Contents tagged with Donbas

  • LPR Leader Promised To Release All Prisoners for Orthodox Christmas

    In a special message to the Luhansk Information Center, The head of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic, Igor Plotnitsky, promised the release of Ukrainian prisoners.

    "On Christmas eve, honoring the spirit of Christmas, I ordered the release of Ukrainian servicemen being held in the LPR. I am sure that the light of Bethlehem star and Christmas prayers will help Kiev come up with an appropriate reciprocating gesture. We are ready to resolve all differences at the negotiating table, …

  • 40 tons of Belgian pears destroyed at Russian border

     Russian Federal Security Bureau (FSB) agents and Roskomnadzor’s employees found two batches of pears at the Troitsk checkpoint in the Chelyabinsk region. The shipment of pears falls under the Presidential Decree issuing retaliatory sanctions, the Rosselkhoznadzor press service reported.

    Fresh pears from Belgium were imported to Russia by two cars from Kazakhstan. Kazakh certificates, indicating Serbia as the country of origin, were attached to them. The total weight of the two batches was 40 …

  • Internal strife becoming a major problem for Russian-backed separatists

    The conflict is rapidly developing in the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), both in terms of skirmishes with Ukrainian forces and internal power struggles. Certain DPR military units, under the auspices of the Russian Federal Security Bureau (FSB), have been engaged in “mop up operations” of other militant units, effectively removing belligerent commanders, Tyzhden.ua reported.

    “We observed the arrival of unknown special units in Dokuchaievsk, apparently for disciplining several …

  • Herashchenko calls for presence of EU peacekeepers in Donbas

    The Ukrainian President’s envoy to restore peace in the Donbas region, Iryna Herashchenko, wrote on her Facebook page that the entry of a European Union peacekeeping mission to the conflict area in eastern Ukraine has become even more necessary.

    “During a telephone conversation with the members of Normandy Quartet, the Ukrainian President asked the European Union to send a peacekeeping mission to Donbas. In the context of European security, monitoring the fragile situation in the Donbas region …

  • Zakharchenko against EU peacekeeping mission in Donbas

    The Head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), Alexander Zakharchenko, has opposed the creation of the European Union’s Special Mission for the observance of peace conditions in the Donbas.

    "If the Press Service of Mr. Poroshenko is telling the truth and he indeed offered to organize the Special Mission of the European Union to keep peace, order and security in the Donbass region, then this is completely unacceptable," Zakharchenko said. The DPR Head claims that such actions …

  • Despite ceasefire violations, Ukraine will not abandon Minsk Agreement

    During a visit to the Aerotekhnika-MLT Company to examine the production and modernization of air defense systems, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Oleksandr Turchynov, spoke about ceasefire violations and the Minsk Agreements.

    The news agency Ukrinform reported Turchynov as saying "Russia has completely disrupted the implementation of the Minsk Agreements. Of course, the Minsk process is not halted. It will continue next year and, hopefully, more effectively …

  • Pro-Russian separatists prepare provocation for the New Year

    The adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs, Zoryan Shkiryak, declared on Ukrainian TV that Russian-backed separatists are preparing for another round of military action in the Donbas region as evidenced by their movement of military equipment to the boundary line.

    According to him, militants are planning to launch attacks against Ukrainian forces during the New Year holidays.

    “According to the latest operational information that we have received, armed provocations and attempts by …

  • Prisoners in Ukraine won’t be exchanged before 2016

    A prisoner exchange between the Ukrainian government and the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) won’t happen before the New Year, despite the fact that the two sides agreed on the need carry out an such an exchange during a video conference on November 24th.

    At the time, both parties agreed on the need to complete this process by late 2015, according to Daria Olifer, spokeswoman for Leonid Kuchma, Kiev’s envoy to the negotiations. “First, the exchange should take place for the most …

  • Hostilities in Donbas region could resume before New Year

    Ukrainian intelligence has received indications that Russia is ready to expand the scope of the armed conflict in the Donbas region, and open hostilities may resume as early as the end of December, reported Ukrinform.

    "The situation in eastern Ukraine is extremely complicated.  An increase in the number and the scale of enemy provocations is leading to a deterioration of the situation in the Donbas region.  This includes attacks on Ukrainian Army positions by rebel soldiers… reinforced by …

  • Serious threats of military escalation remain in Eastern Ukraine

    The conflict area in Donbass continues to be heavily militarized, and the threat of conflict escalation remains, the First Deputy Secretary General of the UN, Jan Eliasson, said at a meeting of the UN Security Council on Dec 11.

    "The conflict area remains heavily militarized. We see that a serious threat of escalation remains there," he said. According to Eliasson, most of the items of the "Minsk agreement" have not been achieved. And this situation jeopardizes the political process in …