News and press releases

VIENNA, 19 July 2018 – While a new recommitment to cease fire that came into effect on 1 July has brought an immediate decrease in violence, a comprehensive ceasefire is yet to be reached, the Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), Ertugrul Apakan, said in his address to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna today...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission followed up on reports of a woman injured by shelling in Dokuchaievsk. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations near and observed again military presence inside the Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three areas as well as near Hryhorivka and, again, in areas of Donetsk region outside government control near Zaichenko and Bezimenne and in areas of Luhansk region outside government control at the border with the Russian Federation. The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Alchevsk and Buhaivka. The SMM continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station, including through monitoring the security situation around the station, as well as repairs and maintenance works to critical civilian infrastructure near Stanytsia Luhanska, Bolotene and Novotoshkivske. In Kyiv, the SMM monitored a court hearing in relation to an attack on members of the Roma community. In Zakarpattia region, the SMM followed up on reports of a fire at a church kindergarten attended entirely by children of the Roma community...

VIENNA, 19 July 2018 – Slovakia’s OSCE Chairmanship next year will pursue strategies that boost multilateralism, promote conflict prevention and focus on addressing the needs of people, said the country’s Foreign and European Affairs State Secretary Lukáš Parízek in Vienna today, as he addressed the Permanent Council on the incoming Chairmanship’s priority areas...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations near and observed again military presence inside the Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three areas as well as, again, in areas of Donetsk region outside government control near Zaichenko and Bezimenne. The SMM continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station, including through monitoring the security situation around the station, as well as repairs and maintenance works to critical civilian infrastructure near Zalizne, Artema, Zaitseve and Novotoshkivske. In Kyiv, the SMM monitored a gathering outside the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office...

VIENNA, 18 July 2018 – Slovenia worked towards restoring confidence and advancing meaningful dialogue among OSCE participating States and placed particular focus on the role of women in security processes, said Chairperson of the Forum for Security Co-operation (FSC) and Permanent Representative of Slovenia to the OSCE Ambassador Andrej Benedejčič as he opened the last meeting of the FSC as Chair...

KAMENSK-SHAKHTINSKIY, Russian Federation. The Observer Mission (OM) continues to operate 24/7 at both Border Crossing Points (BCPs). The overall number of border crossings has increased at both BCPs...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM heard explosions (assessed as outgoing mortar rounds) and small-arms fire about 100m from its position in a residential area of non-government-controlled Dokuchaievsk. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; its access remained restricted in all three areas. It was again restricted in areas of Donetsk region outside government control near Zaichenko and Bezimenne, as well as in Voznesenivka, an area of Luhansk region close to the border with the Russian Federation. The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The SMM continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station, including through monitoring the security situation around the station, as well as repairs and maintenance works to critical civilian infrastructure near Artema, Novotoshkivske, Zolote-5/Mykhailivka, as well as in Zalizne and Horlivka. In Odessa, the SMM followed up on reports of an attack against journalists...