News and press releases

This report is for media and the general public. The Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) monitored a demonstration in Kharkiv attended by approximately 400 supporters of Ukraine’s unity in front of the Consulate of the Russian Federation on 28 August.

The SMM established an advance team in Mariupol to monitor the security situation in the area. This presence is being strengthened.

Bern, August 29, 2014- Swiss Foreign Minister and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Didier Burkhalter, expressed great concern about the spreading of military confrontation to further areas in eastern parts of Ukraine and the respective escalation of tensions. He also said that reports about growing flows of military personnel and military equipment from the Russian Federation into Ukraine were greatly troubling and must be thoroughly investigated. He recalled that the territorial integrity of Ukraine and its sovereignty had to be respected and preserved by all sides and at all times, adding that failure to do so would contravene international law and fundamental principles of the OSCE.

The SMM witnessed the impact of the conflict on the civilian population in the town of Yasynuvata, and met – in Chernivtsi – with Ukrainian activists delivering supplies to the area of fighting. The SMM deployed an advance team to Mariupol (113 km south of Donetsk) last night at 22:30hrs. They will be reinforced today. Reporting will also be initiated today...

More than 60 judges of local and administrative courts, and legal professionals from across the country attended two summer schools held by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine during July and August 2014 on applying the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights and case-law of the European Court (ECtHR) to uphold the rule of law and strengthening the protection of human rights...

The intensity of the fighting increased in areas closer to Donetsk city centre, resulting in damage to the infrastructure, and fatalities among the civilian population. In Lviv a group of protesters tried to force its way into the building of the regional traffic police...

KAMENSK-SHAKHTINSKY, Russian Federation, 27 August 2014- The Observer Mission (OM) has completed the replacement of its administrative staff members. Cross-border traffic flow increased at both Border Crossing Points with more people exiting from the Russian Federation into Ukraine in the past two days. The OM received reports from people fleeing the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. The most prominent occurrence was the passage of 227 vehicles belonging to a Russian convoy to Ukraine and its return to the Russian Federation through Donetsk Border Crossing Point, which attracted considerable media attention...