New fighting in eastern Ukraine has put a shaky, two-month old cease-fire in doubt, fueled by new supplies of heavy weapons to Russian-backed rebels, and leaving the White House “very concerned” about what may happen next.
Reuters reporters in Donetsk said shelling in the city on Sunday was the heaviest it has been in a month, and appeared to be coming from both government-held and rebel-held areas. The shelling came a week after rebels in Donetsk and the neighboring Luhansk region declared independent “people’s republics” after a referendum.
Meanwhile, Russia appears to be reinforcing the rebels with heavy weapons. AFP reported that a convoy of 21 trucks, six tanks and 14 howitzer cannons was seen driving through rebel-held territory to Donetsk on Monday.
It was the fourth day in a row that Russian heavy weapons were seen moving into Ukraine in violation of the Sept. 5 cease-fire deal signed in Minsk. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe reported Sunday that its observers had seen Russian convoys bringing multiple launch rocket systems, artillery and ammunition to Donetsk. And the Ukrainian government said Friday that Russian tanks, artillery and ammunition had been supplied to the rebels.
The Obama administration is “very concerned” about the reports of intensified fighting and weapons going to the rebels, National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said Sunday.
“We continue to call on all sides to strictly adhere to the ceasefire. Any attempt by separatist forces to seize additional territory in eastern Ukraine would be a blatant violation of the Minsk agreements,” she said. “We reiterate our call on the Russian Federation to honor all of the commitments it made in Minsk, including ending its military supply to the separatists and the withdrawal of all of its troops and weapons from Ukraine. Furthermore, Russia must enable the restoration of Ukrainian sovereignty along the Ukrainian side of the international border, to be monitored by the OSCE, and facilitate the release of all hostages.”
The renewed crisis puts President Obama in a difficult position, caught between his determination for a peaceful solution to the conflict and growing fears among NATO allies in eastern Europe that Russian President Vladimir Putin is willing to risk war to get what he wants. Those fears are shared by many in the new Republican majority in Congress, who are likely to press Obama to take a tougher line against the Kremlin and perhaps also arm Ukraine’s military — an idea Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the likely incoming Armed Services Committee chairman, has been pushing.
