News and press releases

VIENNA, 5 April 2017 – There is no alternative but to reduce the risk of a military escalation and find a way to constructively implement the Minsk agreements, said the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office’s Special Representative to the Trilateral Contact Group, Martin Sajdik, and the Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine, Ertugrul Apakan, in their addresses to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna today...

Despite the relatively calmer security situation since the renewed commitment to the ceasefire beginning on 1 April, the SMM continued to observe ceasefire violations. In Luhansk region the Mission observed fewer ceasefire violations compared with the previous reporting period. In Donetsk region, however, it observed an increase in the number of ceasefire violations for the second consecutive day, including twice as many explosions than in the previous reporting period. The Mission followed up on a report of a civilian casualty in Kurakhove and observed impact sites at a checkpoint area in Molodizhne. The Mission monitored the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske, but its access there and elsewhere remained restricted.* It continued to observe weapons in violation of withdrawal lines. The SMM observed demining activity as well as repair work near the Donetsk Water Filtration Station that led to restoration of electricity to the Station and to the town of Avdiivka. The Mission monitored a border area currently not under government control. The SMM noted no changes and a calm situation at the blockade sites near Buhas and Bakhmut...

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...

ERGNETI, 4 April 2017- The 76th meeting under the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) was held in Ergneti. Ambassador Guenther Baechler, Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the South Caucasus, and Kestutis Jankauskas, Head of the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM), co-facilitated the proceedings...

The positive role religious figures and institutions can play in conflict prevention and peace building was the theme of an expert workshop co-hosted by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the International Dialogue Centre (KAICIID) in Vienna on 3 and 4 April 2017.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous 24-hour period, but fewer compared with the period before the recommitment to the ceasefire. The Mission followed up on a report of a civilian casualty in Marinka. The Mission monitored the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske, but its access there and elsewhere remained restricted.* The Mission observed weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines. The SMM followed up on reports of vandalism against bank branches in Odessa...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions since a renewed commitment to the ceasefire came into force on 1 April. In Donetsk region the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations but more explosions – the vast majority of them were recorded before midnight on 31 March – between the evenings of 31 March and 1 April compared with the previous reporting period, and fewer ceasefire violations between the evenings of 1 and 2 April compared with the previous 24-hour period...