August 24, 2016 (Politico) More than 200
military vehicles - including tanks and missile carriers - flanked by ranks of
troops are being prepared for Ukraine’s largest-ever military parade on
Wednesday.
The martial tone of Ukraine’s
independence day celebrations isn’t unexpected. Two years ago, the date marked a large-scale
offensive by Russian-backed forces in eastern Ukraine, while last year, late
August saw another upsurge in violence. The worry is that the same thing will
happen again this year.
In Kremlin-annexed Crimea, Russian forces
conducted military exercises this week. Video footage showed soldiers
and heavy machinery making amphibious beachhead landings.
Fighting between Ukrainian forces
and Russian-backed separatists has escalated dramatically in eastern Ukraine,
and Kiev officials say that some 40,000 Russian troops have moved close to
Ukraine’s borders. Last week, Petro Poroshenko, Ukraine’s president, warned of
the possibility of a “full-scale invasion on all fronts.”
Poroshenko has placed Ukraine’s
army on high alert and said he could introduce martial law if the situation
worsens further. Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces reported their worst month of
casualties in a year.
Read the
full article at http://www.politico.eu/article/ukraine-independence-day-2016-military-parade-russia/
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