The accusation came after a video footage of the conflict zone appeared to show Ukrainian army forces using D-30 howitzers with a range of 22 kilometers at a contact line between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian soldiers.
The statement said that the current state of affairs is against the cease-fire accord -- called the Minsk agreement -- over the crisis in Ukraine that was signed on Feb. 12 between Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany.
http://www.aa.com.tr/en/rss/481879--russia-accuses-ukraine-of-cease-fire-breach
21/3/15
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- Fighting Rages Outside Mariupol Despite Cease-Fire...
Signs of war are everywhere — Ukraine’s government fears this area could be the focus of the next rebel offensive. Tanks and armored personnel carriers face east, toward the village of Shyrokyne, a no-man’s land.
A Ukrainian commander, identified for this story only by his code name of Tank, said a soldier of the Ukrainian National Guard's Donbas battalion was killed and another injured last week.
“There never was any cease-fire," he said. "No Minsk [agreement] has ever been fulfilled here. ... We were in Lysychansk, there was no cease-fire. We were in Debaltseve, and there was no cease-fire. So it is like this. We cannot respond, and they just keep killing our boys.”
The soldiers outside Shyrokyne are not Ukrainian army members but volunteer militiamen. Igor was a taxi driver before he joined the Donbas battalion. He said the separatist forces attack them every day.
“If we talk about what happens here, then the previous night was the hardest one," he said. "They’ve tried to attack us from the north. They’ve been shooting with automatic guns and shelling."
Rumors of Russian forces building for attack on the border continue. Tank said his forces were committed to protecting Mariupol.
“We’re not going anywhere," he said, "because it’s a matter of safety of our citizens. If they [the rebels] will take control over Shyrokyne, they will have a strategic high position to be shelling Mariupol.”
Soldiers in the area blame separatist forces for breaking the cease-fire, saying they were still using tanks, despite being obliged by the agreement to withdraw. But the Donbas battalion acknowledged that Ukrainian forces were still returning fire.
With constant exchanges of fire, in a conflict that has left more than 6,000 dead since April, one can only wonder how much it will take to doom any pretense of a cease-fire agreement.
http://www.voanews.com/content/fighting-rages-outside-mariupol-despite-cease-fire/2689829.html
21/3/15
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Russia on Saturday slammed the Ukrainian government for reported deployment of heavy weapons in eastern Ukraine....
ReplyDelete"The claims of Ukrainian authorities that all of its heavy weapons have been withdrawn are once again proved to be bluff," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in an online statement after a Reuters video footage was released showing heavy weaponry being used by the Ukrainian army at the contact line in the southeast of Ukraine.
"The ministry has to emphasize that we are speaking of another serious violation of Minsk agreements, which stipulate the heavy weapon withdrawal from the contact line," the statement added.
Judging by the footage, the ministry said the so-called Azov battalion was using 122 millimeter caliber howitzers D-30 with a firing range of 22 kilometers.
The ministry also claimed that the footage had been taken near Shyrokyne Village in Donetsk region, "a place must be monitored most closely by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) special mission."...............http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/913338.shtml
22/3/15