PMF... Russia decided to validate Donbass residents' documents for humanitarian reasons and the presidential decree will remain in force until the Minsk peace deal is implemented, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Saturday. MUNICH (Sputnik) — Kremlin’s press office has released a statement saying Putin had signed a decree that validated IDs, birth certificates and vehicle registration plates, among other documents issued by eastern Ukrainian authorities to permanent residents, on Russian territory.
Lavrov said this issue had not been brought up during foreign ministers’ talks in the so-called Normandy Four format in Munich.
"The decree stated clearly this was made out of humanitarian concerns…until Minsk agreements have been fulfilled. The presidential decree validated IDs of Donbass residents so that they could enter Russia legally and use Russian rail transport and air carriers," he explained.
After the eruption of the crisis in Ukraine in 2014, over a million of Donbass residents applied for a refugee status and temporary shelter in Russia. According to Russia's Federal Migration Service, more than 1 million people fled to Russia following the outbreak of the civil war in Ukraine, of whom approximately 600,000 decided to settle there permanently.
Kiev launched a special military operation in Ukraine’s southeast in April 2014, after local residents refused to recognize the new Ukrainian authorities, which came to power as a result of a coup.
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Hosting Ukrainian Refugees Has Cost Russia Over 4 Bln Rubles © Sputnik/ Aleksandr Pogotov 03.09.2015 According to the Russian government's Investigative Committee, hosting refugees from conflict-torn Ukraine has cost Russia over four billion rubles ($60 million).
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Hosting refugees from conflict-torn Ukraine has cost Russia over four billion rubles ($60 million), the Russian government's Investigative Committee said Thursday.
"According to data obtained by Russian federal subjects on costs of the accommodation of Ukrainian refugees, Russia has suffered damage amounting to more than four billion rubles," committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said.
In April 2014, Kiev launched a military operation against independence militias in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.
According to Russia's Federal Migration Service, more than 1 million people fled to Russia following the outbreak of the civil war in Ukraine, of whom approximately 600,000 decided to settle there permanently.
Russia's Investigative Committee, the country's main investigating authority, said Thursday it had questioned nearly 112,000 witnesses and victims of possible war crimes in Ukraine.
"During the preliminary investigation of [war crime] criminal cases, 111,834 people were questioned as witnesses and victims, including 22,193 victims and 89,641 witnesses," committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said.
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Number of Ukrainian Refugees in Europe Exceeds 900,000 – UN Report © Sputnik/ Valery Melnikov 27.06.2015
A total of 1.35 million of Ukrainian citizens were registered as internally displaced persons. The majority of those who fled the country found shelter in Russia.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — More than 900,000 Ukrainians have fled conflict in the country since the beginning of a military operation in April 2014, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a report.
According to government sources in receiving countries, the total number of people seeking asylum or other forms of legal stay in neighbouring countries now stands at 900,300, with the majority going to the Russian Federation (746,500) and Belarus (81,200)," the report issued Friday read.
Besides Russia and Belarus, the list of host countries includes Germany, Poland, Italy, Sweden, France and many other European countries, according to the report.
"There were 4,603 applications for international protection in Germany, 3,600 in Poland, 2,956 in Italy, 1,962 in Sweden, 1,763 in France, 200 in Moldova, 60 in Romania, 60 in Hungary and 20 in Slovakia," the UNHCR findings highlighted.
Moreover, a total of 1.35 million of Ukrainian citizens were registered as internally displaced persons (IDPs), the report said.
The Ukrainian conflict escalated in spring 2014, when Kiev launched a military offense to suppress independence supporters of eastern Ukraine for refusing to recognize a coup-imposed government.
Eastern regions of Ukraine are still facing a severe humanitarian crisis in spite of the fact that the warring sides signed a ceasefire deal in February. Local residents leave their homes for fear of being killed or injured amid ongoing hostilities.
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Farewell to Arms: Over 10,000 Soldiers Desert Ukrainian Army © Sputnik/ Julia Nasulina
After Minsk: Will Peace Come to Ukraine?
Desertion galore: Ukrainian men understand the absurdity of the war their government is waging.
More than 10,000 cases of desertion have been registered in the Ukrainian Army since the outbreak of the Donbass war in April 2014, Ukrainian Vesti reported.
In 2014 the army suffered heavy desertion and nearly 30 percent of the servicemen called up in the first wave of mobilization (March 17) abandoned their positions, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said.
Ukrainian parliament Verkhovna Rada has announced six waves of mobilization so far. By the end of 2014 the strength of Ukrainian Armed Forces grew from 130,000 to 232,000.
Ukrainians have been protesting against the mobilization. They travel to work abroad or simply reside at their relatives' in other countries. Almost 1,3 million Ukrainian draftees live in Russia.
Since April 7, 2014 the Kiev authorities have been waging war against Donbass self-defense forces who rejected the legitimacy of the coup-imposed Ukrainian government and declared the independent republics of Donetsk and Lugansk.
Official figures estimate the number of victims to near 6,500. But the German intelligence reported of 50,000 victims in February 2015.
Poster Comment:
Jew can't give up now; needs all of Ukraine as means of worming into NATO to give Israel an official ally from Europe, especially while things unsettled in Washington.