News and press releases

MINSK, 23 August 2017 – The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), Ambassador Martin Sajdik, made the following statement to the press after the meeting of the TCG and its working groups in Minsk...

KAMENSK-SHAKHTINSKIY, Russian Federation. The Observer Mission (OM) continues to operate 24/7 at both Border Crossing Points (BCPs). The overall number of border crossings by persons increased at both BCPs...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission followed up on a report of a civilian casualty in Yasynuvata. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas and recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in the disengagement areas and elsewhere, including in Novolaspa and Kreminets.* The SMM observed unexploded ordnance near Zolote. The Mission continued to facilitate and monitor repairs and maintenance to a power plant in Shchastia. The Mission visited three border areas not under government control...

Increasing operational awareness to detect forged documents and imposters is the aim of a three-day advanced training course for border police officers organized by the OSCE Secretariat’s Transnational Threats Department with support from the OSCE Mission to Skopje, which started at the Police Training Centre in Idrizovo on 22 August 2017...

Over the last nine years, as part of the project on “Implementation of precautionary and preventive anti-drug events”, the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe together with Tajikistan’s law enforcement agencies has carried out an awareness raising campaign on drug prevention in all the regions and districts of Tajikistan...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region between the evenings of 18 and 19 August – including, however, fewer explosions – compared with the previous 24 hours. Between the evenings of 19 and 20 August, it recorded more ceasefire violations compared with the previous 24 hours. In Dokuchaievsk, the Mission heard small-arms fire assessed as targeting its unmanned aerial vehicle.* In Luhansk region between the evenings of 18 and 19 August, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations compared with the previous 24 hours. Between the evenings of 19 and 20 August, it recorded more ceasefire violations compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission followed up on a report of civilian casualties in Petrovskyi district of Donetsk city. It observed damage to residential areas due to shelling in Dokuchaievsk, Yasynuvata and an area of Luhansk city. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas and recorded ceasefire violations assessed as inside the Stanytsia Luhanska area. The Mission resumed permanent presence of monitoring officers in Stanytsia Luhanska. Its access remained restricted in the three disengagement areas and elsewhere, including in Horlivka and Verkhnoshyrokivske.* The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in Kalmiuske. It facilitated access for a fire brigade to extinguish a fire in Avdiivka. The SMM visited two border areas not under government control in Luhansk region.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions, however more explosions in Luhansk region, compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM continued monitoring the Zolote and Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement areas and recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote disengagement area. Its access there and elsewhere remained restricted, including in Verkhnoshyrokivske.* The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines in Stanytsia Luhanska. The SMM observed unexploded ordnance near Staromarivka and in the centre of Pikuzy. It again facilitated and monitored mine and unexploded ordnance clearance, co-ordinated by the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination, enabling the SMM to travel the M03 road between Svitlodarsk and Debaltseve. The Mission continued to facilitate and monitor repairs and maintenance to infrastructure in Shchastia, Popasna and Stanytsia Luhanska. It visited two border areas not under government control in Luhansk region. The SMM monitored a protest in Odessa.