KYIV. July 8 (Interfax) – The number of shellings in Donbas has significantly increased in the past week, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Special Monitoring Mission (OSCE SMM) Principal Deputy Chief Monitor Alexander Hug said at a briefing in Kyiv on Friday. He said that the number of shellings has increased threefold in comparison with the previous […]
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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – June 8, 2016) Ukrainian airwoman Nadia Savchenko says she is willing to talk with Russia-backed separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine to try to end the nation’s two-year-old conflict. Savchenko told Ukrainian media on June 7 she believes direct peace talks with separatist leaders would be more effective than the current, unproductive talks that have included Russia, […]
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… annexing Crimea, Putin managed to steal the thunder of … supremacist Russian nationalists. But as long as waves of migrants … perceived as culturally alien keep coming … storm clouds will still exist and influence Russian politics. The regime will have the unpalatable choice of allowing the growth of radical forces vehemently opposed to democracy, even its ‘managed’ variety, […]
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(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, May 30, 2016) Vladimir Putin launched his “Russian world” project and invaded Ukraine in the hopes that radical Russian nationalists who represented a threat to his rule would go there and die, thus “killing two birds with one stone,” according to Dmitry Demushkin, the leader of the ethno-political movement “The Russians.” In […]
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Some believe that the exchange of Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko for two Russians who participated in the armed conflict in the Donbass, is a sign of an upcoming improvement in Ukrainian-Russian relations. RBTH spoke to several analysts to find out if there are grounds to think so and looked at the main scenarios for how relations between Moscow and Kiev […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – May 27, 2016) The Kremlin is ready to support the return of Ukraine’s troubled eastern regions to Kiev government control, according to President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the RIA Novosti news agency reported on Thursday. In a move some have interpreted as an invitation to dialogue, and others as bluff, Peskov said on Thursday […]
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(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, May 24, 2016) Ukraine must move quickly to promote the reintegration of the Donbass because “five years from now,” Georgy Tuka, the deputy head of the Kyiv ministry responsible for overseeing such plans, says, “it will already be impossible” to do so because the region will have been so affected by the […]
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Talks in Berlin between the foreign ministers of Germany, Russia, France and Ukraine have failed to provide a breakthrough on the resolution of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, with the issue of elections continuing to be a sticking point. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – ALEXEY TIMOFEYCHEV, RBTH – May 12, 2016) The two-year-old conflict between government forces and […]
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(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, May 7, 2016) Kyiv must reject calls by Berlin and Paris to change the Ukrainian constitution and allow elections in the occupied Donbas because these calls, which reflect Moscow’s exploitation of the desire of the two European leaders to be seen as peace makers, would result in the destruction of the Ukrainian […]
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Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko has said he would be willing to send a police mission to Ukraine’s war-torn Donbass region. Earlier, his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had expressed his desire to deploy armed OSCE observers in the area. But are the leaders not speaking of different things even though their statements may sound similar? (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru […]
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(Kennan Institute – wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – Brian Milakovsky, Humanitarian Activist, Ukraine – April 22, 2016) [Photos and figures here wilsoncenter.org/publication/kennan-cable-no16-understanding-the-under-control-donbas] After nearly two years of war, the contested Donbas region in eastern Ukraine is split in two between the Russian-backed “People’s Republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk and the so-called podkontrolny (under control) Donbas. There is much analysis of how Ukraine might […]
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MOSCOW. March 16 (Interfax) – Yet another humanitarian aid convoy for Donbas residents is due to be sent on March 24, said Vladimir Puchkov, Russia’s Emergency Situations Minister. “We are now readying yet another humanitarian convoy. We are completing all necessary preparatory procedures, coordinating with the International Committee of the Red Cross, committees from Kyiv, a convoy is planned for […]
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(Voice of America – Luis Ramirez – March 7, 2016) DONETSK REGION, UKRAINE – Two years into Ukraine’s war, many of the people caught in the midst of it see the conflict as frozen and forgotten by the rest of the world. With diplomatic efforts thus far failing, many see either an escalation or the relinquishing of territory as the […]
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Two years ago, a separatist movement in southeast Ukraine brought war and tragedy to the whole country. Though the crisis continues, the movement’s first leaders have gone their separate ways. (opendemocracy.net – Alexandr Litoy – March 2, 2016) Alexandr Litoy is a Moscow-based journalist, specialising in socio-political issues and youth extremism. He began his career at Novaya Gazeta, before moving […]
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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – The Daily Vertical: Brian Whitmore – March 1, 2016) So, don’t look now, but while we were all watching Syria, Moscow has stepped up its aggression in Ukraine. Pro-Moscow separatists have increased their attacks this week near Luhansk and have intensified their shelling of four villages near the front lines in the Donetsk region. The separatists […]
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MOSCOW. Feb 9 (Interfax) – Russians say that the Donbas situation has been unaltered, and support humanitarian aid to people in that region, yet, there is no unanimity regarding further policy towards the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics, the Russian Public Opinion Study Center said. According to the poll, a relative majority of Russians (45%) ‘do not see any […]
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Interfax-Ukraine reports on comments attributed to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko regarding conflict-ridden eastern Ukraine. Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko has said … ‘At my press conference on January 14 I clearly proclaimed: my objective – and I firmly believe in this – is to restore Ukrainian sovereignty in Donbas already in 2016. And yesterday speakers in Davos also reaffirmed this position: […]
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(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, January 20, 2016) Petr Iskenderov, a researcher at the Moscow Institute of Slavic Studies and a commentator for Russia Today, says that it now appears the US has accepted what he calls “the Donbas Model” for the resolution not only of the conflict in Ukraine but for similar conflicts elsewhere. That model, […]
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Nearly two years after the outbreak of fighting, nearly 9,000 people have died in eastern Ukraine. To understand how this war ends, we need to understand how it began. (opendemocracy.net – Andrii Portnov – January 14, 2016) Andrii Portnov is director of the Berlin-Brandenburg Ukrainian Initiative at the Forum Transregionale Studien, as well as visiting professor at Humboldt University, Berlin. […]
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LUHANSK. Dec 9 (Interfax) – Ukraine’s government forces resumed daily shellings in the territory of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR), deputy chief of staff of the LPR people’s militia Igor Yashchenko said. “The situation in the zone of responsibility of the LPR people’s militia, along the line of contact, became [even] more escalated over the past three days. Kyiv’s […]
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AFP covers the impact of landmines in Ukraine. The seaside fishing town of Shyrokyne remains studded with landmines, a deadly legacy of the 19-month pro-Russian revolt in the EU’s backyard. Both Ukrainian forces and separatist rebels have refused to take on the task of fully clearing the war zone of one of the most unpredictable and devastating hazards to residents’ […]
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The Donbas is being airbrushed out of Ukrainian politics. This will only build another barrier to a united and democratic country. (opendemocracy.net – Vitalii Atanasov – November 26, 2015) Vitalii Atanasov is a freelance journalist, videographer and coordinator of media education projects at Kyiv’s Center for Social and Labor Research. He specialises in reporting on social inequalities, civil and labour […]
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(PONARS – ponarseurasia.org – Elise Giuliano – October 2015) Elise Giuliano is a Lecturer in the Department of Political Science at Columbia University and Academic Advisor of the MA Program in Russia, Eurasia and Eastern Europe at Columbia’s Harriman Institute. [Text with charts here http://www.ponarseurasia.org/memo/origins-separatism-popular-grievances-donetsk-and-luhansk] (PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo) What were the origins of separatism in the Donbas? When the […]
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KYIV. Oct 29 (Interfax) – Representatives of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics are obstructing the access of OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) monitors to weapon storage sites, Deputy Chief Monitor Alexander Hug said. The OSCE SMM continues to monitor the withdrawal of artillery pieces with calibers under 100mm and mortars with calibers under 120mm and to […]
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The governments of the self-proclaimed republics in eastern Ukraine have agreed to postpose their local elections, thus fulfilling the wishes expressed by the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France Normandy at talks in Paris on Oct. 2. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alexey Timofeychev, RBTH – October 8, 2015) The unrecognized Donetsk and Lugansk “people’s republics” (DNR […]
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MOSCOW. Oct 8 (Interfax) – Russia’s foreign ministry hopes that the move to postpone the elections in the self-proclaimed republics in Donbas will create favorable conditions for further discussions on the matter of political settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine. “The crucial point was the statement of Donetsk and Luhansk on the shifting of the dates of the local […]
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(Interfax – October 5, 2015) The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Special Monitoring Mission (OSCE SMM) reports the process of pulling back weapons from the dividing line in Donbass in compliance with the Minsk agreements. In the districts controlled by the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic (LNR) the monitors have noticed the withdrawal of 30 main combat tanks (T-64 […]
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Russian observers are voicing cautious optimism after another round of talks between the leaders of Russia, Germany, France, and Ukraine aimed at resolving the Ukrainian conflict. The issue of local elections in the Donbass remain the main stumbling block on the path to finding a political solution to the crisis in eastern Ukraine. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – […]
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(Interfax – September 23, 2015) The implementation of the Minsk agreements with regard to local elections in Donbass, among other things, should be discussed via a direct dialogue between Kiev, Donetsk and Luhansk, presidential spokesman Dmitriy Peskov has said as reported by privately-owned Russian news agency Interfax on 23 September. This is how Peskov answered a question about whether Moscow […]
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(Embassy of the United States Kyiv – September 12, 2015) Remarks by Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland at a Panel Discussion “Ukraine’s East and Crimea: Solving the Unsolvable” 12th Yalta European Strategy Annual Meeting Kyiv, Ukraine MODERATOR: Victoria Nuland, if I may just turn to you. Obviously, you work for the State Department. You […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Ilya Arkhipov, Stepan Kravchenko – September 17, 2015) Ukrainian separatist leaders say their hopes of full integration with Russia or greater independence are fading as the Kremlin tightens the reins on their rebellion. Russian President Vladimir Putin appears unwilling to risk broadening his conflict with the U.S. and European Union over Ukraine, senior separatist officials said […]
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(Interfax – September 18, 2015) At least 8,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the hostilities in eastern Ukraine, Christof Heyns, UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary execution, has said. Eight thousand people have died, and according to the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission, most of them have been civilians. Artillery shelling incidents are observed on both sides, […]
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(opendemocracy.net – Vitaly Dudin – September 16, 2015) Vitaly Dudin is a legal analyst at Ukraine’s Center for Social and Labor Research, which was created in 2013 as an independent not-for-profit institution dedicated to the analysis of socio-economic problems, collective protests, labour relations and conflicts. 265 votes ‘for’. Three people dead. This is how most of us will remember Ukraine’s […]
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(opendemocracy.net – Marina Denysenko – September 11, 2015) Marina Denysenko is a journalist with experience reporting in Ukraine and the UK. In 2004, she reported Ukraine’s Orange Revolution for the BBC World Service. In 2014, she directed London’s Ukrainian Investment Summit, and is currently researching Ukraine’s institutional response to the challenges of the information war for the Legatum Institute. ‘The […]
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(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, September 2, 2015) Many people, horrified by the actions of pro-Moscow forces in Crimea and the Donbas or unwilling to continue to resist Russian aggression, have concluded that the rest of Ukraine would be better off without those two regions and could move forward by sacrificing them to Vladimir Putin. “If only […]
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Ukraine’s parliament took a first step toward granting powers to rebel regions. But deadly clashes in the capital show the depth of resistance to such changes.
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Irina Reznik, Stepan Kravchenko – August 19, 2015) Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, who’s formed a government-in-exile to try to regain power, said his country is ripe for more regime change. Amid economic crisis and conflict in the country’s east, Ukrainians are disillusioned with the pro-European policies of President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy […]
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LUHANSK. Aug 7 (Interfax) – The leader of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR), Igor Plotnitsky, has said that the local government elections scheduled for November 1, 2015, will be held regardless of Kyiv’s stance on the matter. “We declared them [the elections] and we will hold them whether Ukraine wants it or not,” he told members of the LPR […]
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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Brian Whitmore – July 28, 2015) f you believe all the talk out there lately, Vladimir Putin is not only duplicitous and hypocritical — he’s also been pretty damn busy lately. Busy cutting secret deals with the same Europeans and Americans he has been vilifying for years. And if you believe the rumors, the Europeans and Americans have […]
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(Voice of America – Mark Snowiss – July 24, 2015) Ukraine’s former intelligence chief says Russia is financing and organizing training camps from within Ukraine’s rebel-controlled eastern provinces in order to destabilize the country. “Up to 30 camps in Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea are training subversive groups, providing them with weapons and sending them on missions throughout Ukraine,” said Valentyn […]
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The New York Times covers online local coverage of the Russo-Ukrainian War in eastern Ukraine. As Luhansk’s prospects looked ever bleaker, Mr. Pavlov and Mr. Kryukov emerged as quirky but candid guides to an unfamiliar war zone, an Internet voice for locals who drop their Russian g’s in homegrown accents and were stunned by the sudden outbreak of violence in […]
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(Interfax – July 19, 2015) The special status of Donbass should lie at the core of the peaceful dialogue. By renouncing it Kiev once again imitates the negotiating process on its own part, envoy of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic (LNR) to the Minsk talks Vladislav Deinego told Interfax on Sunday. “In compliance with the Complex of Measures the special […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Leonid Bershidsky – July 20, 2015) It’s rare that official representatives of the U.S. visit foreign parliaments to persuade lawmakers to vote a certain way on some piece of legislation. Yet last week, Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland traveled to Kiev and did just that, as the Ukrainian parliament prepared to vote on amendments to […]
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(Interfax – July 10, 2015) The process of peaceful settlement in Ukraine is having difficulties because Kyiv has no wish to hold talks with Donbas, but chances of success are higher than chances of failure, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a news conference in Ufa on July 10. “It does seem to me that to a certain extent the […]
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