RUSSIA.

Taranaki Daily News, 9 February 1918, Page 5

RUSSIA.

THREAT FROM POLISH LEGIONS. GENERAL TTKA DQUARTEKS CHANGED. Received Feb. S, 10 p.m. Petroghid, Feb. (1. Owing In the Polish Legion threatening general headquarters at Mohilell', the hitler are being transferred to I'" grad. Lett regiments which we • to Mohilclf refused to fight agai Poles. Any armed Polish olfieeiv prisoner will be handed over to the iv..dutiomuv tribunals, and, in tlie evem of resistance, they are liable to be shot without trial. HEAVY FIGHTING AT K.IEFF. UKRAINIANS FORCED BACK. Received Feb. S, 10 p.m. London, Feb. 7. Heavy fijjJiting preceded the fall of Kieir Tlie Bolsheviks brought; forward two hundred guns, and the Ukrainians were forced to retreat, blowing up the Dnciper bridge. General Kaledin's opposition to active operations against the Bolsheviks rather li.Jts the Cossacks' activities in defence of the Don district. it. is reported that great numbers of oitlcers and soldiers have volunteered for General Alexietfs army, many of the officers joining as privates. | THE PEACE CONFERENCE. A GERMAN ACCOUNT. London, Feb, 7 A wireless German otliciai account of the sitting at Brest Litovsk states that Trotsky demanded the withdrawal of troops from Poland, so as to enable tlie people to give a free expression of opinion. Count Czcrnin protested against Trotsky's statement that it was impossible to negotiate with the Polish delegation because Poland had no fixed boundaries and had 110 established independent government. Count Czcrnin pointed out that the same applied to Russia, adding: "We have not come here for an intellectual wrestling match.'' The continuation of the discussion 011 Poland being unprofitable, Dr. Kuhlmann peremptorily closed the sitting. lie stated it was impossible to follow Trotsky's dialectics and apparent contradictions, first claiming tlie independence ■of Poland and later denying Poland's [right to be heard separately. Dr. Kuhlmann concluded that uuavoidI able duties necessitated his absence for a short time. Negotiations -betwsen the other Central Powers and Russia and the I legal and economic commisbion could proceed.

GRAND DUKE NICHOLAS. DIES UNDER MYSTERIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES. Renter Servic* ' Received Pel). 0, 12.05 a 111. London, Feb- S. A telegram from Petrograd reports tVio (loath at Tashkend, 011 February 3, ol' tlie Urand Duke Nicholas, Russian ex-C'cnimander-in-Chief, under mysterious circumstances: PEACE NEGOTIATIONS WITH UKRAINE. Amsterdam, Feb. I. Tlie Volke Zeitung states that the conference at Brest Litovsk is being resumed on the 7tli, the chief object of the Central Powers being to conclude peace with the Ukraine. ALEXIEFF ADVANCING. Petrograd, Feb. 7General AlexiefT is reported to he marching north. He has occupied a .number of stations in the direction of Kharkoff and Voronesh.