Spot report by OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine: SMM Overnight Observation in Shyrokyne, 18 April 2015

This report is for media and the general public.

On 17 April, at 18:30hrs, an SMM team, composed of eight staff from the Head Office and the Mariupol Hub and led by the SMM Deputy Chief Monitor, replaced the SMM team that was in the village since 06:40hrs the same day. The SMM located a suitable site to monitor the ceasefire as foreseen in the Minsk package. The SMM parked its two armoured vehicles close to a shelter which the team could use if needed. The SMM marked its location with large OSCE flags which could be illuminated in case of emergency. Throughout the night the OSCE SMM Unmanned/Unarmed Aerial Vehicle (UAV) hovered over Shyrokyne and environs, updating the SMM team in real-time about the situation in the area.

At the location of the SMM overnight presence "DPR" members were present at times. Between 23:00 and 23:22hrs and between 23:45 and 00:00hrs the SMM heard artillery duels at a distance of approximately 10km north of its position. During its overnight stay in Shyrokyne, the SMM did not register any ceasefire violation in or around the village of Shyrokyne.

On 18 April, at 06:30hrs, the team was replaced. At the time, the ceasefire in Shyrokyne was holding continuously for 59 hours and the SMM had an uninterrupted presence for more than 24 hours in the village. The SMM managed to access the village on six days in a row. The overnight team returned at 08:05hrs to the SMM base in Mariupol.