OSCE fixes shelling of Donetsk city centre first time in several months — SMM report

The SMM observed shelling of Donetsk city centre for the first time in several months and the aftermath of the shelling in residential neighbourhoods there, while also hearing reports and observing the effects of shelling in and around government-controlled Avdeevka to the north, the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine said in its annual report for July 19 that was published on Monday.

“The SMM also continued to observe ceasefire violations at and around Donetsk airport,” the SMM report said.
“The violence in and around Donetsk People’s Republic [DPR] -controlled Donetsk airport and city directly impacted residential areas during the reporting period and resulted in one civilian death, confirmed by the SMM,” the document went on to say.

According to them, on July 18, the SMM heard more than a hundred explosions and another 50 loud explosions on the night to July 19.
“The security situation calmed during the day on July 19,” the SMM said.

On July 19, the SMM observed the aftermath of shelling and concluded that the direction of fire at the Donetsk center had been from the north-west, including from the area of government-controlled Pisky [11km north-west of Donetsk] and Pervomaiskoye [17km north-west of Donetsk].

The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission [SMM] in Ukraine has inspected heavy weapon holding areas to discover that some of them have been abandoned and not all previously recorded weapons was in situ as some of them, the Special Monitoring Mission [SMM] said in its annual report.
“On 18 July, the SMM revisited 11 Ukrainian Armed Forces heavy weapon holding areas. While their locations comply with Minsk withdrawal lines, at four of the sites the SMM was not able to conclude that all previously recorded weapons were in situ. At one site, the SMM observed that four multiple launcher rocket systems [MLRS] [BM-21 Grad, 122mm] were missing and that the site had been abandoned. At a second site, the SMM observed three MLRS [BM-21 Grad, 122mm] were missing. The SMM found a third site abandoned, and with none of the six previously recorded self-propelled howitzers [2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm] in situ. At a fourth site the SMM observed that two of 10 previously recorded self-propelled artillery guns [2S3 Akatsiya, 152mm] were missing,” the SMM report said.

“On 19 July, the SMM revisited two “DPR” heavy weapon holding areas,” the report went on to say.
“At one site, the SMM was denied access to confirm the serial numbers on six towed antitank guns… At the other site, the SMM observed that one self-propelled howitzer [2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm] was missing,” the SMM said.