Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 7 February 2019

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 observed recent impact craters in Pikuzy and Molodizhne.
• It facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to essential civilian infrastructure in Donetsk region.
• The Mission facilitated and monitored the transfer of persons convicted before the conflict from non-government-controlled to government-controlled areas in Luhansk region.
• Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas as well as in Novoazovsk, an area near the border with the Russian Federation.*
• The SMM monitored a public gathering in Hlyboka district, Chernivtsi region, in relation to churches changing affiliation in the district.

Ceasefire violations[1]

In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, including about 260 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (about 85 explosions). The majority of ceasefire violations, including nearly 80 per cent of the explosions, were recorded in areas north, south, south-west, west and north-west of the railway station in Yasynuvata (non-government-controlled, 16km north-east of Donetsk). In Kamianka (government-controlled, 20km north of Donetsk), the SMM heard three explosions 500-700m north-east of its location, and the patrol immediately left the area.

In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations, including one explosion, compared with the previous reporting period (about 40 explosions). The majority of ceasefire violations were recorded in areas west of Molodizhne (non-government-controlled, 63km north-west of Luhansk).

Recent impact craters in Pikuzy and Molodizhne

In Pikuzy (formerly Kominternove, non-government-controlled, 23km north-east of Mariupol), the SMM saw a fresh crater in the garden on the south-eastern side of a house on Pobeda Street. The SMM assessed that the crater was caused by an impact of a 30mm round. A female resident of the house told the SMM that she had been home when the impact from shelling that she said had been from automatic grenade launcher rounds had happened.

On 6 February, an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle spotted between 20 to 30 recent craters assessed as impacts of mortar (120mm) rounds about 2km south-west of Molodizhne, about 150m north of road T0504. (For previous observations in the area, see SMM Daily Report 31 January 2019 and SMM Daily Report 1 February 2019.)

Disengagement areas[2]

During the day on 7 February, positioned north of the disengagement area near Petrivske (non-government-controlled, 41km south of Donetsk) and inside the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska (government-controlled, 16km north-east of Donetsk) and near Zolote (government-controlled, 60km west of Luhansk), the SMM observed calm situations.[3]

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

Government-controlled areas

7 February

The SMM saw:

• an armoured personnel carrier (BTR variant) south-east of Malynove (19km north-east of Luhansk).

Non-government-controlled areas

The SMM saw:

• an infantry fighting vehicle (BMP-1) on the northern edge of Vuhlehirsk (49km north-east of Donetsk).

SMM facilitated and monitored the transfer of persons convicted before the conflict in Luhansk region

The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable a transfer of persons convicted before the conflict from non-government- to government-controlled areas in Luhansk region. Both a Ukrainian Armed Forces officer and a member of the armed formations told the SMM that 33 persons had been transferred.

SMM facilitation of repair works to civilian infrastructure

The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works at the Krasnohorivka Gas Distribution Station in Marinka (government-controlled, 23km south-west of Donetsk). The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station and to monitor the overall security situation in the area of the pumping station in Vasylivka (non-government-controlled, 24km north-east of Donetsk).

Public gathering related to churches changing affiliation in Hlyboka district

In Hlyboka (23km south of Chernivtsi), the SMM observed a gathering of about 250 people (aged 40-70 and about 60 percent men) affiliated with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in front of the Hlyboka district administration building who were singing and praying in old Slavonic and Romanian languages. Some of the people were holding posters criticizing the change of church affiliation to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) by local parishes. The SMM also observed about 50 people (mostly men, aged 40-70) standing nearby. A representative of the Hlyboka district administration (male in his fifties) addressed the protestors and said that the authorities would not interfere with the decisions by individual parishes on affiliation and stated that if problems appeared, everyone was invited to address his or her concern to the district administration. The SMM observed between 30 to 40 police officers present and a calm situation.

The Mission continued monitoring in Kherson, Odessa, Lviv, 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 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.

Denial of access:

• The SMM was again stopped at the entrance of Novoazovsk (non-government-controlled, 40km east of Mariupol) by three members of the armed formations who denied the SMM access to the settlement as well as to continue moving east toward the border with the Russian Federation, citing “ongoing special forces operations in the area.”

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. The SMM camera in Svitlodarsk was not operational during the reporting period and 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 hardware mentioned in this section is not proscribed by the provisions of the Minsk agreements on the withdrawal of weapons.