News and press releases

VIENNA, 4 October 2018 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today welcomed the arrests of four suspects in Kolarovo and Komarno on 27 and 28 September, and the statement by Slovakia’s General Prosecutor that they are getting closer to fully resolving the double murder of the investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnirova...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous reporting period. It followed up on reports of a woman injured by a bullet in Maiorsk and injuries caused by an explosion in Donetsk city. The SMM recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas as well as near Novolaspa. The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station. It also facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs and maintenance to power lines in Zolote-5/Mykhailivka and Olenivka, as well as to the phenol sludge reservoir near Zalizne and the Krasnohorivka gas distribution station. In Kyiv, the SMM monitored a gathering in front of the Parliament building...

MINSK, 3 October 2018- Ambassador Martin Sajdik, Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group, and Ambassador Ertuğrul Apakan, Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission, issued yesterday the following statement:..

MINSK, 2 October 2018 – The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), Ambassador Martin Sajdik, made the following statement to the press after the meeting of the TCG and its Working Groups in Minsk on 2 October 2018:...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous 24 hours. Small-arms fire was directed at an SMM unmanned aerial vehicle near Zhovte. The Mission followed up on reports of a girl injured by shelling in Staromykhailivka and children killed and injured by an explosion in Horlivka. The SMM recorded a ceasefire violation near the Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas as well as near Zaichenko, Tavrycheske, Bezimenne, Sosnivske, and Novoazovsk near the border with the Russian Federation.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of agreed withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station. It also facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs and maintenance to the phenol sludge reservoir near Zalizne, to the Krasnohorivka gas distribution station and to high-voltage powerlines near Zhovte. In Kyiv region, the SMM observed an incident during a court hearing for a journalist and followed up on reports of damage to the offices of the Russian Federation Trade Representation and of a member of parliament...

Persisting challenges within and beyond the OSCE area with regard to the meaningful participation of women to international peace and security efforts were the focus of discussions at the OSCE-wide conference “Women in the Security Sector: Challenges for the OSCE Area and Beyond”, held in Vienna on 1 October 2018. The event was organized by the Italian OSCE Chairmanship in co-operation with the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the OSCE Gender section.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region between the evenings of 28 and 29 September, compared with the previous reporting period. Between the evenings of 29 and 30 September, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous 24 hours. The SMM followed up on reports of children killed and injured by an explosion in Horlivka, as well as a person injured and damage caused by an explosion in Donetsk city. The Mission recorded a ceasefire violation inside the Petrivske disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas as well as near Zaichenko, Novoazovsk, Tavrycheske, Bezimenne, Yuzhna-Lomuvatka and Izvaryne.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of agreed withdrawal lines in the Petrivske disengagement area and near Dokuchaievsk. The SMM continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station and also facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs and maintenance to the phenol sludge reservoir near Zalizne. The Mission monitored public gatherings in Mariupol, and followed up on reports of water contamination in Makiivka.