Edging ever closer
Eastern approaches 2014-04-24
Summary:
Russia and Ukraine are moving closer towards war. On April 24th Russia announced new military exercises on its border with Ukraine and unverified video footage appears to show Russian military vehicles, including tanks, moving towards the frontier. In the east of Ukraine, government forces engaged in skirmishes with rebels but reports of major fights and five dead were either untrue or could not be confirmed.
Ukraine’s president, Oleksandr Turchynov, announced in the morning that “anti-terrorist operations” to retake occupied buildings and rebel-held towns would begin, but by evening little had been achieved. There were reports from Kiev that operations were suspended out of fear that they would trigger a full-scale Russian invasion.
Sergei Shoigu, the Russian defence minister, was quoted saying that tactical combined-arms groups had begun drills in areas bordering Ukraine because Russia “had to react”. President Turchynov responded by demanding Russia stopped its threats and blackmail and pull its armies back from the...Continue reading