News and press releases

The SMM visited areas in the Luhansk region affected by the armed conflict. In Donetsk the SMM gathered information about incidents against priests from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate...

In Donetsk the SMM continues to observe the impact of the conflict on the civilian population and infrastructure...

ALPBACH, Austria, 26 August 2014- Separatism and changes in borders must be firmly rejected and the core OSCE principles followed during the crisis in Ukraine, OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier told the European Forum Alpbach this weekend...

Celebrations for Independence Day were held across the country on 24 August. In Luhansk and Donetsk fighting continues to impact on the civilian population. In Donetsk the SMM observed a group of captive men being paraded on the main square...

On 24 August the SMM entered Luhansk city which, due to heavy fighting, it had last visited on 21 July...

KYIV, 24 August 2014- The SMM on 23 August (at 17:15hrs) saw a residential area in Donetsk (Kalinski district, around 5km north of the city centre) which was severely damaged by artillery. Residents at the scene told the SMM that the area was shelled at around 16:30hrs.

The SMM monitored impacts of shelling in Donetsk, visited a border crossing point near Kharkiv, and received accounts about illegal dumping of chemical material near Lviv.