Observers of the Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) of the OSCE confirmed that the Jan. 24 shelling of Mariupol was conducted from rebel-controlled territory, according to a special report of the mission.
“The SMM conducted a crater analysis and its initial assessment showed that the impacts were caused by Grad and Uragan rockets. According to the impact analysis, the Grad rockets originated from a north-easterly direction, in the area of Zhovtneve (19 km north-east of Olimpiyska Street), and the Uragan rockets from an easterly direction, in the area of Zaichenko (15 km east of Olimpiyska Street), both controlled by the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR),” the mission said in a report published on Jan. 24.
According to the SMM, the first shelling started at approximately 9.15 a.m. and lasted 35 seconds. The SMM was able to count 19 rocket strikes and is certain there are more.
At 1.02 p.m. and 1.21 p.m. the SMM heard again incoming multiple rocket launchers salvos lasting for eight seconds, from an easterly direction.
At a distance of 300 meters the SMM saw smoke above the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ checkpoint number 14 (8.9 km north-east of Mariupol city centre), just several hundred meters away from where the shelling had hit in Olimpiyska Street.
According to latest data, 30 civilians were killed, 95 injured as a result of the shelling of Mariupol’s residential area by militants on Jan. 24.
