News and press releases

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region compared with the previous 24 hours and no ceasefire violations in Luhansk region. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Petrivske disengagement area. The Mission’s access remained restricted in all three areas and elsewhere, including in Kreminets and Naberezhne.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Sievierodonetsk and Khrustalnyi. The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repair and maintenance works on essential civilian infrastructure near Shchastia, Artema, Kalynove, Mykhailivka-Almazna, and Slovianoserbsk. The Mission visited five border areas not under government control. The SMM observed gatherings in Kharkiv and Odessa, and followed up on reports of an incident at the building where the Zakarpattia Hungarian Union is located in Uzhhorod...

BRUSSELS, 6 February 2018 – Senior members of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly were in Brussels on 5-6 February to learn more about Belgian migration and asylum policies as well as measures to promote the integration of refugees. The visit was part of a series of activities of the OSCE PA Ad Hoc Committee on Migration which seek to move beyond the assessing of emergency measures in frontline countries to medium- to long-term policies to promote the integration of refugees in destination countries...

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo donated 30 specialized first aid kits to special operations units and rapid reaction units of the Kosovo Police on 6 February 2018...

The OSCE-supported Building Bridges Fund has announced its annual grants to municipalities, schools, students, teachers and parents. The grants are used to organize activities that bring together students from all communities, who attend schools with different languages of instruction.

Afghan law enforcement officers completed on 5 February 2018 an OSCE-organized two-week train-the-trainer course on combating illicit drug trafficking and drug-related crime, at the Russian training facility in Domodedovo, near Moscow...

The SMM recorded a similar number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region between the evenings of 2 and 3 February compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions between the evenings of 3 and 4 February compared with the previous 24 hours. Small arms fire was directed towards an SMM unmanned aerial vehicle at a heavy weapons holding area in Donetsk region. The SMM observed damage to civilian properties in Myronivskyi. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. The Mission's access remained restricted in all three areas and elsewhere, including in Mineralne and to a compound in Luhansk city.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Bakhmut. The Mission visited two border areas not under government control. In Lviv, the SMM followed up on reports of a fire at a church and monitored an international border crossing point near Shehyni as well as three gatherings in Kyiv...

Women from the OSCE area face numerous challenges and barriers to fully participate in economic, social and political life. In 2013 the OSCE Gender Section, in co-operation with the Danish organization KVINFO, initiated a project on establishing mentor networks, with the ultimate goal to empower women in the OSCE region.