News and press releases

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 22 February 2018 the seventy-second Russian convoy crossed into Ukraine and returned back into the Russian Federation...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations both in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous 24 hours. Small arms were fired towards an SMM unmanned aerial vehicle in a non-government-controlled area of Donetsk region. The Mission observed fresh damage caused by weapons, including to civilian property, in Pidlisne and Trokhizbenka. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske and observed calm situations. Its access remained restricted in all three areas and elsewhere, including again at the Chervona Mohyla railway station near Voznesenivka and at a border crossing point at the border with the Russian Federation in an area not under government control in Luhansk region, where the SMM has been restricted constantly since 15 February.* The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in a non-government-controlled area. The SMM facilitated and monitored repairs to a water pumping station near Artema and to a water pipeline between Zolote and Popasna. The SMM monitored a religious procession in Zaporizhzhia and a gathering in Kyiv, which marked the fourth anniversary of the events in Crimea...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more ceasefire violations in Luhansk region between the evenings of 23 and 24 February, compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions between the evenings of 24 and 25 February, compared with the previous 24 hours. The SMM heard explosions from its forward patrol base in Popasna. The Mission followed up on reports of damage caused by weapons in Yasynuvata, Pidlisne and Molodizhne. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it observed ceasefire violations inside Zolote disengagement area.

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 fresh damage caused by weapons to civilian properties in Dovhe and Holmivskyi. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three areas and elsewhere, including, once again, near Kreminets.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission facilitated the clearance of unexploded ordnance in Molodizhne. The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs to a water pumping station in Artema and to a water pipe system in Novotoshkivske, and it heard that the latter was completed. The Mission visited a border area outside government control. The SMM monitored gatherings in Odessa and Dnipro.

In the evening of 23 February, while at its forward patrol base on the northern edge of Popasna (government-controlled, 69km west of Luhansk), the SMM heard continuous ceasefire violations, the majority of which were 3-4km south-east. At around 21:14, the SMM heard ten explosions assessed as outgoing 120mm mortar rounds about 500m north.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region but fewer in Luhansk region, compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM followed up on reports of fresh damage caused by weapons to civilian properties in Dovhe and Molodizhne. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske, and while present in Stanytsia Luhanska and Zolote, it observed a calm situation. Its access remained restricted in all three areas and elsewhere, including, as in previous days, at the Chervona Mohyla railway station near Voznesenivka and at three other crossing points at the border with the Russian Federation in areas outside government control (out of six visited by the SMM).* The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Kostiantynivka and Klynove. The SMM observed convoys of trucks labelled “Humanitarian Aid from the Russian Federation” in non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The Mission continued to facilitate and monitor repairs and maintenance of essential infrastructure near Pavlopil and Novotoshkivske. In non-government-controlled areas of Luhansk region, the mission noted disruptions in some mobile communications networks. The SMM monitored gatherings in Kherson on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of the events at Maidan and in Kharkiv on the third anniversary of the bombing of a pro-Maidan march.

VIENNA, 22 February 2018 – Representatives of Russian and Ukrainian journalists’ unions today met under the auspices of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, for the 17th roundtable discussion aiming to facilitate dialogue between the media workers of the two countries.