Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 28 November 2018

This report is for the media and the general public.

Summary

• The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region, compared with the previous reporting period.
• The SMM recorded ceasefire violations inside the Petrivske disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas.*
• The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable an assessment of a water pipeline near Popasna. It continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station.
• In Kyiv, the SMM monitored a protest at a shopping mall reportedly owned by a Russian businessman. It also monitored a public gathering in Mariupol on the developments at sea near the Kerch Strait.

Ceasefire violations[1]

In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations, including, however, more explosions (about 150), compared with the previous reporting period (about 90 explosions). The majority of ceasefire violations were recorded in areas north-west of Yasynuvata (non-government-controlled, 16km north-east of Donetsk), south-west and west of Horlivka (non-government-controlled, 39km north-east of Donetsk) and east, south-west and west of Svitlodarsk (government-controlled, 57km north-east of Donetsk), where 55 undetermined explosions were recorded.

On the evening of 27 November, the SMM camera at the entry-exit checkpoint in Maiorsk (government-controlled, 45km north-east of Donetsk) recorded two projectiles in flight from south-east to north-west at an assessed range of 100-800m at easterly and south-easterly directions. The camera also recorded the subsequent impact of one of the two projectiles on the eastern edge of the entry-exit checkpoint area.

In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, including about 160 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (13 explosions). More than half of the explosions were recorded near Zolote (government-controlled, 60km west of Luhansk).

Disengagement areas[2] 

On the evening of 27 November, the SMM camera at the Prince Ihor Monument south-east of the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge (15km north-east of Luhansk) recorded an undetermined explosion at an assessed range of 2-4km north-north-west (assessed as outside the disengagement area).

During the day on 28 November, the SMM camera in Zolote recorded a projectile in flight from north-north-west to south-south-east at an assessed range of 0.5-1km east-north-east (assessed as outside the disengagement area).

On the same day, positioned about 2km north of Petrivske (non-government-controlled, 41km south of Donetsk), the SMM heard 24 undetermined explosions at an assessed range of 2-3km south-west (assessed as inside the disengagement area).

Withdrawal of weapons

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

Weapons that the SMM was unable to verify as withdrawn[3]

Weapons storage sites beyond the respective withdrawal lines in government-controlled areas of Donetsk region:

28 November:

• A surface-to-air missile system (9K35 Strela-10), 12 multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) (BM-21 Grad, 122mm) and one tank (T-64) were present while two surface-to-air missile systems (9K35), 23 MLRS (BM-21) and a self-propelled howitzer (2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm) continued to be missing.

Indications of military and military-type presence in the security zone[4]

Government-controlled areas:

28 November:

An SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) spotted:

• a probable infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) (BMP variant) near Bohdanivka (41km south-west of Donetsk) about 160m north of the Petrivske disengagement area;
• an IFV (BMP-1) near Orikhove-Donetske (44km north-west of Luhansk);
• an IFV (BMP-2) in Avdiivka (17km north-west of Donetsk).

Non-government-controlled areas:

27 November:

• An SMM mini-UAV spotted a 100m trench extension (not visible in imagery from 28 April 2018) west of Kalynove (60km west of Luhansk);
• Two IFVs (BMP-1) and an anti-aircraft gun (ZU-23, 23mm) in the yard of a house used by armed formations near Mykhailivka (30km north-east of Donetsk).                                                            

28 November:

• 27 stationary armoured personnel carriers (APC) (MT-LB), seven of which had anti-aircraft systems (ZU-23, 23mm) mounted on top, on the southern outskirts of Pervomaisk  (58km west of Luhansk) (for previous observations, see SMM Daily Report 3 November 2018).

Presence of mines

On 28 November, an SMM mini-UAV again spotted 28 anti-tank mines laid in four rows across a road and in a field on the north side of the same road between Bohdanivka and Viktorivka (non-government-controlled, 42km south-west of Donetsk), about 170m north of the Petrivske disengagement area. About 100m east, on the same road, the mini-UAV again spotted 32 anti-tank mines laid in two rows across a road and in a field on both sides of the road.

Demining

The SMM saw five people wearing clothing bearing the logo of an international demining organization and a tractor with mine sweeping equipment conducting demining activities in a field 1.5km south-south-east of Kryva Luka (government-controlled, 98km north of Donetsk).

SMM facilitation of repairs to civilian infrastructure

The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable an assessment of a water pipeline near Popasna (government-controlled, 69km west of Luhansk) and to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station.

Border areas not under government control

While at a border crossing point near Uspenka (73km south-east of Donetsk) for about 60 minutes, the SMM saw four covered cargo trucks (three with Ukrainian and one with Belarusian licence plates) exiting Ukraine. During the same time, the Mission saw 15 cars (six with Ukrainian, three with Russian Federation and two with Georgian licence plates and four with “DPR” plates), two buses (one with Russian Federation licence plates and one with “DPR” plates) and seven covered cargo trucks (one with Ukrainian and five with Belarusian licence plates, and one with “DPR” plates) entering Ukraine.

While at a pedestrian border crossing point near Ulianivske (61km south-east of Donetsk) for 30 minutes, the SMM observed two pedestrians entering Ukraine.

Hardships faced by civilians at checkpoints along the contact line

At the entry-exit checkpoint north of Stanytsia Luhanska bridge, the SMM saw two persons in civilian clothing carrying the body of a deceased man on a stretcher from a shelter towards the adjacent parking lot in government-controlled areas. A doctor from an international organization present at the aforementioned entry-exit checkpoint told the SMM that on the morning of 28 November, a man (in his sixties) had collapsed while waiting with his wife to enter government-controlled areas.

Protests in Kyiv and Mariupol

In Kyiv, the SMM again monitored a protest in front of and inside of a shopping mall at 176 Antonovycha Street. The SMM saw 20 men (ages 16-25) outside the mall entrance and about 130 people (mostly men, ages 16-25) inside the building, some holding flags of Sokil and calling for tenants to stop paying the rent to the mall operator. The SMM saw similar messages spray-painted on the windows and doors of the front entrance of the mall in English and Ukrainian. At the site, it also saw about 100 police officers, including about 50 in riot gear. One man was removed from the building and detained by police.                                                                                              

In Mariupol, the SMM monitored a peaceful public gathering at the Voiniv Vyzvolyteliv (Soldiers Liberators) Square, about 150m from the SMM office in Mariupol city, organized by a non-governmental-organization (NGO). The Mission saw approximately 90 people (mixed gender and ages) at the site. Four people gave speeches and two priests led the group in prayers. The SMM also saw about 20 police officers present. At the end of the gathering, a representative of the aforementioned NGO delivered a petition to the SMM related to developments at sea near the Kerch Strait, including the release of the affected sailors.

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 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 (for example, see SMM Daily Report 28 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.

Regular restrictions related to disengagement areas and mines/UXO:

• The sides continued to deny the SMM full access to the three disengagement areas, as well as the ability to travel certain roads previously identified as important for effective monitoring by the Mission and for civilians’ movement, through failure to conduct comprehensive clearance of mines and UXO.

Other impediments:

• In the afternoon of 28 November, an SMM long-range UAV temporarily lost its GPS signal, assessed as due to jamming[5], while flying over areas near Stepanivka (government-controlled, 54km north of Donetsk).

[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 cameras in Hranitne, in Krasnohorivka and near Shyrokyne were not operational during the reporting period.

[2] Disengagement is foreseen in the Framework Decision of the Trilateral Contact Group relating to disengagement of forces and hardware of 21 September 2016.

[3] The SMM observed weapons that could not be verified as withdrawn, as their storage did not comply with the criteria set out in the 16 October 2015 notification from the SMM to the signatories of the Package of Measures on effective monitoring and verification of the withdrawal of heavy weapons. 

[4] The hardware mentioned in this section is not proscribed by the provisions of the Minsk agreements on the withdrawal of weapons.

[5] The interference could have originated from anywhere within a radius of several kilometers of the UAV’s position.