Common sense prevailed’: Ukraine releases Russian paratroopers
Edited time: August 31, 2014 09:27
A group of Russian servicemen, who are detained by Ukrainian authorities, attend a news conference in Kiev August 27, 2014. (Reuters/Valentyn Ogirenko)
All Russian paratroopers who were detained earlier in the week in eastern Ukraine have been handed over to the Russian side, deputy commander of the Airborne Forces, Major-General Aleksey Ragozin has confirmed.
“The negotiations were very difficult. However, common sense prevailed, and all ended well,” Ragozin said on Saturday night, cited by RIA.
“The most important thing – all the guys are now back with us, in Russia. I want to emphasize that we never abandon our own,” he added.
From the very first minute the patrol was caught after accidentally crossing the border the Russian side was doing everything possible to secure their release, Ragozin said.
“Our guys feel sorry that this happened,” he said, adding that they will be provided with all necessary “psychological and other assistance.”
“I consider it unacceptable that for so many days our soldiers were held by the Ukrainian side and, moreover, were transferred to Kiev,” he stated. “At the same time, hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers who found themselves on the territory of Russia, after the provision of comprehensive care by the relevant authorities were immediately transferred back to Ukraine.”
OP-EDGE: Kiev ‘milked’ Russian paratroopers incident for publicity purposes
In the meantime, Ragozin announced, 63 Kiev’s troops who crossed into Russia this week have been transported to the Nekhoteevka border checkpoint and transferred to the Ukrainian side. The soldiers sought refuge in Russia on Wednesday and were accommodated in a temporary camp in Rostov Region, he said, and provided with all necessary help.
Kiev’s army announced August 26 that it had captured the Russian paratroopers after their incursion into Ukraine. The military officials claimed the 10 detained servicemen had crossed the border to fight alongside anti-government forces.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the soldiers had been on a routine patrol, which accidentally strayed into foreign territory without any hostile intent.
READ MORE: Russian soldiers captured in Ukraine say they ‘were lost’ in Kiev-released video
President Vladimir Putin reiterated that Friday. “In fact, this is the case, I’m talking seriously. I believe that they had just gotten lost because there are no boundary markers there,” the president said.
Putin also said that he had negotiated the release of the paratroopers with his Ukrainian counterpart during their meeting in Minsk, Belarus, earlier this week.
“I believe this is just a technical issue. Petro Poroshenko and I talked about this [in Minsk] and he affirmed that the Russian military servicemen would be handed back over to Russia, just as we continue to return soldiers [to Ukraine] from the Ukrainian Army,” Putin said.
Moscow has reiterated there have been numerous cases of incursions into Russian territory by Ukrainian soldiers. At least one incident involved an armored personnel carrier, and the soldiers were armed.
At the beginning of August, over 400 Ukrainian troops were allowed to cross into Russia after requesting sanctuary.
Russia has always been quick in handing back Ukrainian soldiers who’ve crossed into its territory, while giving sanctuary to those servicemen who wanted to stay.
http://103.5.149.34/op-edge/183988-russian-troops-released-ukraine/
Putin: Impossible to say when political crisis in Ukraine will end
Edited time: August 31, 2014 10:52
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on Kiev to start substantial talks on deescalating the crisis in eastern Ukraine. He added that it’s an illusion to expect that the rebels would calmly watch their homes being destroyed.“We have agreed on a plan, so its realization must be pursued,” Putin told Channel 1 TV, adding that the Ukrainian government “must immediately start substantial talks – not a technical discussion – on the political organization of society and the state in southeast Ukraine so that the interests of people who live there are protected.”
The plan, according to Russia’s leader, puts negotiations at the center of the peace process. In a clear reference to the toppling of Viktor Yanukovich by the Maidan movement in February, Putin said that mistakes such as a power takeover should be avoided and called it the main cause of today’s crisis.
The Russian president called on Kiev to consider the upcoming autumn and winter period and think about the heating season. The devastated infrastructure of the southeast requires full repair otherwise people might just freeze to death, he said.
“It looks as if only Russia cares about that. The first most essential condition is to stop combat operations and begin reconstruction of the infrastructure, replenish inventories, do the necessary repairs and scheduled maintenance to be ready for the cold season.”
Putin said that, while the resolution of the crisis now mostly depends on Kiev, it is impossible to say when it may end. He said it could be explained by the upcoming Ukrainian parliamentary elections.
“All the participants in the electoral race will want to show how cool they are,” Putin said. “Everyone will want to show they are strongmen or strongwomen, and as the political struggle sharpens it is hard to expect anyone to seek a peaceful resolution and not a military one.”
At the same time, it is an illusion that the rebels would sit and patiently wait for the promised talks to start, Putin said, especially when they see “cities and towns in southeast Ukraine shelled to the ground with direct fire.”
The Russian leader accused the Ukrainian military of force readjustment during the ceasefire in humanitarian corridors granted by eastern self-defense militia to entrapped Ukrainian troops.
“They [Kiev] used this pause to bring more troops and attempt to break the entrapments by force and lead their troops out,” said president, pointing out that such actions begot distrust and led to extensive fatalities.
Commenting on the new batch of sanctions against Russia threatened by western countries, Putin advised his counterparts to think again about what they are advocating.
“What are the so-called European values then? Support for an armed coup, suppression of opponents with armed forces – so these are ‘European values’? I believe our colleagues should be reminded of their own ideals,” the president said.
As for the countermeasures Russia has taken, imposing a ban on certain food imports from the US, EU and several other countries, Putin believes the sanctioned European countries might find it hard to return to the Russian market. He expects new importers from Latin America, China and Russia’s eastern neighbors to secure the market during the year, and then it would “very difficult, almost impossible to budge them.”
http://rt.com/news/184040-ukraine-putin-peace-plan/
Kiev, 31 ago. – (Adnkronos/Dpa) – Scambio di prigionieri tra Russia e Ucraina. I dieci soldati russi catturati dall’esercito di Kiev in territorio ucraino sono stati consegnati all’unita’ cui appartengono. L’annuncio e’ arrivato dal generale di divisione russo Alexei Ragosin: “I negoziati non sono stati facili”, ha commentato il militare citato dall’Itar-Tass, aggiungendo che Mosca ha consegnato a sua volta a Kiev oltre 60 soldati ucraini sconfinati in territorio russo durante scontri nella zona del Donbass.