Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Further Reading

• Ukraine’s Poroshenko: Violent Kyiv Protest ‘Stab in the Back’ VOA 31 Aug 2015 -- Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko has described as a "stab in the back" a violent nationalist demonstration against legislation that grants more autonomy to pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
• Ukrainian National Guardsman Killed At Protest Outside Parliament RFE/RL 31 Aug 2015 -- Ukrainian nationalists and security forces clashed outside the country's parliament building in Kyiv, injuring scores.
• Ukraine Cancels Upcoming Local Polls Near Combat Zone VOA 30 Aug 2015 -- Election officials in Ukraine have canceled upcoming local polls in parts of two rebel-controlled regions near the Russian border.
• UN relief wing cites major access challenges in eastern Ukraine, where millions need supplies ahead of winter UN News 30 Aug 2015 -- The United Nations humanitarian wing has reported that aid organizations are facing major challenges in getting access to the most vulnerable of an estimated 5 million people affected by the conflict.
• France: Hollande, Merkel, Putin Back Truce Plan For Eastern Ukraine RFE/RL 29 Aug 2015 -- The French Presidency says France, Germany, and Russia back plans for a complete cease-fire in eastern Ukraine from next week./li>
• White House Criticizes Ukraine Separatist Plans For Local Elections RFE/RL 29 Aug 2015 -- U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is criticizing pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine for threatening to take more territory and hold their own elections.
• Ukraine, Pro-Russia Rebels Exchange Prisoners VOA 27 Aug 2015 -- Ukraine's military and Russia-backed rebels carried out a prisoner exchange Thursday in eastern Ukraine, a result of an agreement this week by the two sides to halt the ongoing violence by September 1.
• Kyiv Accuses Separatists of Multiple Cease-fire Violations VOA 27 Aug 2015 -- Ukraine accused Russia-backed rebels of multiple cease-fire violations Thursday, a day after representatives of the two sides agreed to try to halt the ongoing violence by September 1.
• Organization Launched To Support Russian 'Volunteers' In Ukraine Conflict RFE/RL 27 Aug 2015 -- A former leader of separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine has announced the launch of a support network for Russian volunteers who fought in the conflict and the families of those killed.
• Final MH17 Crash Report Due In October RFE/RL 27 Aug 2015 -- The Dutch Safety Board has announced that the final report into the downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine last year will be published on October 13.
• Report With Tally Of 'Russian War Casualties' Causes Stir RFE/RL 26 Aug 2015 -- A Russian-language website has caused a stir with a report asserting that more than 2,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
• Poroshenko: Ukraine Independence Imperiled VOA 24 Aug 2015 -- As thousands of troops marched Monday in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, to mark the 24th anniversary of the country's independence.
• Ukraine Poll Shows Support For Independence Rose In Year Of Conflict RFE/RL 24 Aug 2015 -- A new opinion poll from Ukraine shows that after 16 months of war against Russian-backed separatists in the country's east, more Ukrainians now support independence than at any time in the last 15 years.
• Ukrainian Independence, Then And Now RFE/RL 24 Aug 2015 -- Twenty-four years ago, Ukraine won its de jure independence.
• Poroshenko Urges Special Status for Separatist East Ukraine VOA 23 Aug 2015 -- Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called upon his coalition allies in the country to support plans for a constitutional change that he hopes would end the separatist conflict raging in the east.
• Statement by acting NATO spokesperson on the situation in eastern Ukraine NATO 19 Aug 2015
• Ukraine, Russia Trade Blame For Attacks RFE/RL 19 Aug 2015 -- Russia and the separatists are launching these attacks, just as they escalated the conflict last August," U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said on August 17.
• Ukrainian 'Cyborg': 'They Tried To Break Me, But It Didn't Work' RFE/RL 19 Aug 2015 -- Ukrainian paratrooper Oleksandr Mashonkin suffers from constant headaches and stabbing pains throughout his ribcage.
• Kiev Gathers Huge 65,000-Strong Army on Frontline Near Donetsk Sputnik 19 Aug 2015 -- The situation in eastern Ukraine's Donbass region remains extremely tense amid reports about Kiev's mass troop deployments in the area.
• Ukraine Fighting Eases as Putin Blames Kyiv for Hostilities VOA 18 Aug 2015 -- Fighting in eastern Ukraine between government troops and Russia-backed rebels eased Tuesday.
• Putin Warns Crimean Tatars Not To Seek Special Status RFE/RL 18 Aug 2015 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned minority ethnic Tatars that they should not strive for special status on the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine last year.
• Kyiv, Moscow Trade Blame for Escalation in E. Ukraine VOA 17 Aug 2015 -- Kyiv and Moscow are accusing each other of fueling tensions, as fighting in eastern Ukraine continues to escalate.
• Intense Artillery Duel Rocks Ukraine's Coastal City Of Mariupol RFE/RL 17 Aug 2015 -- Reports from eastern Ukraine say seven people were killed overnight in fighting along the front lines between government forces and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
• Alarmed by escalation of conflict in Ukraine, Ban calls on parties to resume dialogue UN News 17 Aug 2015 -- Seriously alarmed by the recent escalation of violence in eastern Ukraine, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called all parties to end hostilities and resume talks.
• Civilians Killed In Eastern Ukraine Following Surge In Shelling RFE/RL 15 Aug 2015 -- Three civilians have been killed in eastern Ukraine during what government forces said was record-high shelling since the start of a fragile cease-fire in February.
• Kiev used phosphorous bombs in east: Russian investigation Press TV 15 Aug 2015 -- Russia’s main federal investigating authority says there is evidence demonstrating that the Ukrainian armed forces have used modern analogues of phosphorous bombs against civilians in Ukraine’s volatile eastern provinces.
• Russia, Germany concerned over truce violations in Ukraine Press TV 14 Aug 2015 -- Russia and Germany have voiced concern about a recent escalation of violence in eastern Ukraine, as top diplomats from the two countries renew calls for an end to the violations of a truce agreement in the area.
• Ukraine Clashes Prompt Stern Call From Kerry to Lavrov VOA 13 Aug 2015 -- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has expressed “grave concern” to his Russian counterpart about a "sharp rise" in separatist attacks in eastern Ukraine.
• Ukraine Posts Video Of Captured ‘Russian Soldier’ Asking For Putin’s Help RFE/RL 13 Aug 2015 -- Ukraine’s state security agency has released a new video purporting to show a Russian army officer who was detained last month in eastern Ukraine appealing to President Vladimir Putin to secure his release.
• Ukraine: UN agency begins cash assistance programme to meet food needs in crisis-torn eastern areas UN News 13 Aug 2015 -- The United Nations World Food Programme has begun cash distributions to some 60,000 people in Government-controlled areas of the Lugansk and Donetsk region.
• Truce Faltering as E. Ukraine Fighting Spikes VOA 11 Aug 2015 -- Intense clashes this week between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russia rebels are jeopardizing a fragile peace agreement and renewing concerns of a possible summer offensive.
• MH17 Probe Yields Possible Parts of Russian Missile VOA 11 Aug 2015 -- Investigators probing last year's downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine have found fragments that may have come from a Russian surface-to-air missile.
• Evidence Of Possible Russian Missiles In MH17 Tragedy RFE/RL 11 Aug 2015 -- Dutch prosecutors say they have found possible parts of a Russian-made BUK missile system at the site in eastern Ukraine where Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was brought down in 2014, killing all 298 people on board.
• MH17 Crash Team Cannot Confirm Origin of Recovered Parts Yet Sputnik 11 Aug 2015 -- It is too early to hypothesize about the country of origin of possible missile system parts amid the ongoing probe into last year’s downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17.
• Defence Secretary announces further training for Ukraine UK MOD 11 Aug 2015 -- The Defence Secretary has announced further enhancements of the UK training programme for Ukrainian armed forces while visiting the country.
• Ukraine threatens to use all means to hit pro-Russia forces Press TV 11 Aug 2015 -- Ukraine's military has threatened to use its "entire arsenal" against pro-Russia forces in the restive east.
• Kyiv, Separatists Report Armored Clash Despite Cease-Fire RFE/RL 10 Aug 2015 -- One Ukrainian soldier was killed and nine injured in the latest clashes between Ukrainian armed forces and Russia-backed separatists in the Donetsk region.
• Fighting in Eastern Ukraine Intensifies VOA 10 Aug 2015 -- Fighting between government forces and separatists intensified in eastern Ukraine.
• Ukraine claims repelled tank assault by pro-Russians Press TV 10 Aug 2015 -- The Ukrainian government says its forces have repelled a recent tank assault by pro-Russia fighters in troubled eastern Ukraine.
• OSCE Monitoring Mission Vehicles Destroyed In Donetsk RFE/RL 09 Aug 2015 -- Four armored vehicles belonging to the Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) were destroyed during the night in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk.
• OSCE Vehicles Torched in Eastern Ukraine VOA 09 Aug 2015 -- Four vehicles belonging to the OSCE monitoring mission to Ukraine were set on fire outside their hotel overnight in the rebel-controlled Donetsk, the observers said.
• Ukraine Needs $4.6Bln Annually to Maintain Contract Army Sputnik 04 Aug 2015 -- Ukrainian defense minister's aide Yuriy Biriukov said that more than $4.6 billion] is required to have a contract army.
• Crimean Tatar Congress Calls For 'Immediate' End To Russian Annexation RFE/RL 03 Aug 2015 -- A world congress of Crimean Tatars has called for 'all necessary measures' to be taken to return Crimea to Ukraine following Russia's takeover and annexation of the peninsula last year.
• Ex-PM Azarov, In Moscow, Proclaims 'Salvation Committee' For Ukraine RFE/RL 03 Aug 2015 -- Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has announced the formation of a 'Ukraine Salvation Committee,' calling for 'total regime change' through early elections and vowing to 'restore order in our home.'
• East Ukraine's Donetsk Suspects Kiev of Plotting Violence in Mariupol Sputnik 02 Aug 2015 -- The active movement of the Ukrainian armed forces' heavy weaponry would allow Kiev to falsely accuse Donbass militias of carrying out artillery attacks, according to the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic defense spokesman.
• Two Ukrainian soldiers killed in east Press TV 01 Aug 2015 -- Fighting between Ukrainian soldiers and pro-Russia forces has left two soldiers dead in the war-ravaged eastern part of Ukraine.
• IMF Approves $1.7 Billion Loan To Ukraine After 'Strong Start' On Reforms RFE/RL 01 Aug 2015 -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a second installment of loans for Ukraine despite uncertainties raised by the country's heavy debts and conflict with Russian-backed separatist forces.
• Ukraine's Rivne Region Might Start Uprising Against Kiev Sputnik 01 Aug 2015 -- Ukraine's Rivne Region is on the brink of war with the government in Kiev, said Yevhen Deidei, a Ukrainian soldier who fought in Donbass and is also a member of parliament in the Verkhovna Rada, according to TV Channel Zvezda.