Contents tagged with OSCE
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Kate Byrnes: Russia Continues to Violate its Commitments in Ukraine
The U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission to the OSCE accused Russia and separatists of ceasefire violations.
The U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission, Kate Byrnes spoke at a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna and provided an overview on the deteriorating situation in eastern Ukraine. She noted that the U.S. is concernedly "noticing an increase in violence along the border" in the Donbas.
During the past weekend, the diplomat said that ceasefire violations had increased more than four times …
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OSCE: 90% of violations occur on separatist-held territory in eastern Ukraine
The Duputy Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine, Alexander Hug, stated that, “More than ninety percent of the violations in the area of the ATO are carried out on the territories outside the control of the Ukrainian government” in an interview with the Ukrainian News.
In particular, according to him, such violations often involve the restriction of access of the members of the mission to certain areas. He reminded the parties they must allow observers free …
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The OSCE has Documented an Increase in Attacks in Eastern Ukraine
On February 1st, the Special Mission of the OSCE recorded 337 explosions in the Donbas region and on February 2nd, almost five times more.
The Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) of the OSCE observed numerous violations of the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine as stated in the observer’s report from February 2nd, published on the official website of the OSCE.
In particular, the observers recorded 337 explosions on February 1st and 1,614 on February 2nd, including those fired from heavy weapons. "On …
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OSCE: Situation in Donbas region remains highly volatile
Deputy Chief Monitor of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine, Alexander Hug, held a news conference in Kiev in which he outlined the general security situation in the Donbas region. Hug highlighted several areas in eastern Ukraine where tensions are rising between the Ukrainian Armed Forces and Russian-backed separatists of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR).
The …
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OSCE Opens New Forward Patrol Base in Luhansk Region
According to Glavnoye, the press service of the OSCE reported that on January 1st, a special monitoring mission of the OSCE in Ukraine opened an advanced patrol base in a village in Luhanskaya.
This is the eighth patrol base in the Donbass region. The Luhanskaya base is intended to expand the presence of representatives of the monitoring mission in the region Luhansk so they could quickly and more efficiently respond to various incidents in eastern Ukraine.
"Like other front line patrol bases, …
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OSCE observers detained in eastern Ukraine
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) reported on Friday that a group of their observers was detained by pro-Russian separatists of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) near the city of Horlivka, 40 kilometers northeast of Donetsk.
“In Horlivka… armed ‘DPR’ members stopped an SMM patrol and forced the SMM monitors to the ground. The SMM vehicle was searched for video material and SMM monitors were taken to a ‘military- …
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ATO: Attack on OSCE near Kominternovo was a provocation
The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) came under fire on Sunday near the village of Kominternovo. 3.5 kilometers west of the village, six SMM members were investigating three craters when they heard three single shots of small arms fire from about 150 meters away.
According to an OSCE report, “the SMM left the area immediately. On its way to its vehicles, the SMM heard a burst of small-arms fire originating from the same location.” None of the observers were injured in the incident.
The …
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OSCE granted limited access to Kominternove
The Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) of the OSCE said that armed members of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic did not allow observers to go past the main street of the village of Kominternove during the mission’s investigation on Thursday.
The SMM had been trying to reach the village for two days to follow-up on reports that DPR militants had occupied the village. The mission had not been able to investigate due to security concerns, and was denied access by armed DPR militants at a …
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OSCE mission obstructed in eastern Ukraine
On Friday, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe reported several instances in which members of the Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) were denied access to important investigative areas in parts of the Luhansk region not controlled by the Ukrainian government.
During a press statement on Friday, Deputy Chief Monitor of the OSCE’s SMM to Ukraine Alexander Hug reported that the monitoring mission has found it increasingly difficult to gain access to areas in the so-called …