Contents tagged with Donbas

  • Ukrainian MFA demands that Russian-backed separatists stop attempting to intimidate OSCE

    The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has demanded that Russian-backed separatists stop trying to intimidate OSCE observers in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainskaya Pravda reported.

    "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine strongly condemns the provocations that are regularly carried out by Russian-controlled fighters against the observers of the Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) of the OSCE in Ukraine with the aim of preventing effective operations of the mission," a statement posted on the ministry’s …

  • Ukraine prepares draft documents to send UN peacekeepers to the Donbas

    Ukraine has drafted documents regarding an official decision to send United Nations (UN) peacekeepers to the Donbas and is looking forward to constructive cooperation with the new UN secretary general, stated Volodymyr Yelchenko, Ukraine’s permanent representative to the UN.

    “Everything is ready. We even have draft documents ready for approval – on a UN support office in Ukraine, on a special representative to the secretary general, and on a mediatory mission from the UN secretary general – we …

  • Putin: Ukraine is unwilling to implement the Minsk Agreements

    Russian President Vladimir Putin, at a meeting with the members of the Security Council in the Crimea, accused Ukraine of its "unwillingness or inability" to implement the Minsk Agreements regarding the settlement of the conflict in the Donbas. According to him, this explains Ukraine’s "provocative acts" in the Crimea.

    At the same time Putin expressed hope that this is not Ukraine’s "final choice" and that "common sense will prevail."

    Putin also stated that Moscow is not going to sever  …

  • Poroshenko: Separatists have begun firing artillery at targets far beyond the front line

     Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said that the separatists' large-caliber artillery has begun firing at targets that are far beyond the conflict line. He said this during his visit to the city of Brody.

    “The enemy is trying to disrupt the Minsk process by making absolutely irresponsible statements about the exit from the Normandy negotiation process, and by dramatically increasing the intensity of the shelling of the positions of our troops in eastern Ukraine. There was a record …

  • Poroshenko does not rule out imposing martial law due to growing tensions in Crimea

    The armed clashes in the Donbas region and the growing tension in the Crimea may lead to this type of decision by the Ukrainian President.The President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, said on Thursday, August 18, 2016 that he does not exclude the introduction of martial law and a new wave of military mobilization if the conflict with the Russian-supported separatists worsens.Poroshenko appeared at a time when increased tensions with Russia regarding the Crimea intensified fears that a fragile …

  • Ukrainian Intelligence: Russian troops could cross the administrative borders of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions

    The representative of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, Vadim Skibitskiy, stated on-air with 5th TV Channel that the Russian Army located in the Donbas can enter the administrative borders of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions in order to boost the significance of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR).

    According to him, the Kremlin wants to demonstrate that there are legitimate People’s Republics located within …

  • Ukrainian Intelligence: Russia deployed anti-aircraft missile battalion to the Donbas

    The Russian Command deployed an anti-aircraft missile battalion from the 60th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 5th Combined Army of the Eastern Military District under the command of Major Yuri Korchinskiy to Ukraine. According to the press service of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, the anti-aircrarft battalion is intended to ensure air defense for the future deployment of a new motorized rifle brigade.

    It was noted that the anti-missile …

  • Former separatist leader criticizes Russia's nationalization of industry in the Donbas

    The former leader of separatists in eastern Ukraine, Alexander Borodai, who led the separatists in the Donbas region at the beginning of the war and now heads Russia's "Union of Volunteers of Donbas", was interviewed by the Russian Free Press portal. During his interview he criticized the idea of the nationalization of Ukrainian businesses in the Donbas region. He has also recognized that the separatist republic exists thanks to the Ukrainian oligarchs and also said that Russia does not need …

  • Ukrainian headquarters: Russia provided separatists with Tavolga anti-tank grenade launchers

    The headquarters of the Ukrained Armed Forces reported on their Facebook page that a new, more powerful handheld antitank grenade launcher, RPG-27 Tavolga, is now being used by the separatists in the Donbas region.

    "Separatists of the illegally armed groups have begun to use a wider range of anti-tank weapons, in particular ones that are more powerful," stated the message.

    The staff noted that this weapon is a far more powerful and dangerous modification of the famous RPG-7B and is used to …

  • Ukrainian Prosecutor General accused former Party of Regions MP Yefremov of 'opening the doors to the war in the Donbas'

    The Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Yuriy Lutsenko, accused the former head of the Party of Regions faction in the Verkhovna Rada, Oleksandr Yefremov, of initiating the war in the Donbas. Evidence gathered by the investigation has indicated that Yefremov is directly responsible, Lutsenko said at a press conference.

    "According to the evidence, not emotions, not the past, but the evidence, this man opened the door to war in our country. I am convinced of this, and it's not my emotions. This is …