Week 1: February 15 – February 21. As of February 18, there were almost no signs of Minsk agreement’s first three points being respected: fierce fighting was reported, heavy weapons were not withdrawn from the frontline and OSCE’s inspectors’ access and freedom of movement were restricted.
Week 2: February 22 – February 28. As of February 24, despite some light improvement, the overall situation did not change: again, exchanges of fire were reported, there was confusion over weapons withdrawal and OSCE monitoring mission was restricted.
Week 3: March 1 – March 7. Fighting of variable intensity took place almost exclusively in Donetsk region: although it seemed that the number of violations had lowered if compared those occurred in previous two weeks, the overall situation remained unstable.
Week 4: March 8 – March 14. No particular developments were noted; the parties were more compliant with Minsk II measures in Lugansk region than in Donetsk. It seemed that fighting increased in the area of Shyrokyne, not far from Mariupol.
Week 5: March 15 – March 21. The situation in eastern Ukraine is still quite unpredictable and could easily change; there are little guarantees regarding full implementation of Minsk II agreement in the short period. Fighting continued in Donetsk and Shyrokyne areas.
Week 6: March 22 – March 28. Generally speaking, as stated in the previous Weekly Updates, there are little guarantees regarding full implementation of Minsk II agreement in the short period. Ceasefire violations continued and occurred almost exclusively around Donetsk and Shyrokyne.
Week 7: March 29 – April 4. Both sides did not stop violating Minsk agreement measures, and data extrapolated from OSCE SMM’s (Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine) reports show that the situation in eastern Ukraine is still fluid and unpredictable.
Week 8: April 5 – April 11. In general terms, the situation in eastern Ukraine hasn’t changed much in the last eight weeks. Although it is possible to spot some positive developments, Minsk agreement’s measures have been violated on a daily basis.
Week 9: April 12 – April 18. The situation around Donetsk and Shyrokyne remains quite unstable, thus making it almost impossible to fully implement Minsk II agreement.
On April 12, fighting renewed in Shyrokyne area after a period of relative calm. According to the SMM (Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine), tanks and other artillery pieces were used, as well as mortars, heavy machine gun and small arms. Donetsk’s airport area was not spared: fighting continued all day long and heavy weapons were used. On April 13, clashes got even more intense around Donetsk, while the situation around Shyrokyne seemed to cool down. At the same time, according to the SMM, “fighting continued in other areas but sporadically”. For the rest of the week, from April 14 to April 18, fierce fighting occurred in Donetsk’s airport area while clashes gradually subsided around Shyrokyne so much so that OSCE inspectors were able to maintain “an overnight static presence” on April 17. The situation remained “mostly calm in the rest of the Donetsk region and the Luhansk region”.
Violations of Minsk agreement’s Measure 2 and Measure 3 endured during the whole week. Heavy weapons (such as 120mm mortars and 152mm artillery pieces) were used by both sides, especially around Donetsk’s airport. Moreover, OSCE inspectors observed the presence and movement of heavy weapons in both government-controlled and DPR-controlled buffer zones and reported that in some government-controlled and DPR-controlled holding areas some previously recorded weapons were missing. Finally, SMM access and freedom of movement suffered from restrictions imposed by Ukrainian Armed Forces, DPR (Donetsk People’s Republic) and LPR (Lugansk People’s Republic) personnel.
Minsk agreement violations aside, mined field, the presence of unexploded ordnances, shortages of food and medicines and the lack of electricity continue to affect villages in both Donets and Lugansk regions and civil population’s living conditions.
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