U.S. approves license for Kyiv to buy light weapons:
By RFE/RL
The U.S. State Department says it has approved an export license for Ukraine to buy certain types of light weapons and small arms from U.S. manufacturers.
Spokeswoman Heather Nauert said on December 20 that Congress was notified of the decision on December 13.
The license covers weapons in categories such as semiautomatic and automatic firearms up to .50 caliber weapons, combat shotguns, silencers, military scopes, flash suppressors, and parts.
It does not allow the sale of heavier weapons, such as Javelin antitank missiles, that Ukraine has urged Washington to provide in order to strengthen its capabilities against the Russia-backed separatists it is fighting in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
There are conflicting reports about the significance of the development.
An article in The Washington Post described the State Department decision as approval of "the first-ever U.S. commercial sale of lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine" and a "clear break" with past policy.
But the State Department and other media reports contradicted that.
"Under the previous two administrations, the U.S. government has approved export licenses to Ukraine, so this is nothing new," Nauert said.
According to Reuters, State Department records show that Ukraine has bought small amounts of light weapons and small arms for several years, both before and after Russia's seizure of Ukraine's Crimea region in March 2014.
U.S. exporters can apply for direct commercial-sales licenses, which are reviewed by the State Department on a case-by-case basis, Nauert said.
Nauert said that the U.S. government has not directly provided lethal defensive equipment to Ukraine, but has not ruled out doing so.
The top U.S. military commander, General Joseph Dunford, said earlier this year that he recommended that the United States provide lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine to help the country "protect [its] sovereignty."
Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on September 26 that a proposal to provide lethal aid to Ukraine was awaiting a decision from the White House.
Ukrainian authorities have asked in particular for portable Javelin missiles, which they say would help soldiers in eastern Ukraine fend off attacks from tanks and self-propelled artillery.
Last month, ABC News reported that senior aides would present U.S. President Donald Trump with a $47 million plan to finance and sell high-tech defensive weapons to Ukraine.
Citing a State Department source, ABC News on November 18 said the proposed package included Javelins.
The war between Kyiv's forces and the Russia-backed separatists has killed more than 10,300 people since April 2014.
The U.S. envoy for peace efforts in eastern Ukraine, Kurt Volker, said on December 19 that 2017 had been "the most violent year" of the conflict and warned that hostilities were on the rise.
European Union foreign-policy chief Federica Mogherini said on December 20 that the humanitarian and security situation in the conflict zone has "deteriorated abruptly." (w/The Washington Post, Reuters, CNN, ABC, The Hill)
EU's Mogherini warns situation in east deteriorating:
By RFE/RL
The European Union's top diplomat has warned that the humanitarian and security situation has "deteriorated abruptly" in eastern Ukraine, where Russia-backed separatists have been fighting Kyiv government forces since 2014.
The comments by EU foreign-policy chief Federica Mogherini on December 20 follow similar remarks made a day earlier by the U.S. special envoy for the Ukraine conflict, Kurt Volker, who said 2017 was the deadliest year in the region since the outbreak of violence three years ago.
The words of warning, issued in a statement by Mogherini's spokeswoman, Maja Kocijancic, came as international monitors reported intense shelling in recent days in parts of eastern Ukraine and continued violations of a cease-fire mandated under the so-called Minsk agreements.
The separatists in Ukraine's eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions have been battling Ukrainian government forces since April 2014 in a conflict that has killed more than 10,300 people.
The statement said OSCE monitors deployed in the region "have seen the highest number of cease-fire violations since February 2017."
The positioning of forces near residential areas and "firing from or toward critical infrastructure shows complete disrespect for peoples' lives," Kocijancic said in the statement.
Several cease-fire deals have been announced as part of the Minsk accords -- in September 2014 and February 2015 -- but they have failed to end the fighting.
"The cease-fire needs to be respected, [and] military forces must disengage and withdraw heavy weapons to verifiable storage areas," she said.
"We expect Russia, in particular, to make full and immediate use of its influence on the separatists in this regard."
The Trilateral Contact Group -- Ukraine, Russia, and the OSCE -- on December 20 announced that representatives had agreed on a "comprehensive, sustainable, and unlimited" cease-fire connected to the holiday period in certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions to begin on midnight on December 23.
Mogherini's spokeswoman called the agreement a "necessary step," but she added that "immediate restraint in the meantime remains imperative."
"We also reiterate that full, safe, and unhindered access for the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission and its technical equipment throughout the entire area foreseen by its mandate is essential."
She said the EU sees "full implementation of the Minsk agreements as the basis for a sustainable political solution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine that respects Ukraine's independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity," Mogherini added.
In his December 19 comments, Volker, the U.S. envoy, warned that hostilities are again ratcheting up in eastern Ukraine.
"A lot of people think that this has somehow turned into a sleepy, frozen conflict and it's stable and now we have...a cease-fire. It's a problem, but it's not a crisis," Volker said in a speech in Washington.
"That's completely wrong. It is a crisis. This has been the most violent year, 2017, and frankly last night was one of the most violent nights, certainly since February, and possibly this year," he said.
That concludes our live-blogging of the Ukraine crisis for Wednesday, December 20, 2017. Check back here tomorrow for more of our continuing coverage. Thanks for reading and take care.