Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 3 December 2018

This report is for the media and the general public.

Summary

• Compared with the previous 24 hours, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
• The Mission followed up on reports of a man injured due to gunfire in Betmanove, Donetsk region.
• The SMM recorded ceasefire violations assessed as inside the Stanytsia Luhanska and Zolote disengagement areas. Its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas.*
• The SMM observed fresh damage to one of the wooden ramps on the broken section of the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge.
• It observed weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line.
• The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to the Petrivske water pumping station near Artema as well as an assessment of a water pipeline near Popasna. It continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station.

Ceasefire violations[1]

In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, including about 210 explosions, compared with the previous 24 hours (about 90 explosions). The majority of ceasefire violations were recorded in areas south-west of Horlivka (non-government-controlled, 39km north-east of Donetsk) and in areas near the Donetsk Filtration Station (DFS).

In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, including about 35 explosions, compared with the previous 24 hours (eight explosions). Almost half of the ceasefire violations were recorded in areas near Stanytsia Luhanska (government-controlled, 16km north-east of Luhansk).

A man injured due to gunfire in Betmanove

On 30 November, at the hospital in Yasynuvata (non-government-controlled, 16km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM saw a man (45 years old) with his left leg bandaged. The man told the SMM that in the afternoon of 25 November, while standing at a bus stop in Betmanove (formerly Krasnyi Partyzan, non-government controlled, 23km north-east of Donetsk), he had felt pain and fell to the ground. Medical staff at the hospital told the SMM that the man had been admitted on 25 November with a large bullet wound in his left thigh.  

Disengagement areas[2]

On the evening of 2 December, the SMM camera at the Prince Ihor Monument south-east of the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge recorded two projectiles, assessed as rounds of a propelled grenade launcher (RPG-7) or a recoilless gun (SPG-9, 73mm), in flight from north-west to south-east and one projectile in flight from north-north-east to south-south-west, all at an assessed range of 0.8-1.5km north-north-west (all assessed as inside the disengagement area).

On 3 December, inside the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area, the SMM saw a fresh hole (about 30cm in width) on the southern wooden ramp on a broken section of the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge, about 30m north of the forward position of the armed formations. It also saw numerous wood splinters on the ground beneath the aforementioned ramp. The SMM was unable to assess the weapon used or the direction of fire. During its presence on site, the SMM saw several pedestrians descending and ascending the affected wooden ramp, avoiding the hole.

On the evening of 2 December, the SMM camera in Zolote[3] (government-controlled, 60km west of Luhansk), recorded one projectile in flight from east-north-east to west-south-west at an assessed range of 2-4km south-east (assessed as inside the disengagement area). On the morning of 3 December, positioned in Zolote, the SMM heard three undetermined explosions at an assessed range of 5-10km east-south-east (assessed as outside the disengagement area).

On 2 December, inside the Zolote disengagement area, an SMM mid-range unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) spotted an infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) (BMP-1) about 2km west of the area’s eastern edge and about 500m south of its northern edge; a new position and a 30m-long trench (not visible in imagery from 8 November 2018) about 1.5km south of the area’s northern edge and about 500m east of its western edge, as well as an IFV (BMP-2) about 1.2km east of its western edge and about 1km south of its northern edge (all of the above were assessed as belonging to the Ukrainian Armed Forces). 

The same UAV spotted, inside the Zolote disengagement area, an anti-aircraft gun (ZU-23, 23mm) mounted on a truck north of a checkpoint of the armed formations, as well as two military-type trucks near previously observed trenches and positions of the armed formations inside the Zolote disengagement area, about 100m north of its southern edge and about 800m west of its eastern edge.

During the day on 3 December, the SMM observed a calm situation in the disengagement area near Petrivske (non-government-controlled, 41km south of Donetsk).[4]

Withdrawal of weapons

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 the withdrawal lines

Government-controlled areas:

3 December:

• A surface-to-air missile system (9K33 Osa) 1km south of Hnutove (20km north-east of Mariupol), heading south-south-west;
• A probable towed mortar (type undetermined) at the entrance of Zhelanne Druhe (29km north-west of Donetsk).

Non-government-controlled areas:

2 December:

-  An SMM mini- UAV again spotted three tanks (T-72) near   Novohryhorivka (33km west of Luhansk).

Beyond the withdrawal lines but outside designated storage sites

Government-controlled areas:

3 December:

• Four self-propelled howitzers (2S7 Pion, 203mm) near Novyi Komar (73km west of Donetsk).

Indications of military and military-type presence in the security zone[5]

Government-controlled areas:

2 December:

• An SMM mid-range UAV spotted an IFV (BMP-1) near Zolote-4/Rodina (59km north-west of Luhansk).

3 December:

An SMM mini-UAV spotted:

• three armoured personnel carriers (APC) (two BTR-70 and an MT-LB) near Chermalyk (77km south of Donetsk);
• an APC (MT-LB) near Netailove (22km north-west of Donetsk); and
• an APC (BTR-4) near Novobakhmutivka (28km north of Donetsk).

Non-government-controlled areas:

2 December:

• An SMM mini-UAV spotted two anti-aircraft guns (ZU-23) near Mykolaivka (15km east of Luhansk).

Mine hazard signs

The SMM saw two tree trunks covered by tree branches laying 4m apart from each other on a local road about 2.5km east of Nova Marivka (non-government-controlled, 64km south of Donetsk). Each tree trunk covered about 3m in width of the aforementioned road and impeded movement for opposite directions of traffic. On one of the tree trunks, the SMM saw a handwritten sign reading “Stop Mines” in Russian language. On the opposite side of the road, it saw a handwritten sign on a stick with the inscription “no passage for cars” in Russian language.

SMM facilitation of repairs to civilian infrastructure

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) and to enable assessments of a water pipeline near Popasna (government-controlled, 69km west of Luhansk). The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the DFS.

Protest in Kyiv

In Kyiv, the SMM saw about 25 men (20-40 years old) gathered at 101A Zhylianska Street outside the building of a TV channel, some of them wearing insignia and carrying flags of a political organization. One participant told the SMM that they considered the aforementioned TV channel to be pro-Russian, adding that protests would continue. The SMM observed 30 National Police officers securing the entrance to the building.

The SMM continued monitoring in Kherson, Odessa, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, 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 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 SMM Daily Report 3 December 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.

Regular restrictions related to disengagement areas and mines/UXO:

• The sides continued to deny the SMM full access to the three disengagement areas, as well as the ability to travel certain roads previously identified as important for effective monitoring by the Mission and for civilians’ movement, through failure to conduct comprehensive clearance of mines and UXO.
• At a checkpoint  of the armed formations south of the bridge in Shchastia (government controlled, 20km north of Luhansk), a member of the armed formations told the SMM that mines on the road leading north had not been cleared.

[1] For a complete breakdown of ceasefire violations, please see the annexed table. The SMM cameras in Hranitne and Krasnohorivka were not operational during the reporting period..

[2] Disengagement is foreseen in the Framework Decision of the Trilateral Contact Group relating to disengagement of forces and hardware of 21 September 2016.

[3] After further review, ceasefire violations recorded by the SMM on 30 November when positioned in Zolote-2/Karbonit, initially assessed as “six outgoing salvos (about ten rockets each) of multiple rocket systems (MLRS) (type undetermined)” in the SMM Daily Report 1 December 2018, were assessed as about 60 undetermined explosions.

[4] 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.

[5] The hardware mentioned in this section is not proscribed by the provisions of the Minsk agreements on the withdrawal of weapons.