Ukraine fears ‘big war’ as Russia sends in more troops

Rocket attacks and peace-deal violations fuel concerns

Military authorities in Ukraine believe the number of Russian troops within and close to its borders has risen to more than 50,000, raising fears of a substantial escalation in the conflict raging in Ukraine’s eastern regions.

Almost 9,000 Russian Federation Armed Forces personnel are believed to be based inside Ukraine, according to reports from the country’s National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) seen by The Independent on Sunday. The rest are based in the neighbouring Rostov region of Russia, including mechanised assault units and communications command systems.

An Unofficial Plebiscite

BERLIN/BARCELONA (Own report) – The German establishment is sending mixed signals in reaction to the announcement of an unofficial plebiscite on Catalonia’s secession from Spain. Catalan Prime Minister Artur Mas has declared the September 27 regional elections a de facto plebiscite on the region’s secession. Should his alliance secure the absolute majority, he will proclaim independence from Spain within 8 months. In the past, Germany had repeatedly supported Catalan secession. Influential German think tanks are demanding that secession not be obstructed. However, there is opposition rising from within business circles. Catalonia is a central site for German companies in Spain. Engaged in trade throughout Spain, they do not want to see their business possibilities limited to one region and Barcelona’s secession from Madrid could possibly prove an obstacle. According to German government advisors, on the other hand, these problems could be solved. Some economists contend that the EU’s currency, the Euro, can, in the long run, only be maintained within a uniform economic area. This would exclude Spain, but include a seceded Catalonia, the strongest economic zone on the Iberian Peninsular.

Ukraine’s Poroshenko warns of ‘full-scale’ Russia invasion

President Petro Poroshenko has told MPs the military must prepare to defend against a possible “full-scale invasion” from Russia, amid a surge of violence in eastern Ukraine.

Russia has denied that its military is involved in Ukraine, but Mr Poroshenko said 9,000 of its troops were deployed.

Clashes involving tanks took place in two areas west of Donetsk on Wednesday.

There was a “colossal threat” that large-scale fighting would resume, the president told parliament in Kiev.

Dangerous Propaganda

BERLIN/WASHINGTON (Own report) – The German news magazine “Der Spiegel” reported in its latest edition that the German chancellery is accusing NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Philip Breedlove, of making “dangerous propaganda.” According to the German government, Breedlove is completely exaggerating Russia’s military activities in Eastern Ukraine. He claims having detected Russian military equipment, including tanks and air defense systems in Ukraine. Germany’s foreign intelligence agency BND, however, could neither detect these in their own satellite imagery nor acquire adequate information from its allied US intelligence services. Breedlove has also completely exaggerated the number of Russian troops at the Ukrainian border. However, the German government has also repeatedly used this type of propaganda, for example during the aggression against Yugoslavia in 1999. The German government’s criticism of Breedlove, reported by “Der Spiegel,” reflects the strategic differences between Washington and Berlin. Germany’s “dual strategy” approach toward Russia, taken from the West’s cold war strategy, is incompatible with the policy of unbridled aggression, championed by the war hawk wing of the US establishment. Breedlove, who is now being criticized by Germany, is a representative of this group.

Russian-Backed Rebels Launch Assault on Donetsk Airport

The Russian-backed separatists are reportedly firing artillery at the airport grounds that are controlled by Ukrainian government troops. Five government soldiers and some rebels died in the fighting, according to Ukraine’s Defense Council, and there were additional reports of civilian casualties on Wednesday.

Ongoing clashes in Donetsk, where the separatists say they have established an independent “People’s Republic,” violate the ceasefire agreement reached last month in the Belarusian capital of Minsk. Both sides agreed to put down arms and release prisoners.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said this week that the rebel offensive could derail the ceasefire

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Donald Jensen, resident fellow at Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Transatlantic Relations, said in an interview that the Russian-backed rebels in some ways never intended to comply with the ceasefire. Still, Russian President Vladimir Putin might want to maintain a frozen conflict and not push for more territory in Ukraine.

Regional body to establish anti-terror unit

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization will set up a special unit to help combat terrorism, amid the increasing threat of terrorist activities facing China and Central Asia.

“Many terrorists who carried out deadly attacks in China watched or listened to video or audio files online with extremist ideological content, but such materials are produced or uploaded outside China,” Zhang Xinfeng, director of the Eurasian grouping’s regional anti-terrorist structure executive committee, said at its headquarters in Tashkent, capital of Uzbekistan.

“The regional anti-terrorist structure decided to set up a special unit at the end of 2013 to deal with the new situation.”

Ukraine pushes tanks and troops into separatist east

IZYUM (Ukraine) (AFP) – Ukraine pushed tanks toward a flashpoint eastern city on Tuesday to quash a separatist surge backed by Moscow — a high-risk operation that was sharply condemned by the Kremlin but won Washington’s support.

The 20 tanks and armoured personnel carriers were the most forceful response yet by the Western-backed government in Kiev to the pro-Kremlin militants’ occupation of state buildings in nearly 10 cities across Ukraine’s rust belt.

Ukrainian forces set up a cement road barrier and began checking traffic leading to Slavyansk while fighters and attack helicopters circled overhead.