Contents tagged with Donbas

  • Kyiv may impose new sanctions against Russia because of Russian passports in Donbas

    The Ukrainian authorities intend to respond to the issuance of Russian passports to the residents of parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions that are not controlled by Ukraine, said the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksandr Danyliuk, as reported by Interfax-Ukraine. He also did not rule out the imposition of national sanctions.

    «There must be specific measures to stop this process or make it as complicated as possible. This is a violation of the Minsk …

  • Russia plans to issue 5,000 passports a day to Donbas residents

    Russian Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots Viktor Vodolatsky said that Russia plans to issue 4-5 thousand passports a day to the residents of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republic (DPR and LPR), reports TASS news agency.

    According to him, for this purpose, the number of passport offices in the Rostov region will be increased in September from two to eight. At the moment, it is possible to issue only 500 …

  • Ukrainian Security Service arrests DPR militant who transported Buk missile system used to shoot down MH17

    The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has identified a militant from the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) who helped transport the Buk anti-aircraft missile launcher that was used to shoot down a Malaysia Airlines passenger aircraft over the Donbas.

    This was announced by Vitaliy Mayakov, deputy head of the SBU’s Chief Investigative Directorate, during press conference, as cited by Ukrainski Novyny news agency.

    Mayakov also presented a cellphone video showing the Buk missile system being …

  • Kyiv: Russia delivered 600 tons of ammunition to militants in Donbas over the summer

    During a press briefing, the speaker of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry Maxime Prout said that during this summer, Russia has already provided the pro-Russian militants in the Donbas with 600 tons of ammunition.

    "During June-July of this year, more than 600 tons of ammunition, including multiple rocket launchers, artillery systems, mortars, and dozens of tanks with fuel and lubricants, were delivered by rail from Russia to the first and the second Army Corps [ of the militants],” he said.

    Also, …

  • Germany convicts militant who fought in Donbas

    The German court found Alex D. (a citizen of Kyrgyzstan) guilty of participation in the conflict in Eastern Ukraine, reports Deutsche Welle.

    Alex D. fought on the side of the pro-Russian separatists in Donbas for about two years. The mercenary was detained in 2016 when he returned to Germany, and now he was found guilty of preparing a "serious crime that threatens state security."

    Photos that were attached to the criminal case show Alex D. posing on the tank, then holding a Kalashnikov …

  • Convoy with Ukraine's Donetsk governor comes under fire in Donbas

    Near the southern part of the Hranitne village in eastern Ukraine, an anti-tank missile system destroyed a KrAZ truck belonging to one of the Joint Forces divisions, the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) reported on Facebook.

    “One soldier was killed as a result of an anti-tank guided missile hitting the body of the truck. Another soldier received medium severity wounds,” the report states.

    The wounded soldier has received medical attention and been evacuated to a hospital.

    Citing its own source, …

  • Kyiv: Russia using Donbas as testing ground for modern weapons

    The Donbas is now being used by the occupiers as a testing ground for testing the capabilities of Russia’s modern weapons and military equipment, said Lieutenant-General Oleksandr Syrsky, commander of Ukraine’s Joint Forces Operation, in an interview with Defense Express.

    “The Russian military leadership is saturating the occupation contingent with modern weapons, intelligence and electronic warfare systems, communications equipment and other modern means to give them an advantage over the …

  • Ukrainian President Zelensky promises to allow use of Russian language in Donbas

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the residents of the areas that are not under Ukraine's control should be allowed to speak the language they want, reports Interfax-Ukraine.

    According to the President, there is no language problem in the country.

    "This is the idea of Andrei Bogdan (the Head of the Office of Ukrainian President), but people also discuss that. One day we will stop the war, and I think that we need to allow people in Donetsk to speak the language they want. I don' …

  • Detained DPR anti-air commander complicit in killing of Ukrainian troops in Donbas

    DPR lieutenant colonel Vladimir Tsemakh, captured by agents of the Security Service of Ukraine SBU and taken to a court in Kyiv, will have to answer not only for his involvement in Russia’s operation to shoot down the Malaysia Airlines Boeing, but also for the murder of Ukrainian soldiers, writes journalist Yuriy Butusov.

    In a video interview given in 2015, Tsemakh, under the alias “Borisych”, explains how his division took part in the fight for the 43rd checkpoint near Snizhne on August 6, 201 …

  • Ukrainian President Zelensky invites Putin to meet in Minsk

    In a video message, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky invited Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump, British Prime Minister Theresa May, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and French President Emmanuel Macron to hold a meeting in Belarus.

    "And now, I want to appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Do we need to talk? Yes, we do. I propose the following group for the conversation: me, you, the President of the USA, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, the Chancellor …