Contents tagged with Donbas

  • Poroshenko affirms conditions for elections in the Donbas

    The holding of local elections in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions is only possible with the improvement of regional security, the participation of the OSCE, and the transfer of control over the self-proclaimed republics to Ukraine, as stated by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

    “We are interested in unlocking the political process and holding local elections in Donbas. However, these elections are possible only under several conditions," Poroshenko said. He added that “Ukraine’s struggle …

  • Bild: Russia directly controls the Donbas

    The editors of the German newspaper Bild have documents at their disposal proving that the Russian Federation has adopted complete political and economic control over the separatist regions of eastern Ukraine. The results of the journalistic investigation were published on the night of Wednesday, March 30th, on their website.

    According to the existing minutes from the meeting of the Interdepartmental Commission in the State Duma of the Russian Federation on October 23rd, 2015, the actual …

  • European Commissioner for Human Rights: Kiev has to minimize the isolation of the Donbas

    The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Nils Muižnieks, stated that Ukraine must minimize the isolation of the Donbas. "I know that it is difficult and all is in Ukraine’s hands but it is necessary to maintain contact with the people of that region and try to support them because it will benefit the interests of the future generation of Ukrainian people," Muižnieks said, as reported by zn.ua.

    According to the Commissioner, since July of 2015, when he visited Donetsk, life …

  • Poroshenko: International peacekeepers are needed in eastern Ukraine

    The President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, stated that international peacekeepers are needed to ensure security in the Donbas.

    “We need international peacekeepers that will ensure the safety in the Donbas during the withdrawal and transfer of authority. Take your Plotnitsky and Zakharchenko back, take your paratroopers, who you brought here, and we will restore Ukrainian sovereignty,” he said while addressing residents of Mykolaivka in the Donetsk region.

    Poroshenko noted that the main goal …

  • Ukranian Intelligence: Six Russian servicemen were killed in Avdiivka

    The Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine reported that six Russian servicemen were killed and five others were injured on March 22-23 during attempts to attack the industrial area in Avdiivka. “The enemy continues to maintain tension in the direction of Donetsk. High intensity of shelling of ATO forces’ [Ukrainian army] positions, including use of grenade launchers, 82 and 100-mm mortars, remains in Avdiivka and Yasynuvata,” the report says.

    In addition, the Intelligence noted that …

  • Poll: Almost 30% of Ukrainians think it is necessary to continue the war in the Donbas

    Almost a third of Ukrainians (29.9%) believe that it is necessary to continue the war in the Donbas until Ukraine has fully regained control over the entire region, as indicated by data from a survey by the Razumkov Center.

    At the same time 22.6% of respondents supported providing a special autonomous status to the territories not controlled by Kiev and 21.5% would support their separation from Ukraine.

    As noted by sociologists, in comparison with data from March of 2015, the share of those …

  • OSCE calls on both sides in Ukraine to open Horlivka-Donetsk route for civilian transport

    As was stated by the Deputy Chief Monitor of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine, Alexander Hug, all parties associated with the conflict in the Donbas region should reroute in the direction of Yasinovataya and withdraw their troops from the line of contact. Only after this can the Donetsk-Horlivka route be opened for civilian transport.

    "We observed intensive fighting on this territory. Civilians using this route would …

  • More than 100 people suspected of attempting to create illegally armed groups in Donetsk since January

    The Ukrainian National Police of the Donetsk region continue to document the activities of separatists groups - members of the illegally armed groups which occupied a part of the Donbas region, the head of the Regional Department of the National Police, Vyacheslav Abroskin, said.

    "In 2016, eight people among those detained in 2015, were sentenced to imprisonment. Since the beginning of 2016, 102 people are alleged to have been participants or supporters of illegally armed groups as per Article …

  • Ukrainian MP: The Ukrainian Army would be able to free the Donbas in two weeks

    Ukrainian MP and head of the Center for Military and Political Research, Dmitry Tymchuk, said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine would be able to free the Donbas from pro-Russian separatists in two weeks.

    "The Ukrainian army is a real force, which, if not in a few days, then in a couple of weeks, would be able to free the Donbass. The militants only hope is Russia, that Putin will send in troops," Tymchuk said during the broadcast of the talk show "The Right to Rule" on the 1 + 1 TV channel. …

  • UN finds a large number of foreign citizens fighting on the side of pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine

    A large number of foreigners have been in the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine for various reasons and with different motives. Human rights expert Patricia Arias, a member of the UN Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries said at a briefing in Kiev that the representatives of the organization came to that conclusion as a result of their visit to Ukraine, as reported by Ukrinform.

    "Motivation for taking part in the armed conflict in Ukraine is diverse. The Working Group received information …