Contents tagged with Donbas

  • OSCE condemns threats against its observers in eastern Ukraine

    The Acting Head of the OSCE, German Minister of Foreign Affairs Frank-Walter Steinmeier, expressed concerns over the increase in ceasefire violations in eastern Ukraine including incidents involving OSCE observers.

    “The SMM is a civil, unarmed mission. It plays an important role in the implementation of the ceasefire agreement. SMM observers’ security should be guaranteed by both sides. The persons responsible for threats and use of force against observers must be brought to justice,” …

  • Ukraine resumes exporting coal from the Donbas

    Ukraine has resumed the export of A-Grade coal extracted from the uncontrolled territories of the Donbas and Luhansk regions

    According to the State Statistics Service, as of February, Ukraine has officially resumed exporting small amounts of anthracite coal.

    Coal is currently being exported to Poland and Moldova. In February, about 900 tons were exported; 830 of which was sent to Poland. In January, according to the State Statistics, no anthracite was exported.

    According to Government …

  • Nuland: The US insists that Ukraine grant ‘special status’ to separatist republics

    The US insists that Ukraine make changes to the constitution, which would grant “special status” to the occupied regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, Novoye Vremya reported.

    This position was reportedly voiced by Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland during a meeting with representatives of parliamentary factions in Kiev on Tuesday.

    The US also insists that Ukraine hold elections in the Donbas region in the near future. 

    Victoria Voytsitska, a Deputy from the Samopomoch (Self-Reliance) …

  • Poroshenko: Russia agrees to OSCE armed police mission in the Donbas

    Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko stated that Russia has agreed to deploy an armed OSCE mission in the Donbas.

    "I’m very glad that Ukraine’s firm position is supported by our partners in The Normandy Group, both the U.S.A. and Russia has agreed to this format. I think we will do it right," Poroshenko said in an interview with Ukrainian TV channels on Sunday evening.

    The President emphasized that despite the Herculean efforts of the SMM OSCE, firing, especially in Avdiivka, Marinka and in …

  • Legal proceedings initiated against Russian pensioner who gave assistance to Ukrainian refugees

    In Russia a case against a 74-year-old librarian, Larisa Ladatkina, was initiated for providing assistance to refugees from the Donbas region. According to Rosbalt, she faces up to three years in prison. The elderly woman is accused of providing assistance to refugees from Luhansk, a city in eastern Ukraine.

    Reportedly, in the fall of 2015, the woman had registered and invited a family of Ukrainian immigrants to live in her apartment in Khimki (Moscow region). The registration period for the …

  • Ukrainian Armed Forces: The number of attacks by separatists has doubled

    The headquarters of Ukrainian military operations in the Donbas reported that on April 23rd, Russian-backed separatists fired at Ukrainian military positions more than 41 times. This is more than double the number of attacks by separatists on April 22nd, when there were only 19 recorded.

    "The most active was the Donetsk area where the gunmen fired towards Avdiivka using 82 mm and 120 mm caliber mortars. Kremlin supporters also ignored the ceasefire in areas near the Ukrainian positions in …

  • Report on Russian crimes in the Donbas was submitted to The Hague

    The report on the Russian crimes committed in the Donbas region in 2014 was handed over to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

    This was reported by Małgorzata Gosiewska, a Deputy of the Polish Sejm and the Deputy Chairman of the Commission of the Lower House of the Polish Parliament on Foreign Affairs on her Facebook page

    "Evidence of Russian war crimes committed in Ukraine was presented. Details will follow," Gosiewska wrote.

    Earlier Gosiewska stated that this report has an open …

  • Donetsk to hold Victory Day military parade on May 9th

    The leader of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, Alexander Zakharchenko, said that this time more military equipment will take part in the parade.

    On Wednesday, RIA Novosti quoted Zakharchenko as saying that the parade on the Victory Day of the Great Patriotic War will be held in Donetsk and restored military vehicles from the 1940s will participate. "This will be the usual parade of our technology... We have restored several pieces of equipment that participated in the liberation of our …

  • PACE: The 'hybrid annexation' of the Donbas has already occurred

    The Parliamentary Assembly on the Council of Europe (PACE) believes that it is impossible to talk about the conduct of elections in the Donbas during the escalation of the conflict

    PACE’s rapporteurs on the situation in Ukraine, Kristina Zelenkova and Marilouise Beck, reported that recent escalations of the conflict in Eastern Ukraine have made it impossible to even  talk about holding the elections in the Donbas. They made the statement during session of the political and legal committees of …

  • Herashchenko: 648 people are still missing in Ukraine; Red Cross should be allowed to search for them

    During a meeting with the Deputy Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee at the Polish Sejm, Małgorzata Gosiewska, the First Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, Iryna Herashchenko, stressed that 648 people are still missing in eastern Ukraine, as the search continues.

    "Our task is to look for these people. The Red Cross should be allowed to conduct search operations in the occupied territories," the press service of the Verkhovna Rada quoted Heraschenko.

    According to her, "it's …