Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 24 June 2019
This report is for the media and the general public.
Summary
- Compared with the previous 24 hours, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region.
- A girl was injured by shelling in Horlivka.
- It saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line, including in training areas in non-government-controlled areas of Luhansk region.
- The SMM saw anti-tank mines near Krasnohorivka and Vodiane, some for the first time.
- The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to and the operation of critical civilian infrastructure on both sides of the contact line.
- Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. Its freedom of movement was also restricted on a road near non-government-controlled Staropetrivske and at a checkpoint of the armed formations near Novoazovsk.*
Ceasefire violations[1]
In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations, including, however, more explosions (about 300), compared with the previous 24 hours (about 90). Almost half of ceasefire violations, including the majority of explosions, were recorded at easterly and southerly directions of Svitlodarsk (government-controlled, 57km north-east of Donetsk).
In Luhansk region, the Mission recorded more ceasefire violations, including a similar number of explosions (about 60), compared with the previous 24 hours (about 55). Almost all ceasefire violations, including explosions, were recorded at easterly and southerly directions of Popasna (government-controlled, 69km west of Luhansk).
A girl was injured by shelling in Horlivka
Following up on reports of a girl injured by shelling in Horlivka (non-government-controlled, 39km north-east of Donetsk), on 24 June a medical professional in Horlivka told the SMM that a 14 year-old girl had been treated for injuries to her left shin caused by a shell fragment that penetrated the skin on 22 June. A relative of the girl told the SMM that she had seen her running back to her home in the north-western part of Horlivka because of shelling on the evening of 22 June but had not witnessed the incident. Due to security concerns, the SMM was unable to visit the site of the incident.
Disengagement areas[2]
On 21 June, inside the disengagement area near Zolote (government-controlled, 60km west of Luhansk), an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) again spotted an infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) (BMP-1) and an anti-aircraft gun (ZU-23, 23mm) mounted atop a military truck near residential houses, both assessed as belonging to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. On the evening of 23 June, the SMM camera in Zolote recorded an illumination flare at an assessed distance of 2.5-3.5km south-south-east, assessed as inside the disengagement area. During the day on 24 June, while in Popasna, the SMM heard four undetermined explosions assessed as outside the disengagement area but within its 5km periphery.
During the morning of 24 June, inside the disengagement area near Stanytsia Luhanska (government-controlled, 16km north-east of Luhansk), the SMM saw four armed members of the armed formations, five light-machine-guns, and a heavy-machine-gun about 100m south of the southern wooden ramp on the broken section of the Stanytsia Luhanska Bridge (15km north-east of Luhansk). At 12:00, an armed member of the armed formations fired a flare, reportedly indicating the willingness of the armed formations to disengage.
Positioned close to the disengagement area near Petrivske (non-government-controlled, 41km south of Donetsk), the SMM 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
22 June
An SMM mini-UAV spotted a mortar (2B11 Sani, 120mm) near Hnutove (20km north of Mariupol).
Non-government-controlled areas
20 June
Aerial imagery made available to the SMM revealed the presence of three multiple launch rocket systems in a training area near Myrne (28km south-west of Luhansk) (see below).
22 June
An SMM mini-UAV spotted two mortars (2B11) near Sentianivka (formerly Frunze, 44km west of Luhansk).
An SMM long-range UAV spotted:
- two towed howitzers (D-30 Lyagushka, 122mm) near Kadiivka (formerly Stakhanov, 50km west of Luhansk);
- 12 towed howitzers (D-30), six anti-tank guns (MT-12 Rapira, 100mm) and 13 self-propelled howitzers (2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm) in a training area near Buhaivka (37km south-west of Luhansk);
- seven self-propelled howitzers (four 2S1 and three probable 2S1) near Starolaspa (51km south of Donetsk); and
- ten tanks and four self-propelled howitzers (2S1) west of Zernove (70km south of Donetsk) in a zone within which deployment of heavy armament and military equipment is further proscribed according to Point 5 of the Memorandum of 19 September 2014.
Beyond withdrawal lines but outside designated storage sites
Government-controlled areas
On 22 June, an SMM long-range UAV spotted five tanks near Yablunivka (49km north of Donetsk).
On 24 June, the SMM saw a surface-to-air missile system (9K33 Osa) near Dmytrivka (43km north of Luhansk).
Non-government-controlled areas
16 June
Aerial imagery available to the SMM revealed the presence of 22 tanks in a training area near Kruhlyk (31km south-west of Luhansk).
20 June
Aerial imagery available to the SMM revealed the presence of:
- 18 tanks, 18 pieces of towed artillery, and nine pieces of self-propelled artillery in a training area near Myrne (see above) and
- 33 tanks in a training area near Ternove (57km east of Donetsk).
22 June
An SMM long-range UAV spotted:
- eight tanks in a training area near Ternove (see above);
- 13 tanks in a training area near Pokrovka (36km east of Donetsk); and
- 22 tanks and four surface-to-air missile systems (9K35 Strela-10) in a training area near Buhaivka (see above).
Indications of military and military-type presence in the security zone[4]
Government-controlled areas
21 June
An SMM mini-UAV spotted two IFVs (BMP-1) near a checkpoint about 350m north of the northern edge of the disengagement area near Zolote.
22 June
An SMM mid-range UAV spotted an IFV (BMP-1) near Krymske (42km north-west of Luhansk).
24 June
An SMM mini-UAV spotted an IFV (BMP-1) near Lomakyne (15km north-east of Mariupol).
Non-government-controlled areas
22 June
An SMM mid-range UAV spotted:
- two IFVs (BMP-1) near Pryshyb (34km north-west of Luhansk) and
- an armoured personnel carrier (APC) (MT-LB) in Khreshchatytske (formerly Krasnoarmiiske, 33km north-east of Mariupol).
An SMM long-range UAV spotted two APCs (MT-LB) near Zorynsk (54km south-west of Luhansk).
23 June
An SMM mini-UAV spotted:
- an APC (type undetermined) near Pervomaisk (58km west of Luhansk) and
- a new 45-metre-long trench system, assessed as belonging to the armed formations, running along the eastern side of a road near Molodizhne (63km north-west of Luhansk), as well as impact craters nearby (see below) (not seen in imagery from 2 June 2019).
Presence of anti-tank mines near Krasnohorivka and Vodiane, some for the first time, and anti-personnel mine and impact craters near Molodizhne
On 21 June, an SMM mid-range UAV spotted for the first time three anti-tank mines laid across a road about 2.5km east of Krasnohorivka (government-controlled, 21km west of Donetsk) and, about 1km west of the aforementioned mines, again spotted 55 anti-tank mines in fields on either side of the same road, all assessed as belonging to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
On 22 June, an SMM mid-range UAV again spotted 20 anti-tank mines (probable TM-62) laid out in a single row across road T0519 about 3km north-west of Vodiane (government-controlled, 94km south of Donetsk).
On 23 June, an SMM mini-UAV spotted a previously-reported anti-personnel mine (MON-90) facing the road T-0504 (which is regularly used by the SMM) about 1km east of a checkpoint of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the eastern edge of Popasna and about 1km west of a checkpoint of the armed formations west of Pervomaisk, as well as more than 20 impact craters assessed as caused by 120mm mortar rounds in nearby fields. About 1.1km south-east of the aforementioned craters, the same UAV spotted at least 20 craters assessed as caused by 122mm artillery rounds fired from a northwesterly direction in a field near positions of the armed formations.
Border areas outside government control
While at a border crossing point near Marynivka (78km east of Donetsk) for about an hour, the SMM saw ten cars (two with Ukrainian, three with Russian Federation, and one with Polish licence plates, as well as four with “DPR” plates) and seven pedestrians (mixed ages and genders) entering Ukraine as well as 18 cars (five with Ukrainian, two with Russian Federation, and one with Georgian licence plates, as well as ten with “DPR” plates), one covered cargo truck and two buses with “DPR” plates, and two pedestrians (man and woman in their thirties) exiting Ukraine.
SMM facilitation of repairs to civilian infrastructure
The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable electrical repair works near Spartak (non-government-controlled, 9km north of Donetsk) as well as repairs to the Petrivske pumping station near Artema (government-controlled, 26km north of Luhansk), to a water pipeline between Zolote-3/Stakhanovets (government-controlled, 61km west of Luhansk) and Popasna, and to a power line near Raivka (non-government-controlled, 16km north-west of Luhansk).
The SMM also monitored adherence to the ceasefire to facilitate the recovery of the body of a Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier near Olenivka (non-government-controlled, 23km south-west of Donetsk).
The SMM also facilitated the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station (15km north of Donetsk) and continued to monitor the security situation in the area of the pumping station near Vasylivka (non-government-controlled, 20km north of Donetsk).
The SMM continued monitoring in Kherson, Odessa, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Chernivtsi and Kyiv.
*Restrictions of the 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 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, SMM Daily Report 12 June 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:
- On the M-04 road north of Staropetrivske (non-government-controlled, 35km north-east of Donetsk), two armed members of the armed formations stopped the SMM and denied it passage south to the settlement, saying that the road was “temporarily closed to civilian traffic due to exercises in a nearby shooting range.”
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.
Conditional access:
- At a checkpoint at the northern entrance to Novoazovsk (non-government-controlled, 40km east of Mariupol), two armed members of the armed formations allowed the SMM to proceed to Novoazovsk only while accompanied by two members of the armed formations.
Other impediments:
- On the evening and night of 22 June, an SMM long-range UAV experienced signal interference, assessed as caused by probable jamming, while flying over government-controlled Stepanivka (54km north of Donetsk) and Chermalyk (31km north-east of Mariupol), as well as non-government-controlled Rozdolne (46km south-east of Donetsk).[5]
[1] For a complete breakdown of ceasefire violations, please see the annexed table.
* Please see the section at the end of this report entitled “Restrictions of the SMM’s freedom of movement or other impediments to fulfilment of its mandate”.
[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 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.
[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 kilometres from the UAVs’ positions.