Russia celebrates its invasions by stealth:
West to hold military drills in Ukraine, our news desk reports:
Ukraine is to host U.S.-led military drills later this month involving hundreds of troops.
Poland’s Defense Ministry said on September 3 that the exercises, dubbed Rapid Trident 14, are to be held on September 13-26 in western Ukraine close to NATO-member Poland.
Troops from NATO members Britain, Bulgaria, Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, Romania, and alliance partners Norway and Moldova will join U.S. and Polish troops for the annual event in Ukraine, which is not a NATO member.
Focused on peacekeeping, it will include command patrolling and dealing with improvised explosive devices.
The annual exercise was initially scheduled for July, but was put back when planning was disrupted by the fighting between government forces and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
The fighting in Ukraine will be a featured topic at the NATO summit in Wales starting on September 4. (AFP and Reuters)
Although maybe the Kremlin could have just posted this...
The Kremlin has published President Vladimir Putin's 7-point peace plan in English:
Vladimir Putin outlined the plan while speaking with journalists at the end of his working visit to Mongolia.
In order to stop the bloodshed and stabilise the situation in southeast Ukraine, I believe that the parties to the conflict should immediately agree on and coordinate the following steps:
1. End active offensive operations by armed forces and armed militia groups in southeast Ukraine in the Donetsk and Lugansk areas.
2. Withdraw Ukrainian armed forces units to a distance that would make it impossible to fire on populated areas using artillery and all types of multiple launch rocket systems.
3. Allow for full and objective international monitoring of compliance with the ceasefire and monitoring of the situation in the safe zone created by the ceasefire.
4. Exclude all use of military aircraft against civilians and populated areas in the conflict zone.
5. Organise the exchange of individuals detained by force on an ‘all for all’ basis without any preconditions.
6. Open humanitarian corridors for refugees and for delivering humanitarian cargoes to towns and populated areas in Donbass – Donetsk and Lugansk regions.
7. Make it possible for repair brigades to come to damaged settlements in the Donbass region in order to repair and rebuild social facilities and life-supporting infrastructure and help the region to prepare for the winter.
Kyiv's Donetsk governor considers strategy: