Section: The Japan Times (Japan)
Russia threatens Ukraine after man dies in cross-border shelling
Russia on Sunday threatened Ukraine with “irreversible consequences” after a man was killed by a shell fired across the border from Ukraine, describing the incident in warlike terms as aggression that must be met with a response. Although both sides have reported cross-border shootings in the past, the incident appears to be the first...
Refugees flee Ukraine rebel bastions in fear of reprisal assault
Thousands of panicked refugees are flooding highways and packed trains heading out of the main remaining rebel strongholds in eastern Ukraine, fearing attacks by government forces that lost 30 soldiers in two days to defiant militants. Pro-Russian separatists killed 19 troops in a hail of heavy rocket fire on Friday near the Russian border in...
Ukraine death toll climbs, but information scant
The only thing clear about the death toll in eastern Ukraine, where government troops are battling separatist rebels, is that it’s mounting. After a faltering start, government efforts to reverse the tide of a pro-Russian insurgency have in recent weeks taken on an urgent impetus. It has frequently meant deadly results for the civilian...
Kiev warns pro-Russian separatists of plan to retake territory in east
Ukrainian government forces on Wednesday warned separatists in the eastern town of Donetsk that a plan was now in place to take back the territory they occupy, but defiant rebels reported a steady flow of new recruits who were ready to fight. The Ukrainian military pushed the rebels out of their best-fortified stronghold in the […] The...
Ukraine threatens rebels with a ‘nasty surprise’
Ukraine’s government kept up military pressure against pro-Russian rebels on Tuesday, threatening them with an “nasty surprise,” but the militants said they were preparing to fight back after losing their main stronghold. President Petro Poroshenko, drawing confidence from the fall of the rebel bastion of Slovyansk over the...
Ukraine’s Slovyansk struggles back after rebels are routed
For the first time in three months, Alla Grebenkova says she can go out on the streets of this city in eastern Ukraine without fear of being recognized as Ukrainian. “I lived in hell. It was complete chaos and lawlessness,” the 68-year-old teacher said of life in Slovyansk after it came under the control of […] The post...
Ukraine city struggles back after rebels are routed
For the first time in three months, Alla Grebenkova says she can go out on the streets of this city in eastern Ukraine without fear of being recognized as Ukrainian. “I lived in hell. It was complete chaos and lawlessness,” the 68-year-old teacher said of life in Slovyansk after it came under the control of […] The post Ukraine...
Crimea euphoria fading for Russians
When she was asked to give up a day’s pay to help Crimea, Russian hospital therapist Tatyana could not hide her anger. Why should she subsidize others when struggling to make ends meet herself? Living in southern Russia close to the border with Ukraine, Tatyana was caught up in the euphoria that gripped the nation […] The post Crimea...
Putin silent on fighting in Slaviansk
Three weeks before Ukraine’s army forced rebel fighters out of the strategic eastern city of Slaviansk, their commander made a desperate plea for military help from Russia. “A week will pass, two, three, maybe a month, and the rebellion’s best fighters will be bled dry and, sooner or later, crushed and destroyed,” Igor...
Downed bridges may slow Ukraine military push near rebel-held city
After Ukrainian forces’ seizure of a key rebel stronghold in the east, the major cities of Donetsk and Luhansk could be the next focus of major fighting. Three bridges on roads leading to Donetsk were blown up Monday — possibly to hinder military movements, though the rebels claim it was the work of pro-Kiev saboteurs. […] The...
