I hope and pray that - just for once - it is True! Ukraine Says Russian Troops Join Separatists in New Assaults (3) (Updates with military spokesman in second paragraph.) By Kateryna Choursina and Daryna Krasnolutska (Bloomberg) -- Rebels and Russian troops in Ukraine’s east are carrying out new offensives, the government in Kiev said, a day after it accused Russia of sending in hundreds of soldiers. With peace talks planned in Berlin on Wednesday, military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said Ukrainian forces are under attack. Three more Russian battalions are approaching the border after two crossed Monday, he said Tuesday evening in the capital. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov earlier called the claims “hallucinations” and “absolute nonsense.” The fighting between the government and the rebels has intensified since the latest round of peace talks collapsed last week. Scores of Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and wounded in a battle at Donetsk’s airport, with each side accusing the other of reinforcing their positions in breach of a Sept. 5 truce signed in Minsk, Belarus. “Ukrainian military units were attacked by regular military units of the Russian Federation Armed Forces,” Lysenko said. “Fierce combat is on at the Donetsk airport. The airport’s runway has been completely put out of action.” German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier invited his counterparts from Russia, Ukraine and France to Berlin for the second round of peace talks in 10 days, his ministry said in a statement. Russia and Ukraine, which accuse each other of squandering chances for a lasting truce, requested the meeting, he said. “At issue is to prevent a further worsening of the military strife and a renewed political escalation between Kiev and Moscow,” Steinmeier said. UN Meeting The United Nations Security Council will meet Wednesday, according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, who said the border with Russia must be secured. The UN estimates more than 4,800 people have died in the nine-month conflict, which has poisoned ties between Russia and its former Cold War foes. President Vladimir Putin denies he’s fueling the insurgency. Russia’s ruble fell 0.6 percent against the dollar to 65.4, while Ukraine’s hryvnia was little changed at 15.8575. The two currencies are the worst performers during the past year. Nineteen Ukrainian soldiers were wounded in fighting from Monday to Tuesday, according to Lysenko. At the Donetsk airport, troops and rebels are fighting pitched battles in halls that once featured restaurants and shops. Ukraine began drafting as many as 50,000 people on Tuesday to boost troop numbers. There’s also been unrest outside the conflict zone. Following an explosion in the eastern city of Kharkiv that wounded 13 people, Ukraine’s security council accused Russia of “executing terrorist acts” on its territory. Blasts have also happened in Kiev, Odessa, on the Black Sea coast, and in the southern Zaporizhzhya region, where a railroad bridge was wrecked. No fatalities were reported in the explosions.
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 07:16:17 +0000
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