Section: The Malaysian Insider (Malaysia)
EU head eyes further sanctions over Ukraine
EU head Donald Tusk said yesterday he was consulting EU leaders on the next steps to take to increase “the costs of aggression” in eastern Ukraine where a ceasefire has failed to stop the fighting. With the latest peace accord breached more than 300 times, “we are clearly reaching a point when further diplomatic efforts will be...
Rebels pledge prisoner exchange as Ukraine ceasefire teeters
Pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine promised Friday to start exchanging prisoners, in a possible boost to a ceasefire that the US accuses separatists of repeatedly violating. A rebel official for human rights, Daria Morozova, said an initial exchange of prisoners with the Ukrainian side would take place on Saturday, the Interfax news agency…...
13 Ukrainian soldiers killed in Debaltseve withdrawal
Thirteen Ukrainian servicemen were killed during yesterday’s withdrawal from Debaltseve in eastern Ukraine and the whereabouts of 82 others is unknown, the Defence Ministry said today. The ministry said in a statement that 157 soldiers had been wounded and 93 taken prisoner by the separatists besieging Debaltseve. – Reuters, February 19,...
Nato urges Russia to withdraw troops from eastern Ukraine
NATO today urged Russia to withdraw all forces from eastern Ukraine and to stop its support for separatists as a ceasefire appeared to unravel. “I urge Russia to withdraw all its forces from eastern Ukraine, to stop all its support for the separatists and to respect the Minsk agreement,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in...
Ukraine urges West to get ‘tough’ on Russia after rebels storm town
Ukraine on Tuesday appealed to the West to get “tough” on Russia after pro-Moscow separatists stormed a flashpoint town to attack thousands of government troops, violating a three-day-old ceasefire. The UN and Western powers called for an immediate end to hostilities in eastern Ukraine as fierce fighting around the town of...
Separatists to battle on for east Ukrain town
Pro-Russian separatists cannot “morally” stop fighting for control of a town in east Ukraine where they have encircled government troops despite a peace deal, a senior rebel representative said on Tuesday. Denis Pushilin also told Reuters before a scheduled conference call on implementation of the agreement that the rebels could not...
Battle rages as Ukraine’s rebels reject ceasefire
Pro-Russian rebels pounded encircled Ukrainian government forces on Monday and Kiev said it would not pull back heavy guns while a truce was being violated, leaving a European-brokered peace deal on the verge of collapse. The European Union kept pressure on Russia and the rebels by announcing a new list of separatists and Russians targeted…...
Shaky Ukraine truce holds except around flashpoint town
Shelling and mortar fire thundered around a flashpoint east Ukraine town yesterday despite a new, shaky ceasefire largely observed along the rest of the frontline separating Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists. Sporadic bombardments targeting the key railway hub of Debaltseve — where thousands of Ukrainian soldiers are mostly…...
Ukraine ceasefire begins after fierce fighting in besieged town
An agreed ceasefire in Ukraine went into effect Sunday under a cloud of mistrust, after fighting raged until the last minute and Kiev and the US accused Russia of fuelling a final push by rebels to gain territory. President Petro Poroshenko ordered troops to abide by the truce from midnight (6am Malaysian time), in line with a deal reached...
Renewed fighting breaks out ahead of Ukraine ceasefire
Ukraine and Russian-backed rebels fought fiercely across the east of the country on yesterday despite a new peace deal brokered by Germany and France. A ceasefire is due to come into effect tomorrow under the agreement, which also envisages a withdrawal of the heavy weapons responsible for many of the 5,000 casualties in the conflict that…...
