News and press releases

Vienna, 11 July 2019 – “Albania will assume the 2020 OSCE Chairmanship inspired by a sense of responsibility and driven by the determination to contribute to the security and stability of our continent and to the prosperity of our people.” said the country’s Acting Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Gent Cakaj in Vienna today, as he addressed the Permanent Council on the incoming Chair’s priorities.

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The SMM saw fresh damage to houses due to shelling in Khreshchatytske. The SMM saw fresh craters and recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to facilitate repairs and the operations of critical civilian infrastructure. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued, including in non-government-controlled Veselohorivka...

STRBSKE PLESO, 9 July 2019 – Coming from Luxembourg, where nearly 300 OSCE parliamentarians had just met for the 28th Annual Session, OSCE PA President George Tsereteli (Georgia) and Secretary General Roberto Montella were among the high-level participants of the OSCE Informal Ministerial meeting convened today by Slovak Foreign Minister and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Miroslav Lajcak in the High Tatras Mountains of Slovakia...

A training course aimed to protect members of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) against environmental risks and strengthen their environmental emergency preparedness was held from 1 to 5 July 2019 in Vienna...

Compared with the previous 24 hours, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Civilians were injured due to shelling in Novhorodske and Pikuzy. The SMM saw fresh craters near Naberezhne and Lozove. A mini-UAV was lost near Bohdanivka after experiencing signal interference. The SMM saw anti-tank mines near Veselohorivka and unexploded ordnance between Popasna and Pervomaisk as well as near Orlivka. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to facilitate repairs and the operations of critical civilian infrastructure. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued, including in non-government-controlled Novoazovsk and Zaichenko.

Kamensk-Shakhtinskiy, Russian Federation. The Observer Mission (OM) continues to operate 24/7 at both Border Crossing Points (BCPs). The overall number of border crossings by persons increased at both BCPs compared to the previous week.

Compared with the previous reporting period, between the evenings of 5 and 6 July, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region. Between the evenings of 6 and 7 July, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous 24 hours. A woman was injured by small-arms fire at a checkpoint near Horlivka and a woman suffered a concussion from shelling in Nova Marivka. The SMM saw fresh damage from small-arms fire to apartments in Zolote-5/Mykhailivka and to houses and infrastructure in both Dokuchaievsk and Pervomaisk. It also saw damage from shelling to houses in Yasne, and a burnt church and damage from shelling to a house in Pikuzy. Inside the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area, an SMM mini-UAV spotted members of the State Emergency Service conducting demining activities. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. It saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in non-government-controlled areas of Luhansk region. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to facilitate repairs and the operations of critical civilian infrastructure. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued, including in non-government-controlled Shevchenko, Hryhorivka, Yuzhna Lomuvatka, Oleksandrivske, and Novoazovsk.