The overview of the social and humanitarian situation, within the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic as a result of hostilities between 11th and 17th March 2017

Economics is the art to satisfy the unlimited needs in limited resource settings.

The Donetsk People’s Republic is a state with an abundance of valuable natural gifts. What matters is to dispose this wealth properly.

In this context, one of the priority tasks is to sell coal products made in the DPR. First 95 coal wagons of the products have been exported from the Donetsk People’s Republic to the Russian Federation. It is planned to increase the sales volumes, which is not beyond the reach of the young Republic. After all, Donbass has always been a center of the coal industry, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy. Looking deep into history, it is appropriate to recall that the Donetsk Coal Basin was discovered in the 1720s. Its industrial development started in the end of the XIX century (an area of about 60 thousand km², total reserves to a depth are 1800 m – 140.8 billion tons). The main mining centers were Donetsk, Lugansk, Krasnoarmeysk, Makeyevka, Gorlovka, Rovenki, Sverdlovsk, Krasnyi Luch, Krasnodon, Shakhty and other. And in 1954 Donbass was the first place in the world, where hydraulic fracturing of a coal seam was produced by the Soviet Union. By the way, coal industry of the Donetsk People’s Republic still occupies a leading position among other branches of production.

«Coal Industry feeds Donbass, functions and will do so. We do not receive any subsidies from Ukraine, and this year we have opened more lows than they have in 2011 and 2012», – underlined the Head Of the Republic Alexander Zakharchenko.

For example, new lava has been put into operation in February at the “Progress” mine, the “Torezantratsit” plant. And now, miners pick up about 1,300 tons of “black gold” every day. Moreover, about 200 people work on the new lava, which positively affects employment.

It is worth noting that the Republic gradually pays off wage arrears of Ukraine to miners. According to the Decree of the Head of the DPR Alexander Zakharchenko No. 40, a program was approved for partial repayment of wage arrears to employees of the enterprises of “Artemugol” (Gorlovka) and “Ordzhonikidzeugol” (Yenakiyevo). In addition, the owners of Zasyadko mine (Donetsk), where external control was also imposed, the will pay salaries to miners for January and February.

A completely opposite situation develops in Ukraine, where similar issues remain unaddressed. So, a few days ago, miners of state holding company “Lvovugol” (Chervonograd) announced a strike. More than 8,5 thousand employees had not received their wages since January, as the executive service blocked the company’s accounts, since the company owed UAH 96 million for electricity. For this reason, the miners stopped loading coal and went out to picket the Economic Court of the region, where the case of unblocking the account of SE Lvivugol will be considered.

The Ukrainian government demonstrates the same negligent attitude in the sphere of technical security of employees of state enterprises. The testimony of this was an accident at the mine “Stepnaya” of the same state enterprise “Lvivugol”. According to the State Ministry of Emergency Situations of Ukraine, eight miners died as a result of the accident of March 2. There were 34 miners on the site, of which 26 were rescued. More than 20 people were injured. According to the Chairman of the Regional Association of Independent Trade Unions of Ukraine, there was an explosion of methane gas, which was provoked by the inadequate state of mine equipment.

If there is danger for life in the workplace, the foundation for productive employment and socio-economic development disappears. The right of workers to protection of their life and health in the workplace is the responsibility of not only labor law, but is also considered one of the basic human rights.

The rights and freedoms of the DPR citizens are patronized by the Ombudsman and her Office.

Citizens can apply to the Ombudsman in any suitable way. Now, the majority of applications is still verbal and made through private meeting either with the Ombudsman or the heads of the Office, addressing the Appeals department, via hotlines and via web-reception on the Website of the Ombudsman. There is a possibility to file a written complaint that may be submitted either in person or via e-mail. Since 2017 the Ombudsman received 1189 appeals.   In the period of work between 11 and 17 March 2017, 5 persons have visited the Ombudsman in person, 30 of the claims were accepted by the Appeals department 56 calls were made via hotlines.  27 applications were received via e-mail, 3 written appeals were taken into consideration, 7– have been considered among those received earlier ,40citizens were provided with legal counseling.

All appeals received can be divided into four categories: violations in criminal law – 52 appeals, violations in civil law– 123 appeals, administrative and legal violations against the DPR citizens – 2 appeals, social and humanitarian issues – 1012 appeals (diagram 1).

The number of appeals (complaints, applications) from citizens,  submitted to the Office of DPR Ombudsman as of 10.03.2017

 

 

Among all incoming correspondence to the Ombudsman of DPR, the one which deals with the issues of exercise of social rights of citizens and violations of these rights is the most frequent. These issues are: pension and social payments – 123 appeals, accommodation for temporary residence – 201 appeals, the order of a complaint submission and paperwork in case of property destruction – 26 appeals, the receipt of humanitarian assistance – 29 appeals, employment – 44 appeals, paperwork on travelling documents – 3 appeals, search of the missing – 54 appeals, loss of IDs  – 119 appeals, housing issues – 78 appeals, receipt of temporary residence permit – 52 appeals, other social and humanitarian issues – 293   appeals (diagram 2).

 

The number of appeals (complaints, applications) from citizens on social and humanitarian isses, received by the DPR Ombudsman`s Office as of 10.03.2017

 

 

 

The majority of complains are traditionally received from Donetsk, by territory (Diagram 3).

 

The number of appeals (complains, applications) from citizens, received by the DPR Ombudsman`s Office as of 10.03.2017

 

1. Statistics and analysis of destroyed infrastructure objects

Targeted shelling by Ukrainian forces causes destruction of private property and infrastructure – this is the reality of the front-line regions of the Donetsk People’s Republic.

As of 16 March 2017 more than 11240 infrastructure objects were partly destroyed (damaged) as a result of hostilities.

More than 6773 objects have been destroyed in Donetsk, 268 units in Debaltsevo, 523 units in Gorlovka, 81 units in Dokuchayevsk, 291 units in Yenakievo, 91 units in Zhdanovka, 72 units in Kirovskoye, 1071 units in Makeyevka, 54 units in Snyezhnoye, 118 units in Torez, 747 units in Khartsysk, 74 units in Shakhtyorsk, 577 units in Yasynovataya, 278 units in Amvrosyevka region, 3 units in Volnovakha region, 24 units in Maryinka region, 17 units in Novoazovsk region, 52 units in Starobeshevo region, 93 units in Telmanovo region, 33 units in Shakhtyorsk region.

Destroyed objects by branches:

– 6145 houses;

– 760 power lines and points of distribution of electricity;

– 175 heating supply facilities;

– 48 water supply facilities;

– 2669 gas supply facilities;

– 11 wastewater disposal and sewerage facilities;

– 101 healthcare facilities;

– 497 general educational institutions (schools, kindergartens);

– 54 vocational and technical educational institutions;

– 58 higher educational institutions;

– 26 physical and sport education institutions;

– 53 cultural institutions;

– 238 road and transport infrastructure objects;

– 59 industrial objects;

– 88 trade objects;

– 258 objects in other spheres.

 

According to the official data as of 9 March 2017 there are 2779 units of governmental and communal ownership damaged, 512 – rebuilt and 2267 – are to be rebuilt.

 

2. Estimates of mortality, wounds to civilians and soldiers as a result of hostilities in the territory of the Donetsk People`s Republic.

 

Almost every day the DPR Ombudsman’s Office records cases of violations of rights of Donbass citizens by Kiev authorities: right to life, to security of the person, to the inviolability of the home.

For the current week checkpoints had been attacked twice by Ukrainian forces. On March 14, Ukrainian forces opened fire against the checkpoint “October” in Novoazovsk region. During the shelling against the checkpoint, there was civil transport, people were forced to hide under the cars. On the night of March 15, Ukrainian security forces shelled the territory of “Mayorsk” checkpoint in the north of Gorlovka. Fortunately, there were no civilians during the shelling in the territory.

On 10 March as a result of shelling of Gorlovka a civilian man born in 1962 sustained shrapnel wounds of soft tissue of thighs with shrapnel fragments, comminuted fracture of the upper third of the right elbow bone with perforating wound.

As a result of shelling in Yasinovataya two persons were injured. A man of 65 years old sustained cut wounds of parietal region of head, a woman of 18 years old sustained cut wounds of soft tissue of infraclavicular region. Both victims refused from hospitalization.

During the cleaning of the courtyard of his own house in Debaltsevo, the man born in 1983 received multiple shrapnel wounds of the front surface of the lower limbs, chin and neck from the explosive object he found.

On 11 March as a result of hostilities in Avdeyevka industrial zone, a DPR serviceman born in 1986 sustained mine-blast trauma, shrapnel wound of ankle-joint, cerebral contusion.

On 13 March as a result of hostilities near Debaltsevo a DPR serviceman of 41 years old sustained gunshot wound of the lower third of right thigh and right shoulder.

As a result of damage to the glazing of the house during the shelling of Kuibyshevskiy region by Ukrainian forces, a civilian born in 1960 sustained multiple grazings of soft tissues.

On 14 March as a result of hostilities in Kominternovo village, Novoazovsk region, a DPR serviceman of 45 years old sustained a mine-blast trauma, penetrating wound of the abdominal, gunshot fracture of the forearm.

In the course of military operation in Debaltsevo, a DPR serviceman born in 1966 sustained mine-blast trauma, shrapnel wound of the right popliteal region.

On 15 march as a result of shelling against Zaitsevo, near Gorlovka, a civilian man of 46 years old sustained shrapnel wounds of the right forearm and right temporal region. Another man born in 1974 died on the spot.

As a result of provocative fire of the Ukrainian forces a DPR serviceman of 27 years old sustained gunshot wound of the right shoulder.

 

 Within the period of 10-16 March 2017,  11 persons, including 1 civilian woman, 5 civilian men and 5 DPR servicemen, sustained injuries of various severities in the territory of the DPR as a result of constant shelling from Ukraine.

Within the period between 1 January and 16 March 2017, 137 persons sustained injuries of various severities in the territory of the DPR. Among them, there were 76 DPR servicemen and 61 civilians, including 4 children under 18 . 

Between 10 and 16 March 2017, 12 DPR servicemen and one civilian man died. The man lost his life due to the shelling in Zaitsevo of 15 March.

Within the period between 1 January and 16 March 2017, 79 persons, including 73 DPR servicemen and 6 civilians died in the Donetsk People’s Republic.

To be specific, since the beginning of the armed conflict 4368 persons died. Among them, there were 595 women and 3773 men, including 74 children under eighteen.

Officially confirmed information on individuals, who have been wounded since the beginning of the conflict continues to be reported to the Ombudsman Office in DPR. The information is being processed at the moment and it will be included into general statistics of the injured individuals.

 

3. Register of prisoners of war, missing soldiers

and civilians

The issue of the exchange of prisoners in the military conflict in Donbass is regulated by the Minsk Agreements. The regular meeting of the humanitarian subgroup took place on 15 March in Minsk. It is clearly prescribed in Minsk Agreements that the exchange must be performed through “all for all” formula. However, as the conflict continues and Ukrainian security forces regularly report on the detention of dissidents, accused of separatism, it is impossible to exchange all detainees for now. Thus, in the course of the meeting the parties agreed to exchange all confirmed individuals.

 

«It would be extremely difficult to perform the “all for all” exchange before the end of hostilities, since Ukrainian security forces detain the supporters of the Republic almost every day. Therefore, it is expedient to exchange those confirmed by both sides» – commented the DPR Ombudsman.

«The only thing we cannot reach a consensus for is the figure 62. The Ukrainian side insists that 62 persons from our list are charged of particularly grave crimes. 11 of these 62 were convicted. The quilt of 51 persons is has not been proven. We required that these people must be returned to the general list. We hope to reach a compromise. Anyway, the exchange will take place soon», — заявила Дарья Морозова.

 

During the week, the DPR Ombudsman’s Office was reported on four detention cases.

In early March 2017 a woman born in 1972 was detained in the area temporary controlled by Ukrainian authorities and a man born in 1972 was detained in the delimitation line. The Ombudsman’s Office was reported on two men born in 1975 and 1980, who are kept under custody in the territory of Ukraine.

During the week, no appeals on the missing have been received.

Based on the updated figures as of 17.03.2017, 785 persons are kept by the Ukrainian side including:

– 476 of those whose presence on the territory of Ukraine had been confirmed.

– 305 persons whose whereabouts are unknown or are being clarified by the Ukrainian side. 13 persons were included into the list of the missing persons. According to the information, received by the Ombusman’s Office from the Ukrainian side, law enforcement agencies of Ukraine make search of these persons as the missing.

– 57 persons, for whom requests were made to the Ukrainian side between December and March, have been included to the list. No official response was received.

– 4 persons, for whom the request to the Ukrainian side was filed for the first time on the basis of information received by the Ombudsman’s Office within a week.

As of 10 March 2017 481persons are considered missing.

The Ombudsman`s Office continues to clarify information about the individuals, who were detained by the Ukrainian side, the statistics may change.

The DPR Ombudsman`s Office will no longer publicly categorize the detainees by “serviceman”, “arrested for political reasons”, “civilian irrelevant to the conflict” due to safety considerations.

 

4. Register of forcibly displaced persons.

Everybody have their own life goals. For some, it is successful career and professional growth, for others – creation of large and happy family. For the implementation of any of them people need the support of relatives, stability and confidence in the future. In the spring of 2014, events occurred that forced residents of Donbass to temporarily postpone their plans. They couldn’t even imagine that their lives would radically change, and they would have to put off those ideas for years. After all, surrounded by military actions, with day-and-night threat to life, civilians have to live for today.

Unfortunately, military actions affected the youngest citizens of the Donetsk People’s Republic. Children had to witness the terrible consequences of the military conflict – explosions, destruction, injuries and even death. Since then, their lives are full of anxiety. In the blink of an eye they have matured.

The local population had to make urgent decisions – what to do next? Where to escape from permanent shelling? How to save the loved ones?

Anyone, who lives in Donbass can address the Ombudsman with a request for temporary accommodation. 15 Temporary Accommodation Centres (TACs) were established in the DPR by the efforts of the Office to provide victims with due living conditions and make their adaptation period shorter. 12 of them function today. Among them: 6 are in Donetsk, 3 are in Makeyevka, 2 are in Khartsysk, 1 is in Zugres. Citizens are given referrals to move to the TAC, any feasible assistance, including psychological, is provided for them.

1357 FDPs now live in temporary accommodation of the Office, including 278 underage children. Since the beginning of the conflict 5054 referrals for temporary accommodation have been issued.  Among them – 160 in 2017. All the TACs are under the DPR Ombudsman’s inspection. The staffs of the Office monitor the TACs on the weekly basis, with the view to respond promptly to the citizens’ needs. The Ombudsman makes every effort to improve social and living conditions for people who live in the TACs.

During the period of work between 11th and 17th March 2017, 46 persons have applied to the Ombudsman’s Office on the issues related to forcibly displaced persons, 11 of them were accommodated in the TACs of the Ombudsman’s Office in   Donetsk, 8 – in Makeyevka, 2 – in Khartsysk, 1 in Shakhtyorsk.

There are currently 1212 housing spots available for FDPs.  Among them: 1146 – in DPR Temporary Accommodation Centres (including TACs of Ombudsman’s Office); 283 – in TACs of the Ombudsman’s Office; 66 – in housing fund of the DPR.

It is necessary to remind that there are 7994 persons, including 2106 children under the age of eighteen registered since the beginning of the conflict. 68 temporary settlements have been established within the territory of DPR, 57 of them operate today, 11 of them are held in reserve. Currently, 3016 individuals live in the units, including 621 underage children, 4978 persons live in the housing fund of DPR, including 1485 children under eighteen.

 

5. Employment of DPR citizens

 

The Ukrainian side tries to complicate living conditions of people living in Donbass. More recently, their plan was to freeze production of industrial products and deprive residents of jobs. However, the government of the young Republic has taken all the necessary measures to buffer citizens against the consequences of the blockade established by Ukraine. The Head of the Republic informed the Ukrainian side: if they continue the blockade, all companies that operate on the territory of the DPR would come under the control of the Republic. Thus, the workers kept their jobs.

However, new jobs are created in the Donetsk People’s Republic. Businesses that have been stopped or damaged at the beginning of the military conflict are under restoration now. In 2016, 24 companies resumed their activities. Basically, it refers to mechanical engineering, pharmaceutical, chemical and food sectors. Factories that produce construction materials also resumed their activity.

Citizens, who wish to find a job, either full-time or part-time, can address to the Republic Employment Centre, which shoulders responsibility for employment in the Donetsk People’s Republic.

The staffs of the Centre provide the updated list of available positions and, if necessary, send them to retraining courses.

According to their data, 8,3 thousands of vacancies were available in the common database as of 17.03.2017. As of 17 March 2017, there were 18,1 thousand individuals who seek for job, registered in the Republic Employment Centers. Among them: 13,6 thousand have been employed (4 of them – on permanent positions, 9,6 – temporarily).

Donetsk Centre of Vocational Education of The Republic Employment Centre organizes regular free public workshops to train practical skills, such as work with personal computers; technique and mechanization of trade accounts (work with cash register machines); the program “1C: Accounting 8.2.”; fundamentals of entrepreneurship; processing and decoration of textile and clothing products etc. Since the beginning of 2017, 75 persons participated in those workshops.