News and press releases

Rome/Vienna, 27 April 2018- OSCE Chairperson-in-office and Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano and OSCE Seretary General Thomas Greminger welcomed today the announcement of a peace treaty to be signed by the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea before the end of the year and the commitment of the two states to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

The SMM recorded similar numbers of ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission observed damage to civilian properties caused by shelling in Zolote-5. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded a ceasefire violation inside the Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas as well as at a checkpoint near Kreminets.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in Kostiantynivka, Bakhmut, Vodiane, Bohoiavlenka and Popasna. The Mission saw anti-tank mines near Novotoshkivske and Zholobok for the first time and, again, in a non-government-controlled area south of the bridge near Shchastia. The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs to power lines near Yuzhna-Lomuvatka, and to facilitate access to the Donetsk Filtration Station for Voda Donbassa employees. It also facilitated damage assessments carried out by Vodafone employees in non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk region. The SMM visited two border areas not under government control. The Mission monitored two gatherings in Kyiv and followed up on reports of damage to two bank office branches in Lviv. The SMM continued to monitor the situation at a church in Ptycha, Rivne region, following reports of an incident on 2 April...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM observed damage to civilian properties in a residential area of Yasynuvata. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Stanytsia Luhanska and Zolote disengagement areas and spotted new military presence inside the Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas.* The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The SMM saw for the first time anti-tank mines in a non-government-controlled neighbourhood of Zaitseve.

VIENNA, 26 April 2018 – With the volatile and unpredictable security situation in eastern Ukraine continuing, there is an urgent need to protect civilians living there, said the Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine, Ertugrul Apakan, 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 SMM followed up on reports of a civilian casualty in Vrubivskyi. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations inside the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska and Petrivske, including shots fired 200m and 700m from a patrol inside the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere, including in Dovhe.* The Mission observed weapons in violation in Lysychansk and Vrubivka. The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs of water pipelines in Maiorsk and electricity lines near Yuzhna-Lomuvatka, as well as to facilitate access to the Donetsk Filtration Station for its employees.

VIENNA, 25 April 2018- The continued functioning of OSCE confidence- and security- building measures (CSBMs) and arms control instruments is key to reducing the risk of conflict in Europe, said speakers at today’s OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation meeting in Vienna, held under Slovenia’s Chairmanship...

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 by persons decreased at both BCPs.