News and press releases

COPENHAGEN, 25 September 2014 – Kent Harstedt (MP, Sweden), the Special Co-ordinator of the short-term OSCE observer mission for Ukraine’s parliamentary elections, has met with Ukraine’s Charge d’Affaires in Moscow to discuss opportunities for Ukrainian citizens in Russia to participate in the upcoming vote...

The SMM observed the situation in Donbas, with a particular focus on implementation of the provisions of the Memorandum signed on 19 September in Minsk. It also continued to monitor the situation of IDPs...

KAMENSK-SHAKHTINSKY, Russian Federation. The Observer Mission (OM) is operating at full capacity. Cross-border traffic flows remained steady at both Border Crossing Points (BCPs) although the total number of border-crossings has slightly decreased. Similar to the previous week, more people left the Russian Federation (RF) for Ukraine at the two observed BCPs. Regular local and long-distance bus connections are now operating between cities in the RF and the Luhansk region. The OM observed a significant increase in minivan traffic at both BCPs and again considerable numbers of persons in camouflage clothing crossing the border. Supporters of the so-called ‘Novorossiya’ advised OSCE observers to return to their home countries...

COPENHAGEN, 23 September 2014 – As the international community supports a diplomatic solution in Ukraine, the humanitarian impact of the crisis must not be overlooked, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's Mehmet Sevki Kulkuloglu told a gathering of international human rights experts in Warsaw...

The SMM noted a number of instances of artillery fire in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The SMM on 21 September met the leader of an irregular armed group – a self-styled Cossack commander – in Pervomais’k (70km north-west of Luhansk city). He insisted on being told in advance of any future SMM visit to territory controlled by him, saying the SMM’s security could not be guaranteed otherwise. The “Lugansk People’s Republic” (“LPR”) has previously told the SMM that the “commander” in question is not under the command or control of the “LPR”. (See Daily Report 139/2014)

The SMM continued to monitor the full range of issues within its mandate, with a particular focus on compliance with the provisions of the memorandum signed on 19 September in Minsk. It also observed rallies in Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Odessa against the Russian Federation’s policy towards Ukraine...

COPENHAGEN, 22 September 2014 – OSCE parliamentarians will observe next month’s parliamentary elections in Ukraine and lead the short-term OSCE observer mission...