Kiev decries ‘aggression’ / Independence Day staged as battles rage in east

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko on Sunday decried Russian "aggression" as Kiev staged a symbolic Independence Day parade while battling pro-Moscow rebels in the east of the country.

Army cadets and military hardware crossed Kiev's Maidan, or Independence Square, as thousands rallied in an emotional show of strength aimed at boosting morale in the strife-torn nation.

Crowds of Ukrainians, many sporting the national colors of blue and yellow, sang the ex-Soviet state's anthem as the flag was raised.

"I am convinced that the battle for Ukraine, for independence, will be our success," Poroshenko told the crowds in a speech ahead of the parade.

"War has come to us from over the horizon where it was never expected," he said, referring to Russia.

"In the 21st century, in the center of Europe, there is a flagrant attempt to breach the border of a sovereign state without declaring war," he said. "It is as if the world has returned to the 1930s, the eve of World War II."

• Poroshenko pledged to allocate 40 billion hryvnias ($3 billion) to its cash-strapped army over the next three years in what he called "only the modest beginning" of the rebirth of the Ukrainian military.

• The money will be used to purchase warplanes, warships and helicopters, he said.

While Kiev was gripped by patriotic fervor, fierce clashes continued to ravage the industrial east with mortar fire hitting a hospital in the main rebel hub of Donetsk.

• In the insurgent stronghold, meanwhile, pro-Russian separatists threatened an event of their own to ridicule the celebrations in Kiev by parading imprisoned Ukrainian soldiers. [***]

• On central Lenin square, rebels showcased what they said was military hardware captured from Kiev's army, including artillery guns and armored vehicles.

A shell hit a hospital in central Donetsk in the early hours of Sunday, damaging a morgue and two other buildings.

Kiev's conflict with the pro-Russian rebels in the separatist regions of Lugansk and Donetsk has claimed more than 2,200 lives since April, and increasingly moved into populated areas in recent weeks as the army surrounds separatist strongholds.

Poroshenko is under pressure ahead of a meeting with Russia's President Vladimir Putin and EU officials in Minsk on Tuesday, where the two are expected to try to take a step toward resolving the conflict.

Earlier this week Moscow set off alarm bells by driving in a convoy of more than 200 trucks in a unilateral aid mission to war-torn Lugansk.

Kiev slammed the Russian gambit as a "direct invasion" and said its border officials were kept away from checking the contents of most trucks amid fears the convoy would help bolster the rebels.

International monitors said Saturday that the trucks had all returned to Russian territory, but Kiev accused them of looting valuable military equipment from a factory and smuggling it out of the country.
 Sources: AFP - globaltimes.cn
24/8/14
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Related:

• Russia’s Defense Ministry Denies NATO Accusations of Military Involvement in Ukraine

• Merkel says tightening Ukraine-Russian border is key to peace deal.

• NATO Secretary General condemns entry of Russian convoy into Ukraine

• EU, NATO cannot provide military aid to Ukraine (Finnish PM)

• US congressmen suggest give Ukraine non-NATO ally status

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