Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 6 March 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.
- A car with armed men inside blocked the SMM’s passage near Sakhanka.
- An SMM mid-range unmanned aerial vehicle spotted anti-tank mines on the northern edge of Marinka.
- The Mission monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure in Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
- Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement area and its access was also restricted at a checkpoint near non-government-controlled Mykolaivka.*
Ceasefire violations[1]
In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, including about 160 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (about 100 explosions). The majority of ceasefire violations, including the majority of explosions, were recorded in areas south-east and south-south-east of Chermalyk (government-controlled, 31km north-east of Mariupol), in areas south and west of the Donetsk Filtration Station (DFS) (15km north of Donetsk) and at south-westerly directions of Svitlodarsk (government-controlled, 57km north-east of Donetsk).
In Luhansk region, the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations, including about 15 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (about 20 explosions). All explosions were recorded in areas north-west of Veselohorivka (non-government-controlled, 64km west of Luhansk).
A car with armed men in military-style clothing blocked the SMM’s passage
On 6 March, near Sakhanka (non-government-controlled, 24km north-east of Mariupol), the SMM saw a stationary civilian car with three armed men in military-style clothing inside blocking the lane in which two of the Mission’s vehicles were moving. As the SMM patrol attempted to bypass the civilian car, its driver started the engine and began manoeuvring towards the first SMM vehicle, almost colliding with it, and then stopped in front of the second SMM car, blocking its way. The car drove away after about one minute. The SMM then continued its patrol.
Disengagement areas[2]
On the evening of 5 March, the SMM camera in Zolote (government-controlled, 60km west of Luhansk), recorded a projectile in flight at an assessed range of 3-5km east-north-east (assessed as outside the disengagement area).
During the day on 6 March, positioned near the disengagement areas close to Zolote, Stanytsia Luhanska (government-controlled, 16km north-east of Luhansk) and Petrivske (non-government-controlled, 41km south 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
6 March
The SMM saw:
- a surface-to-air missile system (9K33 Osa) on road M04 near Novopavlivka (51km north-west of Donetsk).
Indications of military presence in the security zone[4]
Government-controlled areas
6 March
The SMM saw:
- an armored personnel carrier (BTR-70) near Novobakhmutivka (28km north of Donetsk).
Presence of mines
On 5 March, an SMM mid-range unmanned aerial vehicle spotted 33 anti-tank mines (probable TM-62) on the northern edge of Marinka (government-controlled, 23km south-west of Donetsk): 18 were laid out in two rows across a road leading to Donetsk city (non-government-controlled), about 35m south-east of the nearest residential houses; three were laid across the same road about 200m further east-north-east; four were fixed to a wooden board laid on a side road located between the above-mentioned two sets of anti-tank mines; and eight mines were laid across a local road about 400m south-east of the above-mentioned group of mines.
Unexploded ordnance in Donetsk city
On Stratonavtiv Street in Donetsk city’s Kyivskyi district (non-government-controlled), about 30m from inhabited residential houses, the SMM saw two objects: the first one lying on the ground, the second embedded in the tarmac. In the same district, the Mission also saw another object lying on the side of Bashkyrska Street, about 10m from inhabited residential houses. All three objects were not fenced off. It assessed all three of them as pieces of unexploded ordnance (UXO) (Grad-type rockets).
SMM facilitation of repairs to civilian infrastructure
The SMM monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to power lines near Holmivskyi (non-government-controlled, 49km north-east of Donetsk and a re-start of a water pump at the Petrivske water pumping station near Artema (government-controlled, 26km north of Luhansk). The Mission also monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to a water pipeline running along road H20 between Berezove (government-controlled, 31km south-west of Donetsk) and Olenivka (non-government-controlled, 23km south-west of Donetsk). A representative of the Voda Donbassa water company told the SMM that the pipeline had been successfully repaired.
The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the DFS and to monitor the overall security situation in the area of the pumping station near Vasylivka (non-government-controlled, 20km north 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 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 SMM Daily Report 5 March 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:
- At a checkpoint east of Mykolaivka (non-government-controlled, 39km north-east of Mariupol), a member of the armed formations did not allow the SMM to enter the settlement, citing ongoing “small-arms fire 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] Please see the annexed table for a complete breakdown of the ceasefire violations as well as a map of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions marked with locations featured in this report. During the reporting period, the SMM camera in Krasnohorivka was 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 cannot access its camera in Petrivske, 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.