With 3161 violations of the cease-fire during the past week, including 2477 with heavy weapons, and the assassination of Commander Motorola last Sunday, Ukraine seems determined on resolving the conflict in the Donbass by means of war rather than the Minsk agreements.
This continuing escalation, which has seen the number of bombings increase of 133% in two weeks, has left 12 dead and 14 wounded (five of them civilians) in the People's Republic of Donetsk (DPR) alone during the past week. On the Ukrainian side, the figures are even worse. In 10 days, the Ukrainian army has had at least 40 dead and 100 wounded, just in the southern part of the front, in attacks against the positions of the army of DPR.
To these losses must be added the 45 non-combat losses of the past week, including 14 deaths, mainly due to improper handling of weapons and friendly fire, and the 25 losses of the Azov regiment, which is seeking new volunteers to replace them.
At the same time, Kiev has sent 80 French and Italian mercenaries to Kramatorsk, and they will surely soon head to the front to replace the recently fallen Ukrainian soldiers.
Unable to mobilize its people, willingly or unwillingly, Ukraine is reduced to bringing in foreign mercenaries, in total violation of the Minsk agreements.
In Kiev onChannel 1, Vitaly Koupry, Member of the Rada, called for making the Donbass a hell on earth in order to make the people leave (I would remind the gentleman that this is no more nor less than a call to commit genocide and war crimes), showing once again the true face of power in Kiev, a power that still relies heavily on the Nazi factions and battalions like Pravy Sektor, that have severely beaten children in Kharkov, for the mere fact of speaking Russian. Some of the child victims had broken ribs or a broken jaw. The police have offered no comment and seem in no hurry to do their job to find and punish the perpetrators of this attack.
It must be said that when the site Mirotvorets -- openly supported by the SBU and the Ukrainian MP Anton Gerashenko -- offered a reward for killing, capturing or injuring the journalist Graham Phillips ($ 2,000 death, $ 1,000 wounded), for simply being on the side of Donbass, but no sanctions are taken by the authorities, we understand that in Ukraine the law is no more than an empty word.
Because after several journalists have been killed in Ukraine, calling so publicly for a murder, shows the impunity in Ukraine for those who silence dissent. The opportunity for the international community to cover itself with more shame with its silence.
And it is not the Normandy format meeting that was held in Berlin on October 19, that will improve the situation. Indeed this meeting gave birth to a charade.
The various parties, managing to agree on practically nothing at all, brandished a roadmap as the 'result' of the meeting in order to save face. For the Minsk agreements were already a roadmap for the peaceful resolution of the conflict in the Donbass; then they create a roadmap to implement the roadmap which has still not been applied, the very image of the snake biting its tail. Without any real desire in Kiev to implement what was signed, this roadmap will remain as useless as the Minsk agreements it is supposed to help implement.
Since that meeting, the escalation continues with 446 violations of the cease-fire by the Ukrainian army, and two more wounded civilians in the last 24 hours. And in the speeches of Russia as the People's Republic of Donetsk, exasperation and anger are felt more and more.
Their patience has reached its limits, despite their best efforts not to inflame the situation, and this is where lies the danger not only for Ukraine but also for the world.
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