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.
• At a checkpoint of the armed formations on the southern side of the bridge in Shchastia (government-controlled, 20km north of Luhansk), a member of the armed formations told the SMM that mines had not been cleared on the road leading north toward Shchastia. The SMM did not consider it safe to proceed.

Conditional access:

At a checkpoint near Staromykhailivka, a member of the armed formations allowed the SMM to proceed to the village of Staromykhailivka (see above) on the condition that the SMM vehicles would be escorted.

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

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

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

[4] 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.