News and press releases

Bratislava, 14 June 2019- Following a meeting with President Zelensky on 13 June, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Slovakia’s Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Miroslav Lajčák calls on the international community to support the Ukrainian President's constructive steps towards a peaceful resolution of the crisis in and around Ukraine. He also offers the full support of the Slovak Chairmanship in this endeavour.

KYIV, 13 June 2019 – Visiting Ukraine for the second time since taking over the OSCE Chairmanship, Slovakia’s Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák, met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other members of the Ukrainian leadership to explore steps towards a peaceful political solution to the crisis in and around Ukraine as well as to discuss ways to ease human suffering on the ground...

• Compared with the previous reporting period, the Mission recorded a similar number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. • Two men were injured and a tractor destroyed by a mine explosion in a field south of Popasna. • The Mission recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. • The SMM saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. • The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to and the operation of critical civilian infrastructure on both sides of the contact line. • It saw two international organization convoys transporting humanitarian aid in Pikuzy and Sakhanka and near Olenivka. • Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere, including at checkpoints near non-government-controlled Ternove and Novoazovsk...

• Compared with the previous reporting period, the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. • A girl was injured due to an explosion near Vesele and a woman was injured due to shelling in Zaitseve. • The SMM saw fresh damage and craters caused by shelling near residential houses in Pikuzy. • It saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. • Anti-tank mines were spotted near Krasnohorivka and Olenivka, some for the first time, and unexploded ordnance was seen near Donetsk city. • Civilians faced hardship and long queues at checkpoints in Luhansk and Donetsk regions. • The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to and the operation of critical civilian infrastructure on both sides of the contact line. • Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere. The SMM’s freedom of movement was also restricted at a heavy weapons holding area in a government-controlled area of Donetsk region and at a border crossing point near non-government-controlled Dovzhanske.*

Albania, Finland and Poland have renewed the mandates or, alternatively, appointed new members to the OSCE Court of Conciliation and Arbitration Court for new terms of six years after the previous mandates of their members expired. The appointments of the conciliators, the arbitrators and their alternates were made in accordance with Articles 3 and 4 of the Convention on Conciliation and Arbitration within the OSCE, which was signed in 1992 in Stockholm...

OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger and other high-level OSCE officials visited the Austrian Armed Forces International Centre (AUTINT) in Götzendorf, Lower Austria, on 24 May 2019 to mark the fifth anniversary of the Centre’s provision of pre-deployment training for the Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM). He was accompanied by the Chief Monitor of the SMM, Ertugrul Apakan, the Deputy Permanent Representative of Slovakia to the OSCE, Ambassador Katarina Zakova, and the current Chief of the Austrian General Staff Directorate, Major General Bruno Hofbauer.

• Compared with the previous 24 hours, the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations both in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. • The SMM observed damage from small-arms fire to civilian properties in Chermalyk. • It saw a weapon in violation in non-government-controlled Boikivske. • The Mission continued to observe long queues of civilians at checkpoints along the contact line. • The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to and the operation of critical civilian infrastructure on both sides of the contact line. • Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere.*