News and press releases

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region, compared with the previous reporting period. Following the beginning of a recommitment to the ceasefire coinciding with International Women’s Day at 00:01 on 8 March, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the hours before midnight. A man lost both lower limbs and suffered an eye injury due to an incident with unexploded ordnance in Makiivka. The Mission monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement area and elsewhere. Its access was also restricted near non-government-controlled Zaichenko.* In Kyiv, Kharkiv, Uzhhorod and Mariupol the SMM observed events on the occasion of International Women’s Day.

KYIV, 8 March 2018 – Yesterday, the Working Group on Security Issues reached a decision on the recommitment to the ceasefire, starting at 00:01 (Kiev time) on 8 March 2019. Welcoming this decision, the Special Representative of OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group, Ambassador Martin Sajdik informed the Trilateral Contact Group of it and issued the following statement in his personal capacity:

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. It saw fresh damage to a residential house in Shchastia. The Mission saw multiple launch rocket systems in violation of the withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. It observed the presence of mines and explosive remnants of war in Donetsk region. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and near non-government-controlled Bezimenne and Dovzhanske, an area near the border with the Russian Federation. In Kyiv, the SMM saw posters in front of the Embassy of the Russian Federation demanding the release of sailors following the incidents at sea, near the Kerch Strait...

VIENNA, 8 March 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today called on the Ukrainian authorities to reverse the entry ban to Ukraine imposed on Christian Wehrschütz, a journalist with the Austrian Public Service Broadcaster (ORF)...

KYIV, 8 March 2019 – Yesterday, the Trilateral Contact Group recommitted to the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine. Ertugrul Apakan, Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission, and Martin Sajdik, Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and to the Trilateral Contact Group, welcomed the recommitment by issuing the following statement:...

“Today, 8 March 2019, the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) joins people around the world in celebrating International Women’s Day. We take this opportunity to honour the achievements of women and to highlight this year’s theme urging all of us to ‘think equal, build smart and innovate for change’...

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region. A car with armed men inside blocked the SMM’s passage near Sakhanka. An SMM mid-range unmanned aerial vehicle spotted anti-tank mines on the northern edge of Marinka. The Mission monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement area and its access was also restricted at a checkpoint near non-government-controlled Mykolaivka...