Latest news from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received until 18:00 hrs, 2 June (Kyiv time)

This update is provided for the media and the public

The overall security situation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions remained volatile. Other parts of Ukraine remained calm. The SMM has not re-established contact with the 4 monitors from the Donetsk team and 4 monitors from the Luhansk team with whom it lost contact on 26 May and 29 May respectively.

In Kharkiv the SMM monitored a Euro-Maidan rally taking place near the Shevchenko monument. The demonstration was attended by approximately 1,000 people, the first Euro-Maidan gathering of such size in three weeks. In the vicinity of the demonstration another group of 50 young people from the ‘Right Sector’ were marching under police observation.

In Luhansk the situation remained volatile. On 2 June, shortly after 15:00 hrs, rockets hit the occupied regional administration building. Based on the SMM’s limited observation these strikes were the result of non-guided rockets shot from an aircraft. The number of casualties is unknown.

A number of Luhansk city and region inhabitants tried to escape the combat zone. The SMM learned that trains to Kharkiv and Kyiv appeared to be fully booked for the next couple of days.

In Donetsk city the situation remained tense. The Ukrainian army holds the Donetsk airport complex, but there were no further substantive clashes between government forces and those of the so-called ‘Donetsk People’s Republic’. Due to security restrictions the SMM was unable to monitor the situation in the whole Donetsk area of responsibility.

In Dnipropetrovsk, the SMM observed a rally outside the Military Unit 3036 of the Ukrainian forces (15 kilometres north-west of Dnipropetrovsk). The 30 people present, mostly relatives of present conscripts, requested the rotation of units deployed in Donbas. They were concerned about the security situation and the lack of information on the deployment of their relatives. The rally was organized through social media. The SMM saw that people dispersed after 30 minutes and no police officers were present at the gathering. No incidents were reported.

The situation in Kherson, Odessa, Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Lviv remained calm.

In Chernivtsi the SMM met with the mayor of Khotyn town (63 kilometres south-west from Chernivtsi). Khotyn is a small town with about 11,000 inhabitants. The mayor gave the information that 10 Tatar families from Crimea have moved to Khotyn and are supported by the district with housing.

In Lviv the SMM observed a march of approximately 400 people with Ukrainian and Right sector flags. They commemorated the fallen of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (which fought against the Soviet Union, Poland and Germany). The march was under the supervision of 8 to 10 police officers. No incidents were reported by the policemen.

The situation in Kyiv remained calm.