Latest from the Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, based on information received as of 18:00 (Kyiv time), 29 August 2014

This report is for media and the general public.

The Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) monitored a demonstration in Kharkiv attended by approximately 400 supporters of Ukraine’s unity in front of the Consulate of the Russian Federation on 28 August. The participants voiced their concerns over Russia’s Ukraine policy and called for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and unity. The peaceful protest was interrupted by flash bangs and other devices thrown at the Consulate which was followed by a police intervention. The crowd dispersed and continued the protest at Liberty Square where a cordon of about 100 police guarded the statue of Lenin. The protest finished peacefully.

In Luhansk, the SMM met the representative of volunteer battalion “Aidar” who confirmed that the battalion had a negative overall reputation. The interlocutor admitted that occasionally misbehaviour had occurred in the battalion and they had lacked support to handle these cases, and confirmed that cases of alleged abuses by “Aidar” members had been referred to the prosecutor.

Shelling continued in Donetsk. The SMM visited School 33 in Leninski district, which had been affected by shelling and observed medium to severe damage including the destruction of the fourth floor and the school equipment. The school director said that parents of 80 of the 483 pupils of the school had asked to transfer their school documents to other educational facilities outside Donetsk. The SMM also visited the Regional Clinic and Hospital situated next to the school, the surgery department of which had been affected by shelling causing moderate damage. The hospital’s pharmacists informed the SMM that the hospital lacked basic medication. The SMM also observed consequences of shelling in Kalininskii and Kievskii Regions, where a number of houses and buildings were destroyed.

The SMM was deployed to Mariupol area to monitor developments in the area of Mariupol and Novoazovsk.

The SMM attended a press conference following the Regional Defence Council meeting in Dnipropetrovsk. It was announced that the security situation on the ground had called for close co-ordination between the Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia Regional Defence Councils, who from now on would take joint measures to reinforce the border area by strengthening existing checkpoints and establishing new ones.

The SMM met the Head of Public Peace and Order at the Kherson Regional Police Headquarters, who noted Crimea’s strong dependence on water and electricity supplies from Kherson region and Russia’s possible interest in creating a “corridor” from Mariupol to Crimea through various Ukrainian regions as key sources of tension in the Kherson region.

In Odessa, The SMM attended the press conference of Odessa Governor and the Vice Admiral Commander of the Ukrainian Black Sea Fleet, who called for replacing the Anti-War Protest March planned for 30 August with a gathering at the Potemkin Steps, as a march could potentially pose a greater security risk. The Governor also reiterated that necessary security measures are in place for the forthcoming Odessa Day Concert on 2 September.

The situation in Chernivtsi and Ivano-Frankivsk remained calm.

The SMM monitored a demonstration of approximately 70 participants in front of the Russian Federation Consulate in Lviv. The protesters expressed dissatisfaction with Russian Federation policies towards Ukraine. The protest was monitored by the local police and ended peacefully.

The SMM in Kyiv monitored the area of Border Crossing Point Grem’jach to the North-East of Kyiv along Route P12 and met representatives of the Ukrainian National Border Guard Service. The situation was observed as calm.