Ukraine peace deal agreed upon with Putin – rebels to withdraw heavy artillery

#ukraine #minsk #putin #ceasefire It was a marathon session with people who mattered and who had met to resolve the crisis in Ukraine that appeared to be gradually going out of control. Present were President Vladimir Putin, President Petro Poroshenko, Chancellor Angela Markel and President Francois Hollande - and, at the end of the day, it was possible to secure a ceasefire in Ukraine's war with pro-Russian separatists.
The negotiations in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, to halt the spiraling bloodshed went on through the night and finally President Vladimir Putin emerged from the summit with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and the French and German leaders to announce that an agreement had been reached on the 'main' points as reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 12 February 2015.
The Russian President indicated that a ceasefire would take effect on Sunday and that heavy weapons would be withdrawn from frontlines of the conflict. Already over 5,300 people have been killed in the violence.
French President Francois Hollande and Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko stressed that separatist leaders had signed the truce and this would replace an earlier ceasefire agreement that had been reached in Minsk in September but rarely observed.
At one point of time there were signs that all was not well but, finally, better sense appears to have prevailed and, one can only hope that the ceasefire will be honored this time.

Ukraine says there are 9000 Russian troops on its soil – Russia denies

#petroporoshenko #sergeilavrov #johnkerry #ukraine #davos In the course of a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has claimed that over 9,000 Russian soldiers, backed by a whole range of heavy weapons including more than 500 tanks, armed personnel carriers and artillery systems, are at present on the soil of Ukraine.
These actions amount to aggression and these pro-Moscow fighters are supporting the separatist east of the country. This has been challenged by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov who has demanded that Kiev present necessary proof to prove the charges. US Secretary of State John Kerry has termed the actions of Russia as "a blatant land grab".
President Petro Poroshenko is a pro-western leader and he has called upon Moscow to comply with a September peace plan and also extend cooperation to seal the long joint border with Ukraine and simultaneously, withdrawing the Russian troops.
The nine-month conflict that began in March has already taken more than 4,800 lives and has heaped miseries on the economy of Ukraine. Moocow continues to deny that it is extending support to the insurgents. Moscow also disputes NATO satellite imagery that reportedly shows the presence of Russian forces in Ukraine.
Germany is trying to mediate in the ongoing conflict and it hosting representatives of France, Russia and Ukraine in Berlin to discuss the crisis. As revealed by Chancellor Angela Merkel, the objective of the talks was to try to reschedule a summit of the four countries in the Kazakh capital Astana. This had been called off last week due to renewed fighting.

Intense fighting erupts in Donetsk in Ukraine despite nine months of truce

#Donetsk #CoalMiners #PetroPoroshenko #Zasyadko Reports indicate eruption of violence in Donetsk in Ukraine that has been the scene of fighting between pro-Russian forces and the government forces ever since the dispute began on the annexation of Crimea by Russia.
It seems intense fighting has erupted around east Ukraine's main rebel-held city of Donetsk – as a result, a power station has been destroyed and over 300 coal miners are trapped in Zasyadko coal mine which one of Europe's largest pits. This violence has taken place in the vicinity of a disputed airport that has been under attack for months in spite of a formal nine month truce in the region. Sounds of repeated rounds of rocket and mortar fire could be heard across snow-covered Donetsk.
The coal miners have, since, been rescued. A skeleton crew of government forces had been holding on to Donetsk airport since the end of May.
In the opinion of observers, this fighting could derail the peace initiatives of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. He is trying to arrange direct peace talks with Russia's Vladimir Putin at a meeting in Kazakhstan where leaders of Germany and France are also likely to attend.