Acting Head of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine Antje Grave announced the persecution of mission members imprisoned in the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and also called on the occupiers to immediately and unconditionally release representatives of the structure from captivity.

“I strongly condemn the unsubstantiated allegations and trumped-up charges against our local mission members, and also demand the immediate release of our staff imprisoned in non-government-controlled areas in Donetsk and Luhansk,” Grave said in a statement..

According to the official, they carried out their duties with the highest level of professionalism, devotion and impartiality, providing objective information that is critical to the security and humanitarian situation in Ukraine..

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She added that the OSCE has taken and will continue to take steps to engage all possible channels to ensure that the privileges and immunities of current and former OSCE officials are respected..

As reported, four employees of the OSCE Mission have been held captive since April 2022.

The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) began its work on March 21, 2014. The mandate of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission expired on 31 March 2022.