Section: Mashable (USA)
What’s at stake as Putin, Poroshenko meet in Minsk to talk peace
KIEV, Ukraine – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, will give peace a chance one more time when they meet in Minsk late Wednesday to discuss bringing an end to the war in eastern Ukraine. More than 5,300 people have been killed over the course of the 10-month-long conflict, and over one million people...
Hungry and homeless: In eastern Ukraine, Europe sees worsening humanitarian crisis
ARTEMIVSK, Ukraine — Larisa Yakovenko survived a direct rocket strike on her single-story Debaltseve cottage. But with the wreckage strewn about and her exit blocked, the 49-year-old woman with a disability was certain she would die from exposure to the cold or starvation, as she lay helpless amid the smoldering rubble. “I thought I...
‘Welcome to hell’: An eerie silence washes over war-torn eastern Ukraine
HORLIVKA AND DONETSK, Ukraine – The two sparsely bearded young rebels raised their hands and automatic rifles, as we approached their rickety block post comprised of sand bags and linden tree trunks, stacked like Lincoln Logs and dusted with fresh snow. It wasn’t the first nor would it be the last to pass through, as we approached Donetsk,...
Quiet Ukrainian town prepares to fight — or flee — as war creeps to its doorstep
ARTEMIVSK, Ukraine — A new wave of fighting has exploded in eastern Ukraine. Peace talks have fallen apart, and the Russian-backed rebels, eager to expand their territory, are on the warpath. After launching an offensive two weeks ago, they have captured some 200 square miles of new land, including the fiercely contested and symbolically...
Grim scenes as civilians flee eastern Ukraine
DEBALTSEVE, Ukraine — It took nearly five months but Elena Koshikova finally convinced her ailing husband, Petr, to flee as fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed rebels intensified. See also: Why war has exploded again in Ukraine “I’m very worried — he is all that I have now,” Koshikova said of her husband, who has...
At least 14 civilians killed in renewed fighting in eastern Ukraine
ARTEMOVSK, Ukraine — Artillery fire killed at least 14 civilians and injured dozens more in the conflict-torn eastern Ukraine Friday as fighting intensified between Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed rebels. See also: Why war has exploded again in Ukraine The head of Ukraine’s regional police, Viacheslav Abroskin, said that...
Strikes cause flight cancelations at German airports
Private security workers at two German airports, Duesseldorf and Cologne-Bonn, walked off the job Thursday in a one-day warning strike. The strike, part of an ongoing dispute over wages, caused dozens of flight cancelations. See also: Before and after photos: War reduces Ukraine’s Donetsk airport to rubble At Cologne-Bonn airport, 40 of 190...
Before and after photos: War reduces Ukraine’s Donetsk airport to rubble
DONETSK, Ukraine — Built for almost $1 billion dollars ahead of the Euro 2012 football championship, Donetsk airport — once a shining gem of the regional capital — has been the focus of intense fighting during the conflict in eastern Ukraine since May, as Russian-backed separatist rebels battle Kiev’s government forces for control over its...
U.S. charges 3 in New York Russian spy ring case
Three people were charged Monday in connection with a Cold War-style Russian spy ring that tried to recruit New York City residents as intelligence sources, authorities said. The defendants were directed by Russian authorities “to gather intelligence on, among other subjects, potential United States sanctions against Russian banks and the...
Why war has exploded again in Ukraine
DONETSK, Ukraine — The relative quiet of December in eastern Ukraine has been erased by an explosion of deadly violence in past weeks, marking a serious escalation in the nine-month-long war between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists and dashing hopes for a peaceful resolution. Since New Year’s Day, there have been three...
