Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 13 August 2017

This report is for the media and the general public.

Between the evenings of 11 and 12 August the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. Between the evenings of 12 and 13 August the Mission recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region compared with the previous 24 hours. In the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area, an armed man pointed his assault rifle at SMM patrol members and threatened to shoot them.* The Mission followed up on a report of a civilian casualty in Dokuchaievsk; a “DPR” member told the Mission he could not provide detailed information about the incident without the permission of other “DPR” members.* The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote disengagement area. The Mission’s access was restricted there and elsewhere, including in Yasne.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Miusynsk. The Mission followed up on reports of interruption of power supply due to shelling-related damage in Katerynivka. It facilitated and monitored repairs to the Petrivske pumping station. The SMM visited two border areas not under government control. In Odessa, the Mission monitored the “March for Equality”.

In Donetsk region the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations[1] between the evenings of 11 and 12 August, including about 70 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (about 140 explosions), and more between the evenings of 12 and 13 August, including about 160 explosions, compared with the previous 24 hours.

On the evening and night of 11-12 August the SMM camera in government-controlled Avdiivka (17km north of Donetsk) recorded, in sequence, one airburst, two projectiles in flight from west to east, one projectile in flight from south to north, one projectile in flight from west to east, five projectiles in vertical flight assessed as anti-aircraft cannon (type unknown) rounds, one burst of anti-aircraft cannon (type unknown) fire, three projectiles in flight from west to east and one airburst, all 2-6km at directions ranging from east to south-east.

On the evening and night of 12-13 August the same camera recorded, in sequence, 13 projectiles in flight from west to east, 34 projectiles in flight from east to west, one illumination flare in vertical flight, at least 40 projectiles in flight from west to east, two undetermined explosions, followed by aggregated totals of three illumination flares in vertical flight, 127 projectiles in flight (at least 58 from west to east, at least 56 from east to west, seven from south-east to north-west and six from south-west to north-east), all 4-6km east-south-east. The following day, positioned in Avdiivka for about five hours, the SMM heard 30 undetermined explosions 3-5km east-south-east and one burst of heavy-machine-gun fire 2-3km east-south-east.

On the evening and night of 11-12 August the SMM camera at the Donetsk Filtration Station (15km north of Donetsk) recorded, in sequence, one projectile in flight from south to north, 60 projectiles in flight from west to east, two undetermined explosions, 24 projectiles in flight from west to east, one undetermined explosion, 42 projectiles in flight from west to east, 12 tracer rounds in flight from east to west, one projectile in flight from south to north and three tracer rounds in flight from east to west, all 1-3km south. On 13 August the same camera recorded 44 explosions assessed as impacts of rounds of undetermined weapons 3-4km north-east.

On the evening and night of 11-12 August, while in government-controlled Svitlodarsk (57km north-east of Donetsk), in about two hours the SMM heard eight undetermined explosions and about 40 bursts and shots of automatic-grenade-launcher and small-arms fire, all 3-10km south-east and east. The following day, while in the same location, within a minute the SMM heard three undetermined explosions about 5km south-east. On the evening and night of 12-13 August the SMM heard 22 undetermined explosions and five bursts of small-arms fire, all 5-10km east.

On the evening and night of 11-12 August, the SMM camera in Shyrokyne (20km east of Mariupol) recorded, in sequence, one explosion assessed as an outgoing round of an undetermined weapon, one rocket-assisted projectile in flight from south-east to north-west, two undetermined explosions, eight tracer rounds in flight from west to east, one undetermined explosion, three bursts from west to east, one explosion assessed as an outgoing round of an undetermined weapon and one rocket-assisted projectile in flight from south-east to north-west, followed by aggregated totals of 46 undetermined explosions and 34 tracer rounds in flight (25 from west to east and nine from east to west), all at unknown distances north.

On the evening and night of 12-13 August the same camera recorded, in sequence, 49 undetermined explosions, two tracer rounds in flight from west to east, one undetermined explosion, one illumination flare in vertical flight, three tracer rounds in flight from west to east, two illumination flares in vertical flight, one tracer round in flight from east to west, one undetermined explosion, followed by aggregated totals of five undetermined explosions, one illumination flare in vertical flight, 14 projectiles in flight (11 from west to east and three from east to west) and 122 tracer rounds in flight (76 from west to east and 46 from east to west), all at unknown distances north and north-north-east.

In Luhansk region the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations between the evenings of 11 and 12 August, including 15 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (about 190 explosions). Between the evenings of 12 and 13 August it recorded fewer ceasefire violations, including, however, more explosions (46), compared with the previous 24 hours.

On the night of 11-12 August, while in government-controlled Popasna (69km west of Luhansk), the SMM heard nine undetermined explosions, about 350 bursts of heavy-machine-gun and small-arms fire, and ten shots of infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) (BMP-2) cannon (30mm) fire, all 3-10km at directions ranging from south-east to south-west. On the evening and night of 12-13 August, while in the same location, the SMM heard 44 undetermined explosions, about 25 minutes of uncountable overlapping bursts and an additional 170 bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire, and one shot of small-arms fire, all 3-8km at directions ranging from north-east to south-east.

On 13 August, while an SMM patrol was positioned immediately south of the broken section of the pedestrian bridge south of government-controlled Stanytsia Luhanska (16km north-east of Luhansk), next to a forward “LPR” position inside the disengagement area, a man in military-style clothing armed with an assault rifle (AK-variant) approached the patrol, disengaged its safety catch and pointed it at the patrol from about 3m away. The armed man then gestured with his rifle to the patrol to move, calling the SMM patrol members “spies” and threatening to shoot them. The SMM immediately returned to its armoured vehicles and departed the area. The Mission informed the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC) about the incident and requested that it follow up.* (See SMM Spot Report 13 August 2017.) On 14 August, a Russian officer of the JCCC informed the SMM that the abovementioned man had been discharged from service at an “LPR” position on the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge.

The SMM followed up on a media report of a civilian casualty in “DPR”-controlled Dokuchaievsk (30km south-west of Donetsk). On 11 August at the hospital in the town, medical staff told the Mission that a man (aged 66) had triggered a booby trap and died from bleeding on the spot and that his body had been brought to the hospital for a post-mortem examination. The next day, the SMM visited the former residence of the deceased man at 3 Polova Street in Dokuchaievsk where a group of five residents (three men, aged 50-60, and two women, aged between 40-50 years) together told the SMM that the man’s family had left for his funeral, adding that the incident occurred in the area between Dokuchaievsk and “DPR”-controlled Yasne (30km south-west of Donetsk) on the morning of 10 August. They said that the deceased man had been found dead by his son who had been searching for him. The residents also said that the son noted that his father had likely triggered a booby trap and that the area of the incident had been frequently visited by local residents despite its close proximity to the contact line. A “DPR” member told the SMM that the man had set off a grenade connected with a trip wire, but that further information could not be provided without the permission of other “DPR” members.* Russian Federation officers of the JCCC told the Mission that the man had triggered a booby trap while walking 300-400m from the contact line and showed the Mission a letter that they said certified the man’s death on 10 August.

In “DPR”-controlled Pikuzy (formerly Kominternove, 23km north-east of Mariupol), the SMM met with the mother of a 19-year-old girl who was killed in the village by gunfire on the night of 18-19 June. (See SMM Daily Report 22 June 2017.) The mother told the Mission that after the incident she and her family had moved to “DPR”-controlled Novoazovsk (40km east of Mariupol) and that she visits Pikuzy for work.

The SMM continued to monitor the disengagement process and to pursue full access to the disengagement areas of Stanytsia Luhanska, 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 the evening and night of 10-11 August, the SMM camera in government-controlled Zolote recorded seven projectiles in flight from north-west to south-east, all 3.5-5km east-north-east and assessed as outside the disengagement area. On the night of 11-12 August, the same camera recorded, in sequence, one projectile in flight from north to south, one projectile in flight from south-west to north-east, one projectile in flight from north-west to south-east and one projectile in vertical flight, all 8.5-13km east and assessed as outside the disengagement area. The camera then recorded, in sequence, four projectiles in flight from north-west to south-east, one projectile in flight from south-east to north-west, five projectiles in flight from north-west to south-east, one projectile in flight from south-west to north-east and one undetermined explosion, all 2.6-5.5km at directions ranging from east-north-east to south-east and assessed as outside the disengagement area.

On 12 August, positioned at the eastern edge of “LPR”-controlled Pervomaisk (58km west of Luhansk), the SMM heard three undetermined explosions about 3km south-south-west. Later in the day, positioned in government-controlled Zolote-4 (60km north-west of Luhansk), the SMM heard one burst and six shots of small-arms fire about 600m north-east. Approximately one hour later, positioned 1.5km west of Zolote-4, the SMM heard one undetermined explosion and saw subsequent smoke rising 5-7km north-east. The SMM assessed that all these ceasefire violations had occurred outside the disengagement area.

On 13 August, positioned in Zolote-4, the SMM heard one shot of small-arms fire 300-400m south-east, assessed as outside the disengagement area. About four hours later, the Mission heard one shot of small-arms fire about 1km south-south-west but it was unable to assess whether the ceasefire violation had occurred inside or outside the disengagement area.

The same day, positioned in government-controlled Bohdanivka (41km south-west of Donetsk), outside the disengagement near “DPR”-controlled Petrivske, the SMM noted a calm situation.

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

In violation of withdrawal lines, in non-government-controlled areas, aerial imagery revealed the presence of eight multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) (type unknown) on 9 August at a possible training area about 5km south-east of Miusynsk (62km south-west of Luhansk) where previously at least 16 MLRS had been observed. (See SMM Daily Report 31 July 2017.)

Beyond withdrawal lines but outside designated storage sites in non-government-controlled areas, aerial imagery revealed the presence of 11 self-propelled howitzers, eight towed howitzers and 16 tanks (type unknown) on 9 August at a possible training area about 5km south-east of Miusynsk where previously nine self-propelled howitzers, 12 towed howitzers and 18 tanks had been observed. (See SMM Daily Report 31 July 2017.)

The SMM observed armoured combat vehicles[2] and tracks of armoured personnel carriers (APC) in the security zone. On 12 August the SMM saw two APCs (BTR-4) – one stationary and the other heading north – near government-controlled Makarove (19km north-east of Luhansk). On 13 August the SMM saw fresh tracks assessed as those of three or four APCs (MT-LB) near “LPR”-controlled Dovhe (22km north-west of Luhansk).

On 12 August the SMM again saw the presence of armed formations in a residential area of Yasne where the Mission had recently observed damage to civilian properties. (See SMM Daily Report 1 August 2017.) At the south-west end of Lenina Street, the SMM saw at least ten armed “DPR” members. As three of them approached the SMM, it saw the safety catches of assault rifles (AK-variant) carried by two of the men were disengaged (set for full automatic fire) and another man was filming the Mission’s interaction with them. One of the two men asked the SMM about the purpose of the visit and said he was not pleased with the presence of the Mission in the village. The SMM did not consider it safe to stay in the village and left the area.*

The SMM observed the presence of unexploded ordnance (UXO) and mine hazard signs. On 11 August the  SMM, for the first time, observed the tailfin of an 82mm mortar round sticking 2cm out of the asphalt about 90m south-east of the junction between Akhmatovoi  and Peremohy Streets in the centre of Pikuzy. The SMM assessed the mortar round had been fired from a north-north-westerly direction. The Mission informed a resident in Pikuzy of the presence of the UXO. The following day, the SMM informed a Russian officer of the JCCC in “DPR”-controlled Bezimenne (30km east of Mariupol) about the presence of the UXO as well as two previously observed unexploded 120mm mortar rounds and a crater on the E-58 road between Bezimenne and “DPR”-controlled Sakhanka (24km north-east of Mariupol). (See SMM Daily Report 11 August 2017.)

The SMM followed up on reports of interruption of power supply due to shelling-related damage in government-controlled Katerynivka (64km west of Luhansk). A group of three women (aged between 40-70 years) together told the SMM on 13 August that the power company had stopped electricity supply to the village in the early morning, as a result of information from a resident that the power distribution system in the village was damaged by shelling that occurred on the night of 12-13 August. The SMM then visited the power company in government-controlled Hirske (63km west of Luhansk), where staff confirmed the power cut and said the power distribution system in the village would be repaired, while noting a shortage of technical staff to conduct repairs in the village and its surrounding areas.

The SMM facilitated repairs to essential infrastructure, co-ordinated by the JCCC. On 12 August, positioned on both sides of the contact line, the SMM continued to monitor repair works at the Petrivske water pumping station near government-controlled Artema (26km north of Luhansk). (See SMM Daily Report 9 August 2017.)

The SMM visited two border areas not under government control. On 12 August, at the border crossing point in Marynivka (78km east of Donetsk), in about one hour, the SMM saw 53 cars (29 with Ukrainian, 11 with Russian Federation and one with Lithuanian licence plates, and 12 with “DPR” plates), five trucks (three with Ukrainian, one with Russian Federation and one with Belorussian licence plates) and one bus (with Ukrainian licence plates) in a queue to exit Ukraine. The SMM also saw 19 cars (11 with Russian Federation and five with Ukrainian licence plates, and three with “DPR” plates) and one bus (with Ukrainian licence plates) entering Ukraine.

On 13 August, at the border crossing point near Voznesenivka (formerly Chervonopartyzansk, 65km south-east of Luhansk), in about one hour, the SMM saw 62 cars (36 with Ukrainian, 24 with Russian Federation and two with Georgian licence plates) in a queue to exit Ukraine. The SMM also saw ten cars (seven with Ukrainian and three with Russian Federation licence plates) enter Ukraine.

On 13 August the SMM monitored a march in Odessa. The Mission observed about 120 people (men and women, aged between15-35 years) gathered at the beginning of Prymorskyi Boulevard, some of whom told the SMM that it was the “March for Equality” organized by activists of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community. It saw about 100 police and National Guard officers nearby. When the participants marched towards the end of Prymorskyi Boulevard, they were stopped by the police about halfway due to the presence of about 100 activists, some of whom were recognized by the SMM as members of Svoboda, Young Right, Sokil and Street Front. The Mission saw the activists loudly shout such messages as “Father, mother and a child is a strong Ukraine”. The LGBTI march participants then sat down on the street, stating that the police should let them proceed. About one hour later, the participants left the area while being escorted by the police. The event ended without further incidents.

The SMM continued monitoring in Kherson, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Lviv, 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. The SMM’s operations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions remained restricted following the fatal incident of 23 April near Pryshyb; these restrictions continued to limit the Mission’s observations, including at the disengagement area near Petrivske.

Denial of access:

• On 13 August, an armed man at an “LPR” position on the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge threatened to shoot SMM patrol members. The SMM departed the area and informed the JCCC (See above).
• On 13 August, an armed “DPR” member in Yasne asked the SMM about the purpose of its visit and said he was not pleased with the presence of the Mission in the village. The SMM did not consider it safe to stay in the village and left the area.

Related to disengagement areas and mines/UXO:

• On 12 and 13 August, the SMM was prevented from accessing secondary roads south of the Zolote disengagement area due to the possible presence of mines and UXO. An armed “LPR” member positioned on the southern side of the Zolote disengagement area told the SMM that no demining had taken place during the previous 24 hours. The SMM did not consider it safe to proceed and informed the JCCC.
• On 13 August, the possible presence of mines and UXO prevented the SMM from accessing secondary roads north of the Zolote disengagement area. At a checkpoint on the northern edge of the area a Ukrainian Armed Forces officer of the JCCC told the SMM that no demining had taken place over the previous 24 hours. The SMM informed the JCCC. 
• On 12 August, the SMM was prevented from accessing parts of the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area, with the exception of the main road, due to the possible presence of mines and UXO. A Ukrainian officer of the JCCC told the SMM that no demining had taken place during the previous 24 hours. The SMM did not consider it safe to proceed and informed the JCCC.
• On 12 and 13 August, the SMM could not travel across the bridge in Shchastia (20km north of Luhansk) due to the presence of mines. A Ukrainian Armed Forces officer of the JCCC said there were mines on the road south of the bridge. The SMM informed the JCCC.

Other impediments:

-       On 11 August, while the SMM was following up on a report of a civilian casualty in Dokuchaievsk, a “DPR” member told the Mission that the man had set off a grenade but that further information could not be provided without the permission of other “DPR” members (See above).

 

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

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