News and press releases

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations near and indications of new military presence in the Zolote disengagement area. The Mission’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas as well as at a border area outside government control in Luhansk region and in Markyne. The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station, including through monitoring the security situation around the station, as well as repairs and maintenance works to other essential civilian infrastructure on both sides of the contact line. In Zakarpattia and in Lviv, the SMM monitored gatherings related to a recent attack against members of the Roma community in the latter. In Kyiv, it observed a gathering celebrating the Day of the Crimean Tatar Flag.

VIENNA, 28 June 2018- The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir welcomed yesterday’s initiative by the Prime Minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, to amend the ‘Holocaust law’ and the swift decision by the lower house of Poland’s parliament to remove criminal penalties for ascribing any responsibility to the Polish nation for the Holocaust, including suggestions regarding its complicity...

MINSK, 27 June 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 27 June 2018:

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations in the Petrivske and Zolote disengagement areas and also observed military personnel in the latter. The Mission’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas as well as in Komar and Zaichenko and at a heavy weapons holding area in a government-controlled area of Donetsk region. The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station, including through monitoring the security situation around the station, as well as repairs and maintenance to a water pumping station near Artema. In Mukacheve and Lviv, the SMM continued following up on an attack on members of the Roma community in Lviv...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission followed up on reports of a civilian casualty in Trokhizbenka. It observed fresh damage caused by shelling in a residential area of Pikuzy. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. The Mission’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas as well as in Zaichenko and at a heavy weapons holding area in a non-government-controlled area of Donetsk region. The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station, including through monitoring the security situation around the station, as well as a water pumping station in Artema and a water pipeline in Stanytsia Luhanska. In Lviv, the SMM continued to follow up on media reports of an attack on and killing of a member of the Roma community in the city...

VIENNA, 26 June 2018 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today expressed alarm after a van was driven into the offices of the De Telegraaf newspaper in the Netherlands, and the vehicle then set on fire...

VIENNA 26 June 2018 – High-level representatives of the 57 OSCE participating States, Partners for Co-operation and partnering organizations convened in Vienna today for deep and wide-ranging discussions on current security threats and challenges for Europe and the OSCE’s role in addressing them. The three-day Annual Security Review Conference is being hosted by the Italian OSCE Chairmanship under the motto “Dialogue, ownership and responsibility.”