News and press releases

Between the evenings of 14 and 15 December, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous reporting period. Between the evenings of 15 and 16 December, the Mission recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region, compared with the previous 24 hours. The SMM followed up on reports of a woman who had sustained injuries due to gunfire in Slovianoserbsk and two men injured in a grenade explosion in Krasnohorivka.

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. The SMM recorded over 60 ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. The Mission observed weapons in violations of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure as well as damaged houses in Marinka and Krasnohorivka. It continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The SMM was also restricted at a compound near Donske.* The Mission monitored a public gathering in Kyiv.

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. The SMM observed multiple launch rocket systems in violation of the withdrawal lines in non-government-controlled areas of Luhansk region. The SMM followed up at entry-exit checkpoints on possible impacts of the introduction of martial law. The Mission’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas, as well as near Zaichenko, Novoselivka Druha and at compounds on both sides of the contact line.

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The Mission followed up on reports of a grenade explosion in Khartsyzk in which a woman was injured and a man died. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure near Artema and Holmivskyi, as well as repairs to houses in Marinka and Krasnohorivka. It continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station. Access for the SMM remained restricted in all three disengagement areas, near Syvash and near Novoazovsk, an area close to the border with the Russian Federation.* The Mission monitored protests in Kyiv, Lviv and Chernivtsi.

Between the evenings of 16 and 17 November, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region, compared with the previous reporting period. Between the evenings of 17 and 18 November, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both regions, compared with the previous 24 hours. The SMM saw recent damage caused by shelling to civilian properties in Zolote-5 and Kruta Balka. The SMM observed heavy weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines in non-government-controlled areas of Luhansk region. The SMM recorded a ceasefire violation inside the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. The SMM continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station. In Kyiv, the Mission monitored a gathering in relation to attacks against civil activists, including Kateryna Handziuk. It also monitored a pre-announced gathering in support of transgender rights and saw two female participants being treated for pepper spray irritation. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas as well as near Bezimenne, Novolaspa and Dovzhanske, an area close to the border with the Russian Federation.*

A group of Ukrainian civil society representatives improved their human rights monitoring skills, as well as their capacity to take measures to increase their own safety and security during a training course organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, from 12 to 17 November 2018.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission’s long-range unmanned aerial vehicle experienced severe jamming near Korsun. It followed up on reports of shelling at the Bakhmut Agrarian Union’s pig farm near Novoluhanske. The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Bila Hora and Zhelanne. The SMM recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote and Petrivske disengagement areas. The Mission’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas, as well as at two border crossing points not under government control. The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to houses and essential civilian infrastructure on both sides of the contact line, as well as to enable demining near Nyzhnoteple. In Odessa, the SMM observed graffiti on two monuments associated with the 1905 mutiny on the battleship Potemkin.