Here is a map of the latest military situation in east Ukraine issued by Kyiv's National Security and Defense Council (click image to enlarge):
In case you missed it, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk gave an extensive interview to the German magazine "Spiegel" at the weekend. Here are some of his most revealing comments:
SPIEGEL: Is the West doing enough to support your country?
Yatsenyuk: The West is doing what it can.
SPIEGEL: You don't sound satisfied.
Yatsenyuk: The West's room for maneuver vis-a-vis Putin is limited. It is positive that the United States and the European Union show a great deal of unity. Putin did not expect that. He thought he could split the EU, but the opposite happened: The EU imposed sanctions and even scaled them up. Of course we need more financial and military aid, the supply of lethal weapons is of crucial importance to us.
SPIEGEL: NATO stated clearly that there's no military solution to the conflict. But you seem to think differently.
Yatsenyuk: A military solution would not be the best. My aim is not to start a new offensive against Russian soldiers, but to deter Russia from further aggression. The thing is that the EU is always playing by the rules. Putin is always playing with the rules. At the beginning, many thought that, after annexing Crimea, the beast would calm down. But he continued by supporting the so-called separatists in eastern Ukraine. When we started our anti-terror operation, Putin sent in regular troops. Appeasement has never worked and it won't work with Putin. Of course one can argue that Crimea belonged to the Czarist Empire two centuries ago. One can quarrel over what territory, historically, belongs to whom. But that does not give Russia the right to violate Ukraine's territorial sovereignty.
SPIEGEL: Is it helpful to label the Ukrainian military offensive as an anti-terror-operation at a point when many people in eastern Ukraine already view the government in Kiev with suspicion?
Yatsenyuk: For a long time we have been trying to win the hearts of the people in Donetsk and Luhansk. My government was ready to devote additional powers to the regions. In addition, taking into account the interest of the Russian minority, we have not moved to implement the decision by parliament on the language law and have restored the possibility for the regional councils to grant special status to regional languages, including the Russian language. But when we were attacked militarily it was our duty to defend our country.
SPIEGEL: Your government has stopped paying salaries and pensions to people in the territories not controlled by your government. It seems that you've already given up these parts of eastern Ukraine.
Yatsenyuk: That's not true. We still supply gas and electricity. That costs us $200 million per month. Those who register can receive the money in other regions. We are not able to pay salaries or refill automated teller machines because the terrorists rob the money transports.
SPIEGEL: How do you intend to make peace in eastern Ukraine?
Yatsenyuk: First we must deescalate the situation, and that is only possible on the basis of the Minsk Protocol. I am skeptical about deals with Russia, but there's nothing else we have on the table. Russia has supported and signed it. It provides that all Russian soldiers have to be pulled out. In exchange, we have promised to bestow the Donbass region with a special status and we have passed an amnesty law. The Minsk deal also stipulates that the border will be controlled by Kiev.
SPIEGEL: Is this the reason you are planning to build a 2,000-kilometer (1,243 mile) long fence along the border to Russia?
Yatsenyuk: It is also in the European interest that the border between Ukraine and Russia is well protected and illegal immigrants, weapons or drugs can no longer be smuggled via this border into Europe.
SPIEGEL: It would create an Iron Curtain between two brother people.
Yatsenyuk: I'm always very cautious about this "brotherhood" concept. Frankly speaking, I don't need such relatives who grab my land and kill my people.
Read the entire interview here