JRL NEWSWATCH: “Donetsk counts conflict cost as Russia, U.S. to meet” – AP

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“While Russia and the U.S. are preparing to meet for critical strategic talks over Ukraine, residents in the rebel-controlled Ukrainian city of Donetsk claim the Ukrainian army started heavy firing on New Year’s Eve.”

“… A 2015 peace agreement brokered by France and Germany ended large-scale battles, but frequent skirmishes have continued. The [OSCE] … has reported an increasing number of such incidents, with both sides trading the blame …. With the bloody conflict now more than seven years old, there are fears in Ukraine and the West that a buildup of armed forces on Russia’s side of the border could lead to an invasion or the resumption of full-scale hostilities. … Prospects [for current U.S.-Russian talks] are bleak. …”

The Kremlin has declared it wants formal security agreements for NATO not to expand in the east, and for U.S. forces and weapons to be removed from certain European areas. NATO accuses Russia of deliberately suggesting non-starters.  The alliance threatens “massive consequences” to the Russian economy for (further) Russian military intervention in Ukraine, regardless of global repercussions.

Click here for: “Donetsk counts conflict cost as Russia, U.S. to meet; While Russia and the U.S. are preparing to meet for critical strategic talks over Ukraine, residents in the rebel-controlled Ukrainian city of Donetsk claim the Ukrainian army started heavy firing on New Year’s Eve” – AP/ WBBJ

Donetsk counts conflict cost as Russia, US to meet

 

 

Comment