Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine based on information received as of 18:00 (Kyiv time), 9 October 2014

This report is for media and the general public.

The SMM noted a decrease in violence in a number of areas in Donbas. The lustration issue was debated in Lviv and Odesa.

The deputy chief of police in Kupyansk (140km southwest of Kharkiv city) told the SMM that a police checkpoint in Petropavlovka (10km further west) was set to be re-enforced with an additional 32 personnel from various security structures, namely police, military and State Security Services (SBU).

On 8 October in Luhansk city, the SMM observed a hitherto unseen type of licence plate (LPR in red Cyrillic letters followed by a four-digit number on a blue background).

Ukrainian military personnel at nine different checkpoints (CP) to the east and north of Mariupol city (113km south of Donetsk city) told the SMM that, with the exception of some small arms fire at a number of CPs, there had been no serious security incidents in the previous 24 hours. The SMM noted no incidents whilst at the CPs.

The local chief of police in Dzerzhyns'k (60km north of Donetsk city) told the SMM that generally the security situation remained stable in the town, despite on-going small-arms fire in neighbouring Horlivka, 15km to the southeast, which is under separatist control. The SMM observed groups of people outside two banks in Dzerzhyns'k, waiting to use ATMs.

The SMM noted a decrease in the level of violence in Donetsk city during the reporting period. However, it did monitor the aftermath of a shelling incident which had occurred the previous day. The owner of a large shop in the north of Donetsk city – and a number of other interlocutors – told the SMM that the shop had been shelled the previous evening, resulting in nine people sustaining slight injuries. The SMM observed damage to the roof of the shop, a crater in the shop and five other craters in the vicinity of the shop. The SMM also observed the remnants of what appeared to be a GRAD rocket lodged in the ground less than 300 metres from the shop.

The situation remained calm in Dnipropetrovsk.

The SMM observed two rallies outside the regional administration building in Odesa city, both overwhelmingly involving young males. Approximately 300 people were in attendance, in support of Opposition Bloc, a new political party fielding candidates formerly aligned with the Party of the Regions and drawing support from people formerly loyal to that party. Approximately 75 young men stood by, apparently there to secure the venue and protect attendees. A smaller group – of approximately 100 young men – was present at the other side of the square, calling for the lustration of Party of the Regions and Communist Party members. Alongside them were approximately 70 camouflaged self-defence activists, most of whom were wearing masks or balaclavas. A large number of them were also equipped with helmets and shields, and a handful had wooden clubs. Two hundred police officers formed a cordon separating both groups. All participants dispersed without incident.

The head of the Psychological Support Centre at the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Mykolaiv (69km northwest of Kherson city) told the SMM that, of the over 1,000 IDPs treated since the start of the crisis in the east, there had been three cases of serious psychological trauma identified. The psychological problems of IDPs, according to the interlocutor, were mostly related to their unfavourable social situation and frequently dire living conditions, unemployment, and general uncertainty about their future. Many IDPs, he said, believing their displacement to be temporary in nature, refused to look for work, and some, he said, were discouraged by the low salaries on offer relative to those available in Donbas. He warned – as others have previously done – that there was an increasingly negative perception amongst many people in host communities, particularly towards male IDPs, seen by some people as neither fighting for Ukraine nor working.

The situation remained calm in Chernivtsi.

At an extraordinary session of the Ivano-Frankivsk City Council – observed by the SMM – councillors narrowly rejected a motion calling upon the Ukrainian parliament to rescind the legislation allowing for special status for certain parts of Donbas.

The mayor, the chief of the City Police and the co-ordinator of the local self-defence group in Horodok (30km west of Lviv) told the SMM that two of the town’s residents had been killed whilst serving with the Ukrainian armed forces in the east, causing what they referred to as “a negative psychological effect” on the local population. They insisted, however, that a stronger sense of unity and patriotism had also emerged due to events in the east, citing material and financial assistance offered by people in support of the war effort, and the recent example of eight local policemen who had volunteered to serve in the east.

The SMM attended a press conference – entitled “Garbage lustration – lynching in the Ukrainian style?” – in Lviv, at which various views were offered on a recent spate of incidents involving direct action undertaken by people against what they perceived as corrupt officials. A member of a local self-defence group said such “justice” was “efficient”, given what he characterised as incompetent law enforcement agencies, and “morally acceptable” given the “injustice” ordinary citizens allegedly experience. He said such “garbage lustration” should be seen by senior officials as “an early warning”. A journalist at the press conference opined that such actions contravened both morality and Ukrainian legislation, and could be used as a weapon against political opponents. The vice rector of a local university warned that “garbage lustration” contravened democratic principles and could hinder the country’s integration into the European Union.

The situation remained calm in Kyiv.