Section: The Japan Times (Japan)
Ukraine cedes Donetsk airport on one of bloodiest days of war
Ukrainian forces on Thursday ceded a long-disputed airport to Russian-backed rebels as an upsurge in clashes killed nearly 50 people and punctured Europe’s latest push for peace in the nine-month war. The deadliest day of fighting since the signing of an increasingly irrelevant September truce also saw Moscow and Kiev trade bitter blame for...
Eight civilians reported killed in shelling of Donetsk trolley stop; foes blame each other
An artillery shell or mortar round struck a public transport stop in the rebel-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine on Thursday, killing at least eight civilians in an incident both sides blamed on the other. The attack, which wrecked a trolleybus and blew out windows nearby, followed a night of intense fighting at the […] The post Eight...
Rebels parade Ukrainian POWs through shelled city of Donetsk
Captured Ukrainian soldiers were paraded through the rebel-held city of Donetsk on Thursday and forced to kneel before angry locals who spat and pelted them with snowballs and shards of glass. Adding insult to injury for the troops forced to abandon Donetsk airport after months of bloody combat, the pro-Russian authorities marched their prisoners...
New flashpoint in east Ukraine; Russia backs arms pullback
Separatist forces in eastern Ukraine deployed large quantities of arms and manpower Wednesday to an emerging flashpoint, undermining hopes for a new peace initiative. Ukraine’s president cut short a visit to Switzerland to deal with the unfolding crisis. Earlier in the day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov proposed that both Ukrainian...
Crimea, eastern Ukraine face AIDS epidemic, U.N. says
A lethal health crisis is brewing in Russian-annexed Crimea and war-torn eastern Ukraine, where heroin users have lost access to therapy to wean them off the drug, the U.N.’s AIDS envoy said Wednesday. Out of 805 people in Crimea who before the annexation were receiving opioid substitution therapy (OST), a tried and tested U.N.-backed...
Russian forces attacking Ukraine troops in separatist east, Kiev says
Ukraine on Tuesday accused Russian forces of attacking its soldiers after crossing over into the ex-Soviet state’s war-wrecked separatist east in violation of a September truce deal. The charges — met with initial silence by Moscow — should add further tensions to difficult talks in Berlin on Wednesday aimed at stemming a spike in fighting...
On Ukraine’s frontline, volunteer medics do what they can
From doctors to students and businessmen, volunteers are risking their lives to evacuate wounded Ukrainian soldiers from the frontline. Some of them are based in the village of Vodiane, near Donetsk airport, where heavy fighting between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces has flared again since Thursday. Yuri Bondar, 29, drives an...
Civilians under threat as Ukraine clashes flare
Deadly clashes between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian rebels threatened civilians in central Donetsk on Monday, with shelling hitting a hospital and warnings of insurgents launching attacks from residential areas. Ukraine also made fresh accusations of Moscow backing the separatists, alleging that hundreds of Russian troops crossed the border...
Ukraine says tank offensive is pushing rebels from airport
Ukraine rushed tanks to the front lines and claimed Sunday to have cleared pro-Russian rebels from most of Donetsk airport after days of intense fighting, with heavy shelling shaking the key eastern city. As fighting wracked the country’s war-torn east, thousands of people held a common prayer and peace march Sunday in Kiev attended by […]...
Battle for key eastern Ukrainian airport intensifies
Clashes between Ukraine’s army and pro-Russian rebels for control of Donetsk’s airport intensified Saturday, with explosions and heavy gunfire shaking the area throughout much of the day and at least six more people killed. Kiev rushed reinforcements to the snowy eastern front lines, while soldiers in the area spoke of some of the...
