News and press releases

HAMBURG, Germany, 8 December 2016 – On the first day of the 23rd OSCE Ministerial Council, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier addressed delegations at a side event on the crisis in and around Ukraine. The minister was briefed by his Special Representative in Ukraine and to the Trilateral Contact Group, Martin Sajdik, and the Chief Monitor of the Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), Ertuğrul Apakan, on the state of play...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and in Luhansk region compared with the period between the evenings of 3 and 4 December. It continued to face restrictions of its movement in the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. The SMM’s freedom of movement was restricted on four occasions elsewhere. The SMM followed up on reports of damage to civilian infrastructure. The Mission continued to note queues at entry-exit checkpoints on both sides of the contact line. The SMM monitored one border crossing area not controlled by the Government. It facilitated and monitored repair works in Krasnyi Lyman and Orikhove...

In Donetsk region the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations between the night of 2 December and the evening of 3 December compared with the previous reporting period, and fewer on 4 December. In Luhansk region the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations on both 3 and 4 December compared with the previous reporting period. It continued to face restrictions of its movement in the disengagement areas in Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske, as well as in other areas. The SMM followed up on reports of a civilian casualty in Horlivka and damage to civilian infrastructure in Luhanske and Horlivka. The Mission continued to note long queues at entry-exit checkpoints on both sides of the contact line. It facilitated and monitored repair works near the Donetsk water filtration station. It monitored two border areas not controlled by the Government. In Kherson the SMM noted a calm situation at the administrative boundary line between mainland Ukraine and Crimea...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. It continued to face restrictions to its movement in the disengagement areas in Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske.* The SMM’s freedom of movement was further restricted on six occasions. It followed up on reports of civilian casualties. The SMM monitored one border area not controlled by the Government. The SMM facilitated and monitored repair works on both sides of the contact line. The SMM monitored a protest march in Kyiv...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region compared with the previous reporting period. In Luhansk region the SMM noted a similar number of ceasefire violations as in the previous reporting period. The SMM continued to monitor the disengagement areas in Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske, and faced restrictions of its freedom of movement in all three areas.* The Mission followed up on reports of water supply cuts in Luhansk city. It visited one border area currently not under government control. In Kherson region, the SMM monitored the situation on the coast of the Black Sea and at the administrative boundary line between the Ukrainian mainland and Crimea, noting a calm situation...

VIENNA, 1 December 2016 – In their fifth briefing to the OSCE Permanent Council this year, the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group Martin Sajdik and the Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine Ertugrul Apakan yesterday focused on the need for a real normalization and stabilization in eastern Ukraine, particularly through the implementation of the Minsk agreements.