Donetsk bus hit by mortar as Ukrainian forces lose control of airport

[Surya Gayatri]

Source: The Guardian

Conflicting reports of who was responsible for mortar attack that killed at least eight in separatist stronghold

A new attempt to create a lasting ceasefire in eastern Ukraine was left in tatters in just a matter of hours, after a trolleybus in the rebel stronghold of Donetsk was apparently hit by mortar fire. Conflicting reports put the death toll at between eight and 13.



The trolleybus in Donetsk had all its windows blown out, with pools of blood on the floor. There was also major shrapnel damage to a nearby building.

“I saw dead people on the floor, and injured women screaming for help,” said Ivan, a 74-year-old who lives in the building next to the blast. He had a cut face from his windows, which had been blown out by the explosion. “It was a scene of total chaos.”


Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/22/donetsk-bus-stop-shelling-kills-13

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Things are taking a very ominous, deadly turn in the eastern rebel region. And Russia is just waiting for the right moment to send in more troops...

[bemildred]

1. Donetsk airport falls into hands of pro-Russia separatists

Ukrainian officials said Thursday that their forces have retreated from the main portion of the airport at Donetsk, a key turning point in an eight-month battle with Russian separatist forces that has turned the facility into a hulk of twisted metal and shattered glass.

“Taking into account the danger and in order to save lives, ... it was decided yesterday to move out of the terminal’s territory and to the new lines,” Vladyslav Seleznyov, spokesman for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said at a briefing.

The airport, strategically located on a hilltop about six miles outside of the city of Donetsk, has been the scene of fierce fighting for months as Ukrainian forces battled Russia-backed separatists for what both sides regard as a key symbol for control of the contested region of eastern Ukraine.

The terminal of the gleaming new airport, upgraded in 2012 for the European soccer championships, has been reduced to ruins; the control tower has collapsed, and the runways have been pocked with shelling. But analysts say the airport could eventually provide a key supply line into the region.

http://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-ukraine-russia-airport-20150122-story.html#navtype=outfit

[bemildred]

2. Tensions surge in Ukraine after deadly bus stop explosion

Moscow/Berlin (dpa) - Tensions in eastern Ukraine surged on Thursday following reports that many civilians had been killed in an explosion at a bus stop in Donetsk.

Separatist-run news sites said that 13 people died and more than 20 were injured when a grenade exploded as passengers were boarding a trolleybus. The Kiev-loyal authorities put the number of dead at eight.

Both sides blamed each other for the attack, which came on the anniversary of the unification of East and West Ukraine in 1919.

Donetsk separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko said that the shell was fired from Ukrainian artillery north of the city. In response, he ordered 17 Ukrainian soldiers who had been captured at Donetsk airport to be paraded at the scene of the attack.

http://www.dpa-international.com/news/international/troops-give-up-airport-terminal-as-ukraine-conflict-escalates-a-43932455.html

[newthinking]

14. subtle distortion... It was not a grenade, it was a mortar

This post is a hallmark example of Ukraine related reporting.

Saying it was a grenade allows a very different narrative than the fact that it was a mortar.

As always, be wary of all reporting on this conflict.

[bemildred]

15. I was interested in the passive voice used: "bus stop explosion".

What actually happened is someone shelled the bus, it was not an accident, it was an attack by indirect fire, as you point out.

You can compare that with Lavrov who is practically frothing at the mouth about what an atrocity is was. Not unlike what is coming out of Kiev about it too. But then you know one or the other of them did it, so ...

But DPA is uncomfortable with all that and wants to tone it down. The plaintive bleats coming from some Europeans sources continue, this is all so inconvenient.

[bemildred]

3. Russia is 'tricking' the world: Poroshenko

DAVOS

Ukraine's president on Wednesday accused Russia of "tricking" the world, about its willingness to withdraw its troops and weapons from Ukraine.

"Without the withdrawal of foreign troops and heavy artillery, a cease-fire would be fragile and can be broken the very next day," Petro Poroshenko told The Anadolu Agency at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

"Everything else is just a trick," he added.

His comments came after Russia said that it was seeking a cease-fire to reach a "peaceful settlement" to the crisis there.

http://www.aa.com.tr/en/rss/454114--russia-is-tricking-the-world-poroshenko

[bemildred]

4. Russia demands immediate probe in tram stop shelling in Donetsk — Lavrov

MOSCOW, January 22. /TASS/. Russia demands an immediate investigation of the shelling at a public transport stop which killed 13 and left other 20 wounded in war-torn east Ukrainian city of Donetsk, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday.

“We are shocked with a new horrible crime in Donetsk, where tens of civilians were killed and wounded in a shelling by Ukrainian military forces at a public transport stop in the morning on January 22,” he said. “We offer condolences to relatives and friends of the victims and wish soonest recovery to the injured,” he added.

“We consider this incident a crime against humanity, a cruel provocative act seeking to undermine effort taken for peaceful settlement of Ukrainian crisis, including some positive shifts taking shape upon the results of the just-ended Normandy quartet meeting of foreign ministers of Russia, Germany, Ukraine and France,” the minister added.

“This is becoming obvious that casualties cannot stop ‘a party of war’ in Kiev and its foreign patrons,” the Russian top diplomat noted.

http://itar-tass.com/en/russia/772740

[bemildred]

5. John Kerry accuses pro-Russia rebels of 'blatant land grab' in Ukraine

US Secretary of State John Kerry accused pro-Russian separatists on Wednesday (January 21) of attempting a "blatant land grab" during fresh fighting in eastern Ukraine.

Speaking at a news conference with the European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, Kerry said that the US was "particularly concerned" by a rebel initiative to "attempt to gain control of a very significant rail juncture" in eastern ukraine. He said that was in violation of a September ceasefire deal, calling it an "effort to try to broaden the amount of territory that is being held."

Kerry said there had been about a 500 square mile extension of the line of control which demarcates the rebel-held territory from the rest of Ukraine.

"So this is a blatant land grab and is in direct contravention to the Minsk agreements which they signed up to," Kerry added.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/john-kerry-accuses-pro-russia-rebels-blatant-land-grab-ukraine-1484659

[bemildred]

6. U.S. Should Stay Out Of The Russo-Ukrainian Quarrel: A Baker's Dozen Reasons Why The Conflict In Ukr

Fighting over the Donetsk airport between Ukraine’s military and separatist forces backed by Russia has flared anew. The U.S. has begun providing heavier weapons as well as personnel training to Kiev. The conflict could go on for a long time, with Kiev and Moscow locked in a small hot war and the U.S. and Russia stuck in a larger Cold War lite. An extended confrontation would be in no one’s interest, especially America’s.

The U.S. has made a habit of promiscuously meddling around the world. The results rarely have been pretty. Thousands of Americans have been killed, tens of thousands have been wounded, hundreds of thousands of foreigners have died, and a multitude of international furies have been loosed.

At least none of these conflicts involved a real military power. In contrast, advocates of confrontation with Russia over Ukraine want to challenge a nation armed with nuclear weapons and an improving conventional military, steeped in nationalist convictions, rooted in historic traditions, and ruled by a tough authoritarian. No one should assume that in a military showdown the Kremlin would yield to Washington or that war with Moscow would be a cakewalk.

Yet Ukraine’s most fervent advocates assume that any American who fails to believe that, say, inaugurating global nuclear war to save their distant ethnic homeland is a Putin troll, Russian agent, friend of dictators, proto-communist fellow traveler, or even worse. Of course, Ukrainian nationalists are not alone in their conclusion that anyone who disagrees with them is not only wrong but evil. That’s Washington politics today.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/dougbandow/2015/01/22/u-s-should-stay-out-of-the-russo-ukrainian-quarrel-a-bakers-dozen-reasons-why-the-conflict-in-ukraine-is-not-americas-business-part-one/

[bemildred]

7. Russia And Ukraine Are At War

Moscow won’t admit it, but Russia is at war with Ukraine.

It’s hard to draw any other conclusion from reports that Russian regular forces have moved into eastern Ukraine and are attacking Ukrainian military units amid a flare-up of violence this past week.

New reports indicate that eight civilians were killed after a mortar shell fell in Donetsk, mere hours after the foreign ministers of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France agreed on a “buffer zone” to cut down on the violence.

All the while, Russia continues to insist that separatist forces in Donetsk and Luhansk are independent of Russian control and military support. But Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has made clear how ludicrous this assertion is: “Tanks, GRAD multiple rocket systems, BUK and SMERCH systems, radio electronic intelligence systems are not sold at local Donetsk street markets. Only the Russian army and Defense Ministry have them.”

http://www.forbes.com/sites/dougschoen/2015/01/22/russia-and-ukraine-are-at-war/

[daleo]

21. Good article

[bemildred]

22. Yes.

Rather long, hence not suited to modern tastes. And Forbes, I had to think twice about posting Forbes.

[daleo]

23. Longish but worth the read

Lots of common sense there. Looking around the Forbes site, I thought there was some decent content. 👋

[bemildred]

24. Yeah, I know, I run into stuff at Cato Institute that is reasonable too.

But we have posters around here that think we should only read the approved dogma from the approved sources, so I usually avoid sources that will set them off, and Forbes is one of those.

[bemildred]

8. EU-Russia ties likely return to normal if Ukraine situation stabilized: EU diplomat

MOSCOW, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) could restore its normal relations with Russia, provided the situation in Ukraine is stabilized and peace agreements are fully implemented, EU envoy to Russia Vygaudas Usackas said Thursday.

"Implementation of the entire content of the Minsk agreements should lay the desirable groundwork that could help us address the issue of withdrawing the restrictive measures on Russia in the future," Usackas told a news conference in Moscow.

He said stabilization of the situation in Ukraine would enable EU-Russia relations to return onto a normal track.

Representatives from Kiev and independence-seeking insurgents in eastern Ukraine reached agreements in September last year in the Belarussian capital of Minsk, pledging to terminate armed standoff and withdraw heavy armaments as well as multiple rocket launchers. But the agreements had never been fully implemented.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/europe/europe/2015-01/22/c_133939878.htm

[bemildred]

9. Rebels parade Ukrainian soldiers again

ro-Russian separatists on Thursday paraded around 20 captive Ukrainian soldiers through the streets of the rebel stronghold city of Donetsk in a humiliating display hours after 13 people died in a horrendous trolleybus shelling.

Dozens of Donetsk residents hurled snow and bits of glass from the shelling at the around 20 prisoners brought to the scene of the strike by the authorities.

During five to 10 minutes, the prisoners, dressed in civilian clothes, some of them injured, bandaged and limping, faced the crowd after being forced to kneel.

People shouted abuse and threw pieces of glass, some of it recovered from the shattered trolleybus and bus stop hit on Thursday morning as residents of surrounding buildings leaned out of windows to join the clamour.

http://news.iafrica.com/worldnews/979718.html

[bemildred]

10. NATO to Re-Establish Contact With Russian Military, Top General Says

BRUSSELS — NATO's military leaders intend to re-establish contact with their Russian counterparts, after months of tension over the crisis in Ukraine, NATO's top military commander Gen. Philip Breedlove said Thursday.

"We have talked an awful lot about how we re-establish comm [communication] and the fact that the communication with our senior military interlocutors in Russia is important," Breedlove told a news conference.

He said he had spoken to General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff of Russia's armed forces, even after Russian troops moved in to Ukraine's Crimea region last year.

"We are going to re-establish that, we have talked among several of us senior military leaders how we will do that … but yes, we are going to re-establish communication with Valery (Gerasimov)," he said.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/nato-to-re-establish-contact-with-russian-military-top-general-says-/514761.html

[bemildred]

11. . nt

[Surya Gayatri]

12. Thanks for expanding the list of links...

No lack of source material there!

[bemildred]

13. My pleasure.

I am interested in that dispute, and I like to share when I can.

[bemildred]

16. NATO to liaise with Russian military in Ukraine

BRUSSELS

NATO’s military leaders will re-establish contact with their Russian counterparts amid fighting in eastern Ukraine between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian rebels, according to NATO’s top military commander.

NATO's top military commander General Philip Breedlove told a news conference at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels on Thursday: "We have talked an awful lot about how we re-establish [communication] and the fact that the communication with our senior military interlocutors in Russia is important."

Breedlove disclosed he had continued to be in contact with Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff of Russia's armed forces, after Russian troops entered Crimea in 2014.

''We have talked among several of us senior military leaders how we will do that … but yes, we are going to re-establish communication with Valery [Gerasimov],'' Breedlove said.

http://www.aa.com.tr/en/rss/454433--nato-to-liaise-with-russian-military-in-ukraine

[bemildred]

17. Merkel: Russia ‘violated’ EU with Ukraine actions

Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, has maintained her forceful line on Russia's actions in eastern Ukraine, despite the economic impact on Germany of sanctions against Russia.

"There is one thing that we hold very important – the elementary principles of the European Union were violated," Merkel, who was born and brought up in East Germany under Soviet Union influence, told the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday.

Her words may silence some of the speculation in the media that others members of her cabinet would prefer a softer line on towards Moscow's support of separatists in Eastern Ukraine. Violence in Donetsk and Luhansk, the disputed parts of eastern Ukraine, has escalated this week. Sanctions imposed against certain Russian businesses and individuals, following the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine, have contributed to Russia's current economic problems.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/102359738

[bemildred]

18. The Death of Ukraine’s Cyborg Army

n Tuesday night, in a State of the Union speech that was heavy on domestic policy, President Barack Obama heralded a list of American accomplishments abroad, none more dubious than his claim that America was demonstrating “strength” in its response to the Ukraine crisis. “We’re upholding the principle that bigger nations can’t bully the small — by opposing Russian aggression, supporting Ukraine’s democracy, and reassuring our NATO allies,” the president optimistically intoned, while dismissing those who had appraised Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea as “a masterful display of strategy and strength.” Rather, said Obama, “it is America that stands strong and united with our allies, while Russia is isolated, with its economy in tatters.”

For Obama to be right, and for America to be successfully leading the way to a free, peaceful, and democratic Ukraine, it stands to reason that Putin would have to be on the back foot and growing less belligerent by the day. Then why is he only ratcheting up his aggression?

In the last 24 hours, the Ukrainian government has lost key front line positions. This week, Russia has dispatched hundreds of additional soldiers and armored vehicles across the border. In fact, as Obama was addressing Congress, the Ukrainian military was locked in a desperate fight to hold back advancing Russian forces west of Luhansk.

One of the most tragic developments of what is now, undeniably, a Russian-Ukrainian war has unfolded over the last week when more than 400 Ukrainian soldiers were nearly butchered on live, Russian state-controlled television. The group of several hundred Ukrainian volunteers and regular soldiers are known as “Cyborgs” to both their enemies and their supporters, owing to the fact that they’ve somehow managed to withstand wave after wave of separatist attacks since late September. The Kyiv Post describes this mix of Ukrainian regular soldiers and volunteers, some of whom are members of the right-wing Right Sector group, as “indestructible half-men, half-machines.” But perhaps no longer.

http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/01/22/the-death-of-ukraines-cyborg-army-ukraine-russia-donetsk-airport-shelling/

[bemildred]

19. Ukraine Just Lost A Crucial Airport To Russia-Backed Rebels, And The Photos Are Staggering

After almost eight months of constant fighting between Ukrainian troops and Russian-backed separatists, the Ukrainian military lost control of the Donetsk Airport, according to the Los Angeles Times.

“Taking into account the danger and in order to save lives, ... it was decided yesterday to move out of the terminal’s territory and to the new lines,” Vladyslav Seleznyov, the spokesman for the Ukrainian military, said in a briefing.

http://uk.businessinsider.com/before-and-after-photos-of-destruction-on-ukraine-frontlines-2015-1

[bemildred]

20. Russia accuses Poles of 'mockery of history' over Auschwitz

WARSAW, Poland (AP) -- Russia has accused Poland of engaging in a "mockery of history" after the Polish foreign minister credited Ukrainian soldiers, rather than the Soviet Red Army, with liberating Auschwitz 70 years ago.

The exchange underlines the deep tensions between Russia and Poland, which is hugely critical of Russian actions in Ukraine. Those strains are casting a shadow over the 70th anniversary commemorations of the liberation of the Nazi death camp, which will be held Tuesday in Poland.

Poland has apparently snubbed Russian President Vladimir Putin, who will not attend even though he was at the 60th anniversary event in 2005. The situation is particularly awkward since Auschwitz was liberated by Soviet troops on Jan. 27, 1945, and some of the more than 1.1 million victims were Soviet citizens, including Jews and prisoners of war.

In a radio interview Wednesday, Polish Foreign Minister Grzegorz Schetyna was challenged over what the journalist called the "pettiness" of not inviting Putin, given that he is the inheritor of the Soviet Union and that the Red Army freed Auschwitz.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_POLAND_RUSSIA_AUSCHWITZ?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-01-22-11-12-41

[bemildred]

25. Donetsk trolleybus explosion blows Ukraine peace negotiations apart

---

As has happened many times during the conflict, the two sides had starkly differing versions of the incident. Rebel gunmen on the scene said it had been carried out by a pro-Ukrainian diversionary group operating from within rebel territory. They later announced that those responsible had been detained, but there was no further information about who they were and how they were caught.

The impact craters suggested the incoming shell had come from the north-west, which meant it could have been fired from Ukrainian positions close to the airport. However, Ukrainian officials said their forces were located too far from the spot to be responsible, with the prime minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, calling it “a terrible act against humanity” committed by “Russian terrorists”.

The location did indeed appear to be out of mortar range for Ukrainian positions, though it also seemed unlikely that separatists would have any reason to carry out the attack. One local said the rebels had been repairing tanks in a factory across the street from the blast, which was perhaps the target. Others agreed that there was frequent movement of heavy armour in the immediate vicinity. There is also a Soviet-era military college, now used by rebel troops, nearby.

The gruesome pattern of the conflict has seen repeated attacks on ostensibly military targets go awry, leaving civilians dead. Earlier this month, 13 people died when a bus was hit while standing at a Ukrainian checkpoint, apparently after coming under rocket fire from rebel positions. At least 5,000 people have died since the conflict began last spring.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/22/donetsk-trolleybus-explosion-peace-negotiations-russia-ukraine