Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko speaking this week in Davos. (Photo: World Economic Forum/flickr/cc)
Jan 23, 2015
Pro-Russian fighters in Ukraine on Friday announced that they will reject further peace talks, signaling further instability at the end of deadliest week of the conflict.
"Attempts to talk about a cease-fire will no longer be undertaken by our side," the Associated Press reports the main separatist leader, Alexander Zakharchenko, as saying.
The New York Timesadds:
"We will attack" until the Ukrainian Army is driven from the borders of the Donetsk region, Aleksandr Zakharchenko, the leader of the Donetsk People's Republic rebel group, said in comments carried by Russian news agencies. Referring to the Ukrainian government, he said, "Kiev doesn't understand now that we can attack in three directions simultaneously."
The news comes as the UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights states that over 5,000 people have been killed and over 10,000 wounded since the conflict broke out last year.
OHCHR spokesman Rupert Colville said at a press conference that the period between between January 13 and 21 when an average of 29 people were killed per day "has been the most deadly period since the declaration of a ceasefire on 5 September." That ceasefire, as the Washington Postnotes, "was always tenuous, and recent clashes have dealt serious blows to efforts to prevent its full collapse."
On Wednesday, when the latest round of peace talks was taking place in Berlin, U.S. Army Europe head Lt. Gen Ben Hodges said in Kiev that a yet-to-be-determined number of U.S. soldiers would be heading to Ukraine in spring to train the Ukrainian National Guard.
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Pro-Russian fighters in Ukraine on Friday announced that they will reject further peace talks, signaling further instability at the end of deadliest week of the conflict.
"Attempts to talk about a cease-fire will no longer be undertaken by our side," the Associated Press reports the main separatist leader, Alexander Zakharchenko, as saying.
The New York Timesadds:
"We will attack" until the Ukrainian Army is driven from the borders of the Donetsk region, Aleksandr Zakharchenko, the leader of the Donetsk People's Republic rebel group, said in comments carried by Russian news agencies. Referring to the Ukrainian government, he said, "Kiev doesn't understand now that we can attack in three directions simultaneously."
The news comes as the UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights states that over 5,000 people have been killed and over 10,000 wounded since the conflict broke out last year.
OHCHR spokesman Rupert Colville said at a press conference that the period between between January 13 and 21 when an average of 29 people were killed per day "has been the most deadly period since the declaration of a ceasefire on 5 September." That ceasefire, as the Washington Postnotes, "was always tenuous, and recent clashes have dealt serious blows to efforts to prevent its full collapse."
On Wednesday, when the latest round of peace talks was taking place in Berlin, U.S. Army Europe head Lt. Gen Ben Hodges said in Kiev that a yet-to-be-determined number of U.S. soldiers would be heading to Ukraine in spring to train the Ukrainian National Guard.
Pro-Russian fighters in Ukraine on Friday announced that they will reject further peace talks, signaling further instability at the end of deadliest week of the conflict.
"Attempts to talk about a cease-fire will no longer be undertaken by our side," the Associated Press reports the main separatist leader, Alexander Zakharchenko, as saying.
The New York Timesadds:
"We will attack" until the Ukrainian Army is driven from the borders of the Donetsk region, Aleksandr Zakharchenko, the leader of the Donetsk People's Republic rebel group, said in comments carried by Russian news agencies. Referring to the Ukrainian government, he said, "Kiev doesn't understand now that we can attack in three directions simultaneously."
The news comes as the UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights states that over 5,000 people have been killed and over 10,000 wounded since the conflict broke out last year.
OHCHR spokesman Rupert Colville said at a press conference that the period between between January 13 and 21 when an average of 29 people were killed per day "has been the most deadly period since the declaration of a ceasefire on 5 September." That ceasefire, as the Washington Postnotes, "was always tenuous, and recent clashes have dealt serious blows to efforts to prevent its full collapse."
On Wednesday, when the latest round of peace talks was taking place in Berlin, U.S. Army Europe head Lt. Gen Ben Hodges said in Kiev that a yet-to-be-determined number of U.S. soldiers would be heading to Ukraine in spring to train the Ukrainian National Guard.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.