Mediaboss Marketing

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden addresses members of the Ukrainian parliament during a meeting Tuesday, April 22, 21014 in Kiev. Biden's visit to Ukraine comes at a crucial time, days after an international agreement was reached aimed at quelling violence in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Sergei Supinsky, Pool)The Associated Press

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, left, shakes hands with acting Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov in Kiev, Ukraine, Tuesday, April. 22, 2014. Vice President Joe Biden told Ukrainian political leaders Tuesday that the United States stands with them against "humiliating threats" and encouraged them to root out corruption as they rebuild their government. In the most high-level visit of a U.S. official since crisis erupted in Ukraine, Biden told leaders from various political parties that he brings a message of support from President Barack Obama as they face a historic opportunity to usher in reforms. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov, Pool)The Associated Press

KIEV, Ukraine Ukraine's acting president ordered security forces to resume "anti-terror" operations in the country's east Tuesday after the bodies of two people allegedly abducted by pro-Russia insurgents were found and a military aircraft was reported to be hit by gunfire.

The twin developments which came just hours after U.S. Vice President Joe Biden left Kiev, the Ukrainian capital raised fears that last week's international agreement on easing Ukraine's crisis was failing.

The agreement calls for all sides to refrain from violence and for demonstrators to vacate public buildings. It does not specifically prohibit security operations, but Ukraine suspended its so-called "anti-terrorist operation" after the accord.

Pro-Russia insurgents who have seized police stations and other public buildings in eastern Ukraine are defying the call to vacate, saying they were not party to the agreement by Ukraine, Russia, the United States and the European Union.

In a statement, acting President Oleksandr Turchynov said the two bodies found Tuesday in Slovyansk bore signs of torture. One of them was a member of the city council and a member of Turchynov's party, he said.

Terrorists "are beginning to torture and kill Ukrainian patriots. They are impudently rejecting the calls of not only our country but of all the world's society when they demonstratively mock the decisions taken in Geneva," he said.

"These crimes are being done with the full support and connivance of Russia," Turchynov added.

The acting government, which took over after President Viktor Yanukovych fled to Russia in February, says Russia is behind the outbreak of unrest in eastern Ukraine with the possible aim of provoking violence that could be used as a pretext to invade. Last month, Russia annexed Crimea several weeks after seizing control of the peninsula.

Continued here:
Ukraine's leader orders new 'anti-terror' operation; military plane reported hit by gunfire

Ukraine's interim government says it has proof that Russian military and intelligence forces are fomenting the unrest that has destabilized the eastern part of that country since Russia's annexation of Crimea last month.

The New York Times reports that photos and descriptions circulated by the Kiev government show that some of the so-called "green men" -- gunmen who have seized government buildings and demanded Crimea-style referenda on becoming part of Russia -- have been identified in other photos as being among Russian troops.

The Times also reports that one of the men in the photos has been identified as Igor Ivanovich Strelkov, a veteran Russian military and intelligence operative. Strelkov is believed to have served Russia undercover both in Crimea and in the city of Slovyansk, one of the centers of the most recent unrest.

Last week, Ukrainian authorities released a wanted poster for Mr. Strelkov, accompanied by a pencil sketch of his gaunt face. "What, they can't even get a proper photo of him?" one of the men behind the sandbagged entrance to the city council of Slovyansk over the weekend, who referred to himself simply as Daisy, told a Wall Street Journal reporter. When asked about the role of Russian intelligence, the man declined to answer and told a reporter to leave immediately.

The Obama administration has endorsed the claims of the Ukrainians, saying that Russia could face new economic sanctions if government buildings currently occupied by demonstrators are not vacated under the terms of an agreement reached Thursday among Russian, Ukrainian, American and European diplomats. Vice President Joe Biden is scheduled to arrive in Ukraine Monday morning to meet with Ukraine's interim prime minister and president, as well as other officials.

Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have repeatedly denied that Russian forces are involved in the unrest, which began after the February deposition of pro-Russian Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. That message is backed up by the separatists themselves, who claim that their movement is entirely homegrown and in response to what they consider an illegal coup that resulted in Yanukovych's downfall.

The unit accused of operating in eastern Ukraine is known as the GRU, the Russian acronym for the Main Intelligence Department of the Russian General Staff. It is an elite Russian military intelligence unit that has participated in virtually every military conflict in which Moscow has been embroiled in recent decades, including wars in Afghanistan, Chechnya and Georgia.

In eastern Ukraine, Ukraine's State Security Service alleges the Russian operatives' task is to coordinate pro-Russian militias, help them identify targets and carry out seizures of key installations, such as police and security headquarters, government offices and communications infrastructure.

Ukrainian security officials say Russian intelligence has spent years building up a network of sleeper agents in eastern Ukraine. One of them, they say, is Igor Bezler, a 49-year-old Crimean native who they say served in the GRU until 2002, when he moved to the eastern city of Horlivka. There, he worked as a security guard and as head of a funeral company.

Then, last week, after a pro-Russian mob took over the town's police station, a video posted on a local news organization's website showed him parading in fatigues in front of a couple dozen local police, identifying himself as a lieutenant colonel in the Russian army and telling them they had a new chief. Ukrainian officials allege he was tasked earlier this month with seizing state-security buildings in Donetsk region, then taking the police station in Horlivka.

Original post:
Ukraine claims Russian military behind unrest- Biden in Ukraine as tensions rise- US: Pictures indicate Russian troops ...

Military stay in Ukraine #39;s East despite #39;inactive #39; operation
Following the agreements reached in Geneva between Ukraine, Russia, the EU and the US, Kiev says the active phase of its military operation in the east of th...

By: RT

View post:
Military stay in Ukraine's East despite 'inactive' operation - Video

Quadriga: Ukraine Escalation - Right or Might? | Quadriga
It seems Crimea is not enough. Armed groups are now trying to annex parts of eastern Ukraine to Russia. NATO and the government in Kiev are in no doubt that ...

By: DW (English)

See the article here:
Quadriga: Ukraine Escalation - Right or Might? | Quadriga - Video

Ukraine, Russia, United in Faith, Divided in Politics
There is a strong historical religious connection between Russia and Ukraine. But what role is religion playing in the current conflict? In the run-up to Eas...

By: VOAvideo

Read this article:
Ukraine, Russia, United in Faith, Divided in Politics - Video