News and press releases

• Compared with the previous reporting period, between the evenings of 23 and 24 August, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. • Between the evenings of 24 and 25 August, the Mission recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region, compared with the previous 24 hours. • The SMM saw that the former forward positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and of the armed formations inside the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area continued to be dismantled. • The Mission spotted a weapon in violation of the withdrawal line in government-controlled Avdiivka. • The SMM continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station. • The Mission monitored public gatherings on the occasion of National Flag Day and Ukrainian Independence Day in various cities. • Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued, including at a checkpoint in non-government-controlled Verkhnoshyrokivske...

A three-day national table-top exercise (TTX) on preventing and countering the use of the internet for terrorist purposes, for some 30 Kyrgyz representatives from diverse backgrounds and perspectives, including representatives of government, law enforcement, civil society, media, academia and the private sector, began on 25 August 2019 in Issyk Kul, Kyrgyzstan.

• Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. • The Mission saw damage to a farm near Novoluhanske. • On 23 August, it saw members of the armed formations taking down a wall at their former forward position and personnel from the State Emergency Services of Ukraine cutting trees and branches inside the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. • Small-arms fire was assessed as directed at an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) near Zolote-5/Mykhailivka. • The SMM spotted weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near government-controlled Raihorodka and non-government-controlled Ternove. • It saw new anti-tank mines south of the bridge in Shchastia. • An SMM long-range UAV spotted a cargo train heading south-west as well as a cargo train probably loaded with coal in Kumshatske.

• Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and fewer in Luhansk region. • The Mission continued to monitor the situation in the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. • The SMM saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near non-government-controlled Bile. • The Mission monitored adherence to the ceasefire to facilitate repairs to and the operation of essential civilian infrastructure, including repairs to a phenol sludge reservoir near Zalizne. • Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued, including at a checkpoint in non-government-controlled Verkhnoshyrokivske.*

• Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. • The Mission continued to monitor the situation in the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. • The SMM saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. • The Mission monitored adherence to the ceasefire to facilitate repairs to and the operation of essential civilian infrastructure, including repairs to a phenol sludge reservoir. • Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued, including at checkpoints in non-government-controlled Verkhnoshyrokivske and Donetsk city’s Petrovskyi district.

The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and the European Union Force in BiH (EUFOR) jointly organized a training workshop for Armed Forces of BiH on the management of weapons and ammunition storage from 20 to 22 August 2019. The event took place at the Laboratory for the Chemical and Thermal Analysis of Ammunition, which is situated in the Technical Workshop for Repair and Destruction of Ammunition (TROM) in Doboj, Bosnia and Herzegovina...

The 11th annual OSCE regional workshop “Explosive Hazards Reduction and Response: Countering Improvised Explosive Devices (C-IEDs)” is taking place in Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan 18-23 August, 2019. The five-day event brought together over thirty international experts to discuss recent developments in national, regional, and global C-IEDs strategies. The workshop was organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek and the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe in close co-operation with the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Kyrgyzstan...