Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 16 July 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 both Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
• A man from Chermalyk died from shrapnel injuries.
• The SMM saw fresh damage caused by gunfire to civilian properties in Zolote-5/Mykhailivka and Marinka, and craters caused by shelling near residential houses in Khreshchatytske.
• Inside the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area, the SMM continued to observe demining activities and the operation of a shuttle bus service.
• The Mission saw anti-tank mines and a wire obstacle on the road inside the Zolote disengagement area.
• It saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in non-government-controlled areas of Luhansk region; specifically, it saw mortars near Sentianivka and multiple launch rocket systems in a training area near Miusynsk.
• The SMM saw for the first time unexploded ordnance near Molodizhne and in Sentianivka.
• The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to facilitate repairs of critical civilian infrastructure on both sides of the contact line, including to water pipelines near government-controlled Zolote-3/Stakhanovets and to a phenol sludge reservoir near government-controlled Novhorodske.
• Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued, including at checkpoints in non-government-controlled areas of southern Donetsk region near Zaichenko and Novoazovsk.*

Ceasefire violations[1]

In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, including more explosions (about 110), compared with the previous reporting period (about 60 explosions). About half of ceasefire violations were recorded at southerly directions of Pyshchevyk (government-controlled, 25km north-east of Mariupol), west of Donetsk city centre (non-government-controlled), and easterly directions of Hnutove (government-controlled, 20km north-east of Mariupol).

In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, including more explosions (about 250), compared with the previous reporting period (about 205 explosions). The majority of ceasefire violations, including the majority of explosions, were recorded at easterly directions of Popasna (government-controlled, 69km west of Luhansk).

Man from Chermalyk dies due to shrapnel injuries

On 12 July, a resident of Chermalyk (government-controlled, 31km north-east of Mariupol) told the SMM that on the evening of 11 July, he had gone to see one of his neighbours at 63 Kalmiuska Street after hearing shelling in the area. The man added that, when he had arrived at his neighbour’s house, he saw medical staff carrying his neighbour into an ambulance. On 15 July, medical staff at a morgue in Mariupol told the SMM that the body of a resident (man, aged 49) of 63 Kalmiuska Street in Chermalyk had been brought in with fatal shrapnel injuries to his head, legs and torso.

At 63 Kalmiuska Street, the SMM saw a shed with a piece of wall missing as well as bricks and debris on the ground. About 5m from the shed, in a single-storey house, the SMM saw six shattered windows and shrapnel marks on the window frames and a wall, as well as wooden planks lying on the ground below the windows. The SMM also saw a blood stain on the ground in the entry way to the house (next to the aforementioned wall). The SMM could not assess the type of weapon used or the direction of fire.

Fresh damage from small-arms fire to an apartment in Zolote-5/Mykhailivka and residential properties in Dokuchaievsk

On 15 July, at a two-storey apartment building at 18 Lizy Chaikinoi Street in the south-western part of Zolote-5/Mykhailivka (non-government-controlled, 58km west of Luhansk), the SMM saw a hole in a west-north-west-facing window of a second floor apartment, assessed as fresh and caused by small-arms fire.

On 16 July, inside a ground-floor apartment of a five-storey building at 89 Tsentralna Street in the north-western part of Dokuchaievsk (non-government-controlled, 30km south-west of Donetsk), the SMM saw a hole in a south-west-facing window and a corresponding hole in a wall adjacent to the window, assessed as fresh and caused by heavy-machine-gun fire.

About 130m south-south-east from 89 Tsentralna Street, in an apartment on the ground floor of a five-storey building at 93 Tsentralna Street, the SMM saw a hole in a south-west-facing window, assessed as fresh and caused by small-arms-fire. About 400m south-west of the latter building, in a top-floor apartment of a five-storey building at 86 Lenina Street, the SMM saw a hole in a south-facing window, assessed as fresh and caused by heavy-machine-gun fire.

About 440m south-east from 86 Lenina Street, at 20 Sverdlova Street, the SMM saw a hole (30cm x 20cm) in a south-facing metal fence, assessed as fresh and caused by a round of an automatic grenade launcher fired from a southerly direction. Five residents of the above-mentioned properties (mixed ages and genders) separately told the SMM that they had been at their homes on the evening of 14 July when they heard shooting (for previous observations in the area, see SMM Daily Report 16 July 2019).

Fresh damage from shelling to apartments in Marinka

On 15 July, at 48 Shevchenka Street in the central part of Marinka (government-controlled, 23km south-west of Donetsk), the SMM saw a hole in a metal fence about 5m from a residential house and a scratch in an asphalt driveway about 1.5m north-east from the hole, all assessed as fresh and caused by a projectile (weapon type unknown) fired from a north-easterly direction. A resident of the house (a woman in her sixties) told the SMM that she had been at home on the evening of 11 July when she heard an explosion.

On 16 July, about 450m south-west of 48 Shevchenka Street, at a two-storey building at 12 Zavodska Street, the SMM saw damage to three apartments. At a ground-floor apartment, the SMM saw two shrapnel holes in an outer north-facing wall, assessed as fresh and caused by shrapnel. A resident of the apartment (a man in his sixties) told the SMM that he had been at home on the evening of 11 July when he heard an explosion. At another ground floor apartment, the SMM saw a shattered north-facing window and a hole (15cm in diameter) on the north-facing wall of a second-floor apartment above it. It assessed the damage as fresh and caused by an airburst (for previous observations in the area, see SMM Daily Report 16 July 2019).

Craters caused by shelling near houses in Khreshchatytske

On 16 July, at a residential house at 7 Pervomaiska Street in the central part of Khreshchatytske (formerly Krasnoarmiiske, non-government-controlled, 33km north-east of Mariupol), the SMM saw two craters (about 1.5m in diameter) in the garden of the house – one about 2m and one about 8m east of the house – assessed as fresh and caused by artillery rounds fired from a westerly direction. A resident of the house (a man in his sixties) told the SMM that he had been at home on the morning of 8 July when he heard a whistling sound.

About 260m north, at 19 Pervomaiska Street, the SMM saw a crater (2m in diameter and about 2m deep) about 3m east of the south-east-facing wall of a residential house, assessed as recent and caused by an artillery round fired from a westerly direction. The SMM saw that a metal gate with shrapnel holes had partially collapsed into the crater, and saw that there was shrapnel on the ground near the crater (for previous observations in the area, see SMM Daily Report 10 July 2019).

Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area

On 15 July, inside the disengagement area, an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) spotted a tractor moving concrete blocks off the road and onto the shoulder about 750m south of the Ukrainian Armed Forces entry-exit checkpoint (EECP).

On 16 July, inside the disengagement area, the SMM saw five people in dark blue clothing assessed as State Emergengy Service (SES) personnel operating mine detectors in a field between 10m and 150m east of the road about 500m south of the EECP. On the same day, the SMM again saw a bus transporting people from an area about 250m south of the EECP to the broken section of the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge and back. It also saw five members of SES and two Ukrainian Armed Forces officers of the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC) [2] cutting cable barriers from the sides of the road 50m north of the wooden ramps on the broken part of the bridge. A Ukrainian Armed Forces officer of the JCCC told the SMM that the roadsides were being cleared to make room for the bus to turn around.

Between the former forward position of the armed formations south of the wooden ramps and their checkpoint south of the bridge, the SMM saw also four members of the armed formations wearing “JCCC” armbands.

Other disengagement areas[3]

On 13 July, inside the disengagement area near Zolote (government-controlled, 60km west of Luhansk), an SMM mini-UAV spotted two anti-tank mines (TM-62) located at the edge of road T-1316 and a camouflage net stretching across the road with at least eight distinct cylindrical shaped discs underneath, assessed as probable anti-tank mines, assessed as belonging to the Ukrainian Armed Forces (for previous observations, see SMM Daily Report 27 June 2019). On the same day, an SMM mini-UAV again spotted a spool wire stretched across road T-1316 about 350m north of the armed formations’ checkpoint on the southern edge of the disengagement area.

On the evening of 15 July, while in Popasna, the SMM recorded about 240 undetermined explosions, about 70 bursts and about 90 shots of small-arms and heavy-machine-gun fire at an assessed range of 5-7km east-south-east, all assessed as outside the Zolote disengagement area but within its 5km periphery. On the evening and night of 15-16 July, the SMM camera in Zolote recorded 19 projectiles in flight at an assessed range of 2-5km east and east-north-east, assessed as outside the disengagement area but within 5km of its periphery.

On 16 July, positioned close to the disengagement area near Petrivske (non-government-controlled, 41km south of Donetsk), the SMM observed a calm situation.[4]

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

On 14 July, aerial imagery available to the SMM revealed the presence of seven multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) (type undetermined) in a training area near Miusynsk (62km south-west of Luhansk) (for previous observations, see SMM Daily Report 20 June 2019).

On 15 July, an SMM mini-UAV again spotted three mortars (2B11 Sani, 120mm) near Sentianivka (formerly Frunze, 44km west of Luhansk).

Beyond withdrawal lines but outside of designated storage sites

Non-government-controlled areas

On 14 July, aerial imagery available to the SMM revealed the presence of 13 tanks, 12 towed howitzers or mortars (types undetermined) and four surface-to-air missile systems (type undetermined) in a training area near Miusynsk (see above).

Indications of military and military-type presence in the security zone[5]

Government-controlled areas

13 July

An SMM mini-UAV spotted three infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) (BMP-1), including two under a tarpaulin, and an armoured personnel carrier (APC) (MT-LB) near a checkpoint of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, about 400m north of the disengagement area near Zolote.

15 July

An SMM mini-UAV spotted:

• an APC (BTR-80) near the EECP near Stanytsia Luhanska (16km north-east of Luhansk) (see SMM Daily Report 9 July 2019);
• an armoured combat vehicle (ACV) on the south-eastern edge of Stanytsia Luhanska; and
• three APCs (MT-LB) near Lebedynske (16km north-east of Mariupol).

An SMM mid-range UAV spotted an ACV under a camouflage net near Novhorodske (35km north of Donetsk).

16 July

The SMM saw:

• an APC (BTR-70) near Shchastia (20km north of Luhansk);
• an APC (BTR-70) near Makarove (19km north-east of Luhansk); and
• an IFV (BTR-4) near Novobakhmutivka (28km north of Donetsk).

Non-government-controlled areas

14 July

An SMM mini-UAV spotted:

• two APCs (a BTR-80 and a MT-LB), two command and communications vehicles (a R-142N mounted on a Gaz-66 truck and a type undetermined mounted on a Zil-131 truck) and a radio relay station (R-419A mounted on a Zil-131 truck) in Kadiivka (formerly Stakhanov, 50km west of Luhansk);
• an APC (MT-LB) in Stare (formerly Chervonyi Prapor, 58km west of Luhansk);
• a combat engineering vehicle (BAT-2), two IFVs (BMP-1 and BMP-2) and four APCs (BTR-60, BTR-70, BTR-80 and MT-LB) in Luhansk city; and
• an APC (BTR-80) under a camouflage net in Novoselivka (16km west of Luhansk).

15 July

An SMM mini-UAV spotted two ACVs under a camouflage net near Sentianivka.

Anti-tank mines near Shchastia and unexploded ordnance (UXO) near Molodizhne and near Sentianivka

On 13 July, an SMM mini-UAV again spotted at least 36 anti-tank mines (TM-62), assessed as belonging to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, laid in three rows across road H-21 south of the bridge in Shchastia. The same UAV also spotted at least 12 anti-tank mines (TM-62), assessed as belonging to the armed formations, laid in two rows across the western lane of the same road.

On 15 July, on road T-0504, which is regularly used by the SMM, about 100m east of a checkpoint of the armed formations near Molodizhne (non-government-controlled, 63km north-west of Luhansk), the SMM saw a fresh crater (20cm in diameter) in the asphalt, as well as concrete debris around the crater and a 120mm mortar tailfin embedded inside. On the same day, an SMM mini-UAV spotted for the first time a piece of UXO, assessed as a rocket from a MLRS (BM-21 Grad, 122mm) in a ditch about 60m west of road T-1317 leading to Sentianivka.

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 a phenol sludge reservoir near Novhorodske, as well as to a water pipeline near Maiorsk (government-controlled, 45km north-east of Donetsk). Additionally, the Mission monitored adherence to the ceasefire to support demining activities near the EECP near Maiorsk. The SMM also continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station (15km north of Donetsk) and monitor the security situation in the area of the pumping station near Vasylivka (non-government-controlled, 20km north of Donetsk).

SMM monitors security situation south-east of Kherson region

On 15 July, the SMM observed calm situations at the crossing point between Chonhar (163km south-east of Kherson) and Crimea, and along the Sea of Azov coast.

The SMM continued monitoring in 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, 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, SMM Daily Report 15 July 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 the checkpoint at the northern edge of Novoazovsk (non-government-controlled, 40km east of Mariupol), two armed members of the armed formations again denied the SMM passage southwards, citing “an ongoing anti-terrorist operation.”
• At the intersection of roads E-58 and T-0508 north-east of Novoazovsk, two armed members of the armed formations denied the SMM passage southwards, citing “training activities.”
• At a checkpoint about 600m north of Zaichenko (non-government-controlled, 26km north-east of Mariupol), two armed members of the armed formations again denied the SMM passage southwards to Sakhanka (non-government-controlled, 24km north-east of Mariupol) and westwards to Pikuzy (formerly Kominternove, non-government-controlled, 23km north-east of Mariupol), citing the unavailability of radio communication to receive permission from their superiors.
• At a checkpoint on the eastern edge of Veselohorivka (non-government-controlled, 64km west of Luhansk), an armed member of the armed formation denied the SMM passage, citing “restrictions” from his superior.

Regular restrictions related to disengagement areas and mines/UXO:

• The sides continued to deny the SMM full access to 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.

Other impediments:

• On the evening of 15 July, an SMM long-range UAV experienced dual GPS signal interference, assessed as due to jamming, while flying over Kostiantynivka (government-controlled, 60km north of Donetsk), Novhorodske (government-controlled, 35km north of Donetsk), Illinivka (government-controlled, 56km north of Donetsk) and Horlivka (non-government-controlled, 39km north-east of Donetsk)[6].  
• On 16 July, on two occasions, SMM mini-UAVs experienced signal interference assessed as probably caused by jamming while flying over areas near Solodke (government-controlled, 33km south-west of Donetsk).

 

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

* Please see the section at the end of this report entitled “Restrictions of the SMM’s freedom of movement or other impediments to fulfilment of its mandate”.

[2] The Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC) was established in September 2014 by Ukraine and the Russian Federation. Each posted a representative to jointly head the Centre and a staff of officers from the Ukrainian and Russian Federation Armed Forces to be co-located in defined sectors of Luhansk and Donetsk regions. In December 2017, Russian Federation Armed Forces officers withdrew from the JCCC and departed Ukraine.

[3]Disengagement is foreseen in the Framework Decision of the Trilateral Contact Group relating to disengagement of forces and hardware of 21 September 2016.

[4] 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.

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

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