New clashes in eastern Ukraine threaten cease-fire
At least seven soldiers were killed amid shelling overnight near rebel-held Donetsk. The flare-up comes as foreign ministers from Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany meet in Berlin to address the violence.
At least seven soldiers were killed amid shelling overnight near rebel-held Donetsk. The flare-up comes as foreign ministers from Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany meet in Berlin to address the violence.
At least seven soldiers were killed in fighting overnight between government troops and pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine, the worst death toll since February's fragile cease-fire was signed. The violence comes amid renewed diplomatic efforts to bring an end to the year-long conflict.
Clashes between government troops and pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine had largely subsided following the cease-fire deal agreed to in the Belarusian capital of Minsk on Feb. 12. But in recent days observers have reported a flare-up in fighting on the outskirts of the rebel stronghold of Donetsk. As The Associated Press reports:
The conflict in eastern Ukraine has claimed at least 6,000 lives since last April 鈥� a month after Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula 鈥� and left large parts of the country鈥檚 once industrial heartland in ruins.
The Ukrainian and Russian foreign ministers on Monday 鈥� meeting with their French and German counterparts in Berlin 鈥� called for the withdrawal of tanks and other heavy weapons by all sides. They also agreed to more rigorous monitoring by international observers to strengthen the shaky cease-fire that has held in eastern Ukraine since February, reports The New York Times.
After about four hours of talks, the ministers released a statement saying the situation in Ukraine 鈥渞emains tense because of numerous cease-fire violations.鈥� The statement voices 鈥済rave concern鈥� about the recent uptick in fighting, but offers no serious diplomatic breakthroughs towards establishing a more lasting peace.
鈥淲e call on all sides to stop fighting and demonstrate their commitment to fully implementing the cease-fire and conclude the withdrawal of heavy weapons definitely,鈥� it said. 鈥淲e furthermore call for the withdrawal of mortars and heavy weapons below 100 millimeters, as well as all types of tanks.鈥�
The meeting on Monday was the fifth time the four foreign ministers have met in the German capital since last summer, reports the Wall Street Journal. While primarily concerned with heading off the latest wave of violence, the diplomats also pushed to establish four working groups to 鈥渟pur a more-formalized dialogue among separatist representatives, the Kiev government, and international officials on difficult issues such as security and humanitarian aid.鈥�
But as the Journal reports, the obstacles towards reaching a lasting peace remain substantial:
Despite such challenges, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier insists that there is no alternative but to abide by the Minsk agreement.
"Everyone knows that we have a long path ahead of us," he told reporters after the meeting, according to AP. "But we're going to do everything we can to continue this process.鈥�