Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 23 January 2019

This report is for the media and the general public.

Summary

• Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region.
• Man injured by small-arms fire during repair works near the Krasnohorivka gas distribution station.
• Apartment building in Chermalyk hit by small-arms fire.
• The Mission saw weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines in a non-government-controlled area of Luhansk region.
• The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to essential civilian infrastructure in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
• Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. It was also restricted at a compound near Perevalsk in a non-government-controlled area of Luhansk region.*
• In Uzhhorod, Kharkiv and Dnipro, the Mission observed public gatherings on the occasion of the Day of the Unity of Ukraine.

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Ceasefire violations[1]

In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, including, however, fewer explosions (about 60), compared with the previous reporting period (about 190 explosions). The majority of ceasefire violations were recorded in areas south-west of Yasynuvata (non-government-controlled, 16km north-east of Donetsk).

In Luhansk region, the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations, including, however, a similar number of explosions (about 15), compared with the previous reporting period (12 explosions). The majority of ceasefire violations, including five explosions assessed as impacts of artillery rounds, were recorded in areas south-east of Muratove (government-controlled, 51km north-west of Luhansk).

Man injured by small-arms fire near the Krasnohorivka gas distribution station

On 22 January, positioned on the northern outskirts of Marinka (government-controlled, 23km south-west of Donetsk) to monitor adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works at the Krasnohorivka gas distribution station (see SMM Daily Report 23 January 2019), the SMM saw a man with bandages on his lower back walking to an ambulance. On 23 January, the SMM saw the same man (aged 29) in a hospital in Pokrovsk (government-controlled, 55km north-west of Donetsk). He told the SMM that he was a member of a State Emergency Service demining team; during the day of 22 January he had been in the area of the Krasnohorivka gas distribution station during repair works, when he had heard small-arms fire and had been hit by a projectile shortly thereafter. Medical staff told the SMM that the man had been transferred from a hospital in Kurakhove (government-controlled, 40km west of Donetsk) on the evening of 22 January with a bullet wound. 

Apartment building in Chermalyk hit by small-arms fire

At 21 Myru Street in Chermalyk (government-controlled, 77km south of Donetsk), the SMM saw a hole in a south-facing window pane on the second floor of a two-storey apartment building. The SMM assessed the damage as fresh and as caused by a round of small-arms fire. The aforementioned apartment building is located about 50m west of a functioning kindergarten which the SMM previously assessed as having sustained damage by small-arms fire (see SMM Daily Report 23 January 2019).

Disengagement areas[2]

On the evening and night of 22-23 January, while on the eastern edge of Stanytsia Luhanska (government-controlled, 16km north-east of Luhansk), the SMM heard four bursts and a shot of small-arms fire at an assessed range of 5km west-south-west (assessed as outside the disengagement area).

During the day on 23 January, near Zolote-2/Karbonit (government-controlled, 62km west of Luhansk), the SMM heard five explosions assessed as outgoing rounds at an assessed range of 3-5km south-east as well as their subsequent impacts at an assessed range of 8km south-west, as well as an undetermined explosion at an assessed range of 10-15km east (all assessed as outside the Zolote disengagement area).

Withdrawal of weapons

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

In violation of withdrawal lines

Non-government-controlled areas

23 January

The SMM saw:

• two self-propelled howitzers (2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm) and four towed howitzers (D-30 Lyagushka, 122mm) near Bile (22km west of Luhansk).

Beyond the withdrawal lines but outside designated storage sites

Government-controlled areas

22 January

An SMM long-range unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) spotted:

• seven anti-tank guided missile systems (9P418 Konkurs, 135mm) at the railway station in Kostiantynivka (60km north of Donetsk);
• two surface-to-air missile systems (9K33) east of Valerianivka (51km south-west of Donetsk);  
• eight self-propelled howitzers (four 2S1 and four 2S3 Akatsiya, 152mm) east of Maloianisol (78km south-west of Donetsk);
• three surface-to-air missile systems (9K33) south-west of Kasianivka (81km south of Donetsk);
• four surface-to-air missile systems (S-300) in Nikolske (formerly Volodarske, 97km south of Donetsk); and
• four towed howitzers (2A36 Giatsint-B, 152mm) east of Azovske (121km south of Donetsk).

23 January

The SMM saw:

• four tanks (T-72) at the railway station in Bakhmut (formerly Artemivsk, 67km north of Donetsk).

Weapons storage sites:

At permanent storage sites beyond the respective withdrawal lines in non-government-controlled areas of Luhansk region

23 January

The SMM saw that:

• six tanks (five T-64 and one T-72) were again missing and
• two self-propelled howitzers (2S1) were missing for the first time.

Indications of military and military-type presence in the security zone[3]

Government-controlled areas

22 January

An SMM long-range UAV spotted:

• two armoured combat vehicles east of Starohnativka (51km south of Donetsk);
• two armoured reconnaissance vehicles (BRDM-2) south-west of Pervomaiske (17km north-west of Donetsk); and
• two infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) (BMP variant) and an anti-aircraft gun (ZU-23, 23mm) near Novhorodske (35km north of Donetsk).

23 January

The SMM saw:

• an anti-aircraft gun (ZU-23) and an armoured reconnaissance vehicle (BRDM-2) in Muratove (51km west of Luhansk) and
• an armoured personnel carrier (MT-LB) with a red cross painted on the rear in Popasna (69km west of Luhansk).

Non-government-controlled areas

23 January

The SMM saw:

• an anti-aircraft gun (ZU-23) in Debaltseve (58km north-east of Donetsk).

SMM facilitation of repair works to civilian infrastructure

The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to water pipelines in Popasna and in Horlivka (non-government-controlled, 39km north-east of Donetsk) and to a powerline close to the entry-exit checkpoint near Maiorsk (government-controlled, 45km north-east of Donetsk), as well as to enable snow clearance at the entry-exit checkpoint near Maiorsk. The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station (15km north of Donetsk).

Public gatherings marking the 100th anniversary of the Day of the Unity of Ukraine

On 22 January, the SMM observed peaceful gatherings on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Day of the Unity of Ukraine in Uzhhorod (about 700 participants), Kharkiv (about 150 participants) and Dnipro (about 250 participants). It also observed the presence of law enforcement officers securing all three gatherings. (See SMM Daily Report 23 January 2018.)

The SMM continued monitoring in Kherson, Odessa, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, 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, 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 Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination 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 22 January 2019). 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:

• Near Perevalsk (non-government-controlled, 38km west of Luhansk), a member of the armed formations denied the SMM access to a compound, citing the need for permission from his “superiors”.

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:

• On 22 January, an SMM long range-UAV lost its GPS signal, assessed as due to signal interference, while flying over government-controlled areas close to the contact line in north-western, south-western and southern parts of Donetsk region.[4]

[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. During the reporting period, the SMM camera at the entry-exit checkpoint near Pyshchevyk was not operational.

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

[4] The interference could have originated from anywhere within the radius of several kilometres of the UAV’s position.