http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/24/world/europe/ukraine-violence.html?ref=world&_r=0
In the midst of their winter, Eastern Ukraine is battling Russian armies and equipment that have recently invaded. This breaks the cease fire put in place in September, and civilians are facing violence of mortars and tanks while rebels fight back against the invasion. This new attack has shown that Vladimir Putin will not be held back by Western sanctions and collapsed oil prices. Seperatist leader Aleksandr Zakharchenko has released statements that they will not stop until Ukrainian armies are pushed back out of the Donetsk region, especially with the new reinforcements and ununiformed troops from Russia. In spite of the economic risk from the West, Putin's annexation of Crimea and tensions with the West have actually raised his approval rating. President Petro O. Poroshenko commented on the fighting, "If the enemy does not want to abide by the cease-fire, if the enemy doesn't want to stop the suffering of innocent people in Ukrainian villages and towns, we will give it to them in the teeth." This resurgence of violence on the part of Russian supported rebels shows that pressure from the West is not enough to prevent the aggressive attacks on Eastern Ukraine. I am curious how the international community will react in light of the broken cease-fire agreement.
Allie Grossmann
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News gap: most civilian deaths in Ukraine are from the Ukrainian Army bombarding cities in the Donbass with missiles, rockets, and artillery. Preferred method since the Novorossiyans and the Russian special forces tend to crush the Ukrainian forces when they actually send in the troops to try to capture ground.
Of course, US media reports exclusively the statements of the Ukrainian army and government, so the only time that civilian deaths make the news is when a number are killed by the Russian forces instead.
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