OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine
Daily and spot reports from the Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine
The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine gathers information and reports each day on the security situation with daily reports, and in response to specific incidents on the ground with spot reports.
Spot Report by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM): Shelling at and around Donetsk airport
Report type: Spot report
At and around the “DPR”-controlled Donetsk airport, the SMM noted a number of explosions, and observed the aftermath of two shelling incidents. Casualties were reported at one of the incidents...
Spot Report by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM): Protest outside national Parliament in Kyiv turns violent
Report type: Spot report
On 31 August beginning at 09:00hrs, the SMM monitored protests in front of the national Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) building in Kyiv. Some 3,000 persons (male and female of all ages) carrying “Svoboda”, “Radical Party” and “Ukrop” flags were protesting against constitutional amendments that were being voted on inside the Parliament. The event was initially peaceful and orderly with no signs of unrest...
Spot Report by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM): OSCE vehicles in Donetsk city damaged by fire
Report type: Spot report
At approximately 02:25hrs on 9 August, the SMM observed that four OSCE armoured vehicles parked outside the residence of SMM monitors in Donetsk city were on fire. At 02:33hrs, the SMM heard four loud bursts, most probably as a result of tires of the armoured vehicles exploding. By 03:22hrs, the firefighters managed to extinguish the fire. The SMM noted that three of its vehicles were completely destroyed, one vehicle heavily damaged and three other vehicles partially damaged by the heat from the fire. SMM monitors were not injured and no damage to other OSCE vehicles was observed...
Spot Report by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM): SMM team caught in fire exchange in Shyrokyne, one member injured by debris
Report type: Spot report
At 11:15hrs on 27 July, an SMM patrol comprised of two vehicles entered Shyrokyne (100km south of Donetsk, 20km east of Mariupol)...
Spot report: Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) patrol is caught in fire in Shchastia but comes out unharmed
Report type: Spot report
At approximately 12:40hrs on 26 July, an SMM patrol comprised of two vehicles was caught in mortar and automatic grenade launcher fire while trying to cross the contact line from the “Lugansk People’s Republic” (“LPR”)-controlled side of Shchastia (20km north of Luhansk) to the government-controlled side. This crossing had been agreed and co-ordinated beforehand with both the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the “LPR”.
Spot Report by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, 12 July 2015: Monitoring events in the wake of deadly shooting in Mukacheve
Report type: Spot report
On 12 July, the SMM dispatched a patrol of the Ivano-Frankivsk-based team to monitor events in the wake of an armed incident that reportedly occurred the previous day in Mukacheve (Zakarpattia region, 605km south-west of Kyiv). According to media reports, at least two people were killed – reportedly members of the Right Sector (Pravyi Sektor) – and several others were wounded in a shootout at a café allegedly owned by a member of parliament (Verkhovna Rada)...
Spot report by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), 3 June 2015: Fighting around Marinka
Report type: Spot report
Fighting erupted around the government-controlled town of Marinka (23km west-south-west of Donetsk city centre) in the morning of 3 June. The SMM observed the movement of a large amount of heavy weapons in “Donetsk People’s Republic” (“DPR”)-controlled areas – generally in a westerly direction towards the contact line – close to Marinka, preceding and during the fighting. Calm was restored by the early evening.
Spot Report by OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM): Four incidents involving the SMM within last 36 hours
Report type: Spot report
On 1 May, the SMM was not allowed access to its observation post located 4km north-west of Shyrokyne (20km east of Mariupol) where members of the battalion on the ground took position (See SMM Daily Report 2 May, 2015).
Spot Report by OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:00, 26 April: Intense fighting in Shyrokyne and amassing of forces
Report type: Spot report
On 26 April, the SMM observed what it assessed to be the most intense shelling in Shyrokyne (20km east of Mariupol) since fighting began in the area in mid-February 2015. For the last 12 hours, and on-going at the time of this report, the SMM has observed sporadic to continuous exchanges of fire involving small arms, machine gun, rocket propelled grenade and automatic grenade launcher.
Spot report by OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine: SMM Overnight Observation in Shyrokyne, 18 April 2015
Report type: Spot report
On 17 April, at 18:30hrs, an SMM team, composed of eight staff from the Head Office and the Mariupol Hub and led by the SMM Deputy Chief Monitor, replaced the SMM team that was in the village since 06:40hrs the same day. The SMM located a suitable site to monitor the ceasefire as foreseen in the Minsk package. The SMM parked its two armoured vehicles close to a shelter which the team could use if needed. The SMM marked its location with large OSCE flags which could be illuminated in case of emergency. Throughout the night the OSCE SMM Unmanned/Unarmed Aerial Vehicle (UAV) hovered over Shyrokyne and environs, updating the SMM team in real-time about the situation in the area...