Russia declares military maneuvers near Ukraine over - NATO wants to meet

Created: 12/25/2021, 3:35 PM

From: Josef Forster

The Kremlin, headed by President Vladimir Putin, denied interference in the conflict in Eastern Ukraine © Alexei Nikolsky / dpa

According to reports from international observers, the last time the ceasefire broke in eastern Ukraine.

Russia rejects any involvement.

• The OSCE * reported a breach of the ceasefire between the Ukrainian army and separatists in the east of the country

  (see initial report).

• Russia denies meddling in the conflict.

• The contact between NATO and Russia * could be strengthened in a joint exchange (

  see update from December 25th, 3 p.m.

  ).

• This news ticker is continuously updated.

Update from December 25th, 3 p.m.:

For the first time in two and a half years, the NATO-Russia Council could meet again in January.

A NATO official confirmed in Brussels on Saturday that Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg * had decided to call a meeting of the format on January 12th.

We are in contact with Russia in this regard.

The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed receipt of the proposal, but also said it was still being examined.

The format and timing have yet to be clarified.

"But we are open to a dialogue," said spokeswoman Maria Sakharova of the Tass agency.

The NATO official referred to a NATO statement on the tense situation on the Russian-Ukrainian border on December 16.

It states, among other things, that any dialogue with Russia must take place on the basis of reciprocity and deal with NATO's concerns about Russia's actions.

OSCE reports: Armistice broken in eastern Ukraine

First report from December 25th, 2 p.m .:

Munich / Kiev - The ceasefire agreement was breached in eastern Ukraine.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) observed more than 200 violations in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions on the night of December 25th.

The Ukrainian army and separatists * had previously agreed to abide by the ceasefire that was agreed a year and a half ago.

The Ukrainian army announced on Saturday morning that the opposing side had violated the agreement five times the day before.

A soldier was injured.

This information could not be verified independently at first.

Shortly before Christmas, Germany and France as mediators called for the ceasefire to be “fully observed”.

The conflict in eastern Ukraine has been going on since 2014. According to United Nations estimates, more than 13,000 people have died there so far.

Reports of alleged Russian preparations for an invasion of Ukraine have been causing international concern for weeks.

Russia had rejected that.

The Kremlin, headed by President Vladimir Putin *, has also denied support for the separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Eastern Ukraine: International community concerned about Russian force relocations

Recently, NATO expressed concern about Russian troop relocations on the border with Ukraine *.

There were fears that the Russian army might invade the neighboring country.

Moscow denied any plans to attack and declared the maneuver over.

More than 10,000 soldiers have returned to their bases, said the Ministry of Defense in Moscow on Saturday.

According to this, "combat exercises" had taken place at various military locations in the Russian regions of Volgograd, Rostov and Krasnodar as well as on the annexed Crimean peninsula *, which are in close proximity to Ukraine.

Russia: Military declares maneuvers over

According to the ministry, maneuvers also took place in areas further from the Ukrainian border.

The Russian regions of Stavropol, Astrakhan and the North Caucasus were also mentioned, but also Armenia and the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

The military did not provide any information about which bases the soldiers had returned to.

In order to ensure a high level of alert during the holidays “on the military bases of the Southern Military District”, the bases were assigned additional units “in order to be prepared for possible emergency situations,” added the ministry.

*