Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 4 February 2019

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 heard and saw explosions assessed as impacts 70-100m east-south-east of its position near the Zolote disengagement area. It also recorded other ceasefire violations inside and near the disengagement area.
• The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to essential civilian infrastructure in Luhansk region.
• Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas as well as in Staromykhailivka and near Verkhnoshyrokivske.*

Ceasefire violations[1]

In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, including 95 explosions, compared with the previous 24 hours (about 65 explosions). The majority of ceasefire violations, including the majority of explosions (81) were recorded in areas east, south-east and south-west of Svitlodarsk (government-controlled, 57km north-east of Donetsk) and south-west of Staromykhailivka (non-government-controlled, 15km west of Donetsk).

On 2 February, an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) spotted six men assessed as Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers, three of them lying on the ground in firing position and holding small-arms weapons, near Talakivka (government-controlled, 17km north-east of Mariupol). The Mission assessed this as probable live-fire training inside the security zone (in violation of the decision of the Trilateral Contact Group as of 3 March 2016 that prohibits the conduct of live-fire training (exercises) in the security zone). (The SMM heard ceasefire violations in the area during the UAV flight, see SMM Daily Report 4 February 2019.)

In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, including about 320 explosions, compared with the previous 24 hours (about 60 explosions). The majority of ceasefire violations were recorded in areas east of Zolote (government-controlled, 60km west of Luhansk), including about 240 explosions assessed as mortar and artillery rounds, as well as inside and near the disengagement area near Zolote (see the disengagement areas section below).

On 4 February, positioned near the checkpoint of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, approximately 300m north of the disengagement area near Zolote, the Mission members heard three explosions assessed as impacts, and saw flames, smoke, soot and snow 70-100m east-south-east of its position. The SMM immediately left the area (see SMM Spot Report 4 February 2019).

Recent impact crater from shelling in Zolote-5/Mykhailivka

On 4 February, at 10 Vyrobnycha Street in Zolote-5/Mykhailivka (non-government-controlled, 58km west of Luhansk), the SMM saw a recent crater about 3m from a single-storey house. The crater was covered in soot. The Mission could not determine the weapon used or the direction of fire. A man who identified himself as the owner of the house told the SMM the crater had been caused by shelling in the afternoon on 31 January 2019. The Mission also observed that the bottom part of a north-north-east-facing window pane of the above-mentioned house was covered with white tape. The owner said the window had been damaged by small-arms fire on 29 January 2019. (For previous observations from Zolote-5/Mykhailivka, see SMM Daily Report 4 February 2019.)

Disengagement areas[2]

On the evening and night of 3-4 February, the SMM camera in Zolote recorded ten projectiles in flight at an assessed range of 1-3km south-east and south-south-east (assessed as inside the disengagement area), five projectiles at an assessed range of 1-3km east (assessed as outside the disengagement area) and five projectiles at an assessed range of 1-3km east-south-east (unable to assess whether inside or outside the disengagement area).

During the day on 4 February, positioned near the checkpoint of the Ukrainian Armed Forces north the Zolote disengagement area, the Mission heard five undetermined explosions and seven minutes of small-arms fire (uncountable shots), all at an assessed range of 2-3km east and south-south-east (all assessed as outside the disengagement area). Positioned in Zolote-5/Mykhailivka, the SMM heard six undetermined explosions at an assessed range of 3-5km west (assessed as inside the disengagement area) as well as nine undetermined explosions and about 50 shots of heavy-machine-gun fire, all at an assessed range of 3-5km north-north-west (assessed as outside the disengagement area). Positioned on the south-eastern edge of Zolote-5/Mykhailivka, the Mission heard 30 undetermined explosions at an assessed range of 3-5km north-west (assessed as outside the disengagement area).

Positioned north of the disengagement area near Petrivske (non-government-controlled, 41km south of Donetsk) and inside the disengagement area near Stanytsia Luhanska (government-controlled, 16km north-east 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.

Beyond withdrawal lines but outside of designated storage sites:

Government-controlled areas

4 February

The SMM saw:

• six self-propelled howitzers (2S3 Akatsiya, 152mm) and a surface-to-air missile system (9K35 Strela10) at a train station in Zachativka (74km south-west of Donetsk).

Indications of military and military-type presence in the security zone[4]

Government-controlled areas:

2 February

An SMM mini-UAV spotted:

• three armoured personnel carriers (BTR-80) and an anti-aircraft gun (ZU-23, 23mm) near Talakivka.

3 February

An SMM mini-UAV spotted:

• an armoured command vehicle (BMP-1Ksh) near Shchastia (20km north of Luhansk); and
• a recent crater, assessed as caused by an impact of a 122mm or 152mm artillery round, about 250m from the nearest house in Zolote-3/Stakhanovets (61km west of Luhansk).

4 February

The SMM saw:

• a trench digger (PZM-2) near Muratove (51km north-west of Luhansk).

Non-government-controlled areas:

2 February

An SMM mini-UAV spotted:

• ten infantry fighting vehicles (BMP-1) near Kruhlyk (65km south-west of Luhansk).

Presence of mines

On 2 February, near Talakivka, an SMM mini-UAV spotted over 60 anti-tank mines (probable TM-62) laid in six rows on a road leading to Pikuzy (formerly Kominternove, non-government-controlled, 23km north-east of Mariupol) and in an adjacent field. (For previous observations in that area, see SMM Daily Report 29 June 2018.)

SMM facilitation of repair works to civilian infrastructure

The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to a water conduit near Novotoshkivske (government-controlled, 53km west of Luhansk) as well as to enable an assessment related to snow removal near the bridge in Shchastia. The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station (15km north of Donetsk) and of the pumping station in Vasylivka (non-government-controlled, 24km north-east of Donetsk).

The Mission continued monitoring in Kherson, Odessa, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, 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, see SMM Daily Report 4 February 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.

Denial of access:

• At a checkpoint south of Verkhnoshyrokivske (formerly Oktiabr, non-government-controlled, 29km north-east of Mariupol), three members of the armed formations denied the SMM passage on three separate occasions, citing “orders from superiors” and “special activities in the area”.
• At a checkpoint in Staromykhailivka (non-government-controlled, 15km west of Donetsk), a member of the armed formations denied the SMM passage, citing “security reasons”. When leaving the checkpoint, the Mission heard an undetermined explosion 2km south-west (see the ceasefire violations section above and the attached table).

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), an armed member of the armed formations told the Mission that mines on the road leading north had not been cleared.

 

[1] For a complete breakdown of ceasefire violations, please see the annexed table. During the reporting period, winter weather conditions limited the observation capabilities of some SMM cameras.

* Please see the section at the end of this report entitled “Restrictions of the SMM’s freedom of movement or other impediments to fulfilment of its mandate”.

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