Ukraine at risk of return to full war after major battle in Donetsk

[Luiz 4,253]

A major battle has erupted on the western edge of the main separatist rebel stronghold in eastern Ukraine, leaving more than a dozen people dead and threatening to tip the country back into full-blown war.

Rebels in the city of Donetsk reported 15 dead on Wednesday, some civilians and some combatants, in territory under their control.

The Ukrainian interior ministry said at least one person was killed in Marinka, the government-held town where fighting was centred. Ukrainian presidential adviser Yury Biryukov cited the Ukrainian general staff as saying two Ukrainian soldiers died in combat and that another 30 were wounded.

Each side is blaming the other for sparking this round of unrest. The general staff said in a statement that rebels deployed around 1,000 fighters and dozens of tanks and self-propelled artillery systems in a major offensive that started before dawn.

The statement said the attack was a flagrant violation of a February ceasefire agreement.

The head of the separatist armed forces, Vladimir Kononov, said his fighters had engaged only in defence measures after an assault by the Ukrainian army. “At around 3:45am the Ukrainian side carried out a provocation by shelling our positions practically along our entire front,” Kononov said.

Kononov listed several positions far apart from one another along the 280-mile (450km) front.

The Ukrainian prime minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, accused Russia of inciting the fighting. Ukraine and the west assert that Moscow supplies rebels with manpower and powerful weapons. Russia rejects those claims as unfounded.

Yatsenyuk urged the leaders’ meeting at the G7 summit in Germany this weekend to condemn Russia. “The international community must come up with a correct and appropriate response to Russian aggression,” Yatsenyuk said.

Ukrainian security services spokesman Markian Lubkivskyi said his agency had information that four troops with Russian military intelligence agency GRU had been killed in Marinka. Lubkivskyi did not explain how that information was acquired.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/03/fears-for-ukraine-ceasefire-after-fresh-reports-of-civilian-deaths
 full article

[Serendipity 7,821]

Oh no I'm so worried about the poor citizens

Wars never do any good to mankind

[faux 2,190]

Amazing how nobody shows interest and is just fine with a war within Europe. Ukraine now, rest of Europe later. But hey, you don't know how it feels till' it happens to you? 

[Luc 4,776]

It's so sad what Russia's doing. Nobody profits from this. Only thing that happens is a bit more electoral success for Putin, who can buy a majority anyways if he wanted to.

Also RIP to the hundreds of Russian soldiers who died. I feel sad for their parents - because they are forced to keep the funerals a secret.

I also feel sad for the Russian population as a whole that they lack good journalism. People who try to fight corruption and propaganda are constantly killed in the weirdest ways in Russia, and all evidence is sabotaged. (blood from a death journalist thrown away by doctors because the Russian government poisoned him. hell, even members of the Russian parliament have poisoned people themselves!)

 

It's just a sad situation that needs to be fixed using what can be done in the 21st century - use the Internet and media in the war against Russian nationalism and propaganda, and try to destroy the Russian economy with sanctions and by stopping the use of Russian fossil fuels and perhaps the toughest would be to take away or boycot the soccer world championship.