News and press releases

The SMM observed an increased level of violence in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions as compared to the previous reporting period. The Mission continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons, and noted the presence of armoured combat vehicles and other hardware in the security zone. It continued to monitor the situation of civilians at checkpoints. The Mission facilitated adherence to the ceasefire and monitored the repair of essential infrastructure. Its freedom of movement was restricted three times in areas not controlled by the Government.*...

WARSAW, 25 May 2016 – Michael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, welcomed the release today of Ukrainian pilot and member of parliament, Nadiya Savchenko, who had been held in Russia since 2014...

LUHANSK, 25 May 2016 – The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine opened a new forward patrol base (FPB) in the government-controlled town of Shchastia in Luhansk region today. The FPB will increase the Mission’s ability to monitor the security situation in both government- and non-government-controlled areas...

BERLIN, 25 May 2016- OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier today welcomed the release of the Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko...

The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine and its longstanding partner, the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, on 20 May 2016 presented a handbook on the theory of law, one of the fundamental legal disciplines, which was developed by a group of prominent researchers from the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University under the leadership of Professor Mykola Koziubra...

The SMM observed a marked decrease in the level of violence in Donetsk region as compared to the previous reporting period. Luhansk region remained relatively calm. The SMM continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons and noted the presence of armoured combat vehicles and anti-aircraft weapons in the security zone. The Mission observed the full re-opening of the Olenivka crossing route, and learned that people had stayed overnight at the Ukrainian Armed Forces checkpoint near Berezove. A man died from a heart attack while queuing at a checkpoint south of Stanytsia Luhanska. The Mission’s freedom of movement was restricted once, in an area not controlled by the Government...*

VIENNA, 24 May 2016 – OSCE Representative Dunja Mijatović today called on the authorities in Ukraine to conduct a swift investigation of the attack against Anatoly Ostapenko, journalist with Hromadske TV in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine...