Return to war in east Ukraine ‘lamentable’
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, center, Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom, right, and Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius pose for a photo ahead of their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Nov. 17, 2015. (AP Photo)
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Lithuania and Sweden’s foreign ministers visit Ukraine as Russian forces launch new offensive
Lithuania and Sweden’s foreign ministers have expressed concern about the escalation of military conflict between Russian militants and Ukraine’s government forces in eastern Ukraine.
“We [are] really following situation and we are really very much concerned about the last developments. And it’s really lamentable, I would say, that maybe it’s not even the accident that after Paris terrorist attacks Russia-supported terrorists intensified shellings. And this is really very much concerning fact and [it’s] very difficult to talk about possible truce in this region anymore,” Lithuanian foreign minister Linas Linkevicius said.
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Although guns in the area were mostly silent in September and October, there has been an increase in ceasefire violations in recent weeks, with at least 8 Ukrainian troops killed in recent days.
Ukraine Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin confirmed that the situation in the east deteriorated substantially in the past few days.
“[W]hat we are observing in Donbass now with constant shelling, deaths of people, with non-allowance of humanitarian organisations [going] to Donbass, with the absence of progress in prisoners exchange, is – unfortunately – proof of a difficult path we are standing on,” he said.
More than 8,000 people have been killed since Russia invaded Ukraine, according to the UN.
Sweden’s foreign minister Margot Wallstrom reaffirmed Sweden’s commitment to a peaceful settlement of the conflict.
“EU sanctions towards Russia should remain unchanged. We also believe that Russia should release Nadya Savchenko and other illegally detained Ukrainian citizens. And we also look very carefully after humanitarian situation in eastern Ukraine and we will continue to do whatever we can to help people and give relief through organizations working in this field,” she said.
Wallstrom and Linkevicius reportedly signed a mutual agreement from their respective countries for an educational initiative for young people in eastern Ukraine.