Contents tagged with OSCE
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OSCE: The situation in the Donbas continues to deteriorate
According to the Principal Deputy Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, Alexander Hug, the situation in the Donbas continues to deteriorate, especially in Avdiivka, Yasynuvata and the Donetsk Airport, Ukrainskaya Pravda reported.
Hug stated that many people in these areas are often times forced to seek shelter in cellars and basements to escape the exchange of fire.
In other areas of eastern Ukraine, however, the situation has improved, but it still cannot be …
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Lavrov: OSCE monitors can be allowed to carry personal firearms
Moscow does not mind if OSCE observers carry personal firearms, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
“Russia is ready to offer a compromise and agree that the OSCE observers stationed at the front line in eastern Ukraine carry personal arms,” Lavrov said during an interview with the Russian “Saturday News” TV program.
“We said, as long as this helps the common objective, we are ready to give our consent that the group of observers who will be monitoring the contact line and the …
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OSCE: Separatists are firing from the roofs of houses in Donetsk
Donetsk residents have told observers of the Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) of the OSCE that separatists are using the roofs of their houses as platforms for attacks. Interfax-Ukraine reported that this was said by the First Deputy Head of the OSCE SMM in the Donbas, Alexander Hug.
“On Monday night, our observers reported 105 explosions north-west of Donetsk. Many of these explosions occurred in the Kuibyshevskyi district of the city. Our observers visited the area two days before the …
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Separatists prevented OSCE's movement by firing warning shots in the air
Members separatist groups continue to obstruct the activities of the Special Monitoring Mission of the OSCE in Donetsk and Luhansk, said First Deputy Head of the Mission Alexander Hug at a briefing in Mariupol on Saturday.
"Today at lunch time on the way to Novoazovsk to the east, on approach to the DPR checkpoint, the checkpoint staff fired warning shots into the air. The patrol had to turn back to Mariupol," news portal Novosti Donbassa quotes Hug as saying. According to Hug, the majority of …
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OSCE mission came under fire near Avdiivka
Members of the OSCE’s Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine came under fire near Avdiivka, according to a statement released by the mission’s head Alexander Hug.
“OSCE SMM patrol came under small arms fire in the area of Avdiivka/Yasynuvata. Nobody injured,” the Organization wrote on Twitter
Further details on the incident have not yet been released.
Avdiivka has seen heavy fighting over the last several months. Reports suggest that the distance between Ukrainian forces and members of the so- …
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OSCE Mission opens forward patrol base in Shchastia, Ukraine
The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine has opened a new Forward Patrol Base in the government-controlled town of Shchastia in the Luhansk region. According to the OSCE press service, the base was opened on the 25th of May and will improve the Mission’s ability to monitor the security situations in all areas.
“The new Forward Patrol Base is located less than 500 meters from the contact line. Our observers can now be closer to the areas where the most violations take place. They will …
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OSCE monitoring equipment was turned off by separatists in Donetsk
The leader of the DPR, Alexander Zakharchenko, ordered the cameras to be disabled
According to a report by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission for the 20th of May, OSCE monitoring equipment was turned off in the Donetsk region.
"Armed DPR members stopped work on the SMM’s remote monitoring equipment at the Donetsk airport, … SMM found out that they had disconnected the power supply to the SMM equipment in Donetsk city, claiming they had an order to do so by Mr. Alexander Zakharchenko," the …
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Normandy Four supports deployment of OSCE Police Mission in the Donbas
Negotiations between the Normandy Four leaders were held via telephone
The Press Secretary of the President of Ukraine, Svyatoslav Tsegolko, posted on Twitter that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko conducted a telephone call with the members of the Normandy Four leaders during which they discussed their support for the deployment of an OSCE Police mission in the Donbas.
Poroshenko also called on the Russian Federation to release all Ukrainian prisoners including Savchenko, Afanasiev and …
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Media: Disputes surround possibility of police mission in the Donbas
According to an article written by the deputy chief editor of ZN.UA, Serhiy Rakhmanin, Kiev and Moscow have differing views concerning the amount of police required at the Donetsk and Luhansk local elections.
The smallest possible police contingent will consist of 1,500 officers while the largest will consist of 11,000 officers. Kiev is firmly against the former, while Moscow does not approve of the latter. Members of the contingent will be armed with light weapons and will make use of armored …
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Turkey supports creating OSCE police mission in the Donbas
During a meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Kiev, Turkish Minister of National Defense İsmet Yılmaz supported the idea of placing an armed OSCE police mission in the Donbas, Interfax-Ukraine reported.
"The president briefed [Yılmaz] on the situation in the Donbas. Ukraine remains committed to the implementation of the Minsk agreements, but draws attention to the need for a system for the de-escalation of the situation and the deployment of armed police mission under the …