Category: Ukraine

Russian energy company Gazprom says Ukraine may face gas shortages within two days. Igor Golovniov/Shutterstock Ukraine’s natural gas contract with Gazprom calls for a pre-payment mechanism. Unless a payment registers in the company’s account within two days, Gazprom Chief Executive Officer Alexei Miller said the spigot would be closed . "The supply of gas to Ukraine at the ordered amount … will result in a full stop of Russian gas supplies to Ukraine, which creates serious risks to gas transit to Europe," he said. Gazprom in the winters of 2006, 2009 and 2014 cut gas deliveries through Ukraine briefly in response to contractual disputes with Kiev. That left downstream consumers in Europe short on natural gas supplies. The row sparked concerns from European leaders over the influence Gazprom has over the regional energy markets, leading policymakers to create measures to deter companies from controlling natural resources and transit arteries. […]

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KIEV (Reuters) – Ukraine’s military said on Monday it could not start withdrawing heavy weapons from the frontline in the east as pro-Russian separatists had not stopped attacking government positions despite a ceasefire deal. Over the weekend, rebels and the Ukrainian military said they had reached an agreement to begin the process of withdrawing weapons, as required by the ceasefire deal that came into effect on Feb. 15. Violence has lessened significantly in recent days, but rebels twice shelled government troops overnight, spokesman Anatoly Stelmakh said. "Given that the positions of Ukrainian servicemen continue to be shelled, there can not yet be any talk of pulling back weapons," spokesman Vladislav Seleznyov said in a televised briefing. (Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Writing by Alessandra Prentice)

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KIEV (Reuters) – Ukraine’s military said on Monday it could not start withdrawing heavy weapons from the frontline in the east as pro-Russian separatists had not stopped attacking government positions despite a ceasefire deal. Over the weekend, rebels and the Ukrainian military said they had reached an agreement to begin the process of withdrawing weapons, as required by the ceasefire deal that came into effect on Feb. 15. Violence has lessened significantly in recent days, but rebels twice shelled government troops overnight, spokesman Anatoly Stelmakh said. "Given that the positions of Ukrainian servicemen continue to be shelled, there can not yet be any talk of pulling back weapons," spokesman Vladislav Seleznyov said in a televised briefing. (Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Writing by Alessandra Prentice)

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DEBALTSEVE, Ukraine/KIEV (Reuters) – Kiev accused Russia on Friday of sending more tanks and troops into eastern Ukraine and said they were heading towards the rebel-held town of Novoazovsk on the southern coast, expanding their presence on what it fears could be the next battlefront. Russia did not immediately respond to the accusation which, if confirmed, would go further to kill off a European-brokered truce that was met by relentless rebel advances after it came into force on Sunday. Moscow has always denied accusations in the past that its forces are fighting in Ukraine. Nevertheless, there were signs that the rebels may be prepared to halt their advance, having achieved their main military objective this week by seizing the strategic town of Debaltseve in defiance of the ceasefire. Reuters journalists in the battle zone, including Debaltseve itself now firmly in rebel hands, said it was quieter than it had […]

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ENLARGE Ukrainian soldiers who left Debaltseve on Wednesday prepare to return to support the further withdrawal of troops on Thursday in Artemivsk. Photo: Getty Images European leaders on Thursday stood by the cease-fire they brokered a week ago for Ukraine, even as the U.S. said Russian equipment and troops continued to flow into the country and the Ukrainian military significantly raised its latest casualty toll. Kiev and its Western backers had denounced a dayslong offensive by Russia-backed separatists to seize the strategic rail hub of Debaltseve as a violation of the cease-fire. But as fighting subsided generally after the hasty retreat on Wednesday by Ukrainian forces, none of the parties appeared willing to declare the latest deal dead. “The four leaders agreed to rigorously implement the entirety of the package of measures” agreed to on Feb. 12, the office of French President François Hollande said after the conference call […]

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A new faultline opened up between Ukraine and Russia over natural gas on Thursday when pro-Russian rebels in east Ukraine accused Kiev of cutting off supplies to them amid sub-zero temperatures. Russia said it had started supplying gas to the rebel-controlled regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, while Kiev said supplies had been interrupted temporarily after heavy fighting damaged pipelines. More On this topic IN Europe The gas dispute broke out less than 24 hours after thousands of Ukrainian troops were withdrawn from the ruined town of Debaltseve as it was captured by the rebels. The seizure of the town was a significant defeat for Kiev’s forces and threw into doubt a new ceasefire signed in Minsk last week. Late on Wednesday Petro Poroshenko , Ukraine’s president, called for UN and EU peacekeepers to monitor the ceasefire. But the proposal was swiftly rejected by Moscow and Russian-backed rebels in east […]

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Ukraine withdrew troops from Debaltseve early Wednesday after pro-Russia rebels overran much of the town despite last week’s European-brokered cease-fire deal. Mark Kelly reports. LUHANSKE, Ukraine—Nine hours after a cease-fire was supposed to take effect , rockets and mortars slammed into Ukrainian army Lt. Yuriy Brekharya ’s redoubt outside the besieged city of Debaltseve “like never before,” he said. Three days of relentless pounding later, he appealed to a neighboring commander for help after advancing Russia-backed separatists destroyed his unit’s final armored vehicle. “Buddy, I’ve got nothing to help you with,” came the reply. Lt. Yuriy Brekharya outside Luhanske village on Wednesday. So Lt. Brekharya, a 37-year-old financial analyst, gathered his 50 men and led them on a 14-mile overnight march across fields, streams and hills through separatist lines. As dawn broke Wednesday, he was among the first of hundreds of fleeing soldiers to arrive in trucks, tanks or […]

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ARTEMIVSK, Ukraine — Ukrainian soldiers were forced to fight their way out of the embattled town of Debaltseve in the early hours of Wednesday, casting further doubt on the credibility of a days-old cease-fire and eroding the promise of ending a war in Europe that has killed more than 5,000 people. It was unclear Wednesday how many of the thousands of Ukrainian soldiers trapped in the eastern Ukrainian town had survived the hellish retreat under enemy fire and avoided capture. President Petro O. Poroshenko put the figure at 80 percent, but since the Ukrainian military has never commented on its troop strength, the final accounting may never be known. By midday on Wednesday, as limping and exhausted soldiers began showing up in Ukraine -held territory, it became clear that the Ukrainian forces had suffered major losses, both in equipment and human life. “Many trucks left, and only a few […]

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Ukrainian government sued by early shale natural gas explorer. Photo by Calin Tatu/Shutterstock "JKX is seeking repayment of more than $180 million in rental fees that its Ukrainian subsidiary has paid on production of oil and gas in Ukraine since 2011," the company said in a statement. The company last year said new budget measures passed by the Ukrainian government meant higher taxes for the oil and gas industry in the country. The most significant, it said, was a move to nearly double the tax on gas production to close to 55 percent. JKX, which has headquarters in London, said the market available to private gas producers in Ukraine was contracting, noting the competition for industrial customers was becoming "intense." In January, the company said the economic climate in Ukraine is no longer conducive to continue investing in shale natural gas opportunities The company said Monday it started arbitration […]

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ENLARGE A Ukrainian soldier strikes a victory sign on the road between the towns of Debaltseve and Artemivsk in Ukraine on Monday. Photo: Associated Press In the railway town of Debaltseve, Ukraine’s cease-fire lasted all of 40 minutes. “We were surprised when the firing stopped, and hoped it would be the cease-fire,” said Albert Sardaryan, a 22-year-old combat paramedic in the town, by telephone. “But then it started again.” Fighting for Debaltseve has become the biggest challenge to the cease-fire that went into effect at midnight Saturday and was supposed to end months of conflict between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed militants in Ukraine’s east. A separatist advance supported , according to U.S. and Ukrainian officials, by Russian army units, has all but cut off thousands of Ukrainian soldiers in the town. German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday described the situation in Ukraine as “fragile” and called on all sides […]

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VUHLEHIRSK, Ukraine (Reuters) – Separatists are keeping up attacks on the strategic railway junction of Debaltseve despite a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, a Kiev military spokesman said on Monday, and witnesses reported heavy shelling in the area. "The illegal armed groups are not supporting the ceasefire," military spokesman Anatoly Stelmakh told reporters, adding that the Russian-backed rebels were using Grad rockets and tanks to attack government forces holding the town. "The number of attacks on Debaltseve has even increased in comparison to previous days and they are using all types of weapons," he said. "The terrorists have been given the order to take Debaltseve at all cost." A Reuters correspondent at Vuhlehirsk, about 10 km (some six miles) to the west of Debaltseve, reported heavy shelling from the direction of the town, with blasts around every 10 seconds. Underscoring the fragility of the ceasefire, which was negotiated by Ukraine, […]

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ENLARGE Ukrainian soldiers make their way on the road leading to the embattled town of Debaltseve on Saturday, after a cease-fire came into effect. Photo: Getty Images The cease-fire between Ukrainian government forces and Russia-backed separatists was largely being observed on its first day despite sporadic exchanges of fire, the head of an international monitoring mission said Sunday. Ertugrul Apakan, the chief monitor of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, said in a news conference in Kiev that the cease-fire was observed throughout east Ukraine overnight and during the first half of Sunday, with the exception of the area around the city of Debaltseve, where fighting had been heaviest in recent days. The separatists claim that the area should be under their control under the cease-fire agreement, and that thousands of government forces were surrounded there. Kiev officials deny the claim of […]

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DONETSK, Ukraine (Reuters) – Ukraine and Russian-backed rebels fought fiercely across the east of the country on Friday despite a new peace deal brokered by Germany and France. A ceasefire is due to come into effect from Sunday under the agreement, which also envisages a withdrawal of the heavy weapons responsible for many of the 5,000 casualties in the conflict that broke out almost a year ago. Kiev said pro-Russian rebels had built up their forces across separatist-held zones since the deal and both sides accused each other of killing civilians. Two people were killed and six wounded when a shell hit a cafe in the Kiev-controlled town of Shchastya near rebel-held Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, a local official said, adding other shells had struck elsewhere in the town. "The town’s heating system is broken, power lines are damaged as well as the water supply … So this is […]

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Despite a looming cease-fire deadline, Ukraine said Friday that at least 11 people were killed and dozens wounded in fighting in the past 24 hours. Photo: AP. Ukraine descended into further violence on Friday as Kiev and Russia-backed separatists tried to expand and defend their territory before a cease-fire brokered by European leaders was due to come into effect. Eleven Ukrainian soldiers died and 40 more were wounded in the past 24 hours in the eastern battle zone , military spokesman Col. Andriy Lysenko said. Battles were fierce near the Ukrainian-held cities of Debaltseve and Mariupol. At least 10 people were killed elsewhere, including a 7-year-old boy, according to local officials. The truce , seen as a possible last chance to put an end to a surge in the deadly fighting, is set to come into effect Sunday. But a previous deal in September collapsed, and doubts about the […]

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Ukraine’s president has warned that a deal to end the war in the east is in "great danger" after heavy fighting ahead of Saturday night’s ceasefire. Petro Poroshenko also accused Russia of "significantly increasing" its offensive despite the peace agreement reached in Minsk on Thursday. The US ambassador to Ukraine tweeted a satellite image that he said showed Russian artillery near Debaltseve. Shelling was heard in the rebel-held city of Donetsk early on Saturday. Fierce battles are said to be continuing around Debaltseve – a strategic government-held town almost encircled by rebel forces – and outside the southern port city of Mariupol. The BBC’s David Stern in Kiev says that as the clock ticks down to the ceasefire, fears are rising that it won’t be observed. More than a dozen civilians are said to have died in shelling in eastern Ukraine on Friday. It is unclear who was behind […]

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With cease-fire deal, and IMF package in hand, Russian energy company Gazprom says it’s time Ukraine settle its debt. UPI/Ivan Vakolenko MOSCOW, Feb. 12 (UPI) — With a $17.5 billion agreement from the International Monetary Fund in hand, Russian gas company Gazprom said Thursday it was time Ukraine settled its debt. "The economic reform program focuses on immediate macroeconomic stabilization as well as broad and deep structural reforms to provide the basis for strong and sustainable economic growth over the medium term," IMF Mission Chief for Ukraine Nikolay Gueorguiev said in a statement. Political upheaval that followed Kiev’s pivot toward the European Union in November 2013 left an already-battered Ukrainian economy in shambles. The IMF said Ukraine’s economy contracted by about 7 percent in gross domestic product last year as conflict drags on in the east of the country. This, in turn, has taken its toll on industries and […]

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After 17 hours of negotiations, the leaders of France and Germany brokered a renewed cease-fire deal to end Ukraine’s 10-month conflict with pro-Russia separatists. MINSK, Belarus—Germany and France brokered a deal with Russia on Thursday to end nearly a year of fighting in Ukraine, but warned there was still much to do to ensure that it doesn’t fall apart the way the last one did. The revived cease-fire—to start Sunday—offers new hope for peace between Kiev and Russia-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine, although many questions remained following more than 16 hours of overnight negotiations. The rebels appeared to have won significant gains, including control over much of the ground they have taken in recent months and over the border with Russia, at least through the end of this year. For Kiev, the deal offers a chance to end a costly and bloody conflict in which Moscow has shown it […]

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Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko stands in an elevator after peace talks on resolving the Ukrainian crisis in Minsk, February 12, 2015. The leaders of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine have agreed a deal to end fighting in eastern Ukraine, participants at the summit talks said on Thursday. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko (BELARUS – Tags: POLITICS) T he deal agreed by Vladimir Putin and Petro Poroshenko in Minsk on Thursday provides a ray of hope that the conflict in eastern Ukraine might be moving towards a settlement. But it would be foolish to view the pact more optimistically than that. After a testy 16-hour negotiation, the Russian and Ukrainian presidents have at least settled on a framework to end the fighting that has taken more than 5,000 lives. However, a similar agreement signed in the Belarusian capital last September swiftly collapsed. And any optimism about Minsk II requires a leap of faith […]

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Christine Larage: the Ukrainian authorities are demonstrating courage to reform we’ve never seen before The International Monetary Fund on Thursday said it would provide a new four-year $17.5bn bailout for war-torn Ukraine that is expected to lead to a restructuring of Kiev’s privately-held debts so that it can shore up its public finances. The new rescue replaces a $17bn programme launched less than a year ago but abandoned when the conflict with Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine’s eastern districts worsened, undermining the country’s public finances. The IMF had distributed $4.5bn in the first programme, bringing the fund’s total commitment to Ukraine to $22bn. More On this story On this topic IN Europe With separate EU and US pledges already made — and expected promises of bilateral loans from the world’s biggest economies worth several billion dollars — the size of the financial aid package will reach $40bn. But it may […]

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ENLARGE Russian President Vladimir Putin, third left, shakes hands with his Ukrainian counterpart, Petro Poroshenko, as they participated in peace talks on resolving the Ukrainian crisis in Minsk, Belarus, on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters MINSK, Belarus—The leaders of France and Germany brokered a renewed deal to end Ukraine’s 10-month conflict with Russia-backed separatists, reviving and amending a failed September cease-fire agreement in marathon talks that lasted through the night. Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters that the deal calls for a cease-fire starting on Sunday, with each side pulling back heavy weapons, as well as steps to give greater autonomy to the Russia-backed separatist regions in eastern Ukraine. Details of the agreement weren’t immediately available. The deal came after 17 hours of talks in the Belarus capital of Minsk involving Mr. Putin, French President François Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier […]

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MINSK, Belarus (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday emerged from marathon Ukraine peace talks by announcing a new cease-fire deal, but questions remained whether Ukraine and the pro-Russian rebels have agreed on its terms. Putin told reporters that the cease-fire will be effective starting from Sunday, but he added that he and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko disagreed on assessing the situation in a key flashpoint. The government-controlled town of Debaltseve, a key transport hub between the two main rebel-controlled cities in the east, has been the focus of intense fighting in recent weeks as the rebels sought to encircle the Ukrainian troops there. Putin said that the rebels consider the Ukrainian forces surrounded and expect them to surrender, while Ukraine disagrees with that. He added that they agreed with Poroshenko to clarify the situation. Putin urged the warring parties to show restraint. Poroshenko said the parties agreed […]

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ENLARGE A bus station hit during shelling between Russian-backed separatists and the Ukrainian government forces in Donetsk on Wednesday. Photo: Associated Press Heavy fighting continued in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, just hours before leaders were expected to gather for a high-stakes summit to negotiate a cease-fire in the 10-month conflict between pro-Russia separatists and Kiev. Lower-level talks were scheduled to resume early Wednesday in the Belarusian capital of Minsk, the foreign ministry said, in an effort to hammer out the basics of a deal that could be finalized later in the day by the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France if an agreement appeared close. “There are a number of problems which remain to be resolved…but it is very likely to go ahead,” French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told France Inter radio early Wednesday, according to news agency reports, referring to the leaders’ summit. “It is really a […]

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Ukrainian military vehicles drive toward the flashpoint city of Debaltseve in eastern Ukraine on Sunday. ENLARGE Photo: Associated Press MUNICH—The U.S. and Germany are struggling to maintain a united front against an unflinching Russia ahead of a crucial week of high-stakes, top-level diplomacy on the Ukraine crisis. Chancellor Angela Merkel has given Russian President Vladimir Putin until Wednesday to agree to a road map to end the fighting in eastern Ukraine, according to Western officials. If in her assessment Russian intransigence has blocked a deal, they said, Germany will likely move to step up European sanctions against Russian companies, possibly including broader asset freezes. Separately, the U.S. is considering supplying Ukraine with lethal aid. President Barack Obama has held off on a decision until he sees Ms. Merkel—who has publicly opposed weapons deliveries—on Monday morning. The confluence of events—which follows a recent surge of deadly fighting between Ukrainian forces […]

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Angela Merkel speaking at the Munich conference Angela Merkel is to meet President Barack Obama in Washington on Monday in a bid to secure a diplomatic solution to the escalating Ukraine crisis amid calls for the US administration to arm Kiev. The German chancellor’s visit comes after the latest round of talks between France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia failed to result in a peace accord at the weekend. Adamantly opposed to arming Ukraine, Ms Merkel is putting huge efforts into bringing Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table. In a four-way phone call on Sunday, Mr Putin and Ms Merkel, together with French President François Hollande and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, agreed to meet on Wednesday in the Belarusian capital of Minsk. Talks have taken on new urgency following the collapse of September’s ceasefire agreement as Russian-backed rebels seize government-controlled areas in eastern Ukraine. The Washington meeting comes […]

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MUNICH — The Cold War is history, but its spirit this weekend stalked the security conference held here each winter for the past 51 years. Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and Senator John McCain drew very different lessons from the West’s 20th-century showdown with the Soviet Union, as they clashed over whether to arm Kiev’s troops in response to Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine . That disagreement represents one of the sharpest rifts yet over how the allies should respond to the current challenge from Moscow. Europe is very different from the days when the militaries of NATO and the Soviet bloc stared each other down. But the crisis in Ukraine has reopened familiar differences as to whether the threat of force — in this case, Washington’s readiness to bolster Ukraine’s military against pro-Russian rebels backed by the Kremlin — is more effective than months of so-far failed negotiations. […]

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DEBALTSEVE, Ukraine/MOSCOW (Reuters) – The leaders of France and Germany flew out of Moscow in the dead of night after five hours of talks with Vladimir Putin on Friday, with little to announce to end fighting in Ukraine beyond a promise to keep talking. None of the leaders spoke publicly after the meeting, which ended around midnight with President Francois Hollande and Chancellor Angela Merkel whisked straight from the Kremlin back to the airport. The French and German leaders had held similar late talks the night before with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, part of a last-ditch push for a breakthrough before EU leaders consider new financial sanctions against Russia next week. European officials had played down expectations ahead of the Moscow talks, expressing doubt that Putin would compromise while pro-Russian rebels are advancing on the ground. Afterwards, Moscow and Berlin both described a commitment to work on a "possible […]

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KIEV, Ukraine — With fighting intensifying in eastern Ukraine and the White House weighing whether to send arms to bolster the government’s forces, Western leaders embarked on a concerted diplomatic effort on Thursday aimed at ending a conflict that has strained relations with Russia. Despite the burst of activity, the prospects of achieving a new peace plan have been clouded by deep suspicion of Moscow’s aims in Ukraine. At the same time, the arrest in Kiev on Wednesday of a senior officer on charges of spying for Russia has raised concerns that the Ukrainian military has been infiltrated, complicating any plans for sending arms to Kiev. While the United States has provided weapons to allies in similarly unstable circumstances, including in Afghanistan and Iraq, Russia’s long historical ties to the Ukrainian military and security apparatus present an unusual challenge. “Very often one cannot tell where the F.S.B. stops and […]

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ENLARGE A man examines the wreckage of his car in the suburbs of Donetsk, Ukraine, on Sunday after it was destroyed by shelling the day before. Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images ARTEMIVSK, Ukraine—Cease-fire talks broke down between Ukraine’s government and Russian-backed rebels while Kiev reported 28 soldiers killed over the weekend in some of the deadliest fighting since a tentative peace deal was signed in September. Artillery duels around a government-held railway hub of Debaltseve in eastern Ukraine squelched hopes to stem a return to full-scale fighting. Both sides accused the other of shelling civilian areas Sunday. Ukraine’s military says it expects a surge in fighting in the coming days, after Russia sent a convoy of what it said was humanitarian aid into the country over the weekend. Kiev has accused the Kremlin of using the aid convoys to funnel munitions to the rebels and says there is usually an […]

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WASHINGTON — With Russian-backed separatists pressing their attacks in Ukraine , NATO ’s military commander, Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, now supports providing defensive weapons and equipment to Kiev’s beleaguered forces, and an array of administration and military officials appear to be edging toward that position, American officials said Sunday. President Obama has made no decisions on providing such lethal assistance. But after a series of striking reversals that Ukraine’s forces have suffered in recent weeks, the Obama administration is taking a fresh look at the question of military aid. Secretary of State John Kerry , who plans to visit Kiev on Thursday, is open to new discussions about providing lethal assistance, as is Gen. Martin E. Dempsey , the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, officials said. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, who is leaving his post soon, backs sending defensive weapons to the Ukrainian forces. In recent months, […]

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Rebels have been gaining ground in the past few days Pro-Russian separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko has announced plans to recruit 100,000 men, as fighting with Ukrainian forces intensifies. The separatists are trying to capture the key town of Debaltseve, while central areas of rebel-held Donetsk have been hit by artillery fire. Dozens of civilians were killed on both sides of the front line at the weekend. "Mobilisation will start in 11 days’ time," Mr Zakharchenko told Donetsk news agency. Hundreds of civilians have been moved out of Debaltseve amid reports that the separatists have reached the outskirts of the town. Attempts to negotiate a ceasefire failed on Saturday in the Belarusian capital Minsk when rebel representatives did not turn up.

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People take cover from shelling in a residential area in Donetsk’s Kyibishevsky district on Friday…. ENLARGE Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images KIEV, Ukraine—At least 12 people were killed in fighting in eastern Ukraine as the Ukrainian government and rebels squabble over who should be allowed to attend internationally-mediated talks if they are restarted in Belarus. In the last 24 hours, five members of the Ukrainian military were killed, a spokesman said, and the city council of rebel-held Donetsk reported seven civilian deaths. Dozens were wounded on both sides. The death toll has risen sharply this month, as government forces and pro-Russian rebels resumed full-scale fighting . After the collapse of a tentative truce agreed last month, both sides accused each other of violating a broader peace agreement reached in Minsk in September, and rebels announced an offensive to retake territory lost to the government last year. Russia and the West […]

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On guard: a pro-Russian rebel patrols the road near the airport of Donetsk, with Ukrainian military vehicles in the background Increasingly divided EU ministers failed to issue a specific threat of further economic sanctions against Russia on Thursday, despite fears that the conflict in eastern Ukraine was entering a dangerous new phase. European foreign ministers held an emergency meeting in Brussels to determine how to respond to the collapse of a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, fearing that this weekend’s bombardment of the port city of Mariupol marked a dramatic escalation of the fighting. More On this topic IN Europe However, diplomats in Brussels said it was increasingly difficult to preserve a united front among the 28 members of the EU, partly because of the recent election of a leftwing government in Greece which has vowed to act as a bridge between Europe and Russia . In a weak final […]

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President Petro Poroshenko attends Auschwitz ceremonies Tuesday. ENLARGE Photo: Getty Images Ukrainian troops beat back fresh attacks by pro-Russia militants on a crucial rail hub Tuesday, part of recent heavy fighting that is sapping the Ukrainian administration of options and finances as it works to fend off a wider Russian-supported onslaught. U.S. and European leaders threatened new sanctions in the wake of a rebel rocket attack that killed dozens of Ukrainian civilians over the weekend, but Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared ready to shrug off any new measures. On Tuesday, he continued to blame Kiev for the fighting and for “gunning down civilians in cold blood.” The Kremlin denies giving support to pro-Russia rebels in eastern Ukraine or sending Russian troops, which Kiev said on Tuesday numbered as many as 15,000. Kiev and Western officials say a fresh infusion of Russian armor in the past two weeks has been […]

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KIEV (Reuters) – Seven Ukrainian servicemen have been killed and 24 wounded in fighting in separatist eastern territories in the past 24 hours, Kiev military spokesman Vladislav Seleznyov said on Monday. Fighting in eastern Ukraine is at its worst level since a ceasefire was agreed last September. The rebels have launched an offensive on the port city of Mariupol and vowed to encircle the town of Debaltseve, where Seleznyov said fighting was the most intense. (Reporting by Natalia Zinets; Writing by Alessandra Prentice)

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DONETSK, Ukraine — The shattered remains of a tank bearing a tattered Ukrainian flag sat beside the main highway to Mariupol on Monday afternoon, a remnant of what pro-Russian rebel forces said was a failed attempt by Ukrainian forces to push into rebel-held territory a few days after a shelling attack left 30 dead in that port city. With a cease-fire in shreds, pro-Russian separatist forces mounting regular new attacks and the Ukrainian military struggling to rebound from losses at the Donetsk airport last week, eastern Ukraine is seeing by far the heaviest fighting since August. Thunderous artillery blasts could be heard from several directions Monday in the largely isolated city of Donetsk. The Ukrainian government declared a state of emergency on Monday in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the areas controlled by the rebels, and put the entire country on high alert. In Brussels, at the request of […]

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DONETSK, Ukraine — Unexpectedly, at the height of the Ukrainian winter, war has exploded anew on a half-dozen battered fronts across eastern Ukraine , accompanied by increasing evidence that Russian troops and Russian equipment have been pouring into the region again. A shaky cease-fire has all but vanished, with rebel leaders vowing fresh attacks. Civilians are being hit by deadly mortars at bus stops. Tanks are rumbling down snowy roads in rebel-held areas with soldiers in unmarked green uniforms sitting on their turrets, waving at bystanders — a disquieting echo of the “little green men” whose appearance in Crimea opened this stubborn conflict in the spring. The renewed fighting has dashed any hopes of reinvigorating a cease-fire signed in September and honored more in name than in fact since then. It has also put to rest the notion that Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, would be so staggered by […]

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Russian gas company Gazprom chief Alexei Miller says Ukraine still in debt, but contractual obligations will be honored. (UPI Photo/Anatoli Zhdanov) MOSCOW, Jan. 22 (UPI) — Russian energy company Gazprom remains committed to its contractual obligations in Ukraine, company chairman Alexei Miller said. Most of the Russian natural gas bound for the European market runs through Soviet-era transit networks in Ukraine. Ongoing contractual rows between Kiev and Gazprom, and simmering conflict in eastern Ukraine, means that conventional route, as well as Ukrainian gas supplies, is at risk. The Russian company said it was operating under the terms of historic documents embraced by the pre-conflict government in Ukraine, which extends through 2019. A so-called winter package gives Ukraine a discount on gas prices, though that deal expires March 31. Miller said the company remained committed to gas supplies to Ukraine and gas transits to Europe. "Gazprom has cooperated and will […]

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MOSCOW — Ukrainian officials acknowledged on Thursday that they had relinquished to rebel forces control over the terminal of the airport in Donetsk, while artillery fire gutted a trolley bus in the embattled city, killing at least eight people, and evidence emerged of a growing Russian military role in the area. The airport, the scene of fierce battles in recent days, is nonfunctional, the terminal and runways having been destroyed months ago. Nonetheless, it has retained high symbolic value in the ongoing hostilities as the government’s last toehold in the city, the largest in the contested territory of southeastern Ukraine. At a news briefing in Kiev on Thursday, a Ukrainian military spokesman, Vladyslav Seleznyov, said that six soldiers had died in the fighting over the airport and 16 had been captured by forces of the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic before a decision was made to withdraw from the ruined […]

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Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk has signed agreement with neighboring Poland to diversify regional gas networks. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI KIEV, Ukraine, Jan. 20 (UPI) — The Ukrainian prime minister announced a pipeline deal with neighboring Poland that diversifies the energy sector with better access to liquefied natural gas hubs. Ukrainian company Naftogaz signed a deal with its Polish counterparts, Gaz-System, to build a pipeline between the two countries. Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said the deal ensures his country remains an important hub in the European energy market. It’s not a reverse pipeline, "but it means an access to gas from the LNG terminals that have already been built in [Lithuania] and Poland," he said. The European market gets about a quarter of its gas needs met by Russia, though most of that runs through Soviet-era transit networks in Ukraine. Lingering contractual disputes between Kiev and […]

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KIEV (Reuters) – Pro-Russian separatists renewed attacks on Ukrainian forces at an airport complex in the east on Monday after Kiev launched a mass operation to reclaim lost ground there that Russia called a "strategic mistake". Ukrainian officials said three soldiers had been killed and 66 wounded over the past 24 hours, during which they said they had returned battle lines at the airport outside Donetsk to the status quo under a much violated international peace plan. Russia expressed concern at what it called escalation by Kiev and published its own peace plan on Monday in the form of a letter from President Vladimir Putin to Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko, which it said Poroshenko had rejected. "It’s the biggest, even strategic mistake of the Ukrainian authorities to bank on a military solution to the crisis," Interfax quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin as saying. "This may lead to irreversible […]

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ENLARGE Ukrainian and European Union flags. EU governments discussed Friday increasing the amount the bloc lends to Ukraine over the medium term. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images BRUSSELS–-European Union governments discussed Friday increasing the amount the bloc lends to Ukraine in the medium term, with a number of bigger member states saying the proposed loan package floated by Brussels wasn’t large enough, according to people familiar with the debate. Last week, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker proposed a €1.8 billion ($2.10 billion) balance of payment loan for Ukraine through 2015 and early 2016. The money is planned alongside fresh assistance from the U.S. and other international sources to help the government in Kiev fill a funding gap estimated by the country at around $15 billion through the first quarter of 2016. Earlier this week, the U.S. pledged $2 billion in additional loan guarantees for Ukraine. According to two officials, a number […]

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AP Photo/Mstyslav Chernov World Video Buy AP Photo Reprints Latest News DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — Valentina Dudareva’s voice cracks with despair as she stands in the snow, surveying the bombed-out windows of her apartment block in Donetsk, the separatist capital in eastern Ukraine. Cold, poor and hungry, Dudareva is among the masses of people trapped by fighting between the government and Russian-backed militias, reliant on outside help that often fails to arrive. More than six months have passed since Dudareva last received her pension – and the Russian food aid packages so trumpeted by rebel authorities are nowhere to be seen. Anger she once reserved for the Ukrainian armed forces shelling the city is now directed at the separatist government. "They tell us: `Go to the theater. There are tickets for sale!’" Dudareva said, dabbing a handkerchief to her cheek. "But I want to eat. I want my pension." […]

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ENLARGE German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, second left, welcomes his counterparts from France, Laurent Fabius, right, Russia, Sergey Lavrov, left, and Ukraine, Pavlo Klimkin, second right, for a meeting in Berlin Monday on the Ukraine situation. Michael Sohn/Press Pool BERLIN—Hopes for a Ukraine peace summit this week faded after top diplomats from France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine late Monday failed to reach agreement on how to resolve the conflict amid heightened fighting there. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier met with Laurent Fabius, Pavlo Klimkin and Sergei Lavrov —the foreign ministers of France, Ukraine and Russia, respectively—in the latest effort to resolve the Ukraine conflict, which began almost a year ago and set off the worst diplomatic crisis between Russia and the West since the fall of the Iron Curtain. The ministers couldn’t find sufficient common ground for holding a peace summit, which Ukraine had hoped would take place in […]

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BUDAPEST—After a three-month break while it filled up its own reserves, Hungary restarted natural gas transport to Ukraine on Saturday via a pipeline connecting the neighboring countries, the foreign affairs and trade ministry told The Wall Street Journal. Ukraine is highly dependent on gas imports, especially amid ongoing conflicts with Russia. Hungary transported 2.6 million cubic meters of gas so far to Ukraine, and will continue to sell about 2.5 million cubic meters a day in the coming days. In comparison, Ukraine received around 3.5 million a day cubic meters of gas from Hungary in September before Hungary ceased shipping to its eastern neighbor. Ukraine continues to receive gas from Slovakia, but not from Poland, the ministry added. Write to Veronika Gulyas at [email protected]

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