Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 1 May 2018
This report is for the media and the general public.
The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region, compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM followed up on reports of civilian casualties in Yasne and Trudivski area of Donetsk city’s Petrovskyi district and observed fresh damage caused by gunfire in the Petrovskyi district of Donetsk city. An SMM unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) recorded soldiers pointing rifles and firing towards the UAV near Katerynivka; another UAV was jammed near Bohdanivka.* The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations inside the disengagement areas near Zolote and Petrivske. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere, including at border areas beyond government control in Luhansk region. The SMM observed weapons in violation in Roty and Klynove. The SMM continued to facilitate access to the Donetsk Filtration Station (DFS) for Voda Donbassa water company employees; it heard ceasefire violations in the general area despite security guarantees. It also continued to facilitate and monitor repairs to high-voltage power lines near Yuzhna-Lomuvatka. The Mission monitored gatherings marking International Labour Day in several regions of Ukraine. In Odessa, the SMM followed up on reports of an attack against the head of a pro-Maidan group.
In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations[1], including about 36 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (about 90 explosions).
On the evening of 30 April, while in Horlivka (non-government-controlled, 39km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard 12 undetermined explosions 6-8km south-west.
On the evening of 30 April, while in Svitlodarsk (government-controlled, 57km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard nine undetermined explosions and 70 bursts (40 of infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) cannon (30mm) fire and the remainder of small-arms fire), all 4-6km east and south-east. While in Svitlodarsk the following day, the SMM heard seven undetermined explosions 4-5km south-east.
On the evening and night of 30 April-1 May, the SMM camera at the DFS (15km north of Donetsk) recorded 41 projectiles in flight, in sequence: 13 from north to south, one from south to north, 23 from north to south and four from south to north, all 0.3km-3km west.
In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations, including two explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (about ten explosions).
Analysis of imagery recorded by an SMM mini unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) while flying over a Ukrainian Armed Forces position near Katerynivka (government-controlled, 64km west of Luhansk) (outside the Zolote disengagement area) on 30 April showed two Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers pointing their rifles in the direction of the UAV and several plumes of smoke (indicating the discharge of gas from the rifles as they were being fired).* (Due to the distance between the SMM’s position and the area where the UAV was flying – about 3km – the SMM had not heard the small-arms fire.)
The SMM followed up on reports of civilian casualties in Yasne and Trudivski area of Donetsk city’s Petrovskyi district and fresh damage to civilian properties caused by gunfire in the Petrovskyi district. In Biloiarivka (non-government-controlled, 64km east of Donetsk), a man who had been injured by a mine blast near Yasne (non-government-controlled, 30km south-west of Donetsk) on 25 April 2018 (see SMM Daily Report 28 April 2018) told the SMM that he was driving a tractor in a field near Yasne the same day when something exploded, hitting the left rear tyre of the tractor. He added that due to the explosion, the windows of the tractor broke, causing injuries to the back of his head and neck. The SMM saw scratches on his neck and the back of his head.
In the Trudivski area of Petrovskyi district, the SMM saw a small hole in a fence in front of a house at 342 Petrovskoho Street, assessed as caused by a small calibre bullet fired from a south-westerly direction. A woman in a nearby house told the SMM that her husband had been wounded by a bullet to his leg on the evening of 28 April while visiting a neighbour at 342 Petrovskoho Street in the Trudivski area. She added that her husband was still in the hospital. At hospital no. 14 in Donetsk city, the SMM was not able to see the man, but medical staff confirmed the injury. Members of the armed formations were present during the entire time.
At 2 Sokolovskoho Street in Petrovskyi district of Donetsk city, the SMM saw two fresh impact sites in the south-west-facing wall of a multi-storey apartment building (on 28 April, the SMM saw an injured resident of this building; see SMM Daily Report 30 April 2018), assessed as caused by heavy-machine-gun rounds from a south-westerly direction; a fresh direct impact in the south-west-facing front door of the building, assessed as caused by a heavy-machine-gun round fired from a westerly direction and a fresh impact in the wall, assessed as caused by a heavy-machine-gun round fired from a north-westerly direction. The SMM also saw two fresh impacts in the south-west-facing wall of a garage 30m east of the building, assessed as caused by heavy-machine-gun rounds fired from a south-westerly direction. Three female residents of the building told the SMM that the damage had been caused on 28 and 29 April.
The SMM observed two fresh impacts in the west-south-west-facing wall and one in the ceiling of a shop at 2A Kastusia Kalynovskoho Street in Petrovskyi district, assessed as caused by heavy-machine-gun rounds fired from a westerly direction. The SMM noted that two projectiles had penetrated the wall and that one had hit a shelf and another had hit a fridge in the shop. A woman working in the shop told the SMM that the damage had occurred on 30 April. She showed the SMM two projectiles.
The SMM observed a hole in the west-south-west-facing window and an impact site in a wall (assessed as from the projectile that had pierced the window pane) in an apartment on the second floor of a building on 4 Kastusia Kalynovskoho Street, assessed as caused by a projectile fired from a westerly direction. The owner told the SMM that the damage had occurred on 28 April. The SMM saw sand bags outside the window which, according to the owner, her son had placed on 29 April for protection in the future. The SMM also observed multiple old direct impacts on the south-west facing façade of the apartment. The SMM saw a hole in the south-west-facing window of another apartment (no. 6) on the second floor of the same building as well as an impact in the wall (assessed as from the projectile that had pierced the window pane), assessed as caused by a heavy-machine-gun round fired from a south-westerly direction. The SMM also saw damage caused by fire in one room. Two neighbours told the SMM that the damage to the window had occurred on 28 April, while the damage to the other room had occurred three months ago from the explosion of a round. The SMM saw multiple impacts to the west-facing façade of the building, including of an apartment (no. 8) on the second floor, assessed as caused by heavy-machine-gun fire from westerly and south-westerly directions. According to the owner, the damage had occurred on 28 and 30 April. While present, the SMM heard ceasefire violations (see ceasefire violation table below).
The SMM saw a hole and cracks in the west-south-west-facing window and in a fridge in apartment no. 2 on the first floor of a building at 2 Kastusia Kalynovskoho Street, assessed as caused by a round (type of weapon undetermined) fired from a south-westerly direction. According to the owner, the damage had been caused on 22 or 23 April. The SMM saw four holes in the west-facing window of another apartment (no. 4) on the second floor of the same building (the SMM assessed that one projectile had pierced the window pane and damaged a fridge and wall, while two other projectiles had directly impacted a wall). The SMM assessed the damage as caused by heavy-machine-gun fire from a westerly and south-westerly direction. According to the owner, the damage had occurred on 26, 28 and 29 April. The SMM also saw three fresh impacts in a west-facing wall of a nearby building, assessed as caused by heavy-machine-gun fire coming from a westerly direction. The owner told the SMM that the damage had occurred during the previous week.
Five residents (four women and a man in their fifties) of Kalynovskoho Street told the SMM that shelling and shooting had been going on for the last seven days. They showed the SMM heavy-machine-gun rounds which they said they had collected on the night of 30 April. Several residents of both streets told the SMM that a school was located nearby and that often children and their parents had to run to shelters or lay on the ground to take cover.
The SMM continued to monitor the disengagement process and to pursue full access to the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska (government-controlled, 16km north-east of Luhansk), Zolote (government-controlled, 60km west of Luhansk) and Petrivske (non-government-controlled, 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.*
During the day on 1 May, positioned at the eastern edge of the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area, the SMM heard an undetermined explosion 3-5km south, assessed as outside the disengagement area. Positioned at the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge (15km north-east of Luhansk), the SMM heard an explosion assessed as the detonation of a trip wire (attached to a signal flare) 1km south-east, assessed as inside the disengagement area.
On the evening of 30 April, the SMM camera in Zolote recorded a shot 2.7km south, assessed as inside the disengagement area.
On 1 May, the SMM saw an empty military truck entering Katerynivka, inside the Zolote disengagement area.
On the early hours of 26 April, the SMM camera in Petrivske recorded three projectiles in flight from east to west followed by a projectile from west to east, all 0.3-1km south (all assessed as inside the disengagement area).
During the day on 1 May, positioned in Bohdanivka (government-controlled, 41km south-west of Donetsk), the SMM heard and saw an undetermined explosion 2km east-south-east, assessed as a controlled detonation. The SMM could not determine whether the detonation occurred inside or outside the Petrivske disengagement area.
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 government-controlled areas, the SMM saw two surface-to-air missile systems (9K35 Strela-10, 120mm) in Roty (66km north-east of Donetsk) and four anti-tank guided missile systems (9P148 Konkurs, 135mm) on the western edge of Klynove (68km north-east of Donetsk).
The SMM observed armoured combat vehicles[2] and other indications of military presence in the security zone. In government-controlled-areas, the SMM on 30 April saw three sets of fresh tracks assessed as those of a tank chassis (T-64) near Vershyna (63km north-east of Donetsk). On 1 May, the SMM saw two IFVs (BMP-1), one without a turret, near Vrubivka (72km west of Luhansk).
In an non-government-controlled area, aerial imagery on 29 April revealed 15m of a newly extended trench (not present in imagery from 22 April) about 500m north-west of the north-western edge of the Trudivski area of Donetsk city’s Petrovskyi district, about 2.5km north of the abovementioned civilian properties damaged by gunfire in the Trudivski area.
The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs to power lines near Yuzhna-Lomuvatka (non-government-controlled, 60km west of Luhansk). The SMM was informed by a representative of the company in charge of repair works that a team of 32 employees would be conducting repairs during the day. The SMM also continued to facilitate the access of Voda Donbassa water company employees to the DFS in order to keep the station operational. Despite security guarantees having been provided, positioned in Avdiivka (government-controlled, 17km north of Donetsk), Yasynuvata (non-government-controlled, 16km north-east of Donetsk) and Kruta Balka (non-government-controlled, 16km north of Donetsk), the SMM heard ceasefire violations in the area (see ceasefire violations table below).
The SMM visited four border areas not under government control. While at a border crossing point near Sievernyi (50km south-east of Luhansk) for about 20 minutes, the SMM saw six pedestrians (three men and three women) exiting Ukraine and eight pedestrians (three men, four women and a child) entering Ukraine.
Upon arrival at a border crossing point near Izvaryne (52km south-east of Luhansk), a member of the armed formations told the SMM to leave the area.* While present for three minutes, the SMM saw seven pedestrians (two men and five women) entering Ukraine. At a border crossing point near Voznesenivka, an armed man in military-type clothing told the SMM to leave the area.* While in the area, the SMM saw seven cars (including three with Ukrainian licence plates) in a queue to exit Ukraine.
At the Chervona Mohyla railway station near Voznesenivka (formerly Chervonopartyzansk, non-government-controlled, 65km south-east of Luhansk), the SMM saw a train with 20 wagons (15 transporting coal and five fuel tanks with hazmat placards reading “flammable liquids”) arriving at the railway station from the west.
While at a border crossing point near Uspenka (73km south-east of Donetsk) for 40 minutes, the SMM saw 17 cars (eight with Ukrainian and seven with Russian Federation licence plates, and two with “DPR” plates), three curtain-sided trucks, a hard-bodied truck and a minibus (all with Ukrainian licence plates) exiting Ukraine, as well as 38 cars (15 with Russian Federation, 12 with Ukrainian and one with Lithuanian licence plates, and ten with “DPR” plates) and two curtain-sided trucks with Belarussian licence plates entering Ukraine.
The SMM monitored gatherings marking International Labour Day in several regions of Ukraine. In Donetsk city, the SMM saw about 300 people (mixed gender and age) standing along a parade route along Artema Street. Later, the SMM saw about 1,500-2,000 people (mixed gender and age) walking from the main library on Artema Street to Lenin Square in Donetsk city centre. The SMM saw different groups of people carrying banners with messages of peace as well as a group of people carrying banners with Communist and Soviet slogans and different flags, including a flag of the Soviet Union and a flag of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. At the square, several speeches were held and then the group dispersed.
In Kyiv, the SMM saw about 3,000 people (mixed gender, predominantly elderly), some of them holding various party flags, taking part in a march in the city centre. Along the route of the march, the SMM saw about 300 law enforcement officers. During its presence the SMM observed a calm situation. The SMM also monitored Labour Day gatherings in Dnipro (about 60 people), Zaporizhzhia (300-500 people), Kharkiv (about 200 people), Odessa (about 60 people) and Mykolaiv (about 35 people) where participants were calling for improved working conditions. In Odessa, the SMM observed some verbal exchanges between participants of the march and a group of people known to the SMM as pro-Maidan activists. The events, however, ended without incidents.
In Odessa, the SMM followed up on reports of an attack against the head of the group “Non-indifferent” and former head of the Right Sector regional branch on the morning of 1 May. The 23-year-old man told the SMM that he had been shot at with a traumatic pistol on the morning of 1 May outside his house on Sehedska Street and wounded in the back of his head. The SMM saw gauze on his neck. He added that he had been the subject of another attack in February 2018 as well. The police announced that two individuals had been arrested and that the case had been preliminarily qualified as “intentional murder”.
The SMM continued monitoring in Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Chernivtsi.
*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, 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 for Control and Co‑ordination (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 (see below). 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:
- Three armed formation members prevented the SMM from driving towards Sosnivske (non-government-controlled, 35km north-east of Mariupol), citing the “presence of subversive groups in the area”.
- Upon arrival at a border crossing point near Voznesenivka, a member of the armed formations told the SMM to leave the area.
- Upon arrival at the border crossing point near Izvaryne, a member of the armed formations told the SMM to leave, citing orders from superiors.
Related to disengagement areas and mines/UXO:
- 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 Armed Forces 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.[3]
- The SMM was prevented from accessing secondary roads in the Zolote disengagement area due to the possible presence of mines and UXO. A Ukrainian Armed Forces 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. [3]
- 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 formation 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.
Other impediments:
- On 30 April, an SMM UAV recorded two Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers pointing rifles and firing in its direction while flying over an area near Katerynivka.
- The SMM temporarily lost communication with a mini-UAV flying over an area near Bohdanivka, assessed as due to jamming. The SMM was able to recall the UAV.
[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. The SMM camera at the entry-exit checkpoint in Marinka was not operational during the reporting period.
[2] This hardware is not proscribed by the provisions of the Minsk agreements on the withdrawal of weapons.
[3] The SMM informed Ukrainian Armed Forces officers of the JCCC. Russian Federation Armed Forces officers of the JCCC withdrew from the JCCC as of 18 December 2017.