News and press releases

In Donetsk region, the SMM observed fewer ceasefire violations during the night of 13 June, as compared to the previous night, while it recorded a similarly high level of explosions during the day time of 14 June – compared to the previous day. In Luhansk region, the SMM observed fewer ceasefire violations compared to the previous day. The Mission conducted crater analysis on both sides of the contact line, in Avdiivka, Horlivka and Stanytsia Luhanska. It facilitated adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to infrastructure. The SMM noted long queues at entry-exit checkpoints along the contact line. The Mission faced four restrictions to its freedom of movement. In Kyiv the SMM monitored two public gatherings...

PODGORICA, 15 June 2016 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today welcomed revived initiatives by authorities in Montenegro to improve journalists’ safety, and continued efforts by the media community to improve media professionalism and self-regulation in the country...

KYIV, 15 June 2016 – Yesterday in Kyiv Nadiya Savchenko, Member of the Ukrainian Parliament, recipient of the country’s highest Hero of Ukraine order, and recently released from a Russian prison, paid a surprise visit to an OSCE Parliamentary Assembly delegation under the leadership of President Ilkka Kanerva (MP Finland), who is in Kyiv for meetings with the Ukrainian President and other high level officials...

The SMM observed more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with 11 and 12 June. The Mission conducted crater analysis and observed damages to civilian houses caused by shelling. The SMM continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons. It facilitated adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to infrastructure. The SMM noted long queues at entry-exit points along the contact line and monitored a border area not controlled by the Government. The SMM noted that the power supply of its repeater in Donetsk city, needed for the operation of remote monitoring equipment, had been reconnected. The Mission faced three restrictions to its freedom of movement.*...

VIENNA, 14 June 2016 – Criminal defamation provisions protecting heads of foreign states infringe on media’s right to report on issues of public interest, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović said today as she presented a set of recommendations on the issue...

The SMM observed overall fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region both on 11 and 12 June as compared to 10 June, although the level of violence remained high, in particular in the Avdiivka-Yasynuvata area. The SMM recorded a sharp increase in the number of ceasefire violations in Svitlodarsk and Horlivka on the night of 10 June. In Luhansk region, the SMM observed a similar number of ceasefire violations on the night of 10 June – compared to the previous night and fewer during the remainder of the reporting period – compared to 10 June. On both sides of the contact line, the Mission conducted crater analysis and observed damages to civilian houses caused by shelling. The SMM noted a newly-constructed “LPR” position north of the Siverskyi Donets river at Stadnytsia Luhansk bridge and a newly-constructed Ukrainian Armed Forces checkpoint in Maiorsk. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire, and facilitated the transportation of a patient at the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge for medical care. In Kyiv, it monitored the “Equality march”, which passed off peacefully. Armed “DPR” members kept the power supply to SMM’s repeater in Donetsk city disconnected and the SMM faced one additional restriction on its freedom of movement, in a border area not controlled by the Government...

WARSAW, 13 June 2016 – Michael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), expressed shock and grief today following the tragic shooting yesterday in a gay club in Orlando, Florida that left 50 people dead and another 53 wounded...