On 12 August, an SMM mini-UAV spotted three fresh craters on Zoriana Street on the northern edge of Verkhnoshyrokivske (formerly Oktiabr, non-government-controlled, 29km north-east of Mariupol), assessed as fresh and caused by mortar rounds (calibre undetermined), and at least 18 craters in a field about 100m north-west of the aforementioned craters, assessed as fresh and caused by 120mm mortar rounds, all about 30m north of residential houses. It also observed two residential houses, about 100 and 200m south-east and south-west of the aforementioned craters, respectively, each with a hole (about 1m in diameter) in the east-facing side of their roofs and other damage, including missing roof panels from the first house and six shattered windows, as well as pieces of window frames, lying on the ground around the second house. The SMM mini-UAV observed two probable underground bunkers and five trenches connecting mortar pits about 20m south of the aforementioned craters, assessed as belonging to the armed formations. It also observed ammunition crates between two nearby houses.

On 13 August, in Verkhnoshyrokivske, led by members of the armed formations, the SMM followed up on reports regarding damages to single-storey residential houses (see above).

At 4 Zoriana Street, the SMM observed a hole (2m in diameter) in the roof of an inhabited residential house and a corresponding hole in the ceiling of a room, as well as the tailfin of a mortar round stuck in the south-facing wall of the same room. The SMM assessed the damage to be fresh and the tailfin to belong to an undetonated 82mm mortar round fired from a north-westerly direction. At the same address, residents (two women in their forties and sixties, and a man in his twenties) told the SMM that they, as well as another man in his twenties, were inside the house when it was hit, but that nobody had suffered any injuries. About 50m north of the house, the Mission also observed a hole (3m in diameter) and broken tiles on the roof of a storage shed, assessed as fresh and caused by an 82mm mortar round from a north-westerly direction.

At 10 Zoriana Street, about 100m east of the aforementioned house, the SMM observed two craters, one in a yard, about 20m south of an inhabited residential house and the other in the asphalt road, about 30m south of the house. The SMM assessed the two craters to be fresh and caused by 120mm mortar rounds from a north-westerly direction.

At 11 Zoriana Street, about 30m north of the house at 10 Zoriana Street, the Mission saw that almost all roof tiles of an inhabited residential house were missing, and that a south-facing window was shattered. It also observed that the tiles and beams of the roof of a summer kitchen, 10m east of the residential house, were missing. The SMM assessed the damage to be fresh and caused by impacts of 120mm mortar rounds from a north-westerly direction. The SMM also saw four craters (1.5m in diameter), one about 2m south-east and three in a field about 30m north-east of the house. The SMM assessed the craters as fresh and likely caused by 120mm mortar rounds from a north-westerly direction. The owner of the house (a woman in her sixties) told the SMM that a mortar round had hit her house in the morning of 12 August while she and her grandson had been in the shelter of a neighbour’s house.

The SMM observed five craters in the asphalt road, as well as in soft ground, about 70m south-east of the aforementioned residential house, with the closest being 10m south of a residential house. It assessed them all as fresh and caused by 120m mortar rounds from a north-westerly direction. Nearby, it observed four electricity lines hanging off an electricity pole, assessed as having been caused by shrapnel from the aforementioned mortar rounds.

At 13 Zoriana Street, about 200m south-east of the aforementioned residential house, the Mission observed that the tiles and beams of a roof of an inhabited residential house were missing, that all its nine windows were shattered and that there were cracks in the north-, south-, and west-facing walls of the house. The SMM also observed household items scattered around the house, assessed as caused by a blast. It assessed the damage as fresh and caused by a direct hit of a mortar round from a north-westerly direction. The owner of the house (a woman in her seventies) told the Mission that she lives alone and had been at home in her yard when it had been hit in the morning of 12 August.

At 17 Zoriana Street, about 70m north-west of the aforementioned house, the SMM observed a crater in soft ground about 10m south of an inhabited residential house, assessed as fresh and caused by a 120mm mortar round from a north-westerly direction. Also, the Mission observed multiple shrapnel holes to the gate and fence located 4m south-east of the house. The owners of the house (a man in his fifties and a woman in her twenties) told the SMM that their house had been impacted in the morning of 12 August, when the woman had been in the yard.

The SMM observed that several houses on Zoriana Street were occupied by members of the armed formations.

Source: SMM OSCE