Yesterday SMM members came under fire at the Donetsk Filtration Station (DFS) between Avdiyivka and Yasynuvata. “The contracted workers were installing an SMM camera on the roof of the DFS office building to ensure around-the-clock monitoring in the area,” said Alexander Hug, Principal Deputy Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, at a press briefing at Ukraine Crisis Media Center.
Last week, the SMM recorded a 20% decrease in the number of ceasefire violations. The use of mortars and artillery increased – 137 against 88. Compared to the beginning of February and mid-April, these Minsk-prohibited weapons are used relatively low,” said Mr. Hug.
The parties of the conflict refuse to withdraw certain types of weapons. Last week, the SMM recorded 43 units of weapons deployed in violation of the respective withdrawal lines – 24 in the government-controlled territory and 19 in the temporarily uncontrolled areas. Among them – 18 self-propelled howitzers in the government-controlled Bakhmut and 16 multiple launch rocket system to the south-east of the so-called “LNR”-controlled Miusinsk.
On July 29, OSCE unmanned aerial vehicles recorded a 120-mm mortar in Trudivske district of Donetsk region. Since May 6, three people have died in the area, 20 were wounded. Since early May, SMM has been denied access to this territory 10 times by the so-called “DNR”, and on July 20, they fired 17 small arms rounds on the SMM UAV in Trudivske.
On July 19, the SMM UAVs detected anti-tank mines on a road near the government-controlled Vodiane. On July 21, near the “DNR”-controlled Lohvynove, the SMM recorded mines on the road between Svitlodarsk and Debaltseve. According to Mr. Hug, these mines were removed earlier, which allowed the monitors to travel to Debaltseve and Svitlodarsk.
On the night of August 2, the monitors heard 150 explosions caused by mortar fire, as well as intense fire from large-caliber machine guns, small arms and automatic grenade launchers. “That same night, the SMM camera in Shyrokyne recorded 51 shots rated as multiple launch rocket system fire from east to west, as well as 8 undetermined explosions and hundreds of explosions in the air,” said Alexander Hug.
