Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 16 May 2019
This report is for the media and the general public.
Summary
- Compared with the previous reporting period, the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region.
- Small arms were fired 100m west of the SMM’s position near non-government-controlled Molodizhne.
- The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Vrubivka and Vasiukivka.
- The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to and the operation of critical civilian infrastructure.
- Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The Mission’s freedom of movement was also restricted near non-government-controlled Zaichenko in southern Donetsk region.*
Ceasefire violations[1]
In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations, including about 150 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (about 190 explosions). The majority of ceasefire violations were recorded in areas north-east of Lebedynske (government-controlled, 16km north-east of Mariupol), where about 50 undetermined explosions and about 50 explosions assessed as impacts were recorded, and in areas south and west of the Donetsk Filtration Station (DFS) (15km north of Donetsk).
In Luhansk region, the Mission recorded more ceasefire violations, including 30 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (15 explosions). The majority of ceasefire violations were recorded in areas north-east and north-west of Sentianivka (formerly Frunze, non-government-controlled, 44km west of Luhansk) and in areas north-east of Holubivske (non-government-controlled, 51km west of Luhansk).
On the afternoon of 16 May, positioned near Molodizhne (non-government-controlled, 63km north-west of Luhansk), the SMM heard 30 bursts of small-arms fire at an assessed distance of 300-500m east and ten shots of small-arms fire at an assessed distance of 100m west. The Mission heard a sound consistent with that of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and saw that three armed members of the armed formations at a checkpoint 100m west of the SMM’s position were pointing their weapons in the air in a westerly direction. The SMM did not operate UAVs in the area at the time.
Disengagement areas[2]
Positioned at two locations near the disengagement area close to Zolote (government-controlled, 60km west of Luhansk), the SMM heard three undetermined explosions assessed as outside the disengagement area.
Positioned inside the disengagement area near Stanytsia Luhanska (government-controlled, 16km north-east of Luhansk) and close to the disengagement area near Petrivske (non-government-controlled, 41km south of Donetsk), the Mission observed a calm situation.[3]
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.
In violation of withdrawal lines
Government-controlled areas
15 May
An SMM mini-UAV spotted a self-propelled howitzer (2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm) near Vrubivka (72km west of Luhansk).
16 May
The SMM saw two stationary multiple launch rocket systems (BM-21 Grad, 122mm) in Vasiukivka (82 km north of Donetsk).
Beyond the withdrawal lines but outside of designated storage sites
Government-controlled areas
15 May
An SMM mini-UAV spotted four surface-to-air missile systems (9K37) and three trans-loaders (TEL 9A39) at a railway station in Rubizhne (84km north-west of Luhansk).
An SMM long-range UAV spotted:
- a tank (T-64) near Zatyshne (64km south-west of Donetsk);
- two surface-to-air missile systems (9K33 Osa) and two trans-loaders (9T217B) near Kalynove (35km north of Donetsk); and
- six self-propelled howitzers (three 2S1 and three 2S3 Akatsiya, 152mm) east of Maloianisol (35km north-west of Mariupol).
Weapons permanent storage sites
At permanent storage sites in non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk region
16 May
The SMM noted that 23 tanks (14 T-72 and nine T-64), nine mortars (2B14 Podnos, 82mm) and 15 anti-tank guns (MT-12 Rapira, 100mm) remained missing.
Indications of military and military-type presence in the security zone[4]
Government-controlled areas
15 May
An SMM mini-UAV spotted:
- two infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) (BMP variants) near Vrubivka and
- an 80m-long new trench system (not seen in imagery from November 2018) running from south-west to north-east in a field south of Malynove (19km north-east of Luhansk), about 2km east of positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
An SMM long-range UAV spotted:
- an armoured reconnaissance vehicle (BRDM-2) near Talakivka (17km north-east of Mariupol) and
- three IFVs (probable BMP-1) near Novoselivka Druha (36km north-east of Mariupol).
16 May
The SMM saw:
- two armoured reconnaissance vehicles (BRDM-2) and an anti-aircraft gun (ZU-23-2, 23mm) mounted atop a military truck in Muratove (51km north-west of Luhansk) and
- an unidentified UAV (assessed as a quadcopter type) landing about 600m south-west of a checkpoint of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the eastern edge of Popasna (government-controlled, 69km west of Luhansk). Nearby the Mission saw a silver pickup truck and five people, one of whom was operating the aircraft.
Non-government-controlled areas
15 May
An SMM mini-UAV spotted three IFVs (BMP variants) near Bila Kamianka (51km south of Donetsk).
Mines near Bila Kamianka and unexploded ordnance in Debaltseve
On 15 May, an SMM mini-UAV again spotted in total 26 anti-tank mines (type undetermined) laid across a road and in fields on either side of that road about 150-200m west of Bila Kamianka, all assessed as belonging to the armed formations. The same UAV also again spotted four anti-tank mines (type undetermined) laid across the same road in a single row, about 2km west of the afore-mentioned mines, assessed as belonging to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The SMM saw an object with fins embedded in the ground in a yard about 30m from a house on Telmana Street in Debaltseve (non-government-controlled, 58km north-east of Donetsk). The Mission assessed it as not new and a probable MLRS rocket (undetermined type).
Demining activities in Myrna Dolyna and mine sign near Fedorivka
The SMM saw eight people with metal detectors wearing protective gear bearing the logo of an international organization in a field 200m south-west and north-east of road P66 near Myrna Dolyna (government-controlled, 67km north-west of Luhansk).
The Mission saw for the first time a mine hazard sign (a wooden rectangular-shaped plate with the word “mines” written in white Russian letters) on the southern side of a local road about 3km east of Fedorivka (non-government controlled, 34km north-east of Donetsk).
SMM facilitation of repairs to civilian infrastructure
The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to the Petrivske pumping station near Artema (government-controlled, 26km north of Luhansk) as well as to water pipelines near Zolote and between Zolote-2/Karbonit (government-controlled, 62km west of Luhansk), Zolote-3/Stakhanovets (government-controlled, 61km west of Luhansk) and Popasna.
The Mission also facilitated the operation of the DFS. The SMM again recorded ceasefire violations in areas near the station (see above and the ceasefire violations table).
Border areas not under government control
On 16 May, while at a border crossing point near Uspenka (73km south-east of Donetsk) for about an hour, the SMM saw a car with Armenian licence plates and two buses (one with Ukrainian and one with Russian Federation licence plates) entering Ukraine, as well as nine cars (four with Ukrainian and one with Russian Federation licence plates, and four with “DPR” plates), 45 covered-cargo trucks (22 with Ukrainian, nine with Belarusian and four with Russian Federation licence plates, and ten with “DPR” plates) and a bus with “DPR” plates exiting Ukraine.
The SMM continued monitoring in Kherson, Odessa, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, 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 Joint Centre on 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 14 May 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:
- At a checkpoint about 800m north of Zaichenko (non-government-controlled, 26km north-east of Mariupol), two armed members of the armed formations denied the SMM passage westward to Pikuzy (formerly Kominternove, non-government-controlled, 23km north-east of Mariupol) and southward to Sakhanka (non-government-controlled, 24km north-east of Mariupol), citing “demining activities” in the area.
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 the night between 15 and 16 May, an SMM long range-UAV lost its GPS signal, assessed as due to jamming, while flying over government-controlled areas along the contact line in Donetsk region.[5]
[1] For a complete breakdown of ceasefire violations, please see the annexed table. During the reporting period, the SMM camera in Stanytsia Luhanska (government-controlled, 16km north-east of Luhansk) 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] Due to the presence of mines, including on a road between Bohdanivka and Petrivske, the SMM cannot access its camera in Petrivske, and thus the SMM has not been able to access observations from the camera since 22 June 2018.
[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 the radius of kilometres from the UAV’s position.