News and press releases

Western and Central Ukraine, including Kyiv, as well the southern part of the country, remained calm. The situation continued to be tense in Luhansk region and particularly tense in Donetsk region. The Special Monitoring Mission got confirmation that the military observers carrying out an inspection under the OSCE Vienna Document had been taken captive by forces of the self-proclaimed mayor of Sloviansk.

BELGRADE / TIRANA / PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA, 25 April 2014- Swiss Foreign Minister and Chairperson-in-Office, Didier Burkhalter, drew a positive conclusion from his two-day visit to the Western Balkans. In his meetings with high-level representatives of the authorities in Belgrade, Tirana and Prishtinë/Priština, he received strong backing for the engagement of the Swiss OSCE Chairmanship in the region...

Western and Central Ukraine, including Kiev, as well as many regions of the southern part of the country, were calm. In the regions neighbouring Donbas some tensions continued – they resulted either from the political polarization or fears of possible activities of armed opponents of the government. The situation continued to be tense in Luhansk and, in particular, Donetsk regions.

VIENNA, 25 April 2014 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today expressed concern about the disappearance in Donetsk of Julia Shustraya and Mikhail Pudovkin, a journalist and a cameraman with LifeNews...

The State Emergency Service of Ukraine and the OSCE Project Co-ordinator launched the Webspace of Safety – an Internet portal created to inform children about risks and threats posed by explosive hazards present in Ukraine...

Based on monitoring teams’ observations, the situation in Luhansk remained stable; Donetsk remains characterized by heightened tensions; Kharkiv and Odessa remain relatively calm; and the rest of Ukraine is calm...

VIENNA, 24 April 2014 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatovic today warned about the continuing attacks on journalists and deterioration of media freedom environment in eastern Ukraine with new incidents involving media representatives...