Efforts to get a new round of peace talks opened to salvage the Ukraine ceasefire were abruptly cancelled today when a new round of shelling against the rebel capital of Donetsk left 12 civilians dead.
As usual, the military blamed the rebels for the shelling, even though it was carried out against rebel-held territory. Artillery fire was also reported across several different areas along the front between the two forces.
The Ukrainian military also reported rocket fire against their positions in the town of Debaltseve, which seems to be the primary contested territory in Donetsk Oblast, leaving five soldiers killed and 23 wounded.
A ceasefire had held for months, but collapsed earlier this month when rebels took the Donetsk Airport, leading to a full-scale military offensive. So far, the military does not seem to be retaking any of the territory with much success.
Its a dirty war and people will suffer.
“F… the UN, we have spent $50 million to get a pro-Western government in Ukraine, Yats is our man…”
Above is super-secret conversation between Ms. Newman and our Ambassador to Ukraine, secretly leaked to the corporate media, no doubt by paid actor politicians working for the corporate rich.
My thought is, Empire USA is trying to terrorize Russia into being a gutless wonder that does nothing while our Empire establishes worldwide dominance and a power combine most absolute.
The Worldwide Network of US Military Bases The Global Deployment of US Military Personnel By Jules Dufour, December 24, 2013
The US Military has bases in 63 countries. Brand new military bases have been built since September 11, 2001 in seven countries. In total, there are 255,065 US military personnel deployed Worldwide. Adding to the bases inside U.S. territory, the total land area occupied by US military bases domestically within the US and internationally is of the order of 2,202,735 hectares, which makes the Pentagon one of the largest landowners worldwide (Gelman, J., 2007).
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-worldwide-networ…
Jason, the militias held Donetsk airport for months. They were attacked and overrun by the Ukrainian military ostensibly in retaliation for an attack on a bus in Volnovakha, on Jan 13. which Kiev blames on the militants. The militias regained control and are pushing out of the enclaves.
The point is not to retake territory but to wear down the mercenaries. Those poeple cost a fortune. They are well paid, well equipped and have to be supplied by road convoy from Russia. They are probably being largely funded privately by the oligarch(s) who employ them. That's making a big hole in somebody's pocket. Thus, the Ukrainians have every interest in forcing them to fire off ammunition and use up their oil supplies. Driving them out altogether can wait until spring or even summer, when US aid and training has had more time to take effect and when the Russian economy has been further weakened. Putin is still stuck in the same corner he painted himself into a long time ago. He can't stay wher he is. What he's got now is worse than useless. He can't advance without risking a fullscale war with NATO (if he wants land access to Crimea, he logically wants it also to Kaliningrad, which means annexing the Baltic Republics) and his use of contractors suggests that he doesn't believe that his rickety conscript army will fight. If he backs down, his elderly supporters will eat him alive. Essentially, the Ukrainians have Putin where they want him and can afford to play cat and mouse.
The. Stupid. It. HURTS.
Jan 30, 2015 On the Front Lines with the Ukrainian Army: Russian Roulette
Since mid-January, fighting between the Ukrainian military and Russian-backed rebels in Eastern Ukraine has escalated. Dozens of civilians have died due to the heavy shelling.
http://youtu.be/d0-PrLzf5ps