Contents tagged with Donbas

  • OSCE notices increase in use of artillery in eastern Ukraine

    The Special Monitoring Mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE SMM) announced several instances of the use of multiple launch rocket systems and also an increase in the presence of other kinds of weapons in the security zone.

    "We observed a decrease in the number and use of artillery and mortars. But – and this provokes concern – we noticed an increase in the use of multiple launch rocket systems," the Ukrainian News quoted the head of OSCE SMM, Alexander Hug, …

  • Ukrainian Intelligence: 94 Russian tanks have arrived in the Donbas region since the beginning of the year

    Since the beginning of this year, 94 tanks have been delivered to the Lugansk and Donetsk regions.  This means that the amount of arms and military equipment available to separatists in these areas is increasing.  This information was reported by the Deputy Director of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, Vadim Skibitskiy.

    “According to our data, 94 tanks have been delivered to the Lugansk and Donetsk regions since the beginning of the year.  Please note that …

  • Russian newspaper: More than 2000 Russians have been killed in eastern Ukraine since 2014

    According to SuperOmsk, a Russian newspaper in the city of Omsk in the Ural Mountains, 2,081 Russians have been killed in eastern Ukraine since February of 2014. A list of names of those killed and missing persons was published on the "Cargo-200 from Ukraine to Russia" Facebook page.

    Among the 2,000 dead were seven from Omsk.

    According to "Cargo-200 from Ukraine to Russia", the bodies of 649 of the 2,081 have been returned to Russia and buried, and the group continues to determine the …

  • Trilateral Contact Group signs two documents in Minsk

    The Trilateral Contact Group has reached an agreement on the development of additional documents aimed at the stabilization of the situation in the Donbas.

    According to the OSCE Special Representative, Martin Sajdik, the Trilateral Contact Group on the settlement of the conflict in the Donbas signed two documents during the meeting in Minsk.  The first one provides for the identification and designation of mine fields and the creation of mine clearance maps for the Donbas. The deadline for …

  • Ukrainian Intelligence: Six Russian trucks carrying Special Forces members arrived in Donbas

    On the 1st of March, Russian vehicles carrying ammunition and reinforcements arrived in the Donetsk region.  These vehicles consisted of three cars carrying ammunition, six trucks with mortars on board as well as special purpose units.  According to the Ukrainian News, this was reported by the Chief Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

    “We have confirmed the presence of these Russian military vehicles.  They are transporting arms, military equipment, ammunition …

  • Ukrainian representative in Minsk urges Europe to focus on the safety of the people in the Donbas, not elections

    The German Foreign Minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, has said that elections in the occupied Donbas region will be held within the next months.  However, the Ukrainian representative to the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk, Roman Bezsmertnyi, has urged Europe to think primarily about the safety of the people in the region,  and not about elections.

    “Until now, only the processes of the elections have been discussed in Minsk and not the electoral law.  These elections are out of the question …

  • Column of Russian military vehicles entered eastern Ukraine

    Column of Russian tanks, circa 2014

    A column of Russian military vehicles entered separatist-controlled territory in Ukraine, as reported on Tuesday by the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

    “On the 29th of February, a column of military vehicles came from the Russian Federation into Ukraine through the Novoazovsk checkpoint, which is not controlled by Ukraine.  The column included six armored combat vehicles, four ammunition trucks and two mobile …

  • OSCE: Situation in Donbas continues to deteriorate

    The OSCE Mission continues to record a significant deterioration of the security situation in the Donbas, partially as a result of the use of artillery and mortars as stated in the report of the OSCE Mission for the 29th of February, published on the 2nd of March 2016. In particular, the representatives of the OSCE Mission noted 95 explosions from the west of the observers’ location on the 28th of February during their stay in the center of Donetsk; the next day, 174 explosions were recorded. …

  • General Breedlove recommends providing Ukraine with weapons

    Speaking at a hearing of the US Senate’s Armed Services Committee, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander for Europe, General Philip Breedlove, said that he had recently recommended that the US provide Ukraine with lethal weapons.

    On Tuesday, March 1st, Breedlove stated that Europe is facing a "resurgent, aggressive Russia" that is seeking to reestablish a leading role on the world stage.

    "Russia has chosen to be an adversary and poses a long-term existential threat to the United States and to our …

  • Ukrainian Defense Ministry: Demining of Donbas will take 10-15 years

    The head of a specialized group in the Ecology and Safety department of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, Colonel Sergei Zubarevsky,told Hromadske radio that the complete demining of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions affected by the current conflict will take between 10 and 15 years.

    “I think that the clearance of the Donbas region will cost more than one billion hryvnia.  Establishing complete safety for citizens of this region can only be achieved in 10 or 15 years,” Zubarevsky said.

    On the 5 …