Contents tagged with Donbas

  • Pro-Russian militant commander admits Russia is directly involved in conflict in eastern Ukraine

    Former commander of the pro-Russian militants in the Donbas, Alexander Khodakovsky, said Russia takes part in the Donbas war and in the life of the unrecognized Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics.

    In a post on his Telegram channel, Khodakovsky acknowledged that Russian troops took part in the war in 2014. According to him, only Russian troops saved LPR and DPR from complete defeat in the battles with the Ukrainian Army.

    "Russia saved us when only a couple of weeks more, and we would have …

  • German Ambassador: Berlin refuses to supply weapons to Ukraine because of historical reasons

    Most people in Germany are very cautious about providing weapons to Eastern European countries because of their upbringing and historical background, said German Ambassador to Ukraine Anka Feldgusen in an interview with Dzerkalo Tyzhnia.

    The ambassador noted that historically for Germany Eastern Europe is a "special part of the world" and most Germans were brought up with the idea that German weapons and German soldiers will never be there. According to her, she was brought up in the same way. …

  • Russia wants to eliminate Ukrainian passports in Donbas by 2025

    The Kremlin has ordered to eliminate all Ukrainian passports in the Donbas by 2025, said Donetsk representative in the tripartite contact group on Donbas Serhiy Garmash, Ukrinform reports.

    "The issuance of Russian passports there is picking up speed. According to my information, by 2025 the goal is to ensure that no one has Ukrainian passports. That is, the passports can still be confiscated. And then there will be a problem not with the checkpoints, but the ability of our citizens to enter …

  • Ukrainian city of Mariupol to purchase Iron Dome air defense system from Israel

    Deputy Mayor of Mariupol Sergey Zakharov said that the city authorities plan to purchase the Iron Dome missile defense system from Israel.

    According to him, the opening of the airport in Mariupol requires that the distance from the zone of demarcation of the warring parties was more than 160 kilometers, but it is only about 40. Since the Ukrainian Defense Ministry and the international community do not consider the flights to the city located near the conflict zone safe, the mayor's office of …

  • Zelensky: Germany and France are afraid to recognize Russia as participant in Donbas conflict

    In an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Germany and France are afraid to call Russia a participant in the Donbas conflict.

    "At the last meeting of the advisors to the leaders of the Normandy Four countries, where Mr. Dmitry Kozak, who represents Russia, asked our European partners whether Russia was a participant in the conflict, representatives of Germany and France did not directly respond that Russia is a participant. They again …

  • Ukrainian President promises to hold referendum on settlement in Donbas

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was considering holding a nationwide referendum on a settlement in the Donbas, UNIAN reports.

    "Regarding the national referendum, I believe that this should be the most important issue that we have today. I believe that this is the situation in the Donbas," said Zelensky at a press conference.

    According to Zelensky, this will take some time as Kyiv has several plans to end the war and take back the occupied territories and people. "We will …

  • Kremlin: Russia has ‘no plans to absorb Donbas’

    Russia has no plans to absorb anyone, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, RBC reports.

    "Russia has no plans to absorb anyone. It has never done that," he said.

    Bloomberg news agency wrote the European Union fears that Moscow is preparing to annex the Donbas. The agency referred to an internal EU memo saying that organizing elections in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics and issuing passports to local residents "are aimed at actual integration of these …

  • Russia forming new military division near Ukrainian border

    Russia continues to increase its military presence near the Ukrainian borders. The Russian Armed Forces is deploying a motorized infantry division in the Volgograd region, said the Editor-In-Chief of the Ukrainian publication Censor.Net, Yuriy Butusov.

    The Russian Army announced the deployment of the 20th Motorized Rifle Division on April 25. Between 4 to 6 battalion-tactical groups of the Russian Armed Forces will soon be deployed 400 km from the borders of Ukraine, in Kamyshin and Volgograd. …

  • Kyiv: U.S. plans to appoint special representative for Donbas

    The Head of the Ukrainian Presidential Administration, Andrii Yermak, said in an interview with Liga.net that there is currently a discussion on the appointment of a U.S. special representative for the Donbas.

    According to Yermak, it is particularly important for Ukraine that such a person is appointed.

    "We are also discussing the rapprochement of our position and closer cooperation in the military-defense field. And, in addition, the United States supports Ukraine in receiving NATO …

  • 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 …