New Corridors

From the BBC:

"Ukraine to create humanitarian corridors"

Ukraine's new President Petro Poroshenko has ordered the creation of humanitarian corridors so civilians can flee areas of the east hit by conflict. Scores have died in recent fighting in the eastern Ukraine between government troops and pro-Russia militants who want to break away from Kiev.

Thousands of people are thought to have been displaced by the fighting. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov welcomed Mr Poroshenko's move, but said what was needed most was a ceasefire.

The government in Kiev says Moscow is backing the armed separatists in the east, an accusation that Russia denies. At his inauguration on Saturday, Mr Poroshenko had promised he would provide safe passage for "Russian militants" out of Ukraine.  In a short statement on Tuesday, his office clarified this further, saying that "to avoid new victims in the zone of the anti-terrorist operation, the president has ordered the responsible ministers to bring about all necessary conditions for civilians who want to leave".  The government has also been ordered to provide transport, food and medical supplies for local officials to be able to handle the expected inflow of displaced people into other areas of Ukraine. The move to create these corridors may allay concerns from human rights groups about Kiev's use of tanks and air power to suppress the pro-Russian militia. But Mr Poroshenko has still not accepted the Kremlin's request to allow Russian aid into the east - a move that Kiev fears could be used to arm the rebels.  The violence is continuing in two eastern regions, Donetsk and Luhansk, where separatists have declared independence.  Pro-Russia gunmen are holding several government buildings, and Ukrainian troops are taking part in a "counter-terror operation". Some of the worst attacks have been in and around the towns of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. After a meeting in the Russian city of St Petersburg on Tuesday with his Russian and Polish counterparts, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said there had been a "new atmosphere" in recent days, and that he could see "the light at the end of the tunnel".  Mr Steinmeier also called on Russia and Ukraine to co-operate more closely on controlling their shared borders.  Mr Poroshenko has called for daily meetings on the situation in the east, involving representatives from Kiev, Moscow and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). The fighting is concentrated in regions which have extensive trade and cultural ties with Russia.  The countries are also locked in a dispute over gas supplies, with Russia saying Ukraine owes it almost $2.5bn (£1.6bn) in backdated payments. Russia vastly increased its prices after the uprising which ousted Ukraine's pro-Moscow government earlier this year, and Kiev has so far refused to pay the full amount in protest.  Russia had given Ukraine a deadline of Tuesday to pay some of its debts or face being cut off, a move which potentially could disrupt supplies to the EU, as about 15% of Europe's gas from Russia transits through Ukraine. Talks between officials from both countries were due to begin in Brussels on Tuesday evening, but have been postponed by a day because of the late arrival of the Russians.

^ The only real way this whole situation will end is if Russia stops supplying (both men and weapons) to the pro-Russian militants and then the militants return to Russia. They claim they want to live in Russia so let them leave and live in Russia. Russia is trying to act as though they are the great crusader protecting the ethnic Russians from an imaginary enemy. If any region of Russia tried to do what is happening in eastern Ukraine and the Crimea then you can be sure Russia would send in it's full strength to destroy every last one of them - like they did in Chechnya. The Ukraine is only trying to stop the militants from killing innocent people who simply want to live in peace the way they have in an independent Ukraine since 1991. It wasn't until Russia decided to "spread it's wings" and try to keep their spheres of influence through force that the violence started. The end result should be to allow anyone who wants to live in Russia to leave Ukrainian territory and resettle in the Russian Federation and let the rest live in a peaceful and stable Ukraine. ^

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27776186