News and press releases

Compared with the previous reporting period, between the evenings of 11 and 12 January, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region. Between the evenings of 12 and 13 January, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous 24 hours. Small arms were fired in the direction of an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle near Chermalyk, Donetsk region. Small-arms fire damaged a house in a residential area of Chermalyk. The SMM recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area and near the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to essential civilian infrastructure in Donetsk region. Participants of a gathering in Kherson demanded the release of a Crimean Tatar activist reportedly detained in Simferopol. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The SMM was also restricted at a railway station in Voznesenivka, an area 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 SMM recorded ceasefire violations and saw military presence and anti-aircraft guns inside the Zolote disengagement area. It recorded ceasefire violations near the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. • The Mission observed weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. • The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to essential civilian infrastructure in Luhansk region. • In Kyiv, the Mission monitored a protest during which protestors expressed views critical of veterans and of the Ministry for Veterans Affairs. • In Zhytomyr, the SMM monitored a court hearing of a journalist accused of involvement in anti-state activities. • Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas.*...

• Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. • The SMM followed up on reports of three civilians injured near Vasylivka as the result of an explosion and three civilians who reportedly died of heart attacks while at a checkpoint in Horlivka. • The SMM recorded ceasefire violations in the Zolote disengagement area and near the Stanytsia Luhanska and Zolote disengagement areas. • The Mission continued to observe hardships faced by civilians at checkpoints along the contact line related to inclement weather and long wait times. • The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to essential civilian infrastructure on both sides of the contact line in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. • The SMM followed up on reports of a fire at a church in Rzhyshchiv, Kyiv region. • The SMM observed a peaceful public gathering in Kherson. • Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued, including in all three disengagement areas. An SMM unmanned aerial vehicle was targeted by small-arms fire while flying near Popasna.*

VIENNA, 11 January 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, published today a legal review of two laws on the fight against the manipulation of information, which were adopted on 20 November 2018 by the French parliament. The review was shared with the French authorities in November...

• Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. • The Mission continued to monitor the situation of civilians near the contact line. • The Mission saw a weapon in violation of withdrawal lines in Klynove, Donetsk region. • The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to essential civilian infrastructure on both sides of the contact line in Donetsk Region. • Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued, including in all three disengagement areas.

Compared with the previous 24 hours, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. It saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to essential civilian infrastructure in Luhansk region. It continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued, including in all three disengagement areas...

VIENNA, 9 January 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today in a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Elmar Mammadyarov, expressed his serious concern about the situation and health condition of the imprisoned blogger and chair of the media NGO Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety, Mehman Huseynov, and called on the authorities to drop new criminal charges brought against him. Huseynov has reportedly been on a hunger strike since late December 2018...