News and press releases

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The SMM observed damage to roofs of Bakhmut Agrarian Union's pig farm buildings near Novoluhanske and fresh craters in a residential area of Pikuzy. Small-arms fire was directed at an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle inside the Zolote disengagement area. The Mission observed for the first time about 280 anti-tank mines near non-government-controlled Staromykhailivka. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to and the operation of critical civilian infrastructure on both sides of the contact line. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere.

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region. Windows damaged by small-arms fire in a residential area of Zolote-5/Mykhailivka. The SMM recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in non-government-controlled areas of Luhansk region. The Mission observed for the first time about 160 anti-tank mines near government-controlled Krasnohorivka. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to and the operation of critical civilian infrastructure on both sides of the contact line. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The SMM’s freedom of movement was also restricted near Novoazovsk and Hryhorivka, as well as at a checkpoint near Shevchenko and at a permanent storage site, all in non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk region...

VIENNA, 6 June 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today raised serious concerns about media freedom in Poland following a verdict of the District Court in Poznań which sentenced journalist Anna Wilk on criminal defamation charges to a three-year ban on practicing journalism and a fine totalling more than 1,500 euros. Wilk works with the Tygodnik Gazeta Powiatowa, a local newspaper in the town of Wronki.

TBILISI, 6 June 2019 – Addressing a conference focused on parliamentary oversight today, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President George Tsereteli (MP, Georgia) called for continued attention to uphold and strengthen OSCE parliaments’ roles in holding governments accountable.

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. The SMM saw a slightly injured man and damage from shelling at a mosque in non-government-controlled Donetsk city, as well as an injured man and damage from shelling to his house in non-government-controlled Uzhivka. The Mission saw fresh damage caused by small-arms-fire to an apartment building in non-government-controlled Dokuchaievsk. The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission observed the presence of unexploded ordnance in government-controlled Novoluhanske. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to and the operation of critical civilian infrastructure. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere...

Taking stock and identifying ways to make multilateral cooperation in the fight against torture more effective were the focus of the conference ‘Effective multilateralism in the fight against torture: Trends in the OSCE region and the way forward’ that took place on 5 June 2019 in Vienna.

Compared with the previous 24 hours, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The Mission saw fresh damage from gunfire to an apartment in non-government-controlled Dokuchaievsk. The SMM saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near government-controlled Heivka and Ozarianivka. On the nights of 30 May and 2 June, an SMM long-range unmanned aerial vehicle spotted trucks traveling from an area near the border with the Russian Federation to non-government-controlled areas of Luhansk region. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to and the operation of critical civilian infrastructure. In Kharkiv, the SMM saw that a monument to General Zhukov was toppled. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere. The Mission’s freedom of movement was also restricted at a non-government-controlled border crossing point near Dovzhanske...