Latest from the Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) in Ukraine based on information received until 6 July 2014, 18:00 (Kyiv time)

In Kharkiv, the situation remained calm.

The military campaign of the Ukrainian army in the east of the country continued. There were clashes in parts of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.

The situation in Donetsk remains volatile. Government sources, corroborated by local ‘Donetsk People’s Republic’ (DPR) contacts, confirmed to the SMM that Ukrainian forces have regained control over Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.

On 6 July in Donetsk, the SMM observed a protest against the Ukrainian security operation in Donbas. At its peak, approximately 4,500 people gathered. The ‘governor’ of ‘DPR’ addressed the protestors, reading out a letter from the ‘defence minister’ stating that, despite the events in Sloviansk, the ‘DPR’ would be ready to fight until victory. Other speakers at the protest declared that the ‘DPR’ armed groups were ready for a guerilla war and would actively defend Donetsk. 

There was no police presence, but the SMM observed a small number of private security officers securing the rally. The SMM noticed at least two persons wearing uniforms with “Berkut” insignia.

In Luhansk, the SMM met with the acting governor of the region, who said that an especially established commission would assess possible damage to agricultural fields caused during the armed clashes, and grant compensation to farmers. Damage to fields in the area that is still controlled by irregular forces could not be assessed. 

The situation in Dnepropetrovsk, Kherson, Odessa, Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv was calm.

In Kherson, the SMM observed on 5 July the meeting of Mustafa Dzhemilev, a prominent leader within the Crimean Tatar community, and other Mejlis leaders with the Crimean Tatar population of the Kherson region in Novooleksiivka (200 km south-east of Kherson).

The situation in Kyiv was calm.