News and press releases

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region compared with the previous 24 hours. In Dovhe, the Mission heard small-arms fire assessed as aimed at its unmanned aerial vehicle. The SMM observed damage to civilian properties from shelling in residential areas in Dokuchaievsk. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations inside the Petrivske disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in the disengagement areas and elsewhere, including at a heavy weapons holding area and a permanent storage site in non-government-controlled areas.* The SMM saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. It facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance of essential infrastructure in Shchastia and Zolote-4, and near Krasnyi Lyman, Artema and Troitske. The SMM visited four border areas not under government control.

VIENNA, 28 November 2017- At a meeting of the 5+2 talks on the Transdniestrian Settlement Process in Vienna, political representatives from Chisinau and Tiraspol confirmed progress on several of the eight issues previously identified by the Sides, and made a commitment to finalize the remaining issues at the beginning of next year...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions between the evenings of 24 and 25 November compared with the previous reporting period. In both regions the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations between the evenings of 25 and 26 November compared with the previous 24 hours. The SMM heard from soldiers and residents that Ukrainian Armed Forces had moved into the village of Travneve on 21-22 November. Some residents of Travneve told the SMM that they had been without electricity since 16 November. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations inside the Petrivske disengagement area. It followed up on reports of a civilian casualty in Popasna and observed damage caused by shelling in Dokuchaievsk and Holmivskyi. Its access remained restricted in the disengagement areas and elsewhere, including at a Ukrainian Armed Forces weapons holding area. The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Volnovakha. The SMM visited seven border areas outside of government control. The SMM monitored a gathering in front of the regional prosecutor’s office in Odessa...

VIENNA, 27 November 2017 – Local communities and businesses on both sides of the Dniester/Nistru River and across the wider region will benefit from agreements on several social and economic issues reached by the Sides in the Trandniestrian Settlement Process, said OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, and OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. It continued to observe armed men and armoured personnel carriers in Luhansk city centre. The SMM observed shelling damage in a residential area of Dovhe. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations inside the Petrivske disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in the disengagement areas.* It facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance of essential infrastructure in Zalizne and Betmanove, as well as, reportedly, the transport of the bodies of deceased soldiers near Novotoshkivske and Sentianivka. The SMM followed up on the situation of civilians from Travneve close to the contact line.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. It continued to observe armed men and armoured personnel carriers in Luhansk city centre. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it heard an explosion near the Stanytsia Luhansk disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in the disengagement areas and elsewhere, including near Kreminets. The SMM observed shelling damage in a residential area of Dokuchaievsk. In Luhansk the SMM observed a convoy of 16 cargo trucks marked with “Humanitarian help from the Russian Federation”. It facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance of essential infrastructure in Betmanove. The SMM observed a calm situation in Kherson region along the administrative boundary line with Crimea. It observed groups of parishioners shout at one another outside a church in Ivano-Frankivsk...

KYIV, 24 November 2017 – As the world is set to mark tomorrow’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, it is vitally important to recognize the link between violence against women and armed conflict, said Ambassador Ertugrul Apakan, Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, and Ambassador Vaidotas Verba, OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine, today in Kyiv.