News and press releases

On 17 February 2018, the SMM followed up on media reports of an incident at the building where the Russian Centre for Science and Culture “Rossotrudnichestvo" is located, at 2A Borysohlibska Street in Kyiv. At 13:15, the SMM saw multiple phrases (such as "Death to Russia") in Ukrainian language freshly spray-painted on the interior walls of the building on the ground floor and in the staircase leading to the second floor. The SMM also saw scattered chairs and furniture, broken information boards, and the flag of the Russian Federation which had been torn apart.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. Small-arms fire hit an SMM unmanned aerial vehicle near Sentianivka. In Dnipro, the Mission followed up on the condition of a three-year-old girl who had been injured by the explosion of unexploded ordnance in Krasnohorivka on 6 February. The SMM observed fresh damage to civilian properties in residential areas of Dokuchaievsk caused by gunfire.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM observed fresh damage to civilian properties, including schools, in residential areas of Dokuchaievsk caused by gunfire. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations inside the Petrivske disengagement area and near the Zolote disengagement area.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission observed fresh damage caused by gunfire to a house in Hranitne and to a wall at the Donetsk Filtration Station. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three areas and elsewhere, including in Mineralne and Nova Tavriia.* The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Bila Hora. The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs to essential infrastructure near Marinka and Yasynuvata. The Mission visited a border area not under government control. The SMM followed up on reports of alleged arson in Lviv.

Vienna, 15 February 2018 – Japan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Taro Kono today met with Secretary General Thomas Greminger at the OSCE Secretariat in Vienna, where they discussed Japan’s continuing engagement within the OSCE Asian Partnership and possible areas of further co-operation. The visit was the first ever to the OSCE by a Japanese foreign minister.

MINSK, 14 February 2018 – The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), Ambassador Martin Sajdik, made the following statement to the press after the meeting of the TCG and its Working Groups in Minsk on 14 February 2018:

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and a similar number in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM followed up on reports of a civilian casualty from Hranitne. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Petrivske and Zolote disengagement areas. Its access remained restricted in all three areas and elsewhere, including in Siedove, an area near the border with the Russian Federation, in Manhush and near Donetsk city’s Kirovskyi district.* The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Donetsk city’s Kirovskyi district. The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs and maintenance works to a pumping station near Artema and a dam near Nelipivka. The Mission visited a border area not under government control.