News and press releases

KYIV, 22 May 2018 – The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group, Ambassador Martin Sajdik, issued today the following statement:...

At 11:57 on 21 May, an SMM patrol consisting of five SMM members and two armoured vehicles was positioned on the western edge of Kriakivka (government-controlled, 38km north-west of Luhansk). Four patrol members were inside the vehicles and one member was outside when the patrol members heard four shots of small-arms fire approximately 100m south. The patrol could not determine the direction of fire.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region between the evenings of 18 and 19 May compared with the previous reporting period. Between the evenings of 19 and 20 May, it recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more ceasefire violations in Luhansk regions compared with the previous 24 hours. The SMM observed damage caused by gunfire to civilian properties in Pikuzy and Kriakivka. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it heard an explosion inside the Zolote disengagement area 300-500m from SMM patrols.

At 11:04 on 20 May, two SMM patrols consisting of ten members and four armoured vehicles positioned themselves about 20m south of a checkpoint of the armed formations inside the disengagement area near Zolote (government-controlled, 60km west of Luhansk) on its southern edge. All patrol members were outside the vehicles, five of whom were speaking with two unarmed members of the armed formations, and saw an additional five to eight members of the armed formations (one armed with an assault rifle (AK-type), the remainder unarmed) walking around the checkpoint inside the disengagement area. At 11:06, the patrol members heard an undetermined explosion 300-500m north (assessed as inside the disengagement area)...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM observed fresh damage caused by shelling in residential areas in Luhansk city, Sakhanka and Svitlodarsk. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations near all three disengagement areas. Its access remained restricted in all three areas and elsewhere, including in Shevchenko.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in Vidrodzhennia and Klynove. The Mission facilitated access to assess damage to the Donetsk Filtration Station. The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs to high-voltage power lines near Almazna and to a water pipeline in Obozne. In Kyiv and Kharkiv, the Mission monitored gatherings marking the 1944 deportation of the Crimean Tatars...

KYIV, 18 May 2018 – The deteriorating security situation in the wider area around the Donetsk Filtration Station poses a threat to the facility, its workers and monitoring officers of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), said the SMM’s Chief Monitor Ertugrul Apakan today...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous reporting period; it recorded explosions assessed as impacts of multiple launch rocket system rounds near the Donetsk Filtration Station (DFS). The Mission heard an explosion less than 300m from its forward patrol base in Svitlodarsk. The SMM observed fresh damage caused by shelling in residential areas of Mykolaivka. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Stanytsia Luhanska and Zolote disengagement areas. Its access remained restricted in all three areas and it was also restricted at a checkpoint near Debaltseve, as well as near Izvaryne and Sievernyi at the border with the Russian Federation.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in Luhansk city. The Mission continued to facilitate access to the Donetsk Filtration Station for Voda Donbassa water company employees to keep the station operational and heard ceasefire violations in the area despite security guarantees. The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs to high-voltage power lines near Almazna and to a water pipeline in Obozne. In Kyiv, the Mission monitored a gathering near the venue of a pre-announced public discussion organized by a non-governmental organization. In Kherson, the SMM monitored a court hearing for the editor-in-chief of RIA Novosti Ukraine. In Lviv, the Mission observed three gatherings in front of the Regional Council building...