The release of the Ukrainian OSCE staff members unlawfully detained by Russia must remain a priority for the Organisation — its institutions, and its participating states. Achieving this goal requires active and coordinated engagement by all relevant actors, as well as the meaningful involvement of the families of Dmytro Shabanov, Maksym Petrov, and Vadym Golda throughout the process.
Several important developments took place at the end of July that deserve particular attention in this context.
The Ambassadors of Switzerland, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Finland to the OSCE met with the families of the detained staff members. The meeting took place as part of a broader visit to Ukraine by ambassadors from more than twenty OSCE participating States.
Later Margaryta Shabanova, Dmytro Shabanov’s wife, also met with representatives of the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (the U.S. Helsinki Commission) — an independent U.S. government agency that promotes compliance with the Helsinki Final Act. During their visit, Commission representatives — Janice Helwig, Nate Sibley, and Connor Lewis — also met with representatives of Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, where, among other issues, they discussed the release of civilians held in Russian captivity.
Ievgeniia Kapalkina, a lawyer at ULAG representing the families of Dmytro Shabanov and Maksym Petrov, and Arie Mora, ULAG’s Advocacy Manager, participated in both meetings.
Photo: after the meeting with the ambassadors.
The discussions focused on concrete steps and possible action — both within the OSCE framework and beyond — aimed at securing the release of the detained staff members and protecting their rights in the face of their unlawful conviction and imprisonment.
The consistency of the position taken by representatives of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly also deserves particular attention. On 23 July 2026, Special Representative on Political Prisoners Steve Cohen and Special Rapporteur Boris Dittrich issued a joint statement.
In their statement, they stressed the urgent need for the immediate and unconditional release of Dmytro Shabanov, Maksym Petrov, and Vadym Golda from unlawful detention and called on OSCE participating States to make every possible effort to achieve this. They also noted that an increasing number of OSCE parliamentary delegations are calling for stronger action to secure the release of the detained staff members.
It is also important to note that during the meeting between the ambassadors of the OSCE participating States and the First Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Sergiy Kyslytsya one of the issues on the agenda was the potential role of the OSCE in monitoring future peace arrangements.
We emphasise that the release of Dmytro, Maksym, and Vadym is a necessary precondition for establishing a viable and effective ceasefire monitoring mechanism. Ukraine, the OSCE, all OSCE participating States, and all those committed to achieving a sustainable peace must treat this issue as a priority.
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