Daily and spot reports from the Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine

The SMM visited Kramatorsk...

Police in the Luhansk region accuse a volunteer military battalion of illegal detentions...

Civilians continue to leave Donbas, whilst shelling allegedly continues to take a significant toll on human life. Maidan Square in Kyiv and its environs are all but clear of tents and barricades...

Detention of those considered supporters of the “LPR” in the Luhansk region continues. People continue to flee Luhansk city. The clearance of the Maidan (Independence Square) in Kyiv is almost complete...

The SMM observed that the Donetsk railway station was open. In Shakhtarsk running water is available for only two hours per day, and gas and electricity has been unavailable since 27 July...

Internally displaced persons from Luhansk continued to inform the SMM about troubling humanitarian conditions in the city. The SMM visited a Ukrainian Border Guard encampment, one kilometre from the Russian border, and saw evidence that it had been shelled. The SMM saw evidence consistent with an artillery attack in two high-rise blocks and a local hospital in Donetsk city. It also observed an unsuccessful attempt to remove the tent town in Kyiv’s Maidan square...

The SMM together with Dutch, Malaysian and Australian teams of experts went to the village of Rozsypne to encourage inhabitants to hand over any remaining personal belongings. In Donetsk the SMM observed areas affected by alleged shelling...

This update is provided for media and general public. The SMM facilitated access to the Malaysia Airline Flight MH17 wreckage site for Dutch, Malaysian and Australian experts who are investigating the crash. The SMM observed damage caused by apparent shelling around Donetsk airport.

The SMM – accompanied by Dutch and Australian investigators – accessed the wreckage site of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17. Despite instances of shelling in the general area, the investigators retrieved the personal belongings of victims and some human remains. The SMM received information suggesting that shelling in Luhansk city was increasingly impacting on the civilian population...

The SMM accessed the crash site of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17, together with an investigative team of Australian and Dutch experts – the first occasion since Friday 25 July on which a full visit had been possible. The SMM also visited the outskirts of Donetsk city to assess artillery damage...