Melech 9,900 Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 At least 15 people have been killed and 46 injured in a series of rocket attacks by pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine's government-held port of Mariupol, police there say. The Grad rockets hit a market in a residential area in the east of the city, the police chief said. A spokesman for the rebels denied that they had any involvement in the attack, calling it "blatant misinformation". More than 5,000 people have died in fighting in the east since April. The rebels have seized a large swathe of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. More than a million people have been displaced. The main pro-Russian rebel leader in eastern Ukraine, Alexander Zakharchenko, said on Friday that his troops were on the offensive and that he did not want truce talks with Kiev. A ceasefire agreed in Minsk in September but never fully took hold. Many hoped that the lower level of hostilities it introduced would last, but the BBC's David Stern says that the fighting is beginning to approach what was seen last summer. 'Very scared' Mariupol has a population of 500,000 and is in a highly strategic position, sitting between rebel-held eastern areas and Crimea, which was annexed by Russia last March. The city saw heavy fighting in August. Our correspondent says that if the hostilities move to Mariupol it will signal a major escalation in the fighting. Unverified video footage on Saturday indicated that a number cars, houses and apartment buildings had been struck and were in flames. Our correspondent says the attack appeared to come from a multiple-rocket launcher, which fires a large number of missiles over a spread-out area. The rebels denied any involvement. Interfax news agency quoted the defence ministry of the Donetsk People's Republic as saying: "This is blatant misinformation and a lie. Rebel forces did not open any fire in the direction of Mariupol, especially not on residential areas." One resident told Agence France-Presse by telephone: "Obviously, everyone in the city is very scared. The rebels have already seized the airport. And now they are starting to destroy Mariupol itself." The US ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt, tweeted: "Today's indiscriminate shelling of Mariupol part of an apparently Russian-backed general offensive in complete violation of Minsk agreements." On Friday, rebel military spokesman Eduard Basurin said 24 rebel troops had been killed and 30 wounded in recent fighting. He called it "the heaviest losses in our ranks" in a 24-hour period. Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany have all issued calls for an end to the fighting. Ukraine and its Western allies say Russian regular troops are fighting alongside the separatists, using Russian heavy artillery and tanks. Moscow insists that only Russian "volunteers" have joined the rebels. Ukraine: the human cost Some 5.2 million people live in conflict-affected areas and 1.4 million are considered "highly vulnerable and in need of assistance" More than a million people have fled their homes with 633,523 living as displaced persons within Ukraine and 593,622 living outside Ukraine, mostly in Russia More than 5,000 people have been killed in the fighting and more than 10,300 injured http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30964970 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolev 867 Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 rip. I hope the world stops Russia before it gets too late. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
touchmetouchme 0 Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Oh lord Russia. You're really asking to get nuked! :Madge: rip to everyone though :cry: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bionic 50,111 Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 Oh lord Russia. You're really asking to get nuked! :Madge: rip to everyone though :cry: Get me a plane ticket out first Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringDaNoize 1 Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 What's Ukraine? idc anyway though Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reno 79 Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 I see a lot of comments dissapointed in the EU and US for not taking any serious action, but on the other hand no one wants to escalate the conflict even more than already is, especially with someone like Russia that has the atomic weapon. If everyone just jump in to fighting blindly for what they believe is right the world alredy would be in ruins. But what to do if a country doesn't want to negotiate, ignors the warnings, sanctions and rotting economy.Sometimes it's funny how we have the most sufisticated technologies crafted to the level of the atom that sometimes makes you think -"Is it really humans that have created this?.." but yet the wars and killings are happening uncontroled and the world just waches it with concern... Doesn't it make you think that the whole system of countries, governments are faulty... thousands of people have to fight against their will for the ideology of few others on the top, countries have to spend billions on weapons and armour in order to feel safe, with this kind of setup the question is not if the people destroy the planet and themselves but when... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melech 9,900 Posted January 25, 2015 Author Share Posted January 25, 2015 What's Ukraine? idc anyway though The second largest country in europe Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Josh 3 Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 What's Ukraine? idc anyway though Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bumblebee 2,528 Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 It's always a tragedy when civilian people fall victims due to the military conflicts, but it's worth noticing that Ukrainian army has been bombing the cities of Donetsk and Lugansk with artillery for more than 7 months already, and people pay suspiciously little attention to this. Yes, Donetsk and Lugansk are controlled by the so-called separatists forces, but that doesn't mean there are no civilians left in those cities, both of which were among the top 10 most populous cities in Ukraine before the war broke out. What I mean to say is that the response from government officials of most countries to the ongoing bombing of the cities like Donetsk and Lugansk which are controlled by separatists, but have a large civilian population too, has been lukewarm compared to their reaction to Mariupol bombing. Does the Ukrainian army really think it could bomb Donestk and Lugansk and does the Ukrainian army not expect to have its cities attacked in return? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huh 0 Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 no way Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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