News and press releases

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM observed damage near residential areas as a result of shelling in Sakhanka and Dovhe. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. Its access remained restricted there and elsewhere, including in Izvaryne at a border crossing point near the border with the Russian Federation.* The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines. The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs to a pumping station near Artema, power lines near Svitlodarsk and continued to facilitate access for workers to and from the Donetsk Filtration Station. The SMM visited a border area outside of government control.*...

International standards guaranteeing the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and key principles and good practices for policing assemblies in a human rights-compliant way were the focus of an event organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on 21 March 2018 in Kyiv. The event marked the launch of the Ukrainian-language version of ODIHR’s Human Rights Handbook on Policing Assemblies.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM observed damage near residential areas as a result of shelling in Sakhanka and Dovhe. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. Its access remained restricted there and elsewhere, including in Izvaryne at a border crossing point near the border with the Russian Federation.* The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines. The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs to a pumping station near Artema, power lines near Svitlodarsk and continued to facilitate access for workers to and from the Donetsk Filtration Station. The SMM visited a border area outside of government control.*...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region compared with the previous 24 hours and no ceasefire violations in Luhansk region. The SMM followed up on reports of a civilian casualty in Pikuzy. It observed damage to civilian properties in residential areas of Sakhanka caused by shelling. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. Its access remained restricted there and elsewhere, including at checkpoints near Olenivka and Staromykhailivka.* The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Lomakyne. The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs to a pumping station near Artema and continued to facilitate access for workers to and from the Donetsk Filtration Station. The SMM monitored a peaceful gathering in Odessa....

CHISINAU, 20 March 2018- The OSCE Mission to Moldova will hand over four sets of technical equipment to the Military Observers of the Joint Peacekeeping Forces on behalf of the Republic of Moldova, of the Transdniestrian region, Russian Federation and Ukraine at the meeting of the Joint Control Commission (JCC) on Thursday, 22 March. The equipment, consisting of notebooks, colour printers, GPS tracking devices and photo cameras, was purchased at the request of the JCC to improve information exchange between the Military Observers and the JCC about the situation in the Security Zone...

The SMM monitored the security situation at several locations associated with the Russian Federation presidential election; it observed police presence at these locations and people not being allowed to access some of them by police. The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more ceasefire violations in Luhansk region between the evenings of 16 and 17 March, compared with the previous reporting period. Between the evenings of 17 and 18 March, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region compared with the previous 24 hours and no ceasefire violations in Luhansk region. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. Its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere, including near Leonove, Mykolaivka and Staromykhailivka.* The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Bakhmut, Novopavlivka, and Yablunivka. The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs of high-voltage power lines near Almazna and continued to facilitate access for workers to and from the Donetsk Filtration Station. The SMM monitored protests in several regions of Ukraine, and followed up on reports of car windows being damaged in Berehove, Zakarpattia region...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region, compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded two ceasefire violations near the Stanytsia Luhanska and Petrivske disengagement areas. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere, including near Izvaryne, at a border crossing point in Luhansk region near the border with the Russian Federation, in Amvrosiivka, Verkhnoshyrokivske and a heavy weapons holding area in a non-government-controlled area of Donetsk region.*