Contents tagged with Donbas

  • Internal conflict in the separatist LPR: Head of the self-proclaimed republic flees to Russia

    In the separatist-controlled Luhansk unknown armed people cordoned off the building of the so-called "Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Luhansk Republic", as reported on his Facebook page by journalist Andriy Dikhtyarenko.

    "In Luhansk, the BTR [military armored personnel carrier] drove to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the building was surrounded by armed people, and some of them have hand grenades. It seems that Cornet decided to "appeal the decision of the court" about his dismissal …

  • Media: 10-15 years needed to clear Donbas of mines

    Ukraine will need 10-15 years to clean the territory of the Luhansk and Donetsk provinces of mines, as reported by Zerkalo Nedeli with reference to estimates made by experts from international organizations, as well as domestic ministries and departments, who discussed this matter on November 9 at the round table in Sievierodonetsk.

    “According to the Defense Ministry’s information, today roughly seven thousand square kilometers of the Ukrainian-controlled territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk …

  • Russia: if the US supplies weapons to Ukraine it would ‘blow up’ situation in the Donbas

    Russia believes that if the United States decides to supply arms to Ukraine, it will seriously destabilize the situation in the Donbas as stated by Head of the State Duma Defense Committee Vladimir Shamanov , reports RIA Novosti.

    Shamanov, commenting on a statement by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin that Ukraine would receive lethal weapons in the future, said that such an event would "blow up" the situation in the Donbas.

    According to Klimkin, in addition to Javelin anti-tank …

  • Peskov speaks of problems in prisoner exchange between Ukraine and separatist republics

    Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov has spoken of issues in the exchange of prisoners between Ukraine and the two unrecognized republics, the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) and Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR).  "There are many problems that complicate the exchange itself," TASS reports.

     “The leaders of the unrecognized republics, [while] agreeing in general with this initiative (by Medvedchuk), noted that all details of the exchange with Kyiv still need to be agreed upon. And …

  • Ukrainian politician: Russian troops will leave Donbas next spring

    According to Deputy Minister for Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons Yuriy Hrymchak, Russian troops will leave the Donbas in spring of next year, Espresso.TV reports.

    "This is information that I personally, I emphasize, received from several sources who are in Moscow and behind the 'curb'. I was even given the exact date when this will happen. The [date range] is March-April 2018," said Hrymchak.

    He did not, however, mention the names of the individuals who …

  • Kremlin: Putin has influence over the separatist republics in eastern Ukraine

    The Russian President Press Secretary has said that Vladimir Putin has influence on the leaders of the LPR and DPR separatist republics.

    Commenting on Putin's recent talks with militants over the exchange of prisoners, Dmitry Peskov said that the influence is "not unlimited."

    "The president has never concealed that he has the opportunity to handle appeals, the ability to exert a certain influence - not unlimited, but definite," the spokesman said.

    Peskov said that the Kremlin "does not have …

  • Belarus declares its readiness to provide a peacekeeping contingent to the Donbas

    Belarus is ready to provide peacekeeping contingent to the Donbas, if it receives consent from all interested parties, as announced at a joint news conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei.

    "We are ready to allocate an appropriate peacekeeping contingent, if it is acceptable to all interested parties, in order to participate in solving peacekeeping tasks," said Makei.

    He also noted that in October 2014, Belarusian President …

  • After speaking with Putin heads of LPR and DPR agreed to prisoner exchange with Ukraine

    DPR leader Alexander Zakharchenko and LPR leader Igor Plotnitsky expressed support for a prisoner exchange with Ukraine, which was proposed by "Ukrainian Choice" movement leader Viktor Medvedchuk, during a conversation with President Vladimir Putin, as reported by the Kremlin’s Press Service.

    In their support for the initiative, the heads of the unrecognized LPR and DPR noted that they would need to work out this issue with Kyiv, the report said.

    It became known earlier that Russian President …

  • Russian Gazprom supplied 1.5 billion cubic meters of gas to separatist-controlled territories of Donbas

    Russian Gazprom has supplied 1.5 billion cubic meters of gas to the Donbas for 9 months of 2017, as stated in the report of the Russian gas company for the third quarter of 2017, the text of which is available to UNIAN.

    In particular, the document’s section of supplies to the CIS countries indicates that 1.58 billion cubic meters of natural gas were supplied to Ukraine, though Naftogaz stopped purchasing Russian gas in November 2015.

    On October 24, Andriy Kobolyev, the head of the Ukrainian …

  • Media: during the meeting between Volker and Surkov the US suggested to expand the area of the peacekeeping mission in Donbas

    The Americans have proposed to expand the powers and the zone of presence of UN peacekeepers in the Donbas, as reported by Interfax citing a source familiar with the negotiations between the Russian Presidential aide, Vladislav Surkov and US Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations, Kurt Volker.

    According to the source, during the meeting, the United States proposed amendments to the Russian draft resolution on the deployment of the UN peacekeeping mission in Eastern Ukraine.

    "Among …