As winter sets in, fighters in eastern Ukraine face a new enemy -- the cold. Evhen Solonyna of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service visited a pro-government checkpoint north of Mariupol on November 8, where soldiers from the Poltava volunteer brigade said they lacked winter uniforms, boots, and thermal underwear.
From our newsroom:
Supplies of Russian gas are flowing to Ukraine after a six-month suspension.
Maksim Belyavskiy, the head of Ukrainian gas transportation network Ukrtransgaz, said on December 9 that gas supplies from Russia to his country have resumed.
Belyavskiy said Ukraine should receive some 43.5 million cubic meters of gas daily for the rest of this month.
State-controlled Russian exporter Gazprom confirmed it resumed deliveries to Ukraine after received a $378 million prepayment for 1 billion cubic meters of gas for December.
Russia suspended gas shipments to Ukraine in June as tension mounted following the ouster of Ukranian President Viktor Yanukovych and Moscow's annexation of Crimea.
Gazprom cited Ukraine's multibillion-dollar gas debt and demanded prepayment for future supplies.
The resumption of supplies follows an October 30 deal signed by Russia, Ukraine, and the EU to ensure deliveries to Ukraine over the winter.
Based on reporting from Interfax and Reuters
The Minsk talks are indeed delayed, it appears.
Pro-Kyiv military blogger Dmitry Tymchuk says "two consolidated...tactical group[s]" of "Russian troops and Russian mercenaries" have arrived in Donetsk in "recent days."
Our Ukrainian Service quotes Ukrainian military officials saying separatist forces launched 64 attacks on the eve of the "Day of Silence," killing at least two people and injuring 10 noncombatants.
Fresh comments on today's "Day Of Silence" and the prospect of cease-fire talks, from our newsroom:
A Ukrainian military spokesman said on December 9 that government forces have "suspended all combat actions and are ready for the Day of Silence."
The spokesman added that "if separatists attack, we will fire in response."
The pro-Russian separatists who hold parts of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk provinces have said they would also comply.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced the September 9 truce plan, saying it was included in a cease-fire deal signed in Minsk on September 5.
He said a new round of peace talks would probably be held on December 9, but several offocials and separatist leaders have said they are likely to be held later in the week, probably on December 12.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the talks would be held "in the coming days."
Based on reporting by Reuters and RIA Novosti