German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier speaking aside U.S. State Secretary John Kerry to journalists this morning, ahead of the second day of a G7 foreign ministers' meeting in Luebeck, Germany:
"The weather in international politics is quite stormy -- the conflict in eastern Ukraine is only two hours away from here. We [will be] discussing the situation in Ukraine, the Ukrainian conflict later on. We will be starting today with [where we] stand in our negotiations with Iran. We have to discuss the situation in the Middle East with ISIL [in mind] -- about Iraq and Syria."
...On the "weaponization of information."
OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine spokesman Michael Bociurkiw speaking today to BBC from Kyiv about an increase of cease-fire violations in eastern Ukraine.
"In our latest daily report we are using language, which, frankly, we have not used for quite some time -- words like 'a massive increase in cease-fire violations,' intensive fighting in and around Donetsk airport and [the village of] Shyrokyne.' I can tell you that over a six hour period alone yesterday [April 14] there were over 700 explosions in and around Donetsk airport that our monitors heard."
"Both sides are in such close proximity -- I mean, in Shirokino they are only a few hundred meters apart -- [that what happens is that if] one side fires, it provokes return fire from the other side. And what often happens is the return fire coming from densely populated residential areas."
"[OSCE] chief of [Special Monitoring] Mission, Ambassador [Ertugrul] Apakan is again calling for an immediate cease-fire, a comprehensive cease-fire, and most importantly, of course, is the withdrawal of heavy weaponry. I can tell you that yesterday [April 14] -- today we'll be reporting that -- we've seen yet again -- yet again -- movement of heavy weaponry that should have been completely removed from the zone in which it's being used."
A very good video report from our colleagues at Current Time.
The town of Debaltseve, in eastern Ukraine, fell to a Russian-backed separatist assault shortly after the Minsk cease-fire agreements were signed in February. A fraction of the pre-conflict civilian population now lives there. Those who remained have experienced looting, buried bodies being dug up, and bread queues herded by gunmen.
