Spot report by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM): Shelling in the Kirovskyi district of Donetsk city on 4 February 2015
This report is for the media and general public.
On 5 February, the SMM followed up on the shelling which reportedly struck the Kirovskyi district in Donetsk city on 4 February from 11:40 to 11:45hrs. The same shelling salvo reportedly hit the direct surrounding of the Kindergarten No. 381, a neighbouring street near the Kindergarten and Donetsk Hospital No. 27. The SMM inspected the three aforementioned different sites located in the Kirovskyi district on 5 February between 10:00 and 15:00hrs.
At 10:00hrs, the SMM arrived at Kindergarten No. 381 located at Pintera Street 10. The SMM spotted an impact crater in the kindergarten’s playground located 25m north-west of the kindergarten. The SMM noticed that the wall facing north-north-west of the aforementioned kindergarten and a nine-storey apartment building facade facing south – located 40m north from the kindergarten - were damaged by shrapnel impacts consistent with a Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) strike. Based on an analysis of the crater impact, the fuse diameter and the observed damage, the SMM concluded that the shelling had come from a south-south-westerly direction and was fired by a BM-27 Uragan MLRS. The SMM did not find any remnants on the spot. A kindergarten employee told the SMM that members of the “Donetsk People’s Republic” (“DPR”) “Vostok battalion” had removed the remnants shortly after the shelling had occurred.
The SMM inspected a second impact crater located 500m south-east of the first crater at the kindergarten. The second impact crater was located 20m west of the sidewalk in front of Pintera Street 2. Based on the crater analysis, the SMM assessed that the impact was also consistent with a BM-27 Uragan MLRS strike. The SMM did not find remnants around the crater. The SMM could not specify the bearing of the shelling as the crater on the sidewalk had been filled in with dirt and stones.The SMM observed a large amount of congealed blood on the sidewalk 20m from the impact site. A male individual – who claimed that he had eye-witnessed the shelling on 4 February – said that the shelling at Pintera Street 2 had killed one man and injured two women. The SMM could not verify this information. The interlocutor added that members of the “DPR” “Vostok battalion” had removed the remnants shortly after the shelling had occurred.
At 11:15hrs, the SMM arrived at Donetsk Hospital No. 27. The SMM spotted two impact craters, one located north-east and the second located north-west of the hospital building facility. On the north-eastern site, the SMM found a large crater located 11m from the hospital’s main entrance. The entire facade and the front windows (facing north-east) of the hospital were heavily damaged by shrapnel. The SMM found traces of blood near the front wall and 300m south-east of the hospital entrance. Based on the analysis of both craters, the SMM assessed that the shelling that had hit the hospital’s immediate surrounding came from a south-south-westerly direction. The SMM found three small metal parts around the north-eastern crater which the SMM assessed belong to the propellant cylinder of a shell fired from a BM-27 MLRS Uragan rocket.
A nurse and a director employed at Hospital No. 27, who said that they had been on duty on 4 February at 11:40hrs during the shelling, told the SMM that two rockets hit the surrounding of the hospital. They added that the shelling had immediately killed five men and left 26 other individuals injured. The interlocutors explained that the aforementioned 26 wounded individuals had been transferred to Hospitals Nos. 16 and 24 and Gusok Hospital. The SMM met a nurse and a director employed at Hospital No. 24, who said that they had treated 14 wounded individuals belonging to the group of 26 injured on 4 February. The interlocutors added that one injured individual from the group of 14 wounded had later died at Hospital No. 24. Based on the statement from the personnel employed at Hospitals Nos. 27 and 24, the SMM assesses that the shelling at Hospital No. 27 left 6 individuals killed and 25 injured. At hospital No. 24, the SMM spoke to a wounded woman who explained that she was hit by shrapnel while working as a nurse at Hospital No. 27 during the shelling.