News and press releases

KYIV, 8 March 2018 – Today Ertugrul Apakan, Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine, highlighted the invaluable roles women play on a daily basis in the ongoing search for peace in eastern Ukraine. He called for greater inclusion of women in high-level decision-making forums dealing with peace and security.

VIENNA, 7 March 2018 –OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today welcomed the decision by the Supreme Court of Ukraine regarding the case of Igor Efimov, photojournalist with the newspaper Vechirni Cherkasy...

The SMM recorded a similar number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region, including however, more explosions, compared with the previous 24 hours. In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations but fewer explosions compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske and observed damage in the aftermath of an explosion near Stanytsia Luhanska bridge. Its access remained restricted there and elsewhere, including in Dovzhanske near the border with the Russian Federation and in Verkhnoshyrokivske.* The Mission observed a surface-to-air missile system in violation of withdrawal lines near Vershyna and a helicopter inside the security zone in Marinka, both in government-controlled areas. The SMM facilitated and monitored repairs to essential infrastructure in Horlivka, Naberezhne, Artema and Krasnyi Lyman. The SMM observed two gatherings in Lviv region...

Following a recommitment to the ceasefire, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous 24 hours. A man at a checkpoint of the armed formations near Kozatske pointed an assault rifle at the SMM and threatened to shoot. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. Its access remained restricted there and elsewhere, including in Voznesenivka near the border with the Russian Federation and in Bila Kamianka.* The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in a non-government-controlled area. The SMM facilitated and monitored repairs to power lines near Yasynuvata, the Petrivske pumping station in Artema and to a water pipeline near Krasnyi Lyman. In Uzhhorod, the SMM spoke with members of the population and representatives of the police and prosecutor’s office...

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 decreased at both BCPs compared to the previous week...

On 5 March at 12:55, when an SMM patrol consisting of six members and two armoured vehicles was heading from west to east on a road in Kozatske (non-government-controlled, 36km north-east of Mariupol), it saw a man in military-type attire armed with an assault rifle (AK-74) standing at a checkpoint of the armed formations on the eastern edge of the village. The SMM also saw him pointing the assault rifle directly at the first SMM vehicle, which was then about 120m west of the checkpoint...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region between the evenings of 2 and 3 March compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region between the evenings of 3 and 4 March compared with the previous 24 hours. The SMM observed damage to a civilian property in a residential area in Pikuzy. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations assessed as inside the Stanytsia Luhanska area. Its access remained restricted in all three areas and elsewhere, including in Izvaryne near the border with the Russian Federation and in Staromarivka. The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs to the Petrivske pumping station in Artema and to a water pipe system in Novotoshkivske. The Mission visited four border areas not under government control. In Kyiv, the SMM observed the tents on Hrushevskoho Street being dismantled and monitored a gathering...