Deadly Israeli airstrikes pound Gaza as Doha talks raise hopes for ceasefire    Egypt accelerates coastal protection projects amid rising climate threats    Egypt's PM calls Israeli war on Gaza 'most dangerous crisis' at BRICS summit    Egypt's FinMin urges BRICS to support debt sustainability    Egypt's gold prices up on July 6th    Venezuela vows to uphold sovereignty on 214th independence anniversary    ADIB Egypt publishes second sustainability report for 2024    Egypt, Saudi FMs discuss Gaza truce, Iran-Israel tensions    Over 215,000 projects funded under Mashrouak, exceeding EGP 33bn in May: Minister    Egypt, Norway hold informal talks ahead of global plastic treaty negotiations    Greco-Roman tombs with hieroglyphic inscriptions discovered in Aswan    UN conference cites Egypt's 'NWFE' programme as model for development finance    Global tour for Korean 'K-Comics' launches in Cairo with 'Hellbound' exhibition    China's factory output expands in June '25    Philip Morris Misr announces new price list effective 1 July    Egypt teams up with private sector to boost university rankings    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Egypt condemns deadly terrorist attack in Niger    Egypt's FM, China's Wang discuss Iran-Israel escalation    Egypt's EHA, Schneider Electric sign MoU on sustainable infrastructure    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Grand Egyptian Museum opening delayed to Q4    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's EDA joins high-level Africa-Europe medicines regulatory talks    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    Egypt's Democratic Generation Party Evaluates 84 Candidates Ahead of Parliamentary Vote    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Cabinet approves establishment of national medical tourism council to boost healthcare sector    Egypt's PM follows up on Julius Nyerere dam project in Tanzania    Egypt's FM inspects Julius Nyerere Dam project in Tanzania    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Ukraine Says Its Troops Make Breakthrough In Rebel Stronghold
Published in Amwal Al Ghad on 18 - 08 - 2014

Ukrainian forces have raised their national flag over a police station in the city of Luhansk that was for months under rebel control, Kiev said on Sunday, in what could be a breakthrough in Ukraine's efforts to crush pro-Moscow separatists.
Ukrainian officials said, however, the rebels were fighting a desperate rearguard action to hold on to Luhansk - which is their supply route into neighbouring Russia - and that the flow of weapons and fighters from Russia had accelerated.
The foreign ministers of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany held a meeting in Berlin on the crisis, with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier saying afterwards they would report back to their leaders and possibly agree on Monday or Tuesday on how to continue talks.
"The aim remains to bring about a ceasefire in Ukraine and to prevent future victims," Steinmeier said.
"It was a difficult discussion but I believe and I hope that we made progress on some points," he told reporters.
Russia denies helping the rebels and accuses Kiev, backed by the West, of triggering a humanitarian crisis through indiscriminate use of force against Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine who reject the Ukrainian government's rule.
Andriy Lysenko, a Ukrainian military spokesman, said government forces fought separatists in Luhansk on Saturday and took control of the Zhovtneviy neighbourhood police station.
"They raised the state flag over it," Lysenko said.
Separatist officials in Luhansk could not be reached by telephone, and a separatist spokeswoman in Donetsk, the other rebel strong-hold, said she had no information about Luhansk.
A photograph posted on Twitter appeared to show a Ukrainian flag on the front of the police station, but it could not be independently verified. pic.twitter.com/fhzEPyUpMp
If confirmed, the taking of the police station is significant because Luhansk has for several months been a rebel redoubt where Kiev's writ has not run. Separatists still control sections of the border linking Luhansk region to Russia.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced another military success, saying his forces had recaptured a railway junction at Yasynuvata, north of Donetsk, which he said had "strategic significance".
CRITICAL PHASE
The four-month-old conflict in Ukraine's Russian-speaking east has reached a critical phase, with Kiev and Western governments watching nervously to see if Russia will intervene in support of the increasingly besieged rebels.
The rebels responded with defiant rhetoric and fighting.
Ukrainian authorities said on Sunday the separatists shot down a Ukrainian warplane.
On Saturday, Alexander Zakharchenko, prime minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, said rebels were in the process of receiving some 150 armoured vehicles, including 30 tanks, and 1,200 fighters trained in Russia. He said they planned to launch a major counter-offensive.
"They are joining at the most crucial moment," he said in a video recorded on Friday.
The assertion that the fighters were trained in Russia is awkward for Moscow, which has repeatedly denied allegations from Kiev and its Western allies that it is providing material support to separatist fighters.
"We have repeatedly said that we don't supply any equipment there," said Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
CONVOY
The Ukraine crisis has dragged relations between Russia and the West to their lowest point since the Cold War and set off a round of trade restrictions that are hurting struggling economies in both Russia and Europe.
Adding to the tensions, Russia and Ukraine have been at loggerheads for days over a convoy of 280 Russian trucks carrying water, food and medicine.
It was despatched by Moscow bound for eastern Ukraine but has been parked up for several days in Russia near the border.
Kiev has said the convoy could be a Trojan Horse for Russia to get weapons to the rebels, a notion that Moscow has dismissed as absurd. It said the aid is desperately needed by civilians left without water and power and under constant bombardment from the Ukrainian advance.
After days of wrangling between Kiev and Moscow, there were signs of movement on Sunday.
Sixteen trucks separated from the main convoy and drove into a Russian bus depot near a border crossing into Ukraine, a Reuters cameraman said from the scene.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said that Russian and Ukrainian officials had agreed that the cargo could be inspected but had yet to agree on security arrangements.
REBEL ROUT?
Ukrainian officials have painted a picture of a separatist force that is on the run and starting to panic - though rebel fighters Reuters reporters have spoken to in Donetsk say they are determined to stand firm.
In the past week, three senior rebel leaders have been removed from their posts, pointing to mounting disagreement over how to turn the tide of the fighting back in their favour.
The fighting has taken a heavy human toll.
The United Nations said this month that an estimated 2,086 people, including civilians and combatants, had been killed in the conflict. That figure nearly doubled since the end of July, when Ukrainian forces stepped up their offensive.
In Donetsk, which like Luhansk is now ringed by Kiev's forces, artillery fire has struck apartment buildings, killing and wounding residents, according to Reuters reporters. Officials in Kiev deny they are firing heavy weapons at residential areas.
Source : Reuters


Clic here to read the story from its source.