News and press releases

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region, compared with the previous reporting period. Following the beginning of a recommitment to the ceasefire coinciding with International Women’s Day at 00:01 on 8 March, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the hours before midnight. A man lost both lower limbs and suffered an eye injury due to an incident with unexploded ordnance in Makiivka. The Mission monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement area and elsewhere. Its access was also restricted near non-government-controlled Zaichenko.* In Kyiv, Kharkiv, Uzhhorod and Mariupol the SMM observed events on the occasion of International Women’s Day.

MOSCOW/PARIS/WASHINGTON DC, 09 March 2019 – In their March 1 statement, the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America) welcomed the commitment of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to meet soon under the auspices of the Co-Chairs. The Co-Chairs, working closely with the two foreign ministers, have been making preparations for this important leaders’ meeting, which will be the first direct contact between the two leaders conducted under Co-Chair auspices.

KYIV, 8 March 2018 – Yesterday, the Working Group on Security Issues reached a decision on the recommitment to the ceasefire, starting at 00:01 (Kiev time) on 8 March 2019. Welcoming this decision, the Special Representative of OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group, Ambassador Martin Sajdik informed the Trilateral Contact Group of it and issued the following statement in his personal capacity:

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. It saw fresh damage to a residential house in Shchastia. The Mission saw multiple launch rocket systems in violation of the withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. It observed the presence of mines and explosive remnants of war in Donetsk region. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and near non-government-controlled Bezimenne and Dovzhanske, an area near the border with the Russian Federation. In Kyiv, the SMM saw posters in front of the Embassy of the Russian Federation demanding the release of sailors following the incidents at sea, near the Kerch Strait...

The Montenegrin Ministry of Culture hosted a roundtable discussion on the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on National Public Broadcaster Radio-Television of Montenegro, on 8 March 2019 in Podgorica. The meeting was organized with the support of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, the Council of Europe (CoE) and the Delegation of the European Union to Montenegro...

The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) organized a co-ordination meeting on March 6 in Mostar to discuss the process of investigation and court proceedings in cases involving representatives of the migrant population who hold the status of victim or suspect. The event was held together with the Prosecutor’s Office of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton.

NEW YORK/VIENNA, 8 March 2019- OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Slovakia’s Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák and OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger welcomed the new recommitment to cease fire in eastern Ukraine that came into effect today at 00:01 (Kyiv time) and should bring a decrease in violence...