News and press releases

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions between the evenings of 2 and 3 November, compared with the previous reporting period. Between the evenings of 3 and 4 November, the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and a sharp increase in ceasefire violations in Luhansk region, compared with the previous 24 hours. The SMM recorded ceasefire violations inside the Stanytsia Luhanska and Zolote disengagement areas. On 4 November, the Mission heard an explosion 300-400m north of its location in Zolote-5/Mykhailivka as well as at least 15 bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire 500m from its location in the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. It saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas. It was also restricted in Holmivskyi, near Novoazovsk – an area close to the border with the Russian Federation – and Verkhnoshyrokivske, and again near Zaichenko and Bezimenne.* The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable demining near Zolote-2/Karbonit and Nyzhnoteple. In Kyiv, the SMM monitored a public gathering organized in memory of Kateryna Handziuk, a Kherson city council official and civil society activist who died on 4 November after having suffered severe acid injuries in an attack on 31 July 2018...

How to promote economic prosperity and growth through e-business and e-commerce was the focus of an international conference in Bishkek held on 1 and 2 November 2018, which was organized jointly by the Ministry of Economy of the Kyrgyz Republic and the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek...

The SMM recorded a similar number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more ceasefire violations in Luhansk region, compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The SMM recorded ceasefire violations near the Stanytsia Luhanska and Zolote disengagement areas. The Mission’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas; it was also restricted near Novoazovsk and Sievernyi – areas close to the border with the Russian Federation – as well as Zaichenko and Bezimenne.* The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to the phenol sludge reservoir near Zalizne, damaged houses in Marinka and Krasnohorivka and the Petrivske water pumping station near Artema, as well as to enable demining near Novotroitske, Zolote-2/Karbonit and Nyzhnoteple...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission heard small-arms fire assessed as directed at its mini-unmanned aerial vehicle flying near Zhovte. The SMM recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote disengagement area, including an impact explosion 200-500m from its positon. The Mission’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas; it was also restricted near Novoazovsk and Voznesenivka – areas close to the border with the Russian Federation – Luhansk city and again near Zaichenko. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to the phenol sludge reservoir near Zalizne, to damaged houses in Marinka and Krasnohorivka and to critical civilian infrastructure in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as to enable demining near Nyzhnoteple...

The role of new technologies in the electoral process was the focus of an international conference organized by the Central Election Commission of Kazakhstan with support from the OSCE Programme Office in Astana, in Kazakhstan’s capital on 1 and 2 November 2018. The conference was held on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Commission...

YEREVAN / BAKU, November 2, 2018- The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stéphane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America), together with the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk, visited the region from 29 October to 2 November... 

A second meeting of the Regional Youth Co-operation Office (RYCO) Advisory Board, supported by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro in an effort to strengthen the Board’s role and visibility, was held on 31 October 2018 in Podgorica...