Russia knows that the Ukrainian army is concentrating its forces close to the frontlines, said Russian President Vladimir Putin in Crimea.
“Donbas rebels were the ones who suggested withdrawing all military equipment with a caliber of less than 100 mm. Unfortunately, the other side didn’t do it. Instead, according to the information we have, they are concentrating their units there,” said the Russian President.
He also responded to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s statement about Putin’s visit to Crimea being a “challenged to the civilized world."
“I am not commenting, because the future of Crimea was determined by the people living on this territory. They voted for reunification with Russia. That’s it, period,” said Putin.
this just in from Reuters:
Russia's Putin blames Kiev for increased violence in east Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday blamed the Ukrainian government for the latest upsurge in fighting between Kiev forces and Russia-backed rebels in east Ukraine.
After taking a dive in an underwater submersible in Crimea, a Black Sea peninsula Moscow annexed from Kiev last year, Putin told reporters:
"Regrettably, we are now seeing this conflict escalation and the blame lies not with the Donbas militia but with the rival side," he said, referring to the rebel-held Ukrainian region.
"I hope there won't be full-scale direct clashes."
Odesa governor and former President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili took part in police practice drills in Odesa today.
The future police officers were practicing rescue and evacuation procedures in particular. Earlier in August Saakashvili promised that the new police would begin patrolling the streets of Odesa by the end of August.
Poroshenko To Visit Brussels Soon For Talks On Future Of Minsk Deal
The European Commission said on August 18 that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko plans to visit Brussels within the next two week to discuss a recent surge in violence in eastern Ukraine that has cast doubts on a cease-fire deal between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian government forces.
Commission spokeswoman Annika Breidhardt did not announce a specific date for Poroshenko’s visit but said it would take place before the end of August.
Skirmishes between government forces and separatists around Ukraine’s southeastern port city of Mariupol raised concerns that a fragile cease-fire agreement reached in Minsk in February could break down completely.
The Minsk agreement is meant to be fully implemented by the end of 2015.
OSCE monitors have accused both sides of violations.
The European Union faces new decision in the coming month about sanctions it has imposed on Russia after pledging to lift them only after all conditions of the Minsk deal are met.
Based on reporting by AFP and dpa
The Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs says the recent military escalation in eastern Ukraine is due to the actions of the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics.
“The responsibility for the exacerbation of the situation should be assumed by Russia-supported separatists. Particular concern is aroused by the growing numbers of civilian casualties and the aggravation of humanitarian situation,” the ministry’s statement says.
The escalation of tensions is “seriously undermining the implementation of the Minsk agreements.”
The ministry calls on all the parties involved -- Russia, in particular -- to cease shelling, withdraw heavy weaponry, and restore the cease-fire.
Russia Says Air Units Deploying South To Ashuluk For Drills
Russia’s Defense Ministry says the first phase of joint air-defense exercises by the Commonwealth of Independent States began on August 18.
The ministry says troops from 20 air-defense and missile-defense units in the Moscow region have been put on high alert for the CIS Combat Commonwealth 2015 exercises, which are schedule to continue until September 11.
The ministry says the exercises involve more than 1,000 servicemen as well as surface-to-air defense missile systems, fighter jets, assault attack helicopters, aircraft used for close air support in ground attacks, and military transport planes.
The ministry says that after the first phase of the exercises are completed, the troops and military hardware will be redeployed to the Ashuluk training range in southern Russia’s Astrakhan region.
Ashuluk is about 500 kilometers from Russia’s border with eastern Ukraine.
Troops from five other CIS countries are taking part in the military drills -- Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia.
Troops from other countries are participating as observers.
Based on reporting by Interfax and TASS
The Ukrainian public organization Social Boost and the Development Program of the United Nations have created a website and apps for the ReDonbass project, which allows for monitoring and accessing information about the destruction of residential buildings and social and economic infrastructure as a result of hostilities in Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts.
Any registered user can upload data, which will then appear on a map.
According to the information available on the website at the moment, in two war-torn regions there are 207 completely destroyed facilities and 348 that require repair.
Since the launch of the project, only 21 facilities have been fully restored.