OSCE extends SMM mandate in Ukraine for a year

Principal Deputy Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) Alexander Hug gaves a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 17, 2017. The SMM reports increasing of ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, but twice as many explosions in Luhansk region than in the previous period, most in areas west of Kadiivka. The Mission followed up on civilian casualties in Avdiivka, Bakhmut and Horlivka, and observed damage to civilian property in Lobacheve, Stanytsia Luhanska bridge and Pavlopil. The Mission monitored the disengagement areas in Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske, but its access remained restricted. (Photo by Sergii Kharchenko/NurPhoto via Getty Images)