Contents tagged with Donbas
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US: Separatists are trying to 'blind' OSCE observers in the Donbas
The U.S. Representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Daniel Baer, stated during an OSCE Permanent Council meeting that the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine has been subjected to a deliberate attempt to ‘blind’ it by blocking or destroying the Mission’s means of surveillance in the Donbas.
“Within one week, militia forces shot down two of the SMM’s long endurance UAVs near Horlivka and threatened to shoot down the other UAVs which were looking for the …
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The United Nations believes that conflict in the Donbas was called an anti-terrorist operation in vain
The United Nations believes that the interpretation of the conflict in the Donbas as an anti-terrorist operation has resulted in considerable confusion, as mentioned in the report of the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary and Arbitrary Executions, Christophe Hynes, following his official visit to Ukraine in September 2015.
According to UNIAN, the report was submitted by the UN General Assembly Secretariat to the UN Human Rights Council. The 32nd session of the UN Human Rights Council …
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Report on crimes in the Donbas region was presented in the Polish Sejm
On Wednesday, a report about Russian crimes in Donbas in 2014 was presented in the Lower House of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland. The report was based on over 60 interviews of prisoners, conducted by Ukrainian and Polish volunteers. UKRINFORM reports that the document was presented by the Deputy Head of the Sejm Commission for Foreign Affairs and one of the initiators of its creation, Małgorzata Gosiewska.
"I hope that criminals will be punished as the war crimes have no statute of …
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Herashchenko: 113 Ukrainian prisoners are held by separatists in the Donbas
Both servicemen and civilians are being held captive
On the 6th of June, the First Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, Iryna Herashchenko, reported that 113 Ukrainian citizens are still held captive by separatists supported by Russia in the Donbas, Radio Svoboda reports.
"There are both servicemen and civilians. Separatists are trying to exchange the release of hostages for amnesty and are demanding that their leaders are pardoned. They have not provided any information as to where the …
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Savchenko proposes holding direct talks with separatist leaders
During an interview with Radio Era, Nadiya Savchenko proposed holding direct talks with the leaders of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic, RBC-Ukraine reported.
Savchenko stressed that she wants “to find understanding with these people.”
“We need to learn to forgive... not everything can be forgiven, but everything can be dealt with and backed up by the laws later,” Savchenko said.
Savchenko outlined three steps to end the war in eastern Ukraine, including …
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The UN says it has reliable information about Russian troop movements in the Donbas
The UN Representative for Human Rights, Ravina Shamdasani, stated that the organization has reliable information about Russian troop movements in Ukraine, The Voice of America reports.
“We have received credible reports of Russia’s military personnel movements across the border both to and from Ukraine. It contains heavy weapons as well. And the information is reliable,” the UN representative stated.
Moreover, the UN report regarding the human rights situation in the Donbas states that about 2 …
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Lavrov: OSCE monitors can be allowed to carry personal firearms
Moscow does not mind if OSCE observers carry personal firearms, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
“Russia is ready to offer a compromise and agree that the OSCE observers stationed at the front line in eastern Ukraine carry personal arms,” Lavrov said during an interview with the Russian “Saturday News” TV program.
“We said, as long as this helps the common objective, we are ready to give our consent that the group of observers who will be monitoring the contact line and the …
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Merkel's advisor: It's too early to lift sanctions on Russia
The discussion surrounding the cancellation of EU sanctions against Russia is premature, as stated by the German Chancellor's foreign policy advisor, Christoph Heusgen, Deutsche Welle reports. "If the current situation stays the same, I see no reason for sanctions not to be extended for another six months," Heusgen said.
He indicated that the removal of restrictive measures on Russia is connected to the implementation of the Minsk Agreements. At the same time, according to Heusgen, the Minsk …
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US State Deparment calls for ending human rights violations in eastern Ukraine
The US State Department has called on Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine to stop human rights abuses, while at the same time appealing to the Ukrainian Government to investigate cases of human rights violations that were referred to in a recent UN report.
This was stated by Deputy Spokesman of the State Department Mark Toner during a daily briefing on Friday.
"We once again call on the so-called authorities in the separatist-controlled areas to cease their human rights abuses, …
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Ukrainian President: New Russian special forces units arrived in the Donbas
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that the detrioration of the situation on the front line in eastern Ukraine is due to the arrival of new Russian special forces units in the Donbass.
He made this statement at a press conference while answering a question about the reasons for the increased level of violence in the Donbas.
“The first reason is that according to [Ukrainian] intelligence, new units of spetsnaz [Russian special forces] have entered the territory. We know the names of the …