Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 14 November 2018

This report is for the media and the general public.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas as well as near Novolaspa and Novoselivka Druha.* The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to houses and essential civilian infrastructure on both sides of the contact line, as well as to enable demining near Nyzhnoteple. The SMM observed two protests in Kyiv regarding heating supply in Dnipropetrovsk and Cherkasy regions.

In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations[1], including 265 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (about 170 explosions).

On the evening of 13 November, while in Svitlodarsk (government-controlled, 57km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard 54 explosions (49 assessed as outgoing rounds and five undetermined) at an assessed range of 2-4km east and south-east and about 280 bursts and shots of small-arms and heavy-machine-gun fire, all at an assessed range of 2-5km north-east, east and south-east. The following day, from the same location, the SMM heard three undetermined explosions and four bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire, all at an assessed range of 3-5km south-west.

On the evening and night of 13-14 November, the SMM camera located 1.5km north-east of Hnutove (government-controlled, 20km north-east of Mariupol), recorded 16 explosions (three assessed as impacts and 13 undetermined) and about 90 projectiles in flight (mostly from northerly to southerly directions and from southerly to northerly directions), all at an assessed range of 2-5km east-north-east, east and east-south-east.

On the day of 14 November, positioned in Maiorsk (government-controlled, 45km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard 90 undermined explosions at an assessed range of 2-8km in directions ranging from east-north-east to south-west. The Mission also heard 26 bursts and shots of heavy-machine-gun and 30mm cannon fire as well as about 20 minutes of uncountable overlapping shots and bursts of small-arms and heavy-machine-gun fire, all at an assessed range of 1-5km east-south-east, south and south-west.

In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, including about 180 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (about 70 explosions).

On the morning of 14 November, positioned on the western edge of Tsarivka (government-controlled, 41km north-west of Luhansk) the SMM heard 40 explosions assessed as anti-tank gun (MT-12 Rapira, 100mm) rounds and 100 bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire, all 4km north-east (all assessed as live-fire exercise outside the security zone).

On the same morning, positioned in Holubivske (non-government-controlled, 51km west of Luhansk) the SMM heard 19 undetermined explosions and 17 bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire, all at an assessed range of 2-5km north and north-west.

The SMM continued to monitor 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[2] (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.*

On the day of 14 November, positioned in Zolote-2/Karbonit (government-controlled, 62km west of Luhansk), the SMM heard 80 undetermined explosions and 200 bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire, all at an assessed range of 4-6km south-east (all assessed as outside the disengagement area).

On the same day, positioned 1km south-south-east of the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge (15km north-east of Luhansk), the SMM heard 15 shots of small-arms fire, 1km south-south-west (assessed as outside the disengagement area).

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

Beyond withdrawal lines but outside designated storage sites, in a government-controlled area, the SMM saw two stationary surface-to-air missile systems (9K33 Osa), one of them in a firing position, near an inhabited residential building in Pidhorodne (73km north of Donetsk).

The SMM revisited a permanent storage site whose location was beyond withdrawal lines in a non-government-controlled area of Luhansk region and noted that a tank (T-64) was again missing.

The SMM saw two anti-tank guns (type undetermined) being towed near Volnovakha (government-controlled, 53km west of Donetsk).

The SMM observed an armoured combat vehicle[3] in the security zone. In a non-government-controlled area, the SMM saw an infantry fighting vehicle (BMP-2) in Yasynuvata (16km north-east of Donetsk).

The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to the Petrivske water pumping station near Artema (government-controlled, 26km north of Luhansk), a gas pipeline in Marinka (government-controlled, 23km south-west of Donetsk), water pipelines near Zaitseve (50km north-east of Donetsk) and near a coal mine close to the Gagarina settlement of Horlivka (non-government-controlled, 39km north-east of Donetsk) and damaged houses in Marinka and Krasnohorivka (government-controlled, 21km west of Donetsk), as well as to enable demining activities near Nyzhnoteple (government-controlled, 26km north of Luhansk). The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station.

In Kyiv, the SMM monitored two public gatherings protesting lack of heating in Dnipropetrovsk and Cherkasy regions. On 13 November, in front of the headquarters of NaftoGaz Ukraine at 6 Bohdana Khmelnytskoho Street, the SMM saw 40-50 people (25-60 years old, 60 per cent men), some carrying banners with messages such as “Supply heating to houses of Kryvyi Rih inhabitants” and “Children and the elderly are freezing”. One participant (male, 50 years old) told the SMM that the group had travelled from Kryvyi Rih (133km south-west of Dnipro) where, he said, many inhabitants were without heating. The SMM observed about 40 police officers in riot gear and National Guard officers surrounding the building. On 14 November, in front of the Cabinet of Ministers building at 12/2 Mykhaila Hrushevskoho Street, the Mission saw about 30 people (mixed genders and ages), half of whom were waving flags with the emblem of the town of Smyla (169km south-east of Kyiv). About 20 National Guard officers were positioned around the building. Shortly thereafter, the Mission saw the same group of people in front of the NaftoGaz Ukraine headquarters, as well as about 30 police officers around the entrance of the building. At both public gatherings, the Mission observed a calm situation.

The SMM continued monitoring in Kherson, Odessa, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Dnipro 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 on Control and Coordination (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, see SMM Daily Report 12 November 2018). 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.

Denials of access:

• At a checkpoint on the eastern edge of Novolaspa (non-government-controlled, 50km south of Donetsk), two armed members of the armed formations denied the SMM passage, citing “security risk for the SMM”.
• A Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier denied the SMM access to a compound in Novoselivka Druha (government-controlled, 36km north-east of Mariupol) citing “instructions from superiors”.

Regular restrictions 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 informed 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.[4]
• 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 informed 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. [4]
• The SMM was prevented from accessing secondary roads south of the Zolote disengagement area due to the possible presence of mines and UXO. A member of the armed formations informed the SMM that no demining had taken place during the previous 24 hours. The SMM did not consider it safe to proceed.

[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.

[2] Due to the presence of mines, including on 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.

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

[4] 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.