Spot Report by the Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM): Small-arms fire, explosions occur close to SMM in Zolote

This report is for the media and the general public.

On 23 June an SMM patrol comprising two armoured vehicles and six members was stationary in a residential area in government-controlled Zolote-4, approximately 300m north of the Zolote disengagement area (60km north-west of Luhansk). All patrol members were outside the vehicles. At 10:38, in less than a minute, the patrol heard high-intensity outgoing small-arms fire (approximately 50 to 100 shots), two explosions assessed as outgoing mortar (82mm) fire, and three outgoing shots of automatic grenade launcher (AGS-type), all approximately 100m south-east. At 10:42, the SMM heard three to four bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire, followed by uncountable small-arms shots 150-200m south-east. At least one shot, assessed as fired from south-east, made a distinct whistle sound while flying overhead, so low that SMM patrol members bent down. At the same time, approximately 10m east of its position, the SMM saw a woman in the street also bend down.   

The SMM patrol members then headed to their vehicles and left the area, driving west towards a government checkpoint 300m north of the Zolote disengagement area. Along the road, the SMM noted the Ukrainian Armed Forces pointing their weapons south, towards the Zolote disengagement area, and two Ukrainian Armed Forces vehicles (green sport utility vehicles) driving at a high speed east towards Zolote-4. At 10:46 the SMM patrol reached the top of a hill 1km north of the checkpoint, from where it saw white smoke rising 3km south-east assessed to be inside the Zolote disengagement area. The patrol returned safely to its base in Sievierodonetsk. The SMM informed the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC) about the incident.