I/II.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ukraine-ceasefire-dozens-of-prisoners-exchanged-between-ukraine-rebels-1.2764118
Ukraine ceasefire: Dozens of prisoners exchanged between Ukraine, rebels
No firm number as to how many prisoners are being held
The Associated Press Posted: Sep 12, 2014 2:10 AM ET Last Updated: Sep
12, 2014 3:27 AM ET
Members of the Ukrainian government forces, who are prisoners-of-war,
sit in a bus as they wait to be exchanged, north of Donetsk on Friday.
(Marko Djurica/Reuters)
Government and rebel forces have exchanged dozens of prisoners
captured during fighting in Ukraine as part of a ceasefire agreement
sealed earlier this month.
Ukraine president Poroshenko to visit Canada next week
Poroshenko says Russia is withdrawing troops from east
Ukraine crisis: NATO agrees to cheer for Kyiv, but not much more
The transfer took place outside the main rebel stronghold of Donetsk
early Friday under the watch of international observers.
UKRAINE-CRISIS/
A member of the pro-Russian rebels who had been a prisoner-of-war
(POW) hugs a friend after being exchanged, north of Donetsk on Friday.
(Marko Djurica/Reuters)
President Petro Poroshenko said 36 Ukrainian servicemen were released
after negotiations. He said a further 21 soldiers were freed the day
before.
Ukrainian forces handed over 31 pro-Russian rebels detained over the
course of the five-month conflict.
A cease-fire between separatists and the Ukrainian military took
effect last Friday but has already been serially violated. Shortly
after the prisoner exchange, a volley of rocket fire was heard from
central Donetsk.
The group of Ukrainian servicemen was driven away from the local
security services headquarters around 1:30 a.m. local time and taken
to a location several kilometres north of the city. At the spot, they
were met by Ukrainian military officials, some of whom were armed.
The two sets of captives were brought out wearing handcuffs, which
were removed as they were handed over. Prisoners were split up into
small groups for the exchange.
New round of EU sanctions applied
Hundreds of prisoners are believed to be held by both sides, although
no firm figure has been provided by either.
One representative apiece from the separatist rebels and the Ukrainian
government checked people being freed against a list and crossed out
names as they were being released.
"There is an ongoing process of talks. We are meeting each other's
demands and fulfilling our promises," said Yuriy Tandit, who is
serving as a negotiator for the government.
Some of those in the separatists rebel ranks being released were
Russian citizens.
One Russian, Simon Veridya from Moscow, said he was captured in the
town of Kramatorsk, which was retaken by government forces in July.
"They shot at our ambulance. There were five of us, including two
women. We were taken to custody in Kramatorsk at the antiterrorist
operation base at the airport," Veridya said. "I was beaten and have
two broken ribs."
The conflict between pro-Russian rebels and the Ukrainian government
has been raging for five months now, claiming more than 3,000 lives,
according to the UN.
Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of propping up the insurgency
in eastern Ukraine with recruits and weapons. Moscow has admitted that
there were Russian volunteers fighting across the border but flatly
denied sending them weapons or troops.
In Brussels, the European Union imposed a new round of sanctions on
Russia for its actions in Ukraine, virtually shutting down long-term
lending for several Russian weapons manufacturers as well as three
energy companies including Rosneft, the country's largest oil
producer. EU entities and individuals will now be barred from
providing lending for more than 30 days.
II.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/11091056/West-pushes-crippling-sanctions-on-Russias-oil-industry-despite-Ukraine-ceasefire.html
West pushes crippling sanctions on Russia's oil industry despite
Ukraine ceasefire
EU to ban loans to five state-owned banks and three energy companies
A worker removes a Ukrainian flag attached by protesters atop a
Stalin-era skyscraper in Moscow Photo: AP
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
9:42PM BST 11 Sep 2014
Europe and the US are to press ahead with fresh economic sanctions
against Russia despite the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, aiming to
choke off credit and technology vitally needed to arrest the decline
of Russia's oil industry.
The EU is to ban loans to five state-owned banks and three energy
companies from Saturday, targeting new oil ventures the Arctic and the
Siberia shale basin rather than gas operations.
US President Barack Obama said his country will "deepen and broaden"
its own array of measures. These are aimed directly at the Russian oil
industry, threatening to paralyse Exxon's $3.2bn joint venture in the
Arctic with Rosneft. The sanctions may force BP to shelve its plans
for shale development with Rosneft in the Volga Urals.
The rouble fell to a record low of 37.53 against the dollar. The MICEX
index of stocks dipped 1.3pc yet it remains far above levels seen
earlier this year, suggesting investors are starting to treat each
wave of sanctions as political theatre.
"This has all taken on a ritual flavour," said Christopher Granville,
from Trusted Sources. "EU bureaucrats have taken so long to come up
with their list and push this through that the whole dispute has
already moved on."
Mr Granville said the West crossed the Rubicon in July by shutting off
external finance for key energy companies and banks. "Credit markets
are already closed, so adding more is not going to have much effect,"
he said.
Tim Ash, from Standard Bank, said Russia faces a more immediate threat
from tumbling oil prices, down almost $20 a barrel since June as fresh
supply comes on stream from Libya and the US. Each $1 fall in the
price cuts the revenues of the Russian state by $2.8bn. "This matters
more than sanctions right now. Russia is hit brutally by the oil
channel. If prices drop to $80, they will be in very big trouble," he
said.
Brent crude fell to a two-year low of $96.72 after the International
Energy Agency cut its demand forecast this year by 165,000 barrels a
day below estimates a month earlier, citing weakness in China. "It is
ever clearer that Chinese oil demand growth will struggle to get much
above 2pc," it said.
Herman Van Rompuy, the EU president, said the new sanctions could be
scaled back "in all or in part" if warranted by events on the ground
in Ukraine, meaning a withdrawal of Russia forces. Officials said the
ceasefire itself is not sufficient, insisting that Russia must also
abandon efforts to lock in a "frozen conflict" in rebel-controlled
areas.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said it is far from clear whether
Russia is sticking to all demands of the ceasefire deal. "If there
really is credible compliance, we will be the first to lift the new
sanctions," she said. NATO officials say there are still 1,000 Russian
troops on Ukrainian soil.
The Kremlin vowed to fight back, threatening sanctions against imports
of clothing and used cars, but appeared to stop short of an
over-flight ban on European airlines, a major source of fees for
Aeroflot.
Premier Dmitry Medvedev has warned of "asymmetric" retaliation. It is
unclear whether disruption in gas supply to Poland this week is the
first taste of this. Poland's state gas company, PGNiG, said volumes
have fallen 45pc, a claim denied by Gazprom.
"Russia is testing the water to see the reaction," said Prof Alan
Riley, from City University. Most European states have used the window
of the past few months to beef up their defences against a possible
cut-off as winter approaches, some taking advantage of a glut of
liquefied natural gas in Asia. "Everybody has been filling their gas
storage tanks to the brim," he said.
The Poles have been reselling gas to Ukraine through reverse flow
pipelines, enraging Gazprom's chief Alexei Miller. The trade allows
Ukraine to circumvent a supply cut-off for non-payment of its debts to
Gazprom.
The fresh EU measures prohibit trade in new debt beyond a maturity of
30 days for Sberbank, VTB and three other state banks, as well as the
oil trio of Rosneft, Gazpromneft and Transneft. It also covers new
issues of equities. Existing bonds and stocks can still trade freely.
It bans service companies from taking part in exploration and
production in both deep-water projects and Russia's vast shale basin.
Russian companies have been fracking for years but lack the technology
and modern US know-how to slash costs to viable levels.
The sanctions have almost no effect on current production but vastly
complicate Russia's efforts to exploit new oil and gas fields in
remote regions over the next five to 10 years as the old projects run
low.
The cut-off in foreign finance may prove more painful in the
medium-term. Rosneft has requested a state credit line of more than
$40bn to meet investment needs and refinance $29bn in dollar debt by
the end of next year. Kommersant said it is laying off a quarter of
its 4,000 staff at its Moscow headquarters to cut costs.
President Vladimir Putin is turning to China to buttress the economy,
reaching a $400bn deal on a gas pipeline in May and opening Russia's
oil fields to Chinese investors for the first time. Moscow and Beijing
agreed this week to build a huge port on Russia's Pacific coast.
Yet China cannot yet plug the technology gap and is driving a very
hard bargain on oil and gas deals. "Putin needs China for his domestic
political narrative, but those in the business know that Russia has
few alternatives to the West," said Ian Bond, a former ambassador to
Latvia and now at the Centre for European Reform.
--
Peace Is Doable
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