Spot Report: One SMM patrol member dead, two taken to hospital after vehicle hits possible mine near Pryshyb

On 23 April an SMM patrol consisting of six members and two armoured vehicles was driving near “LPR”-controlled Pryshyb (34km north-west of Luhansk) on a secondary road previously used by the SMM. At 11:17, one of the SMM vehicles (second in line), with three members on board, was severely damaged as a result of an explosion, possibly after coming into contact with a mine.

Consequently, a male paramedic died and the two other patrol members (one male and one female) were taken to Luhansk Regional Hospital for further medical examination. The other three SMM members from the unaffected vehicle were safely transported back to the SMM base in “LPR”-controlled Kadiivka (formerly Stakhanov, 50km west of Luhansk). No mine hazard signs were visible along the road.

The Trilateral Contact Group and other signatories of the Memorandum of 19 September 2014 prohibited the laying of mines and other explosive devices, and stipulated that all previously laid must be removed. The role of the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC) in co-ordinating mine clearance is set out in the TCG’s Decision on Mine Action of 3 March 2016.