OSCE Seeks to Increase Observers in Ukraine to 600

The Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE)is aiming to have 600 monitors in Ukraine, according to OSCE spokesman.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik), Leandra Bernstein — The Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE) anticipates increasing the number of observers in Ukraine to 600, and adding new technology to enhance monitoring capabilities, OSCE spokesman Michael Bociurkiw told Sputnik on Friday.

“Right now we are aiming to have 600 monitors,” Borciurkiw said. The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine currently has around 500 monitors, approximately two-thirds of which are in eastern Ukraine, he noted.

Under the February 2015 Minsk peace agreements, the OSCE was tasked to be the primary international observer in the Ukrainian conflict. The organization is responsible for monitoring events on the ground and reporting them to the international community.

In areas that are too unsafe to access, the OSCE relies on its unarmed aerial vehicles, which serve as OSCE’s “eye in the sky,” Borciurkiw said.

“We are also looking at the possibility of using other technology, satellite imagery, static cameras,” he added.

The OSCE mission was approved during the February 2015 Minsk agreements and signed by Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany.

The Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine was first deployed in March 2014 by a unanimous decision from all 57 OSCE member states. The mandate was recently extended until March 2016.