U.S., Kyiv launch joint training exercises:
U.S. and Ukrainian troops have begun joint training exercises in Western Ukraine in a bid to strengthen government forces that are fighting Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said at the exercise's inauguration ceremony on April 20 that Ukraine's armed forces must be rebuilt from scratch to deter foreign threats.
The U.S. Army announced last week that 300 U.S. paratroopers would train 900 members of a National Guard reserve unit that brings volunteers and pro-government militia under Kyiv's control.
The exercises are 1,000 kilometers from the fighting in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Russia's Foreign Ministry has criticized the exercises, saying they would destabilize a shaky peace process and were a "first step" toward the possible delivery of U.S. weapons to Ukraine.
President Barack Obama's administration has refrained from offering lethal military equipment to Ukraine but has provided Kyiv with $75 million in nonlethal aid. )AP, AFP, Reuters, Hotnews.ro, TASS)
OSCE Chief Urges Ukraine Rivals To Seize 'Good Chance For Peace'
Vilnius, April 20, 2015 (AFP) -- The OSCE chief said Monday a truce was holding in a key village in eastern Ukraine and urged the warring sides to "embrace a good chance for peace" in the region.
"The news this morning is that our people, our monitors have brokered a truce in Shyrokyne, down near Mariupol," OSCE secretary general Lamberto Zannier said.
"And this truce seems to be holding," he told AFP in an interview during a visit to Vilnius.
The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe sent a monitoring mission to Ukraine in March 2014.
Close to the strategic port of Mariupol, Shyrokyne has been the latest flashpoint in a year-long conflict that has left more than 6,000 people dead.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Kiev had facilitated the OSCE's presence in Shyrokyne.
"We had negotiations on a 24-hour observation post for the OSCE in Shyrokyne and we hope that it will be achieved in the coming days through joint efforts with our partners," he said, quoted by the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
The Azov Battalion, a pro-Kiev paramilitary operating near Mariupol, also said fighting with pro-Russian rebels had subsided.
"The situation in Shyrokyne village has stabilised a bit," the group said on its webpage, adding that insurgents had pulled back artillery from the village "after the OSCE mission came back to Shyrokyne".
- Minsk II truce -
Zannier said there were still challenges ahead to secure peace but added: "All in all the situation is better than it was few weeks back".
"There is a good chance for peace at this moment and we need to invest as much as we can in this. But there is always a risk of relapse in the conflict."
In February, leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine brokered the so-called Minsk II truce but sporadic fighting has continued since.
"Heavy weapons have been largely withdrawn" from the agreed truce line in the conflict zone, Zannier said, adding that the focus could shift on "withdrawing other categories of smaller weapons because they are still actively used in this violations of the ceasefire".
Zannier said the number of its observers in Ukraine would increase to "at least 600 by the beginning of the summer" from below 500 currently.
He also downplayed Russian claims that the arrival of US paratroopers in Ukraine on a training mission could reignite the conflict.
Zannier was in Vilnius to attended a conference on the role of women in international peace and security.
Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite warned that women in eastern Ukraine face unprecedented levels of violence.
"In the occupied parts of Ukraine gender-based violence has reached alarming levels. Women face physical and sexual abuse," she said.
Good morning. This from overnight:
The United States will supply Ukraine with nearly $18 million in fresh aid.
The White House said Vice President Joe Biden discussed the financial assistance with Ukrainian Petro Poroshenko during a phone call on April 20.
According to the White House, the $17.7 million will go to providing shelter, food vouchers, potable water and health and sanitation in regions affected by fighting between government forces and pro-Russia fighters.
Biden and Poroshenko also welcomed efforts by the Organization for Security and Cooperation Europe to seek a permanent cease-fire in areas still rocked by fighting.
Both called on Russia to abide by earlier agreements and stop moving troops along the Russia-Ukraine border.
The two spoke as U.S. and Ukraine troops kicked off joint training exercises intended to help bolster Ukraine's defenses.