Latest from the Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) in Ukraine based on information received until 7 July 2014, 18:00 (Kyiv time)

This update is provided for the media and the public.

The campaign of the Ukrainian forces in the east of the country continued. Other parts of the country remained calm.

In Kharkiv, the situation remained calm.

The security operation of the Ukrainian forces in the east of the country continued. The situation in parts of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions remained volatile.

In Donetsk, the SMM monitored the situation in the city centre near the Drama Theatre and the adjoining streets. Approximately 40 uniformed armed personnel of the so-called ‘Donetsk People’s Republic’ were seen patrolling by foot and in vehicles.

In the late afternoon, the SMM heard sporadic gunfire in the city centre of Donetsk. Police later confirmed that there had been gunfire in the city but could not provide any additional information.

On the outskirts of Mariupol, there was an 800 metre-long line of vehicles waiting to cross southwards through a Ukrainian checkpoint.

In the centre of Mariupol, the SMM observed a joint patrol team comprising of two police officers and five civilians with ‘DND Mariupol’ insignia. DND volunteers are members of a local ‘self-defence’ organization unaligned to state security structures.

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

In Odessa, the SMM had a meeting with representatives of an NGONGO
non-governmental organization that assists internally displaced persons (IDPs). They said that IDPs rely solely on private voluntary donations and that a mobile phone company had donated SIM cards so that IDPs in the Odessa region could contact their relatives in Donbas. They further stressed that one of the most pressing needs was medicine. Local representatives of the Department of Social and Humanitarian Issues in Bilyaivka (45 km east of Odessa) confirmed that there were currently 16 or 17 IDPs staying at a camp in Mayaki. Their care is being coordinated by the Co-ordination Committee under the Regional Administration and their food and lodging is provided for. The regional Committee for Social Protection said it is working to ensure that the IDPs receive social security benefits. Some IDPs do not have their Work Books, a necessity in most former Soviet countries if one is to claim social benefits or seek employment. There is also a Co-ordination Centre at district level, which has ensured that the camp is wheelchair-accessible and arranged for medical checks for all IDPs. In addition to the 16 or 17 persons staying in the camp, there are officially five families staying with relatives in the district and a further 21 unregistered individuals staying with friends or relatives.

In Kherson, the SMM met the Imam of the Kherson region who spoke about the situation of the Meskhetian Turks and about a recent evacuation of 100 women and children from the Donetsk to the Kherson region. He said they are staying in Chaplynka (117 km south of Kherson) with other families of Meskhetian Turks residing in the area. The interlocutor said that the IDPs were not planning to return to the Donetsk region even if the security situation improved. They are seeking ways of leaving Ukraine and emigrating to Turkey, according to the Imam. As previously reported, the Meskhetian Turks were originally located in Sloviansk, but had left their villages in the Sloviansk area due to the deteriorating security situation.

The situation in Kyiv was calm.