Donbas war rages on

Макроэкономика 26.01.2015 On Saturday morning, the Russia-backed militants launched rockets on the heavily populated industrial town of Mariupol, leaving 30 civilians dead, including two children, and about a hundred wounded, as a residential area was shelled, destroying multistory buildings, a kindergarten, a toy store, and a grocery store. Earlier that day, a leader of the militants urged an offensive attack on this city, which is the second largest in the area and also is under Ukrainian control. Ukrainian authorities called the attack an act of terrorism and a crime against humanity. The Kremlin and Russia-backed militants in turn blamed the Ukrainian army for the tragedy. Militant attacks in other parts of Donbas have resulted in more Ukrainian military casualties. Despite the escalation of attacks and higher civilian and Ukrainian military deaths, a peace settlement still seems far away. The West's reaction to the escalation should be known late night this Thursday as the EU called for an emergency meeting of foreign affairs ministers to discuss their response. The US officially said it is prepared to increase sanctions on the Kremlin, the EU could tighten sanctions on Russia as well.