Contents tagged with Donbas

  • New OSCE head shocked by life in Donbas

    OSCE Chairman Miroslav Lajčák said he was shocked by the alarming living conditions of people living near the contact line in the Donbas, and called on the parties to “intensify efforts for a peaceful political settlement of the crisis,” reports the OSCE press service.

    “The crisis in Ukraine and around it is the top priority for the Slovakian chairmanship. Being on site, I see the critical work that the OSCE is doing, and how much more there is to do. For the victims, this conflict dictates …

  • Russian Foreign Minister rules out possibility of UN peacekeeping mission in Donbas

    Commenting on the differences between Russia and the West’s approaches to the peacekeeping mission, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in a press conference on Wednesday that no UN peacekeeping mission will be sent to the Donbas in the form that Ukraine wants to see.

    “When the OSCE observers’ mission began to experience safety problems – there were incidents, one mission member was killed – in response to the alarm from Germany and France, we proposed to arm the observers with light …

  • Ukrainian General: Kyiv has a plan for liberation of Donbas

    The Lieutenant General of Ukrainian Foreign Intelligence, Vasily Bogdan stated in an interview with the news outlet Fakty that Ukraine has a plan to liberate the territories of the Donbas which are held by the pro-Russian militants, and the country’s leadership hopes this will be achieved without the use of force. 

    “As far as I know, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces prepared a plan for the return of Donbas to Ukraine. A military operation is also being considered. However, …

  • Ukrainian Minister: Russia exports tons of coal worth millions of dollars from Donbas

    Russia exports from the territories of the Donbas, which are controlled by pro-Russian militants, amount to almost 2.8 million tons of anthracite coal worth $288 million annually, stated the Minister for Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons of Ukraine Vadym Chernysh. 

    “Russians are trying to find sources to support the occupation administration and the occupied territories… They take Ukrainian coal and Ukrainian gas from the Black Sea shelf, using it to support the …

  • OSCE drone shot down in the Donbas

    The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), reports on their website, that an unmanned aerial vehicle that belonged to the monitoring mission was shot down in the area of Popasna village in the Donbas.

    It is noted that the village is controlled by the Ukrainian government and is located 69 kilometers west of Luhansk. The mission team was using the drone to watch snow removal work on the T-0504 highway. At this time, the OSCE staff heard the sound of six shots. According to …

  • Ukrainian Foreign Minister: several foreign ministers will visit Donbas

    Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin announced the visit of “several foreign colleagues” to the Donbas on January 15, particularly the Foreign Minister of Slovakia, Miroslav Lajčák, Interfax-Ukraine reports. 

    "Many Ministers of our friendly countries will visit Mariupol next week. The new OSCE Head, Mr. Lajčák will also visit the Donbas. I will not say where we are going, for safety reasons. And there will be many contacts,” Klimkin said. According to the media, the Foreign Ministers of …

  • The Pope expresses concern about the conflict in the Donbas

    On Monday, January 7, Pope Francis expressed his concern about the conflict in the east of Ukraine during the New Year's reception of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See. He also added that in the conflict that has been going on for five years, “new alarming events in the Black Sea” recently occurred. However, he did not mention Russia.

    The head of the Roman Catholic Church urged adherence to a “peaceful resolution of the conflict” and called for respect for international law, …

  • Medical humanitarian aid from France arrives in Donbas

    The United Force operation press service reported that humanitarian medical supplies worth over UAH 2.1 million or approximately $77,777, sent from France, will be received by military and civilian medical institutions in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

    “On January 3rd, 2019, according to planned activities, humanitarian cargo for medical purposes in the amount of more than 2.1 million UAH arrived from France. After distributing the orthoses, medical furniture and equipment, medical clothes …

  • Kyiv: Ukrainian soldier captured by pro-Russian militants in the Donbas

    The Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed the fact that a soldier of the 128th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade of Zakarpattia was captured by pro-Russian militants in the Donbas, reported the Brigade’s press-service on Facebook on Thursday, January 3.

    The separatists’ website published a video of the captured Ukrainian soldier. The Brigade Command confirmed that it was indeed their soldier, Andriy Kachynskyi from Berestivka village of the Volodymyrets district in the Rivne region. Kachynskyi …

  • Austrian Chancellor: Lifting of sanctions against Russia must be linked with the resolution of the situation in Donbas

    In an interview with the Rheinische Post, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said that the gradual lifting of sanctions against Russia should be linked with the process of resolving the situation in the Donbas. 

    “When I was a foreign minister, I believed that it was necessary to link the gradual lifting of sanctions against Russia with positive steps towards Ukraine – something that former German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier proposed. The first step would imply establishing a real …