News and press releases

The SMM continued to monitor the implementation of the provisions of the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum and the work of the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC). The SMM observed a large number of ceasefire violations in the Donetsk region. The SMM conducted its third visit to the site of the incident causing the deaths of civilians on a bus in Volnovakha.

KYIV, 16 January, 2015 – In response to media reports, the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine reaffirms that no participating States have withdrawn their monitors from the Mission in Ukraine.

The SMM continued to monitor the implementation of the provisions of the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum and the work of the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC). The JCCC and “DPR” leadership agreed a special joint inquiry into the incident causing the deaths of civilians on a bus in Volnovakha. A number of ceasefire violations and military movements were observed by the SMM in Donetsk and Luhansk region. The SMM was unable to patrol the Donetsk airport. Shots were fired in the direction of the SMM in Chermalyk...

DONETSK, 15 January 2015- Today, for the second day in a row, the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) has attempted to reach Donetsk airport to establish the facts on the ground. In the afternoon, the SMM made two attempts and managed to reach an area close to the airport. The SMM witnessed substantial damage to civilian infrastructure and residences caused by artillery. Regrettably, the SMM could not venture further into the airport itself as shelling, counter-shelling and small arms fire in and around the airport was ongoing...

The SMM continued to monitor the implementation of the provisions of the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum and the work of the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC). The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) gathered imagery and video data of shell impact craters at Volnovakha where a bus was hit on 13 January...

The SMM continued to monitor the implementation of the provisions of the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum and the work of the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC). A Grad rocket exploded near a civilian bus at a Ukrainian Army Checkpoint near Volnovakha, killing 12 civilians and injuring 17...

At approximately 14:35hrs on 13 January the regional traffic police confirmed to the SMM that a Grad rocket struck close to a civilian bus when it stopped at a Ukrainian Armed Forces checkpoint approximately 2km north of Volnovakha (35km south-west of Donetsk)...