Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 1 March 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 an injured man in Donetskyi.
• The Mission spotted refurbishment of military positions inside the Petrivske disengagement area.
• The SMM saw weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line.
• The Mission monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to essential civilian infrastructure in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. 
• Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere, including again ata checkpoint near Popasna.*

Ceasefire violations[1]

In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded fewerceasefire violations, including about 180 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (about 470 explosions). The majority of ceasefireviolations, including the majority of the explosions, were recorded in areas south-east of Chermalyk (government-controlled, 31km north-east of Mariupol) and at south-westerly directions of Svitlodarsk (government-controlled, 57km north-east of Donetsk).

In Luhansk region, the Mission recorded about 280 ceasefire violations, including about 260 explosions. During the previous reporting period, the SMM did not record any ceasefire violations in the region. The majority of ceasefireviolations were recorded at westerly directions of Kadiivka (formerly Stakhanov, non-government-controlled, 50km west of Luhansk) including about 150 explosions of artillery rounds, 40 of which assessed as outgoing.

Man injured reportedly as a result of shelling in Donetskyi

At a hospital in Holubivka (formerly Kirovsk, non-government-controlled, 51km west of Luhansk), medical staff told the Mission that a man (in his forties) had been admitted to the hospital on 18 February with shrapnel wounds to his right foot and ankle. The man told the SMM he had been injured during shelling while he had been at his house in Donetskyi (non-government-controlled, 49km west of Luhansk).

Fresh impact crater

In Sakhanka (non-government-controlled, 24km north-east of Mariupol), the SMM saw a fresh crater in a field 130m south-east of a functioning school and 85m east of the closest civilian house. It assessed the crater as caused by an 82mm mortar round fired from a south-westerly direction. 

Disengagement areas[2]

On 27 February, inside the disengagement area near Petrivske (non-government-controlled, 41km south of Donetsk), an SMM mid-range unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) spotted new wooden poles and tarpaulin sheeting on the roofs of two bunkers assessed as belonging to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, about 550m south of the area’s northern edge and about 1.3km west of its eastern edge. On 24 February, aerial imagery available to the SMM revealed the presence of a military truck inside the area, about 700m east of its western edge and about 600m south of its northern edge.[3]

On the evening of 28 February, the SMM camera in Zolote (government-controlled, 60km west of Luhansk) recorded a projectile in flight at an assessed range of 1-1.5km south-east (assessed as outside the disengagement area). 

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

1 March

An SMM mini-UAV spotted:

• three surface-to-air missile systems (9K35, Strela-10) near Pionerske (14km east of Mariupol).

Non-government-controlled areas

24 February

Aerial imagery available to the SMM revealed the presence of four tanks (types undetermined) and a probable self-propelled howitzer (type undetermined) in a training area near Novoselivka (37km north-east of Donetsk).

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

Government-controlled areas

1 March

An SMM mini-UAV spotted:

• an infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) (BTR-3E) in Pionerske.

The SMM saw:

• two IFVs (BMP-2) near Yasnobrodivka (26km north-west of Donetsk).

Non-government-controlled areas

27 February 

An SMM mid-range UAV spotted: 

• two IFVs (BMP-1) and a probable armoured combat vehicle near Styla (34km south of Donetsk).

28 February

An SMM mini-UAV spotted:

• four IFVs (BMP-1) near Dokuchaievsk (30km south-west of Donetsk) and
• an armoured personnel carrier (APC) (MT-LB) near Sentianivka (formerly Frunze, 44km west of Luhansk).

1 March

The SMM saw:

• an APC (MT-LB) with a mounted anti-aircraft gun (ZU-23, 23mm) nearMius (65km south-west of Luhansk)

Presence of unexploded ordnance

About 600m west of Verkhnoshyrokivske(formerly Oktiabr, non-government-controlled, 29km north-east of Mariupol), the SMM saw for the first time two pieces of unexploded ordnance (UXO), assessed as 152mm artillery rounds,with the nose fuses pointing upwards,lying on the northern side of the road, about 4m of its edge.

About 2.6km north-east of the Donetsk central railway station (non-government-controlled, 6km north-west of Donetsk city centre), on Kyivskyi Avenue, the SMM observed for the first time two parts of an UXO (a grey round tube which was broken in two pieces), assessed as a multiple launch rocket system (Grad) (type undetermined) rocket embedded in the asphalt. The UXO was located around 110m from the closest civilian house.

SMM facilitation of repair works to civilian infrastructure

The SMM monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to water pipelines at the Petrivske water pumping station near Artema (government-controlled, 26km north of Luhansk). The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station (15km north of Donetsk) and to monitor the security situation around the pumping station near Vasylivka (non-government-controlled, 20km north of Donetsk).

The Mission monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works topower transmission lines in Sakhanka(non-government-controlled, 24km north-east of Mariupol), after the electricity poles had fallen down further breaking the electricity cables. The SMM observed that power supply in Sakhanka had been restored the same day. 

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, 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 theJoint 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 of 25 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.

Denials of access: 

• At a checkpoint in the eastern outskirts of Popasna (government-controlled, 69km west of Luhansk), a Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier again did not allow the SMM to proceed south-west on road T-0504, citing orders from his commander.

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 Ukrainian Armed Forces checkpoint north of the bridge in Shchastia (government-controlled, 20km north of Luhansk), a Ukrainian Armed Forces officer of the JCCC told the SMM that there had been no demining in the area.

Other impediments:

• In Horlivka(non-government-controlled, 39km north-east of Donetsk), the head doctor of the hospital refused to provide information to the SMM without prior authorization from senior members of the armed formations.

 

[1]For a complete breakdown of ceasefire violations, please see the annexed table. During the reporting period, the SMM cameras in Krasnohorivkaandat Oktiabr mine 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]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.