2015-12-29 09:00:00

Fresh clashes in Ukraine prompt Western concerns


(Vatican Radio)  Ukraine's military says several people have died in new clashes between government troops and pro-Russian separatists in the country's war torn east despite a holiday truce. The violence comes amid Western concerns over political infighting and reports that a Russian teenager who opposed the war committed suicide after abuse.

Listen to Stefan Bos' report:

Ukraine's military said one of its soldiers and an elderly woman was among those killed in the latest fighting since this weekend. A separatist leader, Eduard Basurin, claimed his forces did not sustain any casualties but that two civilians - a man and a woman - died as a result of the fighting.

The clashes came despite an agreed Christmas and New Year ceasefire between the warring sides and pledges to remove heavy weapons from front lines in eastern Ukraine.

Even the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe observing the shaky truce isn't safe: It said its observers came under fire the same day near Ukraine's government-held port city of Mariupol, though no injuries were reported.

Turks evacuated

Amid the new clashes, Turkey has begun evacuating as many as two thousand ethnic Turks from eastern Ukraine. Some 300 ethnic Turks were already repatriated around Christmas Day.   

Kiev has Russia of supporting pro-Russian separatists with weapons and troops, charges Moscow denies.

Yet opposing the war can be dangerous in Russia: news has emerged that a Russian student, who had publicly opposed what he viewed as the invasion of Ukraine and Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, has been found dead.

Vladislav Pavlovich Kolesnikov, who was just 18, had been assaulted by classmates in the Moscow suburb of Podolsk after wearing a T-shirt featuring a Ukrainian flag and the words: "Return Crimea."

He reportedly committed suicide after even his grandfather publicly forced him out of his home and a media interview in which he was described as unworthy and fat.

Western concerns

While Ukrainian authorities were quick to praise his heroism, Western concerns have been raised about Kiev's own political bravery amid political infighting over how to tackle the war and corruption.   

A day in court for Ukrainian businessman-turned-politician Hennadiy Korban descended into chaos after thugs barged into the courtroom in Kiev and began randomly beating those in attendance.

The 45-year-old Korban was detained on October 31 on suspicion of kidnapping, embezzlement, and having ties with organized crime.

Among the charges he was accused of stealing $1.7 million from the National Defense Fund, whose resources are earmarked for Ukrainian soldiers fighting pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. Yet with reports of political fighting between pro-European coalition and opposition, the West has expressed 'concerns that early elections will have to be held which would be a setback for the United States.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden told reporters he had been speaking more often with Ukraine's leaders than with his own wife.   








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