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Ukraine

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

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This report is for the media and the general public.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Petrivske disengagement area. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three areas and elsewhere, including at a heavy weapons holding area outside of government control.* The SMM saw weapons in violations of the withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission again facilitated and monitored repairs to a fibre optic cable near Shchastia; as a result, mobile telecommunications services were restored in non-government-controlled areas of Luhansk region. The SMM visited a border area outside of government control. In Dnipro, it followed up on reports of damage to the office building of a political party.

In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations[1], including, however, more explosions (about 340), compared with the previous reporting period (about 200 explosions).

In continuation of the sequence of ceasefire violations recorded in the early evening of 18 January (see SMM Daily Report 19 January 2018), on the evening and night of 18-19 January the SMM camera at the Donetsk Filtration Station (15km north of Donetsk) recorded an illumination flare in flight from west to east, a projectile in flight from east to west, and three undetermined explosions, followed by a total of seven undetermined explosions and ten projectiles (seven from east to west and three from west to east), all 0.5-1.5km south. During the day on 19 January, the camera recorded, in sequence, an undetermined explosion, 13 projectiles in flight from east to west, a projectile from west to east and an undetermined explosion, all 0.5-1.5km south.

On the evening of 18 January, while in government-controlled Svitlodarsk (57km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard about 420 explosions (about 140 assessed as outgoing artillery rounds and their subsequent impacts, five assessed as outgoing and their subsequent impacts, 40 assessed as impacts, and the remainder undetermined) and about 210 shots and bursts of small-arms and heavy-machine-gun fire, all 2-7km at directions ranging from east to north. During the day on 19 January, while at the same location, the SMM heard about ten undetermined explosions and six bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire, all 2-5km east and south-east.

During the day on 19 January, positioned on the south-western edge of government-controlled Avdiivka (17km north of Donetsk), the SMM heard six undetermined explosions and eight bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire, all 1-4km east-south-east and south.

On the evening of 18 January, while in non-government-controlled Debaltseve (58km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard 16 undetermined explosions 6-8km west-south-west.

On the evening of 19 January, the SMM camera at the entry-exit checkpoint in government-controlled Maiorsk (45km north-east of Donetsk) recorded, in sequence, 29 projectiles in flight from north to south, two projectiles from south to north and two undetermined explosions, all 2-4km south-east.

In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, including 24 explosions, compared with the previous reporting period (about ten explosions).

During the day on 19 January, positioned on the eastern edge of “LPR”-controlled Kalynove-Borshchuvate (61km west of Luhansk), the SMM heard 18 undetermined explosions 5-7km south-south-west.

The SMM continued to monitor the disengagement process and to pursue full access to the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska (16km north-east of Luhansk), Zolote (60km west of Luhansk) and Petrivske (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 19 January, positioned in “DPR”-controlled Petrivske, the SMM heard 13 bursts of small-arms fire 2-3km south-south-west (unable to assess whether inside or outside the disengagement area).

Positioned about 1km west of Zolote-2/Karbonit, the SMM heard two undetermined explosions 8km south-south-east (assessed as outside the Zolote disengagement area).

Positioned inside the disengagement area about 600m north of the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge (15km north-east of Luhansk), the SMM saw for the first time a line of barbed wire east of a road extending in a field for about 200m east-south-east.

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

In violation of withdrawal lines, in government-controlled areas, the SMM saw four self-propelled howitzers (2S1 Gvozdika, 12mm) near Kostiantynivka (60km north of Donetsk) heading south-east on road H20 as well as two self-propelled howitzers (2S1) and two anti-tank guns (MT-12 Rapira, 100mm) stationary in a loading area beside the tracks at the railway station in Kostiantynivka. In an area outside of government control, the SMM saw four multiple launch rocket systems (BM-21 Grad, 122mm) near Novoamvrosiivske (56km east of Donetsk).

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. In non-government-controlled areas beyond the respective withdrawal lines, the SMM observed two towed howitzers (D-30 Lyagushka, 122mm) and three self-propelled howitzers (2S1) and noted that two self-propelled howitzers (2S1) continued to be missing. Four armed “DPR” members denied the SMM access to parts of a heavy weapons holding area.*

The SMM revisited a permanent storage site in a non-government-controlled area of Donetsk region beyond the respective withdrawal lines and noted that nine tanks (three T-64 and six T-72) were again missing and that one tank (T-64) was missing for the first time.

The SMM observed armoured combat vehicles[2] and other indications of military-type presence in the security zone. In government-controlled areas, on 18 January the SMM saw five infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) (BMP-1), each on a military-type truck (Kraz-6446), and two IFVs (BMP-1) near Rozivka (32km north of Donetsk) as well as an armoured command vehicle (BMP-1Ksh Potok-2) near Romanivka (41km north of Donetsk).

In areas outside of government control, on 18 January the SMM saw trenches, previously seen in November 2017, close to the railway tracks on the western edge of Olenivka (23km south-west of Donetsk). (The SMM could not assess whether the trenches were related to the damage to the fibre optic (see below)). On 19 January, the SMM saw an IFV (BMP-variant) near Staromykhailivka (15km west of Donetsk) and an air-defence radar system (P-15 Tropa o P-22 Danube) near Mospyne (24km south-east of Donetsk).

The SMM again facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire on both sides of the contact line to enable repair works to a fibre optic cable about 2km north-west of an “LPR” checkpoint south-east of the bridge near Shchastia (20km north of Luhansk). (See SMM Daily Report 19 January 2018.) As a result of the repair works, the SMM verified that mobile telecommunications services, which had been disrupted in non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions since 11 January (see SMM Daily Report 15 January 2018), were restored in non-government-controlled areas of Luhansk region on 19 January.

The SMM visited a border area not under government control. During about 30 minutes at a pedestrian border crossing point near Ulianivske (61km south-east of Donetsk), the SMM observed no pedestrians crossing in either directions.

In Dnipro, the SMM followed up on reports of damage to a building at 1 Mechnykova Street where the office of a local branch of the Socialist Party of Ukraine is located. At the location, the SMM saw that five windows had broken glass, as well as fresh graffiti in Ukrainian language on either side of the entrance door. A male (aged 40-50), who introduced himself as a member of the party, told the SMM that the damage and graffiti had occurred shortly after midnight on 12-13 January.

The SMM continued monitoring in Kherson, Odessa, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Chernivtsi and Kyiv.