OSCE SMM Spot Report 12/2020: Impacts near SMM patrol members at the railway station in non-government-controlled Yasynuvata

On 13 April, an SMM patrol comprising four members and two vehicles was positioned outside the railway station in Yasynuvata (non-government-controlled, 16km north-east of Donetsk) to monitor adherence to a localized ceasefire to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station (15km north of Donetsk).

Despite security guarantees having been provided that a localized ceasefire would be adhered to, at 13:23, two SMM patrol members standing outside the vehicles heard nine undetermined explosions and six bursts of small-arms fire at an assessed range of 1-2km west, as well as three whistling sounds assessed as caused by small-arms fire or pieces of shrapnel at varying heights overhead. Subsequently, from its position, the SMM heard three impacts: one on the exterior wall of the railway station building about 20-50m south; one on the ground about 50m west; and one on a railcar about 100m south.

The SMM patrol immediately relocated about 1km north of the railway station in Yasynuvata and continued monitoring adherence to the ceasefire to facilitate the operation of the DFS. The patrol returned safely to its base in non-government-controlled Donetsk city.