News and press releases

Compared with the previous reporting period, between the evenings of 26 and 27 April, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. Compared with the previous 24 hours, between the evenings of 27 and 28 April, the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. A 26-year-old man was injured by gunfire in Chermalyk. Small-arms fire was directed at SMM unmanned aerial vehicles on two occasions near Azov. The SMM saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations and saw fresh craters inside the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM saw fresh craters, mines and unexploded ordnance between Talakivka and Pikuzy. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The SMM was also restricted at a checkpoint of the armed formations near Bezimenne, at two heavy weapons holding areas in non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk region, as well as at a border crossing point near Voznesenivka, a non-government-controlled area of Luhansk region close to the border with the Russian Federation.

The OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek supported a training course entitled “Women, peace and security: trends and development perspectives”. The event was organized by the Kyrgyz Association of Women in the Security Sector (KAWSS).

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. The Mission continued to observe hardship faced by civilians at checkpoints along the contact line near the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure and damaged houses in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere. The SMM was also restricted in Shevchenko, at a checkpoint of the armed formations in Bezimenne and near Dovzhanske, a non-government-controlled area of Luhansk region close to the border with the Russian Federation.

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded a similar number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote disengagement area. An SMM mid-range unmanned aerial vehicle was lost in Donetsk region. The Mission observed weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines in non-government-controlled areas. The SMM again saw mines near Novoluhanske and a mine hazard sign for the first time near Petrivske. The Mission continued to observe hardships faced by civilians at checkpoints along the contact line. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The SMM was also restricted at a checkpoint of the armed formations in Zaichenko, as well as on roadways in Pervomaisk and near Korsun.

On 26 April at 06:45 (Moscow time), the observer team (OT) at the Donetsk Border Crossing Point (BCP) observed three vehicles with the inscription “Russian Emergency Situations Ministry” crossing the border from the Russian Federation to Ukraine.

Forty-eight officers of Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service and State Fiscal Service were trained to identify toxic chemicals and respond to emergency situations at border crossings in a series of two intensive four-day sessions in the Orshanets Training Center, the Cherkasy Region.

VIENNA, 26 April 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today called for the release of the former journalists of the newspaper Cumhuriyet, after they were returned to prison yesterday.