Russian news agencies quoted rebel chief Alexander Zakharchenko, based in the eastern city of Donetsk, saying Friday that his forces are launching a new offensive to expand their territory.
On Thursday in Donetsk, at least 13 people were killed when a trolley bus was hit in an apparent mortar attack, sparking accusations of blame from both sides.
Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk published a statement on the government's web site blaming what he called "Russian terrorists" for the attack in the city that has been at the center of the months-long conflict between government troops and pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Ukrainian forces were responsible for what he called a "monstrous crime" and a "crude provocation."
Amnesty International denounced what it called the "appalling loss of civilian life." The London-based human rights group added that a "thorough, impartial and independent investigation into this possible violation of the laws of war is needed immediately."
Meanwhile, pro-Russian separatists paraded a group of captured Ukrainian servicemen
Thursday at the bus stop where the trolley bus was hit. Some of the captured servicemen were reportedly abused by local residents.
The shelling incident follows a sharp escalation of the fighting in eastern Ukraine and amid fresh accusations by Kyiv that Russian military forces had crossed the border to assist the rebels.
Ukrainian military authorities say troops had been pulled out of key positions at the Donetsk airport, the site of months of bitter fighting.
NATO's top military commander, U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove, said the fighting in eastern Ukraine had intensified to levels equal to or greater than those before the two sides signed a cease-fire agreement last September.......................http://www.voanews.com/content/ukraine-rebel-leader-vows-to-launch-new-push-for-territory/2610326.html
23/1/15
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Zakhartchenko : Donetsk ne tentera plus de parler de la trêve avec Kiev ...
ReplyDeleteLa République populaire autoproclamée de Donetsk abandonne les tentatives pour parler avec Kiev de la trêve, a déclaré vendredi son dirigeant Alexandre Zakhartchenko.
« Désormais nous allons voir comment réagira Kiev. Il ne comprend pas que nous pouvons lancer une offensive sur trois axes simultanément », a-t-il précisé.
Lire la suite: http://french.ruvr.ru/news/2015_01_23/Zakhartchenko-Donetsk-ne-tentera-plus-de-parler-de-la-treve-avec-Kiev-5564/
23/1/15
Kampf um die Ostukraine: Prorussische Separatisten kündigen Großoffensive an ...
ReplyDeleteKiew und Moskau vereinbaren den Abzug schwerer Waffen aus der Ostukraine. Dann kommen in Donezk 13 Zivilisten ums Leben. Die Separatisten wollen von einem Waffenstillstand nun nichts mehr wissen.
Nach dem Blutbad an einer Bushaltestelle im Konfliktgebiet Donezk haben die prorussischen Aufständischen eine neue Großoffensive angekündigt. Es solle die gesamte Krisenregion erobert werden - "notfalls" auch über die Gebietsgrenze von Donezk hinaus, sagte Separatistenführer Alexander Sachartschenko in Donezk. "Falls ich eine Gefährdung für die Donezker Erde von irgendeiner Siedlung sehe, werde ich diese Gefahr auch dort beseitigen", drohte er. Versuche einer Waffenruhe werde es vonseiten der Aufständischen nicht mehr geben. Bewaffnete Kräfte der "Volksrepubliken" würden derzeit auf mehrere Orte vorstoßen....................http://www.n24.de/n24/Nachrichten/Politik/d/6034184/prorussische-separatisten-kuendigen-grossoffensive-an.html
23/1/15
At least 10 people died Saturday when heavy rockets fell on residential districts of Ukraine's strategic government-held port of Mariupol in the wake of Russian-backed rebels' rejection of peace talks...
ReplyDeleteThe police chief of the war-torn region of Donetsk said the long-range Grad rockets hit a market in an eastern district facing roads that have come under attack from separatist militias in recent days.
The southeastern Sea of Azov city of nearly 500,000 sits on a highway connecting guerrilla-held regions to the east and the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea that Russia annexed from Ukraine in March................AFP..................http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/121156.aspx
24/1/15
Rebels Press Assault in Eastern Ukraine...
ReplyDeleteFighting continued Thursday in the northern sector of the former cease-fire line in eastern Ukraine as Russian-backed rebels pressed their offensive aimed at moving the line farther west.
The battle has left Popasna, and many other towns in the Luhansk region, on edge. The mayor says about a quarter of the population of 22,000 has fled, including many children sent to live with relatives.
Shelling could be heard faintly in the distance Thursday, but it was not so distant Tuesday when a shell hit a house in a quiet residential neighborhood. The owner, Valentina, said she was at home when it happened.
“I was in shock," she said. "I’m in shock now, because I grew up in this house. It was my parents’ house. My father built it with his own hands.”
Popasna is about 40 kilometers from the besieged town of Debaltseve, which is nearly surrounded by rebel forces. Rebels controlled the entire area last year, before being pushed back by government troops.
At a nearly iced-in checkpoint along the road, Ukrainian National Guard spokesman Oleg Tikhov said morale was high but the situation was difficult.......................http://www.voanews.com/content/rebels-press-assault-eastern-ukraine/2619544.html
29/1/14