The United States warned Russia against another “serious mistake” with Ukraine, demanding clarification about troop movements near the Ukrainian border. The United States is “concerned about reports of unusual Russian activity near Ukraine,” said Secretary of State Anthony Blinken
“We have no clarity about Moscow’s intentions, but we know how it works,” Blinken said at a joint press conference in Washington with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba on Wednesday, November 10. “We are worried that Russia could make a serious mistake. trying to repeat what she did in 2014, when she concentrated forces along the border, invaded the sovereign territory of Ukraine, and at the same time falsely claimed that she was provoked, ” independence and its territorial integrity “.
Kuleba, in turn, said that Ukraine wants to cooperate with the United States to strengthen its defense and “does not intend to attack anyone.”
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Russia’s military activity near the border with Ukraine is “unusual in size and scope.” “We urge Russia to make clear its intentions and adhere to the Minsk agreements,” Kirby said.
The Russian Federation refutes reports about the pulling together of troops to the border with Ukraine
Information about the activity of the Russian army near the border with Ukraine on October 30 appeared in The Washington Post. The publication said that recently videos showing the movement of Russian military equipment have been posted on social networks. On November 1, the Politico online resource published satellite images of the area near the village of Yelnya in the Smolensk region, possibly confirming information about the concentration of Russian army units in the area. Smolensk region borders on Belarus, but does not adjoin Ukraine.
Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov said on November 2 that the movement of Russian military equipment across Russia is an exclusively internal affair of the Russian Federation. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the reports of the American media about the movement of Russian troops to the border with Ukraine do not correspond to reality. On November 3, the official representative of the department, Maria Zakharova, called these publications an “informational burst” fired, including across Russia, “but in fact – in truth.”
In April 2021, as part of large-scale military exercises, Russia transferred about 120,000 soldiers and officers to the annexed Crimea and the border with Donbass, raising fears in Ukraine and the West that Moscow was preparing for a war with Ukraine. Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Andriy Melnyk said that his country will be even more energetic in seeking NATO membership. The Russian Defense Ministry explained the transfer of troops as a reaction to the “threatening actions” of the North Atlantic Alliance and the need to check the combat readiness of the Russian army.
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2014 is a pivotal year for Ukraine
A year under the sign of Euromaidan
For hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians, 2014 began on Maidan – Independence Square in Kiev. And millions of Ukrainian citizens have empathized with them for many weeks. Peaceful protests against the Viktor Yanukovych regime and for the European course of Ukraine escalated into bloody clashes between Euromaidan participants and the armed security forces.
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2014 is a pivotal year for Ukraine
Heavenly Hundred
During the clashes on the Maidan, about a hundred people were killed by sniper bullets. In the photo is Serhiy Nigoyan, who died on the Day of the Unity of Ukraine, January 22.
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2014 is a pivotal year for Ukraine
Flight of Yanukovych
At a time when blood was shed and shots were fired on the Maidan on February 18-20, the Foreign Ministers of Poland and Germany, as well as a representative of the French Foreign Ministry, were negotiating with President Yanukovych and the leaders of the Ukrainian opposition. On February 21, the parties signed an agreement to resolve the crisis. However, after that Yanukovych left Ukraine in a hurry and took refuge in Russia.
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2014 is a pivotal year for Ukraine
Annexation of Crimea
At a time when the Ukrainians were mourning the dead, detachments of “green men” appeared in Crimea – as it turned out later, these were the Russian military. In this photo by DW correspondent, taken on March 3, a Ukrainian soldier kisses his bride, while soldiers of another state are on duty at the entrance to the garrison in Perevalnoye. On March 16, a “referendum” was held in Crimea. Later, Crimea was annexed by the Russian Federation.
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2014 is a pivotal year for Ukraine
Separatism according to the Russian scenario
Despite threats from the West to impose sanctions on the Russian Federation, Russian President Putin and the self-proclaimed leaders of Crimea signed an agreement on the annexation of the peninsula to Russia. Meanwhile, in the east of Ukraine, under the pretext of oppression of the Russian-speaking population, supporters of the disconnection of Donbass from Ukraine have become more active. Aggressive pro-Russian separatists began to seize power in the region.
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2014 is a pivotal year for Ukraine
President and Commander-in-Chief
In the context of the escalation of the armed confrontation in the Donbass, funded by Moscow, a new president was elected in Ukraine on May 25. In fact, Petro Poroshenko took over this post at the height of an undeclared war. The “anti-terrorist operation” launched in April against separatists in eastern Ukraine was supposed to last a matter of hours, not months, Poroshenko said during the election campaign.
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2014 is a pivotal year for Ukraine
A hard-won association agreement
On June 27, 2014 in Brussels, the Ukrainian president signed the economic part of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union, the refusal to sign which, in fact, caused the start of the Euromaidan in November last year. The political part of this agreement, which refers to respect for democratic values and human rights, entered into force on November 1, 2014.
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2014 is a pivotal year for Ukraine
The plane crash that shook the world
The world became aware of the scale of hostilities in eastern Ukraine when on July 17 a Malaysian Boeing liner was shot down over the territory controlled by the DPR separatists, which was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. All 283 passengers and 15 crew members were killed. The OSCE specialists did not immediately manage to get to the crash site due to the fact that they were obstructed by the separatists.
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2014 is a pivotal year for Ukraine
Fleeing the War
Since the beginning of the conflict in Donbass, more than one million people have been forced to leave this territory. Such data are provided in the report of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs dated December 12, 2014. Among those who were forced to leave their homes, about 542 thousand remained in Ukraine and almost 568 thousand refugees left its borders.
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2014 is a pivotal year for Ukraine
New parliament
On October 26, 2014, early elections to the Verkhovna Rada were held. The Ukrainian parliament has never been so pro-European: the majority was formed by the “Petro Poroshenko Bloc”, “People’s Front”, “Samopomich”, “Radical Party” and “Batkivshchyna”. For the first time, the communists did not pass. However, will the parliament be effective, which, along with the Maidan activists, includes those against whom they fought?
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2014 is a pivotal year for Ukraine
Reformed government
A defining feature of the government of Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk was the presence of foreign ministers. Natalia Yaresko (left) from the United States, Alexander Kvitashvili from Georgia and Lithuanian Aivaras Abromavichius (top left) received Ukrainian citizenship in order to carry out difficult but necessary reforms together with other members of the Cabinet.
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2014 is a pivotal year for Ukraine
War on the shoulders of volunteers and volunteers
The numerous blows that fell to the lot of Ukraine in 2014 brought Ukrainians together more than ever. The civil society that emerged during the Euromaidan days has been the driving force behind important transformations. And the support of caring people, both from Ukraine itself and from abroad, helped and still helps to endure the hardships of the war not only to the soldiers, but also to the civilian population.
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2014 is a pivotal year for Ukraine
Minsk agreements
Thanks to the mediation of Germany and France, in February 2015, for the second time, peace agreements were signed in the capital of Belarus. The talks in Minsk were attended by, among others, the presidents of Russia and Ukraine. The parties agreed on an armistice from February 15 with the subsequent withdrawal of heavy weapons from the front line. However, due to the actions of the separatists, the world was again under threat.
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2014 is a pivotal year for Ukraine
Debaltsevo
Despite the new ceasefire agreement, pro-Russian separatists captured the city of Debaltseve, and the Ukrainian military had to leave the territory. According to the General Staff, more than 90 soldiers were taken prisoner during the battles in Debaltseve, more than 150 were wounded.
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2014 is a pivotal year for Ukraine
In memory of the victims
On February 20, 2015, Ukrainians honored the memory of the heroes of the “Heavenly Hundred” – Euromaidan participants who died during the bloody events in Kiev in February 2014. It was these events that led to the flight of representatives of the previous government from the country and the victory of the pro-European movement.
Author: Tatiana Bondarenko, Maxim Filimonov
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