Ukraine: Westerners to the rescue of the ceasefire
Diplomat and drones were dispatched in Ukraine to save the theoretical "truce" agreement between Kiev a month ago and pro-Russian rebels.
Westerners are trying to fly to the rescue of the ceasefire in Eastern Ukraine, Washington dispatching in Kiev one of its most senior diplomats, while Paris and Berlin offer to deploy drones to monitor the front line. While at least 80 soldiers and Ukrainian civilians perished in fighting in a month "truce" theoretical, with heavy weapons fire sounded again Monday near the airport of Donetsk, the main abscess of fixation of the war against the pro-Russian rebels. Three plumes of smoke rose from the airport area, an enclave heavily controlled by the Ukrainian army in the main town at the hands of the rebels.
The Ukrainian army, Andrii Lysenko spokesman said in the middle of day that a soldier of Kiev had been killed and 13 others wounded over the past 24 hours. A new attempt to seize the airport was repelled during the night, he said. The Organization for security and cooperation in Europe (OSCE), to observe the ceasefire, announced that two first drones, the Camcopter S-100 from the Austrian manufacturer Schiebel, arrived Monday in Ukraine. These unmanned aircraft should help the Organization to more easily spot the perpetrators of violations of the truce.
Doubling of the number of observers
The OSCE expects total four drones that can fly over the Ukrainian as well as combat zones border, while Kiev as Westerners accuse Russia to rescue the separatists by sending troops and weapons on the ground. In addition to the drones of the OSCE, the french Minister of Defense Jean-Yves Le Drian announced Sunday that the France and the Germany would send unmanned aircraft on-site. "The Germans and the French are talking about with the OSCE to ensure that the ceasefire is well respected," said Jean-Yves Le Drian. "We are going to put drones to protect everything, we help the maintenance of the cease-fire in the coming days."
A spokesman for the OSCE, Michael Bociurkiw, admitted not knowing if devices of Paris and Berlin would fly as part of the mission of the OSCE or separately. "The discussions (on this issue) occur at a very high level", he said. The OSCE deployed since March in Ukraine, has 80 observers in the East of the country, a figure it hopes to double quickly. In a telephone interview, Vladimir Poutine and his Swiss counterpart Didier Burkhalter, president-in-office of the OSCE, stressed "the need to increase the potential" of the mission of the OSCE, according to a statement from the Kremlin.
Sanctions are plunging ruble
According to the German daily Bild on Saturday Berlin plans to send 200 soldiers in Ukraine to ensure the security of the OSCE mission and continued discussions in this direction with Paris. "It is at the moment than exploratory talks", said the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The dispatch of German soldiers abroad would require the green light from the Bundestag. Washington dispatched its side Monday in Kiev the main head of European Affairs at the State Department, Victoria Nuland, made famous at the beginning of the year when some of his unkind remarks in respect of the European Union had been made public.
Three weeks from the elections, Victoria Nuland, considered to be a pet peeve in Moscow, must speak with the leaders of Kiev "by the help of the United States to the efforts of reform in Ukraine, the conflict in the East of the Ukraine with the support of the United States to territorial integrity" of the country, according to the State Department. Victoria Nuland is then expected Wednesday in Germany, then in Finland. The economic sanctions imposed by the West against the Russia continue to produce their effects, the ruble having plunged Monday to a new floor of 40 rubles for a dollar. The Russian currency has lost about 20 percent of its value against the greenback since the beginning of the year.