Section: The West Australian (Australia)
Ukraine says peace hopes ‘destroyed’ as rebels assault town (AFP)
Soledar (Ukraine) (AFP) – Ukraine on Tuesday accused rebels and Russia of scuppering a fragile three-day-old ceasefire after insurgents armed with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades stormed a flashpoint town and engaged thousands of troops there in intense combat. …read more Source: The West...
Patriotism and fear as Ukraine draftees train for front (AFP)
Desna (Ukraine) (AFP) – Vitaliy Karpunets crawls under barbed wire before jumping over a smoking bonfire into a trench as he fires off his Kalashnikov at an imaginary enemy. …read more Source: The West...
Ukraine rebels bury dead who fell hours before ceasefire (AFP)
Donetsk (Ukraine) (AFP) – After the coffins of four pro-Russian fighters killed hours before the Ukrainian ceasefire were lowered into the ground on Monday in the rebel stronghold of Donetsk, their comrades fired Kalashnikov rifles into the icy air in a final salute. …read more Source: The West...
‘Stop shooting’ EU pleads as Ukraine ceasefire teeters (AFP)
Kiev (AFP) – A two-day-old truce in Ukraine was at risk of collapsing Monday as fighting raged around a strategic railway hub and both sides said conditions were not met to start withdrawing heavy weapons from the frontline. …read more Source: The West...
Russia vows to respond to ‘illogical’ EU sanctions (AFP)
Moscow (AFP) – Moscow said on Monday it would respond to the latest EU sanctions over the Ukraine conflict which target several prominent figures including a popular singer, condemning them as “inconsistent and illogical”. …read more Source: The West...
Breaches threaten shaky Ukraine ceasefire (AFP)
Kiev (AFP) – A shaky truce in Ukraine was already at risk on its second day Monday with both the Kiev government and pro-Russian separatists accusing each other of attacks holding up an agreed pull-back of heavy weapons from the frontline. …read more Source: The West...
Ukraine truce at risk as fighting persists around key town (AFP)
Donetsk (Ukraine) (AFP) – A shaky new truce in Ukraine was already at risk on its second day Monday as Kiev said persistent rebel attacks meant there was “no question” of it pulling back heavy weapons, and the EU ratcheted up sanctions on Russia. …read more Source: The West...
Poland kicks off unprecedented military spending spree (AFP)
Warsaw (AFP) – Looking east to the bloody conflict gripping Ukraine, NATO-member Poland has kicked off an unprecedented military spending spree worth billions to overhaul its forces as Warsaw believes peace in Europe is no longer a given. …read more Source: The West...
Ukraine truce mainly holding after shaky start (AFP)
Donetsk (Ukraine) (AFP) – Fighting dropped sharply across eastern Ukraine on Sunday but there was still sporadic shooting after a ceasefire came into force, the first step in a fragile peace plan aimed at ending 10 months of conflict. …read more Source: The West...
Relief in Ukraine conflict zone but doubts about truce (AFP)
Donetsk (Ukraine) (AFP) – Residents of the rebel stronghold of Donetsk breathed a sigh of relief on Sunday morning following a first night without bombardments after a fragile ceasefire came into force in east Ukraine. …read more Source: The West...
