Prisoner swap in Ukraine is a positive sign for peace

#Ukraineceasefire #Ukraine #Debaltseve #prisonerexchange #Luhansk After the announcement of cease fire in Ukraine, there have been reports of scattered violence but the exchange of government troops and pro-Russian rebels is seen to be a positive sign about the peace process as reported in news.sky.com dated 22 February 2015.
The peace agreement had been signed last week in Minsk and it envisages an exchange of all prisoners apart from cessation of hostilities.
The exchange of 139 Ukrainian soldiers and 52 rebels took place in no-man's land near the village of Zholobok, about 12 miles from Luhansk. This is a village located near the border in the country's war-torn east.
Some of the Ukrainians were on crutches and had to walk a distance of nearly two miles to a rendezvous point before the exchange was carried out. It has been observed that many of the soldiers exchanged looked to be injured and both sides accused the other of mistreating prisoners.
As understood from pro-Moscow rebels, most of the Ukrainian soldiers who have been released had been taken prisoner during fighting for the town of Debaltseve.
Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko has been informed about these exchanges.
A spokesman of the Ukrainian security has revealed that the rebels are continuing to move equipment toward the port city of Mariupol. This is a matter of concern because, the rebels could make attempts to seize the city and establish a land corridor between mainland Russia and the Crimea.

At least six killed in shell strike in Donetsk, Ukraine – peace talks abandoned

#ukraine #donetsk #luhansk #trolleybus #minsk At least six people who had queued up for aid outside the building in the center of the city have been killed when two artillery shells hit a cultural center and a trolleybus in Donetsk, Ukraine.
As per witnesses, five bodies were seen at this location - two of them were middle-aged women and two men were lying on the ground. Another man was killed in a car a very short distance away. He was trying to maneuver the car away as the shell came in, but did not succeed – he died in his driver's seat.
The shells damaged vehicles in the legion and, all the victims appeared to be dressed in civilian clothing. There is no clarity on whether the shells were fired by government troops or by pro-Russian separatists.
Reports also indicate about a battle in Debaltseve – this is believed to be a key government-held town of 25,000 people and it that straddles a railway that connect the two rebel centers of Luhansk and Donetsk.
President Barack Obama has, once again, expressed deep concern about renewed fighting between Russian-backed separatist and government forces in eastern Ukraine and has indicated that the US is exploring options short of military action to isolate Russia. US Secretary of State John Kerry has plans to visit Kiev for talks with President Petro Poroshenko and other Ukrainian officials.
The rebels have, reportedly, said that the peace talks due to take place in the Belarussian capital, Minsk, had been called off because Kiev did not send any representatives.

Obama did not attend historic Paris rally - American attitude towards Paris terror attack raises questions

#ParisRally #CharlieHebdo The attitude of the USA towards the Paris terror attack has raised many questions. There was no sign of Barack Obama, John Kerry or Joe Biden in the historic Paris rally to express solidarity with more than 40 world leaders from Europe, Africa, the Middle East and even Russia who had gathered in Paris to condemn the attack on Charlie Hebdo.
'France is our oldest ally,' Obama had said during a speech Friday in Tennessee. 'I want the people of France to know that the United States stands with you today, stands with you tomorrow.' However, he gave Paris a miss and had, reportedly, spent part of his Sunday afternoon watching a National Football League game on television.
It seems US Attorney General Eric Holder was in Paris on the day for a security summit, but he did not appear alongside world leaders when they joined an anti-terrorism march in the afternoon - he went to appear on a number of US morning shows.
Why Obama was not in Paris is a mystery but, the fact remains that he was not there even as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas put aside their differences and linked arms.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov made the same unifying gesture in the march down the Place de la Concorde in defiance of the Islamist terror attacks that rocked the city last week. Heads of state from every major European power, including British Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, joined French President Francois Hollande.

Putin signs defense deals with India, the United States not amused

In his eagerness to make more and more friends, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi treats all leaders on the same platform - and, in doing so, he is probably ruffling many feathers.
At this moment, Russian President Vladimir Putin is in India and has signed a number of defense and nuclear deals. But, the United States is not amused because one member of Putin’s team is Sergey Aksyonov, the Prime Minister of Crimea and Putin has earned a bad name because of his annexing of Crimea that once was a part of Ukraine.
This is a peculiar issue - the fact that Russia and India are concluding business ties, especially in the field of nuclear power when the US-India civilian nuclear deal is yet to attain fruition. It is bound to create complications. It may be recalled that the US had tried to isolate Putin for his invasion of Ukraine and a cold war is raging between the two super powers.
India does not support western sanctions against Russia for his actions in Ukraine, but it has also not approved the Russian annexation of Crimea either. Hence, the Prime Minister of Crimea in the team with Russian President has raised many eyebrows.
Anyway, New Delhi had indicated to Washington that it was not ''officially aware'' of Aksyonov's presence in the Putin delegation and, the US accepted that on face value but has asked for further clarifications. Incidentally, Petro Poroshenko has lashed out at India for entertaining the Crimean leader – in Petro’s words, India was placing more importance on money than values by welcoming the Aksyanov.
This incident could become an embarrassment when President Barack Obama visits India in late January to be chief guest at India's Republic Day parade – it is an occasion for New Delhi to showcase its military hardware, most of which is of Russian origin.