Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 12 December 2018
This report is for the media and the general public.
Summary
- Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region.
- The SMM saw an apartment building in Antratsyt that had sustained shrapnel damage.
- The SMM observed a calm situation near all three disengagement areas.
- The SMM saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line in Luhansk and Donetsk regions.
- The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to water infrastructure on both sides of the contact line and to damaged houses in Marinka. It continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station.
- The SMM monitored the transfer of detainees not related to the conflict from non-government-controlled to government-controlled areas of Luhansk region.
- Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The SMM was also restricted at checkpoints near Oktiabr Mine and Zaichenko.*
Ceasefire violations[1]
In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, including, however, fewer explosions (about 230), compared with the previous reporting period (about 320 explosions). The majority of ceasefire violations were recorded in areas south of Svitlodarsk (government-controlled, 57km north-east of Donetsk).
In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations, including ten explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (40 explosions). Most ceasefire violations were recorded in areas south of Muratove (government-controlled, 51km north-west of Luhansk).
Shrapnel damage to apartment building in Antratsyt
At 77 Petrovskoho Street in Antratsyt (non-government-controlled, 55km south-west of Luhansk), the SMM saw three holes in two west-facing windows of a second-floor apartment of a five-storey building. It saw fresh shrapnel damage to the western side of the building as well as to a nearby tree. It also saw fresh shrapnel damage to a fence about 40m west of the aforementioned building and a freshly severed tree branch about 1.5m west of the fence. The SMM assessed the damage to the building, the fence and trees as caused by the explosion of a device. The resident of the apartment (female, aged 70-80) told the SMM that she had heard an explosion near the house at around 7:30 on the morning of 10 December.
Disengagement areas[2]
During the day on 12 December, positioned close 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), the SMM observed a calm situation.[3]
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
12 December
- A multiple launch rocket system (BM-21 Grad, 122mm) near Kostiantynivka (60km north of Donetsk) heading north-east on road H-20
Non-government-controlled areas
11 December
An SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) spotted:
- a self-propelled howitzer (2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm) and three tanks (two T-72 and one T-64) in a compound in Luhansk city.
Beyond the withdrawal lines but outside of designated storage sites
12 December
Government-controlled areas
- Four tanks (T-64) stationary at the train station in Bakhmut (formerly Artemivsk, 67km north of Donetsk)
Non-government-controlled-areas
- Three stationary tanks (T-64) at a training area near Myrne (28km south-west of Luhansk)
Indications of military and military-type presence in the security zone[4]
Government-controlled areas
11 December
An SMM mini-UAV spotted:
- three armoured reconnaissance vehicles (BRDM-2) and an infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) (BMP-2) near positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces about 1km south-west of the entry-exit checkpoint near Maiorsk (45km north-east of Donetsk) and
- two armoured personnel carriers (APC) (BTR-70) near Artema (26km north of Luhansk).
12 December
- An armoured reconnaissance vehicle (BRM-1K) near Bobrove (56km north-west of Luhansk)
- Five IFVs (BMP-2) near Umanske (25km north-west of Donetsk)
Non-government-controlled areas
11 December
An SMM mini-UAV again spotted:
- two armoured reconnaissance vehicles (BRDM-2), two amphibious transporters (PTS-2), 11 IFVs (six BMP-1 and five BMP-2) and 14 APCs (seven MT-LB, five BTR-70 and two BTR-60) in compounds in Luhansk city and
- two anti-aircraft guns (ZU-23, 23mm) and five APCs (three MT-LB and two BTR-80) in compounds in Katerynivka (formerly Yuvileine, 8km west of Luhansk).
12 December
- An APC (BTR-80) near Holubivka (formerly Kirovsk, 51km west of Luhansk)
Presence of mines and mine hazard signs
On 11 December, the SMM again saw two mine hazard signs near a Ukrainian Armed Forces checkpoint about 1.5km south-west of Novoselivka Druha (government-controlled, 23km north of Donetsk): one was a red and white square with “Mines” written in Ukrainian and the other one was a wooden plate with “Mines” painted in Ukrainian. Near Novoselivka Druha, the SMM also again saw another mine hazard sign (red and white with “Mines” written in Ukrainian) about 3-5m from the side of road H-20.
On 12 December, the SMM again saw an anti-tank mine (TM-62) near Oleksandrivka (non-government-controlled, 20km south-west of Donetsk) about 10m from the southern edge of road H-15. Near Luhanske (non-government-controlled, 15km south-west of Donetsk), the SMM again saw a mine hazard sign (a wooden board with handwritten “Mine” in Russian) in a field approximately 1m west of road C061131.
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, to a water pipeline near Zolote-4/Rodina (government-controlled, 59km west of Luhansk) and to damaged houses in Marinka (government-controlled, 23km south-west of Donetsk). The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station (15km north of Donetsk).
SMM monitoring of transfer of detainees not related to the conflict in Luhansk region
The SMM monitored the transfer of detainees not related to the conflict from non-government-controlled to government-controlled areas of Luhansk region.
The SMM continued monitoring in Kherson, Odessa, Lviv, Kharkiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Dnipro, Chernivtsi and Kyiv.
*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, SMM Daily Report 11 December). 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:
- Two armed members of the armed formations denied the SMM passage at a checkpoint at the entrance of Oktiabr Mine (non-government-controlled, 8km north-west of Donetsk city centre).
- Two armed members of the armed formations again denied the SMM passage through a checkpoint north of Zaichenko (non-government-controlled, 26km north-east of Mariupol), preventing the SMM from travelling west towards Pikuzy (formerly Kominternove, non-government-controlled, 23km north-east of Mariupol) and south towards Sakhanka (non-government-controlled, 24km north-east of Mariupol).
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.
[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. During the reporting period, the SMM cameras in Hranitne and Krasnohorivka were not operational. Mist and fog limited the observation capabilities of the majority of other SMM cameras.
[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] Due to the presence of mines, including 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.