[The ceasefire has evidently, at the moment, frozen the current positions on ground. While Donetsk and Luhansk are very much under the Moscow backed rebels' control; the port city of Mariupol is still under the control of Kiev, thereby depriving Russia of a continuous land corridor providing direct access to Crimea which appears to be quite vital from its point of view. And, the ceasefire violations are reportedly taking place on the outskirts of Mariupol.]
I/II. [The following is understandably the English translation of the ceasefire agreement, or "Peace Plan", signed on Sept. 5 at Minsk, in Belarus. The original Russian version is here: < http://www.osce.org/home/123257?download=true>. The list of signatories is significant.] http://ukrainetoday.blogspot.in/ Sunday, September 07, 2014 Ukraine Ceasefire Agreement September 5, 2014 <http://ukrainetoday.blogspot.in/2014/09/ukraine-ceasefire-agreement-september-5.html> (1) Protocol of the Trilateral Contact Group - Minsk, September 5, 2014 (Original) <https://slavyangrad.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/protocol-of-the-tripartite-liaison-group-minsk-september-5-2014-original.pdf> (2) Link to OSCE Document Repository <http://www.osce.org/home/123257> *PROTOCOL* on the results of consultations of the Trilateral Contact Group with respect to the joint steps aimed at the implementation of the Peace Plan of the President of Ukraine, P. Poroshenko, and the initiatives of the President of Russia, V. Putin Upon consideration and discussion of the proposals put forward by the participants of the consultations in Minsk on September 1, 2014, the Trilateral Contact Group, consisting of the representatives of Ukraine, the Russian Federation and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe [OSCE], reached an understanding with respect to the need to implement the following steps: 1. Ensure the immediate bilateral cessation of the use of weapons. 2. Ensure monitoring and verification by the OSCE of the regime of non-use of weapons. 3. Implement decentralization of power, including by means of enacting the Law of Ukraine "With respect to the temporary status of local self-government in certain areas of the Donetsk and the Lugansk regions" (Law on Special Status). 4. Ensure permanent monitoring on the Ukrainian-Russian state border and verification by the OSCE, together with the creation of a security area in the border regions of Ukraine and the Russian Federation. 5. Immediately release all hostages and unlawfully detained persons. 6. Enact a law prohibiting the prosecution and punishment of persons in connection with the events that took place in certain areas of the Donetsk and the Lugansk regions of Ukraine. 7. Conduct an inclusive national dialogue. 8. Adopt measures aimed at improving the humanitarian situation in Donbass. 9. Ensure the holding of early local elections in accordance with the Law of Ukraine "With respect to the temporary status of local self-government in certain areas of the Donetsk and the Lugansk regions" (Law on Special Status). 10. Remove unlawful military formations, military hardware, as well as militants and mercenaries from the territory of Ukraine. 11. Adopt a program for the economic revival of Donbass and the recovery of economic activity in the region. 12. Provide personal security guarantees for the participants of the consultations. *Participants of the Trilateral Contact Group:* Ambassador [OSCE] Heidi Talyavini (signed) Second President of Ukraine, L.D. Kuchma (signed) Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, M.Y. Zurabov (signed) A.V. Zakharchenko [Donetsk People's Republic] (signed) I.V. Plotnitskiy [Luhansk People's Republic] (signed) II. [Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko spoke by telephone with Vladimir Putin on Saturday on ways to make the ceasefire last, but the final political solution remains unclear. Alexander Zakharchenko, prime minister of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic, travelled to Moscow from the negotiations, and told journalists on Saturday that the peace talks had "legitimised" his quasi-country, and it should be regarded as on an equal footing with Ukraine. Analysts have suggested that Moscow is likely to push either for a "breakaway state" which will be unrecognised internationally but function independently, or for east Ukraine to be de facto part of Ukraine but with such autonomy that it can essentially become a proxy region for Russia, ensuring that the rest of Ukraine can never join Nato or fully orient its foreign policy westward.] http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/06/eastern-ukraine-ceasefire-russia Ukraine ceasefire under threat amid claims of shelling near crucial port city Reports of sustained bombardment in Mariupol's outskirts, while Ukrainian fighters claim to have been targeted by rocket fire Shaun Walker <http://www.theguardian.com/profile/shaun-walker> in Mariupol and agencies in Kiev The Observer <http://observer.guardian.co.uk>, Saturday 6 September 2014 23.05 BST Destroyed Ukrainian military hardware is strewn across the outskirts of Mariupol, where reports of shelling suggest the ceasefire is under threat. Photograph: Anatolii Boiko/AFP/Getty Images Witnesses in the Ukrainian port of Mariupol reported sustained explosions outside the city and a volunteer battalion of Ukrainian fighters said that Grad rockets had been fired at its positions. The reports late on Saturday came little more than a day after Ukraine <http://www.theguardian.com/world/ukraine> and Russian-backed separatist rebels signed a ceasefire after more than four months of fighting in the country's east. Witnesses in Mariupol told the Associated Press that sounds of heavy explosions were coming from the city's eastern outskirts, where Ukrainian troops retain defensive lines against the rebels. The volunteer Azov battalion said on Facebook that their positions were hit by Grad rockets, but did not give details. Earlier in the day the truce had appeared to be holding, with only minor violations reported, as hopes mounted that the deal struck in Minsk <http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/05/ukraine-ceasefire-east-minsk-peace-talks> on Friday could bring an end to the violence that has left more than 2,000 dead in recent months. Both sides accused the other of violating the ceasefire, but there did not appear to be any serious exchanges of fire and no casualties were reported. Nevertheless, the rhetoric coming from Kiev and Donetsk, capital of the Russia <http://www.theguardian.com/world/russia>-backed rebel movement, showed that a political solution was still some way away. The atmosphere between the two frontlines on Saturday was tense but calm, as both sides took stock of what appear to have been heavy losses in the final fighting that led up to the ceasefire. The fiercest fighting on Friday came in the villages between Novoazovsk and Mariupol, the strategic port city that Ukrainians feared would be attacked by separatists over the past week. Rebel forces seized the town of Novoazovsk, across the border with Russia, 10 days ago. Kiev says the rebels were aided by soldiers and armour of the regular Russian army, which helped turn the tide against Ukraine's forces and push Kiev towards accepting a ceasefire. At one point on the main road, a Ukrainian tank had been hit so hard on Friday it had been thrown back on to a huge stone wave-breaker placed on the road, its treads spooling out behind it. Fields all around were scorched, and in some places smoke was still rising from where Grad missiles had landed the day before. In a nearby village, three Ukrainian tanks had been abandoned in the courtyard of a school kindergarten. Two were burned out, while one was untouched but had clearly been left in a hurry, rucksacks and personal possessions of its occupants left strewn around it, a sticker reading "Fuck off Putin" stuck to the base of its turret. The windows of the kindergarten had all been blown out, its roof removed, and there were gaping holes in the walls, apparently from mortar rounds. "The tanks came in about six in the morning," said one villager who did not want to give his name. "As soon as they set up position there, you could hear the booms come in from that direction," he said, pointing at the pro-Russia lines. It was unclear whether those in the tanks had escaped alive. There was anger in the village, which until Saturday had seen no major fighting, over the destruction of the school. "See what a glorious army we have," said one middle-aged woman, sarcastically. "Parked their tanks up in our kindergarten, now the whole thing has gone." In Mariupol, there was a more-relaxed atmosphere, as for the first day in a week there was no suggestion that rebel forces might attempt to enter. The residents are far from unanimous supporters of the Kiev government; many here would have preferred the region to be annexed by Russia. But most simply want peace. Fighters from the Azov battalion, the volunteer grouping with far-right leanings that has done much of the fighting around Mariupol, sat on a restaurant terrace eating pizzas; families strolled in the sunshine, wedding parties breezed through central streets beeping horns. Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko spoke by telephone with Vladimir Putin on Saturday on ways to make the ceasefire last, but the final political solution remains unclear. Alexander Zakharchenko, prime minister of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic, travelled to Moscow from the negotiations, and told journalists on Saturday that the peace talks had "legitimised" his quasi-country, and it should be regarded as on an equal footing with Ukraine. Analysts have suggested that Moscow is likely to push either for a "breakaway state" which will be unrecognised internationally but function independently, or for east Ukraine to be de facto part of Ukraine but with such autonomy that it can essentially become a proxy region for Russia, ensuring that the rest of Ukraine can never join Nato or fully orient its foreign policy westward. On Saturday, Patriarch Filaret, the head of the Kiev Patriarchate, accused Putin of being under Satan's influence. "This ruler is cynically lying, saying his country is not a party to the conflict in Ukraine, though he did everything in order to foment the conflict and maintain it," said Filaret in a statement. "He calls himself a brother to the Ukrainian people, but in fact according to his deeds, he has really become the new Cain, shedding the brotherly blood and entangling the whole world with lies." -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
