Rebel forces seize strategic Debaltseve: Two days after a ceasefire agreement was supposed to come into force, pro-Russian separatist forces seized parts of a strategic railway hub of Debaltseve in intense street fighting. On Tuesday, the battle for the town escalated, with both the Ukrainian Army and Russian-backed rebels saying that their soldiers were engaging in […]
Eurogroup issues Greece an ultimatum: Talks between Greece and eurozone finance ministers over the country’s debt crisis broke down on Monday when Athens rejected a proposal to request a six-month extension of its international bailout package. European creditors issued Greece with an ultimatum, saying the country must accept a key condition in bailout talks by
Terror in Copenhagen: A 22-year-old Danish-born gunman killed two people at a Copenhagen synagogue and an event promoting free speech, and wounded at least five policemen. The police shot and killed the man who had a history of violence and may have been inspired by the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris, Danish authorities said. In
New ceasefire deal in Minsk: After 16 hours of negotiations in Minsk, Belarus, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko negotiated a 13-point agreement to end the war in Ukraine. Under the deal, both sides must stop firing on each other at midnight on Saturday. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Peace summit in Minsk: Angela Merkel, Francois Hollande, Petro Poroshenko und Vladimir Putin have started peace discussions in Minsk. The foreign ministers of the four countries were invited to a so-called extended format of the talks. Surprisingly, the separatist leaders travelled to Belarus as well. At the outset of the negotiations, massive battles continued in
Ukraine launches offensive: The Ukrainian military has launched an offensive against separatists near Mariupol. Government forces broke through rebel positions, with Ukraine blaming the separatists for shelling its command post. Rockets fired by insurgents hit the military headquarters and a nearby residential area in the city of Kramatorsk, killing 15 people. U.S. President Barack Obama
EU delays enforcement of sanctions: The European Union delayed putting more Ukrainian separatists and Russians on its sanctions list to give a Franco-German peace plan for Ukraine time to work. The leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany will meet in Minsk on Wednesday to try to broker a new ceasefire in eastern Ukraine. According
Ukraine shapes debate at Munich Security Conference: The Ukraine crisis and the nuclear negotiations with Iran were the big issues at the Security Conference in Munich. German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her belief that sending weapons to Ukraine would not lead to progress in achieving peace. US Secretary of State John Kerry said, the US
ECB gives Athens emergency credit: The European Central Bank is giving Athens emergency credits worth billions and promising Greece more leeway. Reports suggest a ceiling of 60 billion euros. Previously the ECB announced that it will no longer accept bonds from Greek banks as security. The credit institutions in the country could thus soon become
Tsipras and Varoufakis tour Europe: Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis are promoting their new program across Europe. Tsipras went to Brussels to meet Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, EU Council President Donald Tusk and EU Parliament President Martin Schulz. Varoufakis met ECB chief Mario Draghi in Frankfurt. The European Central
