News and press releases

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and a similar number of ceasefire violations in Luhansk region compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission followed up on reports of civilian casualties in Yasynuvata and in Marinka. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted there and elsewhere, including in Novotoshkivske, Slovianoserbsk and Debaltseve.* The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Bakhmut and Luhanske. Its unmanned aerial vehicle spotted the presence of 64 anti-tank mines along road M03 between Debaltseve and Svitlodarsk where the SMM had facilitated and monitored mine and unexploded ordnance clearance on 19 July. The Mission facilitated and monitored the completion of repairs to pylons near the Donetsk Filtration Station. In Odessa city the SMM followed up on a car explosion incident...

Between the evenings of 21 and 22 July the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region, compared with the previous reporting period. Between the evenings of 22 and 23 July the Mission recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas; it recorded ceasefire violations in the Zolote disengagement area. Its access remained restricted there and elsewhere, including in Staromykhailivka and again in Novoazovsk, where military-type vehicles were seen travelling from the Novoazovsk area towards the border with the Russian Federation and vice versa. The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. It continued to observe fresh craters and recent excavations in the area of Kruta Balka and in Olenivka. The SMM visited four border areas not under government control in Luhansk and Donetsk regions. The Mission monitored a strike at a coal mine in Pryvillia and a public gathering near Kharkiv...

WARSAW, 24 July 2017- Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, welcomed today’s announcement by Polish President Andrzej Duda that further, broader consultation was necessary on two draft laws on the judiciary passed by the parliament last week...

Two parallel 11-day courses on explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) level 3, supported by the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe, were concluded in Dushanbe on 21 July 2017. The courses for Russian-speaking and Tajik-Dari speaking students, respectively, were attended by 42 trainees from Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and Tajikistan...

An OSCE-supported four-day training seminar titled “Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Inhuman Treatment in Accordance with the Istanbul Protocol” started on 24 July 2017 in Astana...

VIENNA, 24 July 2017 – The start of the trial against journalists and board members of the daily newspaper Cumhuriyet today highlights the urgent need to protect journalism and improve media freedom in Turkey, Harlem Désir, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media stated...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. On two occasions the Mission interrupted unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flights due to ceasefire violations near them, assessed at least on one occasion as aimed at the UAV.* The SMM followed up on reports of civilian casualties and damage to civilian properties caused by shelling in Kashtanove and in Donetsk city.