Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) based on information received as of 18:00 (Kyiv time), 4 January 2015

This report is for media and the general public

The SMM continued to monitor the implementation of the provisions of the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum and the work of the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC).

At the headquarters of JCCC in government-controlled Debaltseve (55 km north-east of Donetsk) officers from the Ukrainian Armed Forces and Russian Federation Armed Forces were present, along with members of the “Donetsk People’s Republic” (“DPR”) and “Lugansk People’s Republic” (“LPR”). The Ukrainian Major General, Head of the Ukrainian side to the JCCC and the Russian Major General, Representative of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation to the JCCC, indicated that after a rise in tension levels at the start of the New Year, the situation had calmed considerably in the preceding 24 hours. For the period from 08:00hrs on 3 January to 08:00hrs on 4 January the overall situation was described by both interlocutors as better than the previous 24 hours. They reported a total of 24 incidents: Twelve caused by Ukrainian forces; 12 caused by “DPR” armed groups. These incidents occurred at Donetsk airport (where one civilian was reported killed and three military personnel injured); Donetsk Volvo Centre located at the southern entrance to Pisky ("DPR"-controlled), and Pisky (seven kilometres north-west of Donetsk, government-controlled). The remaining incidents were reported at Nikishna (partly government-controlled, partly “DPR” controlled, and located 12 km south-east of Debaltseve) and “LPR”-controlled Chernukina (five kilometres east of Debaltseve). In the case of Chornukhyne one civilian was reported killed and two civilians injured. The SMM could not independently verify the information.

The Ukrainian Major General at the headquarters of the JCCC said that there had been no reported ceasefire violations in the last 70 hours in “LPR”-controlled territory.

The “DPR” member at the headquarters of the JCCC presented the SMM with documentation detailing an incident that occurred at Horlivka (43 km north-east of Donetsk, “DPR”-controlled territory) on 1 January. This documentation detailed the names of individuals killed or injured and was accompanied by photographs of several houses that appeared to have suffered indirect fire. Asked where the indirect fire had originated, the Ukrainian and Russian Major Generals informed the SMM that a formal investigation would be conducted.

On 3 January the SMM travelled to “DPR”-controlled Bila Kamianka (45 km south of Donetsk) and while approaching the village it observed two unexploded ordnance (UXO) 220mm Uragan rockets and two large shell craters that partially blocked the road 800 metres south of the village. At the southern edge of Bila Kamianka, the patrol encountered a “DPR” checkpoint made of tyres. The roadblock was guarded by “DPR” armed group soldiers. The “DPR” commander denied permission for the SMM to proceed further into the village.

On 4 January the SMM visited Kominternove (88 km south of Donetsk, located in between government-controlled and “DPR”-controlled territories) where it spoke to a group of up to 80 people. They were mainly elderly, men and women, who stated that since 30 December they have not been allowed to pass through the nearby checkpoint staffed by Ukrainian Armed Forces in government-controlled Vinohradne (97 km south of Donetsk). The SMM talked with the Commander of that checkpoint, who confirmed that the citizens registered in Kominternove are not allowed to cross this checkpoint.

On 3 January the SMM visited the Border Crossing Point between Ukraine and the Russian Federation at “DPR”-controlled Uspenka (75 km south-east of Donetsk) and spoke to the “DPR” member in charge of the Border Crossing Point. He stated that the situation was calm and that the traffic flow was slightly lower than normal due to the holiday season. The SMM observed approximately 15 civilian vehicles on either side of the border, all of them with Ukrainian number plates, and civilians, both men and women of all ages, crossing the border on foot in both directions. The “DPR” member said that the personnel at the Border Crossing Point were largely the same as before the conflict and all were professional customs officers. He stated that Border Crossing Point staff checked for narcotics and weapons but did not collect any customs taxes. He also said that there had been no fighting in the area since June 2014.

On 3 January the SMM met the Cossack commander and “acting mayor” of “LPR”-controlled Pervomaisk (75 km west of Luhansk). He said the town was shelled on 1 and 2 January, which was also stated to the SMM by several local residents. The interlocutor showed the SMM a basement of a factory building in the town, where 40 people, including many children, live. A woman told the SMM that she had been living there for six months, since her house was destroyed. The SMM was told that there is electricity and heating in the basement, but no water supply. The SMM also visited a soup kitchen, one of eight in the town, according to the “acting mayor”, where free food is provided. Whilst there, the SMM observed meals being distributed.  The “acting mayor” told the SMM that the food is part of humanitarian assistance, which he said had been delivered from the Russian Federation. Whilst in the town, the SMM met a group of six people, both men and women, whom the mayor said were volunteers from the Russian Federation conducting an assessment of the needs for humanitarian assistance in the town.

In Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk the situation remained calm.

On 4 January in Kherson the SMM followed up on media reports according to which on 3 January an explosion occurred in a private flat, causing injuries to a woman. The SMM spoke to the head of the press department of the Regional Police Office in Kherson, who said that the case was directly related to the explosion which occurred on 27 December, when a person died as a result of the detonation of an improvised explosive device (IED) (see SMM Daily Report of 29 December). According to the interlocutor, when the IED exploded, a second man left the scene and hid another IED at his apartment, where he lived with his mother. While cleaning the apartment, his mother found the IED device and as a result of touching or moving it, the device detonated. The woman suffered injuries to both hands. The head of the press department told the SMM that the incident has been classified as a domestic criminal case.

In Odesa city the SMM monitored a gathering on the central Kulikovo Pole square, attended by approximately 70-80 activists, both men and women in their fifties. The SMM observed 45 police officers present at the scene. The participants of the gathering announced that the police had asked the activists to move the Sunday gatherings to Saturday at 14:00hrs or, as an alternative, that the National Guard would patrol Kulikovo Pole on Sundays instead of the police. Most of the rally participants voted in favour of Saturdays, but no final decision was taken. The event ended peacefully.

The SMM followed up on media reports according to which on the night between 2 and 3 January a railway cargo tank transporting oil products experienced a leak, possibly as a result of an explosion, at the Odesa-Peresyp train station, which is located within Odessa city limits. The SMM spoke to the press secretary of the railway police, who stated that the evidence related to the incident had been transferred to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) for investigation and that the explosion was qualified as a “terrorism act”.

In Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi and Lviv the situation remained calm.  

According to media reports, on the night of 3 January a group of 20 individuals threw stones at the main entrance of the Inter TV channel in Kyiv, damaging a glass door on the ground floor of the building. It was also reported that the Ministry of Internal Affairs had started investigating the incident as hooliganism, with participants in the event questioned and released. Reportedly the incident had been triggered by the fact that on New Year’s Eve the TV channel broadcasted programs from the Russian Federation. The SMM on 4 January visited the site and spoke to two police officers in front of the building. They confirmed the description of the incident given by the media. There were also two members of the Kyiv 2 volunteer battalion who said they were securing the Inter channel building.