News and press releases

Between the evenings of 11 and 12 August the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. Between the evenings of 12 and 13 August the Mission recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region compared with the previous 24 hours. In the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area, an armed man pointed his assault rifle at SMM patrol members and threatened to shoot them.* The Mission followed up on a report of a civilian casualty in Dokuchaievsk; a “DPR” member told the Mission he could not provide detailed information about the incident without the permission of other “DPR” members.*

On 13 August at 09:45, an SMM patrol consisting of four members was on foot immediately south of the broken section of the pedestrian bridge south of government-controlled Stanytsia Luhanska (16km north-east of Luhansk), next to a forward “LPR” position inside the disengagement area...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; its access was restricted there and elsewhere, including in Novoazovsk.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in Luhansk city. The Mission continued to facilitate and monitor repair and maintenance of infrastructure in Shchastia and Zolote. It again facilitated and monitored mine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance, co-ordinated by the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC), enabling the SMM to travel the M03 road between Svitlodarsk and Debaltseve. The Mission visited two border areas not under government control in Luhansk region...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. In Pikuzy, the SMM heard small-arms fire in the area where it was flying an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), assessed as aimed at the UAV whose footage “DPR” members later threatened to “seize”. It continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske where the possible presence of mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) continued to restrict the SMM’s access. Armed men continued to deny the SMM access into Novoazovsk and restricted its freedom of movement in Verkhnoshyrokivske and Staromykhailivka. The Mission visited one border area not under government control in Luhansk region...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM observed bullet impacts to one of its newly installed cameras at the Donetsk Filtration Station which rendered the camera inoperable. Near Vasylivka it heard shots and bursts of small-arms fire in the area where it was flying its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), assessed as being aimed at the UAV. It continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; its access remained restricted there and elsewhere, including in Novoazovsk, Oleksandrivske and Horlivka.* The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in Sievierodonetsk and in Slovianoserbsk. It observed that mines had been placed back on the road between Svitlodarsk and Debaltseve. The SMM visited two border areas not under government control in Luhansk region.

KYIV, 10 August 2017- Ambassador Ertugrul Apakan, the Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), condemned the shooting at, and destruction of, a newly-installed SMM thermal camera at the Donetsk Filtration Station near Yasynuvata...

On 8 August, at 20:20 the SMM lost signal of its newly-installed cameras – one thermal and one CCTV – on the roof of the Donetsk Filtration Station’s (DFS) office building (see picture). The DFS is located between government-controlled Avdiivka and “DPR”-controlled Yasynuvata, about 15km north of Donetsk city. On 9 August, an SMM patrol inspected the cameras at the DFS and found out that the thermal camera had been damaged by small-arms fire...