News and press releases

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. Small arms were fired toward an SMM patrol and an SMM UAV. The SMM observed damage from an explosion in Donetsk city centre. 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 in Novolaspa.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Yablunivka, Oleksandropil, Orikhove-Donetske and Poltavka. The Mission continued to facilitate and monitor repair works at a pumping station in Artema. The SMM visited two border areas not under government control.

On 2 February 2018 at 13:00, an SMM patrol consisting of six SMM members and two armoured vehicles was positioned at an abandoned gas station on road M04 about 2.5km south-west of “DPR”-controlled Yasynuvata (16km north-east of Donetsk), about 2km east of the contact line. Between 13:00 and 13:50, the SMM recorded five undetermined explosions, 11 shots of infantry fighting vehicle (BMP-2) cannon (30mm) fire and 34 bursts and shots of heavy-machine-gun and small-arms fire, all 1-2km west. Between 13:50 and 14:08, the SMM heard uncountable overlapping bursts and shots of heavy-machine-gun and small-arms fire 1-2km west. At 14:08, five SMM members were standing in between the SMM’s armoured vehicles when they heard the hissing sound of three bullets flying west to east over their heads and saw one of the bullets land 10-15m east of the SMM. The SMM patrol immediately left the area and returned safely to its base in Donetsk city at 14:55.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it observed ceasefire violations near the Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three areas and elsewhere, including in Siedove near the border with the Russian Federation, in Donske and near Kreminets.* The SMM followed up on reports of an explosion in Donetsk city centre. The Mission visited two border areas not under government control. In Kyiv, the SMM observed four gatherings.

Some 75 city administration officials including city council members, public enterprise officials and providers of citizen services from Novi Pazar have successfully completed an OSCE-supported public relations and customer service training course held over a period of three months from November 2017 to January 2018. The final course in a series of three will take place in Kopaonik from 2 to 4 February.

A one-day workshop for a newly-established multi-disciplinary working group on addressing domestic violence issues concluded on 2 February 2018 in the Khuroson district of the province of Khatlon, Tajikistan. The event was organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. Its access remained restricted in all three areas and elsewhere, including in Horlivka and near Kreminets.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Mykolaivka. The Mission continued to facilitate and monitor repair works to water wells near Krasnyi Lyman and Artema. The SMM visited two border areas not under government control. In Odessa, the SMM observed an event commemorating the Holocaust; in Kyiv, the SMM observed a protest of retired law enforcement personnel...

COPENHAGEN, 1 February 2018- Ignacio Sanchez Amor (MP, Spain), Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions, expressed his concern today over developments in the case of Taner Kiliç, Chair of Amnesty International Turkey. Kiliç, accused of being a member of the Fethullah Gülen Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), was granted a conditional release on Wednesday, with the court reversing the decision today...