News and press releases

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations both in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission followed up on reports of a man in Donetsk city injured by the explosion of an explosive device while handling it. The SMM continued monitoring all three disengagement areas and recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere, including near Khrustalnyi. The SMM saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in Kostiantynivka and Tsukuryne. The Mission facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance to the thermal power plant in Shchastia, a water pumping station near Artema and a water pipeline between Olenivka and Dokuchaievsk. In Kyiv, the SMM monitored the security situation at a court and an ongoing gathering in front of the national Parliament building.

VIENNA, 25 October 2017 –The physical attacks by riot police officers on three journalists who were covering protests in and outside a court house in Kyiv yesterday, were condemned by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations both in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous 24 hours. In the Trudivski area of Donetsk city’s Petrovskyi district, the SMM heard small-arms fire near the area where it was flying an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), assessed as aimed at the UAV.* The Mission saw damage to an office building in Lutuhyne. The SMM continued monitoring all three disengagement areas; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. The Mission’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas. It facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance to essential infrastructure near Svitlodarsk, Shchastia, Krasnyi Lyman and Artema. The SMM visited four border areas not under government control. The Mission continued to monitor a gathering in front of the national Parliament building in Kyiv.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations both in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous 24 hours. In the Trudivski area of Donetsk city’s Petrovskyi district, the SMM heard small-arms fire near the area where it was flying an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), assessed as aimed at the UAV.* The Mission saw damage to an office building in Lutuhyne. The SMM continued monitoring all three disengagement areas; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. The Mission’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas. It facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance to essential infrastructure near Svitlodarsk, Shchastia, Krasnyi Lyman and Artema. The SMM visited four border areas not under government control. The Mission continued to monitor a gathering in front of the national Parliament building in Kyiv.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region between the evenings of 20 and 21 October compared with the previous reporting period and more between the evenings of 21 and 22 October compared with the previous 24 hours. In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations between the evenings of 20 and 21 October compared with the previous reporting period and fewer between the evenings of 21 and 22 October compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission followed up on reports of civilian casualties in Yenakiieve and Donetsk city’s Kyivskyi district. The SMM saw damage to civilian properties in residential areas in Dokuchaievsk and Kruta Hora. The SMM continued monitoring all three disengagement areas; it recorded ceasefire violations and visited impact sites inside the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three areas and elsewhere, including in Siedove, a settlement close to the border with the Russian Federation, and in a compound of a heavy weapons holding area in an area outside of government control. The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. It facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance to essential infrastructure near Vesela Hora. The SMM visited two border areas not under government control...

PALERMO, Italy, 23 October 2017 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir condemned the attack today on Tatyana Felgenhauer, Deputy Editor and presenter at Echo Moskvy radio station.

PALERMO, 23 October 2017 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir is concerned about the recent amendment to the Law on the Organization and Functioning of the AGERPRES National News Agency, which was passed on 11 October 2017 by the Senate of Romania. Today, he wrote to the Foreign Minister of Romania, Teodor Melescanu, to this effect.