News and press releases

HAMBURG, Germany, 8 December 2016 – Frank-Walter Steinmeier, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and German Foreign Minister, today opened the 23rd OSCE Ministerial Council in Hamburg, emphasizing that in stormy times a strong OSCE is more important than ever to provide an effective framework and engine for dialogue and co-operation. All 57 participating States, the vast majority of them represented by their Foreign Minister, have gathered in Hamburg for this two-day meeting which is the culmination of Germany’s 2016 OSCE Chairmanship...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period...

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...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and in Luhansk region compared with the period between the evenings of 3 and 4 December. It continued to face restrictions of its movement in the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. The SMM’s freedom of movement was restricted on four occasions elsewhere. The SMM followed up on reports of damage to civilian infrastructure. The Mission continued to note queues at entry-exit checkpoints on both sides of the contact line. The SMM monitored one border crossing area not controlled by the Government. It facilitated and monitored repair works in Krasnyi Lyman and Orikhove...

In Donetsk region the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations between the night of 2 December and the evening of 3 December compared with the previous reporting period, and fewer on 4 December. In Luhansk region the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations on both 3 and 4 December compared with the previous reporting period. It continued to face restrictions of its movement in the disengagement areas in Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske, as well as in other areas. The SMM followed up on reports of a civilian casualty in Horlivka and damage to civilian infrastructure in Luhanske and Horlivka. The Mission continued to note long queues at entry-exit checkpoints on both sides of the contact line. It facilitated and monitored repair works near the Donetsk water filtration station. It monitored two border areas not controlled by the Government. In Kherson the SMM noted a calm situation at the administrative boundary line between mainland Ukraine and Crimea...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. It continued to face restrictions to its movement in the disengagement areas in Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske.* The SMM’s freedom of movement was further restricted on six occasions. It followed up on reports of civilian casualties. The SMM monitored one border area not controlled by the Government. The SMM facilitated and monitored repair works on both sides of the contact line. The SMM monitored a protest march in Kyiv...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region compared with the previous reporting period. In Luhansk region the SMM noted a similar number of ceasefire violations as in the previous reporting period. The SMM continued to monitor the disengagement areas in Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske, and faced restrictions of its freedom of movement in all three areas.* The Mission followed up on reports of water supply cuts in Luhansk city. It visited one border area currently not under government control. In Kherson region, the SMM monitored the situation on the coast of the Black Sea and at the administrative boundary line between the Ukrainian mainland and Crimea, noting a calm situation...