Power: Russian peace plan for Ukraine is land grab:
U.S. Ambassador to the UN Samantha Powers says Russian President Vladimir Putin's new peace plan for eastern Ukraine is little more than a blueprint for military occupation.
Speaking to the UN Security Council on January 21, Power said "the plan would seek to legitimize territorial gains" made by Moscow-backed rebels.
"Let us pull the veil away from Putin's peace plan and call it for what it is -- a Russian occupation plan," she said during a special meeting of the 15-member body on Ukraine.
Here comments came as the foreign ministers of Germany, France, Ukraine and Russia were meeting in Berlin as pro-Russian rebels intensify attacks in eastern Ukraine.
Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel played down hopes of any breakthrough given the upsurge in violence.
Merkel said the goal of the talks was to try to reschedule a summit of the four countries in the Kazakh capital, Astana. (AP, Reuters)
This ends our live-blogging for January 21. Be sure to check back tomorrow for our continuing coverage.
Good morning. We'll start the live blog today with this update from our news desk:
Germany's foreign minister says Ukraine crisis talks in Berlin have ended with agreement on pulling back heavy weapons in the east of the country.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier made the announcement late on January 21 after four hours of talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, Ukraine's Pavlo Klimkin and Laurent Fabius of France.
Steinmeier said all sides agreed that pro-Russian fighters and Kyiv's forces should pull back heavy weaponry 15 kilometers from a demarcation line spelled out in last year's Minsk agreement.
Steinmeier said the agreement represented progress, but "no breakthrough" in efforts to achieve a peace accord for eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists have battled Ukrainian troops for months.
Steinmeier said the so-called "contact group," which includes rebel leaders from the regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, would be meeting in the coming days to work out the details and timeline for the weapons withdrawal.
In a joint statement released by the German foreign ministry, the ministers noted "with serious concern" that fighting in eastern Ukraine had severely escalated, causing the loss of many human lives including civilians.
The Berlin talks come amid reports that pro-Russian separatists have deployed more weapons and fighters to an emerging flashpoint in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine says Moscow-backed rebels have overstepped agreed-upon front-line boundaries between the warring sides by 500 square kilometers.
Addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said 9,000 Russian regular troops were occupying 7 percent of Ukrainian territory.
Meanwhile, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power said Russian President Vladimir Putin's new peace plan for eastern Ukraine is little more than a blueprint for military occupation.
Speaking to the UN Security Council on January 21, Power said "the plan would seek to legitimize territorial gains" made by Moscow-backed rebels.
"Let us pull the veil away from Putin's peace plan and call it for what it is -- a Russian occupation plan," she said during a special meeting of the 15-member body on Ukraine.
Putin's spokesman said the proposal called for a cease-fire by government forces and rebels in southeastern Ukraine, and the withdrawal of heavy artillery by both sides.
Moscow said on January 18 that Poroshenko rejected the plan.
Power said "the current situation is dangerous" and urged Russia to implement the Minsk agreement.
Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said Moscow was abiding by the agreement and blamed Kyiv for the fresh violence.
British UN Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant also criticized Moscow, citing "the usual pattern of Russian denials and misinformation."
He also called on Moscow to stop using humanitarian convoys to supply rebels with arms.
On the ground, the Associated Press news agency reported that pro-Russian rebels were advancing in an area northwest of Luhansk, the second-largest rebel-held city.
The fighting is reported to be centered on two checkpoints along a key highway.
Ukraine's Defense Ministry said one of those positions -- Checkpoint 31 -- had been abandoned but that operations were under way to recapture it.
An AP reporter saw nine Gvozdika self-propelled howitzers and six antitank cannons moving near the town of Perevalsk on January 21.
A rebel militiaman with the convoy said the armament was heading in the direction of Checkpoint 31.
Along the same road, AP saw four Grad multiple rocket launchers accompanied by four trucks carrying ammunition and 15 tanks, also heading toward the checkpoint.
There were also signs the rebels were advancing elsewhere.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Washington was concerned that the separatists were attacking the town of Debaltseve, about 70 kilometers east of Donetsk.
Kerry called it a "very blatant land grab."
Speaking during a visit to Kyiv, U.S. Army Europe commander, Lt. Gen Ben Hodges, said the quantity of Russian military hardware being supplied to separatists had doubled between the Minsk agreement in September and December.
"It is irrefutable that they are getting direct support from Russia," Hodges said, citing the scale and sophistication of the weapons now in the hands of the rebels.
(AP, AFP, Reuters)
According to the Kyiv Post, things have not been going well for Ukrainan forces at Donetsk airport:
Kremlin-backed insurgents have taken over Donetsk Airport, killing dozens of Ukrainian troops, members of the army's volunteer support network said on Jan. 21.
Such a loss would mark Ukraine’s most significant and bloodiest tragedy since the battle for Illovaisk in August 2014, in which hundreds of Ukrainian troops were killed. Ukrainian troops' defense of the airport, besieged since September, had become a symbol of pride for Ukrainians, with its occupants immortalized as 'the cyborgs.'
George Tuka, who heads the People's Home Front volunteer group, posted on Facebook that Ukraine's General Staff had devised a plan to surround the airport and push the insurgents farther away from it, but when Ukrainian troops clashed with rebels in Donetsk itself separatists seized the first and third floors of the airport’s new terminal.
Ukrainian troops remained on the second floor, but when the ceiling above them collapsed some of the soldiers were killed, Tuka said. Others were captured by insurgents or withdrew from the airport, he added.
"Today 37 heroes were killed at the airport," Vladimir Sergeyev, another volunteer who helps provide equipment and supplies to the Ukrainian army, wrote on Facebook. "Many of them were finished off by Chechen scumbags. Forgive us, brothers! We did our best! Heroes do not die!"
Social networks were abuzz with news that hundreds of Russian special forces and dozens of Russian military vehicles had been used during the takeover of the airport, but this information could not be independently verified.
The report follows announcements by Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council that Russia had sent several battalions of regular troops to Donbas. President Petro Poroshenko announced on Jan. 21 that over 2,000 Russian servicemen had recently crossed the border into Ukraine.
Here is some of the reaction on Twitter to reports that the rebels have overrun Donetsk airport:
!!! BREAKING !!!
Pro-Russian separatists and Russian media report that at least five people have been killed by an explosion at a public transport stop in the rebel-held Ukrainian city of Donetsk. Some reports say a shell hit a trolleybus. (Interfax, RIA, Rossia-24)
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This report from our newsroom, but note that it is still exclusively pro-Russian or Russian sources:
Pro-Russian separatists and Russian media report that at least five people have been killed by an explosion at a public transport stop in the rebel-held Ukrainian city of Donetsk.
The Interfax news agency cited an official with the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, Eduard Basurin, as saying preliminary reports indicated that nine people were killed.
Another separatist official was cited as saying five people were killed, while state-run Russian channel Rossia-24 reported that 13 people were killed and many more injured.
The cause of the reported explosion was unclear but some reports said it was a shell that hit a trolleybus or a bus.
More than 4,800 people have been killed since April in a conflict between the separatists and Ukrainian govermnent forces.
Based on reporting by Interfax, RIA, and Rossia-24