Category: Ukraine

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, center, examines an equipment on a base of border… Read More Photographer: Genya Savilov/AFP/Getty Images Ukrainian rebels in the Donetsk region said a month-old truce is all but dead and renewed calls for independence as fighting intensified, claiming 10 lives. “There is no truce, buffer zones are non-existent,” the deputy premier of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, Andrei Purgin, said via Russian state news service RIA Novosti. Purgin said some estimates put the number of deaths from fighting in the Donetsk region alone at 9,000 in the past six months, though the figure is probably closer to 4,000 or 5,000. That compares with a United Nations estimate of 3,660 deaths and 8,756 injuries in all of eastern Ukraine . At least 331 of those fatalities ocurred after the belligerents agreed to a cease-fire in Minsk, Belarus, on Sept. 5, the UN said yesterday. “Such casualties […]

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Ukrainian gas situation taking humanitarian toll, U.N. report finds. UPI/Ivan Vakolenko GENEVA, Switzerland, Oct. 8 (UPI) — Energy issues in eastern Ukraine are taking a humanitarian toll as residents grow concerned about supplies for the coming winter, a U.N. report said Wednesday. The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights published a report on the situation in eastern Ukraine . "For almost half a year, residents of the areas affected by the armed conflict have been deprived of their fundamental rights to education, to adequate healthcare, to housing and to opportunities to earn a living," U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein said in a statement. "Further prolongation of this crisis will make the situation untenable for the millions of people whose daily lives have been seriously disrupted." The report said residents across Ukraine are growing concerned about energy issues, as they fear there could be a natural […]

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Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk says he’s looking for mutually acceptable solution to regional gas crises. UPI/Ivan Vakolenko KIEV, Ukraine, Oct. 7 (UPI) — Ukraine is ready to find a mutually acceptable solution to ensure the reliable transit of Russian natural gas, the country’s prime minister said. Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk met in Kiev with visiting Victoria Nuland , a U.S. State Department official in charge of regional affairs. Yatsenyuk’s office said "special attention" was paid to challenges of European energy security . "The Ukrainian side is ready to a mutually acceptable solution on the basis of market pricing for gas and its transit," he said. Ukraine under the terms of a proposal brokered with European and Russian officials agrees to settle its $3.1 billion in gas debt to Russian energy company Gazprom in exchange for assurances of reliable transit and a discount on gas prices. The Kremlin […]

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Kremlin preparing for next round of trilateral gas talks with its European and Ukrainian counterparts. (UPI Photo/Sergey Starostenko) MOSCOW, Oct. 6 (UPI) — The date of the next round of trilateral gas talks between Russia, Ukraine and the European Union will be announced this week, the Kremlin said. Trilateral negotiators are reviewing a package proposed in September meant to address Ukraine’s mounting debt for gas while ensuring European consumers have adequate winter supplies. "On Oct. 7, we will agree on the date of the next trilateral meeting," Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Sunday. Ukraine under the terms of the proposal would pay off its $3.1 billion in debt to Russian energy company Gazprom, which in turn would offer a discounted price to its Ukrainian counterpart, Naftogaz. Gazprom would continue with a protocol calling on Ukraine to pay in advance for its natural gas . Russia meets about 20 […]

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The U.S. is helping plan how to keep homes and businesses heated during winter as the European Union’s incoming chief diplomat warned the government in Kiev may struggle as freezing temperatures approach. Fighting continued today in eastern Ukraine amid moves to establish a buffer zone to help cement a wobbly truce that went into effect a little more than a month ago between government forces and pro-Russian separatists. “We have a team in Ukraine looking at the immediate issues of this winter,” U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said yesterday at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. “The issues are, unfortunately, challenging.” Analysts are studying ways to heat homes with fuels other than natural gas, he said. Ukraine is bracing for the onset of winter, when temperatures at times drop below minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit), with Russian gas supplies shut off and energy infrastructure […]

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Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk says his government is serious about addressing European energy concerns. UPI/Ivan Vakolenko KIEV, Ukraine, Oct. 3 (UPI) — The Ukrainian government is deeply concerned about risks to European energy security caused by the Kremlin, Ukraine’s prime minister said. Ukrainian Prime Miniser Arseniy Yatsenyuk said from Kiev risks to European energy security were "caused by the Russian Federation." The prime minister hosted regional and European leaders in an effort to allay concerns about natural gas before winter demand increases . Russian natural gas company Gazprom in 2006 and 2009 cut gas supplies through Ukraine in response to contractual disputes with the government in Kiev. Ukraine’s political upheaval in November left its economy in shambles and Kiev’s debt obligations are creating risks to European security . "We are deeply concerned about the erosion of European energy security, the EU and Ukraine from the Russian company Gazprom," […]

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Europe leans on Kremlin for solution to lingering natural gas disputes. (UPI Photo/Sergey Starostenko) BRUSSELS, Oct. 1 (UPI) — European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said in a Wednesday letter to the Kremlin an interim solution to a trilateral gas crisis was mandatory. Ukraine under an interim deal proposed during trilateral talks last week in Berlin would pay the $3.1 billion it owes Russian energy Gazprom. Ukraine, in return, would get a price discount and assurances of adequate winter natural gas supplies. Barroso sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin saying he expected a mutually acceptable deal should be reached by all parties to the negotiations. "It is key that the resumption of energy deliveries to the citizens of Ukraine is ensured and that the fulfillment of all contractual obligations with customers in the European Union is secured," he said. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Tuesday "it […]

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Russia cut natural gas supplies to European Union member Slovakia by 50% Wednesday, Moscow’s latest and most significant reduction in energy supplies to an EU country that is helping Ukraine build gas supplies ahead of winter. Slovakia’s prime minister said the supply cut is a politically driven message to the EU as it negotiates fragile gas talks between Moscow and Kiev. "What’s interesting in the case is that it isn’t about a lack of gas, but this is about playing with gas supplies as an instrument of political posturing," Robert Fico said Wednesday. Slovakia this year began supplying natural gas to its eastern neighbor as an act of solidarity after Russia’s OAO Gazprom stopped supplying Ukraine with gas in June amid a price dispute and the broader conflicts between the two countries. Mr. Fico said Slovakia will "fulfill its commitments" to supply Ukraine with the fuel. Eustream, the Slovak […]

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The cease-fire in Ukraine that curtailed casualties for four weeks is starting to fray as pro-Russian insurgents continue to test the nerves of the military with targeted attacks, the government in Kiev said. Fighting continued today in the northern part of Donetsk, the biggest city in the combat zone, according to a statement on the local council’s website. It reported shelling yesterday near the Russian border, where a high-voltage transmission line was severed, cutting off power to several districts. The violence contrasts with comments last week by President Petro Poroshenko that the worst of the war is over as Ukraine focuses on elections next month, securing gas supplies and preparing a bid for European Union membership. Russia , which denies involvement in the war, said it wants to normalize ties with the EU and the U.S. after being hit by sanctions. “Policing a cease-fire was alway going to be […]

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