As far as we know, a cease-fire is still supposed to be in place...
Fights raging in #Yasynuvata (pic 1) & at #Donetsk airport (pic 2). Indiscriminate shelling, gun battles, the works. pic.twitter.com/jD3Ei52JLm
— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) September 28, 2014
Outgoing NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has written an op-ed for "The Independent" in London today. Needless to say, Russia and the Ukraine crisis figure prominently:
In our eastern neighbourhood, Russia has shown utter disregard for international law and a brutal determination to redraw borders by force. The pattern is clear. From Moldova to Georgia, and now in Ukraine, Russia uses a mix of economic, political, propaganda and military pressure, to produce instability and manufacture hot conflicts which it can freeze at will. Moscow's masterplan is to prevent its neighbours from choosing their own path so that it can rebuild a sphere of influence.
Russia's behaviour is my deepest disappointment of the past five years. My very first speech as Nato Secretary General, in September 2009, focused on seeking a strategic partnership with Russia. I saw this as a historic opportunity which my generation could not miss.
But while we did expand our practical co-operation in the common fight against terrorism, narcotics and piracy, we never agreed on missile defence. Russia's aggression against Ukraine has challenged our vision of a Europe whole, free and at peace. Despite our efforts since the collapse of communism, Russia clearly views Nato not as a partner, but as an adversary.
Unless Russia changes course, there can be no business as usual, and I expect that engagement with Moscow will remain a considerable challenge for the foreseeable future.
Read the entire article here
Six months after referendum I revisited #Crimea for @dw_english - engl version https://t.co/oVif32CS7N
— MareikeAden (@MareikeAden) September 28, 2014
Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council has been tweeting its take on the situation in the east of the country today:
This morning terrorists performed another unsuccessful attack on Donetsk airport, and shelled Avdiivka with artillery
— NSDC of Ukraine (@NSDC_ua) September 28, 2014
Terrorists continue violation of ceasefire, shelling positions and residential areas. Most active in Donetsk airport, Debaltsevo, Shchastya
— NSDC of Ukraine (@NSDC_ua) September 28, 2014
RF continue reconnaissance activity both on the border and from air, extension of military units in occupied Crimea and on Kherson border
— NSDC of Ukraine (@NSDC_ua) September 28, 2014
Video for Secretary @PennyPritzker opening comments with President @poroshenko. We will stand with Ukraine every step http://t.co/wsYy6GY9Mm
— Geoffrey Pyatt (@GeoffPyatt) September 28, 2014
This NYT report on Putin's coterie of billionaires has been setting the blogosphere alight over the past few hours:
The New York Times: It pays to be Putin’s friend http://t.co/TWVTmQqPeW pic.twitter.com/meGW1jCDHa
— Kyiv Post (@KyivPost) September 28, 2014
How to become a billionaire? Make friends with Putin http://t.co/YmlN6dVEDk
— Anne Applebaum (@anneapplebaum) September 28, 2014
This is the story on #Russia you must read today. Terrific reporting by @nytimes crew. It Pays to Be Putin’s Friend http://t.co/1WbHysr3SC
— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) September 28, 2014
The annual festival of blacksmiths took place in the war-torn Donetsk against all the odds a week ago. http://t.co/DpineHlSJs
— Leonid Ragozin (@leonidragozin) September 28, 2014
Lavrov says another "reset" needed. RT @riabreakingnews: России и США требуют второй «перезагрузки», считает Лавров http://t.co/AGD5PiWAqW
— Glenn Kates (@gkates) September 28, 2014
Good morning. Thus far, it seems like it could be a relatively quiet day, so we'll take this opportunity to revisit an extremely frank interview given by Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite to "The Washington Post" a couple of days ago. Here are some choice quotes:
The situation [in Ukraine] is still deteriorating. Russian troops are still on the territory of Ukraine. That means that Europe and the world are allowing Russia to be a country which is not only threatening its neighbors but is also organizing a war against its neighbors. It is the same international terrorism as we have in Iraq and Syria.
[...]
If we will be too soft with our sanctions or adapt sanctions but not implement them, I think he will go further trying to unite east Ukraine with south Ukraine and Crimea. He recently said that in two days he is capable to reach Warsaw, the Baltic states and Bucharest. So that is an open threat to his neighbors.
Might he go to Transnistria?
If we will allow him to go, he will go anywhere. The problem is that Putin’s Russia today is ready and willing to go to war. Europe and the West are not ready and not willing to go to war. There is no leadership in Europe or in the world able to stop Putin. Afterwards, we will be surprised that new territories are taken, that new countries are partitioned, and it will be a lot more costly and too late maybe to solve it.
Are you worried he will next attack the Baltics?
If he will not be stopped in Ukraine, he will go further.
You can read the entire interview here
We are now closing the live blog for today. Don't forget that you can follow all our continuous Ukraine coverage here.