News and press releases

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region, compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission followed up on reports of civilian casualties as a result of a mine explosion near Zalizne. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas as well as near Verkhnoshyrokivske and Novoazovsk, near the border with the Russian Federation.* The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station. The SMM also facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to power lines near Zolote-5/Mykhailivka, as well as to enable demining in Zolote-2/Karbonit and Novotroitske. The Mission observed a convoy of trucks marked, “Humanitarian Aid from the Russian Federation”, in a non-government-controlled area of Donetsk region.

LVIV, Ukraine, 23 October 2018- A regional workshop to foster dialogue and encourage international co-ordination and co-operation in combating illicit trafficking in weapons, ammunition and explosives among border security and management agencies and international stakeholders was organized in Lviv, Ukraine, from 23 to 25 November 2018...

On 25 October at 07:02 (Moscow time), the eightieth Russian convoy arrived at the Donetsk Border Crossing Point (BCP). A total of 25 vehicles were checked by Russian Federation border guards and customs officers prior to their crossing into Ukraine. All 25 vehicles had crossed back into the Russian Federation by 15:27 on 25 October...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region, compared with the previous reporting period. It followed up on reports of a civilian casualty in Marinka. An explosion occurred 100m from an SMM patrol, assessed as inside the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. The Mission also recorded ceasefire violations near the Petrivske disengagement area. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas as well as near Zaichenko, Bezimenne, Kozatske and Novolaspa.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. It facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to critical civilian infrastructure in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as to enable demining in Zolote-2/Karbonit and Nyzhnoteple. In Kyiv and Dnipro, the SMM monitored public gatherings against rising gas costs...

A series of workshops on project management aimed at improving the access of the non-governmental sector to state and local government funding concluded on 24 October 2018. Three hundred and fifty government officials and 250 representatives of civil society organizations (CSOs) took part in the two-day workshops held across Ukraine. They were organized by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine (PCU) in partnership with the country’s Presidential Administration and the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region, compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM facilitated and monitored the recovery of the bodies of a man and a woman from a location near the neighbourhood of Vilnyi, between Zolote-4/Rodina and Zolote-5/Mykhailivka in Luhansk region. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas as well as again near Zaichenko, Novoazovsk, Lebedynske and Alchevsk.* The SMM saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Miusynsk. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to critical civilian infrastructure on both sides of the contact line in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as to enable demining in Zolote-2/Karbonit and Nyzhnoteple. The SMM followed up on reports of a fire at a café in Odessa.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region, compared with the previous 24 hours. It recorded ceasefire violations assessed as inside the Zolote disengagement area and near the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas as well as near Zaichenko, Bezimenne, Novoazovsk, Lebedynske, Alchevsk and Bohdanivka.* The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to the Petrivske and Aidar water pumping stations, a gas pipeline near Yasynuvata and the Krasnohorivka gas distribution station, as well as to enable demining in Zolote-2/Karbonit and Nyzhnoteple.