Ukraine Civil War News Updates -- August 24, 2014

Photojournalist Jonathan Alpeyrie took a series of images of pro-Russian rebels burying four fallen fighters in Ukraine, August 18.

Ukraine Rebels Bury The Fallen -- The Story Behind The Images -- Jonathan Alpeyrie, Special to CNN

(CNN) -- Working inside Donetsk presents various challenges as a photojournalist. One of them is working directly with rebel forces defending one of their last bastions against government forces.

Each day their defensive perimeter shrinks due to constant shelling. Journalists need to acquire proper accreditation given and approved by the Donetsk People's Republic.

The funeral series of photos is both rare and hard to come by, as the rebels typically don't give access to the kind of events which show their military losses.

If you're a reporter or anybody from the press you have to apply to get two different ID cards from the rebels. One is more general; it allows you to go through checkpoints. It's like an official accreditation.

Read more ....

Ukraine Civil War News Updates -- August 24, 2014

Donetsk Meets Sunday Under Artillery Salvo -- RIA Novosti
Anti-govt forces ‘circle 1000s of Kiev troops, capture 2 tank battalions’ in E.Ukraine -- RT
Luhansk Militia Starts Offensive Against Two Large Cities in Southeastern Ukraine -- RIA Novosti
Shelling Kills Hundreds in Besieged Luhansk in East Ukraine -- RIA Novosti
Donetsk Militia Fighting its Way to Azov Sea -- RIA Novosti
Ukraine Suffers Heavy Losses in Counterattack by Pro-Russia Rebels -- WSJ
Eighteen military aircraft worth $250 million lost in war zone -- Kyiv Post
Terror in Their Eyes: Captivity in War-torn Donetsk -- Moscow Times
Shelling in Ukraine's Donetsk tears family apart -- AFP
Donetsk: Photos of a besieged city draining of life -- CNN
‘Nowhere Is Definitely Safe Anymore’: Inside the Besieged Ukrainian City of Luhansk -- VICE News
Ukraine crisis: Russian lorries leave as Merkel visits -- BBC
Ukraine rebels struggle to reach aid as Russian convoy returns home -- The Guardian
Russian trucks depart Ukraine, leaving questions in their wake -- Washington Post
Kiev Searches For Political Settlement of Crisis in Southeastern Ukraine - Poroshenko -- RIA Novosti
Merkel and Poroshenko call for “decentralised” Ukraine -- Euronews
Merkel supports Ukraine power decentralization -- RT
Merkel says Ukraine standoff can be solved if border tightened -- Euronews
Aid convoy returns to Russia; Merkel calls for cease-fire -- USA Today
Germany Pledges Aid for Ukraine as Russia Hails a Returning Convoy -- NYT
Germany promises $690M in aid to Ukraine -- UPI
The foreigners who flocked to join the fight – in Ukraine -- Adam Taylor, Washington Post
Opinion: Showdown in Minsk -- Deutsche Welle

My Comment: I find the above CNN report by Jonathan Alpeyrie a fascinating read. Looking at the photos I am struck by the fact that some of these rebels are men whose age approaches mine (mid 50s).