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

This report is for the media and the general public.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared to the previous 24 hours. The Mission followed up on reports of a civilian casualty in Marinka. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas as well as near Bezimenne and Zaichenko. The SMM observed weapons in violation near Shymshynivka. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to houses and essential civilian infrastructure on both sides of the contact line, as well as to enable demining near Nyzhnoteple. The SMM observed two protests in Kyiv and a gathering commemorating the founding of Karpatska Sich in Ivano‑Frankivsk.

In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations[1], including about 140 explosions, compared with the previous 24 hours (about 115 explosions).[2]

On the evening and night of 11-12 November, while in Svitlodarsk (government-controlled, 57km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard 76 explosions (27 assessed as outgoing rounds, seven as impacts and the remainder undetermined) and about 130 bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire, all at an assessed range of 2-6km east and south-east. The following day, from the same location, the SMM heard 13 undetermined explosions and five bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire, all at an assessed range of 2-5km south-east.

During the day on 12 November, positioned in the south-eastern part of Avdiivka (government-controlled, 17km north of Donetsk), the SMM heard ten undetermined explosions and 25 bursts of small-arms fire, all at an assessed range of 1-5km south and south‑east.

In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, including about 110 explosions, compared with the previous 24 hours (about 40 explosions).

During the day on 12 November, positioned on the southern edge of Kalynove-Borshchuvate (non-government-controlled, 61km west of Luhansk), the SMM heard 48 undetermined explosions assessed as from mortar rounds at an assessed range of 5-7km south.

On the same day, positioned in Pervomaisk (non-government-controlled, 58km west of Luhansk), the SMM heard 25 explosions assessed as from 120mm mortar rounds at an assessed range of 7-10km south.

The SMM followed up on reports of a civilian casualty in Marinka (government‑controlled, 23km south-west of Donetsk). At a hospital in Kurakhove (government‑controlled, 40km west of Donetsk), a man (in his fifties) with a bandaged right thigh told the SMM that at around 18:00 on 10 November, he was in his outhouse on Prokofiev Street in Marinka when he heard small-arms fire and felt a sharp pain in his right thigh. A doctor in the hospital told the SMM that the man had been struck by a 5.45mm bullet, which perforated his right thigh and bruised his left thigh.

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[3] (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 11 November, the SMM camera in Stanytsia Luhanska recorded two muzzle flashes of undetermined weapons at an assessed range of 100-150m south (assessed as outside the disengagement area).

During the day on 12 November, positioned on the eastern edge of Zolote-5/Mykhailivka (non-government-controlled, 58km west of Luhansk), the SMM heard two undetermined explosions at an assessed range of 7-10km north-north-east. Positioned in Zolote‑5/Mykhailivka, the SMM heard 17 undetermined explosions and about 160 shots and bursts of heavy-machine-gun and small-arms fire, all at an assessed range of 1-3km north‑north-east. Positioned on the northern edge of Zolote-4/Rodina (government-controlled, 59km west of Luhansk), the SMM heard two undetermined explosions assessed as from mortar rounds, five bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire and 50 shots and bursts of small-arms fire, all at an assessed range of 2-3km east. Positioned in Zolote-3/Stakhanovets (government‑controlled, 61km west of Luhansk), the SMM heard four explosions assessed as from artillery rounds at an assessed range of 7-10km south. Positioned in Zolote, the SMM heard eight explosions assessed as rounds of artillery at an assessed range of 7-10km west‑south‑west. All of these observations were assessed as outside the disengagement area.

During the same day, positioned on the north-eastern edge of Katerynivka (government‑controlled, 64km west of Luhansk), the SMM heard about 20 shots and bursts of automatic-grenade-launcher and small-arms fire at an assessed range of 3-4km east‑south-east, assessed as outside the Zolote disengagement area.

Positioned near the Petrivske 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 on 11 November, in a non-government-controlled area, an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) spotted five self-propelled howitzers (2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm) in a training area near Shymshynivka (27km south-west of Luhansk).

Beyond withdrawal lines but outside designated storage sites in government-controlled areas, on 12 November, the SMM saw three surface-to-air missile systems: an S-300 near Nikolske (formerly Volodarske, 21km north-west of Mariupol), a 9K37 near Shevchenko (19km north-west of Mariupol) and a Strela variant near Polkove (65km south of Donetsk). In non-government-controlled areas, on 11 November, an SMM mini-UAV spotted ten tanks (T-72), one of which had no barrel, in a training area near Shymshynivka.

The SMM observed armoured combat vehicles[4] in the security zone. In government‑controlled areas, on 12 November, the SMM saw an armoured personnel carrier (BTR-80) near Zolote-2/Karbonit (62km west of Luhansk) and an infantry fighting vehicle (BMP variant) in Nyzhnie (56km north-west of Luhansk).

The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to the Petrivske water pumping station near Artema (government-controlled, 26km north of Luhansk), the sewage system near the Bakhmut Agrarian Union’s pig farm near Novoluhanske (government-controlled, 53km north-east of Donetsk) and damaged houses in Marinka and Krasnohorivka (government-controlled, 21km west of Donetsk), as well as to enable demining activities near Nyzhnoteple (government-controlled, 26km north of Luhansk). The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station.

The SMM visited a border area outside government control. While at a pedestrian border crossing point near Novoborovytsi (79km south of Luhansk) for about 30 minutes, the SMM observed no traffic transiting the border.

The SMM observed a gathering of individuals wearing balaclavas. In Ivano-Frankivsk, on 10 November, the SMM observed about 100 people (mainly men, different age groups), many of whom were wearing black clothing (some with emblems of Runas and Karpatska Sich) and balaclavas and carrying flares, marching from the Ivan Franko monument on Nezalezhnosti Street  to Ratusha Square. Posters around the city announced that the march was held to commemorate the eighth anniversary of the founding of the Karpatska Sich. At Ratusha Square, the SMM observed several individuals, including a senior member of Karpatska Sich, address the crowd and conduct a roll call of Karpatska Sich members who had died in the conflict. After each name was called, someone from the crowd shouted “present”, and all the participants extended their right arms upwards from the neck with hands straightened. The SMM observed about 25 police officers and three police cars directing traffic.

In Kyiv, the SMM observed two protests by individuals wearing C14 (Sich) insignia. At the Kyiv Central Bus Station at 1 Nauky Avenue on 10 November, the SMM observed a protest of about 60 people (aged 20-50, one woman), about 40 of whom were wearing C14 emblems on their clothes. A senior member of C14 told the SMM the gathering had been organized to protest bus companies that were not providing discounted tickets to veterans, as per Ukrainian law. The SMM saw a man come out of the station, identify himself as the deputy director of the station and then get pushed to the ground by protestors (the man was able to get up, and the SMM did not see him get further assaulted). Other protestors were seen spraying red graffiti on the station’s windows and on the office of a bus company which, they alleged, transports passengers into areas beyond government control. Some of the protestors then blocked buses from entering or exiting the station. The SMM did not observe a police presence at the station.

On 12 November, the SMM observed about 20 people (20-25 years old, one woman), including a senior member of Sich (C14), erecting posters criticizing the Prosecutor General in front of the Office of the Prosecutor General at 15 Riznicka Street in Kyiv. The SMM observed nearly 50 police officers (including about 30 in riot gear) standing on both sides of the protest. The SMM saw the protesters disperse without security incidents.

The SMM continued monitoring in Kherson, Odessa, Lviv, Kharkiv, 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 on 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 12 November 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 about 1km north of Zaichenko (non-government-controlled, 26km north-east of Mariupol), an armed member of the armed formations again stopped the SMM and denied it passage to Pikuzy (formerly Kominternove, non-government-controlled, 23km north-east of Mariupol) and to Sakhanka (non-government-controlled, 24km north-east of Mariupol), citing “orders from superiors.”
• At a checkpoint near Bezimenne (non-government-controlled, 30km east of Mariupol), two armed members of the armed formations again denied the SMM passage west along road M14, citing “orders from superiors.”

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 informed 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.[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 informed 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. [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 informed 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 south of the bridge in government-controlled Shchastia (government-controlled, 20km north of Luhansk), a member of the armed formations told the SMM that there had been no demining activities in the area and that there were mines on the bridge. The SMM did not consider it safe to proceed.

[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.

[2] During the reporting period, the SMM camera in Krasnohorivka was not operational.

[3] Due to the presence of mines, including on a road between Bohdanivka and Petrivske, the SMM’s access to its camera in Petrivske remains limited, and thus the SMM has not been able to access observations from the camera since 22 June 2018.

[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 withdrew from the JCCC as of 18 December 2017.