Crisis in Ukraine: Daily Briefing
29 September 2015, 6 PM Kyiv time
- Russian Invasion of Ukraine
The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (RNBO) reported at 12:30 PM Kyiv time that yesterday towards Luhansk, Russian-terrorist forces fired on Ukrainian positions near Staryi Aydar. Towards Donetsk, Russian-terrorist forces fired on Ukrainian positions at Zaytseve and Holmivsky with small arms and grenade launchers. There was no combat at the Mariupol sector of the front. The RNBO reported that in the last 24 hours no Ukrainian soldiers were killed or wounded.
- Russia’s illegal trial of Nadiya Savchenko resumes
Russia’s illegal trial of Ukrainian pilot and MP Nadiya Savchenko resumed today. Savchenko gave testimony. The court refused her request to testify with a polygraph. Savchenko stated, “I want to testify using a polygraph. The investigation is probably afraid that the case would fall apart when a polygraph shows that I am not lying,” Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported. Savchenko was serving in eastern Ukraine, when abducted by Kremlin-backed terrorists in June 2014 and taken to Russia, where she has been illegally detained and imprisoned since that time. Russia has ignored repeated calls from the international community for her immediate release.
- Ukraine’s President meets with US President
Ukraine’s President P. Poroshenko met with US President B. Obama in the framework of the UN General Assembly. Poroshenko’s press service stated, “President Obama reiterated support for Ukraine and the efforts of President Petro Poroshenko aimed to protect territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. In the course of the conversation, President Obama emphasized that the United States would continue to support Ukraine in implementing reforms and finding a diplomatic solution to the conflict.”
- Ukraine President: Minsk agreement is in danger because of Putin’s plan to introduce illegal elections in occupied Donetsk, Luhansk
In an interview with the Washington Post on 28 September, Ukraine’s President P. Poroshenko stated, “The positive is that we have no artillery shelling — every day we have a few cases of using light weapons but [there is] no artillery or tanks. What is negative? All the troops of the separatists are now fully controlled by Russia. Every single commander from the platoon or company level is an officer of the regular Russian army. . . .In the occupied territories of Luhansk and Donetsk,they don’t have any uncontrolled armed units of separatists. That’s why when [Russian President Vladimir] Putin gives an order to make a cease-fire, they do it. All the other points of the Minsk Agreement [have not been implemented], including releasing the hostages. There are hundreds of Ukrainian hostages kept in disastrous humanitarian conditions in both the Ukrainian occupied territories and in Russia. Indeed, we don’t have any results of the Minsk agreement except for the cease-fire — no withdrawal of heavy artillery and weapons from the battle zone, no withdrawal of Russian troops from the occupied territory, and we don’t get back control of the Ukraine-Russia border. We should make a well-coordinated effort to push Putin to fulfill the obligations Russia agreed to. The Minsk agreement is now in danger because of Putin’s plan to introduce illegal and fake elections. […]Either offensive actions on the front or these elections [would be a red line]. Last year, they had an illegal election on November 2nd which was not free and fair, and that killed the Minsk process. Now [Putin] wants to repeat once again this scenario.”
