OSCE: Civilians in Donbas Killed Mainly in Explosions

Civilians on both sides of the line of contact in Donbas are killed and injured in explosions of various munitions during their daily activities, reads the thematic report by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission.

“Civilians have been killed and injured by mines, unexploded ordnance, and other explosive devices,” the document says.

According to the report, from November 2019 to March 2021, the Special Monitoring Mission confirmed the information on 76 civilian casualties due to explosions. Of these, 20 people were killed and 56 were injured. More than 85% of the victims were men and boys (56 and 9, respectively).

The document notes that civilians were killed and injured while working in the fields, walking along river banks, collecting firewood, and being at home.

Civilians are killed on both sides of the line of contact. In particular, in the Donetsk region, 12 people became victims in the areas controlled by the Ukrainian government and 19  in the uncontrolled territories over the reported period; in the Luhansk region, there were nine victims in controlled areas and 36 in uncontrolled ones.

Meanwhile, the Joint Forces Operation Headquarters informs about constant violations of agreements on withdrawal of heavy weapons from the line of contact, construction of fortifications, and mine planting near the disengagement areas by Russian-backed militants. In particular, on 28 May, the occupiers fired an anti-tank missile system from positions near Horlivka towards Pivnichne. The missile exploded and fell near the administrative building of the coal mine “Pivnichna.” No one was injured in the shelling.

According to the military, the marking on the remains of the missile once again confirms the direct involvement of the Russian Federation in waging the aggression and committing crimes against Ukraine.

Bohdan Marusyak