It’s now been well over a day since the Ukrainian government and eastern Ukrainian rebels agreed to a Russian-brokered ceasefire, and while both sides are claiming violations by the other, the ceasefire seems to be holding.
The rebels noted some rocket fire against positions on the outskirts of the rebel capital of Donetsk, which the government chalked up to a “provocation.” The government claimed some rebel artillery fire later in the day near Mariupol.
Neither incident seems to have done serious harm, though both sides seem to be trying to test the limits of the ceasefire agreement, while simultaneously portraying the other side as the primary violator.
The truce, assuming it continues to hold, should give way to more discussions on the final settlement terms, which are expected to include increased autonomy for the east and a retraction of the government’s ban on the use of Russian language in official business. Russian is the primary language in the east, and the move to ban it was what kicked off major unrest in the region, after the formerly eastern-dominated government was overthrown earlier this year by western protesters.
The main stream media is blocking all the news about the cease fire and the rebel offensive which decimated the Ukraine army. Also the apparent capture or surrounding of Mariupol by the rebels has not been mentioned in any main stream news reports. The only news coming out of Ukraine are minor stories about the NATO fast response force. Since the rout of Ukrainian forces last week and the sudden agreement to a cease fire the whole story has mysteriously disappeared.
Just like with the Malaysian airliner shoot down. Malaysian airliner? What Malaysian airliner?
The ceasefire is the victory for the Ukrainian people, but also a nail in the eys of a militarism regime NATO and its Neo liberal fascist chief, the Danish Anders Rattmussen.
NATO is the US/English/EU militarism regimes, is a tool used by both USG and others to occupy nations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Eastern Europe and since Bill Clinton, Madeline Albright deceitful politics in Balkan and Yugoslavia been expending its militarism idea everywhere, Barack Hussein Obama, David Cameron and other EU governments are involved in this expansion.