Contents tagged with War in Ukraine
-
The Guardian - Ukrainian rebels grow restless amid cracks in alliance with Russia
Portraits of Putin and Stalin adorn the room where the rebel commander, Yuri “Rostov” Shevchenko, holds court.In this former KGB complex in the industrial town of Alchevsk in the self-declared Luhansk People’s Republic, members of Shevchenko’s militant Ghost Brigade are growing restless as a shaky ceasefire holds in eastern Ukraine.With their Russian backers turning their attention to the war in Syria, cracks are appearing in the rebels’ alliance with Moscow. The Kremlin is reportedly pressing …
-
At least 2 killed in Ukraine ammunition depot explosion.
At least two people have been killed in the Ukrainian town of Svatove after a series of blasts at a ammunition depot.
Local media has said the Ukrainian security forces were investigating and claimed it could be a terrorist act.
The town lies in a government-controlled part of the Luhansk region. In addition to the two casualties, four civilians and four servicemen were wounded.
According to Ukraine's Defence Ministry statement, the fire was started by "the release of a flare that fell onto …
-
Suspended OSCE monitor turns out to be a Russian GRU officer.
As reported by Ukrainian TSN news service, a monitor from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine in the town of Sievierodonetsk in Luhansk region, who has been suspended for misbehavior apparently involving alcohol, has turned to be an officer from Russia's GRU Main Intelligence Directorate.
A TSN journalist once heard an OSCE SMM monitor who later introduced himself as Maksim Udovichenko promoting Russian propaganda among locals in Luhansk region while being not on OSCE …
-
Ukrainian ceise-fire shaken.
As reported by a military spokesman Oleksandr Zavtonov, a Ukrainian soldier was killed by fire from Russia-backed separatists near the Donetsk airport on October 26.
It is the first reported Ukrainian military death since mid-October, as the fragile cease-fire negotiated in Minsk in February has generally held.
At the same time a separatists spokesman accused the Ukrainian military of launching an attack on the airport. Officials in Kyiv denied that claim.
AFP reported that local residents …
-
U.S. to Ship Modified Radar Systems to Ukraine.
As reported by The Wall Street Journal, advanced radar systems being shipped to Ukraine to counter artillery strikes by pro-Russia separatists have been modified to prevent them from peering into Russia.
The modifications drew fire from a leading Republican critic of the Obama administration, who called it a misguided attempt to mollify Vladimir Putin.
President Barack Obama signed an order on Sept. 29 to give Ukraine two radar systems worth $10 million each. U.S. officials said this week …
-
Ukraine ceasefire helps volunteers bring dead soldiers home.
As reported by Reuters,A ceasefire in eastern Ukraine means more work for the volunteer group Black Tulip, which can now collect remains of Ukrainian soldiers killed in action without the risk of being caught in crossfire between rebels and government troops.
The group used to locate and rebury soldiers killed in World War Two, but when hundreds of Ukrainian troops were killed in the battle of Ilovaisk last year, the volunteers decided their skills could help more recent victims of conflict. …
-
Stalin portraits go on displays in Donetsk.
Portraits of former Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin emerged on displays in the center of Donetsk, the pro-russian rebel capital of eastern Ukraine. as the separatist authorities fuel a mood of Soviet nostalgia.The rebels revive Soviet customs to cement their Moscow-backed rule and fuel a mood of Soviet nostalgia.The horrors of Stalin's repressions and the deaths of up to five million Ukrainians in the 1930s due to famine caused by forced collectivization go unmentioned.The Donetsk rebel leader …
-
Russian 'humanitarian convoys' bring toy bombs to Ukraine.
While Moscow claims its "humanitarian aid" trucks are carrying aid for people in Ukraine's Donbas, the true purpose of the convoys remained delivery of ammunition and supplies for the Kremlin's unmarked troops and mercenaries.These days the truce continues to hold, but the explosives units of Ukraine's armed forces are busy taking care of those "gifts" delivered by the russians.
Over 42,000 mines and other explosives have been detected and defused by Ukrainian military in the war torn areas in …
-
Kremlin replaces puppets in east Ukraine.
There is nothing surprising in the fact that Kremlin finds the work of its curators in the self proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic ubsolutely unsatisfactory.Hence the puppet staff is being currently replaced, as reported by The Information Resistance group.Among the indicators of failure: over a hundred of militants have left the 11th Regiment of DPR, including 19 officers who have declared an unwillingness to continue to serve in the russian-backed military units.The fact that russian …
-
U.S. to keep tough line on Russia until peace plan fully implemented.
Despite Ukraine truce, US keeps tough line on Russia.
The U.S. assistant secretary of state Victoria Nuland warned on Thursday that the United States would maintain economic sanctions imposed on Russia over its intervention in Ukraine until the terms of the peace plan are fully implemented.“We will judge Russia and the separatists by their actions, not their words,” she said. “We will work with the EU to keep sanctions in place until the Minsk agreements are fully implemented. “And of course, …