Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine based on information received as of 26 August 2015

This report is for the media and the general public.

The SMM monitored the implementation of the “Package of measures for the implementation of the Minsk agreements”. Its monitoring was restricted by the parties and security considerations*. The SMM facilitated a local ceasefire that allowed for gas pipeline repairs in the Luhansk region.

The situation at and around Donetsk airport (“Donetsk People’s Republic” (“DPR”)-controlled, 9km north-west of Donetsk city centre) was relatively calm. Between 08:00 and 17:00hrs, at the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC) observation point at Donetsk central railway station (“DPR”-controlled, 8km north-west of Donetsk city centre), the SMM observed 21, mostly incoming explosions and exchanges of small arms and heavy-machine-gun fire 3-20km to the south-west, north-west, north, and north-east of its position [1].

In Horlivka (“DPR”-controlled, 39km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM visited Hospital # 2 where the head doctor said that six patients were treated for injuries due to the shelling on 25 August (See SMM Daily Report 26 August, 2015). One was discharged the same day and all remaining patients are in stable condition.

In Telmanove (“DPR”-controlled, 78km south of Donetsk), the SMM followed up on reports from Russian Federation officers and “DPR” members at the JCCC of shelling on the night of 25 August. Based on the SMM’s analysis of three craters observed in a residential area, the impacts were consistent with 122mm artillery shells originating from the south-west. The SMM observed light damage to nearby civilian houses.

In Pisky (government-controlled, 12km north-west of Donetsk), the SMM spoke with an elderly couple and an elderly woman who said that, following the evacuation of 14 residents from Pisky in the past week, only six persons, all elderly, remained in the village. They have received pensions for July and their main means of subsistence is humanitarian aid.

In Donetsk city, the SMM met representatives of the Donbas Gas Company who said that the company now fell under “DPR” control and supplied gas to around 740,000 private and 4,000 commercial clients in the Donetsk region. They explained that repair works had been challenging due to the lack of specialised tools and that repair was most urgently needed in Holmovskyi (“DPR”-controlled, 38km north-east of Donetsk) where 4.5km of pipeline had been damaged on 18 January. They estimated that 70 per cent of winter preparations were completed and emergency teams were established to address urgent repairs during the winter.

At the Ukrainian Armed Forces checkpoint in Kominternove (government-controlled, 23km north-east of Mariupol), the SMM observed five Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel in defensive position opposite a group of some 30 local residents of Kominternove. They were talking to the commander about the closure of the checkpoint since its shelling during the night of 24 to 25 August. The SMM was initially denied passage* before being allowed to proceed further. Three local residents on the spot told the SMM that their main concern was that they lacked access to Mariupol as the other road through checkpoint 12 in Hnutove was allegedly mined.

At a gas station near Novotroitske (government-controlled, 36km south-west of Donetsk), the SMM was approached by a group of Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers who shouted abusive comments at the patrol members.

The overall situation in the Luhansk region remained tense, with the SMM observing ceasefire violations in the government-controlled areas of Novotoshkivske (53km north-west of Luhansk) and Shchastia (20km north of Luhansk). At 11:15hrs, while on the move 8km east of Nizhniy (government-controlled, 56km north-west of Luhansk) the SMM observed two explosions, with an interval of two seconds, ostensibly caused by artillery or mortar impacting 300m in front of its patrol vehicles. The SMM immediately departed the area.

In Nyzhni, between 11:40 and 12:00hrs, the SMM heard 50 explosions which it assessed to have been caused by mortar or heavy artillery fire 5-10km south-west of its position in the direction of Zolote (government-controlled, 60km north-west of Luhansk). Ukrainian Armed Forces officers at the JCCC informed the SMM that a mortar fire exercise was conducted in the area, which is located 15km from the contact line.

In government-controlled Shchastia (20km north of Luhansk), the SMM observed four aircraft flying east. The SMM estimated that the aircraft were 20km east of its position, but could determine neither their altitude nor type.

The SMM arranged and monitored a local ceasefire supported by the JCCC, in the area of Dovhe (23km north-west of Luhansk) and Slovianoserbsk where repairs of damaged gas pipelines were successfully completed by the Luhansk main gas pipeline company. The chief engineer told the SMM that the repairs would provide gas and electricity to 5,600 people who had been left without gas supplies.

The SMM visited the "LPR" side of the bridge near Stanytsia Luhanska (government-controlled, 16km north east of Luhansk) where two elderly civilians, male and female, stated that they had been waiting at the Ukrainian Armed Forces checkpoint for six hours before they were allowed to cross the bridge towards “LPR” areas. According to them, this had been faster than usual as they had waited up to 12 hours in the past.

The SMM revisited two “DPR” heavy weapons holding areas, whose locations comply with the respective withdrawal lines, and verified that all weapons previously recorded were present. At one location, the SMM observed that the weapons were outside the storage and attached to trucks. The guards told the SMM that the roof had collapsed forcing them to move the weapons outside.

The SMM revisited four Ukrainian Armed Forces heavy weapons holding areas, whose locations comply with the respective withdrawal lines. The SMM was denied access to one of these areas*. At one holding area it observed that seven self-propelled howitzers (2S3 Akatsia, 152mm) were missing; at a second area six towed anti-tank guns (MT-12 Rapira, 100mm) and at the third five self-propelled howitzers (2S3 Akatsia, 152mm) were missing.

In "LPR"-controlled Kruhlyk (31km south-west of Luhansk), the SMM observed 20 main battle tanks (T64).

On 25 August, at the monument of fallen heroes in Ivano-Frankivsk, the SMM monitored a commemoration of the fallen heroes of Ukraine on the occasion of the World Congress of the Greek-Catholic Church. Around 900 participants, mostly middle-aged women and men attended including representatives of the regional authorities and members of the Azov volunteer battalion under the ministry of internal affairs. Twenty police officers were present at the event, which ended peacefully.

The SMM monitored a gathering in front of the city hall in Odessa where some 60, mostly middle-aged men and women, some bearing flags of Batkivshchyna and Svidomi political parties, called on the city council to label the Russian Federation as an aggressor state. Among the demonstrators were the heads of Automaidan and several pro-Maidan self-defence groups. Around 30 police officers and 30 Shtorm Battalion riot police were present at the event which ended peacefully after it was announced that the city council session was postponed due to lack of a quorum.

The chief of the district police in Mezhova (102km east of Dnepropetrovsk) told the SMM that the number of crimes involving weapons had increased. Before May 2014, they investigated four such cases on average per year, while since then they have investigated 100 such cases including 27 this year alone. Most of these crimes are committed by former soldiers, he added.

In Poltava (149km south-west of Kharkiv), the SMM continued to follow the trial against Hennadii Kernes, on charges of torture, illegal confinement or abduction of a person and threat to murder (Articles 127, 146 and 129 of the Criminal Code) (See SMM Daily Report, 30 July 2015). Some 30 activists monitored and on two occasions interrupted the trial by singing the Ukrainian national anthem and chanting slogans against Mr. Kernes. Some 150 pro-Maidan supporters were outside the courthouse. Around 50 police officers were present. The judge ordered the continuation of the hearing on 7 September.

The SMM monitored a gathering of around 150 men and women in front of the Russian Federation consulate in Kharkiv, protesting against the sentencing in the Russian Federation of Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsova and activist Aleksander Kolchenko on 25 August. Around 300 police officers were present at the event which ended peacefully.

In front of the central election commission’s building in Kyiv, the SMM monitored a gathering of the Christian organization Spiritual Centre of Renaissance where 2,000 women and men of all ages collectively prayed for peace in Ukraine. There was no visible police presence at the event, which ended peacefully.

In Kyiv, the SMM observed a press conference by the head of the parliamentary temporary investigation commission, in charge of investigating the Ilovaisk tragedy of 23 July and 24 August 2014, which resulted in approximately 1,000 fatalities and missing in action.

The SMM continued to monitor the situation in Kherson, Chernivtsi and Lviv.

*Restrictions of the mission’s freedom of movement or other impediments to fulfilment of its mandate:

The SMM is restrained in fulfilling its monitoring functions by restrictions imposed by the parties and security considerations, including mine threats, and damaged infrastructure. The security situation in Donbas is fluid and unpredictable and the ceasefire does not hold everywhere. Self-imposed restrictions on movement into high-risk areas have impinged on SMM patrolling activities, particularly in areas not controlled by the government. Members of the “LPR” continue to prevent the SMM from monitoring most areas close to the border with the Russian Federation.

Denied access:

• The SMM was denied access to a Ukrainian Armed Forces heavy weapons holding area and was told by the guard that it needed an authorization by the higher command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
• At a Ukrainian Armed Forces checkpoint in Kominternove the SMM was waiting to pass for 15 minutes when a Ukrainian Armed Forces serviceperson said that passage had been denied, as it had to be granted by the checkpoint commander, and he was not able to come at the moment.

Delayed access:

• At a “DPR” checkpoint on H15 located at 8km south of Donetsk city centre, the SMM was delayed twice, for 12 and 11 minutes respectively.  On one occasion, the “officer” of the “ministry of interior” told the SMM that he had to wait for an approval by the “ministry of defense” to let the SMM proceed. Additionally, on another occasion, at the same checkpoint, the SMM was not allowed to proceed.  The SMM moved 1km back from the checkpoint and following some phone calls was allowed to proceed the second time.

Other impediments:

• On 26 August at 13:45hrs, while at its observation point at the eastern outskirts of Berdianske (government-controlled, 18km east of Mariupol), 500 metres east from the centre of the village, the SMM saw six armed men in uniform without insignia and two of them in green masks approaching from a known Ukrainian Armed Forces position. They surrounded the monitors and enquired about a camera that they said they had observed in the OSCE vehicle, filming Ukrainian Armed Forces positions and alleged that the SMM was “spying” for the “Donetsk People’s Republic” (“DPR”) by giving grid co-ordinates for artillery strikes. The men asked SMM monitors to line up in front of the OSCE vehicles. One of them asked about the monitors’ nationalities and checked their OSCE ID cards and mobile phones for pictures. The men also searched the OSCE vehicles and the Global Positioning Systems (GPS). One of them instructed the SMM to stop by a place he referred to as the local Ukrainian Armed Forces headquarter at the western outskirts of Berdianske. In front of that place the SMM was met by a man in uniform who said that his rank was lieutenant-colonel within what he called the marine unit Nr. 1965. After talking on the phone, he apologized to the SMM members. The SMM left at 14:55hrs and returned to base at 16:00hrs.

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