Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 14 June 2019

This report is for the media and the general public.

Summary

• Compared with the previous reporting period, the Mission recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region.
• The SMM saw damage to a functioning school and to a shop in Zolote-5/Mykhailivka, to a house in Dokuchaievsk and to two apartments in a residential building in Yasne.
• The Mission recorded ceasefire violations inside the Stanytsia Luhanska and Zolote disengagement areas.
• The SMM monitored a protest against the lack of running water in Kostiantynivka.
• It spotted military trucks travelling back and forth between a railway station and a warehouse in non-government-controlled Sukhodilsk near the border with the Russian Federation.
• The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to and the operation of critical civilian infrastructure on both sides of the contact line.
• Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere, including in non-government-controlled areas at checkpoints near Verkhnoshyrokivske and in Prymorske and Sosnivske.*

Ceasefire violations[1]

In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, including more explosions (about 200), compared with the previous reporting period (about 110 explosions). The majority of ceasefire violations were recorded in areas south-east of Svitlodarsk (government-controlled, 57km north-east of Donetsk) and at south-easterly directions of Hnutove (government-controlled, 20km north-east of Mariupol).

On the evening of 13 June, the SMM camera in Berezove (government-controlled, 31km south-west of Donetsk) recorded three projectiles in flight at an assessed range of 0.5-1km south-east. On the evening and night of 13-14 June, the SMM camera at the Donetsk Filtration Station (DFS) (15km north of Donetsk) recorded two projectiles in flight and four explosions (three assessed as outgoing rounds and one as an impact), all at an assessed range of 200-500m south. No damage to the cameras was recorded.

In Luhansk region, the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations, including fewer explosions (about 270), compared with the previous reporting period (about 310 explosions). The majority of ceasefire violations, including about 250 explosions, were recorded at southerly directions of Popasna (government-controlled, 69km west of Luhansk).

Fresh damage due to small-arms fire to a functioning school and to a shop in Zolote-5/Mykhailivka

On 13 June, in Zolote-5/Mykhailivka (non-government-controlled, 58km west of Luhansk), at a four-storey functioning school at Myru Street, the SMM saw damage to three windows on the west-north-west-facing side of the building: a fresh hole in both panes of one third-floor double-glazed window and a corresponding fresh hole in the frame of a door on the opposite side of the corridor; another fresh hole in both panes of a second double-glazed third-floor window and a corresponding hole in the wall plaster on the opposite side of the same corridor; and a fresh hole in one of the panes of a double-glazed second-floor window. The SMM saw shards of glass scattered on the ground below the three damaged windows. It assessed the damage as caused by small-arms fire. The school director (woman, around 50 years old) told the SMM that the damage had occurred in the early hours of 13 June. The nearest positions of the armed formations are located around 700m north of the school.

At a one-storey shop at Pervomaiska Street in the central part of Zolote-5/ Mykhailivka, the SMM saw a bullet embedded in the south-west-facing part of the roof. The shopkeeper (woman, 50 years old) told the SMM she had found the bullet stuck in the roof when she came to work on the morning of 13 June.

Damage due to gunfire to a house in Dokuchaievsk

On 14 June, in Dokuchaievsk (non-government-controlled, 30km south-west of Donetsk), at 19 Telmana Street, the SMM saw a hole in the south-east-facing side of the roof of a one-storey house. The SMM was unable to assess whether the damage was recent, the weapon type and direction of fire. A resident of the house (woman in her sixties) told the SMM that in the early hours of 13 June she had heard a noise coming from the roof and had found the hole later that morning. The SMM had previously observed damage to a house on the same street on 11 May (see SMM Daily Report 13 May 2019).

Fresh damage due to shelling to two apartments in a residential building in Yasne

On the same day, in Yasne (non-government-controlled, 30km south-west of Donetsk), at 9 Valova Street, the SMM saw a fresh crater filled with soil 3m west of a two-storey residential building and about 30 holes caused by shrapnel and gravel in the south-west-facing outer wall of the same building. It also saw damage to two apartments in the same building. At the first apartment on the second floor the SMM saw a south-west-facing window with its pane missing and covered over with a brown sheet of paper and a mosquito net, and a corresponding fresh shrapnel hole in the north-west-facing interior wall opposite the window. At the second apartment, on the first floor, the SMM saw two windows with a fresh shrapnel hole in each of them and a third window with its pane missing (all south-west-facing) and multiple fresh holes in a north-west-facing interior wall. A resident of the apartment (woman in her sixties) told the SMM that she had been outside the building on the evening of 9 June with her seven-year-old granddaughter when she heard explosions and had run into the basement to seek shelter. The SMM assessed the damage to both apartments as caused by a round of an undetermined weapon fired from a westerly direction.

Disengagement areas[2]

On the evening of 13 June, positioned in Stanytsia Luhanska (government-controlled, 16km north-east of Luhansk), the SMM heard three undetermined explosions at an assessed range of 5-8km south-west (assessed as within 5km of the disengagement area’s periphery). On the evening and night of 14-15 June, the SMM camera in Stanytsia Luhanska recorded two undetermined explosions 0.5-2km south assessed as inside the disengagement area (one of the undetermined explosions was also recorded by the SMM camera at the Prince Ihor Monument south-east of the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge).

On 13 June, an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) spotted a military-type truck (KamAz) with several boxes assessed as ammunition crates placed next to it on the ground and three members of the armed formations stationary at the checkpoint of the armed formations on the southern edge of the disengagement area near Zolote (government-controlled, 60km west of Luhansk). On the same day, positioned on its northern edge, the SMM saw a white civilian car carrying two persons in camouflage clothing drive into the disengagement area.

On the evening of 13 June, the SMM camera in Zolote recorded a burst of an undetermined weapon at an assessed range of 1-2km east-north-east, assessed as within 5km of the disengagement area’s periphery. On the evening of 14 June, the same camera recorded an explosion (assessed as an airburst) at an assessed range of 4-6km east-south-east and a projectile at an assessed range of 1-2km east-south-east, both assessed as within 5km of the disengagement area’s periphery. On the morning of 14 June, positioned on the northern edge of Zolote, the SMM heard an undetermined explosion at an assessed range of 2-4km south, assessed as inside the disengagement area. On the afternoon of the same day, positioned on the western edge of Pervomaisk (non-government-controlled, 58km west of Luhansk), the SMM heard 30 bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire at an assessed range of 2-5km north and north-west, which it was unable to assess as inside or 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.

Beyond withdrawal lines but outside of designated storage sites:

Government-controlled areas

14 June

The SMM saw an anti-tank gun (MT-12 Rapira, 100mm) near Bohoiavlenka (46km south-west of Donetsk).

Non-government-controlled areas

14 June

The SMM saw two tanks (type undetermined) inside a compound near Petrivske (65km east of Donetsk).

Weapons that the SMM could not verify as withdrawn

At a heavy weapons holding area in a government-controlled area of Donetsk region[3]

14 June

The SMM noted that 18 towed howitzers (2A65 Msta-B, 152mm) and ten anti-tank guns (MT-12) remained missing.

Indications of military presence in the security zone[4]

Government-controlled areas

9 June

An SMM mini-UAV spotted an infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) (BMP-1) near Nevelske.

13 June

The SMM saw an IFV (BMP-1) near the Ukrainian Armed Forces checkpoint north of the Zolote disengagement area.

14 June

The SMM saw:

• freshly-dug trench extensions and four Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers digging near a newly-constructed bunker near Kriakivka (38km north-west of Luhansk);
• an IFV (BMP-1) near the Ukrainian Armed Forces checkpoint north of the Zolote disengagement area; and
• an IFV (BTR-4) near Novobakhmutivka (28km north of Donetsk).

Mine hazard sign near Yasne and demining activities near Myrna Dolyna

On the eastern edge of Yasne, on the south-western side of a local road, the SMM saw for the first time a red-and-white mine hazard sign on a concrete road block with the word “mine” written in Russian language.

The Mission saw seven people carrying out demining activities in a field on the western side of road R-66, around 3km south-east of Myrna Dolyna (government-controlled, 67km north-west of Luhansk).

SMM facilitation of repairs to civilian infrastructure

The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to the Petrivske pumping station near Artema (government-controlled, 26km north of Luhansk), to a water pipeline between Zolote-3/Stakhanovets (government-controlled, 61km west of Luhansk) and Popasna, to the phenol sludge reservoir near Zalizne (formerly Artemove, government-controlled, 42km north-east of Donetsk) and to high voltage power lines in Kruta Balka (non-government-controlled, 16km north of Donetsk). A representative of a power supply company told the SMM that the repairs to the power lines had concluded.

The SMM facilitated the operation of the DFS and continued to monitor the security situation in the area of the pumping station near Vasylivka (non-government-controlled, 20km north of Donetsk).

Border areas outside government control

While at a border crossing point near Uspenka (73km south-east of Donetsk) for about an hour, the SMM saw 36 cars (seven with Ukrainian, ten with Russian Federation, one with Georgian and one with Lithuanian licence plates, as well as 17 with “DPR” plates), ten trucks (seven with Ukrainian and one with Belarusian licence plates, as well as two with “DPR” plates; two loaded with wood logs, one open and empty, and the remainder covered cargo), two buses with “DPR” plates and 17 pedestrians entering Ukraine. It also saw 39 cars (ten with Ukrainian and 14 with Russian Federation licence plates, as well as 15 with “DPR” plates), four trucks (one with Ukrainian and one with Belarusian licence plates, as well as two with “DPR” plates, all covered cargo), two buses with “DPR” plates, and 24 pedestrians exiting Ukraine.

While at a border crossing point near Ulianivske (61km south-east of Donetsk) for about 40 minutes, the SMM observed no cross-border traffic.

While at a border crossing point near Marynivka (78km east of Donetsk) for about two hours, the SMM saw 19 cars (five with Ukrainian and nine with Russian Federation licence plates, as well as four with “DPR” and one with “LPR” plates), two buses with “DPR” plates, two trucks (one with “DPR” and one with “LPR” plates; both covered cargo), and 13 pedestrians entering Ukraine. It also saw 28 cars (two with Ukrainian and 14 with Russian Federation licence plates, as well as 12 with “DPR” plates), three buses with “DPR” plates, a truck with Ukrainian licence plates (covered cargo), and three pedestrians exiting Ukraine.

Protest against lack of running water in Kostiantynivka

On the eastern edge of Kostiantynivka (government-controlled, 60km north of Donetsk), the SMM saw about 30 people (mixed genders, 20-70 years old) blocking vehicular traffic on road T-0504. One of the participants told the SMM that they were residents of Kostiantynivka and neighbouring villages protesting against the lack of running water in these areas. The SMM saw seven police officers wearing uniforms and flak jackets, as well as two police vehicles. In Kostiantynivka, two women told the SMM that residents of their neighbourhood had been without water supply for seven days.

Military trucks spotted travelling back and forth between a railway station and a warehouse in Sukhodilsk near the border with the Russian Federation

In Sukhodilsk (non-government controlled, 38km south-east of Luhansk), about 10km west of the border, between 01:01 and 02:42 on the morning of 14 June, an SMM long-range UAV spotted several military trucks travelling back and forth for two and a half hour between the main railway station, from which the tracks extend westwards towards Molodohvardiisk (non-government-controlled, 35km south-east of Luhansk) and eastwards to the border with the Russian Federation south-east of Izvaryne (non-government-controlled, 52km south-east of Luhansk), and a warehouse south-west of the station.

At the train station in Sukhodilsk, the UAV spotted five military trucks on the station platform, with two trucks backed into train cars in a position to load and unload cargo, and 18 railway box cars present. The UAV also spotted eight military trucks parked at the front and to the east of the main train station building. The same UAV then spotted three of the five military trucks on the station platform leaving the train station and travelling in a south-westerly direction for about 1.3km to a walled compound with a large warehouse located about 220m east of road M-04.

Upon arrival, the three military trucks entered the compound and two trucks were being offloaded into the warehouse. Within the next hour, seven more military trucks entered the compound and were seen moving towards the loading bay. Around the same time, after being unloaded, the two previously mentioned military trucks left the compound and headed back to the railway station in Sukhodilsk, passing five additional military trucks in the vicinity of the compound. Shortly after, the same UAV spotted four military trucks leaving the train station and heading south-west towards the aforementioned warehouse.

The SMM continued monitoring in Kherson, Odessa, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Chernivtsi and Kyiv.

*Restrictions of the 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 on 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 12 June 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 600m west of Verkhnoshyrokivske (formerly Oktiabr, non-government-controlled, 29km north-east of Mariupol), an armed member of the armed formations denied the SMM passage.
• At a mobile checkpoint in Prymorske (non-government-controlled, 76km south of Donetsk), ten armed members of the armed formations denied the SMM passage, citing “an ongoing anti-terrorist operation”.
• At a mobile checkpoint in Sosnivske (non-government-controlled, 78km south of Donetsk), an armed member of the armed formations denied the SMM access to the village, citing “orders from superiors not to let the SMM through the checkpoint”.

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.

Delay:

• At a checkpoint about 600m west of Verkhnoshyrokivske (formerly Oktiabr, non-government-controlled, 85km south of Donetsk), an armed member of the armed formations allowed the SMM to proceed only after about 50 minutes of waiting.

Other impediments:

• On the evening and night of 13-14 June, an SMM long-range UAV experienced GPS signal interference, assessed as due to jamming, while flying near Kostiantynivka (government-controlled, 60km north of Donetsk) and Stepanivka (government-controlled, 54km north of Donetsk). [5]
• During the day on 14 June, an SMM mini-UAV experienced GPS signal interference, assessed as due to probable jamming, while flying near Dokuchaievsk (non-government-controlled, 30km south-west of Donetsk).
• On the same day, on three occasions, an SMM mini-UAV experienced GPS signal interference, assessed as due to probable jamming, while flying near Chermalyk (government-controlled, 31km north-east of Mariupol).

 

[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] The SMM visited a site previously holding weapons that could not be verified as withdrawn, as their storage did not comply with the criteria set out in the 16 October 2015 notification from the SMM to the signatories of the Package of Measures on effective monitoring and verification of the withdrawal of heavy weapons. The SMM noted that the site continued to be abandoned.

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

[5] The interference could have originated from anywhere within a radius of kilometres from the UAVs’ positions.