While there have been several steps recently to help de-escalate tensions in Ukraine, including a ceasefire that seems to be holding and the start of peace talks, the situation on the ground remains deeply worrying, senior United Nations officials reported to the Security Council today.

With United Nations monitors reporting today that armed separatists have used killings, abductions and torture to instil a “climate of intimidation and fear” in eastern Ukraine, the world body’s human rights chief urged all armed groups to put down their weapons, end the violence and begin the process of long-term reconciliation.

The United Nations Security Council today voiced its deepest condolences to the families of all journalists who have been killed while covering the crisis in Ukraine, and encouraged a thorough investigation of all such incidents.