Latest news from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received until 18:00 hrs, 6 June
This update is provided for the media and the public
The situation in many parts of Donbas remained tense with no substantial changes when compared with previous reports, whereas other parts of Ukraine were calm. Small rallies against anti-terrorist operation of the Ukrainian Government were observed in Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk. The SMM has not re-established communication with the 4 monitors from the Donetsk team and 4 monitors from the Luhansk team with whom it lost contact on 26 May and 29 May respectively.
The SMM in Kharkiv monitored (evening 5 June) a rally organized by the Communist Party of Ukraine and the organization Labour Kharkiv Land in front of the Regional Administration building. It was attended by approximately 100 participants, who were protesting against the anti-terrorist operation in the neighbouring Luhansk and Donetsk regions. The demonstrators displayed posters with slogans directed against the US, NATO and the president-elect Petro Poroshenko.
The SMM visited the IDP (internally-displaced persons) camp in Hlushkivka (136 kilometres east of Kharkiv), which is located in a facility normally used as a summer camp. All 25 people interviewed by the SMM came from Sloviansk – they seemed to be satisfied with the actions that local Ukrainian authorities have taken in support of their living conditions. According to the head of Kupiansk district administration, the camp currently houses 167 IDPs.
The situation in many areas of Luhansk and Donetsk regions remained tense with no substantial changes compared to previous reporting. Interlocutors of the SMM, who fled the city of Luhansk on 3 June, emphasized that train tickets are rarely available because of the high demand, and roads became dangerous due to numerous checkpoints manned by armed local separatists or other armed individuals. The situation in the centre of Luhansk, observed by the SMM, appeared to be calm. Donetsk city also remains calm, without substantive change to the security situation. The leadership of the so-called ‘Donetsk People’s Republic’, political and military, was braced for a large-scale offensive by the Ukrainian army three days ago; but there were indications yesterday, by some separatist leaders, that a reduction of tension in the coming days is now possible. The SMM team in Donetsk continues to receive 3-4 calls per day from Sloviansk’s self-proclaimed 'mayor' Ponomariov, on what he describes as combat, such as mortaring of the town and casualties inflicted.
The situation in southern Ukrainian cities of Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson and Odesa was calm. The SMM in Dnipropetrovsk observed outside the Regional Military Commissariat in the city, a rally organized by a group of around 30 women, opposing the Government, who held banners with slogans such as ‘Bring back our husbands and sons’. Two women, to whom the SMM spoke, demanded the anti-terrorist operation to be stopped. No police presence was observed. Protesters dispersed after one hour.
The situation in the western Ukrainian cities of Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv was calm. In Chernivtsi the SMM met with the Deputy Heads of administration of the Hertsa district – an area 95% populated by the Romanian-speaking minority. The officials confirmed to the SMM that all children who follow the curriculum in Romanian are permitted to pass their graduation exams also in Romanian. The SMM met the NGO ‘Movement of Volunteers of Bukovina’, which deals with IDPs in the region. According to the interlocutors, the IDPs come mainly from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, particularly from Kramatorsk, Sloviansk, and Luhansk.
The SMM in Kyiv met with three representatives of the Roma community, who had left Sloviansk two weeks ago. According to them more than 250 people from the Roma community in Sloviansk had left and up to 3000 Roma in total have fled from the Donbas region.