generalspeaking

Breaking the Genetic Code ....

"We stand for peace, but we are not pacifists. We must get through the 25th year of independence as if on brittle ice."
"We must understand that the smallest misstep could be fatal. The war for independence [from Russia] is still ongoing"
President Petro Poroshenko, Kyiv, Ukraine

"It is difficult to escape the thought that their goal was to break the genetic code that guarantees the unity of our peoples."
"I don't think he [Petroshenko] will succeed."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov

"Today ... is a happy day for Ukrainians, but it's an ordinary day for us here on the front line."
"My heart longs to celebrate, but here the holiday feels different, because at war every day is a miracle when one has survived."
Platoon commander Roman Pikulyk, Avdivka, eastern Ukraine

Ukrainian army soldiers march on Khreshchatyk street during military parade on the occasion of Ukraine's Independence Day in the capital Kiev, Ukraine, Monday, Aug. 24, 2015. Speaking at the parade, President Petro Poroshenko said Ukraine would continue to increase its troop numbers in order to fend off the attacks of separatist rebels. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

There is no celebration on the front-line positions in eastern Ukraine. Since the civil war began in April 2014, close to seven thousand people have died. In the last few weeks, despite a ceasefire agreed to by both sides in the conflict -- the Russian-backed ethnic Russian Ukrainian rebels and the Ukrainian regime --  increased violence has broken out anew. According to the Ukrainian military, rebels have violated the ceasefire 82 times in the east.

Large-calibre weapons that according to the ceasefire agreement were to have been withdrawn in respect of the truce signed in February, but were used in attacks on government lines by the rebel forces. In Kyiv, Ukrainian troops took part in the Independence Day commemorations carrying rifles only. Last year's parade saw more powerful weaponry on display. Caution lest their presence at this year's parade provoke further violence led to their non-appearance this year.

Ukraine's president spoke to the thousands of Ukrainian servicemen who marched in downtown Ukraine in memory of independence from the Soviet Union on August 24, 1991. He spoke of 50,000 Russian troops massed on the border with Ukraine, and of the 9,000 Russian soldiers remaining in eastern Ukraine. He spoke as well, of Moscow having supplied the rebels with 500 tanks and 400 artillery pieces.

Giving warning that Russia is now wary -- given the reaction of the international community and of NATO's challenging presence on Russia's doorsteps -- of acting outright through an invasion. Instead, Moscow has developed an alternate strategy, one of dividing Ukrainians in their support for their government, and in the process wreaking havoc with the country's relations with western allies.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel acknowledged ongoing hostilities, in a meeting between the leaders of France and Germany and President Poroshenko, to discuss the current situation. That Organization for Security & Co-operation in Europe observers cannot move freely to assess the ceasefire details as agreed to in Minsk, Belarus in February, is hugely troubling. "Everything possible must be done to ensure that the ceasefire is a reality", she stated.

Labels: Civil War, Conflict, Russia, Ukraine

posted by Pieface @ Tuesday, August 25, 2015