HIGHLIGHTS
• Significant increase in ceasefire violations in May
• Swiss humanitarian aid reaches Donetsk city by train
• Reduction of agricultural land and livestock in the conflict area threatens food security of rural residents
• Suspensions of social payments remain a major concern
Violence escalates again
After a period of relative silence following a renewed ceasefire agreement over the Orthodox Easter holiday in the beginning of May, the security situation in the conflict area of eastern Ukraine deteriorated again, culminating in an outburst of violence over the last weekend of the month. Conservative estimates by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) indicate, since the beginning of the conflict, 31,000 casualties (incl. 9,400 fatalities) of which 21,000 were civilians. Of these, 36 civilian casualties (three fatalities) occurred in May alone. While the major cause of civilian casualties were explosive remnants of war (ERW) and improvised explosive devices (IED), seven civilians (two women and five men) were injured as a result of shelling.
Heavy shelling in several areas of Donetska oblast, starting on 28 May, resulted in severe infrastructure damages. At least 23 buildings were hit, including a kindergarten in Donetsk city, a church, a hospital and a gas pipeline in Avdiivka. In Stanytsia Luhanska in Luhanska oblast, several houses and a gas pipeline were damaged by shelling on 29 May. About 30,000 people in Stanytsia Luhanska were cut off from electricity due to shelling on 30 May. According to Luhansk regional authorities, several power lines were damaged in the area, with repairing works ongoing.
Water supply has also been impacted by the increase in fighting. The settlements of Olenivka (NGCA) and Berezove (GCA) currently do not have piped water due to damaged electricity lines, and rely on water trucking and local sources. Recent shelling also damaged a transformer in the nearby area of Dokuchaivsk (NGCA), resulting in service disruption for an estimated 8,000 people. Exchange of hostilities by armed groups North of Donetsk city on 30 May resulted in minor damages at the Water Treatment Plant Verkhnie-Kalmiuska (NGCA) which did not lead to a disruption of services. Yet, the Treatment Plant is essential for the supply of Donetsk city and Makiivka, and the security situation in the area remains tense. The supply of essential services such as water supply and electricity to the population in the affected area remains under constant threat due to the ongoing armed conflict.
Dangerous, expensive and exhausting travels across the ‘contact line’
Despite the dramatically deteriorating security situation along large parts of the 420 km long ‘contact line’, five crossing points (Zaitseve, Marinka, Novotroitske, Pishchevyk and Stanytsia Luhanska) were fully operational by the end of May. The State Border Guard Service recorded more than 725,000 people crossings during the month, an increase by 8 per cent compared to April. This occurred even as one of the busiest crossing points in Novotroitske was closed for 3 weeks and fully resumed operations on 20 May only. The passage had been closed after a tragic incident resulting in 12 civilian casualties, of which five fatalities on the night of 27 April, when an area where civilian cars were queuing overnight to cross the ‘contact line’ came under shelling.
Since the beginning of the year, more than 3 million people and 600,000 vehicles crossed the ‘contact line’. The number of people and vehicles crossing the ‘contact line’ every month exceeds by far the capacity of the existing official checkpoints. The temporary closure of crossing points due to security concerns immediately leads to a massive overflow at the operational crossing points.
In May, the Zaitseve and Marinka ones were operating in critical mode, with waiting periods up to 26 hours while Novotroitske remained closed.
The access situation is particularly worrying in Luhanska oblast, since the pedestrian crossing point in Stanytsia Luhanska is the only one in the area. When it was closed for 3 weeks in April, thousands of people were forced to cross from NGCAs to GCAs of Luhanska oblast using the International Border crossing point with the Russian Federation in Milove. The State Border Guard Service recorded up to 3,500 daily people crossings in Milove, compared to a projected capacity of 500 per day. The border crossing point continues to be heavily used by Ukrainian citizens residing in NGCAs.
Same as most crossing points along the ‘contact line’, it is not sufficiently equipped to receive thousands of people per day.
According to a UNHCR survey carried out in March, most of the people travel to and from NGCAs in order to maintain family ties (74 per cent) and access markets (65 per cent). Many respondents also claimed to cross the ‘contact line’ to look after property (25 per cent), withdraw cash (22 per cent) and collect pensions (15 per cent). Recent field reports indicate that the Government decision in February to suspend social payments to hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian citizens (IDPs, pensioners and other vulnerable categories) has forced thousands more to travel to GCAs in order to undergo a verification procedure to get their payments reinstated. However, the cost of travelling (US$ 8-20 according to the UNHCR survey) is immense, considering the average pension in Ukraine (US$ 60).
According to the UNHCR survey, most people perceive the long waiting hours (58 per cent) and the shelling and shooting (57 per cent) as the biggest concerns while crossing the ’contact line’. Some of the crossing points, Marinka for instance, are situated close to hotspots of fighting on a narrow road with no natural barriers such as hills or trees.
Another danger is the presence of ERW, IEDs and landmines (mentioned by 15 per cent of the survey respondents) in areas close to the crossing points as well as the absence of waiting areas (7 per cent) and access to health care (4 per cent).
Although humanitarian partners maintain basic sanitary infrastructure at a number of crossing points and block posts, the capacities are far from being sufficient and the equipment varies largely. In light of warmer temperatures, access to drinking water, places to sit in the shadow and basic health care are urgently needed. In May, one man died from a heart attack while queuing at the pedestrian crossing point in Stanytsia Luhanska where no access to health care was available at that time. More efforts are needed to sooth the hardship for civilians who have to cross the ‘contact line’. Moreover, reports indicate that the situation is often even worse on the NGCA side of the crossing points.
On a more positive note, the extension of the crossing points working hours from 11,5 hours (7am-6.30pm) to 14 hours per day (6am-8pm), effective of 26 May, could allow more people to cross the ‘contact line’ and hence slightly ease the situation. A second positive development in May was the resumption of a railway communication within GCAs of Luhanska oblast after 2 years of suspension. On 29 May, a commuter train ran between “Kondrashyvska Nova” and “Lantrativka” stations. Railway transport will facilitate access for people, including those who cross via Stanytsia Luhanska from NGCAs and need to travel further within the oblast.