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KIEV (Reuters) - Russian aggression is to blame for violence in eastern Ukraine, where people are dying in what should be seen as a "hot war" rather than a "frozen conflict", the U.S. special envoy to the Ukraine peace talks said on a visit to Ukraine on Sunday.

Kurt Volker, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO, was appointed to his current role on July 7 to help resolve the conflict between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian separatists, which has killed more than 10,000 people since 2014.

Washington cites the conflict as a key obstacle to better relations with Russia.

On a visit to the Ukrainian-held town of Kramatorsk, 690 km (430 miles) southeast of Kiev, Volker said he would prepare a set of recommendations on how Washington can better engage with the peace process.

"This is not a frozen conflict, this is a hot war, and it's an immediate crisis that we all need to address as quickly as possible," he said.

Relations between Ukraine and Russia went into freefall after Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea and the subsequent outbreak of a pro-Russian insurgency in the eastern Donbass region.

Ukraine accuses Russian of sending in its own soldiers and military equipment, which Moscow denies.

Volker replied in the affirmative when asked whether he saw the conflict as being as the result of Russian aggression rather than internal Ukrainian factors.

"We've seen what's happened, we understand the way this conflict has begun, we understand the way it is being managed today, and that's why it's important that the United States become more engaged."

Fighting in the Donbass region has killed 12 people in a particularly bloody week, prompting Germany and France to urge immediate progress in implementing ceasefire agreements signed in Belarus in 2015 that are regularly flouted.

Leaders of France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia will speak by phone on Monday to discuss the conflict.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in early July that Russia must make the first move to bring peace to Ukraine, which President Petro Poroshenko called a powerful signal of Washington's backing.

A career diplomat, Volker is a former aide to Republican Senator John McCain, a Russia hawk who wants the United States to supply lethal weapons to Ukraine, a move the previous administration under Barack Obama shied away from.

Editing by Mark Trevelyan

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Russia to blame for 'hot war' in Ukraine: US special envoy - Reuters

BBC News

The Westerners crowdfunding for the breakup of Ukraine BBC News When the conflict started, Bentley was working as a lumberjack in Austin. Yet by December 2014 he had reached the epicentre of the conflict - armed with a rocket propelled grenade launcher and tasked with repelling Ukrainian forces at Donetsk airport ... and more »

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The Westerners crowdfunding for the breakup of Ukraine - BBC News

French President Emmanuel Macron has said he will call the leaders of Russia, Germany, and Ukraine on July 24 in a stepped-up international effort to end the fighting in eastern Ukraine.

The holding of the Normandy format talks between Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is part of a continuous effort by the four countries to resolve the conflict in which Russia-backed separatists are fighting Ukrainian troops.

More than 10,000 people have died in the conflict, which began in early 2014, with hundreds of thousands of others forced to flee their homes.

A cease-fire agreement signed in February 2015 in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, has failed to end the violence, which has recently flared up and led to at least 11 Ukrainian soldiers being killed in recent days.

The French president's announcement comes one day after the United States announced that special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker will travel to Kyiv for talks.

The State Department said Volker, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO, will meet in Ukraine with those who "have been affected by Russian aggression."

He will also visit Brussels, France, Austria, and Britain in an effort to find a "path to restoring Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Moscow denies involvement in the conflict despite compelling evidence that Russia has supported the separatists financially and militarily.

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French President To Hold Talks With Putin, Merkel, Poroshenko On Ukraine Conflict - RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty

More than a year after President Barack Obamas transportation secretary appointed a trio of safety experts to Metros governing panel, the Trump administration will replace two of them with its own appointees this week.

The incoming members whose names could not be learned Sunday will take the place of Carol Carmody and David L. Strickland, the federal governments voting representatives on Metros board of directors, according to multiple board members with knowledge of the decision.

Carmody, a former vice chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, presided over the panels safety committee. Strickland, the former administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, headed the real estate committee, but was frequently absent over the past year because of health issues.

The third person appointed by then-transportation secretary Anthony Foxx, alternate member Robert C. Lauby, is expected to remain in his role.

[Foxx, saying no more excuses for Metro, replaces 3 board members]

The new appointees were expected to be announced as soon as Monday, those with knowledge of the decision said, and to take office as early as Thursday, when the full board will meet and consider key changes to its governing structure, which has come under scrutiny in recent years as the transit system has struggled with major financial and operational problems.

Board Chairman Jack Evans confirmed that he had been informed of the upcoming appointments over the weekend, but he declined to elaborate. The U.S. Department of Transportation declined requests for additional information.

The 16-member board consists of eight voting and eight alternate directors, with two votes each from the District, Maryland, Virginia and the federal government. Passing a resolution requires a yes vote by at least one director from each jurisdiction.

There is also the possibility of a jurisdictional veto, when both voting members from a single jurisdiction including the federal government align with no votes.

Board members from the deep-blue Washington region tend to be Democrats, and in some cases they have pressed for increased funding for Metro. The Republican presidents transportation agenda, in contrast, seeks a decrease in federal spending, with a larger reliance on private investment and potential public-private partnerships.

[On Metro board, another dispute, more strong words, and a rare veto]

Board members said they were not surprised that Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao would want to make her own appointments to the Metro board, even so soon into the current directors terms. Carmody was a year into a four-year appointment, while Strickland had two years remaining in his three-year term, Carmody said.

Im sorry to leave, Carmody said in an interview Sunday. But elections have consequences, as the saying goes, and if the new secretary wants to replace these jobs, she certainly has the right to.

Carmody said she had been informed that the replacements had already been selected and would be joining the board very soon. Until then, Lauby and alternate member Anthony E. Costa will vote on behalf of the federal government.

We have turned some corners as a board and made some big decisions and tough choices, Carmody said. Its a very good board, and over the past year, I think weve really come together and worked well together through a lot of soul-searching.

Stricklands tenure was marked by repeated absences, which he attributed in an interview last week to illnesses: his wifes battle with breast cancer and a life-threatening infection he had.

Strickland said he has made an effort to be physically present, adding that his fellow board members, including Evans, had been updated on the reasons behind his absence.

I have a full appreciation for the responsibilities of the board, he said last week. I plan to serve my term as long as the president has made the decision to allow me to stay.

According to public minutes of Metro board meetings, Strickland missed six out of the 12 board meetings since his appointment. Of the six he attended, one was by phone. He did not attend a special meeting of the board last month.

He attended four out of nine meetings of the Capital Program, Planning and Real Estate Committee, which he chairs.

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Trump administration to replace Obama-era picks on Metro board - Washington Post

The New York Times blamed former Obama administration officials for releasing information that a U.S. general says allowed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi to slip away from American forces.

Gen. Tony Thomas, oversees Special Operations Command, told Fox News Catherine Herridge last week that his team was particularly close to al Baghdadi in May 2015 after killing a top ISISofficial,Abu Sayyaf, and capturing his wife, who reportedly providedintelligence to U.S. forces. The Pentagon announced Sayyafs death and the capture of his wife in a press release the same day.

The NYT published a storyon June 8, 2015 titled,A Raid on ISIS Yields a Trove of Intelligence,citing unnamed U.S. officials who shared confidential intelligence assessments with the NYT.

U.S. President Barack Obama (3rd L) and members of his delegation, including Defense Secretary Ash Carter (L) and Secretary of State John Kerry (2nd L), sit down to meet with European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker alongside the NATO Summit in Warsaw, Poland July 8, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

The NYT cited five senior American officials who provided additional details about the materials recovered from the house of Abu Sayyaf, a nom de guerre for a Tunisian militant whom American authorities have since identified as Fathi ben Awn ben Jildi Murad al-Tunisi. The officials, according to the NYT, spoke only on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential intelligence assessments.

Information obtained from the 2015 raid was a very good lead, Gen. Thomas said last week. Unfortunately, it was leaked in a prominent national newspaper about a week later and that lead went dead. Thomas did not name the NYT specifically, but Herridge noted that he appeared to be referencing the NYT story.

Following Fox News reporting on Gen. Thomass comments, President Trump said in a tweet that The Failing New York Times foiled U.S. attempt to kill the single most wanted terrorist, Al-Baghdadi. Trump accused the NYT of putting their sick agenda over National Security.

The paper ran a fact check articleon Sunday disputing Trumps claims. The NYT blamed instead the Obama officials who released the information. NYT reporter Michael Gordon noted that the information in the Times article on June 8 came from United States government officials who were aware that the details would be published.

Gordon also questioned then-Defense Secretary Ash Carters decision to publish a statement about the successful raid.

If the military wanted to exploit the information from Umm Sayyaf about Mr. Baghdadis movements, why did the Pentagon rush to announce her capture on the day of the raid? Gordon asked.

The NYT article stated as fact that the papers reporting hadnt foiled an attempt by the United States military to kill Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State.

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NYT Blames Obama Officials For Foiled Attack On ISIS Leader - The Daily Caller