News and press releases

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations near all three disengagement areas. The SMM’s access remained restricted in the disengagement areas, as well as again near Verkhnoshyrokivske and Yuzhna-Lomuvatka.* The Mission observed weapons in violation of agreed withdrawal lines near Myrne. The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs and maintenance work at the Donetsk Filtration Station as well as to water infrastructure in Stanytsia Luhanska, Slovianoserbsk and between Avdiivka and Yasynuvata, and to facilitate demining and repairs at a gas distribution station between Marinka and Oleksandrivka.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. It observed multiple launch rocket systems in violation of agreed withdrawal lines near Khrustalnyi, Miusynsk and Malynivka. The Mission’s access remained restricted in the disengagement areas, as well as again near Zaichenko and Novoazovsk, near the border with the Russian Federation.* The SMM continued to facilitate the process of restarting operations at the Donetsk Filtration Station, following a power outage. The SMM continued to monitor repairs and maintenance work to water infrastructure in Stanytsia Luhanska and Artema, and to facilitate demining and repairs at the Krasnohorivka gas distribution station between Marinka and Oleksandrivka and houses in Avdiivka. The SMM followed up on reports that protective masks had been distributed in southern Kherson region in response to hazardous chemical air pollution from a chemical plant on the Crimean peninsula.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region, compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission saw multiple launch rocket systems in violation of withdrawal lines. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area and near the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas, and again near Zaichenko and Novoazovsk.* The Mission continued to monitor the situation at the closed entry-exit checkpoint near Stanytsia Luhanska where it saw that construction and repair works were ongoing. The SMM continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station. It also facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to water infrastructure near Pervomaisk and Krasnyi Lyman.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region, compared with the previous reporting period. An SMM long-range unmanned aerial vehicle spotted at least five burned down houses in Zaitseve. The Mission recorded a ceasefire violation inside the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area and ceasefire violations near the Zolote disengagement area. It saw fortification works to a new military position of the Ukrainian Armed Forces inside the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas, at a permanent storage site in a non-government-controlled area of Donetsk region and again in Verkhnoshyrokivske.* The Mission continued to monitor the situation at the closed entry-exit checkpoint near Stanytsia Luhanska where it saw that construction works were ongoing. The SMM continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station. It also facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to water infrastructure near Zolote. In Kyiv, the SMM monitored two public gatherings in front of the Parliament building. The Mission also followed up on reports of hazardous chemical air pollution in southern areas of Kherson region.

VIENNA, 5 September 2018 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today expressed his concern about a court decision in Kyiv ordering the disclosure of mobile-phone data of a Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) investigative reporter and the host of its Schemes programme, Natalia Sedletska.

International human rights standards guaranteeing the freedom of peaceful assembly and good assembly policing practices were the focus of a train-the-trainer workshop for representatives of Ukrainian law enforcement training institutions and police, which took place in Kyiv from 27 to 31 August 2018. The training was organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

Following a recommitment to the ceasefire on the occasion of the beginning of the school year which began at 00:01 on 29 August 2018, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission heard ceasefire violations near the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas, as well as again in Zaichenko and near Novoazovsk, near the border with the Russian Federation.* The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Vasiukivka and Malynivka. The SMM continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station. It facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to water infrastructure in Luhansk region, at a gas distribution station in Krasnohorivka, the Bakhmut Agrarian Union’s pig farm in Novoluhanske and to residential houses in Avdiivka. The SMM saw a fire near Berezove and noted the closure of the entry-exit checkpoint near Novotroitske; it facilitated adherence to the ceasefire to enable firefighting activity near Berezove. In Kyiv and Dnipro, the SMM monitored gatherings in commemoration of the “Ilovaisk battle” and noted calm situations.