OSCE announces imminent closure of monitoring mission in Ukraine

Soon the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine will be closed, Report informs referring to the statement of the Chairman and Secretary-General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Zbigniew Rau and Helga Schmid.

"This decision followed the lack of consensus at the OSCE Permanent Council on March 31, 2022 regarding the extension of the mission's mandate. The position of the Russian Federation left the OSCE no choice but to take steps to close the mission," the document says.

"The mission has played a critical role in providing objective information on the ground, promoting a ceasefire and working to mitigate the effects of the conflict on the civilian population," the statement said.

Z. Rau assured that the OSCE would strive to continue its activities in the country in accordance with existing commitments. "Poland's chairmanship will make it possible to continue interaction with the participating states to explore alternatives for the future role of the OSCE in Ukraine," he stressed.

Spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova called on the organization to conduct an investigation into the activities of the Ukrainian mission, from the technical means by which, in her opinion, false data was transmitted to Ukraine. In response, the OSCE stated that the accusations of bias in the mission in Ukraine were unfounded.