News and press releases

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission followed up on reports of a civilian casualty in Marinka and observed damage to civilian properties due to shelling in Uzhivka. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas; it recorded ceasefire violations near Stanytsia Luhanska area. The SMM’s access remained restricted there and elsewhere, including again to a border area not controlled by the Government in Novoazovsk.* The Mission monitored weapons on both sides of the contact line. It continued to follow up on the water and gas supply situation in Avdiivka and Yasynuvata and to facilitate and monitor repairs to the Mykhailivka-Almazna high-voltage power lines. The SMM visited one border area not under government control in Luhansk region...

Elections experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) met with electoral stakeholders in Tashkent on 3 and 4 July 2017 to present recommendations from ODIHR’s final report  on the 4 December 2016 early presidential election in Uzbekistan. The report’s findings

MINSK, 3 July 2017 – Held under the theme “Enhancing mutual trust and co-operation for peace and prosperity in the OSCE region,” the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s 2017 Annual Session will begin Wednesday with keynote speeches by Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus Vladimir Andreichenko, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Christine Muttonen, and the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz...

Between the evenings of 30 June and 1 July the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. Between the evenings of 1 and 2 July the Mission recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous 24 hours. The SMM followed up on reports of a fatality from Staromykhailivka, a civilian causality from Dokuchaievsk and observed impact sites in Marinka, Sakhanka and Uzhivka. The Mission continued monitoring the three disengagement areas; it recorded a ceasefire violation in Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three areas and elsewhere, including a border area not controlled by the Government in Novoazovsk, as well as in Pokrovske, Oleksandrivka, Staromykhailivka and Kadiivka.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of respective withdrawal lines. The SMM monitored repairs to the power lines in Mykhailivka-Almazna and Vasylivka. Security arrangements were re-established around the SMM’s office in Donetsk city in the morning of 2 July; the Mission had asked the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination to ensure presence at the SMM’s office until further notice. The Mission visited four border areas not under government control in Izvaryne, Marynivka, Uspenka and Voznesenivka...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region, and more in Luhansk region – including almost 300 explosions overnight while in Popasna – compared with the previous reporting period.The Mission continued monitoring the three disengagement areas and recorded ceasefire violations assessed as inside the Stanytsia Luhanska and Zolotedisengagement areas.

Armed men threatened to shoot SMM monitors in Vesela Hora. The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region, including a sharp increase in the number of explosions compared with the previous reporting period. In Luhansk region the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission followed up on reports of casualties in Donetsk city and Borzhykivka. The SMM observed impact sites in Pikuzy. The Mission continued monitoring the three disengagement areas; it recorded ceasefire violations near Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. Its access remained restricted there and elsewhere, including again in Novoazovsk near the border with the Russian Federation. The SMM visited one border area not under government control...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region, however, fewer explosions than in the previous reporting period. In Luhansk region the Mission recorded a significant increase in ceasefire violations compared with the previous reporting period, mostly east and south-east of Popasna. The Mission continued monitoring the three disengagement areas; it recorded ceasefire violations near Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. Its access remained restricted there and elsewhere, including again in Novoazovsk.* The SMM assessed an impact site in Sentianivka. It facilitated and monitored repairs to electricity lines and water pipes near Zolote. The SMM visited four border areas not under government control where it continued to see vehicles with “DPR” plates enter or leave Ukraine. The Mission monitored celebrations of Constitutional Day in Dnipro and Kharkiv and a protest in Kyiv...