News and press releases

The concluding module of a train-the-trainers course for instructors of the Central Asia border institutes was delivered by the OSCE Border Management Staff College at the State Border Guard College of Latvia in Rezekne from 17 to 22 April 2017...

KYIV (24 April)-- The entire OSCE Special Monitoring Mission is filled with great sorrow at the loss of a team member while conducting a patrol near non-government controlled Pyshyb in the Luhansk region yesterday morning.

On 23 April an SMM patrol consisting of six members and two armoured vehicles was driving near “LPR”-controlled Pryshyb (34km north-west of Luhansk) on a secondary road previously used by the SMM. At 11:17, one of the SMM vehicles (second in line), with three members on board, was severely damaged as a result of an explosion, possibly after coming into contact with a mine.

LUHANSK, 23 April 2017 – A paramedic who was part of a patrol of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) died and two SMM monitors were taken to hospital today after their vehicle was heavily damaged by an explosion near Pryshyb in a non-government controlled area of Luhansk region...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, but fewer explosions in Donetsk region and fewer ceasefire violations in Luhansk region, compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM monitored the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske, but its access there and elsewhere remained restricted.* It observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission saw damage from shelling and gunfire in Dokuchaievsk and near Katerynivka. The SMM continued to monitor the presence of protestors and tent booths at a blockade site in Bakhmut. The Mission monitored three border areas currently not under government control. The SMM monitored the continuation of protests in front of branches of the Sberbank of Russia in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odessa. The Mission monitored the situation along the administrative boundary line between Kherson and Crimea.

A two-day specialized security policy course focused on corruption and its implications for security, hosted by the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and the Inter-Ministerial Working Group for Monitoring the Implementation of the Security Policy of BiH, concluded on 21 April 2017 in Sarajevo...

The SMM observed more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM monitored the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske, but its access there and elsewhere remained restricted.* It observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. It continued to note long queues at entry-exit checkpoints. The SMM continued to monitor the presence of protestors and tent booths in Bakhmut. The Mission continued to facilitate and monitor repairs to essential infrastructure in Bakhmut. The Mission saw a damaged water supply system in Luhansk. The Mission monitored a border area currently not under government control. The SMM monitored the continuation of protests in front of branches of the Sberbank of Russia in Kyiv and Kharkiv...