Members of the Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) were detained in eastern Ukraine, Reuters news agency reported.
“The OSCE is extremely concerned that a number of SMM national mission members have been deprived of their liberty in Donetsk and Luhansk. The OSCE is using all available channels to facilitate the release of its staff,” the OSCE media office told the agency.
It was reported in early March that the OSCE mission cannot continue its work in Ukraine due to Russia’s position. “I deeply regret that we could not reach agreement on the extension of the Special Monitoring Mission's mandate due to the position of the Russian Federation," OSCE Chairman-in-Office and Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau stated.
Several days later, the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics” (“DPR” and “LPR”) banned the activity of the SMM. Head of “LPR” Leonid Pasechnik stated that the mission was not successful in influencing the Ukrainian side, “failing to facilitate peaceful regulation of the Donbass conflict.” Representatives of the self-proclaimed Donbass republics ordered SMM members to leave their territory by late April.
The Special Monitoring Mission began its work in Ukraine in 2014, shortly after the armed conflict in Donbass broke out. The mission’s goal was to document violations and incidents in the area, and to aid conflict regulation.
