Section: The Guardian (The United Kingdom)
Escalation of fighting in east Ukraine leaves ceasefire in tatters
Ukraine president Petro Poroshenko says there is a ‘colossal threat of the resumption of large-scale hostilities by Russian and terrorist forces’Fighting in east Ukraine has this week reportedly left 21 dead and a fragile ceasefire in tatters, prompting fears of a resumption of full-blown conflict in the region.Speaking in his annual...
Fears for Ukraine ceasefire after fresh reports of civilian deaths
Fragile ceasefire signed in February remains in place as both sides deny reports of indiscriminate shelling in eastern Ukraine during the last few daysMore civilian deaths and a new and unusually intense round of fighting on Wednesday in eastern Ukraine have rekindled fears that a shaky ceasefire deal reached in February may be close to...
The bloggers using social media to track down Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine
Using pictures and status updates as evidence, amateur investigators say they are gathering proof that the Kremlin is actively involved in conflict. RFE/RL reportsIn his free time, Ukrainian blogger Anton Pavlushko trawls through Russian-language social networking sites searching for evidence of foreign soldiers in his country.“Sometimes you need...
Missile firm offers to recreate MH17 crash in bid to clear Russia
Almaz-Antey claims attack could only have been carried out with system that is used by Ukrainian army but not by RussiaA Russian defence conglomerate has suggested recreating the MH17 plane crash by shooting another Boeing 777 aircraft out of the sky using a Buk missile system.Almaz-Antey, which makes the Buk systems, said such an experiment...
Ukraine prisoners stranded in legal limbo on the frontline of a war
17,000 inmates were serving sentences in the east before the conflict began. Many remain in jail, with no one to review their cases or authorise their release. Anton Naumlyuk travelled from Artyomovsk to Mariupol to speak to them“When [former president Viktor] Yanukovich was in power, they rammed the prisons to bursting point,” said an inmate at...
President Putin’s travel-ban list is the latest mis-step in a clumsy diplomatic dance with Europe | Mary Dejevsky
Relations have deteriorated so much that we don’t know if the bar on Nick Clegg and others visiting Russia is a sham diplomatic storm or a real oneConsigned to the back benches, party leader and deputy prime minister no more, Nick Clegg finds himself suddenly back in the spotlight … because he has been banned from Russia. Tragi-comic,...
Ukraine names ex-Georgian president Saakashvili as Odessa governor
President Poroshenko’s surprise appointment of ‘great friend of Ukraine’ to key post in Black Sea region greeted with derision in MoscowPetro Poroshenko, the president of Ukraine, has appointed former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili to be governor of Ukraine’s southern Odessa region, in a surprise move that is certain to...
Russian aircraft head off US warship in Black Sea, news agency says
According to Russia’s state news agency a US destroyer was moving along the edge of territorial waters in yet another encounter with western militariesRussian military aircraft were scrambled to head off a US warship that was acting “aggressively” in the Black Sea, the state news agency RIA reported on Saturday, citing an anonymous source...
Germany’s Steinmeier criticises Russian EU travel ban – video
Speaking from Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German foreign minister, criticises a Russian travel ban against European politicians on Saturday, calling for Moscow to be more transparent. Russia has imposed an entry ban on 89 European politicians and military leaders, a move that has angered Europe and worsened its...
Ukraine appoints Georgia ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili governor of Odessa
Controversial pro-western exile, who fought a war with Russia, takes control of strategic region, where there are fears Moscow could be trying to stoke unrest The Ukrainian president, Petro Poroshenko, on Saturday appointed fiercely pro-western former Georgian leader Mikheil Saakashvili, who once fought a war with Russia, governor of the...
