Ukraine says it is "in stage of war" with Russia
Russian rocket launchers were seen moving through eastern city as Ukraine’s PM says his country is in ‘stage of war’ with Russia, The Guardian reports.
A column of three Russian multiple rocket launchers was seen moving freely through Donetsk on Saturday morning.
The latest fighting comes as Ukraine’s prime minister, Arseny Yatseniuk, accused Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, of wanting to destroy Ukraine as an independent country and resurrect the Soviet Union. Speaking at a conference of European politicians, he said his country was “in a stage of war” with Russia, as Moscow sent a second convoy of trucks into Ukraine without Kyiv’s consent.
He said: “We are still in a stage of war and the key aggressor is the Russian Federation … Putin wants another frozen conflict [in eastern Ukraine].
“His aim is not just to take Donetsk and Lugansk. His goal is to take the entire Ukraine … Russia is a threat to the global order and to the security of Europe.”
For the first time since the start of the ceasefire, agreed on 5 September, the Ukrainian National Security and Defence Council also admitted it had inflicted casualties on the rebel side. A spokesman said that 12 rebel fighters had been killed by Ukrainian forces outside the city of Mariupol, near the Sea of Azov. He said that six Ukrainian servicemen had also died since the start of the truce.
The ceasefire agreement has been riddled by violations since it was imposed last week, but Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko said on Friday it was a “fragile but efficient peace process.”
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military says it has successfully defended the government-held airport in Donetsk from an attack by pro-Russia rebels.
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