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Putin Commends Separatist Militias in Ukraine Putin Commends Separatist Militias in Ukraine
(34 minutes later)
MOSCOW — In a rare direct address to the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, President Vladimir V. Putin hailed on Friday the success of a recent rebel offensive and asked that a humanitarian corridor be opened to allow encircled Ukrainian Army units to retreat.MOSCOW — In a rare direct address to the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, President Vladimir V. Putin hailed on Friday the success of a recent rebel offensive and asked that a humanitarian corridor be opened to allow encircled Ukrainian Army units to retreat.
In an address to the “Novorossiya,” or New Russia, militia that was posted on the Kremlin website at 1:10 a.m., Mr. Putin said the rebels had “achieved a major success in intercepting Kiev’s military operation,” an offensive that Western governments have accused the Russian military of leading.In an address to the “Novorossiya,” or New Russia, militia that was posted on the Kremlin website at 1:10 a.m., Mr. Putin said the rebels had “achieved a major success in intercepting Kiev’s military operation,” an offensive that Western governments have accused the Russian military of leading.
“I call on the militia groups to open a humanitarian corridor for Ukrainian service members who have been surrounded, so as to avoid any needless loss of life,” Mr. Putin said, “giving them the opportunity to leave the combat area unimpeded and reunite with their families, to return them to their mothers, wives and children, and to quickly provide medical assistance to those who were injured in the course of the military operation.” In light of the heightening of tensions, the Ukrainian prime minister, Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk, announced on Friday that a bill had been introduced in Parliament to urge for Ukraine’s nonaligned status to be canceled and for the country to “restore its aspirations to become a NATO member.”
“This law also reaffirms the main political goal of Ukraine — to become a member of the European Union,” Mr. Yatsenyuk said on his Facebook page, a clearinghouse for public announcements. “This law will prohibit the Ukrainian state to become part of any other economic, political or military alliances that would hinder the main goal of accession to the E.U.”
The law would prohibit Ukraine’s entrance into the Russian-led “Customs Union,” an economic grouping that includes Kazakhstan and Belarus that which Mr. Putin has promoted as a counterweight to the European Union.
The decision in December by the former President Viktor F. Yanukovych to spurn an association agreement with the European Union in favor of stronger ties with Russia sparked the Maidan protests in Kiev that eventually led to Mr. Yanukovych’s ouster.
In his message to the separatists, Mr. Putin said, “I call on the militia groups to open a humanitarian corridor for Ukrainian service members who have been surrounded, so as to avoid any needless loss of life, giving them the opportunity to leave the combat area unimpeded and reunite with their families, to return them to their mothers, wives and children, and to quickly provide medical assistance to those who were injured in the course of the military operation.”
Aleksandr Zakharchenko, the rebel leader who said on Thursday that more than 3,000 Russians, including active soldiers on leave, had fought among the separatists, quickly agreed to Mr. Putin’s proposal.Aleksandr Zakharchenko, the rebel leader who said on Thursday that more than 3,000 Russians, including active soldiers on leave, had fought among the separatists, quickly agreed to Mr. Putin’s proposal.
“With all respect to Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, the president of the country, which has helped us very much with moral support, we are ready to grant humanitarian corridors to the Ukrainian divisions surrounded in these pockets,” Mr. Zakharchenko said. Conditions included the surrender of all heavy armaments and ammunition.“With all respect to Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, the president of the country, which has helped us very much with moral support, we are ready to grant humanitarian corridors to the Ukrainian divisions surrounded in these pockets,” Mr. Zakharchenko said. Conditions included the surrender of all heavy armaments and ammunition.
The separatist counteroffensive, which began on Wednesday, has opened a new military front along the Sea of Azov and put the rebels within striking distance of Mariupol, a port city that is the second-largest in Ukraine’s southeast. Separatist leaders also said they had encircled 7,000 regular and irregular Ukrainian troops who had been cut off by the rapid advance of rebel tanks and artillery.The separatist counteroffensive, which began on Wednesday, has opened a new military front along the Sea of Azov and put the rebels within striking distance of Mariupol, a port city that is the second-largest in Ukraine’s southeast. Separatist leaders also said they had encircled 7,000 regular and irregular Ukrainian troops who had been cut off by the rapid advance of rebel tanks and artillery.
The offensive prompted fresh criticism from the West, and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany said on Thursday that the possibility of imposing new sanctions against Russia would be discussed at a European Union summit meeting in Brussels on Saturday. In preparation for the summit meeting, European Union foreign ministers gathered in Milan on Friday to discuss the position of the 28-nation bloc.The offensive prompted fresh criticism from the West, and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany said on Thursday that the possibility of imposing new sanctions against Russia would be discussed at a European Union summit meeting in Brussels on Saturday. In preparation for the summit meeting, European Union foreign ministers gathered in Milan on Friday to discuss the position of the 28-nation bloc.
The dollar was trading at more than 37 rubles on Friday morning, a historical high that exceeded the spike after the March annexation of the Crimean peninsula and the 2008 financial crisis.The dollar was trading at more than 37 rubles on Friday morning, a historical high that exceeded the spike after the March annexation of the Crimean peninsula and the 2008 financial crisis.
Natalia Orlova, head economist for Alfa Bank, said that reports of a Russian military presence inside Ukraine, which would indicate the possibility of “a new round of escalation,” caused the rapid fall of the ruble on Thursday.Natalia Orlova, head economist for Alfa Bank, said that reports of a Russian military presence inside Ukraine, which would indicate the possibility of “a new round of escalation,” caused the rapid fall of the ruble on Thursday.
“I think it’s all about sanctions,” Ms. Orlova said by telephone on Friday. “The market doesn’t perceive Russia as being a very active part of the military conflict, so the market, in other words, is not really pricing in Russian participation in the war. The market is just pricing the new round of sanctions.”“I think it’s all about sanctions,” Ms. Orlova said by telephone on Friday. “The market doesn’t perceive Russia as being a very active part of the military conflict, so the market, in other words, is not really pricing in Russian participation in the war. The market is just pricing the new round of sanctions.”
A decision by the Russian central bank not to support the ruble had also made the drop more dramatic, she said. A decision by the Russian central bank not to support the ruble had also made the drop more dramatic, she said. That decision was made in June after Moscow had already spent an estimated $25 billion to prop up the ruble.
Ukrainian and Western leaders have accused Mr. Putin of backing the rebels with arms, money and men, and have demanded that Russia use its influence over the separatists to put a stop to the fighting. Insofar as NATO and Western governments accused Russia on Thursday of having well over 1,000 active troops in Ukraine, it seemed unlikely that Mr. Putin’s curt and congratulatory statement would assuage anger toward him.Ukrainian and Western leaders have accused Mr. Putin of backing the rebels with arms, money and men, and have demanded that Russia use its influence over the separatists to put a stop to the fighting. Insofar as NATO and Western governments accused Russia on Thursday of having well over 1,000 active troops in Ukraine, it seemed unlikely that Mr. Putin’s curt and congratulatory statement would assuage anger toward him.
Speaking at an education forum for students on Friday, Mr. Putin said that Ukrainian government actions against the cities in that country’s southeast reminded him of the Nazi siege of Leningrad — one of the darkest and most emotional touchstones of recent Russian history. The government in Kiev was trying to destroy the will of the people who resist, he said.
“It reminds me of World War II, when German forces encircled Russian cities like Leningrad and hit residential quarters with heavy artillery,” he told students during a question-and-answer session broadcast live on state television.
Talking about the West, Mr. Putin said the position of “our partners,” as he understood it, was to give the Ukrainian authorities some time to shell the cities before they sat down to negotiate.
But Mr. Putin said he thought the solution to the situation was to force the government in Kiev to sit down to substantive talks with the rebels, not just on technical issues like the exchange of prisoners of war.
“You have to launch substantive negotiations, you have to understand what kinds of rights the people of Donbas and Luhansk will have,” Mr. Putin told the students at a forum held in a lake resort at Seliger, northwest of Moscow. “You have to assure the rights of these peoples.”
“But they don’t want to do that, that is the problem,” he said.
Mr. Putin also repeated his position that Russian soldiers captured inside Ukraine had gotten lost. He described the fighting as a “common tragedy” for the Slavic people, who shared the same roots, and hence should be solved.
Ukrainian irregular troops, who primarily serve in volunteer battalions, have complained in recent days of receiving no military support in pockets of strong separatist resistance. Semyon Semenchenko, the head of the pro-Kiev Donbass battalion, whose forces have been pinned down for more than a week in the city of Ilovaysk, called on Facebook for protests at the army’s headquarters in Kiev.Ukrainian irregular troops, who primarily serve in volunteer battalions, have complained in recent days of receiving no military support in pockets of strong separatist resistance. Semyon Semenchenko, the head of the pro-Kiev Donbass battalion, whose forces have been pinned down for more than a week in the city of Ilovaysk, called on Facebook for protests at the army’s headquarters in Kiev.
“We have been tricked once again,” Mr. Semenchenko wrote on Wednesday. “There will be no help today. Those responsible are the minister of defense and the commander of the ATO,” he wrote, using the shorthand for Kiev’s anti-terrorist operation against the rebels in the east.“We have been tricked once again,” Mr. Semenchenko wrote on Wednesday. “There will be no help today. Those responsible are the minister of defense and the commander of the ATO,” he wrote, using the shorthand for Kiev’s anti-terrorist operation against the rebels in the east.
The Ukrainian news media also reported that the Transcarpathian battalion, another pro-Kiev group, had returned home to western Ukraine after its soldiers came under heavy artillery fire from Grad rockets.The Ukrainian news media also reported that the Transcarpathian battalion, another pro-Kiev group, had returned home to western Ukraine after its soldiers came under heavy artillery fire from Grad rockets.