Contents tagged with Donbas

  • Ukrainian veterans blockade the areas of the Donbas that are beyond control of Ukraine

    On January 25th, Ukrainian veterans began the third stage of blocking trade with the territories that are beyond the control of the Ukrainian government in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The first stage was preparatory, and the second was an information gathering stage. The third stage is a direct blockade of trucks and trains that will move to the temporarily uncontrolled territories in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The initiators of the blockade are the Donbas and Aidar volunteer …

  • Kyiv demands that Ukraine be allowed to participate in talks between Russia and the US

    Ukraine should have a say in any deal between Russia and the United States, aimed to end the conflict in the eastern part of the country, as stated by the Deputy Foreign Minister, Olena Zerkal, Reuters reported.

    Kyiv is concerned about the fact that the US President, Donald Trump, wants to exclude Ukraine from any peace talks, seeking to improve relations with Moscow.

    "We are talking about the future of our country, we do not want to be excluded from the negotiations," Zerkal said.

    Also, the …

  • Controversy and criticism surround the PACE resolution on Ukraine

    On January 25, in Strasbourg, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted a resolution following the results of monitoring the reforms and the state of democracy in Ukraine. The PACE convention was full of tension for Ukraine. Some of the main points of the resolution titled "The functioning of democratic institutions in Ukraine" caused heated debate and confrontation.

    The most awkward point: elections in Donbas

    The amendment about the elections to the Verkhovna Rada of …

  • Speratists have not allowed UN humanitarian convoy into the Donbas

    Separatist officials have not allowed humanitarian aid from the United Nations to enter into the separatist republic.

    This was stated by the press-secretary of the administration of the east region of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, Oksana Ivanets, while on air with the 5 Kanal TV channel.

    According to her, 25 trucks were carrying building materials and medical supplies provided by the United Nations. They crossed the entry and the exit checkpoint Novotroitske, but they were …

  • Veterans of Ukrainian war block railway traffic to separatist-held territories

    According to the Deputy of Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) and former commander of the Donbas volunteer battalion, Semen Semenchenko, veterans of the Ukrainian war have blocked the passage of trains to separatist-held territories, as stated in his Facebook post.

    “12 cargo trains with more than 700 rail containers have been taken out of the process of financing the terrorism. Servicemen of the Interior Ministry, servicemen of the Border guard service, SBU [Security Service of Ukraine] …

  • Poroshenko criticizes the idea of abandoning the Donbas

    Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko criticized the opinion of some politicians who are calling on him to abandon the Donbas, as he stated at an event commemorating Unity Day in the Taras Shevchenko National Museum.

    "It is regrettable to discuss this on Unity Day, but there are political forces which are in a subtle way, proposing that we abandon the Donbas... I want to ask these politicians a question: Gentlemen, did you unite these territories to discard them so easily," the President asked. …

  • Ukrainian government's plan for public policy toward Donbas: reintegration or capitulation?

    On January 11, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved a plan of measures aimed at the implementation of some of the principles of the state domestic policy with respect to certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions where public authorities are temporarily not exercising their powers. The document caused a strong reaction in the parliament and drew criticism from experts.The essence of the documentThe plan for the creation of some economic and socio-cultural relations with the …

  • Former U.S. Secretary of Defense: Ukraine should not abandon the Crimea and the Donbas

    Ukraine must uphold the principle of its territorial integrity. The idea of neutrality as a compromise to resolve the conflict with Russia is wrong, says Robert Gates, U.S. Secretary of Defense in 2006-2011 who also headed the CIA in 1991-1993.

    "It would be wrong to talk about the neutrality of Ukraine. Ukraine should never give up its position. The Crimea is a part of Ukraine, and they should never abandon the Donbas as it is a part of Ukraine, too." He said this in an interview with Interfax- …

  • Lavrov: We are ready to allow armed OSCE observers in the Donbas

    Russia agreed to providing the OSCE observers with small arms in the Donbas although it believes that having an armed police mission in the region contradicts the Minsk Agreements, as stated by the Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, Sergey Lavrov, Interfax reports.

    "We are ready to increase the number of monitors at the contact line and weapons storage facilities, to have this presence around-the-clock, and to give observers the ability to carry their personal small arms," Lavrov said. …

  • Herashchenko: We will not exchange Crimea for the Donbas

    Responding to the statement of Nadiya Savchenko, who said that the only peaceful way to return the Donbas is to give up the Crimea, the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Iryna Herashchenko, stated that no MP and no political force will be able to impose a discussion on the surrender of Ukrainian territories.

    “We will not exchange the occupied Crimea for the Donbas. We will not give up on the Donbas. We will fight tooth and nail for every inch of Ukrainian territory. We will fight …