NATO chief tells AFP news agency that Russian presence in eastern Ukraine still "strong:"
NATO head Jens Stoltenberg told AFP Thursday there was still a "strong" Russian presence in eastern Ukraine in support of pro-Moscow rebels although a recent ceasefire seems to be holding.
Stoltenberg said he backed the continuation of European Union and United States sanctions against Russia over its involvement in Ukraine until Moscow changes its behaviour.
"There is no doubt that there is a strong Russian presence in the eastern part of Ukraine," Stoltenberg said in an interview at NATO HQ in Brussels.
"There (are) Russian forces there, there (is) Russian equipment and Russia continues to train and to assist the separatists."
Stoltenberg said it was an "encouraging" sign for the implementation of the Minsk peace agreement, which was brokered by France and Germany in February, that a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine has held.
"All the parties of the agreement have still a long way to go before we can say that the agreement is fully implemented, but at least it is an encouraging sign that for the first time since this agreement was first signed last fall, the ceasefire seems to be holding," he said.
"When there is no violence going on, no fighting going on it is easier to make progress also on the other elements of the agreement," which include the withdrawal of heavy weapons and restoration of full Ukrainian control of the border with Russia.
"Russia has to change behaviour if they (are going) to do something with the economic sanctions," he said. "Therefore I think sanctions should continue."
Damaging EU economic sanctions against Russia come up for review in December, with EU leaders saying a decision on whether they will be lifted depends on Moscow fully implementing its Minsk commitments to cut support for the rebels and restore the border. (AFP)
Ukraine's pro-Russia rebels stage rare tank exercises
Ternove, Ukraine, Sept 24, 2015 (AFP) -- Ukraine's pro-Moscow insurgents showed off their military prowess on Thursday by launching exercises involving heavy tanks that Kiev claims they had covertly received from Russia.
The self-proclaimed "tank biathlon" mirrored manoeuvres that Russia has been staging with its former Soviet allies in recent years.
"We want to show that we can do this as well as the Russians," tank commander Ruslan Zvenigorodsky told AFP.
"And we want to show the children watching that they should not be afraid of militants."
The 18-year old -- the word "Russia" emblazoned on his uniform -- said he had also joined battles across the eastern separatist provinces of Lugansk and Donetsk in the past 17 months.
Europe's bloodiest conflict since the Balkans wars of the 1990s has killed nearly 8,000 people and effectively severed Moscow's relations with the West.
Russia hotly disputes fomenting the crisis in reprisal for last year's ouster in Kiev of a Moscow-backed leader and his eventual replacement by pro-EU President Petro Poroshenko.
But NATO head Jens Stoltenberg told AFP in Brussels "there is no doubt that there is a strong Russian presence in the eastern part of Ukraine."
Violence has subsided considerably since the warring sides signed off on a new truce deal on September 1. Kiev said one soldier was killed after setting off a tripwire but that otherwise the situation remained calm.
Yet tensions remain high and the sides have made little progress toward implementing a broader ceasefire and political reconciliation agreement that is due to go into force by the end of the year.
Both Kiev and rebel commanders have vowed to return to all out warfare should their political demands not be met at ongoing talks in the Belarussian capital of Minsk.
Poroshenko will also meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of Germany in France in Paris on October 2 in a bid to get a broader consensus on clinching a lasting peace.
- 'Spectacular show' -
Organisers said at least 5,000 people had gathered for the first of three days of manoeuvres near a village resting some 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of the rebels' de facto capital Donetsk.
Thirty three T-72 tanks that insurgents insist were all captured from Ukrainian forces will show off their ability to plough through rough terrain and precisely fire shells at the foe.
"We were promised a spectacular show," a local woman who only agreed to identify herself as Alyona said after posing for a photograph with a machinegun in her hands.
"The fact that we have an event like this means that we are growing closer to the rest of the world," the 32-year-old said.
Donetsk rebel general Eduard Basurin said the entire event cost around two million rubles (about $30,000).
"Some of the money came from sponsors and partially from the republic's budget," he said without explaining who those financial backers might be.
Obama To Meet Putin Next Week
A Kremlin spokesman has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with U.S. President Barack Obama on September 28 during his visit to the United Nations in New York.
A senior U.S. administration official confirmed that the presidents will meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly at Putin’s request.
The U.S. official said that to reject the offer of talks would be “irresponsible.”
Obama will “discuss Ukraine, and he will be focused on ensuring Moscow lives up to the Minsk commitments,” the U.S. official said.
Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Putin also plans to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the same day.