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The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has decided to evacuate all members of its mission from Ukraine as soon as it can do so safely, the agency said. Reuters with reference to a diplomatic source.
Prior to this, OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmid said that the mission in Ukraine, which has hundreds of observers in the east of the country, is adapting after the onset of Russian troops.
“Well-designed mission contingency plans are being put into action. <...> The safety of our staff is our top priority,” she said.
The mission report for February 23 notes that the monitors faced threats in the Donbass
The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission has been in the south-east of Ukraine since 2014 and daily reported on the situation on the line of contact in Donbass.