Civil War in Ukraine: Western Empire vs Russia

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Speaking of Volodymyr Viatrovych:

Ukraine Urges NATO to Prepare Sevastopol For "Eurovision 2017"
http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/05/ukraine-urges-nato-to-prepare.html

The final of the international song contest, which took place on 14th May in Stockholm, was won by the Ukrainian singer Jamala (she is also half-Armenian, but opted not to sing about the genocide at the hands of the Ottomans - O.R).

Ukraine should call the North Atlantic Alliance and the UAF to start preparing Sevastopol to hold "Eurovision" in 2017. This was stated by the Director of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance Volodymyr Viatrovych.

Співорганізаторам Євробачення-2017 у Севастаполі - ЗСУ та НАТО - варто почати підготовку до фестивалю:)

— Volodymyr Viatrovych (@viatrovych) May 15, 2016


As a reminder, following the results of jury voting, Australia was in first place. The audience gave their vote to the Russian musician Sergei Lazarev. However, Ukrainian singer Jamala won the required number of points to win the competition as a whole.
 
Poroshenko: Ukraine Has Stopped the Largest Army on the Continent
http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/05/poroshenko-ukraine-has-stopped-largest.html

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko said that his country has stopped the biggest army on the continent and liberated two-thirds of the territory of Donbass.

"We have stopped the largest army on the continent, rebuilt the APU (UAF - O.R), liberated 2/3 of Donbass, and created a powerful world coalition," Poroshenko wrote on Twitter.


Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has recommended the appointment of ex-Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk as head the Ukrainian Embassy in Russia.

Poroshenko Offers to Make Yatsenyuk Ambassador to Russia
http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/05/poroshenko-offers-to-make-yatsenyuk.html

A petition appeared on the official website on May 13th.

"In my opinion, the only worthy candidate for the post of Ambassador of Ukraine in Russia — is Andrey (author messed up the name of Yatsenyuk ed.) Petrovich Yatsenyuk. He is currently unemployed, (don't know if it is registered in the employment center as such, but it doesn't matter). The main thing is that in Russia, as the Ambassador of Ukraine, he will have immunity, and at the same time, the Russian authorities are afraid of him, and if they are afraid, it will mean that he as the Ambassador of Ukraine in Russia obviously has the ability to achieve things in Russia, which is useful for Ukraine for both the practical and legal consequences of the relationship," stated the text of the petition.


A Rossiya television crew came under attack by the Ukrainian government forces at a border checkpoint in southeastern Ukraine, the defense ministry of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) said Sunday.

Ukraine Gov’t Forces Attacked Rossiya TV Crew in Donbass
http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160515/1039657761/russian-journalists-ukraine-attack.html

The ministry said there were no casualties among the crew at the checkpoint along the Donetsk-Horlivka highway.

"A group of journalists from the Rossiya TV channel came under a mortar attack from Ukrainian security forces in the area of the Yasynuvata checkpoint at around 17:00. The correspondents were also fired at from small arms and SPG recoilless guns," the ministry told the Donetsk news service.


A project office has been established to carry out state reforms efficiently in Ukraine, the country’s Ministry of Finance said in a statement Sunday.

Ukraine Establishes Project Office to Carry Out Reforms
http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160515/1039652955/ukraine-reforms-office.html

Among the objectives of the project office is developing proposals for public finance reform, involving experts and coordinating with working groups on their implementation, discussions and monitoring.

"The main objective of the project office is to support and coordinate the reform process implemented by the Finance Ministry, as well as to provide quality advice on how best to implement these changes. In fact, we have established a strategic transformation center at the Ministry, which will provide integrated support for deep reforms in the country," Finance Minister Oleksandr Danylyuk said.

Ukraine's economy has deteriorated since an armed conflict between Kiev and local independence supporters in the country's southeast escalated in April 2014.

Kiev is awaiting a third transfer from the International Monetary Fund under a four-year $17.5-billion bailout loan contingent on state reforms in the country.
 
Ukrainian National Guardsmen hold OSCE observers at gunpoint for UAV recon

http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/05/ukrainian-national-guardsmen-hold-osce.html

May 16, 2016 -
PolitRussia-
Translated by J. Arnoldski


http://politrussia.com/news/boytsy-natsgvardii-ukrainy-875/

Members of the National Guard of Ukraine threatened members of the Special Monitoring Mission of the OSCE with guns at the ground control station for UAV's in Donbass, RIA Novosti reports with references to the press-service of the mission.

According to the agency, the incident took place on Friday night at the station in the village of Stepanovka. After the monitoring mission’s UAV’s landed, five armed men appeared who presented themselves as members of the National Guard.

“As they approached the special monitoring mission, the actions of the armed persons bore a nature of intimidation against the observers. One of the armed men who introduced himself as a lieutenant loaded his gun and ordered the mission not to move as the other four armed men aimed their rifles at the special monitoring mission’s representatives,” an OSCE mission press-service representative stated.


The armed men demanded that the observers present their certificates. They then called an officer of the Ukrainian Air Force and left the station, the agency added.
 
Alana said:
Those of you not living in Europe probably don't know that last night the annual Eurovision song contest took place. I didn't know it either until this morning. And... ta tam! Ukraine's song apparently came first. The song is titled 1944 and it is in reference to Stalin's deportation of Ukraine's Tartars from Crimea in that year. {...} {...}


A petition was created on the website Change.org with a demand to revise the results of the International song contest "Eurovision 2016".

Europe Is Collecting Signatures Against the Results Of "Eurovision"
http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/05/europe-is-collecting-signatures-against.html

At the time of publication, the appeal to the organizers of "Eurovision" was signed by more than 29,000 people from the required 35,000.

The petition creator is the resident of Yerevan Arthur Hovhannisyan, however, the appeal was supported by residents from the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Australia, Serbia, Sweden, Russia, Ukraine, and other countries.

"We understand that the vote of the jury and TV audience was a difficult and emotional process, but the number of signatories to this petition shows that many are convinced that the "winner" of the contest this year was not the one who was supposed to win," said the author of the statement.

Resident of Madrid Kristian Garrido also created a Change.org petition, which urged Spain to refuse to participate in "Eurovision-2017". According to him, this year the final competition in Stockholm involved "bullying" half of Europe. It became clear that the results are determined by "political interests".

"Spain should not participate, at least in 2017, for all to see and understand how we are outraged," wrote the author of the petition.

German users on the website OpenPetition called for an end to German participation in the Eurovision song contest. According to the author of one of the petitions, the competition "is not won on artistic level, but only reflects political developments".

France began collecting signatures for the dismissal of the presenter, which commented on the final of "Eurovision" on the TV channel France 2. The author of the statement on the website Avaaz writes that the host Marianne James made insulting remarks against Russia live and damaged the image of France.


Why doesn't the current winner of "Eurovision" - Susana Jamaladinova (Jamala) - like to talk about her family, and why they flatly refused to move to Kiev?

Jamala's "Ukrainian" Parents Prosper in Russian Crimea
http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/05/jamalas-ukrainian-parents-prosper-in.html

She insists her father doesn't want to leave their house in the expensive resort village of Malorechenskoye near Alushta: "We were one of the first Crimean Tatars who bought a house in Crimea. My mom taught piano, while my dad is a conductor by profession. But he realized that he would not be able to provide for his family making music, and began to grow vegetables and fruits. We have a large garden there – figs, persimmons, and pomegranates..."

"I tried to persuade my parents to leave for a long time. But they said no," says Jamal. "They built a house and cultivate a garden with their own hands, and now I asked to give that up in a second.... They, of course, are still in Crimea. All my attempts and talks have been unsuccessful. Mom can't leave dad, dad can't leave grandfather... It is very painful and hard. I understand that they can't go. Pomegranate trees grows in our yard, persimmons, figs... This house cannot be so easily quit. They are not afraid even, say, to die, no matter how scary it sounds, but they refuse to leave the house.

To put it mildly, Jamal is a hypocrite. None of her family is going to die. On the contrary, the family really thrives. All the relatives of the "Ukrainian patriot" received Russian citizenship and are quite happy with life. Moreover, they were collectively issued so-called "Putin's help" on rehabilitation and now get crazy benefits for utilities – a 50% discount on water, electricity and gas, and free trips to resorts.

The only problem for Jamala's parents are the Tatar neighbors who ask the father: "Why did your daughter decide to sing such a song?"

"It's all on the level of market conversations. I say all the time that they shouldn't pay attention," assures Susana.

Although the crazy daughter would not sing, no one throws grenades and "Molotov cocktails" at her parents in the yard. Here live normal, adequate people. It's not Maidan Ukraine, Crimeans do not suffer from "brain damage."

Until a few months ago, the Bandera blockade hurt the family of the singer. According to Jamala, her father was ready to heat the house with wood, but would not leave his native Crimea. Today, however, all Ukrainian villagers are invited to heat with manure. Having remained under "Russian occupation", senior Jamaladinov isn't doomed to this kind of perspective.

"In Alushta and Simferopol, light was given for at least for a couple hours, but dad said that the lights could be out for two months. Father said that he has firewood and coal... the only problem is communication. That's difficult. Mom really missed me. And when we met her, mom was crying..." said the "eurostar".

"Luckily, mom comes to visit me often. She helps her sister to look after the children, caring for a large house. So I try to let her rest, to amuse her. We are like two friends: we walk a lot, go to the movies and shopping."

No one in Crimea prevents such contact. The singer reported that after the energy blockade of the Peninsula it was time to meet her relatives. However, for some reason, she refused to comment on the current situation on the south coast. Otherwise, she'd have to tell you about a crazy influx of Russian holidaymakers, and it would be necessary to compare the well-being of the elderly in Crimea with the nightmare of the Ukrainian reality.

Here's another characteristic revelation by Jamala:

"My dad every fall and winter sends me fruit from our garden to Kiev. Persimmons, figs, and pomegranates. Now on the so-called border with Crimea, he must offer a bribe so that these fruits are overlooked, so he leaves the guards a box of persimmons or figs. He always has tears in his eyes when he tells me about it, because these boxes he so lovingly assembled for me! I answered him: "Baba, it is so small! Most importantly — it was allowed to be transported through". We rejoice in little things, which should be the norm for all.

It should be added that the Ukrainian border guards rob the old Tatar man. One box for themselves and a container forwarded to Kiev, spat on by the "Poroshenko-Islamist" blockade.

Today, however, Jamala's family has a very specific reason to hate the Russian administration. The Jamaladinova clan suddenly lost their illegal tavern on the coast! Like many Mejlis institutions, the resort's tavern did not meet any sanitary standards, was operating without paying taxes, and thus it was closed. As they say, a quote without any comment needed:

"Now the new government's inhuman methods "ennobles" the coast. They take down all the cafes and restaurants on the coastal strip. A tractor comes and levels what people have invested in for many years to the ground. All tourists living the dream of summer are left without a piece of bread.

And I, for example, received higher education precisely thanks to this establishment. We had a family dining table for four: mom used to make, for example, manti, father — rice, I washed the dishes, and my sister served and was counting people in the room. If it was not for that, neither I nor my sister would not have had the opportunity to study at the Conservatory.

Jamala's Sister Evelyn is married to a Turkish citizen and moved to live in Istanbul.



Donbass Offers Jamala to Sing About the Ongoing Murder in Ukraine
http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/05/donbass-offers-jamala-to-sing-about.html

A resident from Donetsk called the song of Jamala ridiculous when at that moment Donbass is under fire every day and people are dying.

Resident of Donbass Irina Puchkova spoke out about the winning song at the "Eurovision" performed by Ukrainian singer Jamala.

On her page on Facebook, the woman wrote that she read the lyrics and realized that in fact, it absolutely suits the events that occured in Donbass. According to her, Ukrainian punishers also came to her place and killed.

"She thinks she's singing about the Tatars. But she sings about the crimes on my land. She just does not understand this. It us now here they come and kill. My children had to be sent away from the war, because foreigners came here and killed", she wrote.

According to her, coming from the lips of the singer who supports the "camp of murderers", the words sound very strange.
 
angelburst29 said:
In the first link you Posted Vogageur, "Report: The Historian Whitewashing Ukraine’s Past" this paragraph caught my attention and I wonder how Volodymyr Viatrovych thinks he's going to work around it?

Though Viatrovych’s view is popular in western Ukraine where many Bandera monuments and street names exist (TsDVR itself is located on Bandera Street in Lviv), many Ukrainians in the south and east of the country don’t appreciate the World War II-era nationalist’s legacy.

In Luhansk, in the country’s east, and Crimea, local governments erected monuments to the victims of the OUN-UPA. In this regard, imposing the nationalists’ version of history on the entire country requires eradicating the beliefs and identity of many other Ukrainians who do not share the nationalists’ narrative.

To that effect, Viatrovych has dismissed historical events not comporting with this narrative as “Soviet propaganda.” In his 2006 book, The OUN’s Position Towards the Jews: Formulation of a position against the backdrop of a catastrophe, he attempted to exonerate the OUN from its collaboration in the Holocaust by ignoring the overwhelming mass of historical literature. The book was widely panned by Western historians. University of Alberta professor John-Paul Himka, one of the leading scholars of Ukrainian history for three decades, described it as “employing a series of dubious procedures: rejecting sources that compromise the OUN, accepting uncritically censored sources emanating from émigré OUN circles, failing to recognize anti-Semitism in OUN texts.”

I read the follow up published by GFP, that you Posted and noticed, along with trying to accuse and demonize Russia for this and that, the word "anti-Semitism" surfaced a lot in Viatrovych's work. Along with his corrupted revisionism, I get the impression that part of his work is to remove or neutralize the nefarious deeds by the Jewish Oligarch's that ruled over Ukraine?

I don't know where this will end with him. The more he meddles, the more strings are attached that get noticed. Commensurate to this revisionism, in other Western parts and in Poland I believe, Soviet era monuments commemorating the loses during the war (on many sides) from the Nazi plague are being ripped down. In Poland it is in the name of restoration and relocation, yet it's hard to restore and relocate when using an revisionist excavator.

Edit: Just wanted to mention that that was very interesting, Fort Russ's 'Jamala's "Ukrainian" Parents Prosper in Russian Crimea' - thanks.
 
Ukraine court asks to arrange Yanukovych’s questioning via video conference
http://novorossia.today/ukraine-court-asks-to-arrange-yanukovych-s-questioning-via-video-conference/

A Ukrainian court has backed a proposal of defense lawyers of Viktor Yanukovych to organize questioning of the former president in a format of a video conference, a lawyer of ex-members of Berkut special police said on Wednesday.

“The court ruled that Ukraine’s justice ministry turns to Russia’s justice ministry with a request to organize the questioning in the format of a video conference,” Alexander Goroshinsky told a press conference in Kiev.

The lawyer explained that Yanukovych cannot come for the questioning “due to threats to his life.” “This is enough to carry out the questioning in the format of a video conference.”

Goroshnisky said the legal procedure will take around six months.

Yanukovych, who served as Ukraine’s president in 2010-2014, fled Kiev denouncing what he called a violent coup in Ukraine in February 2014. After Maidan leaders came to power, several criminal cases against Yanukovych and members of his team were opened. In February 2015, Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, deprived Yanukovych of his title of president.


The experience shows how fragile Ukraine’s progress in transforming itself into a Western-facing free market democracy could prove to be.

New police in Ukraine, but habits the same
http://novorossia.today/119655-2/

Matthias Williams and Margaryta Chornokondratenko for Reuters report: The launch of Ukraine’s new police patrol force last year sparked an internet craze of citizens posting selfies with newly recruited officers. Their popularity stemmed not from their uniforms, body cameras and tablets, but the fact they did not demand bribes.

The most visibly successful reform to have emerged from the pro-European Maidan protests in 2014 is now under threat, serving and former law enforcement officials say, accusing vested interests of seeking to obstruct and discredit the force.

The reform, possibly the first one in the former Soviet republic’s history actually demonstrated that despite all, Ukraine is able to carry out some improvements. Before Maidan in 2014, police used to abide by prosecutors’ demands, but it all changed when the National Police, a separate and equal law enforcement power, was established.

Vladyslav Vlasiuk, a lawyer by training who rose through patrol police ranks to become Chief of Staff of the National Police, said: “Prosecutors did not like it. We are seeing the prosecution service chasing patrol officers for wrongdoings. There is now a tension which is blocking the reform of the national police

In Ukraine, prosecutors have the power to launch investigations into public servants suspected of wrongdoing — a power which police officers say is being abused.

“When you are working within any public service in Ukraine you have to be ready to deal with a lot of inspections, a lot of bullshit, a lot of irrelevant regulations,” Vlasiuk said. “And the prosecution is a controlling organ which can punish you for, in their opinion, improper actions,” he added.

The United States and the European Union, which are co-providing a $40 billion aid-for-reform program for Ukraine, have repeatedly called for a clean-up of the General Prosecutor’s office, which they see as a major impediment to fighting corruption
 
Woman Dies in Kramatorsk After Not Receiving Pension for Four Months
http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/05/woman-dies-in-kramatorsk-after-not.html

In Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, Nina Mikhailovna, born in 1933, died after not being paid her pension for four months.

This was reported on the website of the NGO “DonbassSOS.”

It was noted that the woman did not receive targeted assistance since November 2015 when she left for the Poltava region, and then came to Kramatorsk. The state-system took four months to transfer her electronic info (UTSZN) from the Poltava to Donetsk region.

The woman did not receive her pension since February, 2016. She wrote letters to authorities proving the fact of her existence, but in response the pensioner only received more than a dozen “formal replies.”


Polish special services launch reprisals against NATO opponents
http://katehon.com/agenda/polish-special-services-launch-reprisals-against-nato-opponents

A witch hunt is in full swing in Poland. The country’s repressive organs have arrested the well-known politician and leader of the party Zmiana (Change), Mateusz Piskorski. Piskorski was charged with spying for “third countries” as pro-government media accused him of working for Russian and Chinese intelligence services. Piskorski’s arrest followed his warning that the Polish government is “cleaning” the political space of the country of unwanted elements in the run-up to the NATO summit in Warsaw to be held on July 8th-9th, 2016. The members of the Change party are currently being searched. The Polish Internal Security Agency has seized the documents, personal computers, and cell phones of party members.

Mateusz Piskorski, former deputy of the Polish Sejm for the party “Self-Defense of the Republic of Poland”, founded Zmiana in 2015. The backbone of the party consists of activists from both left and right-wing anti-liberal political structures who decided to act together against liberal hegemony in support of traditional values, Polish national identity, and social justice. Piskorski’s party managed to transcend the “left-right” division and establish a consolidated anti-liberal political force. Undoubtedly, one of the purposes of the repression against Zmiana was destroying this dangerous ideological enemy of the pseudo-conservatives of the ruling Law and Justice party.

Another reason for the repression against Zmiana is its anti-Atlanticist geopolitical position. The party and its leader are in favor of the restoration of Poland's sovereignty, stand against the Republic of Poland's membership in NATO, and have criticized the transformation of the country into an American colony which is being dragged into a possible confrontation with Russia. Piskorski and fellow activists visited Russian Crimea, where they participated as observers of the referendum on Crimea’s self-determination, and supported the peoples republics of Donbass against the Bandera regime in Kiev. Mateusz Piskorski is one of the leaders of the European Center for Geopolitical Analysis, a Euro-continentalist think thank.

Zmiana is not the only anti-Atlanticist structure which has endured repressions in Poland. Recently, anti-NATO activists of the Communist Party of Poland and the Grunwald Patriotic Workers’ Union were sentenced to “restricted liberty” for the “promotion of totalitarianism.” The repressions ongoing against Zmiana are mass-scale and grotesque, and simultaneously remind one of the political processes of totalitarian regimes from the ’30’s of the last century or the American witch hunt of the 1950’s.

Poland has been transformed into a frontline for the NATO-Russia confrontation. An additional contingent of NATO troops has been deployed to the country and part of the US missile defense system’s launchers, which can be used to house medium-range, nuclear-warhead missiles aimed at Russia, is planned to be placed in Poland. From the point of view of US strategists, Poles are expected to ensure the strengthening of American influence in Belarus and Ukraine. NATO military analysis are not embarrassed to talk about a possible military confrontation between NATO and Russia in which Poland would take part. The totalitarian repression against anti-Atlanticist forces in Poland anticipates the West’s further deterioration of relations with Russia. The chances of a new conflict (either a hybrid war or direct military clashes) on the territory of Ukraine or in the northwest of Russia have been evaluated as very high.
 
"Hands" of Ambassador Nuland: State Department Puts Kiev on a Short Leash

http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/05/hands-of-ambassador-nuland-state.html

Translated by Ollie Richardson for Fort Russ
19th May, 2016


http://rueconomics.ru/174130-ruchnoi-posol-nuland-gosdep-sazhaet-kiev-na-korotkii-povodok

Experts believe that the new US Ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, is, first and foremost, a servant of Victoria Nuland. Most likely, the main Ukrainian "baker of cookies" is playing safe before the change of US administration. The nominee of Marie Yovanovitch for the role of Ambassador, May 19th, was today proposed to the Senate by President Barack Obama. After consideration of this issue in the Senate, she will replace Geoffrey Pyatt.

Given the underwhelming success of the current Ambassador, Geoffrey Pyatt, and the difficult political situation in Ukraine, Nuland will be happy to strengthen her position and, simultaneously, obtain more opportunities for direct control.

"I have a feeling this change promotes Victoria Nuland, with Marie Yovanovitch as her closest assistant. When she worked in Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, and Ukraine, there was a different kind of revolution. We can assume that its purpose is the confirmation of the continuation of current policies in Ukraine, whatever the new administration is. A figure will be chosen that has already proved that they will support the power of Maidan", said Vladimir Vasiliev, chief researcher of the Institute of USA and Canada.

"The permutation's sum has not changed, we understand that the center of all decisions in Ukraine, both foreign and domestic, is in the United States, so the change of Ambassador, by and large, does not have much impact on relations between the US and Ukraine. The country will remain in the vanguard of the States, and the instability that the US is trying to support on the territory of Ukraine, to delay forces from Russia, will continue via the actions of the new Ambassador. In my opinion, this appointment also indicates that all attempts to somehow manage the chaos from the previous Ambassador were not successful.

It can be assumed that this appointment should make Ukraine more effective, although I feel that nothing will change. In my opinion, the personality of the Ambassador does not affect the policy pursued by the United States. At least, after the change of the US Ambassador to Russia, the steps that are performed by the Ambassador, by and large, don't change," commented Nikita Danyuk, expert at the Institute of Strategic Studies and Predictions at the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia

Marie Yovanovitch is the daughter of a Canadian immigrant from Russia, who moved to the US in early childhood. A few years after graduating from Princeton University, she joined the civil service and quickly rose to Deputy Director of the Department for Russian Affairs at the State Department.

She has experience in Ukraine and other countries of the former Soviet Union, including in Ukraine: from August 2001 to June 2004. She has also worked in Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. One of the main tasks that she performed, regardless of position, has always been "helping countries in the transition to democracy".
 
Ports, oil, and Taman: How Russia will return Ukraine to Eurasia Part 1
http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/05/ports-oil-and-taman-how-russia-will.html

Control over trade routes has always been the best way to control the development of a given country. Not a single state in the modern age can remain in isolation. The time of natural farms has sunk into oblivion. Each new technological mode merely increases the degree of integration between countries and thus leaves them dependent on the global economy.

Washington planned to control Russia in accordance with this very same scheme. The collapse of the USSR and the separation of its important “borderlands” (the Baltic states, Belarus, Ukraine, the Caucasus, and Central Asia) practically completely cut it off from external markets. Traditionally, Soviet trade went through the Western border, the Black Sea ports of Ukraine, and the Baltic ports. We’ll discuss the second point another time, but today we’ll focus on the southern transport route, how Russia’s infrastructural dependence was overcome in this area, and which tectonic shifts in politics led to this.

Ukraine, the southern castle of Russia The critical importance of Ukraine to Russia is obvious. The point is not even the presence on Ukrainian territory of several dozen million former compatriots who could most easily of all be involved in a new Eurasian integration project. The point is that it is precisely through Ukraine during the time of the USSR that the most important trade routes ran to Central Europe - and not through the Bosphorus to the Mediterranean countries and southern Asia. In the 1970’s-’80’s, the flow of goods between the USSR and its economic partners greatly multiplied. The capacity of the USSR’s merchant fleet increased and demanded a corresponding increase in port infrastructure. New ports in the Black Sea region were mainly concentrated in Ukraine, which was assigned a large portion of the trade fleet. All major pipeline routes also went through the territory of this former Soviet republic.

In general, in the 1970’s and ’80’s, the critical pressure points for the Soviet Union (and consequently for Russia) were concentrated in Ukraine, which thus could not but become a zone of great interest for the USA.
The pipelines running through the territory of Ukraine had a practical monopoly on the delivery of Russian gas to Europe. Russia was quite dependent on these Ukrainian pipelines as well as other routes of transit traffic (railways and highways) in the country.

The tap set In 1991, the Ukrainian oil tap was set between Europe and Russia. Accordingly, further US policy in the region centered around ensuring that this oil tap would be “overlapped” and thereby become a reliable mechanism for affecting the economies of the EU and Russian Federation.

The collapse of the USSR and the subsequent economic recession of the post-soviet republics made this dependence less critical. Russia slowly died economically, declined demographically, and emasculated itself spiritually. The “American dream” was in place only because in the 1990’s and the first years of the 2000’s the region was calm. The control mechanism for strangulating Russia was in place but not being used.

There was the chance that all of the wealth of the USSR sooner or later would be turned over to the new masters of the world, and therefore it was irrational for them to destroy everything and then use their own money to restore it.

The first attempts to revive Russia encountered tough resistance. The first Maidan was not a random event. In 2004-2005, the United States switched to Plan B: the strangulation of Russia by means of the Ukrainian “switch.” The objective was disrupting Russia’s economic growth and stopping the EU from pulling itself out from underneath the US’ weighty supervision.

In 2004, for the first time, the United States grossly interfered in the constitutional process in Ukraine. They pushed their protege, Viktor Yushchenko, into the presidency and in the following year began the first Ukrainian-Russian trade war.

From outside, this looked absurd. Despite already having a contract for gas supply at $50 per 1,000 cubic meters, Viktor Yushchenko insisted that the price start at $99, and then did everything in order for the price of gas in the country to grow higher and higher. He was actively “aided” by his sworn assistant, Yulia Timoshenko.

From a geopolitical point of view, all of this happened logically and timely. It was obvious that this was just the first step which would sooner or later end in the blockade of Russia by the Ukrainian side. And this threat could not be overlooked.

Despite the very much that has been done over the last decade, Russian gas exports still transit through Ukraine to this day. A critical part of production has not yet been “moved” to or “recreated” in “mainland Russia.”

Quite a lot has been written about Moscow’s efforts to avoid dependency on pipeline transportation, and the author sees no reason to rehash this here. It is only worth noting that pipelines could have become the objects of trade wars between Russia and Ukraine, but they did not, and an iron logic and action plan can be seen this pattern.

Really, why do we hear so much about gas and even ammonium wars, but never hear about oil war? After all, Russia is much more dependent on stabile deliveries of oil than it is on gas “needles.”

Oil products can be conveniently transported and stored for the long-term. The oil terminal “Sheskharis” created as early as the 1960’s in Novorossiysk essentially rendered a Ukrainian oil war against Russia senseless. The presence of an alternative route immediately knocked this out of Kiev’s hands and this means that Washington loses almost all the cards in its hand.

Last year, around 40 million tons of bulk cargo (30 million tons of oil and bout 10 million tons of oil products) travelled through Novorossiysk. The second node in the region is the Tuapse port which is capable of handling up to 15 million tons of oil and petroleum products. It is precisely this circumstance which does not allow Kiev to play the “oil card.”

According to the plans to reconstruct the Sheskharis terminal before 2020, its capacity could allow up to 65 million tons of oil and oil products per year. As for other goods, over the last decade many of them have been re-directed thanks to new terminals entering Russian ports, including containers and dry cargo. The only truly thin point today is the Togliatti-Odessa ammonium pipeline which constantly backs up works at half the capacity, which costs the state and businesses billions in losses.

In 2012, an ammonium war erupted between Russia and Ukraine (under Yanukovich by the way). In that year, Kiev’s decision to cease the unique ammonium flow between Togliatti and Odessa led to the Russian side losing 500 million rubles. Twelve ammonium production facilities ceased work.

The accelerated development of Russian ports in the Black Sea began with the collapse of the Soviet Union. In the 1990’s Novorossiysk slowly started to become the number one port in Russia. But only after the “new course” was there a sharp surge in the transit of goods through this port. If in 1999 the turnover of the port amounted to 50 million tons, then within three years, this was already 80 million tons. In 2005, the volume reached 112 million tons, and Novorossiysk actually ran into a dead end.

The problem is that the port is not only a set of docks, but also a travel infrastructure. Pipelines, railway tracks, and highways all congest it. The further development of this port was possible only after solving these problems, which meant entirely different investments and developmental programs. Only the creation of a comprehensive development program for the region on the basis of the country’s development strategy as a whole (in fact a return to Gosplan in a new style) could allow the problem to be solved.

It would be necessary to link not only construction companies and production sites, but also the development plans of enterprises which provide traffic, and all of this would have to be provided with energy and cadres. In general, this is a task for a decent amount of time.

And here is where geopolitics mingles in. Such a program has been created and is already partially realized.

Continued in Part 2.
 
Ports, oil, and Taman: How Russia will return Ukraine to Eurasia Part 2
http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/05/ports-oil-and-taman-how-russia-will_20.html

Calculations show that the transition to the offensive on the foreign policy front means that the disruption of Russian gas transit through Ukraine is possible. Coupled with the expected growth of exports in the southern direction, all of this has led the Russian Federation’s leadership to decide to build a new, powerful port in the area of the city of Taman.

This decision was actually already taken back in 1999, but then it was a project for building a small port subsidiarily to the Togliatti enterprise.

The port was opened in 2009, but began to produce a more or less significant volume only in 2013.

The main “bonus” of the port will be its situation as a site through which chemical products will be shipped. According to the plan, in 2017 this should already be running, which will allow the handling of ammonia from Togliatti to the tune of 2 million tons. This would completely untie the hands of Russian exports and will once and for all destroy Kiev’s monopoly on this matter. By 2020, the second stage of building a chemical terminal for handling up to 3 million tons of carbide will begin. There will be more than a dozen such terminals at the port (including powerful liquid components for oil and petroleum-based products).

According to the enterprise’s development program, by 2025 its turnover will reach 93 million tons, i.e., nearly the same as that of the commercial port of Novorossiysk and nearly the equivalent of all of Ukraine’s ports’ turnovers combined in 2015. This will allow the port of Taman to become one of the top three ports of Russia…

The modernization of existing ports on the Black Sea coast and the creation of the Taman port are part of the ambitious program to last nearly two decades which will not only allow economic issues of the country’s development to be solved, but also bring the struggle for Ukraine to a new phase, an offensive one.

The author of these lines was able to see the scope of the work last fall. The whole region resembles a disturbed beehive or worksite. The construction of highways and interchanges is in full swing and the project of the Crimean route fits well into all of it. Many of the interchanges and access roads of the port of Taman will provide logical connection to Kerch.

In fact, the groundwork developing the southern region, which began long before the “Crimean spring,” has quickly allowed the energy problem of the peninsula to be decided and guarantee critical cargo flows to the peninsula.

In general, the strategy of returning Ukraine to the Russian government’s sphere of influence is already making itself felt quite clearly. This will create conditions in which Washington’s interests in Kiev will decline so much that the composition of this territory will itself become too burdensome for the State Department. To this end, the Kremlin is trying to neutralize the US’ advantages in controlling Ukraine and maximize the number of minuses. The Kremlin is reducing its dependence on Kiev (thereby reducing the economic advantages of Russophobic policies) and creating a point of tension which would require constant cash infusions from Western sponsors.

Let’s make sure this is understood. Russia’s economic sanctions against Ukrainian businesses have a dual function. On the one hand, they create problems for Kiev and drive it to ask its puppeteers for more money. On the other hand, they are teaching the Russian economy to live without Ukraine.

Already today Washington can’t afford to invest a couple billions of dollars a year to support Kiev’s pro-Western regime. The debt restructuring undertaken by Yatsenyuk’s government only delayed the problem. But that’s not the point.

It is already clear the Ukraine is incapable of eliminating its debts, and sooner or later they will have to write them off. In fact, delaying these losses led them in the short term to avoid needing major investments in the Ukrainian economy. But, the calculations show that by the end of the year Kiev will have to beg for money to stay afloat and not “fall into the hands of Moscow.” And then the sum of debts will only skyrocket.

Sooner or later (as long as new port facilities and bypass pipelines are commissioned and Ukraine’s economy is destroyed), Washington will decide to abandon its Kiev puppets and turn the territory of Ukraine into a zone of controlled chaos, as it has repeatedly done (Egypt, Turkey, Iraq, etc.). Once that happens, one only needs to count down the months or perhaps years, until Ukraine will once again, and for a long time, be returned to Moscow’s sphere of influence. At the same time, the later this happens, the less degree of independence Kiev will have in the new Eurasian integration project.


Washington is promoting commercial interests of the energy corporation Westinghouse in Europe, creating risks for European nuclear power plants, an article in Forbes read.

How US Creates Safety Risks for Nuclear Power Plants in Europe
http://sputniknews.com/business/20160521/1040019677/us-nuclear-fuel-europe.html

For example, in 2015, two of the Westinghouse-made fuel assemblies at the South Ukraine nuclear power plant (NPP) were found to be leaking. Since 2015, the NPP has been using US-made fuel.

In 2014, Ukraine and Westinghouse reached an agreement to supply nuclear fuel to some Ukrainian NPPs. The alleged reason behind the contract was the need to help Ukraine become energetically independent from Russia. Russia was a long-time supplier of nuclear fuel to Ukraine.

Experts have repeatedly warned that the deal would create serious risks for the safety of Ukrainian NPPs.

They cited the example of an incident which took place several years ago at the Temelin nuclear power plant, in the Czech Republic. The NPP operated on Russian-designed reactors and used fuel supplied by Westinghouse. The fuel was leaking and the rods were bending. All the Westinghouse fuel was removed from the core and replaced with Russian-made fuel.

As for Ukraine, the company announced that its fuel for Ukrainian NPPs had been improved.

Despite experts’ warnings, in March 2015, the first 42 fuel assemblies made by Westinghouse were loaded to the third reactor unit at the South Ukraine NPP.

According to Forbes, the two Westinghouse-made assemblies were found leaking during a scheduled outage at the third unit of the NPP.

The author of the article, Forbes contributor Kenneth Rapoza described how Washington has promoted Westinghouse’s interest in Eastern Europe, neglecting safety recommendations.

"Westinghouse is more than a brand name American power company. It’s a battering ram used by Washington to promote energy security," the author wrote.

A source who wished to remain anonymous told Forbes that Westinghouse wants a market share in Eastern Europe in a bid to prevent the company from insolvency.

"But derailing nuclear projects while running into technical difficulties with Westinghouse fuel assemblies in Rosatom reactors is a dangerous way to promote energy security," Rapoza noted.

According to former Czech Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek, the US has been promoting Westinghouse for years.

In the 1990s, US diplomats supported contribution between the Czech Republic and Westinghouse. The company pledged to improve Russian-designed nuclear plants to Western standards.

"However, the opposite proved to be true. Fuel assemblies delivered by Westinghouse were of inferior quality and higher price compared with than Russian fuel and caused frequent outages of Temelin reactors," Paroubek told Forbes.

After, Westinghouse’s fuel assemblies were found leaking in the 2000s the Czech company CEZ decided to return to Russian-made nuclear fuel for the Temelin NPP.

"CEZ’s decision serves as a testament to the fact that the Russian fuel assembly was safer and that Washington was selling a product that did not quite work at the time, potentially putting nuclear power plants in danger," the article read.

According to the article, Westinghouse can produce fuel for Russia-designed reactors as well as Rosatom can build fuel assemblies for Western-designed power units. However, for third parties working with Westinghouse is less economically efficient.

"Russia is the cheaper producer of the two, so when countries turn to Westinghouse for the fuel assemblies, they have to pay a premium for diversification," Rapoza wrote.

Nevertheless, the largest initiative by Westinghouse is squeezing Russia from the Ukrainian nuclear fuel market, using again the argument of diversifying supplies.

In 2012, the Ukrainian nuclear regulator banned the use of Westinghouse’s fuel assemblies in the country pending an investigation over the incident at the South Ukraine NPP.

"Two years later, then-Prime Minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk consulted Westinghouse on picking a new nuclear safety regulator for his new government," the author wrote citing a source in Ukraine.

In April, the Ukrainian Energy Ministry announced it would buy more nuclear fuel from Westinghouse. The company is planning to deliver five reloads of fuel to South Ukraine and Zaporizhia NPPs.

According to the author, Westinghouse’s commercial interests are closely tied to politics and thus the company neglects safety.
 
Kiev: 50 children died in the Donetsk region for the period of hostilities

http://ria.ru/world/20160521/1437531512.html

Kiev, May 21 -. RIA Novosti Fifty children have died in the Donetsk region for the period of hostilities, even 138 were injured, said on Saturday the press service of the national police department in Donetsk region.

"During the period of hostilities 50 children died in the Donetsk region, 138 were injured, 20 minors because of shelling have been orphaned," - said in a police report on Saturday.

According to law enforcement, for today only controlled Kiev area live 312,000 children - almost half of all children who lived in the Donetsk region before the outbreak of hostilities.

It also reported that in the immediate vicinity of the demarcation line continues to operate 37 schools in which study 6500 children.

All in all territory under the control now works 556 schools where knowledge give 149 thousand children. On the territory of Kiev remained uncontrolled 537 schools, including 23 schools do not work, police said.

The government of Ukraine in April 2014 launched a military operation against the self-proclaimed LNR and DNR , which declared independence after a coup in Ukraine in February 2014. According to the latest UN figures, victims of the conflict began more than 9 thousand people. The question of resolving the situation in the Donbass discussed including during meetings of the contact group in Minsk , which since September 2014 has adopted three documents regulating the steps to de-escalate the conflict. However, after the armistice agreements between the parties to the conflict continue to skirmish.
 
U-Chains Today
Ukraine's Western-style police starts working in Luhansk region (Video) :shock:
15:37 May. 23, 2016
_http://uatoday.tv/society/ukraine-s-western-style-police-starts-working-in-luhansk-region-659729.html
Three eastern towns now embark on police reform process

New police forces are now patrolling three additional Ukrainian towns.

More than 140 officers are going to be working in Severodonetsk, Lysychansk and Rubizhne of Luhansk region.

Read also Ukraine's Western-style police starts working in Sumy (infographics) _http://uatoday.tv/society/ukraine-s-western-style-police-starts-working-in-sumy-647088.html

According to police headquarters nearly one and a half thousand recruits applied to work in the region.

Heading the newly formed Luhansk region patrol police force is a police lieutenant and an army veteran from Lviv.
385449831.jpg



Полное собрание Руины Nikishyne. Гуманитарная помощь доставляется резидентам, Донецк мая 2016 года.
Complete Ruins of Nikishyne. Humanitarian Aid Delivered to Residents, Donetsk May 2016 (English Subs)
Published on May 21, 2016
Ukraine War Awareness

https://youtu.be/2BQqUW9UikM
May 11, 2016. Foundation of Helping Novorussia deliver Humanitarian Aid to the Completely Destroyed and in ruins Village of Nikishyne. FHN has been delivering Aid Convoys since 2014 to many regions of Ukraine, and are a Non-Profit Donation Foundation (Details Below).
OTHER DELIVERIES BY FOUNDATION OF HELPING NOVORUSSIA [ENG SUBS]:

Graham in Donbass (#9) An Evening on the Frontlines by Donetsk (English Subs)
Graham Phillips
Published on May 21, 2016
Filmed 20.05.2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awSKeqsKmTI
 
Ukrainian diplomat suspected of smuggling cigarettes in Hungary

http://www.interfax.ru/world/509625

Moscow. May, 23rd. INTERFAX.RU - The husband of the first secretary of the Ukrainian Embassy in Slovakia Oksana Lischishin was arrested while trying to take out a batch of smuggled cigarettes in Hungary. This on its website http://moskal.in.ua/?categoty=news&news_id=2245 said the head of the Transcarpathian Regional State Administration Gennady Moskal.

The report notes that the detainee van belongs to the Embassy of Ukraine in Slovakia, and the driver - "resident of Kiev Sergey Lischishin, who is the husband of the first secretary of the Ukrainian Embassy in Slovakia Oksana Lischishin".

At the same time, said Moskal, a man given to customs and border guards "a diplomatic passport and a letter signed by his wife, in which from 21 to 24 May a minibus transporting diplomatic cargo and is not subject to control." When customs officers, suspected contraband began to insist on the inspection, "Lischishin perpetrate the scandal threatened to call the consul, etc".

. As clarified the press service of GFS in the Transcarpathian region, when viewed from the vehicle interior and structural cavities of the right and left sides of the body 56 thousand 890 packs of cigarettes domestic production was found with excise stamps of the country - namely, 25.090 thousand packs of "LD red",. 24.610 thousand. packs "LD blue", 490 packs of "LD blue limited", 6,700 thousand. packs "Pall Mall low smoke smel".

On the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to the scandal. The deputy head of the Foreign Ministry Vadim Pristayko said the agency does not authorize the husband of the first secretary of the Ukrainian Embassy in Slovakia Lischishin Oksana, who was detained when transporting contraband cigarettes, transportation pouch or cargo.

He recalled that a diplomatic passport itself, which is also the politicians and bureaucrats do not give the right to evade customs inspection, "this right is only for diplomats working abroad and secure immunity."


Militia report Norwegian mercenary killed in east Ukraine

http://tass.ru/en/world/877518

According to the militia, the mercenary was killed in a conflict between the representatives of a private military company and gunmen of the Aidar volunteer battalion

MOSCOW, May 23. /TASS/. A mercenary from Norway died of a gunshot wound during a conflict with gunmen of the Aidar volunteer battalion in eastern Ukraine, the official spokesman for the militia in the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic said on Monday.

The body of the Norwegian national, who worked for a private military company, has been sent from Stanitsa Luganskaya, Andrey Marochko said.

"The conflict occurred on May 20-21 between the representatives of a private military company and gunmen of the Aidar nationalist battalion in which the mercenary died of a gunshot wound," the spokesman was quoted by the LuganskInformCenter as saying.


Norway to check report of its citizen killed in Donbass

http://tass.ru/en/world/877542

Earlier in the day, official spokesman for the militia in the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic Andrey Marochko said a mercenary from Norway died of a gunshot wound in Donbass

OSLO, May 23. /TASS/. Norway’s authorities know nothing about the death of the country’s national in Donbass where he allegedly took part in fighting on the side of Kiev forces, Norwegian Foreign Ministry spokesman told TASS on Monday.

"We have no information on this. According to the reported data, the death occurred during the weekend (on May 21-22). In this case, we would have been already informed about this," Frode Andersen said.

Earlier in the day, official spokesman for the militia in the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic Andrey Marochko said a mercenary from Norway died of a gunshot wound during a conflict with gunmen of the Aidar nationalist battalion in Stanitsa Luganskaya, in eastern Ukraine. The Norwegian national was in Donbass as part of a group of mercenaries of one of private military companies, he said.

Over the past 24 hours, Ukrainian forces shelled the Lugansk republic’s militia positions seven times. The Kiev forces opened fire at the settlements of Kalinovo, Logvinovo, Kalinovka and Lozovoye from armored fighting vehicles, grenade launchers and small arms. The Lugansk republic said sniper groups were active on the Ukrainian side.
 
Russian Language Only
Донецк, 220516, митинг против ОБСЕ
АНТИФАШИСТ ТВ
Published on May 23, 2016
Donetsk, 220,516, a rally against the OSCE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX6sIA6vTWI

Части украинских нацистов идут маршем на Горловку
Понедельник, 23 Май 2016
Part of Ukrainian Nazis are marching on Gorlovka
60206faa6eb51b0b0baf1df6e454c92b.jpg

Подробнее: http://antifashist.com/item/chasti-ukrainskih-nacistov-idut-marshem-na-gorlovku.html#ixzz49YB4RzHz
Google Translation
Security forces of nationalist forces in Ukraine are moving to the area Gorlovka. The deputy commander of the operational command of the DNI Eduard Eduard Basurin.

According to the Defense DNI, the APU for the past day 308 times fired at the territory of the republic. In total, Ukrainian law enforcers have released 204 mines and 82 caliber 120 mm.

In addition, the Ukrainian military used tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, rocket-propelled grenades and small arms. It is known that the firing orders to brigade commanders gave Ukrainian Zhakun, Shandar, Sokolov and Delyatitsky.

Under fire hit the outskirts of Donetsk, Donetsk airport, Spartak, fun, Staromykhailivka, Trudovskoy, Yainovataya and village Sahanka, Sosnovskoye and Kominternovo.

Under the threat of danger and remains Gorlovka direction: Kyiv throws to the area nationalist formation.

"Our intelligence continues to record the concentration of nationalist divisions along the line of contact. So, through the town of Novgorod (6 km to the frontline) in the direction of Dzerzhinsk (5 km to the frontline) observed the movement of up to two platoons well equipped personnel from units pPSMON "Azov", up to 45 people, - said Eduard Basurin. - The same amount of personnel "Azov" battalion moved into the area of ​​the village Artemovsk (16 km to the frontline). "

Recall that in late April DNI intelligence reported on the ongoing transfer of command of the Ukrainian to the forefront of militant radical nationalist groups. Regularly received information about how the participation of these groups, including the "Azov" in shelling the settlements of Donbass and their clashes with the regular units of the Ukrainian army.

At the same time Eduard Basurin reported that the enemy continues to incur substantial losses due to intraspecific fights between their security forces. More than 70 Ukrainian soldiers were killed during clashes between units of APU and natsbatalonami over the past two weeks, he informed.

"Often conflicts end cowardly shooting soldiers in the back, or mutual skirmishes, - he said. - By our estimates, because of such conflicts in parts and divisions APU in just the past two weeks, the loss amounted to more than 70 people killed. "

Eduard Basurin stressed that conflicts arise on the background of a tightening of the commanders of the APU term military service, mobilized during the fifth wave of mobilization.

"In this regard, the military commanders openly express disobedience, claiming a lack of understanding of the war. These sentiments provoke nationalist divisions to conflicts with the soldiers unwilling to fight the APU, "- said the deputy commander. He noted that the data on those killed and injured in these clashes are hidden and not published even as an indication of "non-combat losses."

ОБСЕ, ОТКРОЙ ГЛАЗА!"
OSCE, open your eyes! "
Published onMay 23, 2016
Митинг в Донецке перед штаб-квартирой миссии ОБСЕ. Недовольные жители скандируют лозунги в адрес мисии, сотрудники которой фактически закрывают глаза на геноцид населения Доньбасса со стороны украинских вооруженных формирований.
The rally in Donetsk in front of the headquarters of the OSCE Mission. Disgruntled residents chanting slogans against her mission, which employees actually turn a blind eye to the genocide of the population Donbassa by the Ukrainian armed forces.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE0y4e4r52M

ВЛАДА ПОЛОУМНЫХ НЕГОДЯЕВ
Published on May 23, 2016
Георгий Котенок
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTH0HCEejwo
Алексей Самойлов - политический обозреватель - о сущности фигурантов во властных структурах Киева, неадекватности персонажей, дорвавшихся до власти в результате госпереворота-2014 г
Alexei Samoilov - political commentator - about the nature of the defendants in the government of Kiev, the inadequacy of the characters, who have seized upon to power in a coup-2014

From SSNATO
A new milestone in NATO-Georgia relations
Published on May 23, 2016
_https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXOCKQo0HTA
Georgian and NATO representatives demonstrate the Joint Training and Evaluation Centre (JTEC), an initiative that they’ve been working on for the past two years.
The NATO-Georgia programme, holds its first live training assessment of a Company from the Georgian Armed Forces.
 
c.a.,


https://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic said:
Recall that in late April DNI intelligence reported on the ongoing transfer of command of the Ukrainian to the forefront of militant radical nationalist groups. Regularly received information about how the participation of these groups, including the "Azov" in shelling the settlements of Donbass and their clashes with the regular units of the Ukrainian army.

At the same time Eduard Basurin reported that the enemy continues to incur substantial losses due to intraspecific fights between their security forces. More than 70 Ukrainian soldiers were killed during clashes between units of APU and natsbatalonami over the past two weeks, he informed.

"Often conflicts end cowardly shooting soldiers in the back, or mutual skirmishes, - he said. - By our estimates, because of such conflicts in parts and divisions APU in just the past two weeks, the loss amounted to more than 70 people killed. "


The above mention of conflicts and clashes clashes the "Azov" battalion with the regular units of the Ukrainian army reminds me of the phenomenon of "Fragging" which occured during the Vietnam War when the troops could not accept the atrocities they were seeing.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragging said:
Fragging

The term fragging is used to describe the deliberate killing or attempted killing by a soldier of a fellow soldier, usually a superior officer or non-commissioned officer. The word was coined by military personnel of the United States during the Vietnam War, when such killings were most often attempted with a fragmentation grenade,[2] sometimes making it appear as though the killing was accidental or during combat with the enemy. The term fragging is now often used to encompass any means used to deliberately and directly cause the death of military colleagues.

The high number of fragging incidents in the latter years of the Vietnam War were symptomatic of the unpopularity of the war with the American public and the breakdown of discipline in the U.S. Armed Forces. Documented and suspected fragging incidents totaled nearly nine hundred from 1969 to 1972. Fragging has not been as frequent since the Vietnam War ended.

The same situation seems to be occurring in Syria within the different factions and groups. FWIW
 
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