Amid efforts to de-escalate the
Ukraine-Russia standoff, the Russian-backed separatists are
cranking tensions up to 11.
Aleksandr Zakharchenko, an
electrical-engineer-turned-prime-minister of the self-described
“people’s republic” of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, in a video
posted on Friday
promised that soon “1,200 personnel who had trained
for four months on the territory of the Russian
Federation” will be joining the war “at the most crucial moment.”
He also claimed that 30 tanks and 120 other military vehicles would
be coming. The Kremlin today countered,
stating that Zakharchenko’s claims are untrue.
Also happening today, the separatists are denying involvement in
a deadly missile attack on a group of refugees fleeing the
warzone.
“Many people have been killed, including women and children,”
claims
Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko. He hasn’t given an
exact number on deaths, but say there were “dozens.”
“A rebel news outlet had reported earlier that separatists and
Ukrainian government forces were exchanging heavy artillery fire on
August 18 in the area where the buses had been traveling,” notes
Radio Free Europe.
The Russian government wants to send a convoy of
280 (mostly empty) “humanitarian aid” trucks into the cities of
Donetsk and Luhansk, which the Ukrainian military has surrounded.
Ukraine is hesitant to let the convoy in, since a column of 23
military vehicles associated with it allegedly illegally crossed
the border and prompted some ground fighting between the two
nations. Nevertheless, Ukraine today
agreed to let the Red Cross handle the aid situation and
possibly allow the trucks to enter the country so long as no
military vehicles are present.
Over the weekend, Vice President Joe Biden affirmed his belief
that Russia’s actions are
“inconsistent” with its rhetoric about trying to diffuse the
situation. The White House also
announced that President Obama will head to Estonia next month
to reaffirm the U.S.’s support for Eastern European countries that
are not Ukraine.
Russia, which is retaliating against American and European Union
sanctions with sanctions of its own, might soon add
Jack Daniel’s whiskey and
foreign cars from its list of banned import items.
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