Here is today's map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council (CLICK TO ENLARGE):
An excerpt:
The war in eastern Ukraine is a war of trenches and shelling and of men who are tired of both.
In Pisky, a village on the outskirts of the city of Donetsk, a contingent of Ukrainian army soldiers -- 7th Company of the 93rd Brigade -- holds a small section of the front. Opposite their positions are Russian-backed separatists who wage their war from trenches of their own. During the day it is mostly quiet, an errant shell on the hour usually reminding those on the line that the war is waiting for darkness.
At night, the fighting starts when the air cools, and it doesn’t stop until an hour before sunrise. This is the war in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian public organization Social Boost and the Development Program of the United Nations have created a website and apps for the ReDonbass project, which allows for monitoring and accessing information about the destruction of residential buildings and social and economic infrastructure as a result of hostilities in Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts.
Any registered user can upload data, which will then appear on a map.
According to the information available on the website at the moment, in two war-torn regions there are 207 completely destroyed facilities and 348 that require repair.
Since the launch of the project, only 21 facilities have been fully restored.
Russia Says Air Units Deploying South To Ashuluk For Drills
Russia’s Defense Ministry says the first phase of joint air-defense exercises by the Commonwealth of Independent States began on August 18.
The ministry says troops from 20 air-defense and missile-defense units in the Moscow region have been put on high alert for the CIS Combat Commonwealth 2015 exercises, which are schedule to continue until September 11.
The ministry says the exercises involve more than 1,000 servicemen as well as surface-to-air defense missile systems, fighter jets, assault attack helicopters, aircraft used for close air support in ground attacks, and military transport planes.
The ministry says that after the first phase of the exercises are completed, the troops and military hardware will be redeployed to the Ashuluk training range in southern Russia’s Astrakhan region.
Ashuluk is about 500 kilometers from Russia’s border with eastern Ukraine.
Troops from five other CIS countries are taking part in the military drills -- Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia.
Troops from other countries are participating as observers.
Based on reporting by Interfax and TASS
The Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs says the recent military escalation in eastern Ukraine is due to the actions of the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics.
“The responsibility for the exacerbation of the situation should be assumed by Russia-supported separatists. Particular concern is aroused by the growing numbers of civilian casualties and the aggravation of humanitarian situation,” the ministry’s statement says.
The escalation of tensions is “seriously undermining the implementation of the Minsk agreements.”
The ministry calls on all the parties involved -- Russia, in particular -- to cease shelling, withdraw heavy weaponry, and restore the cease-fire.
Poroshenko To Visit Brussels Soon For Talks On Future Of Minsk Deal
The European Commission said on August 18 that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko plans to visit Brussels within the next two week to discuss a recent surge in violence in eastern Ukraine that has cast doubts on a cease-fire deal between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian government forces.
Commission spokeswoman Annika Breidhardt did not announce a specific date for Poroshenko’s visit but said it would take place before the end of August.
Skirmishes between government forces and separatists around Ukraine’s southeastern port city of Mariupol raised concerns that a fragile cease-fire agreement reached in Minsk in February could break down completely.
The Minsk agreement is meant to be fully implemented by the end of 2015.
OSCE monitors have accused both sides of violations.
The European Union faces new decision in the coming month about sanctions it has imposed on Russia after pledging to lift them only after all conditions of the Minsk deal are met.
Based on reporting by AFP and dpa