Contents tagged with Donbas

  • Ukrainian military shot down third Russian drone since the beginning of ceasefire in the Donbas

    Since December 23, when the New Year-Christmas ceasefire in the Donbas began, Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense units have shot down third enemy drone, the press center of the headquarters of the Ukrainian Military in Donbas reports.

    "In the area of the ATO (Anti-Terrorist Operation), the air defense unit shot down a Russian-made Orlan-10 UAV. Since the beginning of the ceasefire (December 23), this is the third downed UAV of this type," the report said.

    It was noted that Orlan-10 is an …

  • Ukrainian military command: pro-Russian militants used heavy artillery in the Donbas for the first time in the this year

    On Saturday, January 13, pro-Russian separatists in the Donbas used artillery for the first time since the beginning of the New Year-Christmas ceasefire on December 23, reported the headquarters of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Donbas.

    "A shelling attack by grenade launchers, 120-mm mortars and 122-mm artillery systems against the fortifications of ATO (Anti-Terrorist Operation) forces on the approaches to Vodyane village in the area along the Sea of Azov coast (Priazovye) has lasted for …

  • Putin meets with Ukrainian politician Medvedchuk

    On Wednesday, January 10, the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin met with Viktor Medvedchuk, the representative of Ukraine in the humanitarian subgroup of the Trilateral Contact Group on the Donbas, the leader of the public movement "Ukrainian Choice: the right of the people" and his compadre (Putin is the godfather of Medvedchuk's daughter – Ed.).

    This was reported by the EUDaily portal, citing sources at the Russian President's administration. According to Russia's radio …

  • US: Russia continues to intimidate OSCE observers in Donbas

    The United States accuses Russia of continuing to intimidate the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) in the Donbas, and preventing it from carrying out its tasks. A statement to this effect was made by US Chargé d'Affaires Harry Kamian on Thursday, January 11, Ukrinform reports.

    “The SMM in Ukraine is a critically important component of the OSCE response. The SMM plays an important role in the process of implementing the Minsk agreements. However, Russia and her proxies continue to …

  • Non-combat losses of Ukrainian Army in 2017 amount to 98 people

    Last year, irreversible non-battle casualties of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Donbas amounted to 98 dead servicemen, according to the response of the Ministry of Defense to an inquiry from 112.ua news channel. In addition, 178 servicemen were injured under non-combat circumstances in the ATO (Anti-Terrorist Operation- acronym used for Ukrainian military operation in the Donbas) zone in 2017.

    As of December 18, the irreversible losses of the Ukrainian army since the beginning of 2017 …

  • Ukrainian President signs bill to launch broadcasting to separatist-held territories of Donbas

    President Petro Poroshenko has signed a bill to issue temporary permits for broadcasting in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) zone and Ukrainian border regions, according to the President’s website.

    On his Facebook page, Poroshenko wrote that the bill will allow broadcasting to be developed three times faster. Until now, according to the President, the development of broadcasting for the territory of the Crimea took 9-12 months due to the procedural complexity of miscalculation, the …

  • Ukrainian politician: Canada's chairmanship at the G7 is a unique opportunity to focus attention on Russian aggression against Ukraine

    Under the leadership of Canada, which has been chairing the Group of Seven (G7) since the beginning of the year, a new international platform should be launched to discuss the situation in the Russian-annexed Crimea and Donbas territories. Danylo Lubkivsky, former Diplomatic Adviser to Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk (2015-2016) and Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine (2014), stated this an article he wrote for the Kyiv-based Day (Den) newspaper.

    Lubkivsky noted that beginning …

  • Ukraine: talks on peacekeepers in Donbas failed

    The UN Security Council was ready to begin deployment of UN peacekeepers in Donbas, but Russia rejected virtually all important provisions, as stated by Volodymyr Yelchenko, the permanent representative of Ukraine in the United Nations, in an interview with Yevropeyskaya Pravda.

    “The Security Council was ready to begin work on the mandate of the peacekeeping operation, but Russia rejected virtually all important provisions and returned to its idea of a strange operation where UN peacekeepers …

  • President of South Ossetia says he often comes to eastern Ukraine to support Ossetians fighting on the side of separatists

    In an interview with the WarGonzo project, the president of the self-proclaimed South Ossetia, Anatoliy Bibilov, admitted that during almost every trip to the DPR (Donetsk People’s Republic) he visits the front line and advises "volunteers" on the front line.  

    "As for my visit to the front line... I actually go there on almost every visit, especially when it concerns those guys from South Ossetia, and neighbors [in the Caucasus region] overall. Of course, I care about Ossetians. I'm …

  • Kravchuk suggests that Russia and Ukraine hold direct talks

    The former first president of Ukraine, Leonid Kravchuk said in an interview with Radio Liberty that in order to stop the war that Russia is waging against Ukraine, a direct agreement is needed between the leaders of both states.

    "It is necessary, first of all, no matter how difficult it is, to achieve a meeting at the level of the Russian and Ukrainian authorities, one on one. What is happening in the Donbas is the hand of the Kremlin, and until we agree with Russia... [about what] we can do, …