Contents tagged with OSCE
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Seperatist leader: An armed OSCE mission in the Donbas will be considered military aggression against us
The leaders of the so-called People's Donetsk Republic (DPR) stated that any armed OSCE mission in eastern Ukraine will be viewed as military aggression against the self-declared republic.
This position was stated by the leader of the so-called DPR, Aleksandr Zakharchenko, at a media briefing. It was later published by separatist media sources.
"If they dare to show up here armed, I will consider it to be a military invasion. They only have a mandate to be a monitory mission," he stated. …
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OSCE to consider creating monitoring mission in Crimea
The question of creating an OSCE monitoring mission in the Crimea will be discussed when the Organization’s Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, visits Ukraine, Krym.Realii reported.
According to the First Secretary of the National Union of Journalists (NUJU), Sergey Tomilenko, the issue was discussed at the congress of the European Federation of Journalists in Sarajevo.
“Dunja Mijatović will soon visit Ukraine and the mission in the Crimea will be a key issue in the …
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OSCE: May 9th military parade in Donetsk would be a violation of the Minsk Agreements
The deputy head of the OSCE SMM commented on the presence of military vehicles during the parade in Donetsk on May 9th. Alexander Hug made it clear that the participation of military equipment in Donetsk’s Victory Day Parade will be considered a violation of the Minsk Agreements.
"There is another holiday: May 9th. I want to be very clear about this. Weapons in the security zone is clearly a violation of the Minsk agreements," he said at a briefing in Kiev.
Hug reiterated that the OSCE SMM …
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OSCE monitors threatened by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine
Members of the OSCE’s Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine were threatened by pro-Russian separatists on two separate occasions, as stated in a press release issued by the SMM.
According to the report, while in the city of Donetsk in the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), an armed separatist approached members of the OSCE mission, “claiming that he had seen SMM vehicles near a Ukrainian Armed Forces excavator and said he would open fire at the monitors if this were to happen again.” …
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OSCE calls on all parties to ensure the safety of SMM observers
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) stated that there are "threats and use of force against the observers" in the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine, according to the joint statement made by the Foreign Ministers of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Serbia, Ivica Dačićта and Sebastia Kurz from Austria, which was published on the organization’s website on Tuesday, April 12th. Germany currently chairs the organization previously chaired by the Serbian representative; the …
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Pro-Russian separatists fired on Ukrainian positions while OSCE monitors were in the vicinity
Pro-Russian separatists opened fire on the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Avdiivka in the vicinity of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission, the Ukrainian Armed Force’s headquarters stated. Deputy Chief Monitor Alexander Hug was reportedly visiting Avdiivka at the time.
"On April 15th, during the visit of First Deputy Head of the Special OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, Alexander Hug, fighters of illegally armed groups fired on ATO [Ukrainian] positions at the filter …
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Putin agrees to the deployment of armed OSCE mission to the Donbas
Russian President Vladimir Putin supported the idea of a deployment of an armed OSCE mission along the contact line. "Recently I had a conversation with Petro Poroshenko: he proposed to strengthen the presence of the OSCE and that the OSCE observers on the contact line should be armed in order to achieve the ceasefire. I think it is the right position, we support it," Putin stated at an open press conference on Thursday, 14 April, as reported by the Ukrainian news.
According to the Russian …
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OSCE to install video cameras in front-line villages in eastern Ukraine
The First Deputy Head of the Special Monitoring Mission of the OSCE in Ukraine, Oleksandr Hug, said that the Special Monitoring Mission of the OSCE will install the video cameras in the frontline villages of the Donbas, as News of Donbas reports.
"Our observers will try to increase their presence in this area and to monitor the situation around the clock. We are now looking for a suitable place to install the cameras in each town. The cameras will operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week," Hug …
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JCCC: Separatists attempt to intimidate OSCE Observers
The Ukrainian representative of Joint Center on Control and Coordination for issues related to the ceasefire and the stabilization of the contact line, stated that Russian-backed separatists are trying to intimidate OSCE SMM observers.
“The shelling of OSCE representatives is nothing more than another attempt by the militants to intimidate the OSCE SMM observers and force them to abandon the practice of mirror patrolling proposed by the Ukrainian representatives in the JCCC,” the press-officer …
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German diplomat: The situation in eastern Ukraine 'excites concern'
Gernot Erler, the Special Representative of the Federal Republic of Germany for Russian policy, noted that the threats to the members of the special OSCE monitoring mission are "unacceptable." Erler reiterated his call for the fulfilment of the Minsk agreements.Reports of observers of the special monitoring mission (SMM) of the OSCE about the increased ceasefire violations in the east of Ukraine, as well as the presence of heavy weapons there "excite concern,” Erler said. "I urge all parties to …