Copenhagen; October 2026: In response to US President Donald Trump’s announcement on 09th October, 2026 - that Russia would immediately supply over 300,000 metric tons of diesel to the US and global markets, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) President Pere Joan Pons (Spain), together with Chair of the Parliamentary Support Team for Ukraine (PSTU) Nancy Faeser (Germany) and PSTU members, have issued the following statement:
“We reiterate our early warnings about the dangerous combination of escalation and regional spillover generated by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Reports of President Trump’s diesel deal with Russia risk weakening co-ordinated international efforts to limit financial, commercial and logistical channels relevant to Russia’s continued aggression. In line with The Hague Declaration, we stress the need for strict sanctions compliance”.
Dating back to the events of early 2014, Ukraine has featured prominently in OSCE PA field activities, debates, public statements, and resolutions adopted at Annual Sessions. At the 2014 Baku Annual Session, the OSCE PA “condemn[ed] the clear, gross and uncorrected violation of the Helsinki principles by the Russian Federation with respect to Ukraine, including the particularly egregious violation of that country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”. The PA also urged full implementation of the Minsk Agreements to end the conflict in the Donbas region.
The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine took place the morning that the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly met on the first day of its 21st Winter Meeting. At the opening plenary session on 24th February 2022, 28 parliamentarians took the floor with most strongly criticising the incursion and expressing deep concern for the lives of civilians in Ukraine. Parliamentarians denounced the military operation as “indefensible” and a “gross violation of international law”, and reiterated the role of the OSCE in facilitating dialogue and building confidence.
Following the full-scale invasion, the PA took a number of steps to offer its tools in helping to bring the war to an end and support Ukraine’s resilience. In May 2022, a Special Representative for Parliamentary Dialogue on Ukraine was appointed and the PA held a series of forums to ensure a high level of inter-parliamentary engagement.
On 30 June 2023, following a unanimous decision taken by the Standing Committee during the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s 30th Annual Session in Vancouver, the Assembly established the Parliamentary Support Team for Ukraine to consolidate the OSCE PA's practical and political efforts in support of Ukraine. The core objective of the Parliamentary Support Team for Ukraine is to ensure that the war remains at the forefront of the OSCE PA’s activities and that Ukraine’s needs are fully considered by the Assembly in view of the war of aggression by the Russian Federation.
Joint Appeal for the Release of the Three Unlawfully Detained OSCE Ukrainian Officials – Dmytro Shabanov, Maksym Petrov and Vadym Golda –
We, the undersigned parliamentarians of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Delegations,
·Recalling the Porto Declaration and the resolutions adopted by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly at its 32nd Annual Session (Porto, 29 June - 3 July 2025),
·Referring to the Annual Reports of the OSCE PA Special Representative on Political Prisoners (2023 and 2024),
·Taking note of, and expressing appreciation for, the OSCE Current and Former Staff Members' Joint Letter for the Release of Dmytro Shabanov, Maksym Petrov, and Vadym Golda, which underscores the deep concern of OSCE personnel, highlights the urgency of their immediate and unconditional release, and emphasises the broader implications for the safety, functional immunity, and operational integrity of OSCE missions,
·Underscoring the crucial role of the OSCE staff, including national (local) staff in ensuring the effective functioning of OSCE field operations, particularly in conflict areas, and the necessity of guaranteeing their security, legal protection, and functional immunity,
·Taking into account Russia's war of aggression and full-scale invasion of Ukraine,
·Further noting the severe deterioration of the human rights situation both in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and within the Russian Federation, where Ukrainian civilians detained in the occupied territories and subsequently deported to Russian penitentiary institutions are being held,
·Emphasising that according to the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation, Ms. Mariana Katzarova, published on 13th September 2024, Ukrainian civilian detainees constitute a group particularly vulnerable to grave and systematic human rights violations, including physical and psychological violence, unjustified isolation, denial of timely and adequate medical care, malnutrition, and limited access to clean drinking water,
·Noting with grave concern additional reports of deaths of Ukrainian civilian detainees in Russian penitentiary facilities,
We express our profound concern:
·about the ongoing arbitrary detention and unlawful prosecution by the Russian Federation of three Ukrainian officials of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine -- Dmytro Shabanov, Maksym Petrov, and Vadym Golda, who have been held in confinement since 2022 on fabricated charges accused of "high treason" and "espionage" and sentenced to thirteen and fourteen years in prison.
We are deeply alarmed by the information regarding:
·their transfer to remote regions of the Russian Federation (Omsk and Chelyabinsk);
·denial of access to adequate medical care;
·reports of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment;
·the refusal to allow international humanitarian missions to visit them;
·all of which can constitute blatant violations of international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and the functional immunities of OSCE personnel.
We emphasise that the immediate and unconditional release of Dmytro Shabanov, Maksym Petrov, and Vadym Golda is not only a matter of justice and respect for international law but also a critical precondition for any credible monitoring initiative related to a potential ceasefire or peace agreement in the context of Russia's war of aggression and full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Without their release, no international organization or initiative can guarantee the safety of its personnel on the ground, as the Russian Federation retains the ability to arbitrarily detain and prosecute staff in violation of its obligations. Consequently, the release of these OSCE officials must be a fundamental contingency for any serious consideration of a design of ceasefire monitoring mechanisms to ensure the viability and effectiveness of such efforts.
We stress that the three unlawfully detained officials were carrying out their official duties strictly within the mandate of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, approved by all participating States, including the Russian Federation.
We support: the decision of OSCE PA President Pere Joan Pons Sampietro and former PSTU Chair Sharon Hodgson of 24 November 2025 to designate PSTU member Boris Dittrich as a Special Rapporteur with a dedicated mandate to explore all possible avenues to maximize the Assembly's contribution to securing the release of the three OSCE officials in detention -- Dmytro Shabanov, Maksym Petrov, and Vadym Golda.
We, the parliamentary delegations, jointly call upon:
1. The Russian Federation to:
·immediately and unconditionally release Dmytro Shabanov, Maksym Petrov, and Vadym Golda;
·ensure until their release, access to legal assistance, adequate medical care, and access of international humanitarian organizations to them;
·fully respect its obligations as an OSCE participating State, including the inviolability and functional immunity of OSCE personnel.
2. The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly to:
·continue its political and diplomatic efforts aimed at ensuring the prompt release of the unlawfully detained officials, including through further co-ordination with the OSCE Secretary General;
·support the work of Special Rapporteur Boris Dittrich;
·develop mechanisms to receive regular updates on the health, conditions of detention, and overall situation of the three colleagues.
3. National Parliaments of the OSCE participating States to:
·raise this urgent issue in their national parliaments and during exchanges with their governments;
·bring this matter to the attention of Russian parliamentarians, including through OSCE mechanisms;
·uphold co-ordinated international pressure to prevent the persecution of personnel serving in international field missions.
We underline:
that the detention case of Dmytro Shabanov, Maksym Petrov, and Vadym Golda represents an unprecedented test of the OSCE's ability to safeguard its own personnel and to uphold international law, including functional immunities and the foundational principles of co-operative security.
We affirm our solidarity with Dmytro Shabanov, Maksym Petrov, and Vadym Golda and stress the urgent need for their immediate return to their families.
Signed by:
1. Pere Joan Pons Sampietro (Spain), OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President;
2. Boris Dittrich (Netherlands), Parliamentary Support Team for Ukraine Special Rapporteur.
Team Maverick.
