Civil war in Ukraine: News & discussion

[Hindustani78]

Woman injured in Avdiyivka shelling – Ukrainian police
20.04.2015

The outskirts of the town of Avdiyivka were shelled on Monday and a local woman was injured, a spokesperson for the Donetsk regional police said.

There have been reports about a shell that hit a private house in Nekrasovka Street, the police said.

Avdiyivka police chief Oleksandr Kosenko said the shelling began at around 11 a.m. "At this point there are confirmed reports of one local being injured. The woman has been hospitalized. A team of investigators have travelled to the scene. The details and circumstances surrounding the incident are being investigated," the police chief said.

 

[vostok]

Brazilian volunteer-antifascist Rafael Lusvargi (right) was promoted to lieutenant in the brigade "Ghost" ("Призрак")

 

[munchkin]

Brazilian volunteer-antifascist Rafael Lusvargi (right) was promoted to lieutenant in the brigade "Ghost" ("Призрак")
View attachment 216479

This Brazilian guy is bad@$$. Does New Russia allow dual citizenship like Russia does?

 

[vostok]

This Brazilian guy is bad@$$. Does New Russia allow dual citizenship like Russia does?

New Russia while standing at the initial stage of lawmaking. However, based on what they're going to pass laws modeled on the Russia's - I think so.

 

[Hindustani78]

Fabius: Attack on Mariupol to trigger sanctions| Ukrinform

KYIV, April 20 /Ukrinform/. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has called the Ukrainian city of Mariupol "a trigger" for strengthening the EU sanctions against Russia.

He said this in an interview with the Financial Times, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.

"If the Russians respect the Minsk commitments there could be an easing of the sanctions. If there were violations, then sanctions must be rolled over or even amplified. An attack on the Azov sea port of Mariupol would be such a trigger," the French minister said.

According to the publication, French President Francois Hollande has been more dovish when dealing with "the Ukrainian crisis, pushing back on Washington's intentions to arm Ukrainian soldiers."

At the same time, according to the FT, he supports the concept of continuing sanctions against Russia to achieve the fulfillment of the Minsk agreements in a given period (until the year's end), including the implementation of the ceasefire. "Paris is open to a potential rollback as soon as June, diverging from European partners such as Lithuania, Poland and the UK," the article notes.

Russia's Lavrov says fighting in east Ukraine abating| Reuters
Mon Apr 20, 2015 11:45am EDT
(Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday he believed a surge in ceasefire violations in east Ukraine had passed, adding Moscow would work to prevent violence escalating again.

Moscow stands accused by the West and Kiev of driving the separatist pro-Russian rebellion in east Ukraine, providing it with troops and arms, training and intelligence. Moscow denies this.

Fighting has picked up in recent weeks despite a ceasefire in place since February, with hot spots including around the airport in the rebel stronghold of Donetsk and the village of Shyrokyne, en route to the city of Mariupol on the Azov Sea.

"We are disquieted at the continued ceasefire violations, which have been very intense indeed in recent days. Now the situation is calming down. We will actively facilitate the strengthening of this tendency," Lavrov told a news conference.

Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said in Kiev on Monday no Ukrainian servicemen had been killed or injured in fighting over the previous 24 hours.

"The number of ceasefire violations by the enemy has fallen considerably," he told a news conference.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which is monitoring the ceasefire, said on Monday its staff were able to access Shyrokyne for the seventh consecutive day on Sunday, indicating relative calm in the area.

But the truce is tenuous, with both sides on the ground in east Ukraine expecting fighting to pick up again.

Western diplomats in Moscow, however, say that is unlikely before the May 9 military parade in Moscow to honor the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two in Europe.

They say Russian President Vladimir Putin would not want to further jeopardize a chance to show off Russia's military prowess and fuel national pride after most Western leaders decided to skip it over Ukraine.

 

[munchkin]

Fabius: Attack on Mariupol to trigger sanctions| Ukrinform

KYIV, April 20 /Ukrinform/. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has called the Ukrainian city of Mariupol "a trigger" for strengthening the EU sanctions against Russia.

He said this in an interview with the Financial Times, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.

"If the Russians respect the Minsk commitments there could be an easing of the sanctions. If there were violations, then sanctions must be rolled over or even amplified. An attack on the Azov sea port of Mariupol would be such a trigger," the French minister said.

According to the publication, French President Francois Hollande has been more dovish when dealing with "the Ukrainian crisis, pushing back on Washington's intentions to arm Ukrainian soldiers."

At the same time, according to the FT, he supports the concept of continuing sanctions against Russia to achieve the fulfillment of the Minsk agreements in a given period (until the year's end), including the implementation of the ceasefire. "Paris is open to a potential rollback as soon as June, diverging from European partners such as Lithuania, Poland and the UK," the article notes.

Whether the Minsk agreement holds depends on the fulfillment of the conditions. One of the conditions is that the Kiev government must talk directly to New Russia. If New Russians deem non commitment from the Kiev government, then the Minsk agreement goes out of the window.

 

[munchkin]

Mortar skirmish underway near Donetsk - JCCC

Russian-backed insurgents shell Azov regiment in Shyrokyne using tanks

 

[Hindustani78]

OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović at the conference on shaping policies to advance media freedom on the Internet, Vienna, 14 February 2013.

VIENNA, 16 April 2015 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today condemned the murder of Oles Buzina, a Ukrainian journalist, writer and former editor of the newspaper Segodnya.

“This appalling act is yet another reminder about the dangers associated with journalism as a profession. This killing must be immediately and fully investigated by the competent authorities,” Mijatović said. “My sincere condolences go out to Buzina’s family and colleagues.”

According to reports, on 16 April, Buzina was shot and killed by assailants close to his home in Kyiv. He was known for his critical views.

“I reiterate my call on the authorities to allocate all necessary resources to investigate all attacks on journalists,” Mijatović said. “There must be no impunity for the perpetrators and the masterminds behind any violence against members of the media.”

Mijatović also noted with regret reports about another recent killing of a journalist in Ukraine. Sergei Sukhobok, co-founder of several online news portals and contributor to several Ukrainian media outlets, was killed on 13 April in Kyiv. The killing is being investigated by the authorities.

 

[munchkin]

 

[Hindustani78]

Whether the Minsk agreement holds depends on the fulfillment of the conditions. One of the conditions is that the Kiev government must talk directly to New Russia. If New Russians deem non commitment from the Kiev government, then the Minsk agreement goes out of the window.

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)representatives and Ukrainian and Russian generals, members of the Joint Centre for Control and Coordination, after a meeting in Shyrokino village of Donetsk area, Ukraine, 19 April 2015.

Spot report by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), 18 February 2015: SMM facilitates dialogue on ceasefire and access to Debaltseve | OSCE

On 17 February, the SMM went to the headquarters of the JCCC, temporarily relocated to Soledar (77km north of Donetsk, government-controlled). The SMM was present at four video conference sessions with the Russian General formerly representing the Russian Federation at the JCCC, the Russian Major-General, Representative of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation to the JCCC and the Ukrainian Major-General, Head of the Ukrainian side to the JCCC and members of the “Donetsk People’s Republic” (“DPR”) and the “Lugansk People’s Republic” (“LPR”). Representatives of the Presidential Administration and the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were also present.

Negotiations focussed on the SMM’s access to Debaltseve (55km north-east of Donetsk), and continued throughout the day. The SMM encouraged each side to confirm that they were willing and able to cease fire, in line with their earlier agreements. Some participants estimated that about 2,500 civilians remained in Debaltseve. SMM reminded participants of the likelihood of civilian casualties, if they failed to honour the agreement to the ceasefire. The representative of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said the Ukrainian Armed Forces were willing to cease fire. The “DPR” and “LPR” were not willing to do so. The SMM noted that this refusal to cease fire was in clear contravention to their earlier agreement to do so and amounted to a restriction of the Mission’s freedom of movement.

The SMM will return to Soledar on 18 February to continue to pursue the possibility of conducting a patrol to Debaltseve.

 

[munchkin]

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)representatives and Ukrainian and Russian generals, members of the Joint Centre for Control and Coordination, after a meeting in Shyrokino village of Donetsk area, Ukraine, 19 April 2015.

Spot report by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), 18 February 2015: SMM facilitates dialogue on ceasefire and access to Debaltseve | OSCE

On 17 February, the SMM went to the headquarters of the JCCC, temporarily relocated to Soledar (77km north of Donetsk, government-controlled). The SMM was present at four video conference sessions with the Russian General formerly representing the Russian Federation at the JCCC, the Russian Major-General, Representative of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation to the JCCC and the Ukrainian Major-General, Head of the Ukrainian side to the JCCC and members of the “Donetsk People’s Republic” (“DPR”) and the “Lugansk People’s Republic” (“LPR”). Representatives of the Presidential Administration and the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were also present.

Negotiations focussed on the SMM’s access to Debaltseve (55km north-east of Donetsk), and continued throughout the day. The SMM encouraged each side to confirm that they were willing and able to cease fire, in line with their earlier agreements. Some participants estimated that about 2,500 civilians remained in Debaltseve. SMM reminded participants of the likelihood of civilian casualties, if they failed to honour the agreement to the ceasefire. The representative of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said the Ukrainian Armed Forces were willing to cease fire. The “DPR” and “LPR” were not willing to do so. The SMM noted that this refusal to cease fire was in clear contravention to their earlier agreement to do so and amounted to a restriction of the Mission’s freedom of movement.

The SMM will return to Soledar on 18 February to continue to pursue the possibility of conducting a patrol to Debaltseve.

Remember, ceasefire is conditional upon the Kiev government talking to rebels. If not, then there cannot be Minsk agreement. As it stands, this is ceasefire. It does not mean the ATO is over.

Russian invader shooting training. Anyone know what the sniper rifle is?

 

[Hindustani78]

Remember, ceasefire is conditional upon the Kiev government talking to rebels. If not, then there cannot be Minsk agreement. As it stands, this is ceasefire. It does not mean the ATO is over.

Russian invader shooting training. Anyone know what the sniper rifle is?

This ceasefire violations are daily happening. Today only one female is injured in outskirts of the town of Avdiyivka .


Woman injured in Avdiyivka shelling – Ukrainian police

 

[munchkin]

This ceasefire violations are daily happening. Today only one female is injured in outskirts of the town of Avdiyivka .


Woman injured in Avdiyivka shelling – Ukrainian police

Uh oh, another person no longer able to contribute to Ukraine's economy.

 

[Hindustani78]

Uh oh, another person no longer able to contribute to Ukraine's economy.

Its ceasefire violations

 

[munchkin]

Its ceasefire violations

Violations? How about the Kiev government violating Minsk by not talking to New Russia. An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. As long as the Kiev government does not talk to New Russia, we will keep targeting its civilians.