Contents tagged with Donbas

  • Russia allows its military to prevent foreign vessels from passing through the Kerch Strait

    The State Duma of Russia enacted a law that gives the National Guard of Russia the right to expel vessels from areas adjacent to the Crimean Bridge in the Kerch Strait, reported Interfax.

    “Currently the National Guard of Russia has the authority to inspect ships that violate maritime law regarding structures protected by the Russian Guard. However, the Russian Guard does not have the right to expel vessels from zones prohibiting shipments and to escort these ships to specific docking areas,” …

  • Volker: US has information on numbers and commanders of Russian troops in Donbas

    The US possesses detailed information on the numbers, organization and command of regular divisions of the Russian Armed Forces in the Donbas, US State Department Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker told the radio station Echo of Moscow in an interview.

    “We have studied this matter very carefully. We have very good information about the commanders, the chain of command, the type of troops, their financing, the number of soldiers of the regular Russian army, the number of specialized …

  • Ukrainian President calls for deployment of peacekeepers in Donbas

    President Petro Poroshenko is convinced that a peacekeeping operation under the robust UN mandate will help restore the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, said the head of the state at a high-level event to support the UN peacekeeping activity on Tuesday, September 25 in New York, Interfax Ukraine reports.

    “I am confident that an UN-mandated multinational peacekeeping operation with the only clear goal to restore Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity could be a …

  • Poroshenko and Volker discuss Donbas situation

    President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and the U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker discussed the latest developments in the Donbas and prospects for the deployment of a multinational UN peacekeeping mission.

    The meeting was held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly’s 73rd session, informs the press service of the Ukrainian President.

    The interlocutors also stressed the need for immediate release of all Ukrainian political prisoners detained in Russia.

    "Special attention …

  • Media: Kremlin refuses to support Zakharchenko’s former associates

    The Donetsk People’s Republic’s Minister of Revenues, Alexander Timofeev, ex-adviser Alexander Kazakov and the failed head of the republic, Dmitry Trapeznikov all fled to Russia after the assassination of DPR leader Alexander Zakharchenko to ask the Kremlin for support. Novaya Gazeta reports that they were categorically denied assistance.

    None of the three could get an audience with any member of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s administration. Timofeev had fled to the Crimea and tried to …

  • Volker names countries ready to send peacekeepers to Donbas

    In an interview with Echo of Moscow, US State Department Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker named a number of countries that are prepared to send their own troops to the Donbas as part of a UN peacekeeping mission.

    “As for countries, a number of states have already said that they will be ready to make their contribution. Sweden, Finland, Austria, Belarus, Serbia and Turkey have said so. In my view, this is a good range of countries, including several states which Russia considers …

  • British aircraft conducts reconnaissance flight near the Crimea

    On Sunday, September 22, a British Royal Air Force RC-135W aircraft conducted a reconnaissance flight over the Black Sea near the coast of the Crimea, according to the sources monitoring aviation traffic.

    According to their data, the flight lasted several hours. The reconnaissance aircraft with tail number ZZZ666 took off from Souda Bay air force base on Crete. It flew along the coast of Crimea and Krasnodar region in Russia for several hours.

    American drones have recently also conducted …

  • OSCE: Donbas has the most land mines in the world

    The OSCE Special Representative Martin Sajdik said that the east part of Ukraine is the area with the biggest number of land mines in the world, reports Interfax-Ukraine.

    "The working group on security issues discussed compliance with the ceasefire, raising of the forces and means as well as demining. Ukraine’s east has become the area with the most land mines in the world," said Sajdik at the briefing following the Trilateral Contact Group meeting on conflict resolution in Donbas.

    In this …

  • Russia to propose changes to Donbas ceasefire agreement after Zakharchenko’s death

    Russia will propose changes to the ceasefire agreement in the Donbas after the assassination of the head of the unrecognized Donetsk People’s, Republic Alexander Zakharchenko, stated Boris Gryzlov, the Russian plenipotentiary in the Contact Group for the settlement of the situation in Ukraine, TASS reported.

    He said that a package of additional measures to the agreement was discussed at the meeting of the Contact Group on September 19. “These measures, which include a ban on any sabotage …

  • US strategic drone conducts reconnaissance flight over Donbas

    An American RQ-4A Global Hawk strategic drone conducted reconnaissance flight along the demarcation line in the Donbas, Interfax Ukraine reports with the reference to the data published by aviation sources.  

    After taking off at the Naval Air Station Sigonella in Italy, the American drone spent 10 hours flying along the demarcation line between Ukraine and the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), remaining in Ukraine-controlled airspace.

    On several occasions …