Facts
The war in the East of Ukraine:
The rebellion in Donetsk and Lugansk in Eastern Ukraine began in April 2014.
The rebels aim to secede from Ukraine and receives substantial aid from Russia.
According to the UN, the war claimed 9.5 thousand lives. In recent months, fighting broke out with renewed vigor.
In recent years, the Ukrainian government implemented a series of offensive maneuvers against the rebels on the front line.
Background
Hard protests
News Agency AP reports that during mass demonstrations in Kiev on Sunday evening was detained seven people.
According to the Agency, the demonstrators allegedly belonged to ultra-nationalist groups, they protested against the fact that President Petro Poroshenko did not want to block the delivery of coal from the Donbass.
In the Eastern provinces that are now under the control of the rebels, major coal mines, from which the Ukrainian economy depends. According to Deutsche Welle, Poroshenko said that the blockade of the supply of coal from mines controlled by the separatists will lead to a loss in Ukraine more than 300 thousand jobs.
Demonstrators from various right-wing groups organized the rally in support of nationalist activists, who blocked the railway line from the region of Donbass to stop the supply of coal.
The blockade led to a shortage of coal in many places in Ukraine and disruptions in the supply of electricity: from the end of January, they happened several times.
Nationalists seeking to stop coal supplies to deprive the rebels from the East of Ukraine their main source of income.
War
Yesterday in Eastern Ukraine came into force a long-awaited truce. However, the question about Ukrainian politics Donald trump there is complete confusion.
Ukraine
The beginning of the year in the East of Ukraine turned out to be bloody. Fighting resumed in January, and in early February there was a real explosion: artillery shelling from both sides of the front line. In recent weeks, Ukrainian troops are engaged in fierce battles with rebels in the Donbass region.
Three weeks ago the UN announced that two hospitals, one clinic, a dental clinic, three schools and a kindergarten were injured in result of artillery attacks on Donetsk city, which is located on the territory controlled by Russia-backed rebels.
For the civilian population in areas suffering from war, yesterday’s truce was a welcome break in the spate of violence. The truce was made possible after negotiations between the Russian, German, French and Ukrainian authorities at the end of last week, it was announced at a press conference in Munich on Saturday. Under the agreement, both sides must withdraw heavy military equipment from the front line to stop the mutual attacks with heavy artillery.
A number of violations
Despite the fact that the agreement on ceasefire took effect at midnight last night, the Organization for security and cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has recorded a number of violations.
“Since midnight the number of violations of the cease-fire was reduced. We recorded 140 violations in the Donetsk region and in Lugansk ten, including explosions resulting from the use of heavy weapons”, — says Deputy head of group of observers of the OSCE Alexander Hg in the email in Klassekampen.
“Banned weapons remain on both sides of the front line, although by agreement they are not supposed to be there, and the position of the Ukrainian army and armed groups on the other side are too close to each other that can lead to new clashes,” says hug.
Dispute over the identity
On Saturday, the same day when it became aware of the truce, the Russian authorities announced that issued by the rebels in the Donbas identity documents valid in Russia. Russian authorities have now temporarily recognize certificates and other official documents of the self-proclaimed republics in Donetsk and Lugansk.
“This is the latest proof that the Republic became a state,” said Igor Plotnitsky in an interview with Financial Times on Sunday.
He is the head of the so-called Luhansk people’s Republic, in which Russia recognized the former Soviet officer, President.
The head of the Commission for international Affairs of the Russian Parliament Konstantin Kosachev has told the newspaper that the recognition of documents of Donbass is of a purely “humanitarian” in nature, and it is only a temporary measure.
American authorities do not agree Kosachev, the U.S. Embassy in Kiev, wrote Sunday on Twitter that the recognition of the Donbas identity documents, “it is alarming and contrary to the peace agreements” in 2015.
A secret offer of peace
While American diplomats are protesting against the Russian initiative, in Washington there is complete confusion about what the policy towards Ukraine under President Donald trump.
The New York Times wrote Sunday that several close advisers trump held contacts with the Ukrainian opposition politician Andrey Artemenko, a speech ostensibly went about the negotiations on the subject of new proposals for concluding a peace Treaty.
According to the newspaper, the proposals are as follows: Russia stops military support to the rebels, but Ukraine held a referendum on the refusal of the Crimean Peninsula in Russia’s favor.
An opposition politician says Artemenko, according to the New York Times that the Russian authorities support this secret offer.
Among those advisers who met with Artyomenko in new York in late January, was allegedly and Michael Cohen (Michael Cohen). He attracted the attention of the media before, having played a Central role in speculations around a possible connection between the election campaign trump and Russian intelligence.
Both sides are armed
Clashes of recent months followed a long build-up of arms on the Ukrainian side of the border. Now the Ukrainian army has 230 thousand soldiers and is the second largest in Europe after the Russian army.
Recently on the Ukrainian side are increasingly talking about the possibility of a military solution to the conflict. At the same time the Ukrainian armed forces carried out several offensives against rebel positions in January, according to the OSCE.
30 Jan Alexander hug has warned against the escalation of the conflict. In an interview given to radio “Free Europe”, he described that both parties openly violate the peace agreements, introducing tanks, artillery and rocket launchers in the demilitarized zone.
In that time, the Ukrainian government has heavily militarized the country for two years after the signing of the Minsk agreements, the Russian authorities have placed a very large force right on the other side of the border.
