Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine, based on information received as of 19:30hrs, 10 May 2016
This report is for media and the general public. In Donetsk region, the SMM noted a sharp increase in the number of recorded ceasefire violations compared with previous days. In Luhansk region it continued to note a low level of ceasefire violations. The Mission continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons and to observe mine hazard signs in...
Stalin in Pink, and Other Victory Day Highlights
In Moldova, U.S. military hardware removed from Chisinau square ahead of 9 May celebrations. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Obama Ice Cream
A new Russian brand is only the latest in a line of controversial usages of the U.S. president’s image. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
EU Condemns Belarus Over Execution
Country remains only nation in Europe still applying the death penalty. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine, based on information received as of 19:30hrs, 3 May 2016
This report is for media and the general public. The SMM noted a similarly low number of ceasefire violations as the previous day, with 50 explosions recorded in Donetsk region and four in Luhansk region. The SMM observed firing incidents which were attributable to a live-fire exercise in an area outside of the security zone. It observed the...
What Is the US Military Doing in the Baltics?
Get ready for the new cold war, which will no doubt turn hot if Hillary Clinton gets into the White House: NATO has just announced it is “considering” the addition of 4,000 more troops to be stationed in Poland and the Baltic states, i.e. right on Russia’s western border. The Washington Post helpfully informs us that this is being done “to...
Russia’s Defense Industry Creaks Under High-Tech Military Demands
Despite Russia’s defense budget sequestration, ranging from 5 to 10 percent depending on the source, the political-military leadership continues to put a brave face on meeting the expectations generated by its fantastically ambitious rearmament plans to 2020. The Kremlin, no doubt buoyed by the performance of the Russian Armed Forces in...
OSCE Representative welcomes Presidential veto of amendments criminalizing disclosure of information in closed court proceedings in Lithuania
VIENNA, 3 May 2016 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today welcomed a decision by President Dalia Grybauskaitė to veto amendments to Lithuania’s Criminal Code that could severely affect the public’s right to information. “This is a very positive step and I am pleased to be able to welcome it, especially on...
OSCE Chairperson Steinmeier welcomes agreement on ceasefire implementation in eastern Ukraine
BERLIN, 29 April 2016 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier welcomed the agreement reached today by the Trilateral Working Group (TCG) on full respect of the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, starting with the orthodox Easter and May holidays. Steinmeier said: “I call on all sides to strictly adhere to what...
Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine, based on information received as of 19:30hrs, 28 April 2016
This report is for media and the general public. The SMM continued to record a high number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. It continued to follow up on civilian fatalities sustained by shelling in Olenivka and reports on people wounded in the incident. The Mission found no information to confirm media reports about...
