News and press releases

On 22 February 2015 at 13:15hrs, an explosion occurred at a pro-Maidan march commemorating the anniversary of February 2014 events in Kharkiv (during which three people died in demonstrations), outside the Palace of Sports on Marshal Zhukova Street (7km east of the city centre). The SMM, who were monitoring the commemoration, heard the blast and felt shockwaves from their position 100m away. The SMM arrived at the scene of the explosion at 13:20hrs, and saw two dead individuals covered with Ukrainian flags and casualties being attended to. The SMM noted the explosion caused no damage to nearby buildings or windows. At 14:45hrs, a police spokesperson and a representative of the prosecutor’s office gave a press conference at the scene, confirming that an explosive device killed two (one police officer, and one civilian taking part in the march) and injured eleven, six of whom were police officers.

The SMM monitored the implementation of the “Package of measures for the Implementation of the Minsk agreements”. The SMM, based on its monitoring – which was restricted by third parties and security considerations – noted that fighting continued in and around Donetsk airport and Shyrokyne and, to a lesser extent, in a number of other locations.

SUMMARY On 20 February 2015 at 07:00hrs (Moscow time), a Russian convoy arrived at the Donetsk Border Crossing Point (BCP). A total of 15 vehicles were checked by the Russian border guard and customs services. All the vehicles crossed back into the Russian Federation (RF) at 16:05hrs on 20 February.

The SMM monitored the implementation of the “Package of measures for the Implementation of the Minsk agreements”. The SMM, based on its monitoring – which was restricted by third parties and by security considerations – noted a limited number of ceasefire violations in the Luhansk region and heard intense outgoing shelling in Donetsk city.

VIENNA, 19 February 2015 –Michael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), in an address today to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) annual Winter Meeting, stressed the importance of an effective, co-operative effort in observing local elections agreed for the Donetsk and Luhansk regions 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 SMM assessed damage from shelling in Donetsk and Luhansk cities.

Following the recent summit meeting in the Normandy Format in Minsk, the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), consisting of senior representatives of Ukraine, the Russian Federation and the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, today, 14 February 2015, held a round of consultations in the form of a video-conference with representatives of certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.