Civil War in Ukraine: Western Empire vs Russia

[angelburst29]

All of Ukraine's major creditors, from the World Bank to the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development, the European Investment Bank, and Germany's KfW Development Bank, are concerned about Kiev's inability to successfully absorb the funds that have been allocated to the country, a World Bank official working in Ukraine told local media.

World Bank Complains Kiev is Incapable of Effectively Spending Allocated Money
http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160814/1044260308/world-bank-ukraine-complaints.html

Speaking to Zerkalo Nedeli, once considered to be one of Ukraine's most influential analytical newspapers, World Bank Ukraine projects manager Claudia Maksimenko complained that Ukraine's bureaucracy, combined with officials' obsession with their own financial bottom line, is preventing the country from effectively absorbing the funds that have been allocated.

According to the official, one the main problems is a lack of flexibility in decision-making among Ukrainian authorities, with negotiations with their counterparts from the Bank "usually ending with lawmakers convincing themselves that the necessary changes will not affect their business interests."

Voicing her frustration, Maksimenko also told the paper that "sometimes, I get the impression that the World Bank needs its projects in Ukraine" more than Ukrainian authorities do. "But we do not really earn anything on these projects; investments from Ukraine are not a source of our income." Moreover, if projects are not implemented or are not implemented in full, this becomes a loss for us, because we spend our own funds drafting the projects, which Ukraine is not obliged to repay us. These services are not included in the loan, and the team spending its time developing and supervising the unrealized or ineffectively realized projects could spend its energy addressing other, equally pressing problems elsewhere."

The official emphasized that discussions with other major creditors involved in Ukraine have confirmed that they face the same problems.

Furthermore, Maksimenko said that "experience with similar projects in other countries demonstrate that they can theoretically be implemented in Ukraine, but experience, unfortunately, is convincing us that the opposite is true."

Commenting on the official's words, Zerkalo Nedeli pointed out that authorities in Kiev constantly talk about the need for more external funding, the need to raise investment, and the need to improve the country's regulatory environment and business climate, etc.

Ukraine has received a total of $6.5 billion in support from the World Bank since May 2014. It's sister agency, the International Monetary Fund, has recently confirmed that would have to conduct another review before disbursing an additional $1.7 billion in loan funding to the country. Earlier this year, the IMF approved a four-year program of financial aid to Ukraine, stipulating a $17.5 billion loan. The Ukrainian government has been forced to implement austerity policies to comply with IMF requirements for the distribution of the funds, including deregulation, spending cuts, and increases in utilities prices.

 

[youlik]

Жители Киева получили платежки с призывом записываться в НАТО...
http://riafan.ru/546087-zhiteli-kieva-poluchili-platezhki-s-prizyvom-zapisyvatsya-v-nato?utm_source=rnews

Translation
Residents of Kiev have received bills with an appeal to join NATO...

Kyiv, August 15. Residents of the Ukrainian capital to his surprise he received from the "Kyivvodocanal" advertising on payment receipts. Kiev call and enlisted as volunteers in the armed forces of Ukraine, promising them high salaries when getting into the foreign peacekeeping troops of NATO.

On each payment receipts are figures on wages in Mat — from 7 to 12 thousand hryvnia per month (18 to 32 thousand rubles, at the prevailing rate) and provides a telephone hot line, which, as noted by the Ukrainian media for some reason is not working. Entered the service in the APU volunteers are promised free accommodation in hostels, benefits and opportunities of free education in the chosen specialty, as well as the opportunity to enroll in the NATO peacekeeping force, where wages will be from 1000 to 1200 euros a month (for comparison, the average German salary is 3500 euros per month).

"It's part of the ongoing advertising campaign. Overall figures for recruitment on a contract though we are not 100%, but running", — declared in the Kyiv city military Commissariat. While informal sources in the Ukrainian Ministry of defense noted that the contract now people are much worse than before.

We will remind, recently the head of the NSDC of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov announced that in case of aggravation of the situation in the Donbass, Kiev will announce a new wave of mobilization....

 

[angelburst29]

Жители Киева получили платежки с призывом записываться в НАТО...
http://riafan.ru/546087-zhiteli-kieva-poluchili-platezhki-s-prizyvom-zapisyvatsya-v-nato?utm_source=rnews

Translation
Residents of Kiev have received bills with an appeal to join NATO...

Kyiv, August 15. Residents of the Ukrainian capital to his surprise he received from the "Kyivvodocanal" advertising on payment receipts. Kiev call and enlisted as volunteers in the armed forces of Ukraine, promising them high salaries when getting into the foreign peacekeeping troops of NATO.

On each payment receipts are figures on wages in Mat — from 7 to 12 thousand hryvnia per month (18 to 32 thousand rubles, at the prevailing rate) and provides a telephone hot line, which, as noted by the Ukrainian media for some reason is not working. Entered the service in the APU volunteers are promised free accommodation in hostels, benefits and opportunities of free education in the chosen specialty, as well as the opportunity to enroll in the NATO peacekeeping force, where wages will be from 1000 to 1200 euros a month (for comparison, the average German salary is 3500 euros per month).

"It's part of the ongoing advertising campaign. Overall figures for recruitment on a contract though we are not 100%, but running", — declared in the Kyiv city military Commissariat. While informal sources in the Ukrainian Ministry of defense noted that the contract now people are much worse than before.

We will remind, recently the head of the NSDC of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov announced that in case of aggravation of the situation in the Donbass, Kiev will announce a new wave of mobilization....

Can't Pay Your Bill? Join NATO! Ukrainian Military Launches New Ad Campaign
http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160815/1044281292/ukraine-nato-recruitment-ad.html

A source in Ukraine’s Defense Ministry Vesti that the number of able-bodied citizens willing to serve in the nation’s armed forces has decreased, prompting the military to resort to such unorthodox measures.

The ongoing armed conflict in Ukraine’s southeast made military service increasingly unpopular among the country’s youths who often go to great lengths to avoid conscription.

In October 2015, the Office of Ukraine’s Attorney General announced that there were about 16,000 deserters from the ranks of the Ukrainian army, according to Lenta.ru.

Furthermore, in May 2016 Andriy Verba, head of the Ukrainian Army Medical Department, said that
some of the conscripts recently pressed into service were in fact diagnosed with tuberculosis, hepatitis C and even HIV. He also added that the infected servicemen won’t be discharged and will remain at military facilities during treatment.

Polish ex-foreign and defense minister Radoslaw Sikorski thinks the Minsk-negotiated peace plan for eastern Ukraine has failed. Accordingly, he's calling on Poland (and presumably other NATO countries) to supply Kiev with advanced lethal weapons, including anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Polish Politician Says NATO Should Arm Kiev With Advanced Lethal Weaponry
http://sputniknews.com/politics/20160815/1044274956/polish-official-lethal-weapons-kiev.html

In a comment published on his official Twitter page, the former official stated bluntly that "if the Minsk peace process is over, we should supply Ukraine with anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles to deter further Russian aggression."

Sikorski, hired as an official advisor to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko last year, is well-known for his anti-Russian commentary, informed by neoconservative ideology. The former Polish official is married to Anne Applebaum, an American-Polish journalist who is well-known inside the US for her hawkish, stridently anti-Russian attitudes, and for suggesting in 2014 that Europe should prepare for "total war" with Moscow.

Sikorski is also one of the architects of the EU's Eastern Partnership initiative, which stretches across six nations in the former Soviet space, including Ukraine, and designed to expand the EU's influence in the region. He was also one of the officials signing his name to what was meant to be a compromise deal between then-President Viktor Yanukovych and Western-backed opposition leaders amid mass protests in Kiev in February 2014. A day after signing the agreement, Yanukovych was forced to flee Ukraine in fear for his life.

Sikorski has long-since labeled anti-Maidan activists in Ukraine's rebellious Donetsk and Lugansk regions as "terrorists," adding that the EU and NATO should take off the "kid gloves" in dealing with Moscow, up to and including threatening Russia militarily. He has been calling on NATO to provide Kiev with advanced weaponry since last year.

In Poland, Sikorski is the subject of numerous scandals, from alleged misappropriation of public funds, to the use of public servants for his own private ends, to a well-known scandal involving leaked tapes which forced him and other ministers to resign in June 2015. In the tapes, the official candidly described Poland's alliance with the US as "bull****."

The Minsk peace agreement was signed in February 2015 in the Belarusian capital of Minsk between Kiev and eastern Ukraine's militia. The document stipulates a ceasefire, the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the warzone, and constitutional reforms inside Ukraine meant to give special status to the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics.

In recent weeks, the conflict in eastern Ukraine has flared up, with Kiev and Western countries blaming Russia, which isn't even directly involved in the war, of trying to break the Minsk accords. Officials in the Donbass republics, and in Moscow, meanwhile, have accused Kiev of failing to live up to the measures outlined in the agreement, particularly the necessary constitutional reforms. Russian observers have also suggested that Kiev is deliberately using the civil war in the country's east to try to distract from mounting domestic problems.

Moscow has irrefutable evidence of the fact that the Ukrainian side planned to carry out sabotage attacks in the Crimean peninsula, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday.

Moscow Has Irrefutable Evidence of Crimea Sabotage Attacks Plotting by Ukraine
http://sputniknews.com/russia/20160815/1044278282/crimea-sabotage-plot-lavrov.html

On Wednesday, Russia's Federal Security Service said that it had eliminated a spy ring organized by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry in Crimea, which was preparing acts of sabotage on "critical and life-supporting elements of the peninsula's infrastructure."

“Of course, we cannot show everything on TV, but we have compelling evidence that this was a sabotage, which was being planned for a long time, through the chief of intelligence office of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry. It aimed to destabilize the situation in Russian Crimea,” Lavrov said after a meeting with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

“During the Normandy Four summit in Paris in October 2 last year, the term ‘Steinmeier’s formula’ even came to life, a formula invented by Steinmeier to find practical and overall acceptable ways to implement the objectives of the Minsk agreements… Now, unfortunately, the implementation of ‘Steinmeier’s formula’ is hampered by Kiev authorities, who want to once again circumvent the Minsk agreements,” Lavrov said.

Sergei Lavrov said that Russia is concerned by the development of the situation in Ukraine.

Russia Seriously Concerned by Situation in Ukraine - Lavrov
http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160815/1044273546/russia-situationin-ukraine.html

"We discussed, first and foremost, international issues, paying particular attention to the development of the situation in Ukraine. This development causes serious concern," Lavrov said following talks with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Neither of the sides is interested in severing the diplomatic ties between Russia and Ukraine, this is a last-ditch measure, Sergei Lavrov said.

Lavrov stressed the importance of a “restrained and concentrated” approach in order to ensure the stabilization of the situation in Ukraine instead of giving into emotions.

Western countries are no longer supporting the Ukrainian authorities unconditionally, Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Russian parliament’s upper house, said on Saturday, commenting on a recent telephone talk between US Vice President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

The West Getting Tired Of The Fascist Ukraine Regime, U.S. Vice President Biden Calls Coup Leader Poroshenko To Back Off !
http://novorossia.today/west-getting-tired-fascist-ukraine-regime-u-s-vice-president-biden-calls-coup-leader-poroshenko-back-off/

During a phone call on Friday, Biden urged both Ukraine and Russia to avoid escalating tensions over Crimea.

“Yesterday’s phone conversations between Biden and Poroshenko, as well as between [EU foreign policy chief Federica] Mogherini and [Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo] Klimkin are signs – even unclear ones – that Western countries are damped by Kiev’s latest undertakings and are not ready to support the Ukrainian authorities as unconditionally as previously,” Kosachev wrote on his Facebook page.

He said that the US calls on all parties to the conflict to deescalate tensions are a positive shift from the previous stance that Russia is the only party responsible for escalation.

“These talks for the first time in a long period do not look like a reckless and demonstrative anti-Russian solidarity,” Kosachev said.

 

[youlik]

Проводница поезда пыталась вывезти из России на Украину оптические прицелы на 1 млн рублей
https://russian.rt.com/article/316779-provodnica-poezda-pytalas-vyvezti-iz-rossii-na
А хохлы говорят, что Россия поставляет оружие только в Новороссию. От обиды наверное сами себе пытаются поставить оружейные причиндалы оттуда же.


The conductor of the train tried to take from Russia to Ukraine optical sights on 1 million roubles

the Conductor of the train links Moscow – Kiev drove through Bryansk batch of imagers and night vision scopes. This was announced by representative of the customs.
The equipment that is used by special services, was hidden in the technical niches for televisions in the compartment of the train, reports TASS.
"At the customs post at the station "Bryansk Orlovskiy during control of a passenger train EN route from Moscow to Kiev, was discovered four digital thermal imaging device Qwantum and six night vision scopes automatic calibration" — said the representative of the Bryansk customs Lyudmila Borisova.
She also noted that all withdrawn is used by the special forces of the army and the police. For transportation of such equipment is subject to obligatory written declaring.
Carrier technology pleaded the conductor of the train, a Ukrainian citizen, a resident of the city of Chernihiv.

And the Ukrainians say that Russia is supplying weapons only in the Novorossia. Resentment perhaps they trying to put weapons-grade junk from the same place.

 

[Nević Nenad]

The Last Serbian Government? [/b]
http://katehon.com/article/last-serbian-government

This government was not formed under the casual, predictable, or rote conditions by which governments are often formed following elections. It took from April until this day in mid-August to create the social, political, and - yes - international atmosphere in which a government could safely or readily be formed.

What is the background and context of this newly formed government? What were the reasons for its delay?

The author is overthinking it. Serbia and the whole of Balkan IS already under firm NATO leash. No need to do anything for that anymore. Plus, he is writing analysis on the false premise that Serbian prime minister Vucic is "Russian" or independent man. He is not, he is totally American owned puppet. What he is saying is one thing, but what he is doing is totally another. And he is slowly getting Serbia into NATO and total American and west's dominance and slavery.

 

[youlik]

Под Горловкой взорвался склад боеприпасов ВСУ, оккупационные власти пытаются эвакуировать население
15.08.2016 - 23:31
http://rusvesna.su/news/1471293066

Translation
Under Gorlovka exploded an ammunition dump of the UAF , the occupation authorities are trying to evacuate the population

15.08.2016 - 23:31
As a result of violations of safety in government-controlled part of the village of Zaytsevo near Gorlovka today blew up an ammunition dump UAF.

This was reported to "Russian Spring" in the operational command of the DPR.

"August 15, at about 22.00 in the warehouse rocket-artillery weapons (RAV) UAF, located in the North-Western edge under control of the UAF of the village of Zaytsevo, there was a detonation of ammunition, with the result that there has been undermining of the existing stock. According to available reports, the explosion at the warehouse occurred because of violations of security measures in the discharge arrived the next party of ammunition", — noted in Department
In operational command added that currently, Ukrainian security forces have cordoned off the area. The local administration is attempting to evacuate the population.

"We have repeatedly drawn attention to the possible consequences of placing warehouses RAV UAF in the settlements and the lack of proper control of the order of storage of explosive devices, and warned about the possible repetition of the "second Svatovo". However, once again by the Ukrainian side and the international observers we were not heard", — stressed in the operational command.
As previously reported, "Russian Spring", the fire at the ammunition depot in Svatovo (the occupied part of the LPR) occurred on the evening of 29 October 2015. There were about 3.5 thousand tons of ammunition for reactive systems of volley fire "Grad", "Smerch" and "Uragan". The area of the fire on the territory of military object was about 9 thousand sq. m. the incident more than 50 people were injured, four were killed.

 

[youlik]

Украинский олигарх Пинчук пожертвовал фонду Клинтон 13 млн долларов, — The New York Times
17.08.2016 - 13:18
http://rusvesna.su/news/1471423434

По нашему это называется откат. Они ему позволили украсть и он с ними "по братски" поделился.


Translation
Ukrainian oligarch Pinchuk has donated to the Clinton Fund 13 million dollars, The New York Times

17.08.2016 - 13:18

Billionaire Victor Pinchuk was one of the largest foreign donor of charity the Clinton Foundation (Clinton Foundation).

Write about this Ukrainian media, citing data published by the influential American newspaper The Wall Street Journal.

"According to the Wall Steet Journal, the leaders among foreign donors Fund Clinton are the representatives of poor European country — Ukraine.

The largest contributor among Ukrainians is Victor Pinchuk: according to the official of Fund, it is the second group of donor organizations", — writes Ukrainian journalist Ekaterina Koltsova.

According to the newspaper The New York Times, since 2006, Pinchuk donated to the Clinton Fund about $13 million.
Recall that earlier media have repeatedly appeared information about the relations of the clans, Clinton, and Pinchuk as part of the charitable activities of the ANTIAIDS Foundation, organized by his wife Elena Pinchuk (the wife of Viktor Pinchuk).

In our this is called a rollback. They let him steal and he was with them "brothers" he shared.

 

[Voyageur]

Russian Media: US preparing chaos in Macedonia, Serbia and Greece to prevent Turkish Stream
http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/29983/1/

Indeed, the U.S. is likely going bat-s crazy trying to protect the networks envision and they are being hampered at every turn by new alliances and collapsing strategies.

Excellent discussion, angelburst29, Avala, Youlik and sToRmR1dR on the region and its people/history. Thanks for shedding some light on it.

The following is noted:

If you want to read more I would sugest the austrian traveler and scientist Felix Philipp Kanitz

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Philipp_Kanitz

and his books:
https://archive.org/details/dasknigreichse02kaniuoft
https://archive.org/stream/BulgariaInImagesFromFelixKanitz/bulgaria_kanitz_djvu.txt

Or Russian diplomat Alexandr Gilyferding " The travel to Herzegovina, Bosnia and Old Serbia" (Kosovo was known as Old Serbia in 17, 18, 19th century) cant find english translations though.
https://www.scribd.com/doc/209665124/Aleksandar-Giljferding-Putovanje-po-Hercegovini-Bosni-i-staroj-Srbiji

Or Turkish traveler and scholar Evliya Çelebi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evliya_%C3%87elebi

 

[angelburst29]

The Last Serbian Government? [/b]
http://katehon.com/article/last-serbian-government

The author is overthinking it. Serbia and the whole of Balkan IS already under firm NATO leash. No need to do anything for that anymore. Plus, he is writing analysis on the false premise that Serbian prime minister Vucic is "Russian" or independent man. He is not, he is totally American owned puppet. What he is saying is one thing, but what he is doing is totally another. And he is slowly getting Serbia into NATO and total American and west's dominance and slavery.

US Vice President President Joe Biden’s meeting in Belgrade on Tuesday with Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic was a clear attempt to make the Balkans less dependent on Russia and facilitate Kosovo’s bid to win UN recognition, Belgrade-based political analyst Dusan Prorokovic told Sputnik.

Joe Biden Plays ‘Independent Kosovo’ Card During Belgrade Visit
http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160818/1044385863/us-serbia-talks.html

Dusan Prorokovic also warned against putting too much faith in Mr. Biden’s declared desire to seek a political compromise between Belgrade and Pristina.

“The policy of the US State Department and Vice President Biden towards Serbia remains unchanged: they want to keep the region under US control, to offset Russia’s growing influence in the Balkans and mend fences between Serbia and Kosovo to make Pristina officially recognized by the United Nations,” he noted.

Dusan Prorokovic added that Washington was clearly alarmed by Russia’s presence in the Balkans and by its frictions with Germany and Turkey, the latter which the US can no longer rely upon following the recent attempt to oust President Erdogan.

China’s growing clout as a major investor in the region, the migrant crisis and the rise of Islamic radicalism also add to the list of Washington’s woes.

“If [Hillary] Clinton becomes President she will continue the US attempts to isolate Russia, hence this desire to keep the Balkan region under US control to prevent the South Stream project happening or mutual defense agreements between Moscow and Belgrade,” Prorokovic continued.

He said that Biden was unlikely to use any real pressure against Kosovo.

“Any US pressure against Pristina is purely tactical and is made only to extract additional concessions from Belgrade. Any agreement the Americans clinch with Kosovo is meant to speed up Pristina’s recognition by Belgrade.”

Dusan Prorokovic said that he didn’t believe that Joe Biden’s assurances of seeking a compromise in the talks between Belgrade and Pristina.

“Don’t believe him. Just like about anyone in Washington, [Joe Biden] is playing the ‘independent Kosovo’ card,” Dusan Prorokovic emphasized.

Joe Biden arrived in Belgrade on Tuesday as part of a three-day official visit to Serbia and Kosovo for bilateral talks with the leaders of the two countries.

Edit=Quote

 

[angelburst29]

Face To Face Showdown, Between Former President Yanukovich And Coup Leader Poroshenko In A Court Video Link-Up
http://novorossia.today/136228-2/

The Ukrainian General Prosecutor’s Office is gearing up to organize a face-to-face showdown between Viktor Yanukovich and top Ukrainian officials in a court video link-up requested by the former Ukrainian president, Prosecutor General Yuri Lutsehko announced at a Thursday briefing.

“We are ready to organize a video link-up to hear testimony by Yanukovich. I promise that he will have not only a face-to-face dialogue but, let me emphasize this, also a fair trial and verdict,” the prosecutor general stressed.

Yanukovich’s lawyer Vitaly Serdyuk on Tuesday appealed at the General Prosecutor’s Office to let Yanukovich, who is accused of large-scale bribe-taking, confront senior Ukrainian officials via a video link-up.

The officials Yanukovich wants to see at the questioning are President Pyotr Poroshenko, former Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk, Speaker Andrei Parubiy, National Security and Defense Council Secretary Alexander Turchinov and Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klichko.

Besides, the defense also requests an interrogation session with a number of other unnamed persons for testimony on the so-called Maidan case.

The defense asks for a cross-examination via a video-conference in court, as “only testimony in court is decisive,” Serdyuk explained.

Protests in Kiev’s Maidan Square broke out in Kiev in 2013, when Yanukovich put off signing an association agreement with the European Union in order to examine the deal more thoroughly. This move sparked mass riots that eventually led to a coup in February 2014, ousting Yanukovich from the presidency and forcing him to flee from Ukraine.

After the Maidan leaders took power, several criminal cases were launched against Yanukovich and his team. The General Prosecutor’s Office began procedures of convicting them in absentia, and had their bank accounts frozen.

In January 2015, Interpol placed Yanukovich on an international wanted list as requested by Ukraine. He is accused of supposedly usurping power, forming an organized criminal network, abetting the shooting Maidan activists, abuse of power as well as embezzlement.

The Ukrainian General Prosecutor’s Office accuses Yanukovich of taking roughly $1 million in bribes between 2011 and 2012. The former president is charged with violating Article 368 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code (gaining improper advantage by an official).

Improving the welfare of the Crimean citizens is the main task, which the leaders of Crimea and the port city of Sevastopol must work on, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday.

Putin: Welfare of Citizens is the Main Task of Crimean, Sevastopol Leadership
http://sputniknews.com/russia/20160819/1044445818/putin-crimea-citizens-welfare.html

At a meeting with Crimean Prime Minister Sergei Aksenov and Acting Governor of Sevastopol Dmitry Ovsyannikov during the Tavrida international youth forum, Vladimir Putin said:

"The first thing that needs to be done is to systematically work on increasing the incomes of Crimea and Sevastopol's residents… We are all experienced people and we understand that the resolution of all other issues depends on this, including the social issues, housing and municipal issues, matters of pre-school institutions, as well as schools and hospitals."

Putin recalled that Russia had adopted a "federal target program for the development of Crimea and Sevastopol," and noted the necessity to complete all the activities planned in Crimea "on time, and with due quality."

Sergey Glazyev is an advisor to President Putin, co-founder of the Rodina Party, and a former member of the State Duma. Glazyev is also on the Supervisory Board of Katehon Think Tank, alongside Alexander Dugin. Katehon exclusively employs the Fort Russ team for line and copy-editing for their English language portal, and consulting on matters of US internal political culture.
**
Advisor to President Vladimir Putin, the academic Sergey Glazyev gives an exclusive interview to the website "Rusvesna"

Glazyev: Ukraine under US Occupation, Gov't not legit
http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/08/glazyev-ukraine-under-us-occupation.html

Sergey, what economic measures can be used by Russia to force Ukraine and the world to reject military adventures against Donetsk, Lugansk and Crimea?

- First you need to call a spade a spade: in Ukraine there is no legitimate authority; its territory is occupied by the United States; neo-Nazis were appointed by them to commit crimes against humanity, genocide against the Russian people. Then they proceed against the people of Ukraine with war crimes and political repression: we must create an international tribunal to investigate the crimes committed by the Nazis, who so far are without punishment.

We have to convince the international community that they are dealing with an attempt to restore a Nazi regime in the Ukraine, whose leaders declared themselves successors of Nazi collaborators.

Then we must begin to restore the legitimate power in Ukraine on the basis of its own Constitution.

Do you expect that in the coming years, European countries will end the sanctions against Russia?

- If they have the power to break away from being American puppets, and can become the people's representatives, (then they will). While the EU and NATO are under the command of the US ,and they also control the media, it is difficult to expect a change in the policy of European countries, which are in fact deprived of their independence.

Do you think that the improvement of Russian-Turkish relations is a strategic initiative of the authorities of the two countries, and an yet opportunistic phenomenon? How big are the chances of a long-term Russian-Turkish economic union?

- Objectively, our economic interests are in harmony, so that the development of Russian-Turkish trade and economic co-operation goes very well. Our Kazakh partners on the EAEC put forward the initiative to conclude with Turkey a preferential trade regime. However, it is incompatible with their aspiration to the EU. If Turkey is out of the EU and NATO, cooperation can grow many times, and political differences can be easily resolved.

How do you assess the prospects of the EAEC? Do you expect the entry of new countries into the customs union in the short term?

- Everything is going according to the plan adopted through 2024. By this time it will function as a full-scale single economic space of goods, services, capital, labor, and operate a single energy, finance, transport market.

How do you evaluate the current Sino-Russian relations? Can we say that the full "turn to the East" took place?

- This is a mutually equitable strategic partnership in which our countries are objectively interested.Turn to the East took place in the global economy and we need to aspire to full participation in the new way of the world economy, the emerging China and, other countries in Southeast Asia.

 

[youlik]

Украина не разрешила России строить газопровод по дну Балтийского моря
http://tvzvezda.ru/news/vstrane_i_mire/content/201608191405-t66p.htm

Высокомерию и наглости "хохляцкого" правительства нет предела. Где Украина и где находится Балтийское море? Еще один виток истории вседозволенности, когда гегемон стоит позади. Вы можете открыто навязывать фашистские правила, воевать с вашим собственным гражданам тяжелого оружия и авиации (При этом кричать на весь мир, что именно ты самый миролюбивый миротворец, не забывая так же громогласно выпрашивать оружие на халяву), кредиты можно не отдавать, теперь вы можете попробовать диктовать свои условия в далеких делах.

Translation
Ukraine has not allowed Russia to build a gas pipeline under the Baltic sea

the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) has demanded from "Gazprom" to request permission for the construction of the gas pipeline "Nord stream-2" which will pass under the Baltic sea. The AMC believe that the creation of such an entity recognizes a dominant position in the market, writes TASS. So Kiev asks "Gazprom" to agree on the construction with him.

"If concerted actions lead or can lead to prevention, elimination or restriction of competition, in accordance with paragraph 5 of article 10 of the law on protection of economic competition, such concerted actions are prohibited to receive in the prescribed manner a permit from the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine", - reported in Friday's text.

Otherwise, said the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine, creation of such entity recognize dominant in the market. In the appeal says that the participants of the project (Nord stream-2" - approx. ed.) should not limit competition in Ukraine. Therefore, stated in AMC, the builders of Nord stream-2" should apply to the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine with the statement (for construction permit – approx. ed.).

According to the project "Northern stream – 2", at the bottom of the Baltic sea will be constructed for two threads of the sea gas pipeline with a total capacity of 55 billion cubic meters of gas. The pipeline will run from Russia to Germany. It is expected that the project will be launched at the end of 2019.

Hubris and arrogance "hohlyatsky" government has no limit. Where is Ukraine and where is the Baltic sea? Another round of stories of permissiveness, when a hegemon is behind. You can openly impose fascist rule, fighting with your own citizens with heavy weapons and aviation (to shout to the whole world that you're the most peace-loving peacemaker, not forgetting also loudly picking up weapons for free), you can not give loans, now you can try to dictate the conditions in distant Affairs.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Russia Prepares 55th Aid Convoy for Donbass – Emergencies Ministry

http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160820/1044453855/russia-donbass-humanitarian-aid.html

Russia started preparations of the 55th humanitarian aid convoy for residents of Ukraine’s southeast - over 600 tonnes of food, medicine and school textbooks.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Vehicles with Russian humanitarian aid have started moving from the Noginsk rescue center to the Donskoy rescue center of the Emergencies Ministry, where Russia’s 55th humanitarian aid convoy for residents of Ukraine’s southeast will be formed, a ministry spokesperson said.

"Today, at 05:00 Moscow time [02:00 GMT], trucks carrying humanitarian cargo meant for residents of Donbas [Ukraine’s southeast] started moving from the Noginsk rescue center of the Russian Emergencies Ministry to the Rostov region," the spokesperson told journalists on Saturday.

The vehicles from Noginsk will be joined by vehicles with humanitarian aid from other parts of Russia to form Russia’s 55th convoy for residents of Ukraine’s crisis-hit southeast.

"It is planned that the convoy will consist of over 70 vehicles that will deliver over 600 tonnes [metric tons] of humanitarian cargo [to Ukraine’s southeast], most of which will be food, medicine and school textbooks," the spokesperson said.

Ukraine’s southeast has been severely affected by Kiev’s special military operation, launched in the southeastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions in April 2014. The operation was a response to local residents' refusal to recognize the new coup-installed government in the country.

Russia has sent over 63,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Donbass since August 2014.

Russia is considered to be one of the world leaders in providing humanitarian relief.

According to the Russian Emergencies Ministry, the country has carried out about 400 humanitarian operations in various part of the world since 1993, of which over 80 were carried out since the start of 2015, bringing more than 90,000 tonnes of aid to 18 different nations.

Ukrainian units launch 100 shells, 160 mines on Donetsk Republic night to Saturday

http://tass.com/world/895153

Besides heavy weapons and mortars, the Ukrainian armed units used weapons of IFVs, grenade launchers and small arms

DONETSK, August 20. /TASS/. The pro-Kiev military over the past night launched about 100 artillery shells and more than 160 mines at territory of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), the republic’s defense authorities told the Donetsk News Agency on Saturday.

"From the evening of August 19 through to 01:00 (on August 20), the Ukrainian side was shelling settlement Trudovskiye west of Donetsk, Yelenovki near Dokuchayevsk, suburbs of Yasinovataya, settlements Kominternovo and Sakhanka," the source told the agency. "On those areas the military launched 100 artillery shells of 122mm caliber and 166 mines."

Besides heavy weapons and mortars, the Ukrainian armed units used weapons of IFVs, grenade launchers and small arms.

Members of the Contact Group for the settlement of the situation in the east of Ukraine at a meeting in Minsk on April 29 agreed on a complete ceasefire in Donbass starting from midnight on April 30. It is an eighth ceasefire agreement since the autumn of 2014. The sides however continue accusing each other of ceasefire violations.

Kiev’s security forces in the people’s militia responsibility zone have been repeatedly violating the truce, opening fire from mortars and tank weapons, which had to be withdrawn in accordance with the Minsk agreements.

The Package of Measures to fulfil the September 2014 Minsk agreements, known as Minsk-2, that was signed in Minsk on February 12, 2015, envisaged a ceasefire regime between Ukrainian government forces and people’s militias in the self-proclaimed republics in Donetsk and Lugansk (DPR and LPR) starting from February 15, 2015 and a subsequent withdrawal of heavy weapons from the line of engagement. The deal also laid out a roadmap for a lasting settlement in Ukraine, including local elections and constitutional reform to give more autonomy to the war-torn eastern regions.

On Friday, German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Sawsan Chebli told reporters Germany’s government considers it necessary to go ahead with the efforts as part of the Normandy format (Russia, Ukraine, Germany, France) to implement the Minsk peace deal on Ukraine despite all challenges. "The talks on implementing Minsk are held at the level of experts on a regular basis. We hold by our opinion: despite the current difficult situation and all failures there is the need to make efforts and stay in the Normandy format to fulfill Minsk," Chebli said.

The diplomat reminded that German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier had earlier said he was not satisfied by how the deal signed in February 2015 was implemented, namely in the security area in Donbass and preparations for the local elections.

 

[Ca.]

Human stories. Laurent Brayard, a French journalist (English Subs-Russian Dialogue)
Published on Jul 1, 2015

http://<iframe width="560" height="...c4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

On the occasion of the Third Antifascist Congress held in Donetsk on the 14th of May 2015, Laurent Brayard, a French journalist, had been invited in Donbass where he stayed a few days in order to meet the people and the militiamen, the local journalists, politicians and activists.
During his stay a film crew from the Novorossia TV channel followed him. He went with them out there and could see with his own eyes the actual situation in Donbass. Accompanied by Sergei at the beginning of his journey, he met up with Svetlana Kissileva, Chairwoman of Novopole for France. Despite his time in Donbass being a short one, he nevertheless was able to take stock of the population helplessness, but also of their courage and dignity.

Military Escalations in Ukraine Aug 18, 2016
South Front
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHHCA-XkLF0

Контрнаступательная операция Народной милиции ЛНР
Counteroffensive operations of the People's Militia LNR
ANNA News
Published on Aug 20, 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODltvngJxLA

Агентство ANNA-News это волонтерский проект.
Волонтеры ANNA-News ведут свои репортажи с мест событий, снимают видеоролики и публикуют аналитические статьи по проблеме национальной безопасности России и ее союзников в современных военно-политических условиях. ANNA-News это самые последние и актуальные новости из районов боевых действий
ANNA-News Volunteers conduct their reports from the field, shoot videos and publish analytical articles on the issue of national security of Russia and its allies in the current military-political conditions. ANNA-News is the most recent and relevant news from the areas of combat operations

My Day with British (Ex) Donbass Militia Man, Ben Stimson (Documentary) Filmed August 9th and 10th.
Graham Phillips

http://<iframe width="560" height="...04" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[goyacobol]

[....]

Ukrainian units launch 100 shells, 160 mines on Donetsk Republic night to Saturday

http://tass.com/world/895153

Besides heavy weapons and mortars, the Ukrainian armed units used weapons of IFVs, grenade launchers and small arms

DONETSK, August 20. /TASS/. The pro-Kiev military over the past night launched about 100 artillery shells and more than 160 mines at territory of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), the republic’s defense authorities told the Donetsk News Agency on Saturday.

"From the evening of August 19 through to 01:00 (on August 20), the Ukrainian side was shelling settlement Trudovskiye west of Donetsk, Yelenovki near Dokuchayevsk, suburbs of Yasinovataya, settlements Kominternovo and Sakhanka," the source told the agency. "On those areas the military launched 100 artillery shells of 122mm caliber and 166 mines."

Besides heavy weapons and mortars, the Ukrainian armed units used weapons of IFVs, grenade launchers and small arms.

[....]

The mines are mentioned a lot and it is depressing to think they are targeting civilians in the DPR.

The mines are also being used in Syria and I wasn't sure how they were being used or delivered so I just tried to find more information. They are one of the most gruesome weapons in my opinion but there are no kind weapons I suppose.

Here is one company that makes them Family of Scatterable Mines - FASCAM.

Apparently artillery is one way to get them to the target.

 

[angelburst29]

Joe Biden Plays ‘Independent Kosovo’ Card During Belgrade Visit
http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160818/1044385863/us-serbia-talks.html

US Vice President Joe Biden visited Serbia this week, where he was greeted by protesters crowding the streets of Belgrade, the city Biden was a leading advocate of bombing in 1999.

No Apology: Biden Visit Proves Serbia a US Vassal State
http://sputniknews.com/world/20160820/1044453082/biden-serbia-visit.html

On Friday activists will erect a monument in Novi Sad to commemorate the victims of bombing raids carried out by NATO forces on the former Yugoslavia. Some 28,000 bombs and missiles were dropped on the country within three months, inflicting damage that can be still seen today.

Human rights attorney Christopher Black told Radio Sputnik's Brian Becker during a Loud & Clear broadcast that it is outrageous how there is no accountability for people like former US President Bill Clinton, who ordered the bombing of the republic. Meanwhile, Slobodan Milosevic, the former leader of Yugoslavia, was brought to trial and died in jail before it could be concluded.

Black, who had been at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) defending people like Milosevic, claims that the Serbian ex-president "proved during the trial that all the charges against him were false," and that the whole NATO-funded tribunal set up for a particular set of circumstances.

The whole purpose of the ICTY in my mind is threefold," he said. "It's to demonize the former government of Yugoslavia and make it look like they're a bunch of criminals. It's to justify the attack on Yugoslavia by presenting a false history of events during that time, which is all false propaganda. And thirdly, it covers up the role of NATO and their crime."

According to Black, the Yugoslavian government surrendered in June 1999 after it received a message from the US that, "unless you surrender, the Americans intend to carpet bomb Belgrade," killing some 500,000 people. The capitulation was based solely on the desire to end the killings.

"Bill Clinton was responsible for this aggression against the European state…Massive destruction was caused, thousands of people were killed, tens of thousands wounded. Yugoslavia disappeared; one of the founding members of the non-aligned movement was just crushed."

And now the wife of Bill Clinton, who is "responsible for one of the greatest war crimes of the 20th century" is the Democratic candidate for this year's presidential elections in the US, Black noted.

"That's how evil these people are. So Bill Clinton is one of the most evil people on the planet, and his wife knew all about that I'm sure," he said. "We have the choice in the United States, of a clown like Trump or criminals like the Clintons."

Yugoslavia didn't just break up as a state, it was destroyed economically, with people losing any sense of national pride, Black said. And Joe Biden's recent visit to Serbia only proves that the country today is just a puppet of the US and "a shell of what it used to be."

Black called attention to Biden's refusal to salute the Serbian flag during the welcoming ceremony, and his mention of Croatia, instead of Serbia, in his speech, as well as other events, including the renaming of a street in Kosovo after Joe Biden's late son, and Biden's dictates to the president of Kosovo regarding agreements the former wants to be signed.

"They are all puppet vassal regimes put in place by the Americans, the Germans and the British," he said. "It seems that the spirit in the Serbian people is being totally crushed except for a few small pockets of patriotic resistance."

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry is coming under verbal assault from Kievavtodor, a municipal corporation charged with maintaining the Ukrainian capital's streets, for literally tearing up asphalt in the city's streets amid preparations for Wednesday's massive military parade.

Whoopsie: Ukrainian Army Accidentally Tears Up Roads in Kiev Prepping for Parade
http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160820/1044465315/ukraine-army-tears-up-kiev-streets.html

The Ukrainian military has been making preparations for a large-scale military parade in Kiev dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the country's independence, celebrated on August 24. Unfortunately, according to a local agency charged with maintaining and repairing the city's streets, the army's negligence and lack of professionalism have resulted in the parade rehearsals seriously damaging the road surface in the center of the capital.

The agency, known as 'Kievavtodor', complained about what's going on in its official Facebook page, writing that "the asphalt in the streets where military equipment has passed has faced tremendous damage."

According to the road authority, the damage occurred "as the result of elementary negligence, a lack of professionalism and indifference, despite repeated assurances that the military equipment would be transported on special vehicles, with their tracks fitted with special rubber or propylene plates."

'Kievavtodor' photographically documented the instances where the city's asphalt has been damaged.

Presidential advisor Yuri Biryukov shot back at the agency's criticism, writing on his own Facebook page that the damage was "just a scratch." Later, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's press service offered its own official reply, denying the extent of the damage and suggesting that the poor quality of the roads, not the heavy equipment's movement through the streets, was responsible for the damage. Furthermore, the Ministry added that the indentations left by the tanks and other mechanized units' treads would disappear over time.

On Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's insistence, this year's Independence Day celebrations will feature a massive military parade, featuring about 200 pieces of military equipment making their way through the center of Kiev. The extravagance of the parade has led to criticism from some quarters of Ukrainian society. For her part, lawmaker Nadezhda Savchenko (the former POW held in Russia and handed over to Kiev in May), called the parade an "abomination, a spit to the face to the soldiers who stand on the front lines without boots, without uniforms."

Face To Face Showdown, Between Former President Yanukovich And Coup Leader Poroshenko In A Court Video Link-Up
http://novorossia.today/136228-2/

The Ukrainian General Prosecutor’s Office is gearing up to organize a face-to-face showdown between Viktor Yanukovich and top Ukrainian officials in a court video link-up requested by the former Ukrainian president, Prosecutor General Yuri Lutsehko announced at a Thursday briefing.

Yanukovych's Request for Face-to-Face Questioning With Poroshenko Refused
http://sputniknews.com/politics/20160819/1044440394/yanukovych-poroshenko-questioning.html

On Wednesday, Yanukovych's lawyer Vitaliy Serdyuk said that the former Ukrainian president addressed the General Prosecutor's Office with such a request in order to ensure objectivity, completeness of the interrogation, the complete clarity of the circumstances and to avoid contradictions in the testimony.

According to the Ukrainian ZN.UA newspaper, citing their sources in the Prosecutor General's office, Yanukovych's request has been rejected because one must first give an initial testimony in order for a simultaneous interrogation to be carried out, and Yanukovych has not yet given any testimony.

Speaking to the German radio station Deutschlandfunk (DLF) on Friday, Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Andriy Melnyk urged Berlin to provide Ukraine with lethal weaponry. In response, his interviewer suggested that if there's one thing Ukraine doesn't need, it's more weapons.

'You Have Enough Weapons': German Media Slams Kiev Ambassador's Request for Arms
http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160820/1044467111/ukraine-weapons-request-german-response.html

In his interview with the radio station, Melnyk urged German authorities to give Ukraine weapons. "What we are asking for is defensive weapons; for example, if we had artillery detection systems, it would reduce the risk of further escalation, because the separatists would have to think twice about shelling, knowing that they would face an immediate, precise, devastating response," he said.

But in a post-interview commentary, Melnyk interviewer Sabine Adler suggested that Ukraine already has an enormous armory, and is fully capable of creating the weapons systems it requires for itself.

"If there is something Ukraine has an abundance of, it is armaments," the journalist wrote. Accordingly, she added, Berlin should refuse to deliver such weapons, not only in the interest of preserving the fragile peace in the east of the country, but "because Kiev's desire for them is simply incomprehensible."

Why does Ukraine, which has been a gigantic weapons producer for decades, and one of the largest arms exporters in the world, not manufacture these weapons themselves, if they need them so badly?" Adler asked.

The journalist warned that if Germany jumps in, it would jeopardize its role as an honest broker in the conflict.

Head of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic, Igor Plotnitsky, stated that if Ukraine is a democratic and European state, Kiev should release all war prisoners in exchange for detainees in Lugansk.

Lugansk Suggests Swapping All War Prisoners With Ukraine
http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160820/1044458476/lugansk-donbass-prisoners.html

Head of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic, Igor Plotnitsky, urged Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Saturday to release all war prisoners on the territory of Ukraine in exchange for detainees in Lugansk.

"If Ukraine is a democratic and European state, [Poroshenko] should do it, he should release all the detained [prisoners] he has. I assure you, we on our side will let all free the next day," Plotnitsky said.

Fascist Ukraine’s permanent representative to the United Nations Vladimir Yelchenko on Friday met with UN Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson to discuss Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Crimea, the Ukrainian permanent mission said.

Ukraine Can Kiss Crimea Good-Bye, Kiev Cries Foul As Russian President Putin Visits The Republic Of Crimea
http://novorossia.today/136360-2/

Ukraine issues note of protest over Putin’s trip to Crimea ~

“Vladimir Yelchenko met with UN Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson. They discussed Vladimir Putin’s illegal stay in Crimea. Yelchenko also drew Jan Eliasson’s attention to concentration of Russian armaments along the Russian-Ukrainian border in Crimea and Donbass,” the mission said on Twitter.

Putin arrived in Crimea on Friday to meet with permanent members of Russia’s Security Council after a recent attempt of an act of sabotage on the peninsula on the part of the Kiev junta .

The Kiev Junta believes such visits by Russian officials are illegal and the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry expressed protest.