The following information was released on March 26 in Vienna by the U.S. Mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
United States Ambassador to the OSCE James Gilmore expressed deep concern about Russia and its proxies denying access to and placing restrictions on the movement of the Special Monitoring Mission (SMM). This is part of Moscow’s broader campaign against Ukraine, including in both the Donbas and Russia-occupied Crimea. On a weekly basis, the SMM’s work is inhibited by Russia and its proxy forces – which Russia arms, trains, funds, leads and fights alongside – limiting the SMM’s ability to fulfill its mandate and to provide OSCE participating states with the most accurate view of the situation on the ground.