News and press releases

At 2045 hrs, 18 April, the SMM launched a long-range unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flight over government- and non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk region. At 0126 hrs, 19 April, while near Vuhledar (government-controlled, 48km south-west of Donetsk), the UAV encountered dual GPS signal interference, assessed as due to jamming...

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. A man was injured due to the detonation of an explosive device in Fedorivka. The SMM observed weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The SMM observed long queues of civilians at the Stanytsia Luhanska entry exit-checkpoint. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The SMM was also restricted in non-government-controlled Shevchenko and near Novolaspa and Yasne, as well as near a border crossing point outside of government control in Leonove, Luhansk region...

KYIV, 18 April 2019 – The Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) and its Working Group on Security Issues convened this afternoon and evening in the videoconference format.

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. A woman was reportedly injured due to shelling in Zaitseve. The SMM saw fresh gunfire damage to inhabited houses in Trokhizbenka and Dokuchaievsk. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM observed a weapon in violation of the withdrawal lines near Novoluhanske. It saw fresh craters near Novoluhanske, as well as anti-tank mines near Petrivske and Vesela Hora. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions and observed the restoration of the water supply to Dokuchaievsk following the completion of repairs to the Vasylivka water pumping station. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. It was also restricted near government-controlled Kamianka and in non-government-controlled areas, including at checkpoints near Bezimenne and Verkhnoshyrokivske and at border crossing points near Izvaryne and Sievernyi.

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The SMM saw fresh damage caused by gunfire to houses in Zolote-5/Mykhailivka. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote and Petrivske disengagement areas. The SMM observed weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines near Khrustalnyi, in a non-government-controlled area of Luhansk region. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to and the operation of essential civilian infrastructure in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere. The Mission was also restricted at a checkpoint near Verkhnoshyrokivske in a non-government-controlled area of southern Donetsk region, as well as at a railway station in Voznesenivka and at a border crossing point near Voznesenivka in non-government-controlled areas of Luhansk region...

VIENNA, 17 April 2019 – Following reports about the recent arrest of several citizen journalists in Crimea, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today condemned the continued deterioration of freedom of expression and the safety of journalists on the peninsula...

Compared with the previous 24 hours, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The SMM saw fresh damage caused by gunfire to two apartments in Dokuchaievsk. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote disengagement area and again saw mines inside the Petrivske disengagement area. The SMM observed weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines on both side of the contact line. The Mission saw upgrades at the entry-exit checkpoints in Hnutove and Maiorsk. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, including close to the pumping station near Vasylivka, which reportedly resumed its operations. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The Mission was also restricted at checkpoints in non-government-controlled Zaichenko, Lukove, Tavrycheske and Bezimenne, as well as at a railway station in and a border crossing point outside government control near Voznesenivka.