Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 27 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 Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
• The Mission recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area.
• The SMM saw weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines near Buhaivka and Khrustalnyi.
• The Mission continued to observe long queues of civilians travelling across the contact line near Stanytsia Luhanska.
• The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to essential civilian infrastructure.
• In Kyiv, the Mission monitored a gathering in front of the Embassy of the Russian Federation
• In Kherson, the SMM monitored a court hearing at which the pre-trial detention of the former editor-in-chief of RIA Novosti Ukraine was extended.
• Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The SMM was also restricted near Novoazovsk and Voznesenivka close to the border with the Russian Federation.*

Ceasefire violations[1]

In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, including about 130 explosions, compared with the previous 24 hours (50 explosions). The majority of ceasefire violations, including the majority of explosions, were recorded in the Avdiivka-Yasynuvata-Donetsk airport area, including six explosions assessed as impacts at an assessed range of 300-500m south of the SMM camera at Donetsk Filtration Station (DFS) (15km north of Donetsk), in areas south of Svitlodarsk (government-controlled, 57km north-east of Donetsk) and in areas north, east and south of Pyshchevyk (government-controlled, 25km north-east of Mariupol).

In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, including about 50 explosions, compared with the previous 24 hours (four explosions). The majority of ceasefire violations were recorded in areas south-west and east of Zolote (government-controlled, 60km west of Luhansk) (see the disengagement area section below) and south-west of Artema (government-controlled, 26km north of Luhansk).

Disengagement areas[2]

In the early morning hours on 27 December, the SMM camera in Zolote recorded four projectiles in flight at an assessed range of 1-3km south-east (assessed as inside the disengagement area). During the day, positioned on the northern edge of the Zolote disengagement area, the SMM heard five undetermined explosions and three bursts and shots of small-arms fire, all at an assessed range of 2-3km south-west (all assessed as inside the disengagement area). Positioned on the southern edge of the Zolote disengagement area, the Mission heard seven undetermined explosions and 43 bursts and shots of heavy-machine-gun and small-arms fire, all at an assessed range of 4-5km west (all assessed as outside the disengagement area).

Positioned south of the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge (15km north-east of Luhansk), the SMM heard an undetermined explosion at an assessed range of 1-3km east and an undetermined explosion at an assessed range of 2-10km west. Positioned north of the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge, the Mission heard seven shots of small-arms fire at an assessed range of 3-4km north-east. All the above ceasefire violations were assessed as outside the disengagement area.

Withdrawal of weapons

The Mission 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

Non-government-controlled areas

26 December

An SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) spotted:

• 12 self-propelled howitzers (2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm), 14 towed howitzers (D-30, Lyagushka, 122mm) and six anti-tank guns (MT-12 Rapira, 100mm) in a training area near Buhaivka (37km south-west of Luhansk).

27 December

• 22 multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) (BM-21 Grad, 122mm) near Khrustalnyi (formerly Krasnyi Luch, 56km south-west of Luhansk)

Beyond the withdrawal lines but outside designated storage sites

Non-government-controlled areas

26 December

An SMM mini-UAV spotted:

• eight tanks (T-64), three surface-to-air missile systems (9K35 Strela-10), five mortars (2B11 Sani, 120mm) and a probable anti-tank guided missile system (9P148 Konkurs, 135mm) in a training area near Buhaivka; and
• 11 tanks (T-72) in a training area near Shymshynivka (27km south-west of Luhansk).

Weapons storage sites

A heavy weapons permanent storage site in a non-government-controlled area of Luhansk region

• 14 self-propelled howitzers (2S1), ten towed howitzers (nine D-30 and one 2A65 Msta-B, 152mm) and five MLRS (BM-21) were again missing. Three additional self-propelled howitzers (2S1) were missing for the first time. The SMM also observed a new weapon for the first time.

Indications of military-type presence in the security zone[3]

Non-government-controlled areas

26 December

An SMM mini-UAV spotted:

• five infantry fighting vehicles (BMP-2) north-west of Kalynove (60km west of Luhansk).

27 December

• An armoured personnel carrier (MT-LB) near Pervomaisk (58km west of Luhansk)

Long queues of civilians travelling across the contact line near Stanytsia Luhanska

At 10:00 on 27 December, at the checkpoint of the armed formations south of the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge, the SMM saw about 1,300 people queuing to travel towards government-controlled areas and no people queueing in the opposite direction. About three hours later, at the entry-exit checkpoint north of the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge, the Mission observed about 100 people queuing to enter government-controlled areas and about 350 people queuing to travel in the opposite direction.

SMM facilitation of repair works to civilian infrastructure

The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to a water pipeline near Popasna (government-controlled, 69km west of Luhansk), the Petrivske water pumping station near Artema, power lines near Zolote-4/Rodina (government-controlled, 59km west of Luhansk) and near Zaitseve (50km north-east of Donetsk), as well as repair works to damaged houses in Marinka (government-controlled, 23km south-west of Donetsk) and Krasnohorivka (government-controlled, 21km west of Donetsk). The SMM also continued to facilitate and monitor adherence to the ceasefire to enable demining and repair works to restore electricity to a monastery in Donetsk city’s Kyivskyi district (non-government-controlled, 6km north-west of the city centre). Positioned at the Donetsk central railway station (non-government-controlled, 6km north-west of Donetsk city centre), it heard an undetermined explosion 500-700m north-west of the location of the repair works.

The Mission continued to facilitate and monitor adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to power lines supplying the DFS.

Border areas not under government control

At a border crossing point near Voznesenivka (formerly Chervonopartyzansk, 65km south-east of Luhansk), the SMM saw three pedestrians (one man and two women, in their fifties) exiting Ukraine and four pedestrians (two men and two women, aged 40-50) entering Ukraine. After about ten minutes, a member of the armed formations told the Mission to leave the area.*

At the Chervona Mohyla railway station in Voznesenivka, the SMM saw about 100 stationary coal railcars (unable to see whether full or empty) and six tank railcars (five with “Caution! Sulphuric acid” written in Cyrillic on their sides). After about five minutes, a member of the armed formations told the Mission to leave the area.*

Public gathering in Kyiv

In Kyiv, the SMM monitored a public gathering in front of the Embassy of the Russian Federation at 27 Povitroflotskyi Avenue. The Mission saw 15 people (mixed ages and genders), some of whom were displaying signs with the names of Ukrainian political prisoners being reportedly held in the Russian Federation, as well as seven National Guard officers. The gathering ended without incidents.

Court hearing in Kherson

In Kherson, the SMM monitored a court hearing on the extension of pre-trial detention of the former editor-in-chief of RIA Novosti Ukraine, arrested in Kyiv on 15 May 2018 on charges of high treason under Article 111.1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (see SMM Daily Report 13 July 2018). The court ruled that the defendant would remain in custody until 27 January 2019.

The Mission continued monitoring in 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 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.

Denials of access:

• At a checkpoint at the northern entrance to Novoazovsk (non-government-controlled, 40km east of Mariupol), four members of the armed formations prevented the SMM from traveling south, citing “orders from their superiors”.
• At a border crossing point near Voznesenivka, a member of the armed formations again told the SMM to leave the area.
• At the Chervona Mohyla railway station in Voznesenivka, an armed member of the armed formations again told the SMM to leave the area of the railway station.

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 Mission that mines on the road leading north had not been cleared.

Delay:

• At an armed formations’ checkpoint near Yuzhna-Lomuvatka (non-government-controlled, 60km west of Luhansk), the SMM was allowed to pass through after about 30 minutes.

 

[1] For a complete breakdown of ceasefire violations, please see the annexed table. During the reporting period, the SMM cameras in Krasnohorivka and at the entry-exit checkpoint near Pyshchevyk were not operational.

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