Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 29 January 2019
This report is for the media and the general public.
Summary
- Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM observed more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
- The SMM recorded ceasefire violations inside the disengagement area near Zolote.
- The Mission saw weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines in government-controlled areas of Luhansk region.
- The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to facilitate repairs to and operations of essential infrastructure in Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
- Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas.*
- In Lviv and Chernivtsi, the SMM observed gatherings marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Ceasefire violations[1]
In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, including about 90 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (about 30 explosions). The majority of ceasefire violations were recorded at south-westerly directions of the Donetsk Filtration Station (DFS) (15km north of Donetsk) and at westerly directions of Horlivka (non-government-controlled, 39km north-east of Donetsk).
In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, including about 25 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (no ceasefire violations). The highest number of ceasefire violations was recorded west of Berezivske (non-government-controlled, 53km north-west of Luhansk).
Fresh impact craters in Raivka
At the checkpoint of the armed formations in Raivka (non-government-controlled, 16km north-west of Luhansk) the SMM saw five fresh craters in a field about 15m north of the checkpoint and about 300m from the nearest residential building. The SMM assessed the craters were caused by mortar rounds (82mm), likely fired from a westerly or north-westerly direction. Members of the armed formations told the SMM that there had been shelling on the evening of 27 January.
Disengagement areas[2]
On the evening of 28 January, the SMM camera in Zolote (government-controlled, 60km west of Luhansk) recorded six projectiles in flight (four from north-west to south-east and two from north to south) at an assessed range of 1-4km east (all assessed as outside the disengagement area), as well as a projectile in flight from south-west to north-east at an assessed range of 1-2km south-east (unable to assess whether inside or outside the disengagement area). In the early morning hours of 29 January, the same camera recorded two projectiles in flight from south to north at an assessed range of 2-4km east-south-east (assessed as inside the disengagement area).
On 29 January, positioned in the disengagement area near Stanytsia Luhanska (government-controlled, 16km north-east of Luhansk), 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 withdrawal lines
Government-controlled areas
29 January
The SMM saw:
- five stationary multiple launch rocket systems (BM-21 Grad, 122mm) in the area of the railway station in Rubizhne (84km north-west of Luhansk) and
- five anti-tanks guns (MT-12 Rapira, 100mm) being towed by trucks near Metolkine (69km north-west of Luhansk).
Beyond withdrawal lines but outside of designated storage sites
Government-controlled areas
28 January
An SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) spotted:
- six tanks (T-72) and six self-propelled mortars (2S9 Nona-S, 120mm, two probable) in the area of the railway station in Rubizhne (for previous observations, see SMM Daily Report 28 January 2019).
29 January
The SMM saw:
- ten self-propelled howitzers (2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm), an anti-tank guided missile system (9P148 Konkurs, 135mm), six self-propelled mortars (2S9 Nona-S, 120mm, two probable), 11 tanks (ten T-72 and one undetermined type) in the same abovementioned area of the railway station in Rubizhne;
- a tank (T-72) east of Novoaidar (49km north-west of Luhansk); and
- an anti-tank gun (MT-12) near Sievierodonetsk (74km north-west of Luhansk).
Weapons that the SMM was unable to verify as withdrawn[4]
Heavy weapons holding areas beyond the respective withdrawal lines in a government-controlled area of Donetsk region
29 January
- 63 towed howitzers (45 2A65 Msta-B, 152mm and 18 2A36 Giatsint-S, 152mm) remained missing.
Indications of military in the security zone[5]
Government-controlled areas
28 January
An SMM mini-UAV spotted:
- an armoured personnel carrier (APC) (BTR-70) and an anti-aircraft gun (ZU-23-2) near Chermalyk (31km north-east of Mariupol).
29 January
The SMM saw:
- an APC (Saxon) near Peredilske (24km north-west of Luhansk) and
- an infantry fighting vehicle (BMP-1) east of Zolote-2/Karbonit (62km west of Luhansk).
SMM facilitation of repair works to civilian infrastructure
The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to facilitate repairs to power lines in Berehove (non-government-controlled, 23km east of Luhansk) and a water pipeline near Berezove (government-controlled, 31km south-west of Donetsk), as well as to facilitate inspection and repairs to a water conduit near Nyzhnie (government-controlled, 56km north-west of Luhansk) and Novotoshkivske (government-controlled, 53km west of Luhansk). The SMM continued to facilitate the operation of the DFS.
The SMM observed a calm situation at the crossing point in Chonhar
On 27 and 28 January, the SMM observed a calm situation at the crossing point between Chonhar (163km south-east of Kherson) and Crimea (for previous observations, see SMM Daily Report 28 January 2019).
Gatherings marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day
On 27 January in Lviv, the SMM monitored two public gatherings to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day. At the first gathering, taking place on Chornovola Avenue, the former location of the Jewish ghetto during the Second World War, the Mission saw about 80 people (men and women, 60-80 years old) and seven police officers present. At the second gathering, on the location of the former Yanivskyi concentration camp on Omelian Kovch Street, it saw about 25 people (men and women, 60 years old) and three police officers present. The SMM also monitored a similar public gathering in Chernivtsi on 28 January. On Cheliuskintsiv Street, it saw about 70 people (mixed gender, mixed ages) and six police officers. During all three gatherings, the SMM observed a calm situation.
The Mission continued monitoring in Odessa, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Dnipro 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, see SMM Daily Report 25 January 2019). 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:
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] For a complete breakdown of ceasefire violations, please see the annexed table. During the reporting period, the SMM camera at the entry-exit checkpoint in Pyshchevyk was not operational. Winter weather conditions limited the observation capabilities of some 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 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] The SMM visited areas previously holding weapons that could not be verified as withdrawn, as their storage did not comply with the criteria set out in the 16 October 2015 notification from the SMM to the signatories of the Package of Measures on effective monitoring and verification of the withdrawal of heavy weapons. The SMM noted that some of these sites continued to be abandoned.
[5] The hardware mentioned in this section is not proscribed by the provisions of the Minsk agreements on the withdrawal of weapons.