Russia to train pro-Russian rebels, despite gas deal

(Vatican Radio) Russia's natural gas will continue to flow to Ukraine, following a new deal. The deal comes despite ongoing tensions between the two neighbors over the conflict in eastern Ukraine where Russian military trainers have arrived to support pro-Russian rebels.         

While a shaky ceasefire takes hold in more areas, news media report Russia is reducing its troops and shifting its presence towards military training. 

Listen to the report by Stefan Bos:

Independent observers and the NATO military alliance say Russia has hundreds of military trainers in eastern Ukraine to support pro-Russian separatists. 

However, the West has been active in government-controlled areas. Nearly 300 United States paratroopers are expected to arrive in Ukraine by April 20 to train government forces.

Moscow has consistently denied its military role in the conflict, saying those present are “Russian volunteers.” 

STANDOFF CONTINUES

Despite the stand-off, Kiev and Moscow have managed to agree on a key short-term natural gas deal: Ukraine will pay $248 dollars/1,000 cubic meters over the next three months, down from $329 it was paying in the first quarter of this year. 

Both sides will have to continue to find a permanent solution to the long-running pricing dispute. 

Kiev has accused Moscow of using natural gas as a political tool, with Moscow forcing the country to pay in advance for any future deliveries. But in remarks on the wider tensions with Russia, Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko warned his nation would not be blackmailed. 

“First of all we do not accept any ultimatum,” he said in a recent interview with Euronews television. “Second, the way of development of our country will be decided by the Ukrainian people. Third, we are now, together with our European, American and the world partners (committed) to defending freedom, democracy and the independence of my state – and we do not allow anybody to blackmail us.”

Europe is closely monitoring the situation as it imports 40 per cent of its natural gas from Russia, half of it through war-torn Ukraine.

The conflict that killed more than 6,000 people, followed the overthrow of pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych and the annexation by Russia of Crimea, where this week one of the last independent television stations of the Tatar minority was forced off the air.