Russia-Ukraine Conflicts

The Kremlin has threatened military intervention in eastern Ukraine. In the event of a flare-up of fighting, Russia will not stand idly by and watch a possible "human catastrophe", Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to the Interfax agency.

Russia will take measures to protect its citizens, he added. Peskov also said there was a concentration of Russian troops in the region because the country's security was at stake.

The war in the eastern Ukrainian Donbas region continues. Yesterday, the OSCE extended its observation mandate in Ukraine by one year. But their job on the front line is not getting any easier: the Ukrainian army reported eight enemy shellings yesterday, the breakaway "Donetsk People's Republic" two. Grenade launchers and heavy machine guns were used.

The OSCE has already registered almost 14,000 violations since the ceasefire began in summer 2020. Just last Friday, four Ukrainian soldiers were killed. "We have to answer fire," the newspaper Levy Bereg quotes Kiev parliamentarian Sergiy Rakhmanin as saying. "The snipers should work without having to wait for orders."