Ukraine War - Militias attack Donetsk Airport - Ukraine News
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Ukraine War - Militias attack Donetsk Airport - Ukraine News - Video
Pro-Russians in east Ukraine tell Putin that Novorossiya leaders are stealing aid, faking elections
Pro-Russia fighters address Putin and tell him that the leadership of Russia #39;s proxy state "Luhansk People #39;s Republic" is made up of corrupt "kikes" who are worse than "fascist" Ukraine. They...
By: Ukraine Reporter
Ukraine may have to leave the fate of Crimea to future generations, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said, a day after the president said the country cant afford to take back its rebel-held areas by force.
The government in Kiev and its allies have condemned the March annexation of the Black Sea peninsula by Russian President Vladimir Putins government. The U.S. and the European Union have imposed economic sanctions on Russian companies, individuals and industries that have compounded an almost 50 percent drop in oil prices to tip Russias economy toward recession.
Theres no quick and simple answer to how to bring Crimea back to Ukraine, Yatsenyuk said today at a year-end news conference in Kiev. Crimea was, is, and always will be Ukrainian territory. If God helps us while we are alive, we will be able to reinstate control over Crimea. If not, our children or grandchildren will do this.
Ukrainian officials are focusing on diplomacy to secure an enduring truce in what has grown into the worst dispute between Russia and its Cold War foes since the fall of the Iron Curtain. The government has paused a military offensive started in April aimed at driving the pro-Russian separatists from the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, where fighting has killed more than 4,700 people, according to UN estimates.
The Black Sea peninsula, where Russia maintains a naval base, was Russian territory until 1954 when Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev transferred it to Ukraine, a move Putin called a mistake that needed to be rectified. Putin has called Crimea an inalienable part of Russia and this month likened it to his countrys Jerusalem.
He took over Crimea following the ouster of former pro-Russian Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who fled the country in February after more than 100 people died in clashes with police during anti-government protests in Kiev. After the annexation, armed separatists occupied government buildings in other parts of Ukraine and clashed with government forces in fighting that evolved into the current conflict.
President Petro Poroshenko said yesterday that Ukraine doesnt have the resources to mount an offensive against the separatist and doing so would risk an all-out confrontation with Russia, which the government says is supplying the rebels with weapons, arms and fighters. While Putin has declared respect for the militants aim of leaving Ukraine and joining Russia, hes denied involvement.
Theres no military solution in Donbas, Poroshenko said, referring to the area where pro-Russian rebels are pitted against government troops. If someone wants to have a go -- take up weapons and face the bullets of the Russian military machine, the strongest on the continent -- lets see how that ends.
Poroshenko said hell meet Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande in the Kazakh capital Astana on Jan. 15. Talks between separatists and representatives of Ukraines military will also continue on Dec. 31 in Luhansk, a news website run by the self-proclaimed Donetsk Peoples Republic reported yesterday.
The conflict has roiled markets in Ukraine and Russia. Ukraines hryvnia was little changed at 15.82 against the dollar at 4:43 p.m. in Kiev. The yield on Ukraines 2017 dollar bond jumped 3.8 percentage points to 33.832 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The ruble gained 3.4 percent to 56.35 against the dollar. Its down 42 percent this year, becoming the worlds second-worst performing currency after the hryvnia.
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Ukraine May Leave Crimeas Fate to Next Generation, Premier Says
KIEV, Ukraine, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a law Monday that abolishes the country's neutral, non-aligned status, and commented on the possibility of future NATO membership.
"I think it was a strategic and fundamental mistake in 2010, when Ukraine acquired the non-aligned status," Poroshenko said at the signing. The status, adopted under pressure from Russia, kept the country from entering military alliances. "Having done that, Ukraine has destroyed its Armed Forces," the president noted.
Ukraine's Parliament voted Dec. 23 overwhelmingly in support of abolishing the non-aligned status. Prior to the vote, Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said the change "will lead to integration in the European and the Euro-Atlantic space" and away from Russian influence.
When asked when Ukraine planned to hold a referendum on NATO membership, Poroshenko said that Ukraine must first comply with NATO and European Union criteria.
"When Ukraine will meet these criteria," which the president estimated would be in the next five to six years, he said "the people of Ukraine will decide on NATO membership."
Ukraine's latest move away from Russian influence comes as the Russian economy shows further signs of a pending recession.
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Photos: The Year in Review
Notable deaths of 2014
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Ukraine president signs law abolishing neutral, non-aligned status
Kiev (AFP) - Ukraine's central bank chief on Tuesday said the strife-torn country's economy contracted by 7.5 percent and inflation soared in a year more painful than any since World War II.
Valeria Gontareva added however that the pro-Western leaders who rose to power in Kiev after the February ouster of a Moscow-backed president were optimistic about the chances of a gradual improvement next year and actual growth in 2016.
Gontareva's comments came a day after parliament approved an austerity budget that should help unlock emergency assistance from the International Monetary Fund and other global lenders within the next few months.
The central bank head -- criticised in the media for following IMF advice and allowing the hryvnia currency to depreciate by about 50 percent -- said the annual inflation rate had reached 21 percent by the end of November.
"No matter how sad it may sound, we have to say things as they are: our GDP fell by 7.5 percent and the currency's devaluation reached 50 percent," Gontareva said.
The government had earlier projected that the economy would shrink by up to five additional percentage points in 2015.
Gontareva confirmed the figure but also cautioned that inflation next year may reach 18 percent -- above the 13-percent target because of the government's decision to revoke subsidies and raise utility tariffs.
"Our country has not lived through such a difficult year since at least World War II," Gontareva told reporters.
"I think that what we have experienced this year will never happen again. Without question, we are looking forward to 2015 with optimism."
- Pinning hopes on IMF -
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Ukraine economy shrank 7.5% in 'worst year since WWII'