The report about Russian involvement in Ukraine attacks is validated, while former Ukraine Presidents seek to unify the country.

May 7, 2018

The Bellingcat investigative group (click here) says that it has identified nine Russian officers who allegedly were directly involved in the rocket attack on an eastern Ukrainian city that killed at least 30 civilians.

The group, which has previously released reports on the conflict in eastern Ukraine and the fatal downing of a Malaysian airliner over rebel-held territory, says it analyzed video and audio data that Ukraine is providing to the International Court of Justice.

Mariupol, a strategic port city on the Azov Sea, came under rocket fire on Jan. 24, 2015. Separatist rebels initially announced they were advancing on the city, then backtracked and blamed Ukrainian forces.

Russia persistently denies allegations of supporting separatist rebels in Ukraine. The Defense Ministry didn't respond to a request for comment on Monday's report.   

May 8, 2018

Presidents of Ukraine (click here) Leonid Kravchuk, Leonid Kuchma and Viktor Yuschenko have signed a joint appeal, in which they supported the initiative to appeal to the Ecumenical Patriarch regarding the provision of autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

"After the discussions in our circle, we have signed a joint appeal," Kravchuk said at a joint press conference with Kuchma and Yuschenko in Kyiv on Tuesday.

"We believe that the granting of autocephaly by the Constantinople mother - the church will play an important role in strengthening Ukraine's independence, spiritual and national unity of our people, the development of religious freedom in Ukraine, will contribute to a fruitful interdenominational dialogue in our country," Kravchuk read the text of the appeal....

New York Army National Guard has concluded training Ukraine soldiers.

May 7, 2018
By Holly Williams

Yavoriv, Ukraine -- It was an ambush (click here) in a frozen pine forest. Russian-backed separatists surprised the group of Ukrainian soldiers. In the chaos, the Ukrainian forces took cover and fought back.

But they fired blanks. This time it was just an exercise, run by the U.S. military. But the Ukrainian soldiers taking part in the counter attack drill will be headed to the real front line very soon.

The U.S. is supporting its ally Ukraine in a war against Russian-backed militants. The rebels have seized swathes of territory in eastern Ukraine since 2014, in a conflict that's killed 10,000 people by some counts.

Soldiers from the New York Army National Guard directed the training exercise in the far-west of Ukraine....