Dmitry Tymchuk: Updates from the ceasefire zone, 9/15

Maidan Community Sector, Lviv: Dear friends!

January 8 – Eleventh "humanitarian aid convoy" has the border with Ukraine from Russia avoiding proper control, – informed NSDC spokesman Andriy Lysenko. They are again transporting weapons to Ukraine and dead bodies to Russia.

January 8 – Up to 7.5 thousand Russian soldiers are located in Donbas at any given moment; they are constantly rotated, – said Ukraine's Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak.

January 8 – The Head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov believes that Mikhail Khodorkovsky (who is Jewish and a Russian opposition member) has declared himself to be an "enemy of all Muslims of the world" and his personal enemy.

January 8 – Donetsk airport and its surroundings were the sites of the most intense fighting within ATO area, – informs ATO press center. The militants opened fire 16 times and shelled Ukrainian positions using mortars and artillery, including "Grad" rocket launchers.

January 8 – Former leader of Donetsk militants Igor Strielkov (Hirkin) has urged Russia not to "bury its head in the sand" and recognize that it is at war with Ukraine.

January 8 – A special monitoring mission of OSCE in a report, published on the evening of January 6 notes the deterioration of the situation in Donbas. According to the information provided by OSCE, during the 24-hour period from January 4 to January 5, there were recoded 69 violations of the cease fire regime. 32 of these were observed to be from the side of the Ukrainian army, whereas 37 were from the side of the separatists. The most intensive fighting took place at Donetsk Airport, at the southern entrance to the village of Pisky and in the village itself. Also shots happened in the region of the residential areas of Nikishyn, Chornukhyne and Debaltse – in the villages of Ridkodub, Kam'ianka, and Horodyshche.

Ukraine's economy:No Christmas presents

...the hryvnia, lost about half its value, inflation is now touching 25%, the government is fast running out of cash, Ukrainian bond yields increased to a record high this week, financial markets are preparing for a default.

Andreas Umland and Kostyantyn Fedorenko

Why and How Brussels May Help Kyiv: Ten Western Policy Proposals to Save the Ukrainian State

George Soros

A New Policy to Rescue Ukraine

Oleg Orlov

Ukraine's Forgotten City Destroyed by War

Pervomaisk has been reduced to rubble in the fighting between government troops and rebel forces, and at least half of its population has fled. Russian human rights campaigner Oleg Orlov was granted rare access to the area.

Peacemaker/ Myrotvorets

A new website sponsored by Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs has collected information on some 9,000 Russian mercenaries, soldiers, and other militants who are involved in Russia's aggression in the Donbas. According to MIA advisor Anton Herashchenko, much of this information has been supplied by Russian citizens themselves.

P.S.: Please spread this appeal as much as possible.