News and press releases

• Compared with the previous 24 hours, the SMM recorded a similar number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer ceasefire violations and Luhansk region. • The Mission recorded ceasefire violations inside the disengagement areas near Zolote and Petrivske. • The SMM saw weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. • The Mission monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable an inspection of and repair works to essential civilian infrastructure in Luhansk region. • Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The SMM was also restricted in non-government-controlled Verkhnoshyrokivske and Staromykhailivka, at a permanent storage site in a non-government-controlled area of Donetsk region, as well as in government-controlled Taramchuk.*

Compared with the previous reporting period, between the evenings of 22 and 23 February, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Compared with the previous 24 hours, between the evenings of 23 and 24 February, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Two persons were killed and one person was injured in a mine explosion near a checkpoint close to the contact line in Donetsk region. The Mission saw fresh damage caused by shelling in Oleksandrivka. It saw weapons in violation on both sides of the contact line. The SMM recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. It facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. It was also restricted near Zaichenko, Petrivske and Verkhnoshyrokivske, at a heavy weapons holding area in a government-controlled area of Luhansk region, at a permanent storage site in a non-government-controlled area of Donetsk region as well as near Izvaryne and Sievernyi, areas near the border with the Russian Federation.

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. The Mission saw fresh damage caused by shelling in a residential area of non-government-controlled Holmivskyi. The SMM recorded ceasefire violations inside and near the Zolote disengagement area. The Mission saw multiple launch rocket systems in violation of the withdrawal lines in a non-government-controlled area of Luhansk region. Its long-range unmanned aerial vehicle spotted four military jet aircrafts flying over government-controlled Lastochkyne, near the contact line. The SMM monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure in Luhansk region and demining activities in Donetsk region. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas as well as at a checkpoint near non-government-controlled Styla.

Free and independent media are a cornerstone of every democratic society, said Head of OSCE Mission to Montenegro Maryse Daviet, opening a roundtable discussion on the country’s draft law on media on 22 February 2019 in Podgorica...

VIENNA, 22 February 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today expressed serious concern over the sentence handed down to the editor of the Bastainfo.com online platform, Mustafa Hajibeyli, in Baku, Azerbaijan...

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. Houses sustained damage caused by gunfire in Zolote-5/Mykhailivka. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations inside the Petrivske disengagement area and near the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM saw weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines in a non-government-controlled area of Luhansk region. The Mission monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to essential civilian infrastructure in Luhansk region and demining activities in Donetsk region. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas...

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The SMM saw fresh damage caused by shelling in Donetsk city’s Petrovskyi district. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM saw weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable inspection and repair works to essential civilian infrastructure in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas, as well as at a checkpoint near non-government-controlled Kovske, Donetsk region...