News and press releases

VIENNA, 29 October 2018 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today expressed his serious concern over the lasting pre-trial detention of bureau chief of RIA Novosti Ukraine, Kirill Vyshinsky, which has been extended twice already since July, and hopes that the upcoming court proceeding will lead to his release on 4 November 2018, when his current detention is scheduled to end.

At 01:18 on 27 October, while flying over an area near Kalynove (non-government-controlled, 72km east of Donetsk), an SMM long-range unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) spotted a surface-to-air missile system (9K33 Osa) and a fuel truck east of Nyzhnokrynske (non-government-controlled, 66km east of Donetsk).

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM observed damage to a civilian property in the Trudivski area of Donetsk city’s Petrovskyi district. It recorded small-arms fire inside the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Khoroshe. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas.* The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station. It facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to the Petrivske pumping station near Artema, power lines in Berehove, houses in Marinka, Krasnohorivka and Avdiivka, as well as to enable demining activities near Nyzhnoteple.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region, compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission followed up on reports of civilian casualties as a result of a mine explosion near Zalizne. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas as well as near Verkhnoshyrokivske and Novoazovsk, near the border with the Russian Federation.* The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station. The SMM also facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to power lines near Zolote-5/Mykhailivka, as well as to enable demining in Zolote-2/Karbonit and Novotroitske. The Mission observed a convoy of trucks marked, “Humanitarian Aid from the Russian Federation”, in a non-government-controlled area of Donetsk region.

LVIV, Ukraine, 23 October 2018- A regional workshop to foster dialogue and encourage international co-ordination and co-operation in combating illicit trafficking in weapons, ammunition and explosives among border security and management agencies and international stakeholders was organized in Lviv, Ukraine, from 23 to 25 November 2018...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations near the Stanytsia Luhanska and Petrivske disengagement areas and observed enhanced military and military-type presence inside the Petrivske disengagement area. The Mission’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas as well as in Staromykhailivka and near Bezimenne.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of agreed withdrawal lines near Pyshchevyk. The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station; it also facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to critical civilian infrastructure in Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission followed up on a civilian car carrying a family that was struck by a ricocheted bullet at the entry-exit checkpoint in Marinka. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations near the Stanytsia Luhanska and Petrivske disengagement areas and observed military presence in the Zolote disengagement area. The Mission’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas as well as near Verkhnoshyrokivske and Kovske.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of agreed withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station; it also facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to critical civilian infrastructure in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The SMM observed public gatherings marking the European Union’s Anti-Trafficking Day in Kyiv, Sievierodonetsk, Mariupol, Lviv and Chernivtsi.