News and press releases

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded a similar number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. The Mission saw fresh damage caused by gunfire to a residential building in Dokuchaievsk. The SMM recorded over 60 ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area and 25 near the area. Small-arms fire was directed at an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle after it spotted hardware assessed as electronic warfare equipment near non-government-controlled Lozivskyi. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure as well as damaged houses in Marinka and Krasnohorivka. It continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station. The SMM monitored the transfer of persons convicted before the beginning of the conflict in 2014 from non-government-controlled to government-controlled areas of Donetsk region. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The SMM was also restricted at a checkpoint near Starolaspa...

The Prime Minister, government ministers and mayors of all 81 local self-government units in the country gathered on 14 December 2018 for a national conference organized by the OSCE Mission to Skopje and the Association of Municipalities (ZELS) to discuss the remaining challenges related to the decentralization process...

Improving institutional interaction and furthering co-operation between the OSCE and the EU in areas of common interest across all three OSCE security dimensions – politico-military, economic and environmental and human – was the focus of the first-ever EU–OSCE annual high-level meeting, held on 12 December in Brussels.

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region. The SMM saw an apartment building in Antratsyt that had sustained shrapnel damage. The SMM observed a calm situation near all three disengagement areas. The SMM saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line in Luhansk and Donetsk regions. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to water infrastructure on both sides of the contact line and to damaged houses in Marinka. It continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station. The SMM monitored the transfer of detainees not related to the conflict from non-government-controlled to government-controlled areas of Luhansk region. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The SMM was also restricted at checkpoints near Oktiabr Mine and Zaichenko...

KYIV, 13 December 2018 – The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group Ambassador Martin Sajdik made the following statement regarding the transfer of convicted persons from CADR to the territory controlled by the government of Ukraine...

GENEVA, Switzerland, 13 December 2018- The 46th round of the Geneva International Discussions (GID) took place yesterday in a business-like and respectful atmosphere...

Compared with the previous 24 hours, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. Small-arms fire was directed at SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicles near Maiorsk and in Khoroshe. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to water and electric infrastructure on both sides of the contact line and to damaged houses in Marinka. It continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The SMM was also restricted at a checkpoint near Zaichenko.