Donbas - Page 3

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared war on Ukraine in a surprise television announcement at roughly 6:00 a.m. Moscow time, 10:00 p.m. Eastern. The Russian dictator described the unprovoked attack as a “special military operation for the de-Militarization and de-Nazification of Ukraine.”

The Communist Party of China has refused to recognize Russian proxy fighters in eastern Ukraine as sovereign “states” and urged the world to give the two countries “space” on Wednesday, failing to take a hard line in defense of its nominal ally Russia.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s decision to recognize the two regions of Ukraine’s Donbas as sovereign states on Monday has complicated Moscow’s relationship to China, which expressed support for Russia while not directly addressing the issue of legitimizing separatists.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Tuesday that he was reviewing a request from his diplomats to cut all ties to Russia in response to Russian leader Vladimir Putin recognizing Russian proxies in the country as sovereign states and ordering “peacekeeping” troops into Ukraine.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki announced in a statement late Sunday that President Joe Biden “accepted in principle a meeting” with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, a week after Biden completely ignored a personal invitation to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine ordered a full military mobilization Saturday amid a spike of violence in the war-torn region and fears in the West that Russia might use the strife as a pretext for an invasion.

Ukrainian state media outlet Ukrinform ran an editorial on Wednesday arguing that Ukrainians are unfazed by the war hysteria gripping many Western politicians and media outlets because Russian forces have been in their country for eight years.

Russia has mocked Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary for appearing to suggest the Baltic States are located on the Black Sea, suggesting the world needs to be saved from “the stupidity and ignorance of Anglo-Saxon politicians” 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov extended an invitation to the country to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, but on the condition that he not discuss the ongoing war in eastern Ukraine that Russia denies, despite widespread evidence, it has a hand in.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told American counterpart Joe Biden to place emphasis on the “economic and financial stability” of the country during a phone call Thursday following multiple public statements urging the Ukrainian public not to fall prey to panic about a potential Russian invasion fueled by Biden.

Many Ukrainians appear more concerned about the potential economic fallout of panic over a Russian invasion – including a decline in the value of the national currency and potentially soaring natural gas prices – than any military activity on its own, locals told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) on Tuesday.

Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov told reporters on Tuesday that Kyiv considers – and intelligence reports from the West agree – that “internal destabilization” caused by panic over a potential further Russian invasion is “the number one issue,” not any potential invasion on its own.

In an interview airing on Russian state media Sunday, Vladimir Putin waxed nostalgic for the Soviet empire, describing the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 as the death of “historical Russia.”

BRUSSELS (AP) – European Union foreign ministers met Monday to discuss how to thwart the threat of a possible new Russian invasion of Ukraine and what measures to take should Moscow decide to send its troops across the border.

Britain’s Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has warned Russia that if they invade Ukraine then they will face “severe consequences”.

Ukrainian soldiers stationed along Ukraine’s border with Russia in the eastern Donbass region told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) on Tuesday they “don’t believe a [Russian] invasion is coming” to the region as speculated by Western media in recent weeks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the U.N.’s inaction over Russia’s occupation of Crimea in a virtual speech on Wednesday at the U.N.’s 75th annual General Assembly.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin lamented during his annual end-of-year press conference Thursday that communist mass murderer Vladimir Lenin had made the “strange” decision in the establishment of the Soviet Union to place “Russian” territories within the Ukrainian socialist republic.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met in Paris on Monday in an attempt to restart stalled peace talks on the conflict in eastern Ukraine, where Russian-backed separatist forces have been waging a deadly insurgency for the past five years.

At least 10,000 people flooded Kyiv’s Independence Square on Sunday to protest President Volodymyr Zelensky opting to agree to a deal that may bring elections to eastern Ukraine, which Russia has invaded and colonized.

Officials in Ukraine on Friday reported 41 attacks by Russia-backed separatists against Ukrainian army positions in the war-torn Donbas region have occurred since midnight on Thursday despite a cease-fire agreement. One of the attacks fatally wounded a Ukrainian soldier.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s decision to accept, at least in theory, an agreement that would bring elections to Russian-occupied Donbas, triggered protests in the heart of Kiev on Wednesday night from those who feel an agreement with Moscow would jeopardize Ukraine’s sovereignty.

Wednesday’s release of the transcript of the July telephone conversation between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky included no “quid pro quo” that would justify the growing Democrat effort to impeach President Trump. The hunt is on to find an implied bribe or threat because Trump did not offer one explicitly.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s address to the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday stressed the heavy toll of warfare upon nations around the world, including his own nation’s conflict with Russian-backed separatists.

Ukraine’s new President Volodymyr Zelenskiy proposed on Monday that U.S. President Donald Trump should join the leaders of Britain, Germany, and France to mediate talks between Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin over the situation in Crimea and eastern Ukraine.

Russia began issuing “fast-tracked” passports to residents of eastern Ukraine this week, in accordance with an order signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in April. Some sixty residents of Ukraine’s Donbas region crossed the Russian border to receive their passports in a ceremony on Friday.

A Fox News exclusive report on Thursday claimed Russia may have deployed ballistic missiles within 270 miles of the Ukrainian border. The Iskander missiles captured by satellite photographs have sufficient range to reach Ukrainian territory and are capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads.

Contents: Russia’s actions in Sea of Azov raise fears of another invasion of Ukraine; Ukraine’s Donbas war continues, as US supplies Javelin anti-tank missiles