News and press releases

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). Ukrainian Border Guard representatives in the Kherson region told the SMM that train connections to Crimea have been suspended.

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). There were bomb explosions in Kherson and Odessa. The Lviv mayor’s residence was attacked and hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.

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 monitored the simultaneous release of hostages/prisoners in Yasynuvata (18km North-East of Donetsk city).

Bern, December 26, 2014 – Swiss Foreign Minister and OSCE-Chairperson-in-Office, Didier Burkhalter, expressed his expectation that the meeting between the Trilateral Contact Group (consisting of Ukraine, the Russian Federation and the OSCE Chairmanship) and representatives of certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk, scheduled for today in Minsk, would take place without further delay. He took note that this meeting, which had been planned as a follow-up to the Minsk meeting of December 24, has not come about as yet.

The SMM continued to monitor the implementation of the provisions of the Minsk Protocol and Minsk Memorandum and the work of the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC). The SMM observed a destroyed railway bridge in Mariupol, apparently caused by an explosive device.

Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, Russian Federation. The Observer Mission (OM) continues to operate 24/7 at both Border Crossing Points (BCPs). Overall cross-border traffic flows increased at both BCPs. The OM continued to observe a significant number of persons in military-style clothing crossing the border in both directions. Train movements at the Gukovo BCP have increased in frequency and became a daily occurrence.

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 JCCC recorded a number of alleged ceasefire violations. The SMM observed some military hardware moving in the direction of Donetsk city.