Well well well. Interfax suggesting that Stroitransgaz, owned by Putin buddy Timchenko, will be chosen to build bridge across Kerch strait
— Oliver Carroll (@olliecarroll) August 26, 2014
Aleksandr Golts has been writing for "The Moscow Times" about the upcoming summit in Minsk. He is not too hopeful of a positive outcome:
The main problem is that it remains unclear exactly what might serve as the basis of a compromise between Russia and Ukraine.
With Ukrainian forces embroiled in street battles in Donetsk and Luhansk, Kiev apparently hopes to win by military means and is demanding that Moscow cease its support for the separatists. But Moscow, for its part, seems unwilling to stop supplying the separatists with weapons.
The Kremlin instead hopes to freeze the conflict in its current stage, essentially giving legitimacy to the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk and creating a Bosnia scenario in which ethnic divisions are legitimized.
Moscow clearly has no intention of reducing its support for the separatists, and it is no coincidence that reports of the upcoming meeting between Putin and Poroshenko were almost immediately followed by media reports that a Russian tactical force of 1,200 armed men and about 100 pieces of military hardware had entered Luhansk. Several days later, Donetsk separatists announced that they had formed several military units, including two tank battalions and several artillery battalions.
Read the entire artticle here.
Here's an update from our news desk on the Russian soldier who were purportedly captured in Ukraine after crossing the border from Russia:
A Russian Defense Ministry source says the Russian servicemen reportedly captured by Ukrainian forces in southeastern Ukraine accidentally crossed the Russian-Ukrainian border.
The unidentified source told Russian news agencies that they were on patrol when they inadvertently crossed an unmarked section of the border.
But the Ukrainian security service says the 10 troops are 98th Airborne Division paratroopers captured near the village of Dzerkalne, about 50 kilometers southeast of the city of Donetsk.
The Ukrainian military released a video purportedly showing some of the soldiers, who it said are being questioned as part of a criminal probe.
Earlier yesterday, the Ukrainian Army said Russian forces disguised as separatists crossed from Russia with 10 tanks and two armored personnel carriers but were attacked by Ukrainian troops and stopped outside Novoazovsk.
Kyiv has long accused Moscow of supporting the rebels in Ukraine, a charge Russia denies.
(Interfax, ITAR-TASS, Reuters)
One former foreign secretary's suggested solution to Ukraine crisis: give in to Putin's demands. Pathetic stuff http://t.co/RCHfT3oRvE
— Ian Birrell (@ianbirrell) August 26, 2014
RT @AmbassadorRice: Repeated Russian incursions into #Ukraine unacceptable. Dangerous and inflammatory.
— Geoffrey Pyatt (@GeoffPyatt) August 26, 2014
Poroshenko decision to call early parl elections makes sense. Chance to renew democratic legitimacy. Plus #Ukraine has changed a lot.
— Steven Pifer (@steven_pifer) August 25, 2014
According to The Interpreter, support among Ukrainians for an independent Ukraine is higher than it has ever been:
Vladimir Putin’s Crimean Anschluss which was intended among other things to highlight or promote divisions among Ukrainians about the status of their country has had exactly the opposite effect: It has boosted the share of supporters of independent statehood from 83 percent to 90 percent, the highest ever.
In reporting the poll results, Valery Khmelko, president of the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, said that external threats have caused those who did not support the independence of the country to do so because of threats and to recognize the value of Ukraine for themselves.
Read the entire article here
Weapons convoys seen rolling in eastern Ukraine (from @AP) http://t.co/2EH3E6uxC9
— Tom Parfitt (@parfitt_tom) August 26, 2014