News and press releases

KYIV, 4 April 2019 – On the occasion of International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, observed to raise awareness about mines and progress towards their eradication, the Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, Ertugrul Apakan, and the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine, Henrik Villadsen, highlighted the importance of mine action in the conflict-affected areas of eastern Ukraine...

Strengthening sustainable development in the Dniester basin was the focus of the OSCE-supported second meeting of the Transboundary Dniester Commission held on 4 April 2019 in Kyiv, Ukraine...

WASHINGTON, D.C., 3 April 2019 – Discussing the main priorities of the 2019 Slovak OSCE Chairmanship and current developments across the OSCE at his congressional U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (“Helsinki Commission”) hearing, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Slovakia’s Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák called on members of the Helsinki Commission to work together for a more stable and prosperous OSCE area – and one in which every person enjoys security and individual rights.

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. The SMM saw fresh damage to residential buildings in Yasynuvata and Dokuchaievsk. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations and military hardware inside the Zolote disengagement area. The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. A civilian car driven by men in military-style attire drove aggressively toward an SMM patrol twice. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. It was also restricted at a checkpoint near Zaichenko.

Compared with the previous 24 hours, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region. The Mission followed up on reports of a man killed in Sakhanka due to shrapnel injuries, as well as a man and a woman injured in Pikuzy due to shelling, all in March. The SMM saw fresh damage to residential buildings and a school in Zolote-2/Karbonit and Zolote-5/Mykhailivka. It also observed fresh craters near Kalynove-Borshchuvate and Novotroitske. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area and near the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. The SMM saw for the first time a piece of unexploded ordnance near Novobakhmutivka, unexploded ordnance and anti-tank mines near Marinka, an improvised explosive device near Olenivka and mine hazard signs near Kreminets and Verkhnotoretske. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. In addition, it was restricted at checkpoints near Zaichenko, Verkhnoshyrokivske and Tavrycheske, as well as at a border crossing point and railway station near Voznesenivka, close to the border with the Russian Federation.

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 29 and 30 March, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Compared with the previous 24 hours, between the evenings of 30 and 31 March, the Mission recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and fewer in Luhansk regions. The SMM followed up on reports of an injured man in Verkhnotoretske. It observed fresh damage near and in residential areas in Dokuchaievsk and Hlybokyi. The Mission saw military presence inside the Petrivske disengagement area and recorded ceasefire violations in the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM observed weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines in government-controlled areas of Donetsk region. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. In addition, the Mission was denied access at a checkpoint near Zaichenko.* The SMM observed a calm situation in several regions in Ukraine during the Presidential Elections.