Russian President Vladimir Putin says there is still a threat of the situation in Donbas turning into a frozen conflict.
“As before, there is a threat of turning Donbas into a frozen conflict. Kyiv’s policy is leading to that, as it strengthens the blockade of the southeast and doesn’t let produce or money through. It liquidated the banking system there, blocked export,” Putin said in an interview to Russian and Turkish news agencies.
Putin said that Russia “continues to support Donbas, which is in a difficult humanitarian situation.”
“To be fair, it is important to note that there is certain progress," Putin added. "The sides renewed railway services, which allows for sending Donbas coal to other regions in Ukraine. The work on setting up power continues. The issues related to restoration of water supply are being worked on.”
Russia continues to deny its participation in the Donbas crisis.
The U.S. Treasury is in talks with the Congress to provide Ukraine with additional credit guarantees of $1 billion, said U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew while on a visit to Kyiv.
“The progress made in the past two years is very real, it has lent credibility to the effort that makes the case for support very strong. But it’s important that progress continues to be made, and it’s important that the possibility of going in the other direction be strongly resisted,” said Lew.
He added that the U.S. will continue their cooperation with Ukraine to support further reforms in the country.
Ukrainian taxpayers have spent almost 432 million hryvnas (around $18.7 million) on security for senior officials in 2015, the RFE/RL Ukrainian Service reports.
Here is today's map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council:
