Contents tagged with Donbas

  • Bulgarian parliamentary commission will hold hearings to discuss 2015 Novichok poisoning attempt on Bulgarian businessman

    On Thursday, February 14, the Parliamentary Commission for Control of the Security Services of Bulgaria will gather for hearings regarding the assassination attempt on Bulgarian businessman Emilian Gebrev that occurred nearly four years ago. According to the investigations by The Insider and Bellingcat, in April 2015, Gebrev was poisoned with the Russian nerve agent Novichok or a similar toxin of this group. 

    Investigators noted that Gebrev was poisoned during the same period that a GRU (Main …

  • Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland to allocate $14 million for the Donbas

    The Governments of Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland announced the launch of the project which will provide for $14 million in aid to the Donbas, stated the website of the United Nations Development Program or UNDP. 

    "The conflict in eastern Ukraine, dragging into its fifth year, has had a significant impact on civilians, including over 3,300 men, women and children killed, up to 9,000 injured since 2014, 1.5 million people internally displaced and many others facing the challenges of living in …

  • Yanukovych says he is ready to discuss Ukrainian prisoners exchange with Putin

    During a press conference in Russia, Former President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych announced that he is ready to initiate a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the exchange of prisoners according to the “all for all” procedure. 

    “If necessary, if there is such initiative on the Ukrainian side, I am ready to talk with Putin and submit such proposal,” said Yanukovych. 

    According to him, for this to happen he needs some initiative from the President Petro Poroshenko, and the order …

  • European Court of Human Rights to start hearings on Ukraine’s lawsuit against Russia in the end of February

    In 2019, the European Court of Human Rights will consider 5 lawsuits submitted by Ukraine against Russia for "aggression in the Crimea and the Donbas", Ukrainian Minister of Justice Pavlo Petrenko announced. 

    “First hearings on a case of Ukraine against Russia on human rights violations in the Crimea will take place in the ECHR on February 27,” Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Rozenko wrote on Facebook. 

    According to Rozenko, the claims about human rights violations in the Crimea, …

  • Media: Russian combat drones used in Donbas war built with German parts

    The German edition Bild reports that Russia, in spite of the European Union sanctions, continues to buy German propellers for its unmanned aerial vehicles Granat-1, Granat-2, Granat-3, Takhion, ZALA-42104M, Pear, Orlan -2 ".

    According to journalists, this involves propellers manufactured by two companies in Germany: Graupner / SJ GmbH and aero-naut Modellbau GmbH & Co. KG.

    “Pro-Russian forces already used the drone Granat-2 with folding propellers in the spring of 2015, in the battle of the …

  • Azov Battalion returns to the forefront in the Donbas

    The special detachment of the Ukrainian National Guard, Azov has returned to the demarcation line in the Donbas to carry out military tasks, the unit’s press service reported.

    “Behind us are more than three years of grueling training, dozens of missions and large-scale exercises, liberation of the cities and settlements. We are confident that the most remarkable battles of the Azov lie ahead,” the statement reads.

    The Azov press service states that servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine …

  • UN denies involvement in new Donbas peace plan proposed by OSCE special representative Martin Sajdik

    The UN has no involvement in the new plan on settling the situation in Donbas, relayed by OSCE Special Representative Martin Sajdik, said the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, Osnat Lubrani, as reported by UNIAN.

    She emphasized that the UN supports proposals aimed at achieving peace in Donbas.

    “Foremost we support the Minsk agreements and negotiations that are ongoing, the efforts of the “Normandy format,” the Tripartite Contact Group and the OSCE in Ukraine,” said Lubrani.

    According …

  • Poland urges UN to send peacekeepers to Donbas

    Polish Radio reports that during a meeting of ministers from European countries members of the UN Security Council with the head of the EU diplomatic department Federica Mogherini, the Polish Foreign, Minister Jacek Czaputowicz called on the participants to consider sending a UN peacekeeping mission to Ukraine.

    “It is important for us to keep the issue of aggression against Ukraine on international forum agendas, including the UN. It would be good to consider new initiatives that will bring us …

  • OSCE prepares new peace plan for the Donbas

    In an interview with the newspaper Kleine Zeitung, the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairmanship in Ukraine and the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk, Martin Sajdik said that the OSCE Ministerial Council had been presented with a new peace plan for the Donbas conflict, which should replace the Minsk agreements. 

    Sajdik is the main author of the new concept of peace and has stated that plan was introduced to Russia and Ukraine in the OSCE. 

    The Special Representative proposed the …

  • Ukrainian Joint Forces Commander warns of imminent Russian offensive

    Russia is strengthening its forces near the Ukrainian border and preparing a large-scale offensive, stated joint Forces Commander Serhiy Nayev in an interview with Novoe Vremya magazine.

    According to Nayev, the proof lies in the presence of twelve tactical battalions near the Ukrainian-Russian border where there used to be only eight battalions. The number of combat-ready aircraft on the other side of the front line near Donetsk has also increased.

    The General explained that Russian …