Sur le front du Donbass, près de Donetsk, l’armée ukrainienne attend toujours la « grande bataille » promise par Moscou

LAURENCE GEAI / MYOP POUR « LE MONDE »
LE MONDE : REPORTAGE | Au nord-ouest de la capitale de la république autoproclamée prorusse, les soldats de la 6e brigade ukrainienne sont retranchés dans leur position creusée en 2015. Leur objectif : bloquer toute avancée ennemie et intercepter les groupes de reconnaissance.

La journée du jeudi 21 avril est calme et ensoleillée sur la position avancée de la 6e brigade ukrainienne « Grigorovich », 5 kilomètres à l’ouest de Donetsk. Donc propice à une pluie d’acier, ajustée par les drones russes et les caméras d’observation dardées sur cette position creusée en 2015. Mais, en dépit des promesses du Kremlin d’une « grande bataille du Donbass », l’intensité des bombardements reste inexplicablement faible sur le front sud. On distingue les instruments et leur emplacement dans l’orchestre infernal de la guerre. » | Par Emmanuel Grynszpan (Donbass (Ukraine), envoyé spécial) | vendredi 23 avril 2022

Réservé àux abonnés

Ukraine Reinstates Conscription as Crisis Deepens

BBC: Ukraine's acting President Olexander Turchynov has reinstated military conscription to deal with deteriorating security in the east of the country.

The move, announced in a decree, came as pro-Russia militants seized the regional prosecutor's office in the eastern city of Donetsk.

Ukraine blames Russia for organising the seizures of a number of offices in the east, a claim Moscow denies.

Some 40,000 Russian troops are stationed near the Ukrainian border.

Mr Turchynov admitted on Wednesday that his forces were "helpless" to quell the unrest in some parts of the east, saying the goal was now to prevent it from spreading.

He also said Ukraine was on "full combat alert", amid fears that Russian troops could invade.

On Thursday, his office said in a statement that conscription was being introduced "given the deteriorating situation in the east and the south... the rising force of armed pro-Russian units and the taking of public administration buildings... which threaten territorial integrity". » | Thursday, May 01, 2014

East Ukraine Detainees: 'We Have Not Been Touched'

A group of kidnapped military observers give a press conference in Slavyansk, east Ukraine, where they are being held by pro-Russian separatists. Colonel Alex Schneider from Germany confirms the eight men have not been physically harmed but they have no indication of when, and under what conditions, they will be released

THE GUARDIAN: Ukraine: kidnapped observers paraded by pro-Russian gunmen in Slavyansk: European military observers deny they are Nato spies while captors insist they are 'not our hostages – they are our guests' » | Luke Harding in Donetsk and agencies | Sunday, April 27, 2014

Inside Story: Is Russia Planning to Destabilise Ukraine?

Pro-Moscow activists in Donetsk have declared a sovereign republic.

Ukraine Crisis: Donetsk Officials ‘Proclaim Independence from Kiev’ and Set Date for Referendum on Joining Russia

THE INDEPENDENT: Russian media reports suggest industrial hub Donetsk could be set to follow in footsteps of Crimea

The eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk has reportedly declared itself independent from the central government in Kiev and set a date for a referendum on joining Russia, according to local media reports.

The local government building was taken over last night by pro-Russian activists, and today members of the regional legislature moved to declare the city and its surrounds the Donetsk People’s Republic, the Russian news agency Itar Tass reported.

The Ukrainian prime minister denounced the creation of a separatist state, describing it as part of a Russian plan to invade the east of the country. » | Adam Withnall | Monday, April 07, 2014

Ticking Timebomb: Moscow Moves to Destabilize Eastern Ukraine

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: It's not only in Crimea where Russian President Vladimir Putin is playing with fire, but also in eastern Ukraine. The majority of the people in the economically powerful region speak Russian and reject the new government in Kiev.

The pensioner Oxana Kremenyuk limps as she passes by the House of Culture in a small village in eastern Ukraine. As a young woman, she used to dance here. Today the stucco is crumbling and the windows are broken. "The people in Kiev are driving our country into civil war," she says. "These good-for-nothings should be slaving away the way we do here." Kremenyuk receives a pension of about €90 ($125) a month. In order to ensure there is food on the table, she keeps 10 chickens and a pig.

Kremenyuk's village of Maidan, with its three dozen homes, is a peaceful place in a gentle, hilly landscape. The village is 378 kilometers (235 miles) -- but also worlds apart -- from the Maidan in the capital city of Kiev, the Independence Square that has become known around the world since the start of the revolution. Most of the village's homes have fallen into a state of disrepair and young families moved away long ago. The people living here don't think much of the revolution taking place in the western part of the country. Read on and comment » | Uwe Klussmann and Matthias Schepp | Translated from the German by Daryl Lindsey | Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Pro-Russia Protesters in Donetsk Want Referendum

BBC: As the voting took place in Crimea, in eastern Ukraine in the city of Donetsk, hundreds of pro-Russian protesters stormed government buildings, demanding their own referendum on whether to become part of Russia.

Steve Rosenberg reports. (+ BBC video) » | Sunday, March 16, 2014