News and press releases

This report is for the media and the general public. Summary Compared with the previous reporting period, between the evenings of 7 and 8 June the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. Between the evenings of 8 and 9 June, the SMM recorded more

SARAJEVO, 10 June 2019 – The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) presented today in Sarajevo its publication on referral mechanisms for preventing and countering violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism (P/CVERLT)...

NUR-SULTAN, 10 June 2019 – While there was potential for Kazakhstan’s early presidential election to become a force for political change, a lack of regard for fundamental rights, including detentions of peaceful protestors, and widespread voting irregularities on election day, showed scant respect for democratic standards, international observers concluded in a preliminary statement published today.

VIENNA, 10 June 2019- OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Slovakia’s Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Miroslav Lajčák called today on all political forces in the Republic of Moldova to overcome the current political crisis through dialogue, acting on the basis of the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova and the respect for democratic principles and the rule of law.

In the afternoon of 9 June, an SMM patrol consisting of six members and two armoured vehicles was positioned about 45m east of a checkpoint of the armed formations about 1.2km south-west of Molodizhne (non-government-controlled, 63km north-west of Luhansk), to monitor the security situation. At 14:34, two members of the armed formations approached the SMM, briefly spoke to three SMM patrol members who were outside the vehicles and returned to the checkpoint.

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region. The SMM recorded an undetermined explosion inside the disengagement area near Stanytsia Luhanska. It saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near residential houses in Chernenko. The Mission saw mines near Pisky, Lozove, and Travneve, some for the first time, and unexploded ordnance in Pikuzy and near the entry-exit checkpoint near Maiorsk. It facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to and the operation of critical civilian infrastructure on both sides of the contact line. The SMM saw people apply for passports of the Russian Federation in Antratsyt and Dokuchaievsk. It monitored the announcement of a court verdict regarding the attack of Kateryna Handziuk. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere. The SMM’s freedom of movement was also restricted in non-government-controlled southern Donetsk region at a checkpoint near Shevchenko.

VIENNA, 7 June 2019 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today expressed serious concern regarding the detention of the investigative journalist, Ivan Golunov, in Moscow.