News and press releases

The SMM monitored the implementation of the “Package of measures for the implementation of the Minsk agreements.” Its monitoring was restricted by third parties and security considerations*. The situation in and around Donetsk city and at the Donetsk airport was noticeably tenser than during the previous days. The SMM facilitated the continuing repairs on the water pipelines between Horlivka (“DPR”-controlled) and Maiorsk (government-controlled). The SMM monitored 2000 Right Sector protesters rallying in Kyiv...

The SMM monitored the implementation of the “Package of measures for the Implementation of the Minsk agreements”. Its monitoring was restricted by third parties and security considerations*. The situation in Donetsk and Luhansk region remained relatively calm. The SMM observed the planned movement of military equipment by both Ukrainian Armed Forces and “Donetsk People’s Republic”. In Minsk, at a meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group, an agreement was reached within the security working group on the withdrawal of tanks and smaller calibre weapons...

Kamensk-Shakhtinskiy, Russian Federation. The Observer Mission (OM) continues to operate 24/7 at both BCPs. The overall cross-border traffic increased at both Border Crossing Points (BCPs)...

The SMM monitored the implementation of the “Package of measures for the implementation of the Minsk agreements.” Its monitoring was restricted by third parties and security considerations*. After a volatile weekend, the SMM did not record any ceasefire violations in the monitored areas at Donetsk airport and in and around Donetsk city. The security situation in Luhansk region remained relatively calm. The SMM followed up on one explosion having occurred in the night of 19-20 July in Odessa. Activities of the Right Sector noticeably decreased across Ukraine.

The SMM monitored the implementation of the “Package of measures for the implementation of the Minsk agreements.” Its monitoring was restricted by third parties and security considerations*. The SMM continued to observe ceasefire violations at and around Donetsk airport. The SMM observed shelling in Donetsk city centre for the first time in several months and observed the aftermath of the shelling in residential neighbourhoods there, while also hearing reports and observing the effects of shelling in and around government-controlled Avdiivka to the north. The situation in Luhansk region remained relatively calm.

VIENNA, 20 July 2015 – Senior representatives of journalists’ professional unions from Russia and Ukraine today discussed and endorsed the key recommendations by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media that followed the conference “Journalists’ Safety, Media Freedom and Pluralism in Times of Conflict” held in Vienna on 15 and16 June 2015.

The SMM monitored the implementation of the “Package of Measures for the implementation of the Minsk agreements.” Its monitoring was restricted by third parties and security considerations*. The SMM observed that the number of ceasefire violations at and around Donetsk airport decreased. In Shyrokyne no ceasefire violations were observed. The repair at the water pipeline north-west of Horlivka was suspended due to ceasefire violations. The SMM in Kyiv as well as on the crash site in Hrabove observed a minute of silence in honour of the victims of the downing of Malaysian Airline Flight MH17.