Pope Francis’ prayer for peace in Ukraine on Sunday came amid mounting concerns over escalating tensions in the east. Record shelling in eastern Ukraine has killed combatants and civilians on both sides in recent days.
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Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Monday accused Russian Federation of sending major military backup to pro-Moscow rebels, speaking just ahead of talks on the conflict with the French and German leaders. And speaking last week in Crimea, Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed Kyiv for fuelling the tensions. President Petro Poroshenko and his family kicked off the holiday in a ceremony on St. Michael’s Square and later went to Institutska Street near Independence Square to pay their respects to the Heavenly Hundred, the 100 demonstrators killed during the EuroMaidan Revolution that prompted President Viktor Yanukovych to flee for Russian Federation past year . New military convoys had been tracked crossing the border into Ukraine last week, he added.
Poroshenko accused Russia of having sent a total of up to 500 tanks, 400 artillery systems and up to 950 military armored vehicles to pro-Russian rebels, although he did not specify the time period for these deliveries.
The troops carried rifles but, unlike previous year , the parade did not feature any of the more powerful weaponry which could be viewed as sensitive as Ukraine is mired in a conflict between government forces and Russia-backed separatists.
Kiev and Western countries accuse Russian Federation of supplying arms to the rebels and deploying regular troops in the separatist east, which Moscow denies. In a show of force, thousands of Ukrainian servicemen marched in downtown Kiev on to mark the country’s independence from the Soviet Union on August 24, 1991.
Ukraine was walking on “brittle ice” and the smallest false step could be fatal, he said.
Soldiers who had fought in the east marched through Kiev, cheered by Ukrainians, majority wearing their national dress of embroidered shirts.
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The demonstrators held placards reading “Poroshenko, you have blood on your hands”, “No to Fascism!”, and “We are against the war”.
