News and press releases

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations both in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission continued to monitor the disengagement areas: it observed ceasefire violations near Zolote. Its access remained restricted there and elsewhere.* The SMM heard small-arms fire close to its unmanned aerial vehicle while it was flying over the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM confirmed civilian casualties from Marinka and Kamianka. It noted damage caused by gunfire or shelling to power lines near Mykhailivka power plant and assessed impact sites at military compounds close to residential areas in Sartana. The SMM observed a tank in violation of withdrawal lines in Avdiivka and saw weapons outside storage sites on both sides of the contact line. The SMM visited two border areas not under government control...

More ceasefire violations were recorded by the SMM in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission continued to monitor the disengagement areas: it observed ceasefire violations near Zolote, and a white flared being fired in Stanytsia Luhanska. Its access remained restricted there and elsewhere.* Damage to houses and a shop caused by shelling was observed and assessed by the SMM in Krasnohorivka and Pikuzy. The SMM saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. It facilitated and monitored repairs to high voltage power lines between Mykhailivka and Almazna. In Kyiv the SMM followed up on reports of an explosion on the grounds of the Embassy of the United States...

In Donetsk region the Mission recorded more ceasefire violations compared with the previous reporting period. In Luhansk region the flare-up in ceasefire violations recorded by the SMM in the previous reporting period continued in the same areas – Sentianivka, Krymske and Zholobok – west and north-west of Luhansk, and involved multiple launch rocket systems. The use of weapons proscribed by the Minsk agreements reached a level last recorded by the Mission on 23 March 2017...

ANKARA, 8 June 2017 – A senior delegation of parliamentarians from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly today concluded a series of meetings in Istanbul and Ankara, and noted the extraordinary challenges faced by Turkey, including from terrorism, large migration flows, and the aftermath of the July 2016 failed coup...

In Donetsk region the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations and fewer explosions compared with the previous reporting period. In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations and more than eight times the number of explosions. The SMM confirmed three civilian casualties from Kruta Balka and observed impact sites in Pavlopil. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations in Zolote. Its access remained restricted there and elsewhere.* In violation of withdrawal lines, an SMM unmanned aerial vehicle spotted a tank near Bezimenne. The Mission monitored demining and facilitated electrical repairs at Donetsk Water Filtration Station. The SMM monitored one border area not under government control in Dovzhanskyi...

While the 15 March 2017 parliamentary elections in the Netherlands were conducted in a professional manner and characterized by a high level of public confidence in the election administration, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) recommends in its final report  that

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. Its access remained restricted there and in non-government controlled areas of Donetsk region.* The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines and noted weapons missing from holding sites. It confirmed a number of civilian casualties in the Petrovskyi district of Donetsk city, Krasnohorivka and Staromykhailivka, including the death of a woman and the wounding of a nine-year-old boy. The SMM also observed recent shelling damage in the Petrovskyi district and Staromykhailivka. The SMM visited a border area not under Government control...