Latest from the Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine - based on information received up until 30 April 2014, 19:00 (Kyiv time)

This update is provided for the media and the public.

The situation in Ukraine remained tense in Luhansk and, in particular, and in Donetsk regions. In other parts of the country an increased police presence was observed due to the fear of possible provocations during May holidays.

The general situation in the city of Kharkiv remained calm throughout the day, however the police presence was visibly increased. Mr Kostiantyn Dolhov, a leader of the local movement demanding Ukraine’s transformation into a federal state a, was detained on April 23 and accused of organizing a series of arson attacks.

Following the storming of the Regional Government building in Luhansk and the Office of the Prosecutor, the situation has temporarily stabilized. Attempts to take over administration building in the towns of Pershomajsk, Sverdlovsk and Rubizhne by forces opposing the government were deterred through negotiation with the local authorities.

In Donetsk, OSCE SMM Chief Monitor and a small team met with Donetsk mayor, Oleksandr Lukyanchenko, as well as with Rinat Akhmetov, reportedly Ukraine’s richest man. The municipal building was partially protected with a small tire barricade and manned by nine unarmed men in camouflage uniforms and three police officers. The Ukrainian flag and Donetsk city flag were hoisted over the building. The monitors were able to freely enter and leave it. The presence of a flag of the self-proclaimed Donetsk Republic was observed flying over the entrance of the departure section of the Donetsk International Airport. About 100 people were observed in front of the Regional Administration Building; among them about 15 to 20 individuals with camouflage military outfit and black masks – as well as people equipped with bulletproof vests and sticks. The monitors observed five separate police foot patrols who stayed in close proximity to the barricades.

The situation in the southern Ukrainian regions of Dnepropetrovsk, Kherson and Odessa district remained calm. There remained a number of roadblocks in the area with the intention to prevent the activities of armed opponents of the Government.

The overall security situation in Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv regions appeared to be calm, however the monitors observed increased police presence patrolling the cities and manning checkpoints due to the fear of possible provocations during the period of May holidays. In Kyiv during the morning of 30 April OSCE SMM patrolled the city centre, in particular Maidan area. The situation was calm.

http://www.osce.org/ukraine-smm/118201