Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 30 April 2017

This report is for the media and the general public.

The SMM’s operations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions remained restricted following the incident of 23 April near Pryshyb, which limited the Mission’s observations, including of ceasefire violations. Between the evenings of 28 and 29 April the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region compared with the previous reporting period, while between the evenings of 29 and 30 April it recorded a similar number of ceasefire violations – including, however, fewer explosions – compared with the previous 24 hours. In Luhansk region, between the evenings of 28 and 29 April, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations compared with the previous reporting period, while between the evenings of 29 and 30 April it recorded fewer ceasefire violations compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission followed up on reports of civilian casualties in Fashchivka and Berezove and observed damage to houses due to shelling in Kadiivka and Pikuzy. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. Its access there and elsewhere remained restricted.* The Mission saw fresh impact sites and recorded ceasefire violations within the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. It observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in non-government-controlled areas. The SMM observed the removal of unexploded ordnance near Berdianske. The Mission monitored four border areas currently not under government control. In Lviv the SMM monitored a gathering marking the 70th anniversary of Operation Vistula.

Between the evenings of 28 and 29 April the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations[1] in Donetsk region, including about 160 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (about 430 explosions). Between the evenings of 29 and 30 April it recorded a similar number of ceasefire violations – including, however, fewer explosions (about 100) – compared with the previous 24 hours.

On the night of 28-29 April the SMM camera at the “DPR”-controlled Oktiabr mine (9km north-west of Donetsk city centre) recorded two airbursts followed by aggregated totals of six undetermined explosions, 28 projectiles in flight (nine from north-east to south-west, three from east to west, eight from south-east to north-west, six from south-west to north-east, two from north-west to south-east), 17 tracer rounds in flight (one from north-east to south-west, four from south-east to north-west, 11 from south-west to north-east, one from north-west to south-east) and four illumination flares in flight (one from north-east to south-west, three from east to west), all 8-10km north-east.

On the evening of 29 April the same camera recorded four airbursts 8-10km north-east followed by, in sequence, one projectile in flight from west to east, three projectiles in flight from east to west, and one undetermined explosion, all 4-6km north-north-east.

On the night of 28-29 April the SMM camera in government-controlled Avdiivka (17km north of Donetsk) recorded one illumination flare from east to west followed by aggregated totals of 15 undetermined explosions, 41 projectiles in flight (three from east to west, ten from south-east to north-west, 20 from south-west to north-east, eight from north-west to south-east), 15 tracer rounds in flight (seven from west to east, eight from north-west to south-east) and three illumination flares in flight (two from east to west, one from south-east to north-west), all 3-6km east-south-east.

During the day on 29 April, positioned in Avdiivka, the SMM heard 27 undetermined explosions and small-arms fire (over 20 bursts and about 140 shots), all 2-8km at directions ranging from east to south-west. In the evening, the SMM camera in Avdiivka recorded, in sequence, five undetermined explosions, three projectiles in flight from north to south, one undetermined explosion, six more projectiles in flight from north to south, a projectile in flight from west to east, and an illumination flare in vertical flight, all 2-5km east-south-east. During the day on 30 April, positioned in Avdiivka, the SMM heard eight undetermined explosions and small-arms fire, all 1-5km south-east and south.

On 29 April, positioned in “DPR”-controlled Yasynuvata (16km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard 30 undetermined explosions and small-arms fire (over 40 bursts and almost 100 shots), all 1-7km west and north-west. On 30 April, in the same location, the SMM heard ten undetermined explosions and one burst of small-arms fire, all 2-5km south-west and west.

On the evening of 28 April, while in government-controlled Svitlodarsk (57km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard eight undetermined explosions and almost 50 bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire, all 3-6km south-east. The following evening, in the same location, the SMM heard two undetermined explosions and about 130 bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire, all 3-5km south-east.

On the evening of 28 April, while in “DPR”-controlled Horlivka (39km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard six undetermined explosions and saw five explosions (three undetermined and two assessed as outgoing rocket-propelled-grenade-launcher (RPG) rounds and 13 tracer rounds in flight – six from south-east to north-west and seven assessed as infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) (BMP-2) cannon (30mm) fire (three from south-east to north-west, four from north-west to south-east), all 4-12km south-west. The SMM also heard two undetermined explosions 5-7km north-west.

On the evening of 29 April, in the same location, the SMM heard 48 explosions (47 undetermined and one assessed as the impact of a round of an undetermined weapon), four bursts of automatic-grenade-launcher fire, over 60 bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire, all 3-9km at directions ranging from south-south-west to west. The SMM also saw, at similar distances and directions, at least 50 tracer rounds in flight from south-west to north-east.

On the night of 28-29 April, the SMM camera in Shyrokyne (20km east of Mariupol) recorded eight rocket-assisted projectiles in flight from south-west to north-east followed by aggregated totals of 67 rocket-assisted projectiles in flight (12 from north-east to south-west, one from east to west, 54 from south-west to north-east) and 55 tracer rounds in flight (22 from north-east to south-west, 24 from east to west, five from south-east to north-west, four from south to north), all at unknown distances north and north-east.

On the night of 29-30 April, the same camera recorded one explosion assessed as an outgoing round of an undetermined weapon followed by aggregated totals of three explosions (two undetermined and one assessed as an outgoing round of an undetermined weapon), four rocket-assisted projectiles in flight (two from north to south, one from west to east, one from north-west to south-east), 182 tracer rounds in flight (25 from south-east to north-west, 157 from north-west to south-east), and one minute of uncountable heavy-machine-gun tracer rounds in flight from west to east, all at unknown distances north and north-north-east.

On 29 April, positioned on the western edge of government-controlled Lebedynske (16km east of Mariupol), the SMM heard 17 explosions assessed as artillery rounds 5-8km north-north-east.

Positioned north-east of “DPR”-controlled Zaichenko (26km north-east of Mariupol), the SMM heard ten explosions assessed as automatic-grenade-launcher rounds and eight minutes of uncountable, overlapping bursts and shots of small-arms fire, all 3-4km south-west.

Positioned north of government-controlled Novotroitske (36km south-west of Donetsk), the SMM heard eight undetermined explosions and seven minutes of uncountable, overlapping bursts and shots of heavy-machine-gun and small-arms fire, all 1-2km east.

On 30 April, positioned south-east of government-controlled Lomakyne (15km north-east of Mariupol),  the SMM heard four undetermined explosions and heavy-machine-gun and small-arms fire, all at unknown distances at directions ranging from north to east.

Between the evenings of 28 and 29 April the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Luhansk region, including almost 130 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (52 explosions). Between the evenings of 29 and 30 April it recorded fewer ceasefire violations, including 75 explosions, compared with the previous 24 hours.

On 29 April, positioned in “LPR”-controlled Sentianivka (formerly Frunze, 44km west of Luhansk), the SMM heard seven explosions assessed as impacts of 120mm mortar rounds and four bursts of IFV (BMP-2) cannon fire, all 1km south-west.

Positioned in government-controlled Toshkivka (60km north-west of Luhansk), the SMM heard 75 explosions assessed as rounds of multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS), artillery, and IFV (BMP-1) cannon (73mm), 11 undetermined explosions, and about 75 bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire, all 8-10km south-south-east.

On the evening of 29 April, while in government-controlled Novoaidar (49km north-west of Luhansk), the SMM saw 30 flashes and heard 30 subsequent explosions assessed as outgoing rounds of undetermined weapons 10-15km north-east.

While in “LPR”-controlled Kadiivka (formerly Stakhanov, 50km west of Luhansk), the SMM heard 26 undetermined explosions 10-15km north-north-east.

The SMM followed up on reports of civilian casualties. On 28 April, in “LPR”-controlled Fashchivka (60km south-west of Luhansk), the SMM saw a completely destroyed trailer and assessed that it had probably struck an anti-tank mine. A man who said he was a former Luhansk Railway Company employee told the SMM that on 24 April six railway workers (four men 40-60 years old and two women, aged 45 and 55 respectively) had been travelling in a tractor with a trailer when the latter had hit a mine at the north-western edge of the village. He said that one man had died on the spot, while the other people were taken to a hospital in “LPR”-controlled Perevalsk (38km west of Luhansk), where the two women subsequently died. Medical staff at the hospital, as well as the brother of one of the injured persons and several residents of the town repeated the same information to the SMM. The Mission also saw a registry at the Perevalsk hospital stating that the five people were admitted on 24 April with injuries. A medical staff member at the hospital told the SMM the three people who had suffered injuries remained in hospital care.

On 29 April, the SMM followed up on reports received on 28 April separately from several residents of government-controlled Berezove (31km south-west of Donetsk) regarding civilian casualties due to unexploded ordnance. At the district hospital in government-controlled Kurakhove (40km west of Donetsk), medical staff told the SMM that a man had been admitted on 28 April with multiple shrapnel injures in his right arm and right leg. Police in Kurakhove told the SMM that the man (born in 1984) had been wounded while attempting to disassemble a piece of unexploded ordnance at his residence at 11 Chekhova Street in Berezove, and that another man (born in 1983) accompanying him had been killed. On 30 April, police in government-controlled Volnovakha (53km south of Donetsk) repeated the same information to the Mission.

The SMM observed damage to houses due to shelling. On 29 April, accompanied by a Russian officer of the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC), the SMM saw a fresh crater 2.5m north of a house at 29 Hryboiedova Street in Kadiivka, assessed as caused by a 122mm artillery round fired from a north-westerly direction. On the northern side of the property the SMM saw that a gate had been completely destroyed, portions of a cement wall had fallen to the ground, and tiles had been blown off of the roof of a porch. The house’s north-facing door had been completely destroyed, and two windows on the same side were broken. The SMM also saw that two windows of a minivan and the window of a garage, all facing the direction of the crater, were broken, and that an electric line had been cut, likely due to shrapnel. About 200m east of the crater, several windows on the west-facing side of a school were broken, likely due to blast waves. The nearest “LPR” position was about 1km from the crater. The owner of the house told the SMM that the explosion had occurred at 21:20 on 28 April. Between 22:00 and 24:00 on 28 April, while in Kadiivka, the SMM had heard movement of heavy equipment but was unable to assess distance or direction.

On 30 April, the SMM saw a large hole in the west-facing roof, as well as a broken north-facing window, of a house at 1 Kirova Street in “DPR”-controlled Pikuzy (formerly Kominternove, 23km north-east of Mariupol). The Mission was unable to assess the site because it had to depart the area for security reasons upon hearing an explosion assessed as an outgoing recoilless gun (SPG-9, 73mm) round and three bursts of small-arms fire about 200m north-west. A resident (man in his sixties) of the house had told the SMM that projectiles had landed in his yard on 29 April at 13:30 and that two projectiles had hit his house at 18:00 the same day.

The SMM continued to monitor the disengagement process and to pursue full access to the disengagement areas of Stanytsia Luhanska (16km north-east of Luhansk), Zolote (60km west of Luhansk) and Petrivske (41km south of Donetsk), as foreseen in the Framework Decision of the Trilateral Contact Group relating to disengagement of forces and hardware of 21 September 2016. The SMM’s access remained restricted but the Mission was able to partially monitor them.*

On 29 April, the SMM assessed four fresh impact sites between the forward Ukrainian Armed Forces position north of the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge and the forward “LPR” position on the bridge – three 50m north of the “LPR” position and one approximately midway between the positions – as caused by recoilless gun (SPG-9) or IFV (BMP-1) cannon rounds, of which one (of the three 50m north of the “LPR” position) was assessed as fired from a northerly direction, while the direction of fire of the others could not be assessed. The SMM also assessed several holes on the road as caused by heavy-machine-gun rounds fired from an undetermined direction.

Positioned about 400m south-east of the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge, the SMM heard two shots of small-arms fire 100-150m north, assessed as inside the disengagement area.

On the evening of 28 April, the SMM camera in government-controlled Zolote recorded, in sequence, eight explosions assessed as artillery or mortar rounds, one undetermined explosion, ten luminous objects in descending vertical flight, three more explosions assessed as artillery or mortar rounds, and one more undetermined explosion, all 4-6km at directions ranging from north-east to south and assessed as outside the disengagement area.

On 30 April, positioned just north of the disengagement area near Zolote, the SMM heard six undetermined explosions 7-10km north-east. Positioned north-east of Zolote, the SMM heard one undetermined explosion 7-8km south. Positioned in “LPR”-controlled Pervomaisk (58km west of Luhansk), the SMM heard 12 explosions assessed as impacts of 122mm mortar rounds 5-7km south-south-west. All the ceasefire violations were assessed as outside the disengagement area.

On 29 April, positioned 2km east of government-controlled Bohdanivka (41km south of Donetsk), the SMM heard eight shots of heavy-machine-gun fire 3-5km north-west and north-north-west, assessed as outside the disengagement area near “DPR”-controlled Petrivske.

The SMM continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons, in implementation of the Memorandum, the Package of Measures and its Addendum.

In violation of withdrawal lines in non-government-controlled areas, the SMM again observed, on both 29 and 30 April, seven multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS) (BM-21 Grad, 122mm), seven self-propelled howitzers (2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm), ten towed howitzers (five D-30 Lyagushka, 122mm; and five 2A65 Msta-B, 152mm), and seven tanks (T-72) at an aerodrome in the south-eastern outskirts of Luhansk city; and on 30 April, the SMM saw a mortar (2B9 Vasilok, 82mm) being towed by a truck and two anti-tank guided missile systems (9M113 Konkurs, 135mm) mounted on trucks, all travelling north on a road 2km south of Michurine (61km south of Donetsk) (a zone within which deployment of heavy weapons is proscribed also according to Point 5 of the Memorandum).

Beyond withdrawal lines but outside designated storage sites, the SMM saw on 30 April, in non-government-controlled areas, at least 50 tanks (type undetermined) at a training area near Ternove (57km east of Donetsk).

In government-controlled areas on the same day, the SMM saw three towed howitzers (2A65) in a compound in Koliadivka (58km north of Luhansk).

The SMM observed armoured combat vehicles,[2] a convoy of trucks with armed persons and tracks assessed as those of howitzers in the security zone. In non-government-controlled areas the SMM saw, on 29 and 30 April, seven IFVs (BMP-2) and 12 armoured personnel carriers (APCs) (five MT-LB, seven BTR-80) in the south-eastern outskirts of Luhansk city, and on 30 April, two APCs (MT-LB) near Lukove (72km south of Donetsk) and a convoy of two APCs (BTR-70), eight trucks carrying armed persons, and weapons in violation of withdrawal lines (see above), all travelling north on a road 2km south of Michurine; painted on the doors of six of the vehicles was the word “Chechen” in Cyrillic.

The SMM also saw tracks assessed as those of two self-propelled howitzers (2S1) between “LPR”-controlled Oleksandrivsk (10km west of Luhansk) and Teplychne (8km west of Luhansk).

In government-controlled areas, the SMM saw on 30 April one IFV (BTR-4) near Makarove (19km north-east of Luhansk).

On 29 April, the SMM observed a Ukrainian Armed Forces demining team remove two unexploded rocket-propelled grenades near government-controlled Berdianske (18km east of Mariupol).

On 28 April, the SMM saw that five flare grenade devices previously seen in government-controlled Zolote-4 (60km north-west of Luhansk) were no longer there. (See SMM Daily Report 26 April 2017.)

On 30 April, the SMM monitored four border areas currently not under government control. During 30 minutes at a border crossing point near Marynivka (78km east of Donetsk), the SMM saw 24 civilian cars (11 with Russian Federation, nine with Ukrainian, two with Polish, one with Lithuanian, and one with Georgian licence plates) in a queue to exit Ukraine, and 17 civilian cars (ten with Ukrainian, five with Russian Federation, and one with Lithuanian licence plates, and one with “DPR” plates), as well as two buses with Ukrainian licence plates enter Ukraine.

During 25 minutes at a border crossing point near Uspenka (73km south-east of Donetsk), the SMM saw eight trucks with Ukrainian licence plates (seven with covered cargo areas, one open and observed to be empty) and 42 civilian cars (most with Ukrainian and Russian licence plates, and one with “DPR” plates) in a queue to exit Ukraine, and one truck with a covered cargo area and one bus (both with “DPR” plates), as well as 14 civilian cars (six with Ukrainian and six with Russian Federation licence plates, and two with “DPR” plates), enter Ukraine.

During about 30 minutes at a border crossing point near Ulianivske (61km south-east of Donetsk), the SMM saw two pedestrians enter Ukraine and three pedestrians exit Ukraine.

During 22 minutes at a border crossing point near Leonove (formerly Chervonyi Zhovten, 82km south of Luhansk), the SMM observed that the crossing point was closed, as previously observed.

On 28 April in Lviv the SMM monitored a gathering marking the 70th anniversary of Operation Vistula, attended by about 250 people (men and women aged 15-75). Twelve police officers were present at the event, which took place peacefully.

The SMM continued monitoring in Kherson, Odessa, 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 the JCCC should contribute to such response and co-ordinate mine clearance.

Denial of access:

• On 29 and 30 April, at the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area, a Ukrainian officer of the JCCC told the SMM that its safety still could not be guaranteed in the areas surrounding the main road due to the possible presence of mines and UXO. The SMM informed the JCCC both times.
• On 29 and 30 April, at an “LPR” checkpoint on the edge of the Zolote disengagement area, armed men told the SMM that its safety still could not be guaranteed in the fields and side roads due to the possible presence of mines and UXO. The SMM informed the JCCC both times.
• On 29 April, the SMM could not travel east from government-controlled Bohdanivka (41km south-west of Donetsk), as Ukrainian officers of the JCCC said that anti-tank mines were still present on the road. The SMM informed the JCCC.
• On 30 April, the SMM could not travel west from “DPR”-controlled Petrivske due to a lack of security guarantees and the possible presence of mines. The SMM informed the JCCC.
• On 29 and 30 April, at a Ukrainian Armed Forces checkpoint north of the bridge in government-controlled Shchastia (20km north of Luhansk), Ukrainian Armed Forces officers told the SMM that no demining had taken place during the previous 24 hours and that the road south of the bridge was still mined. The SMM did not consider it safe to proceed and informed the JCCC both times.

[1] Please see the annexed table for complete breakdown of the ceasefire violations as well as map of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions marked with locations featured in this report.

[2] This hardware is not proscribed by the provisions of the Minsk agreements on the withdrawal of weapons.