Section: The Gulf Today (United Arab Emirates)
Russian tanks enter Ukraine: Kiev
KIEV/MOSCOW: Ukraine’s military accused Russia on Friday of sending a column of 32 tanks and truckloads of troops into the country’s east to support pro-Russian separatists fighting government forces. Thursday’s cross-border incursion, if confirmed, is a significant escalation of a conflict that has killed more than 4,000 people...
Ukraine isolates rebel territory with passport rule
KIEV: Ukraine announced passport controls around pro-Russian separatist territories on Thursday, as heavy artillery fire erupted in rebel-held Donetsk and Russia accused its neighbour of “crudely” violating the ceasefire. Ukraine’s border guards service said anyone crossing in or out of rebel areas will now have to present a passport....
Ukraine peace plan hangs by a thread
KIEV: The ceasefire in Ukraine hung by a thread on Wednesday after President Petro Poroshenko accused pro-Russian rebels of endangering the peace process and ordered troop reinforcements to eastern cities. In another sign of how far apart the two sides are drifting, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk announced he was cutting the rebel-held Donetsk...
Kiev cries foul as rebel heads sworn in
DONETSK: Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine staged swearing in ceremonies for their leaders on Tuesday after votes dismissed as a farce by Kiev, which says they violated terms of a peace plan to end a war that has killed more than 4,000 people. Nato’s highest ranking officer, a US general, said conditions were now in place to create...
Europe warns Russia over Ukraine rebel poll
KIEV: Europe on Monday warned Russia to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty as Moscow turned the screws on Kiev by recognising controversial rebel polls and fighting flared in the separatist east. Elections in the pro-Russian separatist area deepened international tensions over Ukraine, raising fears that a shaky two-month old truce could...
Romania votes for new president
BUCHAREST: Romania’s Prime Minister Victor Ponta looked set to win the first round of a presidential election on Sunday, despite fears he could reverse reforms aimed at tackling the rampant corruption that blights one of Europe’s poorest countries. The vote is seen as a crucial test for the former communist country, at a time when...
Ukraine separatists vote in election
DONETSK: Two pro-Russian separatists are set to be confirmed as leaders in controversial elections in eastern Ukraine on Sunday – one a rebel chief who highlights his status as a miner’s son and the other a fan of Communist icon Vladimir Lenin. Alexander Zakharchenko, who commands rebels fighting Ukrainian government forces in the...
7 soldiers killed in Ukraine
KIEV: Seven Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the past day of fighting with pro-Russian rebels in the east of the country, the military said on Thursday, the biggest daily toll in more than two weeks. “Over the last 24 hours, we have lost seven servicemen, 11 were injured,” Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko told reporters. After a...
Russia rights group lists 46 ‘political prisoners’
MOSCOW: Russia’s most prominent human rights group on Thursday published a list of 46 “political prisoners,” including Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and a Ukrainian pilot detained in Moscow, Nadia Savchenko. Rights group Memorial publishes an annual list of those it deems to be political prisoners. The Kremlin denies Russia imprisons anyone...
Russia angers Ukraine with backing for rebel polls
MOSCOW: Russia announced on Tuesday it will recognise separatist polls in Ukraine next weekend, fuelling tensions with the country’s newly elected pro-Western leaders as they negotiate on forming a coalition government. The rebel elections on Sunday should “go ahead as agreed,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. “We will of course...
