Spot Report by OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM): SMM vehicle struck by bullet near the contact line south-west of Donetsk city

This report is for media and the general public.

At approximately 16:50 on 27 October 2016, driving eastbound between two checkpoints in government-controlled Marinka (23km south-west of Donetsk) the SMM heard heavy exchanges of fire assessed as occurring 2km north-east of its position in the area between Marinka and “DPR”-controlled Oleksandrivka (20km south-west of Donetsk). At around 17:00, while travelling toward the last Ukrainian Armed Forces checkpoint before entering non-government controlled areas – and approximately 100 metres from that checkpoint - those travelling in the last vehicle of a convoy of three felt and heard a thud, which they thought was a tyre blow-out.

The SMM returned to its base in “DPR”-controlled Donetsk city and inspected the vehicle, finding an entry hole in the front left wheel arch and a bullet (7.62mm), assessed as freshly fired, in the engine block. The bullet had pierced the wheel well from the left side at a 90 degree angle and damaged an air conditioning line. The SMM assessed it to have been fired from a northerly direction at a position lower than the SMM vehicle, which, at the time was on higher ground. No SMM members were hurt. The Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC) was informed.