Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 13 February 2019

This report is for the media and the general public.

Summary

• Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region.
• The Mission followed up on reports of a man who died at a checkpoint in Kreminets.
• An SMM unmanned aerial vehicle spotted recent impact craters in non-government-controlled Sokilnyky and government-controlled Travneve.
• The Mission saw weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines in Khrustalnyi and near Sofiivka and Molodizhne.
• The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to and the operation of essential civilian infrastructure in Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
• The Mission followed up on reports of graffiti on a church in Zaporizhzhia.
• Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and near Zaichenko.*

Ceasefire violations[1]

In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations, including about 170 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (about 310 explosions). The majority of ceasefire violations, including the majority of explosions, were recorded south and west of the Donetsk Filtration Station (DFS) (15km north of Donetsk), in areas south-east and south-south-east of Chermalyk (government-controlled, 31km north-east of Mariupol) and again at easterly, southerly and westerly directions of Svitlodarsk (government-controlled, 57km north-east of Donetsk).

In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, including, however, fewer explosions (seven), compared with the previous reporting period (about 15 explosions). The majority of ceasefire violations were recorded in areas south-east of Popasna (government-controlled, 69km west of Luhansk).

Man died while waiting at a checkpoint in Kreminets

The SMM followed up on reports of a man who died on 12 February at a checkpoint on highway H-15 near the Kargil plant in Kreminets (non-government-controlled, 16km south-west of Donetsk). On 13 February, at the Kalinina Hospital morgue in Donetsk city, staff told the Mission that the body of a man (in his sixties) who had died earlier that day from a heart attack had been brought to the morgue in the afternoon on 12 February. They added that the ambulance staff who had brought in the body said the man had died while waiting alone in his car at the above-mentioned checkpoint. (For previous similar observations from the checkpoint, see SMM Daily Report 9 February 2019.)

Recent impact craters

On 12 February, an SMM mini unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) spotted at least ten recent impact craters near previously destroyed residential buildings and trenches on the western edge of Sokilnyky (non-government-controlled, 38km north-west of Luhansk), as well as three additional recent craters about 600m west.

On the same day, an SMM mid-range UAV spotted a recent impact crater (not seen in imagery from 1 October 2018) eight metres from residential buildings in the southern part of Travneve (government-controlled, 51km north-east of Donetsk). The UAV also spotted that roof panels of three of these buildings had been dislodged or had fallen to the ground; some of them were intact while others were broken. The Mission assessed the crater and the damage to the roofs as caused by a probable 120mm mortar round.

Disengagement areas[2]

During the day on 13 February, positioned north of the disengagement area near Petrivske (non-government-controlled, 41km south of Donetsk) and inside the disengagement areas near Zolote (government-controlled, 60km west of Luhansk) and 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.

In violation of withdrawal lines

Non-government-controlled areas

12 February

An SMM mini-UAV spotted:

• three self-propelled howitzers (2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm) in a training area near Sofiivka (formerly Karlo-Marksove, 40km north-east of Donetsk) (for previous observations, see SMM Daily Report 13 February 2019).

13 February

The SMM saw:

• five multiple launch rocket systems (BM-21 Grad, 122mm) on the northern edge of Khrustalnyi (formerly Krasnyi Luch, 56km south-west of Luhansk) and
• a mortar (type undetermined, 120mm) near Molodizhne (63km north-west of Luhansk).

Weapons storage sites

At a permanent storage site beyond the respective withdrawal lines in non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk region

13 February

The SMM saw that:

• 13 tanks (seven T-72 and six T-64) continued to be missing.

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

Government-controlled areas

13 February

The SMM saw:

• a combat engineering vehicle (type undetermined) in Viktorivka (74km west of Luhansk).

Non-government-controlled areas

12 February

An SMM mini-UAV spotted:

• five infantry fighting vehicles (probable BMP-1) and an armoured recovery vehicle (a probable BTS-4A) in a training area near Sofiivka (see above) and
• two amoured personnel carriers (MT-LB) in Donetsk city.

SMM facilitation of repair works to civilian infrastructure

The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to water wells at the Petrivske water pumping station near Artema (government-controlled, 26km north of Luhansk). The SMM continued to facilitate the operation of the DFS and to monitor the overall security situation in the area of the pumping station in Vasylivka (non-government-controlled, 20km north of Donetsk).

Border areas outside of government control

While at a border crossing point near Marynivka (78km east of Donetsk) for about 30 minutes, the SMM saw 28 cars with Ukrainian, Russian Federation, Georgian and Lithuanian licence plates; three covered cargo trucks with Russian Federation licence plates; and two buses exiting Ukraine. During the same time, the Mission saw five cars with Ukrainian and Russian Federation licence plates entering Ukraine.

Graffiti on a church wall in Zaporizhzhia

The SMM saw fresh traces of graffiti (a swastika symbol), which had been painted in black paint or coal, on a wall of St. Princess Olha’s Church (affiliated with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church) at 161a Sobornyi Avenue in Zaporizhzhia (70km south of Dnipro). A police car was parked near the church. A priest from the church told the Mission that he had seen the graffiti for the first time in the early morning on 11 February and that the church’s night guard, who had seen the graffiti before him on the same morning, had tried to remove the markings. A police representative told the Mission that an investigation under article 296 (hooliganism) of the Criminal Code had been opened. (For similar observations from Zaporizhzhia, see SMM Daily Report 9 February 2019.)[5]

The Mission continued monitoring in Kherson, Odessa, Lviv, Kharkiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, 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 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 12 February 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

• Two 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 Mission from travelling to Sakhanka (non-government-controlled, 24km north-east of Mariupol) and Pikuzy (formerly Kominternove, non-government-controlled, 23km north-east of Mariupol). They cited “the SMM’s safety”.

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.

Conditional access

• At a checkpoint of the armed formations on road H-15 near the Kargil plant in Kreminets (non-government-controlled, 16km south-west of Donetsk), a member of the armed formations again on two occasions allowed the SMM to proceed only after inspecting its trailer.

[1] For a complete breakdown of ceasefire violations, please see the annexed table.

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

[5] The distance to Zaporizhzhia mentioned in the SMM Daily Report of 9 February 2019 should have read “70km south of Dnipro”.