Contents tagged with War in Ukraine

  • Putin – From Aggressor to Peacemaker

    “Participation in the Syrian campaign will help Putin return to a more favorable position in world politics. But, it will hardly change world leaders’ opinions regarding the Kremlin’s actions in Ukraine.” wrote Sergey Rudenko in a special comment for German broadcaster Deutsche Welle. Crimea’s annexation and the war in Donbas forced the West to implement harsh measures against Russia. However, the Syrian war and the union of Russia and France in fighting against the Islamic State may improve …

  • President of the European Commission offers Putin a deal if the truce is observed in Eastern Ukraine

    The president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Junker wrote a letter to Vladimir Putin, offering closer trade relations between the EU and the Eurasian Economic Union in the observance of the truce in Ukraine. Reuters refers to this letter that was written after the G20 Summit in Turkey. In his letter, Junker stressed the importance of stable relations with Moscow, which, unfortunately, have been difficult to maintain over the past year. According to Junker, he appealed to the European …

  • Trilateral Contact Group for Ukraine Finds Serious Ceasefire Violations

    Following a recent meeting in Minsk, the Trilateral Contact Group for Ukraine (TCG) made a public statement. In the statement, the TCG indicated that the situation along the boundary line in the conflict area has worsened. The Trilateral Contact Group for Ukraine made an appeal to the parties in the conflict in Donbas to avoid the renewal of military actions and urged them to comply with the conditions of the Minsk agreement.

    On November 17, Special Representative to the Organization for …

  • Increased risk of renewed fighting in Eastern Ukraine

    The situation in the East of Ukraine remains tense. Militants shelled Ukrainian positions 25 times in the last 24 hours. The majority of the attacks occurred in Donetsk area. Towns of Marinka, Troitskoe, Verhnetoretskoe, Krasnogorovka, Peskov and Avdeevka were shelled with anti-aircraft systems, mortars, grenade launchers, heavy machine guns and small arms. The Ukrainian positions in the towns of Shirokino, Zaitseve and Novgorodskoe also came under direct fire.

    After 20 pm, the towns of …

  • Barack Obama called on Putin to withdraw Russian forces from Ukraine

    While meeting with President Putin at the G20 Summit, President Obama raised the issue of withdrawal of the foreign troops from Ukraine, the release of hostages and return of the control over the Ukrainian border. The information on the meeting of the two Presidents has been made available through an official report of the US National Security Council.According to the White House, the talks between Putin and Obama lasted about 35 minutes.Talking about the situation in Ukraine, the US President …

  • Ukraine may return heavy weaponry if situation escalates.

    According to Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko, Ukraine could return its heavy weaponry to the frontlines if fighting with pro-Russian separatists escalates further. "Our military commanders will be forced to return artillery and mortars to defend Ukrainian positions and protect the lives of our servicemen," he said in a daily televised briefing.

    Five Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the past 24 hours during fighting in the east of Ukraine, its highest death toll since a …

  • U.S. Treasury Secretary to visit Ukraine

    The U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew will visit Ukraine on Friday to discuss the results of the reforms in the country.

    In Kyiv on November 13-14 Mr. Lew will meet with the Finance Minister and other senior government officials to discuss Ukraine’s ongoing reforms to strengthen economic governance, repair the financial sector, and tackle corruption.  He will also meet with several members of the Verkhovna Rada. At the same time an International Monetary Fund mission will arrive in Kiev to …

  • Ukrainian Army Commandment: Russian Separatists concentrate weapons in Donetsk region

    "Pro-Kremlin separatists are concentrating weapons and military personnel in the areas of Donetsk and Luhansk" – stated the press center of the Ukrainian Army commandment.

    The Press center officials note that in violation of the Minsk agreement there is a growing number of ammunition and weapons in the territories held by the separatists.Ten tanks and ten infantry personnel carriers, as well as seven trucks, have recently been observed moving from Shachtersk to Donetsk.

    According to …

  • Ukraine needs 6 years to join NATO

    In an exclusive interview with DW, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko commented about the continuing fighting in Ukraine despite an official ceasefire and discussed Ukraine's chance of becoming a NATO member.Mr. Poroshenko said he's optimistic about the European Union's solidarity with Ukraine and that he believes Kyiv will eventually join NATO. "Our position is to reform the country. We need at least six or seven years to meet the criteria. The world would be more secure if Ukraine had an …

  • Lethal Aid to Ukraine bill passed at U.S. Congress

    WASHINGTON - U.S. Congress has passed a defense policy bill that authorizes up to $50 million in lethal military aid for Ukraine and mandates a White House response if Russia is deemed to be violating a key arms control treaty.

    The White House said hours after the $607 billion bill was passed by the Senate on November 10 that President Barack Obama was likely to sign the legislation.

    The House of Representatives passed a similar version of the bill last week.

    Among other things, the package …