Ukraine Crisis

Today there is a peace deal on paper in Ukraine, there is thankfully peace across a lot of Ukraine, but the peace deal is still being violated in key sectors," US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland said in a speech Thursday at an Aspen Institute conference in Berlin. Nuland added that the sanctions will remain in place until all Ukrainian hostages are released and Ukraine’s sovereignty is restored. Fighting continues between pro-Russian forces and Ukrainian forces in the eastern city of Donetsk, as well as around the towns of Debaltseve and Schastye. The United Nations said Wednesday that more than 300 people have been killed since a truce agreement was signed on September 5. Since then, the conflicting sides have been accusing each other of violating the truce. The West accuses Russia of stoking unrest in Ukraine by supplying weapons to pro-Russian forces fighting for control of eastern provinces. Moscow denies the accusations. The United States and the European Union have imposed several rounds of sanctions on Russia over the conflict in Ukraine, targeting the country’s banking, energy and defense sectors. The Russian parliament approved a bill Wednesday, granting compensation to individuals targeted by Western sanctions. The bill also allows Moscow to seize the assets of foreign individuals enabling the sanctions.