In April this year, the DPR Representative Office to the JCCC and the negotiation process published comparative statistics and analysis of trends in the reports of the OHCHR and the OSCE SMM regarding the situation with victims of the armed conflict in Donbas. DPR representatives to JCCC expressed extreme concern over the fact that the information provided by the OSCE SMM does not reflect the real situation with the victims at the line of contact, it is vague and incomplete in comparison with the information provided by OHCHR and the DPR JCCC, the DPR Representative Office to the JCCC reports.
Repeated official letters to the Mission requesting detailed, structured and comprehensive information on civilian casualties during the armed conflict in Donbass did not give the desired result. It was only after the publication of the abovementioned analytical material with a public call to the Mission to intensify as much as possible the registration and publication of information on civilian casualties in accordance with the OSCE basic principles that the SMM published a thematic report on civilian casualties during the armed conflict in Donbass from 1 January 2017 to 15 September 2020.
According to the Mission’s data, 946 civilians became victims on both sides of the line of contact in Donbass during the reporting period, of whom 161 died. However, 41 reports on civilian casualties in 2020 still need to be clarified.
The report indicates that since 2017, there has been a decrease in the escalation at the line of contact, which led to casualties among the population. If a total of 87 civilians were killed and 399 suffered injuries of varying degrees of severity in 2017, then 12 people were killed and 62 injured in 2020.
Undoubtedly, the fact that the number of civilian deaths has decreased is obvious, but after 6 years of continuous attempts to resolve the conflict peacefully, civilian lives are still endangered by attacks, which is unacceptable, including in terms of international humanitarian law.
The following data from the Mission’s report prove that the Ukrainian army opens fire on the territory of the republics, as the result of which civilians die and get injured:
“Twice as many civilian casualties were registered in areas not controlled by the government (657) as compared to government-controlled areas (270).
It is emphasized that 513 cases of those were reported in the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic, accounting for 78.1% of the total number of casualties in both republics during the reporting period. 144 victims of the armed aggression of Ukraine were registered in the territory of the Lugansk People’s Republic, which is 22% of the total number of victims.
In addition, another 19 civilians were killed or injured in areas not controlled by either party.
The report notes that the overwhelming number of deaths and injuries accrues to the Donetsk region — 750 cases, and 196 —Lugansk region, which makes 79.3% and 20.7% respectively of the total number.
According to the Mission’s data, the overwhelming number of civilian casualties was caused by heavy weapon fire (518, including 66 deaths). The second major cause of civilian casualties were landmines, unexploded ordnance and other explosive hazards, which resulted in 312 civilian casualties (81 deaths). Victims of small arms and light weapon fire were 107 people (11 killed).
A total of 77 people were killed and 548 injured during this period as the result of small arms and light weapon fire. Of these, 459 people were injured in areas not controlled by the government (73.44% of all those affected by attacks), 157 people were injured in areas controlled by the government (25.12%) and 9 (1.44%) in areas not controlled by either party.
The Mission also confirmed nine civilian casualties caused by road accidents involving military equipment in the conflict zone.
We particularly emphasize that according to the OSCE SMM, from January 1, 2017 to September 15, 2020, 100 children were injured in the armed conflict, 43 of them as a result of heavy weapon fire, and another three were wounded by small arms and light weapons.
The above statistics of the OSCE SMM shows that the vast majority of civilian deaths and casualties occured in the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics.
Thus, this report is evidence of Ukraine’s disregard of the Complex of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements in terms of the first two main clauses, which prescribe a comprehensive ceasefire and the withdrawal of equipment and weapons from the line of contact at a distance set for specific weapons.
In addition, the published report of the international OSCE SMM denies populist statements from the Ukrainian leadership that the AFU are not given criminal orders to open fire at civilians, homes and civil infrastructure in Donbass.
