EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. The present report is based on findings of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) covering the period of 7 May – 7 June 2014. It follows two reports on the human rights situation in Ukraine released by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on 15 April and 16 May 2014. 2. During the reporting period, the human rights situation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions has continued to deteriorate. The 11 March “referendum” on “self-rule” held by the self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic” and “Luhansk People’s Republic”,48 albeit without effect under international law, was seen by their representatives as the first step to the creation of a “Novorossia”. In addition, armed groups have continued to physically occupy most of the key public and administrative buildings in many cities and towns of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and have declared virtual “independence”, however, the provision of administrative services to the local population remains with the State. 3. The presence of armed people and weapons in the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk has increased. Representatives of the “Donetsk People’s Republic” have recognised the presence within their armed groups of citizens of the Russian Federation, including from Chechnya and other republics of the North Caucasus. In the period following the elections, the HRMMU observed armed men on trucks and armoured vehicles moving around downtown Donetsk in daylight. 4. The escalation in criminal activity resulting in human rights abuses is no longer limited to targeting journalists, elected representatives, local politicians, civil servants and civil society activists. Abductions, detentions, acts of ill-treatment and torture, and killings by armed groups are now affecting the broader population of the two eastern regions, which are now marked by an atmosphere of intimidation and consequent fear. Armed groups must be urged to stop their illegal activities and lay down their arms. 5. There has also been more regular and intense fighting as the Government has been trying to restore peace and security over the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk through security operations involving its armed forces. Local residents of areas affected by the fighting are increasingly being caught in the cross-fire between the Ukrainian military and armed groups, with a growing number of residents killed and wounded, and damage to property. The HRMMU is concerned at the increasing number of reports of enforced disappearances as a result of the security operations. The Government must further use restraint of force, and ensure that its security operations are at all times in line with international standards.49 6. As a result of these developments, residents of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions live in a very insecure environment, coupled with social and economic hardships. Daily life is 48 Hereafter referred to as the “Donetsk People’s Republic” and the “Luhansk People’s Republic”. Human Rights Watch Letter to former Acting President Turchynov and President-Elect Poroshenko dated 6 June 2014, on the conduct of security operations in south-eastern Ukraine in light of the growing number of credible reports regarding Ukrainian forces’ use of mortars and other weapons in and around populated areas, and the recent intensifying of hostilities between Ukrainian forces and armed groups. 49 70 | P a g e