Spot Report by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM): Warning shots fired 70-100m from SMM in Pivdenne

At 11:03 on 7 June, an SMM patrol consisting of 15 members and four armoured vehicles was positioned in Chyhari, an area on the south-eastern edge of Pivdenne (government-controlled, 40km north-east of Donetsk). Two SMM patrol members, led (at a distance of 7m) by the representative of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC), four officers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and three Ukrainian Armed Forces sappers, were walking east on Poltavska Street to check that the area was safe for the patrol to proceed. The other 13 SMM patrol members were waiting about 50m west.

As the two SMM patrol members led by Ukrainian Armed Forces officers walked forward, they heard two single shots followed by a burst of small-arms fire about 70-100m east. The SMM assessed that the small-arms fire was a warning. The two SMM patrol members immediately took cover on the ground and heard someone shout in Russian: “Do not approach!” An SMM vehicle drove forward to cover and pick up the two SMM patrol members. The patrol immediately departed the area. No injuries or damages were reported and the SMM returned safely to its base in Donetsk city.

The SMM had obtained security guarantees for the patrol from both the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the armed formations. The Ukrainian Armed Forces commander in charge of the area confirmed to the SMM in advance that the patrol route was safe. The SMM also informed and requested follow-up from the JCCC and the armed formations.