News and press releases

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. A woman was reportedly injured due to shelling in Zaitseve. The SMM saw fresh gunfire damage to inhabited houses in Trokhizbenka and Dokuchaievsk. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM observed a weapon in violation of the withdrawal lines near Novoluhanske. It saw fresh craters near Novoluhanske, as well as anti-tank mines near Petrivske and Vesela Hora. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions and observed the restoration of the water supply to Dokuchaievsk following the completion of repairs to the Vasylivka water pumping station. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. It was also restricted near government-controlled Kamianka and in non-government-controlled areas, including at checkpoints near Bezimenne and Verkhnoshyrokivske and at border crossing points near Izvaryne and Sievernyi.

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The SMM saw fresh damage caused by gunfire to houses in Zolote-5/Mykhailivka. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote and Petrivske disengagement areas. The SMM observed weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines near Khrustalnyi, in a non-government-controlled area of Luhansk region. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to and the operation of essential civilian infrastructure in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere. The Mission was also restricted at a checkpoint near Verkhnoshyrokivske in a non-government-controlled area of southern Donetsk region, as well as at a railway station in Voznesenivka and at a border crossing point near Voznesenivka in non-government-controlled areas of Luhansk region...

VIENNA, 17 April 2019 – Following reports about the recent arrest of several citizen journalists in Crimea, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today condemned the continued deterioration of freedom of expression and the safety of journalists on the peninsula...

Compared with the previous 24 hours, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The SMM saw fresh damage caused by gunfire to two apartments in Dokuchaievsk. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote disengagement area and again saw mines inside the Petrivske disengagement area. The SMM observed weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines on both side of the contact line. The Mission saw upgrades at the entry-exit checkpoints in Hnutove and Maiorsk. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, including close to the pumping station near Vasylivka, which reportedly resumed its operations. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The Mission was also restricted at checkpoints in non-government-controlled Zaichenko, Lukove, Tavrycheske and Bezimenne, as well as at a railway station in and a border crossing point outside government control near Voznesenivka.

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 12 and 13 April, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. Compared with the previous 24 hours, between the evenings of 13 and 14 April, the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. The Mission followed up on reports of a man injured by the explosion of a damaged cartridge in Dmytrivka. It saw fresh damage caused by gunfire in a residential area of Chermalyk. Small-arms fire was directed at SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicles near Prymorske, Vershyna and Heivka.* The SMM recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. The Mission observed weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines near Vynohradne. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. In addition, the Mission was denied access at a heavy weapons holding area in a government-controlled area of Donetsk region and at a checkpoint near non-government-controlled Starolaspa.

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The SMM followed up on reports of a woman injured due to shelling in Staromykhailivka on 8 April and the death of a member of State Emergency Services near Maiorsk on 9 April. The Mission saw fresh damage from shelling in Zolote-3/Stakhanovets and fresh impact craters near populated areas in Orlivka. Shots were fired close to the Mission near a compound of the armed formations in Smile on 11 April. The SMM recorded a ceasefire violation inside the Zolote disengagement area. The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in non-government-controlled areas near Zernove, Michurine, Smile and Starolaspa. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure on both sides of the contact line. It heard ceasefire violations while monitoring adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to a water pipe near Kruta Balka. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere. The Mission was also denied access at two heavy weapons holding areas in non-government areas of Donetsk region, at a compound near Smile and near Izvaryne close to the border with the Russian Federation...