OSCE SMM Spot Report 17/2021: SMM camera at the Oktiabr mine near non-government-controlled Donetsk city damaged by gunfire

At 15:45 on 2 July, the SMM arrived at its camera system at the Oktiabr mine (non-government-controlled, 9km north-west of Donetsk city) to conduct scheduled maintenance of a malfunctioning camera. During the maintenance, the Mission saw a hole in the front and the back of the housing of one of the cameras which was assessed as caused by a recent impact of a bullet from small-arms fire.

The camera in question began to malfunction on the afternoon of 18 June when the SMM lost the ability to rotate it. On the evening of 28 June, the video feed from, and the connection with the camera were lost.

The SMM successfully replaced the damaged camera and will conduct further analysis.

The camera system at the Oktiabr mine is located on a mast on the roof of a 50m-high concrete tower and about 1km east of the contact line in a non-government-controlled area, about 1km south-west of Vesele (non-government-controlled, 9km north-west of Donetsk).

Previously, on 17 April, two men in military-type clothing attached a metal frame with an object that appeared to be a camera dome to the mast of the SMM’s camera system, after which the SMM temporarily disabled the system to avoid possible interference. (See SMM Spot Report 19 April 2021). Earlier, in June 2020, the camera system was damaged by an undetermined projectile (see SMM Spot Report 1 July 2020).

The SMM again notes that technical assets are an inseparable part of the Mission’s operational infrastructure; as such they are included in the specification of OSCE Permanent Council Decision No. 1117 that the SMM shall have safe and secure access throughout Ukraine. Unrestricted and unconditional access to all areas, including by technical means, is essential to ensure the effective monitoring and reporting of the security situation, as well as other mandated tasks. The mandate also tasks the Mission to report on any restrictions of its freedom of movement or other impediments to fulfilment of its mandate.