Contents tagged with Donbas

  • Ukrainian President suggests including U.S,Canada and UK in Donbas talks

    In an interview with the Financial Times, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for the Minsk agreements to be changed and the Normandy Four negotiations expanded.

    "I am involved in a process that was developed before I even became president," said Zelensky. In his opinion, the Minsk agreements are not flexible enough and do not meet the demands of the current situation.

    Zelensky said that he saw two ways out of the current deadlock: either to change the format of the Minsk talks, or …

  • Ukrainian general: all of Ukraine should prepare for war with Russia

    The withdrawal of Russian troops from the Ukrainian borders does not mean there is no more threat of aggression. Ukraine should prepare for the worst-case scenario, said the Deputy Secretary of the Ukrainian Security and Defense Council, Major General Serhii Kryvonos.

    After flexing its muscles, Russia began to withdraw troops from the borders of Ukraine and from the annexed Crimea. However, the threat to Ukraine remains and it is necessary to prepare for war, said Kryvonos.

    Kryvonos reminded …

  • Kyiv: 400,000 residents of Donbas received Russian passports

    At least 400,000 residents of the territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which are not under Kyiv’s control, have received Russian passports, said Ukrainian Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories Olekii Reznikov in an interview with Ukrayinska Pravda.

    "The statistics are constantly changing, the Russians say one thing, we check, find another. But there are at least 400,000, it is true," Reznikov said.

    Back in December, he said that there are 300,000 Ukrainians …

  • Putin says he is ready to meet with Zelensky in Moscow

    Russian President Vladimir Putin responded to Ukrainian President’s offer to meet in the Donbas.

    According to Putin, the leadership of Ukraine "has made a lot of steps that destroy Russian-Ukrainian relations."

    "This concerns a number of problems in bilateral relations, it concerns the attitude towards the Russian Orthodox Church and its destruction, the attempt to destroy it. This applies to the Russian language and Russian-speaking citizens of Ukraine, and Russian citizens who live in …

  • Donbas negotiations fail as Russia amasses 150,000 troops on Ukrainian border

    Negotiations in the "Normandy format" on the situation in southeastern Ukraine ended inconclusively, Interfax, Kommersant and RIA Novosti reported, citing a source in the Russian delegation.

    The three-hour video conference, which was attended by advisers to the presidents of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany, failed to reach any agreements on the Donbas amid the ongoing transfer of Russian troops to the borders.

    “At the initiative of the Russian side, the issues related to the ceasefire …

  • Kyiv: Russia deploys more than 80,000 troops on the border with Ukraine and in Crimea

    Russia has deployed more than 40,000 troops on the border with Ukraine and the same number in Crimea, said the representative of the Ukrainian President, Iuliia Mendel, in an interview with Reuters. She noted that the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, sent a request for talks with his Russian President Vladimir Putin but has not yet received a response. "We very much hope that this does not mean abandoning the dialogue," Mendel continued.

    In an interview with Interfax-Ukraine, she …

  • Russian cities prepare for mass burials as Kremlin amasses troops on Ukrainian borders

    Regulations "On the organization of urgent burial of bodies in wartime" began appearing on websites in several Russian cities, underscoring the possibility that Russia is preparing for a large-scale invasion of Ukraine.

    Russian city councils were instructed to prepare burial sites for those killed during the military campaign. 

    Among these cities is Cherepovets, where the authorities have begun preparing a local cemetery.  

    The municipality's statement explains which local agency, in case of …

  • Kyiv: DPR head Pushilin intends to ask Putin for military assistance and accession to Russia

    The head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Denis Pushilin, intends to address Russian President Vladimir Putin in the near future. Pushilin is currently preparing a letter to Putin, reports Dzerkalo Tyzhnia.

    According to the publication, there are three versions of Pushilin's letter. Ukrainain Special Services managed to get a hold of the three draft letters prepared by the so-called "Ministry of Foreign Affairs" of the Donetsk People’s Republic.

    In the first version of …

  • U.S. General Hodges: deployment of Russian troops to Donbas is only a distraction, the Kremlin is preparing a different attack

    The buildup of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border is a very alarming signal. Although, the Russian operation can be just used as a destruction, said the former commander of the United States Army Europe, Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, in an interview with Espresso TV.

    He drew attention to the fact that the transfer of Russian military equipment and soldiers is accompanied by a stream of disinformation from the Kremlin.

    "The speaker of the Russian Foreign Ministry, who we call among …

  • Kremlin: war in Ukraine can resume any time

    Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov believes that a "civil war" could soon start in Ukraine.

    Peskov said that next to Russia is a country in which the authorities can allegedly "start to solve the problems by force". According to him, this poses a threat to Russia and therefore the Kremlin has to take certain measures to ensure its security.

    According to Peskov, the movements of troops is Russia’s "internal business" that should not cause any concern.

    In addition, Putin's spokesman …