Russia vs. NATO – It’s War Time

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

DONETSK, Ukraine – U.S. Senators Dick Lugar (R-IN) and Barack Obama (D-IL) called for the immediate destruction of 15,000 tons of ammunition, 400,000 small arms and light weapons, and 1,000 man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS) or shoulder missile launchers that are often sought by terrorists.

Lugar and Obama toured the Donetsk State Chemical Production Plant, a conventional weapons destruction facility where the U.S. has taken the lead in a three-year NATO program to destroy the weapons. Another 117,000 tons of ammunition and 1.1 million small arms and light weapons are slated for destruction within 12 years.

So far, the U.S. has contributed $2.1 million to the project, and Austria, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom have contributed $1.2 million.

While the destruction is ready to begin, the Ukrainian Rada (parliament) first must pass a law exempting the foreign assistance from taxation. Lugar and Obama discussed this issue with Rada Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn, Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko and President Viktor Yushchenko in meetings yesterday. All three leaders indicated they would promote action before the March 2006 parliamentary elections.

The visit underscores the importance of legislation Lugar and Obama have authored that would commit additional U.S. resources and expand authorities in cooperative threat reduction of conventional weapons around the world. The bill is part of the Foreign Relations Authorization Bill that is pending in the Senate and will be introduced as a free-standing bill by the senators this fall.

Ukraine's military has threatened to use its "entire arsenal" against pro-Russia forces in the restive east, despite a February peace plan forbidding the use of heavy weapons.

"We will use our entire arsenal and all the means at our disposal to beat back the enemy's assault," Ukrainian military spokesman Vladyslav Seleznyov told AFP on Tuesday.

Kiev claims the eastern fighters have launched a fresh missile assault north of government-controlled Mariupol.

"The rebels used to launch Grad missile attacks on rare occasions. Now, it is an everyday occurrence," Seleznyov said, adding, "We cannot risk the lives of our soldiers."

Meanwhile, the pro-Russians blame Kiev for the latest surge in violence along the 500-kilometer (300-mile) frontier.

One of the leaders of the pro-Russia fighters says Kiev's army has fired 500 mortar shells and rockets at the eastern fighters positions since Monday afternoon, killing one fighter and a civilian.

The warring sides signed a peace deal dubbed Minsk II, at a summit in Minsk, in February. The agreement requires both sides to observe the ceasefire and pull out all heavy weapons, among other measures, to reach a final peace deal.

The full implementation of the agreement has been put on ice with neither side pulling back their heavy weapons from the war zone, according to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

UK minister in Ukraine

Meanwhile, British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon met Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk in Kiev on Tuesday, reiterating support for the Kiev government.

"The conflict is not settled," Fallon was further quoted as saying by Yatsenyuk's office, adding that the issue remained "red hot."

Fallon is scheduled to conduct an inspection of the British military group deployed to the country to train around 650 Ukrainian soldiers in latest warfare.