Section: San Francisco Chronicle (USA)
France, Germany hold out sanctions if Ukraine accords break
President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel pressed for respect for the cease-fire and withdrawal of heavy arms during a joint news conference on Friday. The two heads of state, along with the leaders of Ukraine and Russia, signed accords on Feb. 12 in a last-ditch effort to stabilize and bring peace to Ukraine — starting with...
Ukraine says rebel attacks continue despite cease-fire
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — A Ukrainian military spokesman says separatist rebels fired on Ukrainian positions nearly 50 times over the past day, despite a cease-fire that was called into effect five days ago. …read more Source: San Francisco...
Ukraine cease-fire hopes in doubt
ARTEMIVSK, Ukraine — Lingering hopes for a Ukraine cease-fire appeared in danger of slipping away Thursday as fighting flared along a front stretching from a railway hub seized by pro-Moscow rebels to a strategic port that could be their next target. The anticipation of more war — rather than a peace deal reached last week — has pushed...
Walesa: Solidarity in sanctions would change Putin’s policy
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s former president and Solidarity leader Lech Walesa said Thursday he believes that global solidarity in economic sanctions against Russia would lead President Vladimir Putin to change his aggressive policy in Ukraine. Financial and other sanctions that Western countries have imposed on Putin’s government...
Ukraine: withdrawal from besieged town 90 percent complete
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — A Ukrainian military spokesman says more than 90 percent of its forces have been withdrawn from the fiercely contested town of Debaltseve and its surroundings, but left unclear when the retreat might be completed. …read more Source: San Francisco...
Ukraine says rebels continue their onslaught on Debaltseve
VUHLEHIRSK, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian officials say Russia-back rebels are continuing their onslaught on the railroad junction of Debaltseve, the epicenter of fighting between the separatist and government troops in eastern Ukraine. Fierce fighting around the town linking two major separatist cities rages on despite a cease-fire which went into...
Battle for strategic Ukranian city continues despite cease-fire
ARTEMIVSK, Ukraine — A battle for a railroad town in eastern Ukraine escalated sharply Tuesday, with both the Ukrainian army and Russian-backed militants saying that their soldiers were engaging in pitched street battles. Rebels reportedly have sent text messages to phones in the town, telling the soldiers there that they have been abandoned by...
Putin suggests US is sending arms to Ukraine
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin is suggesting that the United States is already delivering weapons to Ukraine. At a news conference Tuesday in Budapest with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Putin was asked how he assessed the possible consequences if the United States decides to supply lethal weapons to Ukraine in its fight...
European leaders reject Israel’s calls for Jews to migrate
PARIS — Despite desecrated Jewish graves in France and a deadly attack at a synagogue in Denmark, European leaders on Monday rejected calls from Israel’s prime minister for a mass migration of the continent’s Jews to Israel, urging unity instead. Frenchmen have been accused of three deadly attacks on Jewish sites since 2012: one at a...
Ukraine army, rebels miss deadline to start weapons pullback
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian government troops and Russia-backed rebels failed Tuesdya to start pulling back heavy weaponry from the front line in eastern Ukraine as a deadline passed to do so. The Russian news agency RIA Novosti quoted rebel leader Andrei Purgin as saying that the separatists plan to discuss the possible withdrawal of the...
