News and press releases

Vienna, 11 November 2018. Today, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir, called on all authorities to drop the request to the editor of the Times of Malta to disclose a source of information used in a report on a planned takeover of a building project, after the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) made such request to the daily newspaper.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission’s long-range unmanned aerial vehicle experienced severe jamming near Korsun. It followed up on reports of shelling at the Bakhmut Agrarian Union’s pig farm near Novoluhanske. The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Bila Hora and Zhelanne. The SMM recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote and Petrivske disengagement areas. The Mission’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas, as well as at two border crossing points not under government control. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to houses and essential civilian infrastructure on both sides of the contact line, as well as to enable demining near Nyzhnoteple. In Odessa, the SMM observed graffiti on two monuments associated with the 1905 mutiny on the battleship Potemkin.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous reporting period. It corroborated a civilian fatality in Zolote-5/Mykhailivka as a result of shrapnel injuries. The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Novoselivka and Yasnodolsk. The SMM observed an anti-aircraft-gun inside the Zolote disengagement area and recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote and Petrivske disengagement areas. The Mission’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas. The SMM observed anti-tank mines for the first time near Orikhove. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to houses and essential civilian infrastructure on both sides of the contact line, as well as to enable demining near Nyzhnoteple. In Kyiv, the SMM observed a public gathering related to an import tax on vehicles. In Kherson, the SMM followed up on the situation of the detained Mekhanik Pogodin tanker.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region, compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The SMM recorded a ceasefire violation and observed new trenches, military and military-type presence inside the Zolote disengagement area. The Mission’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas; it was also restricted near Novoazovsk – close to the border with the Russian Federation – as well as near Kozatske, Orikhove and in Khrustalnyi.* The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to power lines near Zolote-5/Mykhailivka and damaged houses in Marinka and Krasnohorivka, as well as to enable demining near Nyzhnoteple. In Kyiv, the SMM monitored two public gatherings. In Kherson, the Mission monitored a mourning service for the deceased activist Kateryna Handziuk...

ROME, 8 November 2018- OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Italy’s Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi today reiterated OSCE support to the implementation of the Minsk agreements for a peaceful solution to the crisis in and around Ukraine, in line with OSCE principles and commitments and in full respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine...

ASTANA, 8 November 2018 – The 20th Central Asia Media Conference for media representatives and experts from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Mongolia, organized by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, concludes today in Astana...

WASHINGTON D.C., 7 November 2018 – The 6 November mid-term elections in the United States were highly competitive and contestants could campaign freely, with media presenting a wide array of information and views, enabling voters to make an informed choice. However, campaign rhetoric was often intensely negative and at times intolerant, including on social networks, the international observers from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) concluded in a statement released today...