Daily and spot reports from the Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine

The SMM monitored the implementation of the “Package of measures for the Implementation of the Minsk agreements”. The SMM, based on its monitoring – which was restricted by third parties and by security considerations – assessed the security situation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions as relatively calm, but noted continued fighting in certain locations, notably on the outskirts of Donetsk city, and continued military activity around the village of Shyrokyne, close to Mariupol...

The SMM monitored the implementation of the “Package of measures for the Implementation of the Minsk agreements”. The SMM monitored movement of heavy weapons in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

The SMM monitored the implementation of the “Package of measures for the Implementation of the Minsk agreements”. The SMM, based on its monitoring – which was restricted by third parties and security considerations – noted that fighting continued in areas of Donetsk region including Shyrokyne and, to a lesser extent, in a number of other locations. Baseline data enabling the SMM to monitor and verify withdrawal of heavy weapons had still not been provided.

The SMM monitored the implementation of the “Package of measures for the Implementation of the Minsk agreements”. The SMM, based on its monitoring – which was restricted by third parties and by security considerations – noted that fighting continued in and around Donetsk airport and in several other locations in the Donetsk region. Only a few ceasefire violations were noted in the Luhansk region. Two people were killed in a bomb attack in Kharkiv...

On 22 February 2015 at 13:15hrs, an explosion occurred at a pro-Maidan march commemorating the anniversary of February 2014 events in Kharkiv (during which three people died in demonstrations), outside the Palace of Sports on Marshal Zhukova Street (7km east of the city centre). The SMM, who were monitoring the commemoration, heard the blast and felt shockwaves from their position 100m away. The SMM arrived at the scene of the explosion at 13:20hrs, and saw two dead individuals covered with Ukrainian flags and casualties being attended to. The SMM noted the explosion caused no damage to nearby buildings or windows. At 14:45hrs, a police spokesperson and a representative of the prosecutor’s office gave a press conference at the scene, confirming that an explosive device killed two (one police officer, and one civilian taking part in the march) and injured eleven, six of whom were police officers.

The SMM monitored the implementation of the “Package of measures for the Implementation of the Minsk agreements”. The SMM, based on its monitoring – which was restricted by third parties and by security considerations – noted a limited number of ceasefire violations in the Luhansk region and heard intense outgoing shelling in Donetsk city.

The SMM began monitoring the implementation of the “Package of measures for the Implementation of the Minsk agreements”. The SMM monitored the ceasefire which commenced at 00:00hrs on 15 February. It observed that the ceasefire has been adhered to despite some incidents in Sievierodonetsk (90km north-west of Luhansk, government-controlled), Luhansk, Debaltseve (80km north of Donetsk) and in Donetsk city...