News and press releases

The role of media monitoring and regulation, media coverage and the role and impact of social network platforms during elections was the focus of an OSCE Chairmanship-supported presentation by Slovak media expert Rastislav Kužel in the Montenegrin Parliament on 12 March 2019 in Podgorica...

More ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous 24 hours, were recorded by the SMM. The SMM observed fresh damage from small-arms fire to a functioning school in Zolote-5/Mykhailivka and fresh impact craters near populated areas in Zolote-4/Rodina. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations and observed fresh impact craters inside the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM observed weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines in non-government-controlled areas. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere. Its access was also restricted in non-government-controlled areas, including at checkpoints near Zaichenko and Kreminets and in Izvaryne, an area close to the border with the Russian Federation.*

Some 20 representatives of Ukrainian government ministries and agencies and the donor community participated in a high-level meeting in Kyiv on 12 March 2019 to review progress in co-operation and joint efforts between the OSCE and relevant Ukrainian authorities in combating illicit trafficking in weapons, ammunition and explosives (WAE) in the country and across its borders...

Compared with the previous reporting period, between the evenings of 8 and 9 March, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and significantly fewer in Luhansk region. Compared with the previous 24 hours, between the evenings of 9 and 10 March, the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The SMM observed fresh shrapnel damage in Zolote-5/Mykhailivka and fresh impact craters near Popasna. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations inside the Petrivske disengagement area. It observed for the first time anti-tank mines on a road in the southern part of the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM observed weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure in Luhansk region. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere. Its access was also restricted in non-government-controlled areas, including at checkpoints near Novolaspa and Novoazovsk and at a heavy weapons holding area in Donetsk region. In Kyiv, the Mission monitored a gathering and later saw a car partially covered with soot...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region, compared with the previous reporting period. Following the beginning of a recommitment to the ceasefire coinciding with International Women’s Day at 00:01 on 8 March, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the hours before midnight. A man lost both lower limbs and suffered an eye injury due to an incident with unexploded ordnance in Makiivka. The Mission monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement area and elsewhere. Its access was also restricted near non-government-controlled Zaichenko.* In Kyiv, Kharkiv, Uzhhorod and Mariupol the SMM observed events on the occasion of International Women’s Day.

MOSCOW/PARIS/WASHINGTON DC, 09 March 2019 – In their March 1 statement, the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America) welcomed the commitment of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to meet soon under the auspices of the Co-Chairs. The Co-Chairs, working closely with the two foreign ministers, have been making preparations for this important leaders’ meeting, which will be the first direct contact between the two leaders conducted under Co-Chair auspices.

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. It saw fresh damage to a residential house in Shchastia. The Mission saw multiple launch rocket systems in violation of the withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. It observed the presence of mines and explosive remnants of war in Donetsk region. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and near non-government-controlled Bezimenne and Dovzhanske, an area near the border with the Russian Federation. In Kyiv, the SMM saw posters in front of the Embassy of the Russian Federation demanding the release of sailors following the incidents at sea, near the Kerch Strait...