I/II. http://rt.com/news/171216-ukraine-east-military-operation/
Donetsk, Lugansk fear humanitarian crisis as Kiev tightens grip on eastern Ukraine Published time: July 08, 2014 14:35 Get short URL <http://rt.com/news/171216-ukraine-east-military-operation/> As Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko confirmed plans to "liberate" the eastern cities of Lugansk and Donetsk, the two biggest towns in the country's east fear that if sieges develop they will have a major humanitarian crisis on their hands. Ukraine army assaults Lugansk: Airstrikes on suburbs, shelling of residential areas <http://rt.com/news/170772-ukraine-residential-shelling-lugansk/> Although the authorities in Kiev claim they are not targeting residential areas, the fact is that ordinary civilians continue to be caught in the attacks. *"I built this with my bare hands and now this has happened. So what am I supposed to do now?"* a Lugansk resident told RT, as he inspected the ruins of his shelled house. The RT video shows a completely destroyed building with broken windows and caved-in roof. *"Build my house again from scratch? Or is it time for me to die? Go ahead - just keep bombing us..."* he added. 'We sat in a basement and prayed they wouldn't shoot us' - E.Ukraine refugees <http://rt.com/news/170920-kramatorsk-refugees-flee-violence/> Local residents who have remained in Lugansk - a city that used to be home to nearly 450,000 people - are worrying about humanitarian issues: food, water supplies and electricity are scarce in the besieged city, reported RT's Marina Finoshina, adding that it is unclear how local hospitals and medical institutions will be able to function in Donetsk and Lugansk during a siege. On Tuesday morning, a mini bus in the center of Lugansk was hit by artillery fire, said Lugansk city council's press service. Two people died in the attack and eight were injured. According to Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, eight people were wounded in the assault. After the minibus attack, bombs fell in the same street hitting a residential block, reported local witnesses on the scene. The shell struck the roof of the building. Videos released on the internet show a building with a destroyed roof and rescuers from the emergency ministry trying to help the injured. Meanwhile, residents in Lugansk are running out of drinking water. The RT video depicts people coming with plastic bottles to get water. Another city on Poroshenko's liberation list is Donetsk, with a population of about a million people. On Tuesday, several dozen armed people seized the ground floor of a large hospital in Donetsk, the local administration said on its website. It was not immediately clear who the people were and what they wanted. Kiev orders 'loyalty checks' of Slavyansk police after militia relocate to Donetsk <http://rt.com/news/170700-ukraine-slavyansk-police-militia/> Also a railroad bridge was blown up in the Donetsk Region on Monday. The bridge was a link to major cities, including besieged Slavyansk, the capital of Donetsk and Mariupol. On Monday evening, Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko confirmed plans to *"liberate"* the eastern cities of Lugansk and Donetsk, currently under the control of self-defense forces, Deputy Secretary of the National Security Council Mikhail Koval said. *"The Commander-in-chief has approved a plan that covers all phases of liberating our land from those who are destabilizing the situation there,"* he said, adding that the Ukrainian president also supported the plan of *'sweeping away'* all *'separatists'* in the Donbas Region. In the meantime, newly-appointed Ukrainian Defense Minister Valery Geletey said that Kiev will not declare a new ceasefire in eastern Ukraine unless the militias surrender their weapons. *"The president of Ukraine stated this in definitive terms. Now any negotiation is only possible after the militants lay down all arms,"* he said. II. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28209182 8 July 2014 Last updated at 17:30 Ukraine crisis: 'No more unilateral ceasefires' Ukraine's pro-Russian militant fighters have fortified their positions in the eastern region of Donetsk Ukraine will only negotiate with the rebels once they lay down their arms, Kiev's defence minister has said. "There will be no more unilateral ceasefires" by Ukrainian troops, Valeriy Heletey said in a statement posted on the ministry's website. He was speaking after separatists fled their eastern strongholds and regrouped in the regional centre of Donetsk. Ukrainian forces recaptured several cities after President Petro Poroshenko brought an end to a 10-day ceasefire. He has since ordered the army to blockade the insurgents inside the two cities of Donetsk and Luhansk. On Tuesday he named a new head of the military operation, Vasyl Grytsak. Ukraine has dismissed European pressure and rejected ceasefire talks with pro-Russian rebels in the east Mr Poroshenko had promised ceasefire talks no later than last Saturday, but that was before the series of recent military successes. The latest ceasefire expired at the end of June and failed to lead to any negotiated settlement. Separatists regroup One of the rebel leaders in the east, Alexander Borodai, told Russian media they were preparing to fight back. "We're not preparing ourselves for a siege. We are preparing ourselves for action," he said. A bridge destroyed in the village of Novobakhmutivka crossed over a main road out of Donetsk A witness saw some camouflaged men get into cars and head towards Donetsk shortly before the blast A day after three bridges were blown up in the Donetsk area, Ukrainian website Ostrov reported that the rebels had targeted another railway line in the area. Pictures of the destruction showed damage to the line between Yasynuvata and Horlivka, near Donetsk. The authorities said they did not know who was responsible for the destruction of the bridges, although some witnesses were quoted as saying they saw men in pro-Russian rebel uniforms at one location. A railway line in the village of Novobakhmutivka, which crosses over a main road out of Donetsk, was destroyed as a large cargo train was travelling on it. A witness told the AP news agency that he saw a group of camouflaged men get into their cars and head towards Donetsk shortly before the bridge collapsed after an explosion. However, Ukraine's security forces say they have thwarted one rebel attack, detaining five local men in the Zaporizhya region west of Donetsk on suspicion of planning to blow up a railway line, Interfax Ukraine reports. They were caught reportedly carrying explosives and maps of bridges, and were thought to have been involved in an earlier attack on 24 June. Ukrainian soldiers have made several big gains in the past three days but are still coming under attack In the absence of a truce, European Union envoys are still expecting to meet in Brussels on Wednesday to consider imposing travel bans and other sanctions on more key Ukrainian individuals from both sides of the fighting in the east of Ukraine. Separatists declared independence in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine after Russia annexed the Ukrainian region of Crimea in March. Moscow's move followed a decision in November 2013 by Ukraine's then President Viktor Yanukovych to pull out of an association deal with the European Union - sparking huge street protests that eventually led to his downfall. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
