News and press releases

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous reporting period. It corroborated a civilian fatality in Zolote-5/Mykhailivka as a result of shrapnel injuries. The Mission saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Novoselivka and Yasnodolsk. The SMM observed an anti-aircraft-gun inside the Zolote disengagement area and recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote and Petrivske disengagement areas. The Mission’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas. The SMM observed anti-tank mines for the first time near Orikhove. 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 Kyiv, the SMM observed a public gathering related to an import tax on vehicles. In Kherson, the SMM followed up on the situation of the detained Mekhanik Pogodin tanker.

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region, compared with the previous 24 hours. It observed damage caused by gunfire in a residential area of Dokuchaievsk. The SMM saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The SMM recorded ceasefire violations near the Petrivske and Zolote disengagement areas and military presence inside the Petrivske disengagement area. The Mission’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas; it was also restricted near Novoazovsk and Dovzhanske – close to the border with the Russian Federation – and near Zaichenko, Bezimenne and Naberezhne.* The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to power lines near Vesela Hora and to damaged houses in Marinka and Krasnohorivka, as well as to enable demining near Nyzhnoteple. In Odessa, the SMM followed up on reports of vandalism to a monument. In Kropyvnytskyi, Kirovohrad region, the SMM followed up on reports of a grenade attack against a social activist.

VIENNA, 1 November 2018 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today expressed his disappointment after a court decision in Ukraine extended for the third time the pre-trial detention of bureau chief of the RIA Novosti Ukraine news agency, Kirill Vyshinsky...

VIENNA, 29 October 2018 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today expressed his serious concern over the lasting pre-trial detention of bureau chief of RIA Novosti Ukraine, Kirill Vyshinsky, which has been extended twice already since July, and hopes that the upcoming court proceeding will lead to his release on 4 November 2018, when his current detention is scheduled to end.

At 01:18 on 27 October, while flying over an area near Kalynove (non-government-controlled, 72km east of Donetsk), an SMM long-range unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) spotted a surface-to-air missile system (9K33 Osa) and a fuel truck east of Nyzhnokrynske (non-government-controlled, 66km east of Donetsk).

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM observed damage to a civilian property in the Trudivski area of Donetsk city’s Petrovskyi district. It recorded small-arms fire inside the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM saw weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Khoroshe. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas.* The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station. It facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to the Petrivske pumping station near Artema, power lines in Berehove, houses in Marinka, Krasnohorivka and Avdiivka, as well as to enable demining activities near Nyzhnoteple.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region, compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission followed up on reports of civilian casualties as a result of a mine explosion near Zalizne. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas as well as near Verkhnoshyrokivske and Novoazovsk, near the border with the Russian Federation.* The Mission continued to facilitate the operation of the Donetsk Filtration Station. The SMM also facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to power lines near Zolote-5/Mykhailivka, as well as to enable demining in Zolote-2/Karbonit and Novotroitske. The Mission observed a convoy of trucks marked, “Humanitarian Aid from the Russian Federation”, in a non-government-controlled area of Donetsk region.