National Russian television network describes the ease with which the Russian military could descend on European capitals
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After a Polish official proposes moving Victory Day celebrations from Moscow, a national Russian television network describes the ease with which the Russian military could descend on European capitals.
London mayor, on profile-building tour of US, pleased that presidential hopeful has put his 2007 comments behind her
Boris Johnson had some apologising to do when he met US presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton at her offices in Manhattan. The famously loose-lipped London mayor conceded it was amazing that Clinton had agreed to meet him after he had previously described her as like “a sadistic nurse in a mental hospital”.
Johnson, who is in the US on a trade and personal profile-building mission, said: “It is an amazing measure of the goodness and generosity of Hillary Clinton’s spirit that she wants to see us in spite of those admittedly lighthearted remarks some years ago.”
Continue reading...Report Warns Russia's 'Hybrid Warfare' In Ukraine Could Inspire Others by noreply@rferl.org (RFE/RL)
In a new report, a top defense think tank warns that Russia's destabilizing actions in Ukraine, including "sophisticated combinations of conventional and unconventional means of warfare," could inspire NATO's potential state and non-state adversaries elsewhere in the world.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- House Speaker John Boehner challenged Senate Democrats Wednesday to "get off their ass" and pass a bill to fund the Homeland Security Department and restrict President Barack Obama's executive moves on immigration....
Swiss public television has reported that Azerbaijani rights activist Emin Huseynov is being sheltered at the Swiss Embassy in Baku.
Leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany are gathering for crucial talks in the hope of negotiating an end to fighting between Russia-backed separatist and government forces in eastern Ukraine.
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Obama Asks Congress For Authorization To Use Force Against IS by noreply@rferl.org (RFE/RL)
U.S. President Barack Obama has asked Congress to authorize the use of force against the Islamic State (IS) group in a resolution.
The Prince of Wales visited the ancient Al-Ula site today, with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince, Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. He wore a natty cream linen suit for the trip into the desert.
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STEPHENVILLE, Texas (AP) -- A former Marine on trial for capital murder in the death of Chris Kyle, the former Navy SEAL depicted in the blockbuster "American Sniper," was numbed by marijuana and whiskey when he fatally shot Kyle and another man, a prosecutor told jurors Wednesday....
Eddie Ray Routh drank whiskey and used 'wet' marijuana before killing "American Sniper" Chris Kyle and another man at a Texas gun range, then went to order a burrito at Taco Bell, a prosecutor told a jury in today's opening statements.
In addition, Routh, a former Marine, showed off a gun and truck he stole from Kyle in visits to relatives after the killings, Erath County District Attorney Alan Nash said.
"He admits [later to his sister] that he murdered these two men, that he used drugs and alcohol that morning and he knew what he was doing was wrong," Nash said.
Routh, now 27, allegedly shot Kyle, 38, five times in the back and side and once in the top of the head, and shot Kyle's friend Chad Littlefield, 35, four times in the back, once in the hand, once in the face and once in the top of the head, Nash said.
Routh faces life in prison if he is found guilty of the Feb. 2, 2013 murders.
His defense team made it clear in opening statements that it plans to argue that he was insane at the time of the shooting.
KTVT
PHOTO: Alan Nash, District Attorney for Erath County, is pictured in court on Feb. 11, 2015.
"When he took their lives, he was in the grip of a psychosis, a psychosis so severe that he did not know what he was doing was wrong," defense attorney Tim Moore said.
He added that Routh thought "that he had to take their lives because, in his psychosis, he thought they were going to take his."
Moore said Routh proposed marriage to a woman the night before the fatal shooting, and she was expected to testify at the trial that he was acting strangely.
"He was seeing things, he was hearing things," Moore said. "He was telling her not to talk out loud, to write things down on paper because people were listening."
Kyle's own texts to Littlefield before picking up his friend suggested Kyle was alarmed by Routh's state of mind.
Tom Fox/EPA
PHOTO: Tara Kyle cries on the stand during court inside the Erath County Donald R. Jones Justice Center during the murder trial for Eddie Ray Routh in Stephenville, Texas, Feb. 11, 2015.
Kyle texted to Littlefield, "This dude is straight up nuts," while in the car with Routh, Moore said during his opening statement.
Nash described Routh as "a troubled young man," but argued he should be held responsible for killing Kyle and Littlefield.
“Does having a mental illness rise to the level where this defendant doesn’t know right from wrong?” Nash asked the jury.
Kyle's widow, Taya Kyle, shed tears as she testified after the opening arguments. She said she felt uneasy after a final phone conversation she had with Kyle when he was at the gun range, and added that she soon learned of his death from a police officer.
Testifying later was Chad Littlefield's mother, Judy Littlefield, who appeared so overcome with emotion that, at first, she seemed barely able to speak.
If her son was alive, she said, today would have been his 38th birthday. He was "a very good son," she added, noting that he called to check on her every day.
"Chad didn't talk much but was always watching to make sure people were safe," Judy Littlefield said.
She added that her son was not a veteran and first met Kyle when they were on the sidelines of their kids' soccer game.
The decision to have the women testify so early in the trial came largely because the judge ruled that no witnesses can be in the courtroom until after they have testified so they will not be affected by other testimony.
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The late Chris Kyle, a former Navy SEAL and author of the book "American Sniper," poses in Midlothian, Texas, in 2013.(Photo: Paul Moseley, AP)
STEPHENVILLE, Texas — The wife of American Sniper author and Navy SEAL Chris Kyle tearfully explained to a jury Wednesday why her husband was trying to help the Iraq War veteran who fatally shot Kyle at a Texas firing range two years ago.
Taya Kyle told jurors her husband was asked to help Eddie Ray Routh by his mother, Jodi Routh, who worked at the elementary school the Kyles' children attended. Taya Kyle said her husband spent time helping veterans as a way of easing back into society after several grueling tours.
Routh, 27, faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole if he is convicted of killing Kyle, 38, and Chad Littlefield, 35, at the upscale shooting range near Fort Worth.
Family members have said Routh, a former Marine, was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. His lawyers say he should be found not guilty because he was too mentally ill to know right from wrong.
Taya Kyle testified that on the day of the shootings, the Kyles attended their children's sporting events in the morning, then she planned to take her daughter to Build-A-Bear while Chris Kyle took Routh to the firing range at Rough Creek Lodge and Resort in nearby Glen Rose, Texas.
Later that afternoon, she called her husband to run dinner plans by him. Chris Kyle answered her call while at the shooting range and was uncharacteristically curt, she said. "It was very short," she said. "Like, 'I wish I could say more but I'm not going to.' "
In his opening statements, defense attorney Tim Moore said Kyle and Littlefield picked up Routh at his parents' house in Lancaster, near Fort Worth, the day of the killings for the nearly two-hour drive to the shooting range. Near the end of the drive, Kyle sent a text to Littlefield, who was sitting next to him in the truck's front seat: "This dude is straight up nuts."
Littlefield replied: "He's right behind me, watch my six," military slang meaning "Watch my back."
Moore painted a picture of Routh as a troubled Iraq veteran who struggled with combat-related anxiety, psychosis and paranoia. Routh had been in and out of a psychiatric hospital and the Veterans Affairs hospital in Dallas three times in the months leading up to the killings after bouts of suicidal thoughts and paranoia, Moore said. He was last released from a psychiatric hospital a week before the murders.
"When he took their lives, he was in the grip of a psychosis," Moore said, "a psychosis so severe that he did not know what he was doing was wrong."
In opening statements for the prosecution, Erath County District Attorney Alan Nash said Routh used Kyle's Navy-issued 9mm pistol and a Springfield Armory .45-caliber handgun to shoot Kyle and his friend, Chad Littlefield, more than 12 times in the victims' backs, sides, hands and heads.
Nash described how Routh smoked marijuana laced with formaldeyhde and drank whiskey the morning of the shootings. He detailed how Routh used the 9mm pistol to shoot Kyle five times in the back and side and once in the side of the head, then used the .45 handgun to shoot Littlefield four times in the back and side, once in the hand, once in the face and once in the top of the head, before speeding off in Kyle's Ford pickup.
"Did he intentionally or knowingly cause the death of these two men, and, when he did so, did he know what he did was wrong?" Nash said. "Those are the two key issues."
Routh, with a shaved head and wearing black-rimmed glasses and a dark suit, sat quietly writing at the defense table. When asked earlier by Judge Jason Cashon how he would plead, Routh said flatly, "Not guilty, your honor." The defense team is expected to pursue an acquittal by reason of insanity.
Taya Kyle, wife of slain Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, arrives at the Erath County Donald R. Jones Justice Center in Stephenville, Texas, on Feb. 11. (Photo: Tom Fox, AP)
As testimony began, Kyle's widow told jurors about meeting her husband in San Diego, where Kyle attended school to become a Navy SEAL. She talked about his tours to Iraq as a sniper from 2004 through 2008, including stints in Fallujah, Ramadi and Baghdad's volatile Sadr City.
As prosecutors flashed family pictures of the Kyles at home and on trips, Taya Kyle fought back tears and dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief. "I'm not nervous, I'm just emotional," she said earlier in her testimony.
The trial has gotten particular attention as the Oscar-nominated American Sniper, the Clint Eastwood-directed film about Kyle's service in Iraq as a celebrated military sniper based on his best-selling book, continues to fill theaters across the USA.
Defense attorneys tried to have the trial moved. They questioned whether their client can get a fair trial given the growing popularity of the film, which has grossed nearly $300 million. Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty and will ask that Routh be given life without parole if convicted.
Kyle, who reportedly tallied more than 160 enemy kills as a sniper, volunteered to help veterans struggling with combat-related anxiety disorders after he returned from four tours of duty in Iraq.
He and Littlefield took Routh to the shooting range in 2013 on a request from Routh's mother, who was growing concerned over her son's struggles with PTSD. A range employee discovered the two bodies.
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At American Sniper murder trial, a psychosis defense
USA TODAY The killer of American Sniper Chris Kyle used two guns to shoot Kyle and his friend, Chad Littlefield, more than 12 times, the prosecutor said as the trial of Eddie Ray Routh opened. Loading… Post to Facebook. At American Sniper murder trial, a psychosis ... 'American Sniper' Trial: Details of Fatal Shooting Revealed in Opening StatementsABC News Was "American Sniper" shooter psychotic when he killed two?CBS News Trial under way for man accused of murdering 'American Sniper' Chris KyleFox News BBC News -Huffington Post -Hillcountrynews all 275 news articles » |
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Gov. Charlie Baker of Massachusetts deployed National Guard troops to help with snow removal as the state tried to dig out from its third major winter storm in two weeks. Subscribe to the...
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KYIV — But it might be soon.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama is considering a request from Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to slow the pace of the withdrawal of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, a senior administration official said on Wednesday.
Scientists have identified a genetic mechanism that explains how birds develop different beak shapes in response to changes in their environment, a vivid illustration of evolution working at the most rudimentary level.
Craig Stephen Hicks, 46, has been charged with three counts of murder after three Muslim students were shot dead in Meadowmont, close to the University of North Carolina campus.
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Come election time, the rival parties’ advertising strategies plumb new depths of dirty trickery. We trawl the archives for the most vicious, most effective campaigns
‘There are only ever two ad strategies in an election,” says Lord Tim Bell, Margaret Thatcher’s favourite adman. “It’s either the opposition saying, ‘Time for a change’, or the government saying, ‘Britain’s great again, don’t let the other lot muck it up.’ The rest is just details.” And he’s ostensibly right. But while the strategies stay the same, the executions can vary wildly. When the Saatchis released their infamous Labour Isn’t Working poster in 1978, an incredulous Denis Healey publicallyaccused the Tories of selling themselves like soap powder. An excited press reported on the spat, helpfully republishing images of the poster. The Saatchis had just taught Healey a golden rule of political advertising: always try to provoke the opposition into a reaction. Here are some of the others.
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In the rebel stronghold of Donetsk, in Ukraine, city officials say that eight people have been killed, including six in a mortar strike on the city early Wednesday. Duration: 01:01.
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Boris Johnson plays down 'sadistic nurse' remarks about Hillary Clinton as pair ...
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The captain of the Costa Concordia cruise liner has been jailed for 16 years after being found guilty of multiple manslaughter.
Costa Concordia captain Francesco Schettino guilty of manslaughter by Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Grosseto
Skipper of cruise ship that sank off the coast of Italy in 2012 killing 32 people has been sentenced to a total of 16 years in jail
The captain of the Costa Concordia, the cruise ship that ran aground off the coast of Italy in 2012
resulting in the deaths of 32 people, has been found guilty of manslaughter.Francesco Schettino
was found guilty of the most serious charges against him by an Italian court on Wednesday andsentenced to 16 years in jail.
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In 2012 the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia sank off the coast of Tuscany claiming 32 lives. Captain Francesco Schettino was this week sentenced to 16 years in jail for manslaughter Continue reading...
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Captain found guilty in Costa Concordia shipwreck that killed 32
Fox News Francesco Schettino arrives to attend his trial at the Grosseto court, Italy, Wednesday, Feb.11, 2015. Whatever verdict is delivered in the trial of the Italian sea captain for the shipwreck of the Costa Concordia cruise liner and for the deaths of 32 people, ... Costa Concordia captain Schettino sobs as verdict loomsBBC News Costa Concordia captain sentenced to 16 years jail for disasterReuters Costa Concordia captain sentenced to 16 years in prison: liveTelegraph.co.uk The Independent -Washington Post -ABC News all 226 news articles » |
As the captain of the cruise ship is sentenced for multiple manslaughter, Sky News takes a look at how events unfolded on board.
The leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany arrived in Minsk on Wednesday for last-ditch talks aimed at agreeing a ceasefire in the 10-month conflict in eastern Ukraine, even as fighting raged on the ground.
The meeting came with the International Monetary Fund expected to announce as soon as Thursday a new rescue package for Ukraine which is likely to lead to a restructuring of the country’s privately-held debts.
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The summit of Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko, Russian president Vladimir Putin, German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president François Hollande in the Belarusian capital is the culmination of a frantic week of diplomacy aimed at defusing the crisis.
It came amid an escalation of a conflict that has already claimed more than 5,300 lives and plunged relations between Moscow and the west to lows not seen since the cold war.
The stakes are high, with any failure to achieve a ceasefire likely to stoke demands in Washington for the US to arm Ukraine — a move that France and Germany fear will only worsen the war.
But even if a truce is agreed, there is no guarantee it will hold. A ceasefire signed in Minsk on September 5 was repeatedly violated and collapsed completely four months later amid renewed rebel assaults on Ukrainian positions.
Even as the leaders gathered in Minsk, fighting continued to rage near the government-held rail hub of Debaltseve. Officials in Kiev said 19 Ukrainian soldiers were killed there in the past 24 hours.
Meanwhile, Ukraine, which has seen its foreign currency reserves and the value of its currency plunge in recent weeks, was in talks on Wednesday with the IMF on a new bailout. Tim Ash of Standard Bank said it would be a four-year rescue valued at about $18bn. There could be several billion dollars of additional bilateral support from G7 countries.
The new deal replaces a $17bn programme which was launched less than a year ago but abandoned when the conflict in the east began to escalate and Ukraine’s public finances deteriorated.
Arseniy Yatseniuk, the country’s prime minister, on Wednesday predicted that preliminary agreement with the IMF on a new bailout package would be reached within “48 hours,” adding that reform of the country’s heavily-subsidised energy sector remained the main sticking point.
“The talks are difficult because nobody gives anyone money just like that,” he said.
Before the Minsk summit began, European officials were damping down expectations. Ms Merkel’s spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said “the fact that this trip is going ahead means there is a glimmer of hope, but no more”.
Laurent Fabius, French foreign minister, warned French media that the summit was “really a last-chance negotiation”. A Russian official familiar with the talks said it was “more likely than not” that a ceasefire deal would be reached.
However, western observers say the gap between the rebels’ demands and those of Ukraine is so wide that the peace talks are highly unlikely to succeed.
In depth
Pro-Moscow separatists in eastern Ukraine have escalated the political turmoil that threatens to tear the country apart
Further reading
Further reading
Officials briefed on the Minsk talks said the parties were discussing a solution under which the warring parties would pull back heavy artillery from the current front. This would not create a completely demilitarised zone but would bring each side out of the range of the other’s heavy weapons, which have caused most casualties.
Russia and the rebels demand that the separation line be drawn according to the current front, an agreement which would cede to the rebels large swaths of territory which they have gained since the September ceasefire.
But even more contentious is the question of how a new truce would be policed. The parties are discussing beefing up the presence of monitors from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and the separatists are demanding a force formed of states of the former Soviet Union.
“You would need thousands to do that job,” said one military official. But since many states in that group lack the resources to man such a mission, it would mean a large Russian presence in this role — a scenario Ukraine opposes.
Fundamental disagreement also remains over what political status should be given to the self-declared separatist republics in eastern Ukraine. Moscow continues to insist that Ukraine must change its constitution to give the regions the power to veto key policy areas such as foreign affairs and defence — an arrangement Russia hopes could help block any future attempts by Kiev to move closer to Nato or the EU.
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11 February 2015 Last updated at 13:33 ET
(From left) Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Minsk
Ukrainian armoured vehicles headed towards the transport hub of Debaltseve on Wednesday
The Ukrainian government is trying to stop rebels encircling its forces at Debaltseve
A woman carries her shopping in Donetsk city
Ceasefire hopes: James Reynolds, BBC News, Donetsk
A woman cleans shattered glass after her shop is damaged by shelling in Donetsk
The handshake was brief and showed little warmth
Rival agendas at Ukraine talks
Ukraine's war: The human cost
(From left) Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Minsk
Urgent talks on ending the deadly conflict in east Ukraine have opened in the Belarusian capital Minsk, after a week of EU shuttle diplomacy.
As talks began, Russian President Vladimir Putin shook hands with Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko.
Russia has been accused of arming and reinforcing pro-Russian rebels in east Ukraine - a claim it denies.
Brokering the ceasefire bid are German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande.
The talks are set to focus on securing a ceasefire, withdrawal of heavy weapons and creating a demilitarised zone.
Fighting claimed more than 20 lives in the hours leading up to the talks. Shelling killed at least five people in the rebel-held city of Donetsk while 19 Ukrainian soldiers died along the front line.
Ukrainian armoured vehicles headed towards the transport hub of Debaltseve on WednesdayThe Ukrainian government is trying to stop rebels encircling its forces at DebaltseveA woman carries her shopping in Donetsk city
While the Ukrainian government is seeking a demarcation line based on the failed ceasefire agreed on 5 September in Belarus last year, the rebels want a new truce to reflect the gains they have made in recent weeks, the BBC's James Reynolds reports from Donetsk.
More than 5,400 people have died since the conflict began, and there has been a dramatic rise in casualties in recent days, with 263 civilians killed in populated areas between 31 January and 5 February.
A woman cleans shattered glass after her shop is damaged by shelling in Donetsk
Donetsk may be the tidiest city-at-war in the world. In the centre of town, the streets are swept, the benches are clean, the bins are empty. From the city centre you can hear the regular, deep boom of artillery fire in the distance.
"We want to live alone," insists one woman who puts down her shopping bags to talk. "Most people here don't want to be ruled by Ukraine and Poroshenko," she concludes.
"We're hoping for a resolution," says another man, "But it all depends on Ukraine."
A mother, walking with her young son, says she's exasperated with both sides. "They need to shut all the leaders in a room," she suggests, "like they do when they choose a Pope. Lock them in. Don't let any of them out until they've reached an agreement."
The handshake between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders was brief, with Mr Poroshenko coming up to Mr Putin without smiling.
The handshake was brief and showed little warmth
Speaking earlier, Mr Poroshenko said the situation threatened to spin "out of control" if the parties did not agree to de-escalation and a ceasefire.
Warning that his government was prepared to impose martial law, he said the Minsk summit was one of the final chances to bring about an unconditional ceasefire and withdrawal of heavy weapons.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini told AFP news agency that if a deal was reached, the Minsk summit would be "a turning point for good or for bad".
Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of sending troops and arms to support the rebels, but Russia denies this.
US President Barack Obama has refused to rule out supplying "lethal defensive weapons" to Kiev if diplomacy fails, but Russia says that would worsen the crisis.
Footage of the burnt-out shells of vehicles in a bus shelter in Donetsk
Ukraine: Restore government authority over breakaway areas, though Donetsk and Luhansk regions could get greater self-rule; disarm rebel forces; withdrawal of Russian troops; restore Kiev's control over Ukraine-Russia border; full prisoner exchange.
Pro-Russian rebels: Separation from rest of Ukraine and recognition of "people's republics" of Donetsk and Luhansk; no disarmament of separatist forces; amnesty for separatist leaders.
Russia: Legal guarantees for rights of Russian-speakers in eastern Ukraine; full autonomy for Donetsk and Luhansk in a federal system - not necessarily independence; no return of Crimea to Ukraine; withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from combat zone.
EU and US: Restore Ukraine's territorial integrity; end Russian intervention in eastern Ukraine - withdrawal of all Russian troops and heavy weapons; effective monitoring of Russia-Ukraine border and demilitarised zone between the combatants; full democracy in Donetsk and Luhansk.
With both sides seeking territorial gains before a potential ceasefire, there are fears that the violence could undermine attempts to secure a long-term deal.
The majority of Ukrainian military casualties were near Debaltseve, a major transport hub where thousands of soldiers are under rebel siege.
The separatists say they have cut off the main supply road into the town from the west as they try to capture a tongue-shaped area that cuts into the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
At least two people were killed and several more injured when a shell hit a bus station in rebel-controlled Donetsk early on Wednesday. Three more deaths were reported during the night, city officials said.
Volunteer pro-government fighters have also seized territory this week, capturing villages from the rebels outside the government-held of Mariupol.
- At least 5,486 people people killed and 12,972 wounded in eastern Ukraine but true numbers could be much higher
- Fatalities include 298 people on Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 shot down on 17 July
- 5.2 million people estimated to be living in conflict areas
- 978,482 internally displaced people, including 119,832 children
- 600,000 fled to neighbouring countries, of whom more than 400,000 have gone to Russia
Source: Figures from UN report, 6 February
Do you live in eastern Ukraine? You can email your experiences to haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk
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European leaders began a high-stakes summit Wednesday to try to negotiate a cease-fire in the 10-month conflict in eastern Ukraine, raising hopes that Kiev and the rebels were close to hammering out some kind of deal.
Russian President Vladimir Putin , French President François Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko gathered in Minsk for the talks, which began mid-evening and were expected to last for hours.
The meeting is seen as a possible last chance to end a conflict that has already left more than 5,000 civilians dead, though Western officials have played down chances for a breakthrough.
“During my time as a president, I never have had and never will have a meeting more important than the summit today in Minsk,” Mr. Poroshenko told his cabinet before leaving Kiev. “I think, unfortunately, we must be prepared for either outcome—for peace…and to defend the country.”
The leaders had said they would attend the summit only if the basics of an agreement appeared close after lower-level talks.
The fact that it is going ahead “is a ray of hope, but not more,” Ms. Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert said. “It is uncertain whether any result will be achieved.”
Speaking in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said “noticeable progress” had been made during the preparations.
In recent weeks, fighting has surged as rebels seemed to be pushing to expand their territory and Ukrainian forces pushed back before a deal was reached.
Mr. Poroshenko overnight visited Kramatorsk, a city near the front line where 15 people were killed Tuesday in a rocket attack that Kiev blamed on separatists. He said he would bring a piece of a missile fired in the attack to the talks in Minsk and to a European Union summit Thursday in Brussels as evidence. Rebels denied responsibility.
Russia denies accusations that it is actively supporting and supplying the rebels. But Western leaders are trying to put pressure on Mr. Putin, with a senior EU official saying that they could order work to start on scaling-up economic sanctions on Russia this week if the peace talks fail.
The official also said that even if there is an apparent breakthrough, leaders would likely be cautious until they see Russia is implementing its side of the deal.
Late Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama called Mr. Putin for the first time in months to push for a peaceful resolution to the conflict, warning of consequences for Russia if violence continued, the White House said.
Mr. Obama didn’t specifically address the possibility that the U.S. might send lethal military assistance to Kiev, something that the administration has said it is considering. Moscow has warned it would see that as a direct threat to its security.
Market Talk
Ukraine Talks Could Be Key for Ruble
Uncertainty over the Ukraine peace talks haven’t had much effect on the ruble yet, and Russia’s currency remains primarily oil driven, says ING. It adds that the market probably hasn’t formed much of a near-term view yet, and may only evaluate USD/RUB’s immediate future is peace talks fail and Russia faces yet more Western sanctions. (olga.razumovskaya@wsj.com)
Uncertainty over the Ukraine peace talks haven’t had much effect on the ruble yet, and Russia’s currency remains primarily oil driven, says ING. It adds that the market probably hasn’t formed much of a near-term view yet, and may only evaluate USD/RUB’s immediate future is peace talks fail and Russia faces yet more Western sanctions. (olga.razumovskaya@wsj.com)
Market Talk is a stream of real-time news and market analysis that’s available on Dow Jones Newswires
“If Russia continues its aggressive actions in Ukraine, including by sending troops, weapons, and financing to support the separatists, the costs for Russia will rise,” the White House said, without elaborating.
Mr. Obama said this week he would delay a decision on possible lethal aid until the latest attempt at diplomacy is exhausted.
ENLARGE
A bus station hit during shelling between Russian-backed separatists and the Ukrainian government forces in Donetsk on Wednesday. Photo: Associated Press
A September cease-fire deal reached in Minsk never took hold, but officials in Kiev and the West say that agreement must remain the basis for any new deal.
All sides say they are seeking an immediate cease-fire and the pullback of heavy weapons, followed by steps to give the separatist regions greater political and economic autonomy.
On Wednesday, a Ukrainian defense official said 19 troops had been killed and 78 wounded outside Debaltseve, a government-held enclave that has been the site of some of the heaviest recent fighting.
In the separatist capital of Donetsk, officials said four people were killed and nine wounded when a bus station was hit in a mortar attack.
Main Points From September’s Cease-Fire
The last cease-fire agreement that was reached in Minsk between Ukraine, Russia and the pro-Russian separatists from east Ukraine never really took hold. But all sides in the talks Wednesday say that deal, which was set down in two separate documents signed Sept. 5 and Sept. 19, 2014, must form the basis of any new agreement.
Here are the main points of the original Minsk agreements. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe mediated the talks and was to help monitor the implementation of the agreements.
- Impose immediate cease-fire
- Ensure monitoring and verification of cease-fire by OSCE
- Conduct decentralization of government in Ukraine, including by passing a law on special status for the separatist regions
- Ensure OSCE monitoring of the Russia-Ukraine border with security zones on each side
- Unconditionally release all hostages and illegally detained persons
- Pass a law on amnesty for separatists
- Continue an inclusive national dialogue in Ukraine
- Take steps to improve the humanitarian situation in the Donbas region
- Conduct early local elections in the separatist region according to the special-status law
- Withdraw all illegal armed groups, equipment and fighters from the territory of Ukraine
- Approve a plan of economic rebuilding for the separatist region
- Provide guarantees of personal security for the participants in the talks
Among other points, the Sept. 19 agreement expanded this list to include:
- Pullback of heavy weapons by both sides from the front lines to create a 30-kilometer demilitarized zone
- Withdraw all foreign military units, equipment and mercenaries from Ukraine under OSCE monitoring
The Sept. 19 agreements also included a map of the ‘line of contact’ from which the two sides were to pull back, but that was never made public.
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Washington (CNN)I left Ukraine last weekend with a deep sense of foreboding. I wasn't imagining a severe deterioration of the crisis on the ground. I was hearing it from American and western diplomats, Ukrainian officials and Ukrainian citizens.
"It is a life or death moment for us," one Ukrainian MP told a senior western diplomat.
Ukraine is at war. It's not a 21st century, media-driven war -- or even an air war with surgical strikes -- but an old-fashioned, mid-20th century land war, complete with tank battles and the intentional bombardment of civilians. For comparison, one senior western diplomat recommended I see the movie "Fury," the Brad Pitt Hollywood vehicle set in World War II Germany, to get a sense.
It's an alarmingly apt comparison.
Let's make the stakes clear. As I constantly remind friends and colleagues, this is not a war in some distant land. Ukraine is in Europe and surrounded by NATO allies.
As they met in Washington Monday, both President Obama and German Chancellor Merkel described the war as a threat not just to Ukraine but to Europe as a whole.
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