Ukraine President Vows to Defend Key Port
by VOA News September 08, 2014
President Petro Poroshenko visited the south-eastern Ukrainian port of Mariupol Monday in a show of solidarity with its embattled citizens, some of whom have been digging trenches around the city of 500,000 to protect it from pro-Russia rebels.
Speaking at one of Mariupol's metallurgical plants, Poroshenko vowed to defend the city from separatist forces who advanced towards it last week before a fragile cease-fire was announced.
"This is our Ukrainian land and we will not surrender it to anybody,'' he wrote on his Twitter account.
Upon arriving in the city, which serves as a key hub for Ukraine's steel exports, Poroshenko promised victory over rebel forces.
"I have ordered [the military] to secure the defense of Mariupol with... multiple rocket-launchers, tanks... and air cover.... The enemy will suffer a crushing defeat,'' he said.
Observers say rebel advances toward Mariupol could be part of push to establish a land corridor connecting Russian mainland with Ukraine's Crimea, which Moscow annexed in March.
Poroshenko also announced that under last week's truce agreement with separatist rebels, Ukraine has so far managed to secure the release of about 1,200 prisoners-of-war.
Meanwhile the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which is monitoring the current cease-fire in Ukraine, has described it as "shaky" and only as a half-measure towards settling the conflict.
OSCE chair, Swiss President Didier Burkhalter, said that the next few days would be crucial but added that a long-term solution is needed. "The different actors must really push for a [political] breakthrough," said he.
EU delays new sanctions
The European Union has moved to delay a new round of sanctions against Russia over its role in Ukraine saying some governments want to discuss how the punitive measures should be suspended if the current cease-fire in Ukraine holds.
While the discussions appear largely procedural, some diplomats see the move as a maneuver to block the passage of new sanctions to avoid retaliatory measures from Russia.
Ambassadors of 28 EU countries in principle agreed to the latest round of sanctions last Friday.
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev threatened possible restrictions on Russia's airspace if new sanctions are imposed. Medvedev said some Western airlines could face bankruptcy if not allowed to fly over Russia. The prime minister's remarks were published Monday in the Russian daily Vedomosti.
Ukraine and NATO accuse Moscow of providing direct help to separatists in Ukraine. Russia denies them or sending its own troops into Ukraine, despite evidence to the contrary.
US-led naval exercises
Ukraine and the United States began on Monday the Sea Breeze naval exercise off the south-western Ukrainian port of Odessa.
The three-day drill, conducted with several other countries, is held as part of NATO's Partnership for Peace program.
The maneuvers, taking place against the backdrop of an ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia, will focus on testing international cooperation to ensure safe navigation in crisis-ridden areas.
The drill comes ahead of previously scheduled U.S.-led multi-national ground exercises in western Ukraine later this month.
The maneuvers, dubbed Rapid Trident, will take place September 15-26 in Yavoriv, Ukraine. About 1,300 personnel from 15 nations are scheduled to take part in the annual exercise, including some 200 U.S. soldiers.
Clashes continue
Despite the hoped-for cease-fire agreement, clashes continued between Russian-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces on the outskirts of Mariupol, as well as near Donetsk.
But they will not be allowed to capture the port, said Coast Guard Rear Admiral Mykola Zhybarev.
"I want to say that Ukrainian people, our friends and our brothers, can be sure that we will carry out our mission. We will not retreat from our land. We are serving on our land and we will protect it," Zhybarev said.
Rebels in late August fired missiles that sank one of the Coast Guard's few ships, killing two guards and wounding several others.
It was the first maritime attack since the conflict in Ukraine's east erupted in April, with armed separatists taking control of government offices.
To prevent a repeated strike, Coast Guard patrols changed tactics and became more active, said Captain Yuriy Loshak.
"We never expected them to use weapons from the shore on us. At that moment, the boat wasn't threatening to any people on the coast or terrorists. It was just carrying out its duty defending our borders in the sea," Loshak.
If the rebels were to seize Mariupol, they would gain port access to the sea and extend their coastal control.
They hope to form a corridor linking Russia to Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula Moscow annexed from Ukraine in March.
Boats are Soviet-era
But the captain acknowledges the few boats they have date back decades to the Soviet era.
"We always need more boats, but we have what we have. All our boats are on full alert. All of them are properly functioning,' Loshak said.
Zhybarev said the government in Kyiv is giving them appropriate backing.
"Right now we are receiving lots of support. We get lots of supplies, both technical and fuel and oil, as well as a rotation of guards,' Zhybarev said.
Western nations are helping out by donating equipment, such as flak jackets from Canada.
And the U.S. Coast Guard is expected to deliver several rubber speed boats at the end of September.
But despite Zhybarev 's confidence, many worry Mariupol and its strategic port could be under rebel control by the end of the month.
Daniel Schearf contributed to this report from Mariupol. Some material came from Reuters.
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