Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine based on information received as of 18:00 (Kyiv time), 19 October 2014

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. In the Donetsk and Luhansk regions the situation remained volatile.In other parts of the country the situation remained calm. In Lviv the SMM observed a political rally organised by “Right Sector”.

On18 October the SMM observed a rally in support of Ukrainian soldiers and a fund raiser to be held at the monument of the soldier, on Lenin Street in Kharkiv. Before the SMM’s arrival to the spot, rumours about people trying to topple the statute were heard. On Lenin Street the SMM observed a small group of 30 young persons (10 women and 20 men) with flags in support of Ukraine’s unity and one flag of “Right Sector”. The SMM saw 10 to 15 police officers at the rally. No violent actions or incidents were observed.

On 18 October upon arrival to Shchastya (24km north of Luhansk) the SMM heard continuous small arms and machine gun fire coming from the area of the power plant. The SMM also heard both incoming and outgoing mortar fire from the area of the power plant and 120mm outgoing mortar fire from the area of the Ukrainian checkpoint (CP) in the vicinity of Shchastya.

The SMM met with the chairpersons of the village councils in Toshkivka (74km north-west of Luhansk)and Nyzhnje (62km north-west of Luhansk). They informed the SMM that, following an instruction by Governor Moskal (recently appointed by President Poroshenko), the backlog of pensions and public-sector salaries for August to October are due to be paid on 23 October. As neither the bank nor post offices currently function, the village councils were collecting the documents of pensioners, so that their pensions can be brought from Popasna in order to spare them the difficult journey. The SMM did not see the government instruction itself, but was told that it would apply only for civil servants working for the Ukrainian administration, thus exclude those working for “Lugansk People’s Republic” (“LPR”).

The overall situation in the city of Donetsk remained volatile. On 18 October the SMM heard a series of loud explosions consistent with incoming and outgoing artillery rounds, in the northern outskirts of the city where the airport is located. On 19 October the SMM went to the district of Kuybishevsky, in Zvyagilskiy Street where it visited the school No. 61 and two other houses, allegedly damaged by the shelling on 18 October. The school No.61 had been hit allegedly by two instances of shelling consistent with mortar fire, at around 19:15hrs the previous night, according to the witness who was the duty officer of the shelled school. According to the duty officer the school was operational and classrooms which had been affected by the shelling were cleaned up when the SMM visited the spot. The duty officer told the SMM that so far there are no plans on how to proceed with teaching in the damaged school.

The SMM observed Kirovsky district from Chekalina Street where a house situated at No. 5 had been hit by two mortar shells from an unspecified direction. The roof, ceiling and the windows of the house were all destroyed. Furthermore, on the same street, the SMM observed a second house, situated at No. 15.No casualties and wounded persons have been recorded thus far, according to a representative from the “DPR” “Emergency Services Department”, who also claimed that the damage in both cases occurred on 18 October.

In Mariupol traffic was light at most CPs with no significant traffic to or from Donetsk observed by the SMM. Several CP commanders reported minor unmanned aerial vehicle activity overhead during the evening and night.

The SMM visited the town of Granitne (40 km north-east of Mariupol) which, according to Ukrainian forces and residents, had been shelled on 18 October. According to them between 12 and 30 shells struck the town resulting in severe damage to five houses where families continue to live. The SMM observed recent damage to some houses from heavy-caliber shelling, as well as numerous other destroyed and seriously damaged houses and buildings on top ofthe hill on the north-western edge of Granitne town, which also appeared to have been heavily shelled.

While on the road E40/M03 towards Debaltseve, the SMM heard unspecified shelling on 18 October at around 11:50hrs that sounded as if it was coming from the south. This was later confirmed by the Ukrainian commander of the CP in Debaltseve, who alleged that the shelling had come from the direction of Fashchivka.

On 18 October the SMM also visited the village of Debaltseve, which had been shelled with 82mm mortar at 10:00hrsthe same day, according to the CPcommander. Reportedly, the shell originated from about 7km in the north-east direction, near Komisarivka village (Luhansk region). The SMM observed several seriously damaged houses and saw partly destroyed dwellings and significant shrapnel damage. No casualties were reported to SMM. During the visit, the SMM heard an82mm mortar explosion nearby, in what seemed to be the northeast of the CP.

In Dnipropetrovsk the situation remained calm.

In Kherson the SMM met with a judge of the Mykolaiv central district court who had previously worked as a judge of a District Court in Crimea. According to him a Property Registration Service had been established by the de facto authorities in Crimea through which all property owned by Ukrainian citizens living on the mainland needs to be registered. Ukrainians are entitled to sell their property, but after its registration with the new service its value is recalculated in Russian rubles and, according to the interlocuter, frequently undervalued. He said that so far Russian citizenship has not been required in order to sell property in Crimea.

InOdessa the situation remained calm.

In Chernivtsi the SMM received information on 19 October about an alleged bomb placed at the railway station and got in touch with the police station to gather information concerning this issue. The police shift commander confirmed that there was a bomb hoax. People were evacuated from the railway station. The search of the building and the station lasted for almost one and a half hours. No explosive devices were found. The SMM visited the railway station at 17:45hrs and observed normal operation.

In Ivano-Frankivsk the situation remained calm.

On 17 October the SMM monitored a political rally organized by “Right Sector” at the Polytechnic University in Lviv, attended by approximately 950 (30% female and 70% male) participants, mainly young people. The main speaker of the event was the leader of the “Right Sector”, Dmytro Yarosh. The speaker claimed that about 7,000 “Right Sector” reservists were ready to fight. When asked by a student on the current status of the Crimean peninsula, Yarosh stated that for the moment “priority is Donbas, and after it we will proceed with Crimea”. The SMM observed 15 “Right Sector” male members in camouflage and armed with pistols at the University's hall. No police presence inside and outside the building was observed. No incidents were reported.

In Kyiv the situation remained calm.