News and press releases

The power to the SMM’s camera at the Oktiabr mine in Donetsk had been cut off and auxiliary equipment had been stolen...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region (three explosions compared with 18) and also in Luhansk region (one explosion compared with eight) compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM followed up on reports of civilian injuries, conducted crater analysis in Shchastia and Kamianka, and observed damage from shelling to civilian infrastructure. The SMM monitored three border crossing areas, in Zhovtneve, Petrivka and Uspenka, and visited schools on both sides of the contact line. The SMM encountered impediments to its freedom of movement, including threats of violence against SMM members, all in areas outside of government control. The SMM continued to monitor a calm situation al ong the administrative boundary line between the mainland and Crimea. The SMM observed clashes between protestors and the dispersal of a public gathering in Odessa...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region (18 explosions compared with 95 on 31 August) and also in Luhansk region...

MINSK, 1 September 2016- A Trilateral Contact Group meeting by video-conference took place in Kyiv today 01 September 2016 with the purpose to confirm the ceasefire announced and observed from 00.00, 01 September. Video-conference was also attended by SMM Chief Monitor Ambassador Apakan as well as RF and Ukrainian representatives in JCCC – Generals Medvedskiy and Kremenetskiy accordingly...

The SMM recorded substantially fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region (95 explosions compared with 520 on 30 August) but a much higher number of violations in Luhansk region (155 explosions compared with ten on 30 August). The SMM evacuated its forward patrol base in Shchastia during the night of 30 August due to mortar rounds assessed as landing close to its base; the SMM returned to the base during the day of 31 August. The SMM followed up on reports of civilian casualties and observed numerous cases of damage to civilian property when conducting shelling assessments in Krasnohorivka, Horlivka, Lobacheve, Raivka, Irmino, and Novooleksandrivka. The SMM continued to observe heavy weapons missing from storage locations in government- and non-government-controlled areas. The SMM also monitored the results of shelling on and military personnel in proximity of schools. The SMM continued to monitor a calm situation along the administrative boundary line between the Ukrainian mainland and Crimea...

POTSDAM, Germany, 1 September 2016 – “It is my firm belief that we must work together to face the common threats of our times and to make use of the OSCE more effectively as a central platform for dialogue,” said OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the end of the Informal Meeting of OSCE Foreign Ministers in Potsdam today. “At a time when we are facing grave differences of opinion and a loss of trust in the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian area, we as political leaders have a duty to listen to each other and to re-engage in genuine dialogue,” Steinmeier added...

POTSDAM, 1 September 2016 – Speaking today at an informal meeting of OSCE Foreign Ministers in Potsdam, Germany, Parliamentary Assembly President Christine Muttonen (MP, Austria) urged intensified efforts at diplomacy and confidence-building, stressing that governments should make full use of the OSCE’s instruments to address common challenges...