News and press releases

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous 24 hours. The SMM followed up on reports of civilian casualties in Dokuchaievsk and observed damage to a civilian house in Dokuchaievsk as a result of shelling. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere, including at a checkpoint near Kreminets. The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The SMM revisited permanent storage sites and observed weapons missing, including for the first time. The SMM observed mines, and new unexploded ordnance (UXO) and improvised explosive devices, including near Donetsk Filtration Station. The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs to electricity lines near Maiorsk...

CHISINAU, 24 April 2018 – An agreement on the mechanism for the participation of vehicles from Transdniestria in international road traffic was signed by the Chief Negotiators from Chisinau and Tiraspol today...

Between the evenings of 20 and 21 April, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. Between the evenings of 21 and 22 April, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous 24 hours. The SMM observed fresh damage caused by gunfire or shelling in Pikuzy and Sakhanka, and impact sites in Popasna. Operations at the Donetsk Filtration Station resumed following facilitation by the SMM of access of Voda Donbassa employees to the station, however, the SMM heard ceasefire violations in the area despite security guarantees having been provided. The SMM also continued to facilitate and monitor repairs of a high-voltage powerline near Yuzhna-Lomuvatka. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske, and it recorded ceasefire violations assessed as inside the Petrivske disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere, including in areas outside government control near the border with the Russian Federation.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. Civilians expressed frustration due to the long waiting time at entry-exit checkpoints near Marinka, Kreminets and Olenivka.

MOSCOW/PARIS/WASHINGTON DC, 23 April 2018 – In light of recent political developments in the region and the possibility of escalation along the Line of Contact, the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America) underscore the critical importance of the sides respecting the ceasefire at this delicate time and, in particular, keeping heavy equipment positioned in the rear of the frontlines.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region, compared with the previous reporting period. Small-arms fire was directed at an SMM mini- unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) near non-government-controlled Novohryhorivka in Luhansk region. The SMM followed up on reports of civilian casualties, including an employee of Voda Donbassa, in Donetsk city and Toretsk. Operations at the Donetsk Filtration Station remained suspended following the 17 April gunfire that wounded Voda Donbassa employees. The Mission facilitated the handover of possible human remains from Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations inside the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas.*

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more ceasefire violations in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM followed up on reports of three people wounded by small-arms fire near Donetsk city. The SMM saw fresh damage caused by shelling in residential areas of Staromykhailivka. The SMM visited the Yunkom mine amidst concerns of possible radioactive contamination from planned flooding. 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. Its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas, at an airfield near Peremozhne, and in areas near Voznesenivka close to the border with the Russian Federation. The SMM saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line.

COPENHAGEN, 20 April 2018- On the eighth consecutive day of protests in Yerevan and other cities in Armenia, Ignacio Sanchez Amor (MP, Spain), Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s human rights committee, today called on all sides to engage in constructive dialogue...