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Fighting Continues As Ukrainian President Announces Military Shakeup

July 03, 2014
by RFE/RL

Ukrainian government forces are pressing their offensive against pro-Russian separatists in the east, as the country's president announced a military shakeup.

Ukraine's border service said nine guards were wounded on July 3 when rebels shelled the Dolzhanskyy border post with Russia, amid continued fighting following the expiration of a 10-day cease-fire late on June 30.

The border post is a strategic crossing that Kyiv won back days earlier in a step hailed as the 'first victory' since the renewal of its military offensive.

Elsewhere, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said in a statement that its forces had destroyed five trucks carrying 'terrorists.'

The statement said rebels had launched 16 attacks on government checkpoints during the past 24 hours.

No casualty figures were available.

In Berlin, the foreign ministers of Ukraine, Russia, Germany, and France agreed on July 2 to work on another truce, with talks starting July 5 at the latest.

Any future cease-fire would be monitored by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

The four ministers agreed that the violence should cease on all sides, hostages be released, and Ukraine border points with Russia be brought back under government control.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier described the Berlin meeting as "constructive," adding that all participants "realize what responsibility we bear."

In a conference call on July 3, French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to help organize a meeting before July 5 in order to define the conditions for a cease-fire.

'To this end, they asked President Putin to intervene with the separatists in order to bring them into negotiations and to find an accord with the Ukrainian authorities,' a statement from the French presidency said.

In a statement, the Kremlin said Putin had expressed his 'deep concern' over the growing number of civilian casualties and refugees from eastern Ukraine who are now in Russia.

Meanwhile, President Petro Poroshenko announced on July 3 the appointments of Colonel General Valeriy Heletey as Ukraine's new defense minister and Lieutenant General Viktor Muzhenko as head of the joint chiefs of staff.

Heletey is a former policeman who headed the state's VIP bodyguard service, while Muzhenko is a career soldier trained in the Soviet Union.

Poroshenko also appointed Yuriy Kosyuk, an agriculture magnate and one of Ukraine's richest men, to oversee defense issues in the presidential administration.

In announcing the appointments, Poroshenko promised to 'purge the army of thieves and grafters.'

He has pledged to stamp out corruption within the country's armed forces, who are battling to assert control over pro-Russian separatists in the country's industrial east.

The appointments were approved by lawmakers on July 3.

With reporting by dpa, AFP, AP, and Reuters

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/fighting-continues- as-ukrainian-president-announces-/25444257.html

Copyright (c) 2014. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.