Contents tagged with Donbas

  • EU allocated an additional 4 million euro for humanitarian assistance in eastern Ukraine

    The European Commission has allocated 4 million euro of additional immediate assistance in response to urgent humanitarian needs in eastern Ukraine, as was stated by the press service of the EU representative in Ukraine.

    Thus, the total amount of humanitarian assistance provided by the EU in 2016 in response to the crisis, will reach 26.4 million euro.

    "The humanitarian aspects of the crisis in eastern Ukraine remain a priority issue for our program," Christos Stylianides, Commissioner for …

  • Savchenko spoke of her meeting with Zakharchenko and Plotnitsky

    The Deputy of Verkhovna Rada, Nadiya Savchenko, said that she met with the leadership of the self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republic (LPR and DPR), Igor Plotnitsky and Alexander Zakharchenko, and "the Russian side" was also present. On Monday, December 12, she said this in her speech at the Sofia Square in Kyiv, 112 Ukraine TV channel reports.

    "Yes, there was a meeting in trilateral Minsk format where 'the Russian side', Zakharchenko and Plotnitsky were present. The meeting aimed …

  • OSCE Secretary General declared a split in the organization because of disagreements over Ukraine

    The Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Lamberto Zannier, reported a split among the organization’s 57 member countries. This statement was released on Friday, December 9th, at the meeting of OSCE foreign ministers in Hamburg. Zannier stressed that the split was caused primarily by disagreements over the conflict in Ukraine, but was not limited to that.

    The OSCE Secretary General also stated that organization observers encounter obstacles in …

  • Victims of the war in the Donbas require $214 million in aid from international organizations

    The Ministry of Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons announced the launch of the 2017 humanitarian response plan for Ukraine. According to the Ministry, international humanitarian missions will implement measures to save people’s lives, including the provision of food products, basic necessities, clothing, accommodation, medical care, psychological assistance and basic education.

    The government plans not only to fund certain projects on restoration or development …

  • Ukrainian Defense Minister: The security situation in the Donbas is worsening

    Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak pointed out the worsening of the security situation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which has taken place lately.

    "I see no progress. Yesterday there were 42 shellings. I do not think it is an example of improving the situation in the East of Ukraine,” Interfax-Ukraine quoted Poltorak as saying.

    The minister noted that the Russian Federation showed no initiative to resolve the situation. Moreover, according to Poltorak, the Kremlin has made every …

  • US Ambassador to OSCE: Russia is escalating tensions in Ukraine to improve their position during negotiations

    According to the US Ambassador to the OSCE, Daniel Baer, Russia is attempting to escalate the violence in eastern Ukraine in order to improve their position at the negotiating table and to gain concessions in their favor, Unrinform reported.

    “Russia has escalated tensions on the line of contact in an attempt to wrest concessions from Ukraine by force,” Baer stated.

    At the same time, he noted that fighting further complicates achieving political progress during the Minsk negotiations.

    “If …

  • U.S. strategic drone reportedly spotted near Donetsk in eastern Ukraine

    An RQ-4A Global Hawk strategic unmanned aerial vehicle of the U.S. Air Force made a reconnaissance approach to the demarcation line near Donetsk yesterday morning, according to websites that track the movement of military aircraft.

    The drone reportedly flew from north to south along the demarcation line near Donets

    The US long-distance unmanned aerial vehicle with call sign UAVGH000 reportedly departed from the Sigonella Air Force Base in Sicily. According to existing information, it entered …

  • Lutsenko: The leaders of the Ukrainian military made mistakes in Ilovaisk

    The facts provided during the criminal proceedings regarding the events near Ilovaisk in August 2014, do not exclude possible mistakes by Ukrainian military leadership, as was stated by the Prosecutor General, Yuriy Lutsenko, on the Channel 1+1 on Thursday, 1 December.

    "The investigation regarding the events at the Battle of Ilovaisk has been conducted, and indicates that the main and only factor that led to the deaths of Ukrainian servicemen, were the attacks mostly carried out by Russian …

  • Former separatist commander: Putin's aide supports giving passports to inhabitants of separatist republics in Ukraine

    Russian President Vladimir Putin's aide Vladislav Surkov promotes the idea of issuing Russian passports to the inhabitants of the separatist republics in eastern Ukraine, according to Alexander Khodakovsky, the former Security Minister of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic.

    Khodakovsky said, "According to my information – and it is accurate information – most people in Russia are not concerned with the provision of Russian passports to residents of the DPR. And I know for sure that as …

  • Ukraine agrees with Sweden on sanctions against Russia

    Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko met with Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström to discuss, and agree with, Sweden’s position on sanctions against Russia.

    According to the press service of the President, the issues of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU, and the introduction of the EU visa-free regime for Ukrainians, were also discussed during the meeting.

    Wallström spoke about the need to extend the sanctions against Russia, while Poroshenko thanked Sweden for …