News and press releases

COPENHAGEN, 23 September 2014 – As the international community supports a diplomatic solution in Ukraine, the humanitarian impact of the crisis must not be overlooked, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's Mehmet Sevki Kulkuloglu told a gathering of international human rights experts in Warsaw...

The SMM noted a number of instances of artillery fire in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The SMM on 21 September met the leader of an irregular armed group – a self-styled Cossack commander – in Pervomais’k (70km north-west of Luhansk city). He insisted on being told in advance of any future SMM visit to territory controlled by him, saying the SMM’s security could not be guaranteed otherwise. The “Lugansk People’s Republic” (“LPR”) has previously told the SMM that the “commander” in question is not under the command or control of the “LPR”. (See Daily Report 139/2014)

The SMM continued to monitor the full range of issues within its mandate, with a particular focus on compliance with the provisions of the memorandum signed on 19 September in Minsk. It also observed rallies in Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Odessa against the Russian Federation’s policy towards Ukraine...

COPENHAGEN, 22 September 2014 – OSCE parliamentarians will observe next month’s parliamentary elections in Ukraine and lead the short-term OSCE observer mission...

KYIV, 21 September, 2014 –We welcome the Memorandum of 19 September 2014 on concrete steps to be taken to de-escalate the situation in eastern Ukraine...

The SMM continued to monitor the non-use of weapons provision of the Minsk Protocol, noting sporadic shelling around Donetsk and Mariupol cities, and in an area west of Luhansk city. Elsewhere in Donbas, however, calm prevailed, most notably in Luhansk city, where, in addition to a cessation of violence, normal services are beginning to be restored...

OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Astrid Thors visited Ukraine from 15 to 17 September 2014 to take stock of the situation since her last visit. She said that while the situation remains extremely tense and challenging, there are positive developments, including the ceasefire following the signing of the Minsk Protocol on 5 September 2014.