Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 28 September 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. In Pikuzy, the Mission followed up on reports of civilian casualties and observed fresh damage caused by shelling. In Pervomaisk, the SMM observed fresh damage caused by shelling. The Mission recorded a ceasefire violation inside the Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas as well as near Zaichenko, Novolaspa, Siedove and Novoazovsk near the border with the Russian Federation.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of agreed withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission again observed anti-tank mines near Travneve and Holmivskyi. The SMM continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station. The Mission also facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs and maintenance to the phenol sludge reservoir near Zalizne, to the Krasnohorivka gas distribution station and to water infrastructure in Stanytsia Luhanska and near Artema. In Lviv, the SMM followed up on reports of an attack against civil activists. The Mission monitored public gatherings in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Lviv in relation to attacks against activists in recent months.

In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations,[1] including about 240 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (about 100 explosions).

On the evening of 27 September, the SMM camera at the Donetsk Filtration Station (DFS) (15km north of Donetsk) recorded three undetermined explosions, five projectiles (four from west to east and one from east to west) and a muzzle flash, all 0.5km-1.5km south-east, south-south-east and south. The camera also recorded ten undetermined explosions, about 70 projectiles in flight (mostly from west to east, from west-north-west to east-south-east and from west-south-west to east-north-east), a muzzle flash and an illumination flare in vertical flight, all 1-5km at directions ranging from south-east to south-south-west.

On the evening and night of 27-28 September, the SMM camera in Chermalyk (government-controlled, 31km north-east of Mariupol) recorded over 100 projectiles (mostly from west-south-west to east-north-east and from north-west to south-east) and four bursts, all 1-5km at directions ranging from south-east and south-south-west.

On the evening and night of 27-28 September, the SMM camera 1.5km north-east of Hnutove (government-controlled, 20km north-east of Mariupol) recorded an undetermined explosion and about 50 projectiles in flight (the majority from south to north), all 2-5km at directions ranging from north-east to east-south-east.

On the evening of 27 September, while in Svitlodarsk (government-controlled, 57km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard about 30 undetermined explosions and about 80 bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire, all 2-6km south-west and west-south-west.

During the day on 28 September, positioned about 1km north-west of the railway station in Yasynuvata (non-government-controlled, 16km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard ten undetermined explosions and about 130 shots and bursts of heavy-machine-gun and small-arms fire, all 1-3km north, as well as an undetermined explosion and about 170 shots and bursts of heavy-machine-gun and small-arms fire, all 1-3km south-west.

The same day, positioned about 1km north-north-west of Pyshchevyk (government-controlled, 25km north-east of Mariupol), the SMM heard about 100 undetermined explosions and about 40 shots and bursts of heavy-machine-gun and small-arms fire, all 0.7-4km at directions ranging from north-north-east to south-south-west.

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

On the evening and night of 27-28 September, the SMM camera in Kriakivka (government-controlled, 38km north-west of Luhansk) recorded four undetermined explosions and about 70 projectiles in flight (mostly from north-north-west to east-south-east), all 2-4km south-west and south-south-west.

The SMM followed up reports of civilian casualties and fresh damage caused by shelling in Pikuzy (formerly Kominternove, non-government-controlled, 23km north-east of Mariupol). On 26 September, near Kulykove (non-government-controlled, 30km northeast of Mariupol), a couple (in their fifties) told the SMM that they had sustained shrapnel injuries due to shelling in Pikuzy earlier that day. The SMM saw a bandage on the man’s abdomen and did not see a visible wound to his wife. The man said that they had attempted to travel to a hospital in Mariupol (government-controlled, 102km south of Donetsk) but their passage had been denied at a checkpoint in Verkhnoshyrokivske (formerly Oktiabr, non-government-controlled, 29km north-east of Mariupol). Later, the SMM’s paramedic provided first aid to the man, and an ambulance arrived and picked up the couple. The following day, medical staff at a hospital in Novoazovsk (non-government-controlled, 40km east of Mariupol) told the SMM that the couple had been admitted on 26 September and that the man had undergone surgery. At the hospital, the injured woman told the SMM that two pieces of shrapnel remained in her leg and neck. (The SMM visited the hospital only upon being escorted by members of the armed formations. See SMM Daily Report 28 September 2018.)

In Pikuzy, on 27 September, a woman in her sixties, who introduced herself as a relative of the wounded couple (see above), told the SMM that at around 12:40 on 26 September when she and the couple had been in front of her house at 34 Akhmatova Street, an explosion had occurred nearby, injuring the three of them. The SMM saw a wound to her right arm. About 50m south-east of the house, the SMM saw fresh remnants of a round (consistent with a VOG-17 grenade) embedded in the tarmac in a vertical fashion, assessed as fired vertically from an undetermined weapon (with calibre no greater than 30mm). About 50m further east, within a 20m-radius, the SMM saw three more similar impacts in a field, assessed as fired from an undetermined weapon (with calibre no greater than 30mm) probably in a vertical manner.

At 24 Akhmatova Street, the SMM saw fresh shrapnel damage to the west-north-west-facing side of a house and a nearby window, as well as two fresh craters about 10m west of the house assessed as caused by rounds of an automatic grenade launcher fired from a west-north-westerly direction.

At 17 Akhmatova Street, the SMM saw a fresh crater just south of a house, fresh shrapnel damage to a south-facing nearby fence, and fresh remnants of a grenade (PG-7) round, assessed as fired from a westerly direction. The SMM also saw two fresh small-arms casings nearby, assessed as remnants of rounds fired from the area.

At 15 Akhmatova Street, the SMM observed three fresh holes in the south-west-facing roofs of a storage building and another fresh hole in the north-east-facing roof. Inside the building, the SMM saw fresh remnants of at least four grenade (PG-7 and PG-9) rounds. The SMM assessed that the damage had been caused by rounds of an automatic grenade launcher fired from a direction between south and west.

Residents of the houses (a man and a woman in their fifties) at 17 and 24 Akhmatova Street told the SMM that they had heard explosions between 17:00 and 17:15 on 25 September. (The SMM had recently observed a tank (a possible T-72) on the eastern edge of Pikuzy, about 500m north-east of the abovementioned impact sites. See SMM Daily Report 22 September 2018.)

On 27 September, the SMM observed fresh damage caused by shelling in Pervomaisk (non-government-controlled, 58km west of Luhansk). At 31 Vinnytska Street, the SMM saw a fresh crater about 10m east of a house as well as two shattered east-facing windows of the house. The SMM was unable to determine the direction of fire or the type of weapon used. Three neighbours (women in their sixties) told the SMM that they had heard explosions at around 20:00 on 26 September.

At 27 Luhova Street, the SMM saw a fresh crater and a tailfin inside the crater 1m south-south-east of a house, as well as two damaged west-facing windows (one shattered) of the house. The SMM assessed that the damage had been caused by a recoilless-gun (SPG-9, 73mm) round fired from an undetermined direction. A resident of the house (a woman in her fifties) told the SMM that she had heard explosions at around 19:55 on 26 September.

The SMM continued to monitor 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 28 September, positioned in Zolote-4/Rodina (government-controlled, 59km west of Luhansk), the SMM heard a shot of small-arms fire 2-3km south-west, assessed as inside the Zolote disengagement area.

The same day, positioned near the Stanytsia Luhanska and Petrivske disengagement areas, the SMM observed clam 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 in government-controlled areas, on 27 September, an SMM long-range unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) spotted a surface-to-air missile system (9K35 Strela-10) on the north-western edge of Shumy (41km north of Donetsk). The same day, the SMM saw three towed howitzers (2A36 Giatsint-B, 152mm) each towed by a military truck travelling north-east about 5km south-west of Lysychansk (75km north-west of Luhansk).

In violation of withdrawal lines in a non-government-controlled area, on 27 September, an SMM long-range UAV spotted two anti-tank guns (MT-12 Rapira, 100mm) near Sofiivka (formerly Karlo-Marksove, 40km north-east of Donetsk).

The SMM observed armoured combat vehicles (ACVs)[2] in the security zone. In government-controlled areas, on 27 September, an SMM long-range UAV spotted an infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) (BMP-1) on the north-western edge of Shumy (see above), two armoured reconnaissance vehicles (BRDM-2) north of Shumy, an armoured reconnaissance vehicle (BRDM-2) near Maiorsk (45km north-east of Donetsk), two IFVs (BMP-2) near Luhanske (59km north-east of Luhansk), four IFVs (BMP-1) near Troitske (69km west of Luhansk) and an armoured personnel carrier (MT-LB) near Sofiivka. On 28 September, the SMM saw an armoured reconnaissance vehicle (BRDM-2) near Petrivka (27km north of Luhansk).

In a non-government-controlled area, on 28 September, the SMM saw three ACVs (BMP variants) near Dovhe (22km north-west of Luhansk).

The SMM continued to observe the presence of mines. On 27 September, an SMM long-range UAV again spotted 27 anti-tank mines (TM-62) laid out in four rows near Travneve (government-controlled, 51km north-east of Donetsk) and 11 anti-tank mines (TM-62) laid out in two rows near Holmivskyi (non-government-controlled, 49km north-east of Donetsk).

The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to the phenol sludge reservoir near Zalizne (government-controlled, 42km north-east of Donetsk) and Horlivka (non-government-controlled, 39km north-east of Donetsk), the Krasnohorivka gas distribution station between Marinka (government-controlled, 23km south-west of Donetsk) and Oleksandrivka (non-government-controlled, 20km south-west of Donetsk) and to water infrastructure in Stanytsia Luhanska and near Artema (government-controlled, 26km north of Luhansk). The SMM continued to facilitate the operation of the DFS, including through monitoring adherence to the ceasefire.

In Lviv, on 28 September, the SMM followed up on reports of an attack against civil activists. A man and a woman (in their twenties) told the SMM that on the evening of 23 September they had been in a football field of the school no. 34 at Zamknena Street with two other people (a man and a woman), when 20-30 other people, some of them wearing balaclavas and scarves, physically assaulted them with maces, small hammers, knives and telescopic batons for five minutes, and shouted “Sieg heil! This is revenge for the National Corps!” and gave Nazi salutes. (The SMM saw National Corps denounce the attack on its social media page.) The SMM saw scrapes on the woman’s hands and arms, and bruises on the back of the man’s head. They said that the other woman had suffered wounds to her legs and arms and that the other man had a knife wound to his lungs and leg. A representative of Lviv police told the SMM that four people (two men and two women) had been attacked on 23 September and admitted to a hospital.  

On 27 September, the SMM monitored public gatherings in different cities in relation to attacks against activists in recent months (see, for example, SMM Daily Report 2 August 2018). In Kyiv, the SMM observed about 300 people (both men and women) on Instytutska Street at the entrance to the presidential administration building. The SMM saw some participants holding banners that read “Where are the authorities?” and “Activists are not a target”. The SMM saw also some members of Right Sector, National Corps and C14 among the crowd. The SMM saw about 20 police officers present. In Kharkiv, in front of the national police building at 5 Zhon Myronosyts Street, the SMM saw about 120 people (mostly men, 20-40 years old) participants, many from civil society organizations, and about 50 police officers present. In Lviv, at 1 Rynok Square, the SMM saw 70 people (mostly young men), some of whom were members of National Corps and C14. The SMM saw 20 police officers present. The SMM did not observe any incidents. 

The SMM continued monitoring in Kherson, Odessa, Ivano-Frankivsk, Dnipro and Chernivtsi.

*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 (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 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 and southward to Sakhanka (non-government-controlled, 24km north-east of Mariupol), saying that it would not be safe for the SMM.
• An armed member of the armed formations again denied the SMM passage at a checkpoint on the eastern edge of Novolaspa (non-government-controlled, 50km south of Donetsk).
• At the north-western entrance to Siedove (non-government-controlled, 106km south of Donetsk), an armed member of the armed formations again prevented the SMM from entering the village.
• At a checkpoint north of Novoazovsk, six members of the armed formations (four visibly armed) prevented the SMM from proceeding to the city, citing “anti-terrorist activities in the western part of the city”.

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 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.4
• 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.
• The SMM did not travel across the bridge in Shchastia (government-controlled, 20km north of Luhansk) due to the presence of mines. A Ukrainian Armed Forces officer of the JCCC said there were mines on the road south of the bridge. The SMM informed the JCCC.4

Other impediments:

• The SMM temporarily lost communication with its mini-UAV due to signal interference while flying near Mykolaivka (government-controlled, 40km south of Donetsk).[4]
• The SMM temporarily lost communication with its long-range UAV on several occasions due to signal interference while flying in a government-controlled area between Rybynske (49km south of Donetsk), Mykolaivka(40km south of Donetsk) and Krasnohorivka (21km west of Donetsk), in a government-controlled area Krasnohorivka (21km west of Donetsk), Avdiivka (17km north of Donetsk) and Krasnohorivka (24km north of Donetsk), as well as in an area between Rozdolne (non-government-controlled 46km south-east of Donetsk) and Heorhiievka (government-controlled, 27km south-west of Donetsk).
• A staff member of the “city administration” in Mykhailivka (non-government-controlled, 56km south of Luhansk) refused to provide information, citing the need for prior permission from the armed formations. The staff member also demanded to see the SMM’s patrol map, which the SMM refused to show.
• A staff member at a school in Mykhailivka refused to provide the SMM information, citing the need for prior permission from the armed formations. The staff member also demanded to see the SMM’s patrol plan, which the SMM refused to show.

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

[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 withdrew 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.