Civil War in Ukraine: Western Empire vs Russia

[angelburst29]

All crossing points on the Ukrainian-Russian border have been equipped with the system of biometric data acquisition and connected to the databases of Interpol and Europol, Ukrainian Interior Minister's adviser Zoryan Shkiryak said on Sunday.

Ukraine-Russia Border Checkpoints Connected to Interpol, Europol Databases 25.12.2017
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201712251060292474-ukraine-russia-border-crossing-interpol/

"Since January 1, 2018, 00:01 a.m. [December 31, 22:01 GMT], each Russian citizen, who wants to cross the Ukrainian border, will have to leave fingerprints and provide all biometrical data. All crossing points … have been equipped with advanced systems of biometric data acquisition and connected to the databases of Interpol and Europol," Shkiryak wrote on his Facebook page.

On September 1, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a decree on introduction of biometrical control system for foreigners on the country’s borders starting from January 1, 2018.

A number of Ukrainian officials, including members of the parliament, have repeatedly called for the introduction of a visa regime with Russia, however the Ukrainian authorities consider that it would have a negative impact on the country's citizens. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow would adhere to the reciprocity principle in visa-related issues with Kiev.

A soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has asked Russia for refugee status, upon crossing the border unbeknownst to his unit.

Ukrainian soldier sneaks into Russia, asks for refugee status
http://www.fort-russ.com/2017/12/ukrainian-soldier-sneaks-into-russia.html

This is reported by the press service of the Border Guard Directorate of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation for the Bryansk region.

It is noted that the Ukrainian soldier voiced his request to the employees of the Russian border service, telling them that he served under the contract in the Supreme Armed Forces and left on his own initiative. The serviceman attributed this to "non-statutory relations with the Ukrainian military unit."

Russian structures are currently working on the request.

Earlier, the Free Press reported that in Ukraine all men are now required to provide a military ticket or a registration certificate before marriage (showing they have either completed military duty or are registered to.) If there are no documents, then the young people cannot get married.

The head of the Ukrainian Interpol bureau, Vasily Nevolya, has commented that the situation with the verification of ex-premier of Ukraine, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, at the Geneva airport is not connected to any instructions of Interpol to detain the politician.

Interpol detains Yatsenuk at Geneva airport
http://www.fort-russ.com/2017/12/interpol-detains-yatsenuk-at-geneva.html

There was a standard passport control procedure, after its completion, Arseniy Yatsenyuk was let through, and he was given the opportunity to cross the border of Switzerland. The events that occurred at the airport are in no way related to instructions for Interpol to detain Yatsenyuk, " he said.

The press secretary of Yatsenyuk, Olga Lappo, stated that the the politician was detained on passport control, allegedly at the request of Russia, but after the check he was released. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine noted that there are no obstacles for the ex-premier's movement around the world on the initiative of Interpol.

In March, Moscow transferred to Kiev a copy of the court decision on the arrest of Yatseniuk in three articles: "Participation in an armed group," "Responsibility for an attempted crime," and "Intentional homicide." The Investigative Committee stated that they have evidence of the participation of the former prime minister of Ukraine in the Chechen war of 1994-1995.

Yatsenyuk denies the charges and plans to file a lawsuit with the ECHR.

The Donetsk People's Republic’s (DPR) operations command staff said on Saturday that Ukrainian military units have broken the ceasefire and continue to shell populated areas of the republic.

Ukrainian military yet again violates ceasefire in the Donetsk Republic
http://www.fort-russ.com/2017/12/ukrainian-military-yet-again-violates.html

"In spite of the agreements on observing ceasefire, Ukrainian army units delivered fire from firearms and automatic grenade-launchers at the areas adjoining the town of Yasinovataya as of midnight," the Donetsk News Agency quoted a spokesman for the staff.

"The use of mortars of different calibers by the enemy was recorded in the area of the township of Golmosvsky near Gorlovka," it said.

At the beginning of the new academic year, the ceasefire was established in Donbass.

This became known as the "the school truce."

The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) shelled Donetsk with Multiple Rocket Launcher System

AFU using MLRS against Donetsk
http://www.fort-russ.com/2017/12/afu-using-mlrs-against-donetsk.html

Donetsk. The Ukrainian armed forces opened fire on the outskirts of Donetsk, using MLRS to fire more than 30 missiles, the operative command of the Donetsk People's Republic told journalists on Friday.

"This morning, from 09.00 to 10.00, the AFU struck, using the MLRS on the outskirts of Donetsk. All told, the enemy launched more than 30 rockets onto our territory," said a representative of the command of the DPR.

According to him, the fire was conducted from the settlement of Netailovo, controlled by Kiev.

"According to preliminary data, as a result of the bombardment, the power supply lines in the area of the "Volvo Center" were damaged .. More accurate information about the destruction is being specified ... According to our intelligence, some of the missiles hit the village of Peski, which is under the control of the AFU," added the command.

We recall that the bombardment of Donetsk began yesterday. According to the military commissars, Gorlovka was also subjected to shelling.

During the evening of December 21, the enemy used armored infantry fighting vehicles on the residential areas of Dolomit and Metalist (Travnevoye) from Novolugansk.

It was also reported that yesterday, during the firing on the territory of the Lugansk Peoples Repubic, a serviceman of the NM LNR received a bullet wound incompatible with life.

We recall that on December 20, around 22:00, Ukrainian armed formations struck an artillery blow at the center of Yasinovatoya.

The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, commented on his inclusion in the "Magnitsky list".

The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, commented on his inclusion in the "Magnitsky list".
http://www.fort-russ.com/2017/12/kadyrov-banned-from-entry-to-us-doesnt.html

The US Ministry of Finance has included Kadyrov in the banned list of persons, on charges of involvement in "extrajudicial killings, torture and other gross violations of internationally recognized human rights."

Kadyrov ironically commented on this decision, saying that "even sleeping pills would not help him sleep at night now".

"I said before, but again I repeat for those who are especially forgetful that I would not have gone to the United States if I had been offered all the currency reserves of the country as prizes," he recalled.

According to Kadyrov, many famous Americans come to visit him themselves, and some people plan to settle in Chechnya.

He stated that the US can not forgive him for devoting his life to fighting foreign terrorists, among whom were those who were trained by the US special services.

The social media accounts of the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov on Instagram and Facebook have been shut down, fearing the truth, said Speaker of the lower house of the Russian parliament. Vyacheslav Volodin.

Kadyrov's Instagram and Facebook accounts blocked
http://www.fort-russ.com/2017/12/kadyrovs-instagram-and-facebook.html

"A dangerous precedent is created, based on the principle of reciprocity, we must do the same," he said.

Volodin recalled that Kadyrov's accounts were closed after he was included in the US banned persons list, while the head of Chechnya did not violate the rules of their conduct. He added that "the truth will still find its way, no matter how they try to distort it."

Volodin added that the decision to close the accounts on Instagram and Facebook cannot be explained. "This is a policy, a policy of muzzling mouths," - added the speaker of the State Duma.

On Wednesday, the United States introduced five Russians to the Magnitsky sanctions list, including the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov, accusing them of violating human rights. According to Kadyrov, the US "cannot forgive him that he devoted his life to the fight against terrorism."

 

[angelburst29]

This morning in the center of Kharkov, a car was blown up belonging to the Chief of the Department of Operational Development in the eastern region of Ukraine, Nikolay Cheremukhin.

Pro-Russian Colonel narrowly escapes assassination
http://www.fort-russ.com/2017/12/pro-russian-colonel-narrowly-escapes.html

The explosion occurred at 6:30 Kiev time. As a result of the explosion, there were no casualties, however, several cars and gates to the garage it was parked near were damaged by debris.

According to reports, four F-1 grenades were installed under the SUV. One of the grenades, located under the front wheel, detonated earlier and the Colonel was not inside the vehicle at the time. The remaining three were deactivated by security personnel.

"Judging by this amount of explosives, they probably did not want to simply frighten him," the source said.

Earlier, Azov militants accused Cheremukhin of shelling the car of the leader of their group, Oleg Shiryaev.

Five European countries are already supplying weapons to Ukraine, including lethal ones. Pavel Barbul, director of the state-owned enterprise Spetstchnoexport, which specializes in trade of military technologies, reported this in an interview with Radio Liberty.

Five EU countries supplying lethal weapons to Ukraine
http://www.fort-russ.com/2017/12/five-eu-countries-supplying-lethal.html

According to him, the lion's share of AFU purchases are made up of analogues of Soviet ammunition from the countries of the former socialist camp. In particular, VOG-17 and VOG-25, ammunition for grenade launchers, and some artillery supplies (100 mm and 152 mm) are coming from Ukraine to Europe.

Barbul refused to name which countries are selling weapons to Ukraine, in what volumes and at what prices. At the same time, he stressed that there are still significant restrictions on foreign markets for the sale of lethal weapons to Ukraine.

"The situation of deliveries of lethal weapons to a belligerent country is a restriction for all, we have situations where some companies can not obtain licenses for delivering ammunition within two years," he said.

Barbul also said that this year Ukraine was supplied with lethal weapons from the US, namely PSRL-1 grenade launchers (modernized version of the Soviet RPG-7).

Recall that on December 21, the administration of US President Donald Trump approved the sale of lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine, but excluding Javelin anti-tank missiles.

Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Vladimir Putin, said that the supply of lethal weapons to Ukraine could warm up the "hotheads" of the nationalists who seek bloodshed in the Donbass.

Leonid Slutsky, head of the State Duma Committee for International Affairs said that the US decision to supply weapons to Kiev does not contribute to the achievement of peace, but, on the contrary, will lead to an escalation of the situation in the South-East of Ukraine. Note that on November 22, Richard Wendiver, director of the American arms manufacturer AirTronic USA confessed to supplying grenade launchers to Ukraine. Later, the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States Valeiy Chaly confirmed the supply of lethal weapons.

Ukrainian authorities, instead of reintegration of Donbass, with their own hands push the region out of the country, said Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Grigory Karasin.

Russia answers questions on recognising DPR and LPR
http://www.fort-russ.com/2017/12/russia-answers-questions-on-recognising.html

According to him, in accordance with the Minsk agreements, Donbass should be granted a special status within Ukraine.

"In reality, we see the reverse process. Instead of reintegrating the region into a common political and economic space, the Ukrainian leadership actually pushes the southeast out of the country with its own hands, "Karasin said.

In his opinion, Kiev operates in all available ways - "from the termination of social and pension payments, disconnection of water supply, electricity, and attempts to isolate the Donbass by introducing its total blockade."

"All this is done for one purpose - to provoke mass discontent and force the region to capitulate, without regard for the opinion of the majority of its population, which does not want to put up with the politics of Kiev," he stressed.

"Such actions are contrary to the Minsk agreements (point 8), which confirmed the need to take measures to improve the humanitarian situation and economic recovery of the southeast of Ukraine, to establish trade ties with our country," Karasin said.

Answering a question about whether Russia should recognize the independence of the Lugansk and Donetsk People's Republics, the diplomat stressed: "As for the further fate of the Donetsk and Lugansk republics, it should be, above all, the choice of people living there."

In his opinion, it is residents who must decide on the forms of state, political, economic and social coexistence with their neighbors that will be acceptable and comfortable for them.

"I am sure that without a direct, honest and constructive dialogue between Kiev, Donetsk and Lugansk, a reasonable solution to the current crisis can hardly be found. Alas, this is precisely what the Kiev authorities avoid in every possible way, "Karasin said.

 

[angelburst29]

March 12, 2014 - Yanukovich took two truck loads of Art and valuables before leaving (Videos)
http://englishrussia.com/2014/03/12/yanukovich-took-two-trucks-of-art-and-valuables-before-leaving/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNcZnRqw3Rg (9:04 min.) Part 1 - moving of valuables
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trdhW3sZu94 (20.29 min.) Part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BslAYYiZ_Q (13:03 min.) Presidential Residence
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VG_r2NdO9bI (9:29 min.) Travel log out of Ukraine - to Russia

Remember the Yanukovich (Ukrainian’s president) villa that was visited by protesters? We posted the photos here. They were amazed to find a solid gold two pound coin with the homeowner’s own face minted on it and other goodies at that time. However, the videos that surfaced today show that the protesters probably only got the leftovers of what was there when the president was actually living in the house. The videos shows that at least two trucks of belongings that look like pictures, antique vases and things made of shiny yellow metal were taken away from the villa just some little time before it was occupied by the people from the streets. We have two of these videos here for you to estimate the amount of the valuables that were evacuated together with Yanukovich, and this is him standing in the doorway with the truck on background, commanding in person. Videos are inside:

 

[Persej]

Elon Musk gave an interesting hypothesis about how an AI could start a war by releasing a fake news or manipulating a flight plan of an Malaysian airplane over Ukraine. Well, we already had that in the form of Deep State agencies, which are controlled by their 4D overlords. Who needs AI when you have 4DI?

http://<iframe width="560" height="...y; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[angelburst29]

Several Odessa universities have canceled all classes until March 26 due to the inability to pay to heat the classrooms. This is reported by the local portal 048.ua. Update January 17: Kiev's major university has done the same, and for the same reason: Kiev University.

Universities in Odessa region closed till spring: no way to pay to heat them
http://www.fort-russ.com/2018/01/universities-in-odessa-region-closed.html

Classes are canceled, in particular, in Odessa National University (ONU) named for Mechnikov, Odessa Law Academy, and Academy of Food Technologies.

Teachers at ONU also reported that since January 1, 2018, new standards for lighting in the auditoriums have come into force, which the universities are also unable to fulfill due to lack of funds.

In the regional department of education, 048.ua's inquiry was answered: all universities are autonomous, and their administration decides how to organize the educational process.

Effective January 1, 2019 Ukraine introduced a penalty for each day of delay in payment after the due date for paying housing and communal services.

Recall that more than 60% of Ukrainians can not pay for utilities. This is evidenced by the survey data of the sociological group "Rating". The absolute majority of respondents - 97% are feeling pinched by the price increase for consumer goods and services this year.

In the winter of 2017, the Ukrainian portal "Podrobnosti" reported that citizens of Ukraine have gone into huge debt, paying the sharply increased bills for heating and other utilities. Many citizens of the country simply stopped paying and requested the recalculation of the corresponding tariffs.

Kiev University shuts down, cannot pay for heat
http://www.fort-russ.com/2018/01/kiev-university-shuts-down-cannot-pay.html

The Kiev National University named after Taras Shevchenko has canceled all classes until spring, due to lack of funds to pay for heat and electricity. Formally, this was called "distance learning". But students and professors alike state that neither the methods of distance learning nor the qualifications for distance learning are available.

The US Navy P-8A Poseidon patrol aircraft with the onboard number 168432 has carried out a reconnaissance flight near Sevastopol.

Uninvited US intelligence aircraft continue to spy on Crimea
http://www.fort-russ.com/2018/01/uninvited-us-intelligence-aircraft.html

The website for tracking the movement of aviation CivMilAir informed the public of this on its page on Twitter.

The American aircraft first circled near Novorossiysk in the Krasnodar Territory, and then, flying along the southern coast of the Crimea, circled near Sevastopol.

In both of these cities, the warships of the Black Sea Fleet of Russia are based.

Since the beginning of 2018, this is the fourth visit of uninvited guests from the US on the peninsula.

On January 13, Russia's S-400 Triumph anti-aircraft missile systems division began combat duty for anti-aircraft defense.

 

[angelburst29]

Lavrov: It is about time Russia should exit Western project Monday January 22, 2018
https://www.veteranstoday.com/2018/01/22/lavrov-it-is-about-time-russia-should-exit-western-project/

To expand the horizons of its “red lines,” Russia should get out of someone else’s economic project, political analyst Leonid Krutakov said.

In an interview with Kommersant, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov outlined Russia’s “red lines,” which Western “partners” are not recommended to cross. Serious Western politicians should not only understand but also respect this, he added.

“Russia has the right to defend the interests of its compatriots, especially when they are persecuted in many countries, when their rights are oppressed, as it happened in Ukraine,” Sergei Lavrov said.

He referred to Russia’s action in the Crimea after the coup in Ukraine. “The first thing that the Ukrainian parliament did after the coup was the law which said that the Russian language should know its place. This place, roughly speaking, was simply under the bench,” Lavrov said.

“Two days later, there were statements made that the Russians would never honour Bandera and Shukhevych, so the Russians should be expelled from the Crimea. After that, the Supreme Council of the republic was in the hands of thugs. Russia could no longer stand by and look at how Russian people would be killed there,” the Russian Foreign Minister said.

Political analyst Leonid Krutakov told Pravda.Ru that Ukraine has been and still remains Russia’s “red line.” “NATO’s presence is absolutely excluded there – this is an absolutely clear condition that is constantly voiced at all closed and open meetings.”

As for the Donbass “red line,” Russian President Putin clearly stated that Russia would never let anyone to destroy and massacre those people.

Russia has “red lines” not only in the “Russian world,” the political scientist noted. Russia’s “red line” in Syria is the preservation of Syrian statehood. The world has seen what happened to Iraq and Libya, and one can see chaos in the Middle East at the moment, where the state framework and public consensus have been breaking down. This is the reason why Russia vetoed the decision of the UN Security Council to create a no-fly zone over Syria, having thus prevented the development of the “Libyan scenario.”

To make the West respect Russia’s taboos, “it’s about time Russia needs to exit someone else’s project,” said Leonid Krutakov. “Politically, we advocate sovereignty, but economically, we live in the institutional environment created by the Western world – their banking system of dollar settlements, stock markets, and the West will continue putting pressure on Russia through these institutions because Russia is a competitor on the political field,” he said.

“The United States does not have a picture of the strong Russia, and the Americans will never allow us to become strong. The conflict is so obvious that we were shown through sanctions that we do not have the common financial market. Russia is not strong enough to exit the Western system alone, so we need to cooperate with other countries that share the same view of the world’s future – China, India, the BRICS, SCO, Eurasian Economic Union – to create a separate monetary system. Otherwise we will lose in the long term,” the political scientist summed up.

Now that the United States has been again and still more decisively humiliated in Syria by the nearly complete military victory of Assad forces with substantial Russian air assistance, the Deep State once again is looking to Ukraine to wreak its vengeance on Russia."

The Coming (Big) War in Ukraine Jan 21, 2018
http://russia-insider.com/en/coming-big-war-ukraine/ri22263

While the United States and a good many countries around the world this weekend have been reflecting on the first anniversary of Donald Trump’s move into the Oval Office, drawing up balance sheets of his promises and achievements, Russia has had a rather different issue on the front-burner: the coming war with Ukraine.

The situation in Donbass (South-Eastern Ukraine) has been an intermittent feature of Russia’s political talk shows for the past couple of years, along with the military campaign in Syria and more recently the stages in the preparation for presidential elections on 18 March.

To be sure, minds became focused on Donbass in the closing weeks of 2017 as military action on the front lines separating the forces of the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk enjoying Russian support from Ukrainian militias and armed forces reached an intensity not seen for more than a year. This, despite the heralded exchange of military prisoners by both sides before New Year’s under talks supervised by the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Kirill.

Then, this past Thursday there came a wholly new development. Readers in the United States and Europe may be forgiven for knowing nothing about it as yet. Only the Russians have placed it under the microscope and have been seeking to give it meaning. I am speaking about a draft law passed that day by the Ukrainian Parliament (Supreme Rada) which the Russians believe amounts to a declaration of war.

As usual, the most comprehensive interpretation of this emotion-charged development has been delivered by the head of all Russian television and radio news services, Dmitri Kiselyov on his Sunday evening news wrap-up.

Dmitri Kiselyov, News of the Week, Sunday, 21 January 2018

According to Kiselyov, the new law, which awaits Poroshenko’s signature, ends Kiev’s participation in the Minsk Accords and prepares for war. The mission in Donbass is no longer described as an “anti-terrorist operation.” The mission now is to send armed forces against “military formations of the Russian Federation” in Donbass. A military HQ is created to coordinate the military operation to be waged in Donbass. Whereas till now the self-declared republics of Donetsk and Lugansk were under the Minsk Accords considered as negotiating parties, there are henceforth only “occupation administrations” of the Russian Federation on these territories. Russia is identified as an “aggressor.” Says Kiselyov, "This makes it all the more convenient for Ukraine to start a war.” In this way, Poroshenko has prepared the way not to pay the country’s foreign debts. In this way he has prepared to stay in power forever.

The report then switches over to the Vesti reporter on the ground in Donetsk. Local residents confirm that the law means war. They see the current moment on the front line as “calm before the storm.” Donetsk soldiers at their trenches say they are fully ready to engage with the enemy.

Kiselyov draws back a bit, wondering whether he is not overstating the dangers. Perhaps the draft law, which Poroshenko still has to sign, will not be implemented, like so much else passed by the Rada. But it is not the law itself that is the issue. It is the mood in favor of war in Kiev. The facts speak for themselves, he tells us: Poroshenko has done nothing to implement the Minsk Accords. Not one cease fire along the lines of contact has been observed. There are attacks and deaths every day. Only counter force has pushed back recent Ukrainian attempts to gain territory. Kiev has written off the population of the two republics. It has cut off all transport and telecoms links. It does not pay pensions and assistance to the needy. It closed the banking system and there are no commercial ties. Kiev does not recognize the population of Donbass. For Kiev the two provinces are merely territory to take back from the occupiers.

Other circumstantial evidence that war at this moment is in the interests of Kiev comes from the economic front. The EU has refused to extend 600 million euros of credits to Ukraine due to corruption. The IMF recently refused a tranche of $800 million over failure to introduce reforms. Meanwhile, in 2019 Ukraine has to start repaying earlier loans. This will come to 14 billion dollars a year, which amounts to one-half the state budget of Ukraine. Due to the dire economic conditions, Poroshenko, Grossman and all the other government officials in Kiev have become utterly unpopular, They have no chance of winning any elections.

Apart from Kiev, who else wants a big war in Ukraine? .For its part, Europe is fed up with Ukraine. Macron and Merkel no longer are keen to continue the Normandy format of negotiations.

However, the United States stands out as a backer of war. Washington has started delivering lethal weapons including the Javelin anti-tank missile system free of charge to Kiev. Trainers are now on location. The US has budgeted $350 million for the war in Ukraine.

And what does Russia say to all this. Per Kiselyov, for Russia, the best would be to stay with Minsk. But it seems there is no way back.

Analysis and Forecast

The Maidan demonstrations which culminated in the coup d’etat of 22 February 2014 in Kiev overthrowing the government of nominally pro-Russian Premier Yanukovich have been seen by some analysts as an operation of the Neocon dominated U.S. State Department under Barack Obama to take revenge for their humiliation a year earlier when Obama reneged on his declaration of “red lines” in Syria over chemical weapons attacks. To the surprise and dismay of the Deep State, Obama agreed to a Russian proposal that they oversee the destruction of Assad’s chemical arsenal instead of ordering an air attack on Damascus with the objective of overthrowing the Syrian dictator.

Now that the United States has been again and still more decisively humiliated in Syria by the nearly complete military victory of Assad forces with substantial Russian air assistance, the Deep State once again is looking to Ukraine to wreak its vengeance on Russia.

It is clear that the Kremlin has very little to gain and a great deal to lose economically, diplomatically from a campaign now against Kiev. If successful, as likely would be the case given the vast disparity in military potential of the two sides, it could easily become a Pyrrhic victory.

 

[angelburst29]

Ukraine On Fire ENGLISH VERSION Oliver Stone Full Documentary. Published on Jan 21, 2018
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGeqY9yK474 (1:33:51 min.)

It is not very often that a documentary film can set a new paradigm about a recent event, let alone, one that is still in progress. But the new film Ukraine on Fire has the potential to do so – assuming that many people get to see it.

A Documentary You’ll Likely Never See: “Ukraine on Fire” by Oliver Stone Back dated February 13, 2017
https://consortiumnews.com/2017/02/13/a-documentary-youll-likely-never-see/

Usually, documentaries — even good ones — repackage familiar information in a different aesthetic form. If that form is skillfully done, then the information can move us in a different way than just reading about it.

A good example of this would be Peter Davis’s powerful documentary about U.S. involvement in Vietnam, Hearts and Minds. By 1974, most Americans understood just how bad the Vietnam War was, but through the combination of sounds and images, which could only have been done through film, that documentary created a sensation, which removed the last obstacles to America leaving Indochina.

Ukraine on Fire has the same potential and could make a contribution that even goes beyond what the Davis film did because there was very little new information in Hearts and Minds. Especially for American and Western European audiences, Ukraine on Fire could be revelatory in that it offers a historical explanation for the deep divisions within Ukraine and presents information about the current crisis that challenges the mainstream media’s paradigm, which blames the conflict almost exclusively on Russia.

Key people in the film’s production are director Igor Lopatonok, editor Alex Chavez, and writer Vanessa Dean, whose screenplay contains a large amount of historical as well as current material exploring how Ukraine became such a cauldron of violence and hate. Oliver Stone served as executive producer and conducted some high-profile interviews with Russian President Vladimir Putin and ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.

The film begins with gripping images of the violence that ripped through the capital city of Kiev during both the 2004 Orange Revolution and the 2014 removal of Yanukovich. It then travels back in time to provide a perspective that has been missing from mainstream versions of these events and even in many alternative media renditions.

A Longtime Pawn - Historically, Ukraine has been treated as a pawn since the late Seventeenth Century. In 1918, Ukraine was made a German protectorate by the Treaty of Brest Litovsk. Ukraine was also a part of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of 1939 signed between Germany and Russia, but violated by Adolf Hitler when the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941.

The reaction of many in Ukraine to Hitler’s aggression was not the same as it was in the rest of the Soviet Union. Some Ukrainians welcomed the Nazis. The most significant Ukrainian nationalist group, Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), had been established in 1929. Many of its members cooperated with the Nazis, some even enlisted in the Waffen SS and Ukrainian nationalists participated in the massacre of more than 33,000 Jews at Babi Yar ravine in Kiev in September 1941. According to scholar Pers Anders Rudling, the number of Ukrainian nationalists involved in the slaughter outnumbered the Germans by a factor of 4 to 1.

But it wasn’t just the Jews that the Ukrainian nationalists slaughtered. They also participated in massacres of Poles in the western Ukrainian region of Galicia from March 1943 until the end of 1944. Again, the main perpetrators were not Germans, but Ukrainians.

According to author Ryazard Szawlowksi, the Ukrainian nationalists first lulled the Poles into thinking they were their friends, then turned on them with a barbarity and ferocity that not even the Nazis could match, torturing their victims with saws and axes. The documentary places the number of dead at 36,750, but Szawlowski estimates it may be two or three times higher.

OUN members participated in these slaughters for the purpose of ethnic cleansing, wanting Ukraine to be preserved for what OUN regarded as native Ukrainians. They also expected Ukraine to be independent by the end of the war, free from both German and Russian domination. The two main leaders in OUN who participated in the Nazi collaboration were Stepan Bandera and Mykola Lebed. Bandera was a virulent anti-Semite, and Lebed was rabidly against the Poles, participating in their slaughter.

After the war, both Bandera and Lebed were protected by American intelligence, which spared them from the Nuremburg tribunals. The immediate antecedent of the CIA, Central Intelligence Group, wanted to use both men for information gathering and operations against the Soviet Union. England’s MI6 used Bandera even more than the CIA did, but the KGB eventually hunted down Bandera and assassinated him in Munich in 1959. Lebed was brought to America and addressed anti-communist Ukrainian organizations in the U.S. and Canada. The CIA protected him from immigration authorities who might otherwise have deported him as a war criminal.

The history of the Cold War was never too far in the background of Ukrainian politics, including within the diaspora that fled to the West after the Red Army defeated the Nazis and many of their Ukrainian collaborators emigrated to the United States and Canada. In the West, they formed a fierce anti-communist lobby that gained greater influence after Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980.

Important History - This history is an important part of Dean’s prologue to the main body of Ukraine on Fire and is essential for anyone trying to understand what has happened there since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. For instance, the U.S.-backed candidate for president of Ukraine in 2004 — Viktor Yushchenko — decreed both Bandera and Lebed to be Ukrainian national heroes.

Bandera, in particular, has become an icon for post-World War II Ukrainian nationalists. One of his followers was Dmytro Dontsov, who called for the birth of a “new man” who would mercilessly destroy Ukraine’s ethnic enemies.

Bandera’s movement was also kept alive by Yaroslav Stetsko, Bandera’s premier in exile. Stetsko fully endorsed Bandera’s anti-Semitism and also the Nazi attempt to exterminate the Jews of Europe. Stetsko, too, was used by the CIA during the Cold War and was honored by Yushchenko, who placed a plaque in his honor at the home where he died in Munich in 1986. Stetsko’s wife, Slava, returned to Ukraine in 1991 and ran for parliament in 2002 on the slate of Yushchenko’s Our Ukraine party.

Stetsko’s book, entitled Two Revolutions, has become the ideological cornerstone for the modern Ukrainian political party Svoboda, founded by Oleh Tyahnybok, who is pictured in the film calling Jews “kikes” in public, which is one reason the Simon Wiesenthal Center has ranked him as one of the most dangerous anti-Semites in the world.

Another follower of Bandera is Dymytro Yarosh, who reputedly leads the paramilitary arm of an even more powerful political organization in Ukraine called Right Sektor. Yarosh once said he controls a paramilitary force of about 7,000 men who were reportedly used in both the overthrow of Yanukovych in Kiev in February 2014 and the suppression of the rebellion in Odessa a few months later, which are both fully depicted in the film.

This historical prelude and its merging with the current civil war is eye-opening background that has been largely hidden by the mainstream Western media, which has downplayed or ignored the troubling links between these racist Ukrainian nationalists and the U.S.-backed political forces that vied for power after Ukraine became independent in 1991.

The Rise of a Violent Right - That same year, Tyahnybok formed Svoboda. Three years later, Yarosh founded Trident, an offshoot of Svoboda that eventually evolved into Right Sektor. In other words, the followers of Bandera and Lebed began organizing themselves immediately after the Soviet collapse.

In this time period, Ukraine had two Russian-oriented leaders who were elected in 1991 and 1994, Leonid Kravchuk, and Leonid Kuchma. But the hasty transition to a “free-market” economy didn’t go well for most Ukrainians or Russians as well-connected oligarchs seized much of the wealth and came to dominate the political process through massive corruption and purchase of news media outlets. However, for average citizens, living standards went down drastically, opening the door for the far-right parties and for foreign meddling.

In 2004, Viktor Yanukovych, whose political base was strongest among ethnic Russians in the east and south, won the presidential election by three percentage points over the U.S.-favored Viktor Yushchenko, whose base was mostly in the country’s west where the Ukrainian nationalists are strongest.

Immediately, Yushchenko’s backers claimed fraud citing exit polls that had been organized by a group of eight Western nations and four non-governmental organizations or NGOs, including the Renaissance Foundation founded by billionaire financial speculator George Soros. Dick Morris, former President Bill Clinton’s political adviser, clandestinely met with Yushchenko’s team and advised them that the exit polls would not just help in accusations of fraud, but would bring protesters out into the streets. (Cambridge Review of International Affairs, Vol. 19, Number 1, p. 26)

Freedom House, another prominent NGO that receives substantial financing from the U.S.-government-funded National Endowment for Democracy (NED), provided training to young activists who then rallied protesters in what became known as the Orange Revolution, one of the so-called “color revolutions” that the West’s mainstream media fell in love with. It forced an election rerun that Yushchenko won.

But Yushchenko’s presidency failed to do much to improve the lot of the Ukrainian people and he grew increasingly unpopular. In 2010, Yushchenko failed to make it out of the first round of balloting and his rival Yanukovych was elected president in balloting that outside observers judged free and fair.

Big-Power Games - If this all had occurred due to indigenous factors within Ukraine, it could have been glossed over as a young nation going through some painful growing pains. But as the film points out, this was not the case. Ukraine continued to be a pawn in big-power games with many Western officials hoping to draw the country away from Russian influence and into the orbit of NATO and the European Union.

In one of the interviews in Ukraine on Fire, journalist and author Robert Parry explains how the National Endowment for Democracy and many subsidized political NGOs emerged in the 1980s to replace or supplement what the CIA had traditionally done in terms of influencing the direction of targeted countries.

During the investigations of the Church Committee in the 1970s, the CIA’s “political action” apparatus for removing foreign leaders was exposed. So, to disguise these efforts, CIA Director William Casey, Reagan’s White House and allies in Congress created the NED to finance an array of political and media NGOs.

As Parry noted in the documentary, many traditional NGOs do valuable work in helping impoverished and developing countries, but this activist/propaganda breed of NGOs promoted U.S. geopolitical objectives abroad – and NED funded scores of such projects inside Ukraine in the run-up to the 2014 crisis.

Ukraine on Fire goes into high gear when it chronicles the events that occurred in 2014, resulting in the violent overthrow of President Yanukovych and sparking the civil war that still rages. In the 2010 election, when Yushchenko couldn’t even tally in the double-digits, Yanukovych faced off against and defeated Yulia Tymoshenko, a wealthy oligarch who had served as Yushchenko’s prime minister.

After his election, Yanukovych repealed Bandera’s title as a national hero. However, because of festering economic problems, the new president began to search for an economic partner who could provide a large loan. He first negotiated with the European Union, but these negotiations bogged down due to the usual draconian demands made by the International Monetary Fund.

So, in November 2013, Yanukovych began to negotiate with Russian President Putin who offered more generous terms. But Yanukovych’s decision to delay the association agreement with the E.U. provoked street protests in Kiev especially from the people of western Ukraine.

As Ukraine on Fire points out, other unusual occurrences also occurred, including the emergence of three new TV channels – Spilno TV, Espreso TV, and Hromadske TV – going on the air between Nov. 21 and 24, with partial funding from the U.S. Embassy and George Soros.

Pro-E.U. protests in the Maidan square in central Kiev also grew more violent as ultra-nationalist street fighters from Lviv and other western areas began to pour in and engage in provocations, many of which were sponsored by Yarosh’s Right Sektor. The attacks escalated from torch marches similar to Nazi days to hurling Molotov cocktails at police to driving large tractors into police lines – all visually depicted in the film. As Yanukovich tells Stone, when this escalation happened, it made it impossible for him to negotiate with the Maidan crowd.

One of the film’s most interesting interviews is with Vitaliy Zakharchenko, who was Minister of the Interior at the time responsible for law enforcement and the conduct of the police. He traces the escalation of the attacks from Nov. 24 to 30, culminating with a clash between police and protesters over the transport of a giant Christmas tree into the Maidan. Zakharchenko said he now believes this confrontation was secretly approved by Serhiy Lyovochkin, a close friend of U.S. Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt, as a pretext to escalate the violence.

At this point, the film addresses the direct involvement of U.S. politicians and diplomats. Throughout the crisis, American politicians visited Maidan, as both Republicans and Democrats, such as Senators John McCain, R-Arizona, and Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut. stirred up the crowds. Yanukovych also said he was in phone contact with Vice President Joe Biden, who he claims was misleading him about how to handle the crisis.

The film points out that the real center of American influence in the Kiev demonstrations was with Ambassador Pyatt and Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Victoria Nuland. As Parry points out, although Nuland was serving under President Obama, her allegiances were really with the neoconservative movement, most associated with the Republican Party.

Her husband is Robert Kagan, who worked as a State Department propagandist on the Central American wars in the 1980s and was the co-founder of the Project for the New American Century in the 1990s, the group that organized political and media pressure for the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. Kagan also was McCain’s foreign policy adviser in the 2008 presidential election (although he threw his support behind Hillary Clinton in the 2016 race).

Adept Manipulators - As Parry explained, the neoconservatives have become quite adept at disguising their true aims and have powerful allies in the mainstream press. This combination has allowed them to push the foreign policy debate to such extremes that, when anyone objects, they can be branded a Putin or Yanukovych “apologist.”

Thus, Pyatt’s frequent meetings with the demonstrators in the embassy and Nuland’s handing out cookies to protesters in the Maidan were not criticized as American interference in a sovereign state, but were praised as “promoting democracy” abroad. However, as the Maidan crisis escalated, Ukrainian ultra-nationalists moved to the front, intensifying their attacks on police. Many of these extremists were disciples of Bandera and Lebed. By February 2014, they were armed with shotguns and rapid-fire handguns.

On Feb. 20, 2014, a mysterious sniper, apparently firing from a building controlled by the Right Sektor, shot both police and protesters, touching off a day of violence that left about 14 police and some 70 protesters dead.

With Kiev slipping out of control, Yanukovich was forced to negotiate with representatives from France, Poland and Germany. On Feb. 21, he agreed to schedule early elections and to accept reduced powers. At the urging of Vice President Biden, Yanukovych also pulled back the police.

But the agreement – though guaranteed by the European nations – was quickly negated by renewed attacks from the Right Sektor and its street fighters who seized government buildings. Russian intelligence services got word that an assassination plot was in the works against Yanukovych, who fled for his life.

On Feb. 24, Yanukovych asked permission to enter Russia for his safety and the Ukrainian parliament (or Rada), effectively under the control of the armed extremists, voted to remove Yanukovych from office in an unconstitutional manner because the courts were not involved and the vote to impeach him did not reach the mandatory threshold. Despite these irregularities, the U.S. and its European allies quickly recognized the new government as “legitimate.”

Calling a Coup a Coup - But the ouster of Yanukovych had all the earmarks of a coup. An intercepted phone call, apparently in early February, between Nuland and Pyatt revealed that they were directly involved in displacing Yanukovych and choosing his successor. The pair reviewed the field of candidates with Nuland favoring Arseniy Yatsenyuk, declaring “Yats is the guy” and discussing with Pyatt how to “glue this thing.” Pyatt wondered about how to “midwife this thing.” They sounded like Gilded Age millionaires in New York deciding who should become the next U.S. president. On Feb. 27, Yatsenyuk became Prime Minister of Ukraine.

Not everyone in Ukraine agreed with the new regime, however. Crimea, which had voted heavily for Yanukovych, decided to hold a referendum on whether to split from Ukraine and become a part of Russia. The results of the referendum were overwhelming. Some 96 percent of Crimeans voted to unite with Russia. Russian troops – previously stationed in Crimea under the Sevastopol naval base agreement – provided security against Right Sektor and other Ukrainian forces moving against the Crimean secession, but there was no evidence of Russian troops intimidating voters or controlling the elections. The Russian government then accepted the reunification with Crimea, which had historically been part of Russia dating back hundreds of years.

Two eastern provinces, Donetsk and Lugansk, also wanted to split off from Ukraine and also conducted a referendum in support of that move. But Putin would not agree to the request from the two provinces, which instead declared their own independence, a move that the new government in Kiev denounced as illegal. The Kiev regime also deemed the insurgents “terrorists” and launched an “anti-terrorism operation” to crush the resistance. Ultra-nationalist and even neo-Nazi militias, such as the Azov Battalion, took the lead in the bloody fighting.

Anti-coup demonstrations also broke out in the city of Odessa to the south. Ukrainian nationalist leader Andrei Parubiy went to Odessa, and two days later, on May 2, 2014, his street fighters attacked the demonstrators, driving them into the Trade Union building, which was then set on fire. Forty-two people were killed, some of whom jumped to their deaths.

‘Other Side of the Story’ - If the film just got across this “other side of the story,” it would provide a valuable contribution since most of this information has been ignored or distorted by the West’s mainstream media, which simply blames the Ukraine crisis on Vladimir Putin. But in addition to the fine work by scenarist Vanessa Dean, the direction by Igor Lopatonok and the editing by Alexis Chavez are extraordinarily skillful and supple.

The 15-minute prologue, where the information about the Nazi collaboration by Bandera and Lebed is introduced, is an exceptional piece of filmmaking. It moves at a quick pace, utilizing rapid cutting and also split screens to depict photographs and statistics simultaneously. Lopatonok also uses interactive graphics throughout to transmit information in a visual and demonstrative manner.

Stone’s interviews with Putin and Yanukovych are also quite newsworthy, presenting a side of these demonized foreign leaders that has been absent in the propagandistic Western media.

Though about two hours long, the picture has a headlong tempo to it. If anything, it needed to slow down at points since such a large amount of information is being communicated. On the other hand, it’s a pleasure to watch a documentary that is so intelligently written, and yet so remarkably well made.

When the film ends, the enduring message is similar to those posed by the American interventions in Vietnam and Iraq. How could the State Department know so little about what it was about to unleash, given Ukraine’s deep historical divisions and the risk of an escalating conflict with nuclear-armed Russia?

In Vietnam, Americans knew little about the country’s decades-long struggle of the peasantry to be free from French and Japanese colonialism. Somehow, America was going to win their hearts and minds and create a Western-style “democracy” when many Vietnamese simply saw the extension of foreign imperialism.

In Iraq, President George W. Bush and his coterie of neocons was going to oust Saddam Hussein and create a Western-style democracy in the Middle East, except that Bush didn’t know the difference between Sunni and Shiite Moslems and how Iraq was likely to split over sectarian rivalries and screw up his expectations.

Similarly, the message of Ukraine on Fire is that short-sighted, ambitious and ideological officials – unchecked by their superiors – created something even worse than what existed. While high-level corruption persists today in Ukraine and may be even worse than before, the conditions of average Ukrainians have deteriorated.

And, the Ukraine conflict has reignited the Cold War by moving Western geopolitical forces onto Russia’s most sensitive frontier, which, as scholar Joshua Shifrinson has noted, violates a pledge made by Secretary of State James Baker in February 1990 as the Soviet Union peacefully accepted the collapse of its military influence in East Germany and eastern Europe. (Los Angeles Times, 5/30/ 2016)

This film also reminds us that what happened in Ukraine was a bipartisan effort. It was begun under George W. Bush and completed under Barack Obama. As Oliver Stone noted in the discussion that followed the film’s premiere in Los Angeles, the U.S. painfully needs some new leadership reminiscent of Franklin Roosevelt and John Kennedy, people who understand how America’s geopolitical ambitions must be tempered by on-the-ground realities and the broader needs of humanity to be freed from the dangers of all-out war.

 

[angelburst29]

Former captives have uncovered details on a secret network of prisons used by Kiev, the Donetsk human rights ombudsman says.

Kiev using secret prisons, Donetsk human rights ombudsman reveals January 25,2018
http://tass.com/world/986834

Former captives have uncovered details on a secret network of prisons used by Kiev, human rights ombudsman of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic Darya Morozova said on Thursday.

"We found out from an interview with released captives that the practice of secret prisons is still in place in Ukraine," Morozova said during a video linkup at a roundtable hosted by TASS and devoted to reports by international organizations on the crimes in Donbass.

The Donetsk republic’s authorities are doing their best to inform the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) when the rights of individuals captured by Ukraine are violated, she added.

The self-proclaimed Donetsk republic has had fruitful cooperation with international organizations in this field, she said. "Thanks to cooperation with the UN on human rights one year and a half ago we managed to uncover a secret prison and 12 individuals were released from there," Morozova said.

The self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic sees no obstacles for holding a new prisoner swap with Ukraine within a month, she added.

"Given our experience, we can surely carry out the exchange within a month," Morozova said during a video linkup at a roundtable hosted by TASS and devoted to reports by international organizations on the crimes in Donbass.

As many as 4,572 civilians have been killed in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic since the Donbass conflict erupted in April 2014. According to her, "4,572 civilians have been killed, including 3,967 men, 605 women and 76 children under the age of 18."

"In 2017, 278 people were killed on DPR soil, including two children, while another 595 people, with 14 children among them, suffered various wounds," Morozova added.

On December 27, 2017, a prisoner swap, the largest so far, took place on the line of contact in Donbass. Kiev handed over 233 prisoners to the Donbass republics and received 73 prisoners in return. Both parties stressed that the prisoner exchange process had not been completed and they were determined to do everything possible to continue it in 2018.

On December 5, 2017, Saakashvili was detained by the Ukrainian Security Service on charges of cooperation with criminal groups and organization of rallies.

Kiev’s court of appeals rules to place ex-president of Georgia under house arrest
http://tass.com/world/987092

Kiev’s court of appeals on Friday ruled to place Mikhail Saakashvili, the former Georgian president and ex-governor of Ukraine’s Odessa who now leads the Ukrainian opposition Movement of New Forces, under home arrest.

The court partially upheld the motion of the Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office and ruled Saakashvili be placed under home arrest from 22:00 local time (23:00 Moscow time) to 07:00 a.m. local time (08:00 a.m. Moscow time) on the following day.

On December 5, 2017, Saakashvili was detained by the Ukrainian Security Service on charges of cooperation with criminal groups and organization of rallies. Apart from that, he was charged with receiving about 500,000 US dollars from Russia to finance anti-government rallies. However his supporters put up fierce resistance to the police and managed to have him freed. On December 8, 2017, Saakashvili was ultimately detained to be released several days later by Kiev’s Pechersky district court. Saakashvili has been denying all accusations, saying they are politically motivated.

The situation that is unfolding in Ukraine around Mikhail Saakashvili, the former Georgian president and ex-governor of Ukraine’s Odessa who now leads the Ukrainian opposition Movement of New Forces, is a disgrace for the Ukrainian people, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday.

Saakashvili 'disgrace' for Ukrainian people Back dated December 29, 2017
December 29, 2017

"It is a disgrace for the Ukrainian people: a man from outside is at the helm of political processes and destabilizes the situation by playing dirty games. All he is doing is destructive," she said in an interview with the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper. "It is a problem of the Georgian people too."

"The problem is that his one of the most hyped Georgians in the world and his inadequate behavior casts shadow on the entire nation," Zakharova added.

Saakashvili was Georgia’s president from January 2004 to November 2007 and from January 2008 to November 2013. He left his country in mid-November 2013, days before his presidential term expired. After his departure from Georgia, Saakashvili lived in the United States and Ukraine. He was granted Ukrainian citizenship in May 2015, which resulted in his Georgian citizenship being revoked. Before being appointed Odessa governor in late May 2015, he worked in Kiev as chief of the International Reform Council. In November 2016, he stepped down as the Odessa Region governor and set up his own party, criticizing the authorities in power. On July 26, 2017, while Saakashvili was in the United States, Poroshenko stripped him of the Ukrainian citizenship.

Georgian prosecutors brought several charges against Saakashvili in 2014. He was charged with a crackdown on peaceful demonstrators in November 2007; illegal intrusion into the building of the Imedi television channel; illegal acquisition of property belonging to businessman Badri Patarkatsishvili; organisation of an armed attack on lawmaker Valery Gelashvili in 2005; covering-up a crime and falsification of an investigation into the 2006 murder of banker Sandro Girgvliani; and misappropriation of about $5 million from state funds in 2009-2012.

Ukraine rejected Georgia’s extradition requests for Saakashvili twice, in 2014 and 2015, despite the Georgia-Ukraine agreement of 1995 envisaging extradition of wanted persons.

In early September, Saakashvili, backed by a crowd of supporters, managed to enter Ukraine to be later accused of illegal border crossing. Since October, he has been organizing mass protest rallies and marches in Kiev. On December 5, police tried to take him into custody at a tent camp in central Kiev, but his supporters put up fierce resistance to the police and managed to have him freed.

Several days later, Saakashvili was ultimately detained on charges of receiving about 500,000 US dollars from Russia to finance anti-government and anti-presidential rallies. However, he was released several days later.

The US Administration extended the list of companies and individuals in Russia and other countries covered by unilateral sanctions introduced in connection with developments in Ukraine. The relevant notice was posted on Friday on the website of the US Treasury Department.

United States expands sanctions against Russia
http://tass.com/world/987113

Twenty one individuals were added to the sanction list, mainly citizens of Russia and Ukraine.

The list of legal entities falling under sanctions now includes Russian power machine-building company Power Machines, which is among top ten global industry leaders by capacity of installed equipment.

The US also introduced sanctions against Technopromexport, an affiliate of the Russian state-owned corporation Rostec, together with its general director Sergei Topor-Gilka. Ukraine-related sanctions affect seven other Russian companies also.

Twelve affiliates of Russian oil producer Surgutneftegaz were included this time into the list of US sectoral sanctions against Russia.

The state-of-the-art social humanoid robot known as Sophia failed to answer the question of "what should be done with corruption in Ukraine"

World’s foremost humanoid robot crashes when asked how to tackle corruption in Ukraine January 26, 2018
http://tass.com/society/987045

The state-of-the-art social humanoid robot known as Sophia failed to answer the question of "what should be done with corruption in Ukraine" when asked while visiting the Ukrainian house at the World Economic Forum in Davos. This is according to a statement posted on Facebook by Alyona Shkrum, a lawmaker in the Ukrainian parliament from the Batkivshchina party.

The script of the most developed robot in the world broke down and the processor crashed after getting the question:" What should be done with corruption in Ukraine?" she wrote on Facebook.

Sophia, a cutting-edge humanoid robot, was developed by the Hong Kong company Hanson Robotics. She was adapted to the behavior of people and is able to maintain a dialogue. Sophia is a Saudi Arabian citizen, making her the first robot that was granted citizenship.

 

[angelburst29]

Last year Georgia’s former President Mikheil Saakashvili, who is well known for his extravagant behavior, warned that Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko wanted to kidnap him. Well, it might just have happened.

Madness Goes On: Ex-Georgian President Saakashvili 'Kidnapped' in Kiev
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201802121061582323-saakashvili-kidnapped-kiev/

Saakashvili was detained at a restaurant in Kiev, Ukraine, his associate Yuri Derevyanko reported.

“He has just been kidnapped by unknown people in masks,” a message was posted on his Facebook page.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs confirmed Saakashvili's detention.

In December 2017, Mikheil Saakashvili appeared on his Kiev rooftop and threatened to jump from the eight-story building, claiming he was being persecuted by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

“Poroshenko is a thief and a traitor,” he shouted down at the crowds. “They want to kidnap me!”

Former Georgian president, ex-governor of Ukraine's Odessa region and current opposition leader, Mikheil Saakashvili was deported from Ukraine on Monday on board a charter flight bound to Warsaw, a spokesman for Ukraine's border service stated.

Ukraine Deports Saakashvili on Charter Flight to Poland - Border Service
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201802121061586609-saakashvili-ukraine-poland-extradition/

"This person was on Ukrainian territory illegally and therefore, in compliance with all legal procedures, he was returned to the country from where he arrived," spokesman Oleh Slobodyan stated in a post on Facebook.

Saakashvili's lawyer Pavel Bogomazov earlier said his client was detained in Kiev by Ukraine's State Border Service on Monday.

His detention was confirmed by Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Later in the day, the Polish Border Guard said in a statement that Saakashvili had arrived in Warsaw.

"Saakashvili has been accepted in Poland ... The request made by the Ukrainian side has served as grounds for his acceptance ... The fact that he is the husband of an EU citizen has contributed to a positive decision on the Ukrainian side's request, while considering it," the statement said.

Former Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili has left Ukraine for Poland.

Saakshvili deported from Ukraine
http://www.fort-russ.com/2018/02/saakshvili-deported-from-ukraine.html

"The politician flew by charter flight around 4:00 pm Kyiv time" the Ukrainian border service confirmed.

Saakashvili is accused of illegally crossing the Polish-Ukrainian border in early September.

In late October, the Immigration service refused to grant Saakashvili the status of a person in need of additional protection. The court recognized this decision as legal. Saakashvili protested the verdict, but the appellate court upheld it.

On Monday, Verkhovna Rada deputy Yuri Derevyanko said that unknown people detained Saakashvili in a restaurant and took him to the airport.

To "recognize" the DPR and LPR would be a departure from the Minsk agreements", said Sergey Lavrov in an interview with Rossia 1 - "Russia always keeps its word."

Lavrov: We are a people of our word - unlike our international colleagues
http://www.fort-russ.com/2018/02/lavrov-we-are-people-of-our-word-unlike.html

On the question of whether Russia can recognize the Republics of Donbass, Lavrov replied that Moscow remains committed to the Minsk agreements.

According to the Minister, a deviation from the Minsk agreements would be "a colossal mistake."

"You know, unlike some of our international colleagues, we are still a people of our word. This word, especially when it becomes the subject of negotiations, and when this is approved by the Security Council, we always keep it and carry out that which we said he would." - he stressed.

The Ukrainian authorities, on the contrary "are one step away from disaster", recalling the adoption of the Verkhovna Rada bill on the Reintegration of the Donbass.

The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry said that, in his opinion, the West is beginning to understand the necessity to
"educate President Poroshenko".

"According to our data, the European leaders who visit Kiev strongly recommend for them to understand the counterproductive nature of such approaches and make the necessary corrections. Publicly, they can not say this yet.

Europe is very wary of the processes that are taking place in Ukraine, especially with regard to the sharp increase the influence of radicals and neo-Nazis." said Lavrov.

 

[angelburst29]

While Washington ostensibly supports the peaceful resolution of the Ukraine-Donbass conflict, new revelations - if true - do not add to these claims and on the contrary seem to be in sync with the approval of US weapons to Kiev.

Swiss Paper Blows Lid Off Alleged Ukraine's Secret NATO-Backed Base
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13961213001541

The Swiss newspaper Le Temps reported about scores of US and Canadian instructors training Ukrainian servicemen at the former Soviet firing range Yavorov in Western Ukraine, Sputnik reported.

The newspaper described a 26 kilometer (16 mile)-long and 19 kilometer (11,8 mile)-wide firing range as one of the most secret places in Ukraine, where the country's soldiers have been trained by foreign instructors since 2015.

The main goal of training is to significantly improve the qualification of Ukrainian Army personnel, which will allow them to adapt more quickly to NATO standards and learn how to fight better, according to Le Temps.

Conducted on a permanent basis, training is based on the principle of permanent drills, which continue until the Ukrainian servicemen will be able to handle a mission against a simulated enemy.

The newspaper cited one of the Canadian instructors as saying that right now, Ukraine is not ready to join NATO and that it is unlikely to do so in the next fifteen years.

In the past three years, the Yavorov firing range has become a permanent base for about 200 American and 250 Canadian servicemen for whom barracks, dining rooms and gyms were specially built.

About 6,000 Ukrainian servicemen, including those who took part in the armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine's Donbass region, have been trained at Yavorov since 2015.

The military conflict in Ukraine has been in place since 2014, after Donbass residents refused to recognize the new Ukrainian government, which had come to power following the forceful ouster of the country's elected President Petro Poroshenko.

Earlier this week, the Pentagon's arms exporting agency announced that the US State Department has approved the sale of hundreds of Javelin anti-tank missiles and missile launch units to Kiev, in a deal worth at least 47 million dollars.

In late December, US State Department Spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Washington planned to provide Kiev with military assistance, which she claimed would not violate the Minsk peace accords on the ceasefire in Eastern Ukraine.

Police Spokesman Andriy Krischenko said officers in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev detained 100 people on Saturday as a result of clashes between the police and protesters at the Ukrainian parliament, with at least six protesters and four policemen injured.

Bruises, Grenade: Saakashvili's Supporters Clash With Police in Kiev
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13961212001488

Police in Kiev raided the tent camp in front of Ukraine's national legislature, clashing with Mikhail Saakashvili's supporters; the former Georgian President was briefly governor of Ukraine's Odessa region before resigning. Saakashvili was a regional governor in Odessa between 2015 and 2016, Sputnik reported.

"As of now there is information about six people from the camp who have asked for medical aid. Four policemen have been injured, A total of 100 people have been detained," Krischenko said as aired by the 112 Ukraine TV channel.

On Saturday morning, the police came to the camp of protesters near Ukraine's parliament building in Kiev to carry out searches, but faced resistance, which turned into clashes with police officers.

The investigative team working at the scene found two objects in the campground, similar to fragmentation grenades.

Neo-Nazi groups, linked to the Ukrainian National Guard's Azov battalion, are seeking to recruit far-right activists from the United Kingdom, The Guardian reported on Friday, citing a leading anti-fascist watchdog.

Neo-Nazis Recruit Far-Right Activists From UK to Fight in Ukraine – Reports
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201803021062145889-nazis-activists-uk-fight-ukraine/

Such extremist groups as the Misanthropic Division with ties to the Azov battalion are in cooperation with the UK far-right groups, including the proscribed terror organization National Action and a London-based Polish ultra-nationalist group, to recruit activists to fight in Ukraine, the Hope Not Hate watchdog said.

At least two or three UK nationals have already joined the volunteers in the crisis-torn eastern part of Ukraine, but "it appears none came via the ranks of the established far right," the watchdog stated, as quoted by The Guardian.

The number of recruits from Germany and other European countries in the Azov battalion has been on the rise lately, German magazine Spiegel reported in November 2017, adding that its members distribute fliers to recruit new members at neo-Nazi events across Europe.

Ukraine has seen an outbreak of radical ideologies in recent years. In January, over 1,000 supporters of the Ukrainian nationalist pary Svoboda took part in a traditional torchlight procession in the center of Kiev to commemorate the 109th anniversary of the birth of Stepan Bandera, the leader of the Ukrainian nationalist movement.

Bandera collaborated with Nazi Germany during World War II and was responsible for numerous atrocities against civilians as a leader of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, whose activities are prohibited in Russia.

 

[angelburst29]

Supporters of former Georgian President and ex-Governor of Ukraine's Odessa region Mikheil Saakashvili are holding a rally in the center of Kiev demanding resignation of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

Saakashvili's Supporters Hold Rally in Kiev Demanding Poroshenko's Resignation
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201803181062661543-saakashvili-supporters-rally-ukraine-poroshenko-resignation/

Saakashvili is broadcasting live the rally on his Facebook page.

According to the Ukrayinska Pravda (Ukrainian Truth) news portal, the activists are planning to continue the protest near Poroshenko's house in Kozyn settlement in the Kiev region. The protesters are reportedly holding banners saying "Poroshenko means poverty, immigration," "For new election law," and others.

In July, Saakashvili was stripped of his Ukrainian citizenship while he was visiting the United States, after it was revealed that he had provided incorrect information on his citizenship application. However, he managed to cross the Polish-Ukrainian border in September.

Over the recent months, Saakashvili has been leading anti-government rallies in Kiev, calling for the impeachment of Poroshenko, as well as for the adoption of legislation to fight corruption in the country.

 

[Voyageur]

So, following some of Nadiya Savchenko words of a corrupt government in Kiev, she was arrested "on suspicion of planning an assault on parliament and supporting a coup."

It's BBC, groan - _http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43504396

Ukraine arrests pilot hero Savchenko over 'coup plot'

One of Ukraine's most famous MPs, Nadiya Savchenko, has been arrested on suspicion of planning an assault on parliament and supporting a coup.

The ex-military helicopter pilot was detained in parliament after MPs viewed evidence against her and voted to remove her immunity from prosecution.

She has not denied the charges.

She had been feted as a national hero after spending nearly two years in a Russian jail. She was captured fighting rebels in eastern Ukraine.

On Thursday MPs watched a video of her talking to two officers about plans to attack parliament.

She smiled and laughed in response, and did not question the authenticity of the video. She said Ukraine's "corrupt" government did need to be overthrown, but described the plot as a "provocation".

She was granted Ukraine's highest award - the Order of the Gold Star - after her release from jail in Russia in 2016 as part of a prisoner swap.

But on Thursday Ukraine's chief prosecutor Yuriy Lutsenko told MPs that Ms Savchenko, 36, planned "a large-scale terrorist act" in Kiev.

He accused her of doing a deal with the Russian-backed rebels to "obtain the weapons necessary for such an attack, in particular 120mm calibre mortars, small arms, sniper rifles, combat grenades".

In April 2014, pro-Russian insurgents seized a large swathe of Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine, and later declared self-rule, defying the Kiev government.

Ms Savchenko was captured in the region and sentenced to 22 years in jail in Russia for killing two Russian journalists, charges she denied.

She was pardoned by Russian President Vladimir Putin before her return to Ukraine.

Clashes continue in eastern Ukraine between the rebels and Ukrainian government forces, despite a ceasefire deal. Ukraine and its Western partners accuse Russia of backing the rebels with regular troops and heavy weapons - something Moscow denies.

From Newsweek: _http://www.newsweek.com/ukraine-coup-war-hero-politician-nadiya-savchenko-arrested-plotting-overthrow-857675

Savchenko has not denied the accusations against her. Instead, she said undercover agents had encouraged her to plan a coup in order to discredit her, and that she had pretended to go along with the scheme to raise public awareness about it. Videos recorded undercover show her attempting to convince members of the military to stage a coup. Some analysts argue that Savchenko’s behavior and rhetoric have been suspicious.

“She is extremely unusual in that she seems to be moving freely between occupied areas [in the Donbass] and the rest of Ukraine. Her face is one of the five or 10 most visible in Ukraine, and so the fact that she can move around so freely raises questions about whether there was some cooperation [with pro-Russian separatists],” Adrian Karatnycky, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council who focuses on Ukraine and Eastern Europe, told Newsweek.

From RT (Neil Clark): https://www.rt.com/op-ed/422162-savchenko-maidan-ukraine-arrest/

Savchenko was pardoned by Vladimir Putin in May 2016 and returned home to bouquets and kisses. It’s all gone rather sour since. Perhaps the first ‘wrong step’ she made was announcing that she was ready to stand for her country’s presidency “if needed.” Given her popularity, that was understandable. But it also made her enemies from those who saw her as a threat. In fact, polls showed that she was level with President Poroshenko, without even starting a formal campaign. Having put her life on the line fighting for a cause she believed in, she then tried to end the conflict in which she had been directly involved, as she knew her country couldn’t progress without a settlement.

“If we can't make peace, then [the war] will last forever," she said. "And that has already become a burden for everyone. Everybody is fed up with that. People are tired. People want to live in peace," she told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service in 2016.
[...]
Lutsenko produced a video, which shows Savchenko saying “I propose a coup” and calling for government buildings and leading politicians including Poroshenko, to be blown up. Savchenko says she was set up by undercover agents. Once again, she has gone on hunger strike.

What a mess! Arresting a former ‘revolutionary’ for wanting to topple those who came to power following the Euromaidan protests is symptomatic of the way things have gone Ukraine since 2014. Corruption – which we were told was the main issue motivating the protestors four years ago – remains widespread. The economy has gone backwards, not forwards – hardly helped by a collapse in trade with Russia, where 26 percent of Ukraine’s exports ended up in 2012. “Today, not only does the country compete with Moldova for the dubious distinction of having the lowest salaries in Europe, its GDP per capita is now below El Salvador and Libya, wedged between Laos and Vietnam in raw dollar terms,” noted Bryan MacDonald in February.

According to the UN, about 60 percent of Ukrainians live below the poverty line. And things are likely to get a lot worse, with the news that fuel prices could grow by 22-24 percent in 2018.

Meanwhile, the political situation has grown increasingly farcical. Savchenko is only the latest supporter of the 2014 ‘revolution’ to get into trouble. The former Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili was appointed governor of Odessa in 2015. But having fallen out with Poroshenko, he was stripped of his Ukrainian passport and deported. In December, he had been freed from a police van by his supporters, only to be re-arrested. Ludicrously, it was alleged that Saakashvili, who went to war with Moscow in 2008, was part of a Russian conspiracy.

Savchenko’s sister Vera, as reported by RT, says she expects Ukraine’s international “partners” and particularly the US to react to her sister’s arrest. “I would like to look at the reaction of those people, who fought for her [Nadezhda Savchenko], of the US representatives… I would like to see the reaction of these people to the actions of our corrupt authorities.”

She shouldn’t build her hopes up. What’s happened to Ukraine is very similar to the outcome of other US-backed regime-change operations. A government that doesn’t do what the State Department wants is removed, then the country descends into chaos. Living standards plummet as wages fall and prices rocket and everyday life becomes much harder for ordinary people. Meanwhile, the US and its allies (and establishment-friendly media) have turned their attention to another country that needs ‘sorting out.’ We saw this in Yugoslavia (Serbia), Iraq and Libya.

Ukraine’s sorry plight is only to be expected. Those who expected better should have been paying closer attention.

 

[angelburst29]

‘Coup Investigation’ Reveals Ukraine’s Military is on the Verge of Mutiny March 17, 2018
https://www.fort-russ.com/2018/03/coup-investigation-reveals-ukraines-military-is-on-the-verge-of-mutiny/

By Eduard Popov, translated by Jafe Arnold –

In my recent article on the “Ruban affair”, which an ongoing Ukrainian investigation claims was a failed attempt at a coup d’etat, I assessed the allegations against Ruban as absurd, even granted the fact that strong opposition – or even revolutionary sentiments – are surging in Ukrainian military circles. The events of March 15th-16th, however, have led me to seriously correct my opinion.

https://www.fort-russ.com/2018/03/first-but-not-the-last-kiev-bloodbath-and-poroshenko-assassination-thwarted/

As it turns out, a military plot really was in swing in Ukraine. The allegedly planned assassination of the illegitimate president and criminal politician Petro Poroshenko seems to be just the tip of the iceberg. Ukraine’s investigation, which is based on interrogations of the accused – a point which we will discuss – claims that over the course of the coup, Verkhovna Rada deputies were to be executed and the government quarter in Kiev was to be shelled. In other words, the plotters – if they really exist – planned to behead the Ukrainian political leadership, i.e., the whole illegitimate establishment including the parliament, president, and government.

But most interesting of all is who was supposed to carry out this type of coup. If we leave aside Vladimir Ruban, the first to be arrested in what has become the “coup case”, it turns out that among the conspirators are the country’s own military elites and the national heroine Nadezhda Savchenko. This admission by Ukrainian investigators is so sensational that it needs clarification.

Nadezhda Savchenko, a.k.a. “Pulya” (“bullet”) was one of the Euromaidan’s female militants who went to fight in the war in Donbass in the very first days as part of the Aidar battalion. I am in no position to judge just how “bravely” Savchenko is purported to have fought against “separatists”, but I will share that a friend of my colleague in the Lugansk People’s Republic was captured and, like many others, tortured by Savchenko herself. He says that he will remember her face for the rest of his life.

Nadezhda Savchenko was subsequently accused by a Russian investigation of murdering Russian journalists. It was on these grounds that she was detained on Russian territory (how she got there is an altogether different story). During the investigation conducted in the Rostov region and widely covered by Ukrainian media, Savchenko became a genuine idol for Ukrainian Russophobes. As a result, she was automatically granted a deputy seat in the Verkhovna Rada and even the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Ukrainian journalists covering her trial in Russia made a point to refuse to express condolences over the death of their Russian colleagues whom Savchenko was accused of murdering. This another example of how the “Ukrainian revolution” is a profoundly ideological revolution which has, among other things, erased the line between good and evil in men’s souls.

As is well known, Savchenko was pardoned by President Putin in exchange for the release of two Russian soldiers found on Ukrainian territory. Her return to Ukraine was triumphant. From President Poroshenko she received the Hero of Ukraine award, and this woman, previously known for her sadistic tendencies and propensity for alcoholism, was rebranded by Ukrainian patriots into a kind of Ukrainian Joan of Arc. Savchenko cannot be said to be very intelligent, although she does possess a certain charisma which would have remained unknown and of little interest to any one under other circumstances, but post-Maidan Ukraine opened the door for her to enter big politics. This is another index of the “Ukrainian revolution.”

In my numerous analyses of Savchenko’s character and trajectory, I have come to the conclusion that Savchenko is, despite her unsympathetic and even repulsive personality traits and biography, the flesh and blood of the Ukrainian people. Her lack of education, cruelty, courage, and adventurism are typical features of the Ukrainian revolutionary whether a hundred years ago in the likes of revolutionary adventurists in the Civil War in South Russia, or in the present day. As far as I can judge, Savchenko is not particularly greedy or careerist like 99% of her colleagues in the Verkhovna Rada, but genuinely believes in her mission and probably sincerely wants goodness and justice for her people – now matter how sick and, like herself, lacking passionarity.

For these reasons, Savchenko is psychologically ready to participate in the preparation of a coup against the criminal #1 in power – so-called President Poroshenko, the infamous Jewish oligarch whose personal wealth has increased manyfold since he became head of state. Savchenko is the complete antithesis of Poroshenko. Nearly two years ago, right after she was released from Russian prison, I expressed the opinion in an interview with Russian media that Savchenko is quite capable of becoming the next President of Ukraine provided that there are people who could seriously invest in such a project, finance her, and guarantee political-technical support.

Since then, no such interested people have appeared around Savchenko. But perhaps she herself chose to go the more direct and dangerous path of preparing a coup. I do not want to confirm the official version of the Ukrainian investigation; I merely want to reiterate that Savchenko would, psychologically speaking, be the candidate for such an endeavor.

Besides the “bullet” herself, Kiev’s investigation has also charged a group of officers from the 8th special tasks regiment – one of the most militant units of the Ukrainian Army. According to the investigation, Vladimir Ruban passed on weapons hidden in caches on the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic to these officers, in particular Major Pavel Balov (call sign “Kedr”) who just so happens to be the one accused of arranging the murder of the DPR heroes Motorola and Givi.

Ruban and Balov were allegedly introduced to one another by Savchenko. The officers of the 8th regiment were supposed to be sent to their deployment zone in Khmelnitsky and then to Kiev.

This scheme, as we will see, is very confusing and complex. In fact, I did not believe this whole story until unexpected confirmation came from…the leadership of the Donetsk People’s Republic.

On March 15th, the DPR Minister of Taxes and Duties, Alexander Timofeev (call sign “Tashkent”), sensationally stated that someone in the DPR is selling weapons to Ukraine. According to Timofeev, Ukraine’s security service has been using weapons ordered from the DPR to carry out provocations on their own country’s territory. Just how the DPR can control the usage of weapons sold to the enemy, Tashkent did not specify. “We don’t feel sorry for the weapons used for such purposes. Let them shoot each other themselves on their side,” Timofeev remarked.

In so doing, Timofeev essentially confirmed the Ukrainian investigation’s allegations that Ruban had ties to the DPR. It cannot be ruled out that this statement, regardless of whether it is true or not, will be used by Kiev to discredit the Donbass republics and accuse them of disrupting the Minsk Agreements. Of course, it is Kiev that is not fulfilling the Minsk Agreements, but the West will be happy to seize such allegations for the sake of political ends.

To add a personal qualification, I’ve regularly visited the Donetsk People’s Republic since June 2014, and starting around spring 2015 I started to hear numerous complaints about the work of Alexander Zakharchenko’s “right-hand man” on financial-economic issues. Unlike Zakharchenko himself, Tashkent did not gain fame in battle, but gained notoriety for his self-enrichment at the expense of the people of the DPR. He somewhat resembles the ex-head of the LPR, Plotnitsky, who was recently ousted in a coup. Timofeev is hated by literally everyone in the DPR and his reputation has strongly depreciated the repute of Alexander Zakharchenko himself. One of the Russian Spring veterans, Vladimir Dolgov, has even accused Tashkent of being an SBU agent. Whether this is true or not is not up to me to judge, but I will present a testimony on this matter “from the other side.” Ukraine’s Deputy Minister for Temporarily Occupied Territories, Georgy Tuka, recently boasted that a large network of agents subordinate to Ukrainian intelligence is working in both the LPR and DPR. Tuka said: “It is no secret to anyone that we have a powerful agentry on the other side of the demarcation line. Unfortunately, our enemy does too on our territory.” I know no one who would dispute this, and I have repeatedly claimed the same thing in my interview for Russian media. If Dolgov’s accusations are confirmed, then we are presented with a very interesting situation: on both sides of the front SBU agents have prepared a large-scale provocation involving a representative of the top DPR leadership.

No less interesting is this special operation’s continuation on the Ukrainian side. If the 8th regiment’s officers and Savchenko are arrested, then this means that a conspiracy really must have existed. If not, then this “conspiracy” is obviously a game by the Ukrainian Gestapo. Given these new threads that have come to light, I am now inclined to believe that a conspiracy really did exist, but has exposed in the very beginning due to the political inexperience of its organizers.

No matter what, it is evident that hatred for Poroshenko is transitioning from word to deed in Ukraine’s military circles. One possible development of events could be an assassination attempt on Poroshenko during a visit to the army, as it would be more than easy to pin such an assassination attempt on the DPR and LPR. World history is full of such examples, such as when the Swedish King Charles XII was killed by a bullet that did not come from the enemy’s side.

For now Savchenko has more reasons for concern. In Kiev people predict that she will be the next figure in the coup case. She has even been accused of fleeing to Russia out of fear of an SBU interrogation. But on March 16th she denied these rumors after attending a PACE session, returning to Kiev, and issuing a loud statement at the headquarters of the SBU in Kiev in which she not only paradoxically “accused” the West of supporting the Maidan, but directly accused a number of high-ranking Ukrainian officials – Verkhovna Rada speaker Parubiy and ex-presidential administration head Sergey Pashinsky – of delivering the weapons to the Georgian snipers who shot at Berkut and Maidan militants in February 2014.

In saying such, Savchenko did not reveal any big secret. Thanks to the work of Italian and Israeli TV journalists, the truth about the Georgian snipers and the Maidan has long since been publicly available. But the fact that this allegation was uttered by a deputy of Ukraine’s parliament and a figure decorated with the highest award in the country, the Hero of Ukraine star, who saw these events with her own eyes, speaks volumes.

The Ukrainian establishment is at a stalemate. On the one hand, the Kiev regime is now compelled to accuse a number of characters from Ruban and Balov to Savchenko of criminal plots and working for the enemy (the DPR and maybe Russia too). But this conspiracy theory also has a dark side for Kiev. Such allegations would concern widely glorified heroes of Ukraine decorated with the highest awards from the president himself. Now voices can be heard calling for Savchenko’s star to be confiscated – and these voices are the same who made her into an idol when she was “behind Putin’s bars.” Secondly, such repressions affect the military complex. Given the abysmal approval rating of the oligarch-president among this milieu, it is difficult not to imagine Ukrainian officers reacting to the arrest of their popular representatives. We will see how the Ukrainian judiciary and establishment will try to worm themselves out of this evermore complex conspiracy.

The United States is urging the Ukrainian government to repeal legislation that requires members of civil society to declare financial assets, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a statement on Friday.

US Urges Ukraine to Abolish Declaration of Assets for Civil Activists 31.03.2018
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201803311063089293-usa-ukraine-law-civil-society/

"The United States strongly encourages the government of Ukraine to repeal legislation that requires the asset declarations from civil society and international members of state-owned-enterprise supervisory boards," Nauert said. "Ukraine’s asset declaration system should hold public officials accountable and not place unnecessary burdens or pressure on civil society."

The government should cancel the asset declaration requirements as recommended by the Venice Commission and give temporary amnesty to those who do not file by the upcoming deadline, the statement added.

On March 16, the Venice Commission said new stringent financial reporting requirements Kiev has imposed on anti-corruption activists will have a chilling effect on Ukrainian civil society. The commission urged Kiev to cancel the requirements before April 1, 2018.

Ukraine is suffering from corruption, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday at a meeting with children in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

Ukraine 'Chokes' on Corruption - Putin Back-dated 21.07.2017
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201707211055767560-russia-putin-ukraine-corruption/

Ukraine is choking on corruption, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday at a meeting with children in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

"The current [Kiev] authorities came to power in the wake of the fight against corruption…unfortunately, they went through a state coup. They came to power, so what? What is the result? Corruption became even greater. Ukraine is literally choking on this corruption, both at the highest echelons of power and lower," Putin said commenting on the situation in Ukraine.

On June 27, 2014, Poroshenko and EU leaders signed the association deal, which was ratified by the Ukrainian parliament in September 2014. The document stipulates the implementation of a series of political and economic reforms in Ukraine aimed at improving political and social institutions and eliminating corruption to gain access to the EU market.

 

[angelburst29]

April 04, 2018 - Ukrainian border service plans to detain all ships travelling to and from Crimea
Ukrainian border service plans to detain all ships travelling to and from Crimea

Ukraine will detain all the ships travelling to and out of Crimea without Kiev’s consent, Ukrainian Border Service Spokesman Oleg Slobodyan said on Wednesday, commenting on the detention of Russia’s Nord vessel, assigned to the port of Kerch.

"Ukraine’s position is unequivocal, it considers Crimea to be an occupied part of its territory so law enforcement agencies will promptly respond to violations committed by those travelling in and out of Crimea," Slobodyan said.

He stressed that Ukraine’s capabilities "are enough to respond to the current threats."


April 08,2018 - Attorneys visit captain of Russia’s Nord vessel in Ukrainian jail
Attorneys visit captain of Russia’s Nord vessel in Ukrainian jail

On March 25, Ukraine’s State Border Service detained a fishing vessel flying the Russian flag in the Sea of Azov, whose crew includes ten Russians.

Defense attorneys on Saturday visited Vladimir Gorbenko, a Russian captain who is being kept in a Ukrainian pretrial detention facility, to deliver him medicines, food, clothes and an Easter cake, lawyer Dmitry Shcherbina has told TASS.

"Together with Alexander Rudenko, who is also a member of the defense team for the Nord ship crew, I visited the captain in the pretrial detention facility to convey Easter greetings to him and deliver an Easter cake, food, clothes and other necessities," he said.

Shcherbina added that attorneys also brought medicines for Gorbenko.

"We managed to organize IV therapy for him, because prior to our visit he was only treated with pills. Everything is fine. According to my estimates, his condition is satisfactory. We expect him to walk out of the pretrial detention center on Tuesday, April 10," he said.

Vessel’s detention - On March 25, Ukraine’s State Border Service detained a fishing vessel flying the Russian flag in the Sea of Azov, whose crew includes ten Russian nationals from Kerch. The Ukrainian authorities accused the crew members of "violating entry and exit rules to Ukraine’s occupied territory," which provides for an imprisonment of up to 15 days.

The vessel’s captain is charged with "violating entry and exit rules to Ukraine’s occupied territory, aimed at damaging the state’s interests," and may face up to five years in prison, while the vessel may be confiscated.

On April 6, a court in Kherson, Ukraine, ruled to arrest Gorbenko until May 31. However, he may be released on bail which has already been posted.

Simultaneously, the Primorsky District Court of Mariupol in Ukraine imposed administrative fines to all members of the crew for the total sum of about $1,200. The ship’s owner earlier told TASS that the crew was allowed to leave the vessel, but they will have to stay in Mariupol at least until April 10 to testify in the criminal case against the captain.

In turn, the Federal Security Service Directorate for the Crimean Republic has launched a criminal case against Ukraine’s State Border Service on the charges of "hijacking an aircraft, watercraft or a railway train.".


April 5, 2018 - Lavrov says Kiev’s sponsors in US, Europe collude with warmongers
Lavrov says Kiev’s sponsors in US, Europe collude with warmongers

There have been attempts at rescinding the Minsk Accords on settling the internal crisis in Ukraine, Lavrov pointed out.

The patrons of the Kiev authorities in the United States and Europe turn a blind eye on attempts to rescind the Minsk Accords and encourage the "warmongers’ party," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the Moscow Conference on International Security on Thursday.

"There have been attempts at rescinding the Minsk Accords on settling the internal crisis in Ukraine. The current authorities in Kiev in fact disrupt their implementation," he said. "Their sponsors and handlers in the United States and Europe turn a blind eye on this, while at the same time encouraging the party of warmongers in Kiev, which is determined to deal with the Donbass problem from the position of strength."

Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko on February 20 signed a law entitled On Certain Aspects of State Policy in Securing State Sovereignty over the Temporarily Occupied Territories of the Donetsk and Lugansk Regions (often referred to as reintegration of Donbass act). The law took effect on February 24.

In this document the territories beyond Kiev’s control are called "temporarily occupied territories," Russia’s policies are interpreted as "aggression against Ukraine," and the Ukrainian president is empowered to use the armed forces inside the country without the parliament’s consent. For this a special command center of the Ukrainian army was created to coordinate all military, law enforcement and civilian authorities in the zone of the conflict. All mentions of the Minsk Accords are absent from the text of the law.


April 5, 2018 - Poroshenko announces United Forces Operation in Donbass
Poroshenko announces United Forces Operation in Donbass

Poroshenko has pledged to sign a decree in May to end the so-called anti-terror operation in Donbass and switch over to United Forces Operation on the territories uncontrolled by Kiev.

The date will be [specified] in May as we are switching to a new format of defending the country. We are introducing new measures. We are doing this because we see a sharp increase in the threat in the east and we must keep powder dry," the Ukrainian president said at a meeting with regional media outlets, replying to a question about the exact date of ending the anti-terror operation.

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry earlier reported that United Forces Operation announced by the president would be carried out in the Donbass area along with the ongoing anti-terror operation until the head of state issued a decree on cancelling the latter.

On March 6, Poroshenko announced a change in the format of the anti-terror operation in Donbass and appointed Sergei Nayev as the commander

According to the Ukrainian president, he set the commander "the task of strengthening the armed forces to an extent allowing them to ‘be able to liberate the occupied territories.’"

As Security Service Deputy Head Viktor Kononenko noted, "nothing has actually changed" and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has just handed over control of the operation to the armed forces.

At the same time, Ukraine’s General Staff representative Yuri Bobrov said earlier that the anti-terror operation and United Forces Operation "are different things and one does not rule out the other." "Moreover, I’m confident that the anti-terror operation will continue, irrespective of when United Forces Operation begins or ends," he said.

"The anti-terror operation will end when the last member of illegal formations, the last terrorist will be detained and delivered to law-enforcement agencies," he said.

The replacement of Ukraine’s Donbass anti-terror operation by United Forces Operation is envisaged in the decree signed by President Poroshenko in late 2017 on the reintegration of Donbass ("On the Specifics of State Policy to Ensure Ukraine’s State Sovereignty over Temporarily Occupied Territories in the Donetsk and Lugansk Regions").

This document refers to the areas uncontrolled by official Kiev as "temporarily occupied territories" and qualifies Russia’s actions as "an aggression against Ukraine" while the Ukrainian president is given the right to use armed forces inside the country without the parliament’s approval, including for the purpose of liberating territories in the country’s east.

Ukraine is setting up a united operational headquarters of the country’s armed forces to control defense and security forces and military-civil administrations in the zone of the conflict.


March 30, 2018 - Russia’s attitude to US arms supplies to Ukraine well-known, Kremlin says
Russia’s attitude to US arms supplies to Ukraine well-known, Kremlin says

Russia has notified the United States more than once of its attitude to the likely negative consequences of the decision to supply US weapons to Ukraine, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media on Friday.

"We’ve stated more than once this decision will have negative consequences. Moscow’s viewpoint is well-known to Washington. It was repeatedly expressed to our US counterparts. Washington is certainly in the know," Peskov said, when asked if Russia had discussed the issue of US arms supplies to Ukraine with Washington.

US Department of State spokesperson Heather Nauert at the end of December said the US had decided to provide advanced defensive systems to Ukraine. In early March the Defense Security Cooperation Agency of the US Department of State declared that the Trump administration had made a decision to sell to Ukraine anti-tank weapons 47 million dollars’ worth - 210 rockets and 37 launchers Javelin.

"This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by improving the security of Ukraine," the State Department's Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement.

 

[angelburst29]

April 15, 2018 - 3 Signs that Ukraine is Cooking Up War in Donbass
3 Signs that Ukraine is Cooking Up War in Donbass - Fort Russ

By Eduard Popov, translated by Jafe Arnold –

For good or for worse, the situation in Donbass over the past few days has not seen any revolutionary changes. However, some very important trends have been noted which might lead to a fundamentally new situation.

1. Kiev preparing new terrorist attacks on Donbass
On April 13th, the press service of the Lugansk People’s Republic’s Ministry of State Security (MGB) published a report exposing preparations by Kiev saboteurs to assassinate the heads of the LPR and DPR. According to the ministry, near the village of Novopetrovka in the Berdyansky district of the Zaporozhye region, an exclusive base for training saboteur-terrorist squads has been established. Saboteurs are being trained in explosives and sniper operations under the command of, according to the report, “a citizen of Georgia, Maruashvili, who took part in combat in South Ossetia in 2008.” The report continues: “The tasks of these sabotage-terrorist groups is the carrying out of terrorist attacks on the territory of the DPR and LPR and the elimination of representatives of their leadership.

Kiev has long since been pursuing a policy of mass terror against the population of the Donbass republics in addition to targeted terror against the military leaders of the DPR and LPR.

Of course, all of this violates the Minsk Agreements which guarantee amnesty to participants in socio-political processes in Donbass.
Over the past few weeks, Kiev’s terrorist operations have increased in activity dramatically. For example, Ukrainian border guards took two Russian civilian vessels hostage. These and other incidents are attempts at provoking Russia. Poroshenko is taking advantage of Russia’s immersion in the Syrian conflict to solve his own domestic problems. And he has succeeded insofar as Moscow is still only reacting to Kiev’s provocations on the level of declarations. Moscow’s tactic is to not succumb to provocations, but this has crucial flaws and leads only to increased aggressiveness in rhetoric and actions on the part of Kiev, which is covered by Western support.

In a recent interview with Russian media, I expressed my opinion that the Donbass republics and Russia need to react to clear violations of the Minsk Agreements by threatening Kiev with “political consequences” when the lives and health of DPR and LPR leaders are threatened. Just what such “political consequences” could be is an open question.

2. Kiev alleges Russia is preparing to invade Ukraine
The notorious Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has accused Moscow of intending to deploy troops to Donbass. The deputy head of the SBU, Viktor Kononenko, has claimed that Russia will send in troops in autumn, alleging that Russian authorities will order army units into Ukraine following some kind of provocations against the Russian-speaking population of Eastern Ukraine. “Patriotic” Ukrainian media are spreading rumors that Moscow will use “aunts” (titushki – a new Ukrainian euphemism referring to sportsmen hired to disperse rallies, a synonym for unscrupulous mercenary hooligans) to attack mass actions in defense of the Russian language in Ukraine.

The newspaper Korrespondent has reported that such mass protest actions against infringements on the Russian language in the Ukrainian education system and mass communication will indeed be held. In multiple articles for Fort Russ, we have deeply analyzed the law in question adopted by the Verkhovna Rada on September 5th, 2017, which basically prohibits the use of any languages against Ukrainian. This law has already provoked fierce diplomatic rows with Hungary, Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, and Greece. While these countries have shown their outrage over the violation of the rights of their national minorities in Ukraine, the Russian foreign ministry has demonstrated its usual passivity. The reality of contemporary Ukraine is such that Russia has absolutely no chance for involvement in social affairs, which are rigidly controlled by the SBU. The hiring of “aunts” is most likely being arranged by the SBU itself to frame and then accuse Russia. This algorithm is well known, as Ukrainian Nazi attacks on Hungarian and Polish diplomatic missions (as well as on Polish memorials) have been habitually portrayed as FSB operations, just like how all of Ukraine’s conflicts with its European neighbors are presented as Russian machinations. This is an effective tactic, but a destructive one which will eventually come back around to bite Ukraine itself, which is not even trying to seek compromise with Hungary, Poland, and Romania, which all have some historical rights to “Ukrainian” territories, not to mention Russia.

The Russian foreign ministry’s passivity guarantees that Russia will never start a war with Ukraine over the violation of the rights of Russians.

Such does, however, serve as a convenient propaganda tool for the Kiev authorities, who then have a free hand in the humanitarian sphere and for preparing diplomatic bridgeheads in advance of any “eventual” offensive by the Russian army. Somewhat ironically, thus, Ukraine is using both allegations of active Russian aggression and the reality of Russian passivity as a tool for establishing better diplomatic preconditions for war.

3. Ukraine’s propagandistic and military preparations for war with Russia
At the same time, Ukrainian media are unleashing claims that Russia has concentrated troops along Ukraine’s borders (along DPR and LPR borders). The secretary of Ukraine’s National Security Council, Turchynov (who started the war in Donbass), claims that 260,000 Russian troops and a thousand military vehicles have been amassed on Ukraine’s border. How the Baptist pastor Turchynov imagines such an amassed army is impossible to comprehend, since the concentration of even a much more modest military group (say, one or two divisions) on the border would immediately be visible across social networks as anyone with a camera could film such huge army columns. Moreover, they would be in the neighboring Rostov region, in whose capital, Rostov-on-Don, in which I live, there is not the slightest sense of preparations for war – by Russia, that is.

Why are these fakes being circulated? Probably in order to once again evoke the mythical “Russian threat” line to cover up Ukraine’s own military preparations.

According to reports from the Telegram channel WarGonzo, the Ukrainian army has recently been moving troops across the Seversky Donets River on pontoons, not far from the border of the Lugansk People’s Republic.

There are more than a few theories suggesting that Ukraine is preparing to launch an offensive in this region following the official lifting of the Anti-Terrorist Operation.

In both the DPR, LPR, and Russia’s State Duma, warnings have been heard about a Ukrainian blitzkrieg on Donbass to happen this spring.

According to Sergei Zheleznyak, a member of the State Duma’s Committee on International Affairs, Ukrainian authorities will launch full-scale military operations against Donbass in May. At the moment, I find it difficult to comment on such forecasts, and I am expecting up-to-date reports from Donbass which, as usual, I will share with readers of Fort Russ. In any case, these trends of recent weeks are cause for growing alarm.

A number of other significant developments, such as Poroshenko’s shocking message to Vladimir Putin and Russians, and ongoing socio-economic processes in the Lugansk People’s Republic, will be considered in forthcoming articles.