Ukraine

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal says his country has accelerated reforms as it continues to move toward its goal of membership in the European Union and NATO.

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“According to the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission's assessments, the commitment to the ceasefire in the conflict zone and the additional measures to strengthen it are overall respected. The number of ceasefire violations continue to remain well below the average level in 2020, before the additional measures came into force. However, since November 2020, there has been a gradual increase in the number of ceasefire violations that, regrettably, negatively affects the civilians in the conflict zone. … “

The Kremlin on Thursday (4 March) urged France and Germany to use their influence with the Ukrainian government to make sure that events in the part of eastern Ukraine controlled by Russian-backed rebels did not “cross a dangerous line”.

Although a ceasefire in Eastern Ukraine has led to a significant decrease in civilian casualties, the overall situation remains fragile unless progress is made on the security and political fronts, the UN’s political affairs chief told the Security Council on Thursday. 

Lower levels of violence have been observed since the additional measures to strengthen the ceasefire entered into force on 27 July 2020, but the ceasefıre is fraying in parallel to the absence of substantial political progress, said Yaşar Halit Çevik, Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine.

OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Sweden’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ann Linde, concluded a two-day official visit to Ukraine yesterday. She called on the sides to step up their efforts to find a sustainable peaceful resolution to the crisis in and around Ukraine.

The International Criminal Court's (ICC) chief prosecutor has said that a preliminary probe found possible war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in Ukraine that warrant a full investigation by The Hague-based judges.

A recent ceasefire agreement in Donbas has resulted in a significant decrease in fighting between Ukrainian and Russian-led separatist forces and has raised hopes for the future of the Russian-Ukrainian peace talks.

France and Germany have welcomed Kyiv's opening of new crossing points along the contact line with separatist territory in Ukraine's east, and have called on separatist authorities and their ally Russia to respond in kind by opening crossing points to separatist-controlled areas.

Voters across Ukraine are casting ballots in local elections being held under a new Electoral Code that decentralizes power from Kyiv to local governing bodies.