by Jason Ditz, January 18, 2015 Print This | Share This According to spokesmen for Russian President Vladimir Putin, his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko rejected a proposal to move forward with the peace process between the Ukrainian government and eastern rebels. The proposal was a fairly modest advance on the current ceasefire, calling for both sides to withdraw heavy artillery away from combat areas, and into areas where they wouldn’t be so conveniently used. Russian officials said that not only had Poroshenko rejected the proposal, but that he almost immediately ordered a new round of offensives in the southeast, which Russia warned violated the Minsk agreement already in place. Both Russia and the OSCE have called for a return to calm, but it seems that the ceasefire is tottering after months of relative calm, with fighting in several places, including the rebel capital of Donetsk.
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Subject: Re: Russia: Ukraine President Rejected Peace Proposal Tue Jan 20, 2015 11:00 am
Moscow, US End Nuclear Cooperation Program as Ukraine accuses Russia of fresh troop incursion as fierce fighting rages over Donetsk airport
on January 20, 2015 Posted In: america, Europe, OBAMA, Putin, RUSSIA, usa Moscow reportedly told the US that it no longer needs assistance in safeguarding its nuclear sites, according to the Boston Globe. Russia Continues Nuclear Arms Reductions in ‘Businesslike Way’: US Official MOSCOW, January 20 – Moscow has decided to end its nuclear cooperation program with the US, saying that it no longer needs assistance in safeguarding nuclear sites located in Russia, the Boston Globe reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the situation.The decision was made late last year, the newspaper says, citing a three-page agreement signed at the meeting held on December 16. According to the newspaper, officials from the US Department of Energy, the US Department of State and the Pentagon, as well as high-ranking Russian officials took part in the meeting. The agreement put an end to Russia-US cooperation in protecting weapons-grade uranium and plutonium from being stolen or sold, the newspaper said. The United State has allegedly invested approximately $2 billion in the joint program. Several initiatives were expected to continue at least through 2018. This has very bad connotations because of the increasingly bad situation in the Ukraine. Ukraine accuses Russia of fresh troop incursion as fierce fighting rages over Donetsk airport Ukraine says some 700 Russian troops have crossed the border into its territory as fierce fighting continues for control of Donetsk airport. There are confused and conflicting reports of the situation on the ground with both sides claiming to be in control. What is clear is that violence is intensifying in eastern Ukraine with up to a dozen of civilians killed this weekend, all attempts to restart peace talks have failed. The Ukrainian military spokesman, Andriy Lysenko accused the rebels of breaking the Minsk ceasefire deal agreed last September. “The Russian side cancelled its signature from the joint document detailing the ceasefire schedule. This agreement calls on the Russians to come to the table and guarantee a truce from today,” said Lysenko. Russian military officials are blaming the Ukrainians for the escalation. Military spokesman, Andrey Kozlov said: “The Ukrainian military group has made an attempt (to recapture the airport) which led to unjustified victims among civilians of Donetsk and Horlivka. It is without doubt a violation of all agreements of the ceasefire in the Minsk memorandum.” Moscow also says Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko has rejected a peace plan put forward on Sunday by his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that requires both sides to withdraw heavy artillery.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E7F7LbBgjY
At least six people have been killed in shelling and fierce battles between government troops and pro-Russian fighters in Ukraine’s volatile east. One Ukrainian soldier was killed and eight others wounded in the fresh fighting across the conflict zone. Meanwhile, shelling in a village near Luhansk killed five civilians, including two children. Another eight-year-old child is in critical condition. Both sides of the conflict have repeatedly accused the other of launching attacks and violating the provisions of a shaky truce deal in the region. The ceasefire was signed between representatives from Kiev and eastern Ukraine self-proclaimed republics in Minsk last September. The conflict in the region has claimed over 47-hundred lives. source
Subject: Russia: Ukraine President Rejected Peace Proposal 
Mon Jan 19, 2015 8:13 pm
The proposal was a fairly modest advance on the current ceasefire, calling for both sides to withdraw heavy artillery away from combat areas, and into areas where they wouldn’t be so conveniently used.
