News and press releases

The SMM observed relative calm with a small number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. “DPR” members restricted the SMM’s movements during a patrol to Kominternove. The SMM observed weapons missing from storage sites and weapons in use at training areas...

BERLIN, 6 January 2016- OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, condemned today the latest nuclear test in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and called on the international community to react resolutely...

In Donetsk region, the SMM observed a small number of ceasefire violations, most of which were recorded around Donetsk airport. In Luhansk region, the SMM registered mortar shelling. The SMM was again denied access to Kominternove, from the east and south-west*. The SMM followed-up on reports of tensions between religious communities in western Ukraine and the creation of a self-defence force in Kherson...

VIENNA, 6 January 2016 – On the anniversary of the attack on the staff of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović called for a stop to all forms of pressure, harassment or violence aimed at preventing opinions and ideas from being disseminated...

In Donetsk region, the SMM observed a small number of ceasefire violations– all but one were recorded around Donetsk airport. In Luhansk region, the SMM did not observe any ceasefire violations for the second consecutive day. In Kominternove and surrounding areas, the SMM observed a calm situation. The SMM experienced six freedom-of-movement restrictions, including denial of access to Kominternove from the east and to border areas not controlled by the Government*. The Ukrainian Armed Forces prevented the SMM from flying an SMM UAV...

Serbia’s first Serious and Organized Crime Threat Assessment (SOCTA) was published on the website of the Serbian Interior Ministry on 30 December 2015. The document, developed with the support of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, is a strategic overview of serious and organized crime in the country, including drugs, irregular migration, human trafficking, money laundering, corruption and cybercrime...

The SMM observed a relative calm with only a small number of ceasefire violations recorded in Donetsk region and in Luhansk region. The SMM was able to reach Kominternove and observed craters that residents said had been caused on 31 December. “LPR” members in an area north of Troitske threatened to shoot the SMM if they did not leave the area. “LPR” members prevented the SMM from travelling towards the Izvaryne and Dolzhanskyi border crossing points. “DPR” members refused the SMM access to the village of Oktiabr on three successive days. The SMM observed that a pylon on the Kakhovka–Titan power line that had been felled on 30 December had been replaced by 3 January. Marches commemorating the birthday of Stepan Bandera were observed by the SMM throughout the country...