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November 21, 2014

Hundreds Killed Since Ceasefire in Eastern Ukraine; U.S. Sends Non-Lethal Military Aid 
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The United Nations says violence in eastern Ukraine is worsening despite
a more than two-month-old ceasefire. An average of 13 people a day have
been killed since the Ukrainian government reached a truce with
separatist rebels in early September. More than 4,300 people have been
killed and nearly half a million internally displaced since fighting
erupted in April. Speaking in Geneva, U.N. official Gianni Magazzeni
said eastern Ukraine has seen a "total breakdown in the rule of law."

Gianni Magazzeni: "Civilians continue to be killed, illegally detained,
tortured. They are disappearing, and the number of internally displaced
is growing, especially in the eastern part of Ukraine, where there is a
total breakdown in the rule of law and there is very little, if we can
talk about protection, very little protection, if any at all, no
procedural guarantees, no respect of international human rights norms."

The U.N.'s warning comes as Vice President Joe Biden is in Kiev to
announce a new increase in non-lethal military aid to the Ukrainian
military. The U.S. will supply its first shipment of Humvee vehicles
after ruling out weapons for now. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko
had asked for lethal military aid during a visit to Washington in
September.

 

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