Civil War in Ukraine: Western Empire vs Russia

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"Our patience is not unlimited," — Russia warned Ukraine of a tough response to the kidnapping of the crew of the ship "Nord»
19.04.2018 - 21:33
«Наше терпение не безгранично», — Россия предупредила Украину о жёстком ответе на похищение экипажа судна «Норд»
"Our patience is not unlimited," — Russia warned Ukraine of a tough response to the kidnapping of the crew of the ship "Nord»
The Russian foreign Ministry made a statement in connection with the seizure of Ukraine fishing vessel "Nord" and the kidnapping of crew members.
"The Ukrainian authorities continue to abuse the Russian crew of the fishing vessel "Nord", piratically captured more than a month ago in the sea of Azov.
April 19 at the Kiev airport "Zhulyany" representatives of the border service of Ukraine once again missed fishermen — citizens of Russia, who presented Russian passports, on a flight to Minsk. Their documents were seized under far-fetched pretexts, and protocols on administrative violations were drawn up against seafarers. Although earlier in the day and from the same airport Home through Minsk on Russian passports flew two crew members of the ship "Nord".
Outraged cynical arbitrariness created by the Kiev regime against ordinary sailors. Forced coercion to Ukrainian citizenship and the inability to freely leave Ukraine flagrantly violate fundamental human rights and contravene civilized norms of international relations.
We demand to stop making fun of Russian citizens and to give them an opportunity to return home, to their families, without hindrance. Our patience is not unlimited. We reserve the right to take tough action."
 
The Russian top diplomat comments on the situation in Ukraine.

May 3, 2018 - Lavrov says Ukraine lost its independence
Lavrov says Ukraine lost its independence

Ukraine has actually lost its independence and national economy due to the internal crisis provoked by some Western countries led by the US, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Italy’s Panorama magazine.

"For many years, attempts were made to force Kiev to make a false choice, ‘either with us or against us,’ between the development of cooperation in the East or in the West, which has eventually resulted in the collapse of the Ukrainian statehood, which has never been particularly strong. The result as of today is the de facto loss of independence, people’s suffering, the collapse of the country’s economy, which had every opportunity to become one of Europe’s most stable and strong," he said.

According to Russia’s top diplomat, "a group of Western states led by the US who consider the entire world a sphere of their influence, claiming to be exceptional and dividing peoples into us and them" are responsible for the internal political crisis in Ukraine.

Lavrov also pointed to a dramatic change in NATO’s line, which prior to the coup urged then Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich to refrain from using the army against protesters, while after the coup "it started calling on the putschists who illegally seized power to use force ‘proportionately’ against the regions that disagree with them."

"There is nothing pro-Ukrainian in the West’s policy, everything is anti-Russian. We can see that for the US and some of its allies all the talk about creating a single space of peace, security and stability in the Euro-Atlantic region was just a cover-up for continuing the archaic practice of seizing geopolitical space, moving dividing lines to the east, both through NATO’s expansion and as part of the implementation of the EU’s Eastern Partnership program, "Lavrov concluded.


May 2, 2018 - Ukraine extends sanctions against Russia — security council
Ukraine extends sanctions against Russia — security council

Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council synchronized sanctions with the ones imposed by the US Treasury on April 6 and extended recent years’ own restrictions

Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council added more people and legal entities on Wednesday to its sanctions list imposed on Russia.

Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council synchronized sanctions with the ones imposed by the US Treasury on April 6 and extended recent years’ own restrictions.

Besides, sanctions target individuals "involved in informational and cyber aggression" against Ukraine, "in illegal activities against Ukrainian citizens who are unlawfully held in Russia," as well as members of the Russian State Duma (lower house of parliament) and Federation Council (upper house).

"The sanctions against individuals and legal entities are extended for a period of three years or an indefinite period, following a motion of Ukraine’s cabinet, Ukraine’s Security Service and Ukraine’s National Bank," says a press release of the Ukrainian Council for National Security and Defense.

The list of individuals and legal entities subject to the restrictive measures has not yet been published.

Before the Council’s meeting, President Pyotr Poroshenko said that Ukraine would coordinate new sanctions with the US Treasury list, which are linked to "the use of chemical weapons in the middle of Europe - in the United Kingdom - as well as to Russia’s illegal presidential election held in the territory of occupied Crimea."

On April 6, the US authorities announced the imposition of sanctions against a number of Russian officials, businessmen and companies. The Russian businessmen who were put on the new US restrictions list include Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller, VTB head Andrei Kostin, owner of Renova Viktor Vekselberg, Surgutneftegaz CEO Vladimir Bogdanov, Sibur board member Kirill Shamalov, and businessmen Igor Rotenberg, Oleg Deripaska and Suleiman Kerimov.

Among the companies slapped with the latest sanctions are several enterprises belonging to Oleg Deripaska. Among them are Agro-Holding Kuban, EuroSibEnergo, Russian Machines, GAZ Group, B-Finance, Basic Element, En+.
 
 
СБУ «героически победила» двоих российских журналисток (ФОТО, ВИДЕО)
09.05.2018 - 13:12
| Русская весна
Служба Безопасности Украины «героически победила» двоих российских журналисток: корреспонденток телеканалов «Россия» и «Первый» Валентину Соловьёву и Ольгу Юрьеву выслали с Украины за «пропаганду и причинение ущерба национальной безопасности».
Как уточнили в пресс-службе СБУ, в ведомстве полагают, что «специальные корреспонденты российских „Первого канала” и телеканала „Россия” (были) командированы в Киев для подготовки тенденциозных сюжетов о праздновании на Украине Дня Победы над нацизмом во Второй мировой войне.
Отснятые видеоматериалы планировалось использовать для дискредитации Украины перед мировым сообществом и распространения дезинформации среди населения».
В итоге украинские власти обвинили девушек в «пропагандисткой деятельности и причинении ущерба национальной безопасности страны».
Уточняется, что Соловьёва была выслана в Россию, а Юрьева — в Казахстан «в рамках комплекса мероприятий по противодействию вмешательству страны-агрессора в отечественное медиа-пространство и локализации угроз в информационной сфере».
Обеим журналисткам запретили въезд на территорию Украины сроком на 3 года.

Translation
SBU "heroic victory" of two Russian journalists (PHOTO, VIDEO)
09.05.2018 - 13:12
| Russian spring
The Security service of Ukraine "heroically defeated" two Russian journalists: correspondents of TV channels "Russia" and "First" Valentina Solovyova and Olga Yurieva were expelled from Ukraine for"propaganda and causing damage to national security."
As explained in the press service of the SBU, the Ministry believed that "the special correspondent of the Russian "First channel" and TV channel "Russia" (were) sent to Kiev to prepare the biased stories about the celebration in Ukraine of the Victory Day over Nazism in the Second world war.
The footage was planned to be used for discrediting Ukraine to the world community and spreading disinformation among the population."
As a result, the Ukrainian authorities accused the girls of "propaganda activities and causing damage to the national security of the country".
Clarifies that Solovyova was deported to Russia and Yurieva — in Kazakhstan "in the framework of complex of measures on anti-interference of the aggressor in the domestic media space and containment of threats in the information sphere".
Both journalists were banned from entering Ukraine for a period of 3 years.
СБУ «героически победила» двоих российских журналисток (ФОТО, ВИДЕО)
 
В Киеве стартовал «Бессмертный полк» (ФОТО, ПРЯМАЯ ТРАНСЛЯЦИЯ)
09.05.2018 - 11:02
| Русская весна
В Киеве у станции метро «Арсенальная» стартовал «Бессмертный полк».
Сотни участников акции, не испугавшись возможных провокаций со стороны неонацистов, вышли на шествие с портретами своих родных, сражавшихся в Великую Отечественную войну.
Шествие, которое сопровождается советскими фронтовыми песнями, должно пройти от м. «Арсенальная» до площади Славы.
Напомним, георгиевская лента, которая является одним из главных символов «Бессмертного полка» в России, на Украине с 2017 года запрещена как «символ российской оккупации и агрессии».

В определенном смысле то что сейчас происходит в Киеве ценнее чем то что происходит в Москве. Да мы здесь в Москве празднуем День Победы, прошел военный парад, сейчас пойдет "бессмертый полк" и людей участвующих в этих мероприятиях неизмеримо больше чем в Украине, но те жители Киева и других мест Украины идут на эти мероприятия заранее зная, что фашистские активисты не будут сидеть сложа руки, а органы правопорядка как раз не будут фашистам препятствовать. Это гражданский героизм!

Translation
In Kiev, launched the "Immortal regiment" (PHOTO, VIDEO STREAM)
09.05.2018 - 11:02
| Russian spring
In Kiev at the metro station "Arsenal" started "Immortal regiment".
Hundreds of protesters, not afraid of possible provocations by neo-Nazis, marched with portraits of their relatives who fought in the great Patriotic war.
The procession, which is accompanied by Soviet frontline songs, must go from M." Arsenal " to the square of Glory.
Recall St. George's ribbon, which is one of the main symbols of the "Immortal regiment" in Russia, Ukraine in 2017 is prohibited as "a symbol of Russian occupation and aggression."
В Киеве стартовал «Бессмертный полк» (ФОТО, ПРЯМАЯ ТРАНСЛЯЦИЯ)

In a sense, what is happening in Kiev is more valuable than what is happening in Moscow. Yes, we here in Moscow will celebrate Victory Day, a military parade was held, now go "Immortal regiment" and the people involved in these activities infinitely more than in Ukraine, but the residents of Kiev and of other places in Ukraine to go to these events knowing that Nazi activists will not sit idly by, and law enforcement just don't discourage the Nazis. It's civil heroism!
 
Ukrainian ‘snipers’ threaten Russian diplomat at UN headquarters - Zakharova
UNITED NATIONS, May 12. /TASS/. Participants in Kiev’s military operation in southeastern Ukraine threatened a Russian diplomat with death at the United Nations headquarters, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters.

According to her, the incident took place on May 9, following a meeting on propaganda and fake news arranged by the Ukrainian delegation, which it claimed to be part of a session of the UN Committee on Information. "An official from the Foreign Ministry’s Press and Information Department, who was representing Russia at the Committee’s session, attended the meeting. He clarified Moscow’s position concerning Ukraine’s accusations as the event was held in an anti-Russian atmosphere. As far as we understand, the Ukrainian delegation did not expect the Russian participant to address the meeting, it came as a surprise for them," Zakharova said, adding that "the result was somewhat unpleasant."

"The Ukrainian delegation said it had invited veterans of the [so-called] anti-terrorist operation [in Donbass], including those who were presented as snipers from southeastern Ukraine. After the meeting was over, these men, dressed in camouflage clothing, came up to the Russian representative and began to threaten him with death. Imagine people in camouflage clothing running around the United Nations premises, making photos of Russian diplomats and threatening them. Those were direct threats," the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said.

Targeted policy

The Russian diplomat expressed confidence that the incident was "part of Kiev’s information efforts negatively illustrated by the Mirotvorets [or Peacemaker] website, which still exists, where the personal information about staff members of the Press and Information Department at the Russia Foreign Ministry." "Everything that the Ukrainian mission did is in line with Kiev’s policy aimed at intimidating Russian diplomats working in the information field," Zakharova noted.

She added that at the Committee’s final meeting on Friday, Russia raised that question, stressing that events being held during the session "should not end like that." "Death threats coming from people officially invited by a national delegation make to other participants in debates are a thing unacceptable on the United Nations premises," Zakharova said. According to her, the United Nations has taken Russia’s concern into account and thanked Moscow for providing information, however, Chair of the United Nations General Assembly Committee on Information Jan Kickert "tried to shrug off this scandalous incident saying that no such events had been held on the Committee’s behalf."

"We provided the Committee with a press release available on the Ukrainian mission’s website, as well as with screenshots and other files claiming that the event was part of the Committee’s activities," the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said. After that, the Committee assured the Russian mission that such things would not be tolerated in the future, Zakharova concluded.

Ukraine is negotiating a visa-free travel with 61 countries of the "white Schengen"
Украина ведет переговоры о безвизе с 61 страной "белого шенгена"

PE in Cherkassy school № 8 - work of emergency services
May 8, 2018
In Cherkassy, at school No. 8, 52 people were poisoned with an unknown substance.
2 adults, 50 of whom 11 children were in intensive care. I propose to look at the work of the services, I just do not understand why a potentially dangerous place is not cordoned off, people freely go there including children, in addition experts without chemical protection. I do not understand!
Click to expand...

The kidnappings at Nayem: just from the court stole a motorcycle brother - The first about the main (9.00)
Телеканал ZIK Published on May 11, 2018
0:09 Слухання справи нардепа Найєма завершилося викраденням мотоцикла 2:30 Німецькі експерти спробують відповісти, чим отруїлись черкаські школярі 4:30 Примарне бронювання: як дурять іноземних вболівальників? 7:32 Справжній блокбастер триває на Закарпатті через вирубування лісу
0:09 The hearing of the affair of the People's Deputy Najme ended with the abduction of the motorcycle
2:30 German experts will try to answer what poisoned the Cherkassy schoolchildren
4:30 Glamorous reservation: how do you scam foreign fans?
7:32 The real blockbuster continues in Transcarpathia due to the felling of the forest
 
May 15, 2018 - Ukraine’s security service charges RIA Novosti Ukraine editor with high treason
Ukraine’s security service charges RIA Novosti Ukraine editor with high treason

Investigators have issued official charges with high treason to the Editor-in-Chief of RIA Novosti Ukraine news agency, Kirill Vyshinsky, the press service of the SBU state security service said.

"The chief of the propagandist anti-Ukrainian media resource RIA Novosti Ukraine, Kirill Vyshinsky, has been informed of suspicions regarding a committed crime," the report said. "He has been detained. The criminal case for him cites charges under Clause 1 of Article 111 [High Treason] of the Ukrainian Criminal Code."

The SBU said the pretrial investigation continued.

The chief of the SBU press service, Yelena Gitlyanskaya said earlier on Tuesday Kirill Vyshinsky had been detained.

Somewhat later, reports spoke of searches in the Kiev office of the news agency and at the apartment of reporter Lyudmila Lysenko.

The press service said the SBU had exposed operations of an alleged network of media resources controlled by the Russian Federation, which Moscow believably used as instruments in its ostensible hybrid information war against Ukraine.


May 15, 2018 - Kiev accuses Rossiya Segodnya news agency of subversive activity in Ukraine
Kiev accuses Rossiya Segodnya news agency of subversive activity in Ukraine

Ukrainian Prosecutor-General’s Office has accused the Rossiya Segodnya international news agency of subversive activities in the country’s territory.

"The investigation has found that the federal state unitarian enterprise Rossiya Segodnya in 2014 created the Russian news agency Novosti Ukraina without obtaining state registration, required by the Ukrainian law on news agencies, for conducting subversive activities against Ukraine. The agency was used for several years to fill the Ukrainian media space with distorted information about events in Ukraine and in various ways excused the occupation of the Crimean Peninsula by the Russian Federation," the Prosecutor General’s Office spokeswoman Larisa Sargan said in a statement in Facebook on Tuesday.

Sargan said the investigation also exposed the complicity of a number of Ukrainian citizens in "illegal activities by the aforesaid media resources in Ukraine," and gathered "considerable evidence proving the aforesaid illegal activities."

Sargan confirmed that a decision was about to be made whether the person who led the RIA Novosti Ukraine agency should be detained and charged with high treason.

Earlier on Tuesday, the security service SBU searched the agency’s office in Kiev and the homes of some of its staffers. The editor-in-chief, Kirill Vyshinsky, was detained.


May 16, 2018 - RIA Novosti Ukraine chief taken to SBU pre-trial detention center in Kherson
RIA Novosti Ukraine chief taken to SBU pre-trial detention center in Kherson

Chief editor of the RIA Novosti Ukraine news agency Kirill Vyshinsky, detained in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev on Tuesday, has been taken to the city of Kherson and put into a pre-trial detention center belonging to the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU), Spokesperson for the so-called ‘Crimean’ Prosecutor’s Office [part of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office, based in Kherson - TASS] Tatyana Tikhonchik told TASS on Wednesday.

"The detained has been taken to Kherson and is currently kept at the Ukrainian Security Service’s pre-trial detention center,"
she said. According to the spokesperson, the prosecution intends to request the Kherson City Court decide on a measure of restraint later on Wednesday. Tikhonchik added that a court hearing was likely to be held on Thursday, May 17.

The Ukrainian prosecutor general’s spokesperson Larisa Sargan said that the prosecution would insist Vyshinsky be arrested.

"Vyshinksy has been charged with high treason under Article 111.1 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code… A preventive measure is yet to be worked out. The prosecution will insist that he be arrested," Sargan wrote on Facebook.

Meanwhile, Vyshinsky’s wife Irina has told Russia’s Channel One that her husband has some health issues and cannot not do without medicine.

"I am very concerned because my husband has rather serious health issues. A person in his condition cannot do without medicine," she said, adding she did not have immediate information about her husband’s condition.

On May 15, the SBU carried out a large-scale operation against RIA Novosti Ukraine staff members, accusing them of high treason. Vyshinsky was detained outside his home early on Tuesday. Soon after that, searches were conducted in the news agency’s Kiev office and press center, as well as in some journalists’ apartments. At the same time, the SBU issued a statement claiming that "a network of media structures, which Moscow used for carrying out a hybrid war" against Kiev had been exposed.


May 16, 2018 - Russia to do its utmost to secure release of journalist detained in Ukraine
Russia to do its utmost to secure release of journalist detained in Ukraine

Moscow will do everything it can to make sure that the journalist apprehended in Ukraine is released and other media workers are not treated that way, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.

"We voice strong protest over Ukrainian law enforcers’ raid against the Rossiya Segodnya news agency," she noted. "Russia will do everything it can to make sure that the Russian citizen is released and there are no more such actions against other media outlets."


May 16, 2018 - Kiev’s threats over new Crimea bridge diversionary ploy to duck domestic plight — diplomat
Kiev’s threats over new Crimea bridge diversionary ploy to duck domestic plight — diplomat

The Russian president opened the newly-built Crimean Bridge on May 15.

Ukraine’s statements over the opening of the Crimean Bridge are baseless and aimed at distracting Ukrainians’ attention from domestic problems, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.

The motorway section of the Russian bridge was officially unveiled on Tuesday, six months ahead of schedule, and opened for car traffic at 5.30 on Wednesday.

"Regretfully, this [Ukraine’s threats against Russia] have become a normal occurrence for them. I think that this is an attempt to make loud statements all the time to distract their own people from the problems that currently exist on the territory of Ukraine," she said.

Zakharova said that previous reports by Western and Ukrainian media, alleging that the Crimean bridge construction "is a fake and maybe even a result of some kind of computer graphics," demonstrate that "all this flow of hoaxes just cannot be trusted."


"If those Ukrainian politicians had not claimed from the very start that there will be no bridge and labeled it all as Russian propaganda, then we could have probably taken today’s statements seriously," the spokeswoman continued. "I think that one should simply pay less attention to what Ukrainian politicians say."

The bridge connecting Crimea to the Russian mainland by road and rail, is the longest in the country and one of the largest in Europe. Its span stretches across 19 kilometers. The construction and installation of the bridge kicked off in February 2016. The project’s total value is almost 228 billion rubles.

The Crimean Bridge originates on the Taman Peninsula, runs through a five-kilometer dike area and the Island of Tuzla, then crosses the Kerch Strait and reaches the Crimean coast.

On March 16, 2014, Crimean authorities held a referendum on reuniting with Russia against the background of a protracted political crisis and a coup in Ukraine. Over 80% of voters participated in the plebiscite, most of them supporting the idea (96.7% in Crimea and 95.6% in the city of Sevastopol).


May 15, 2018 - Putin lauds Kerch Strait Bridge’s ‘historic’ opening as ‘a miracle come true’http://tass.com/politics/1004392Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that the Kerch Strait Bridge opening was ‘an historic event.

’"A miracle has come true," the Russian leader said at a meeting and a concert on the occasion of opening the automobile part of the Crimean Bridge.

"I sincerely congratulate you with this remarkable, ceremonious and truly historic day in the full meaning of this word! It is historic because in different historical epochs, even during the tsarist rule, people dreamt of building this bridge, then returned to this in the 1930s of the past century, in the 1940s and the 1950s and, finally, thanks to your labor and your talent this project, this miracle has come true," Putin said, addressing construction workers.

"Thank you very much for that," Putin said.

The Russian president separately thanked the project’s organizers who "without any exaggeration put general state interests above their personal and group interests."The Russian president also expressed gratitude to army engineers, ecologists, archeologists, scientists, designers, engineers and workers involved in the project’s implementation."Over 10,000 people are working on this construction site while at the peak of the work it engaged more than 15,000 people, almost 220 enterprises in related industries and, in actual fact, the entire country worked for that facility," Putin said.Putin called the construction of the Crimean Bridge "a remarkable result that makes Crimea and legendary Sevastopol even stronger and all of us closer to each other.""This will help develop the economy of Crimea and Sevastopol with a new pace and with a new quality and raise living standards," the Russian leader stressed.

The Russian president got behind the wheel in the cabin of a Kamaz truck to lead a convoy of 35 vehicles along the 19-kilometer bridge.

CRIMEAN BRIDGE, May 15. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has inaugurated the automobile part of the newly-built Kerch Strait Bridge. He got behind the wheel in the cabin of a Kamaz truck to lead a convoy of 35 vehicles (dump trucks, cranes, cement trucks, tanker trucks and other equipment) along the 19-kilometer bridge towards the Crimean seaside city of Kerch. He invited the CEO of the bridge building company, SGM-Most, Alexander Ostrovsky, into the cabin to join him for the brief journey.'

Cameras set up along the route recorded the brightest moments of the historic ride.

At the other end of the 19-kilometer bridge, in Crimea, Putin attended a brief open air show.

The Kerch Strait Bridge will open to cars and public transport on Wednesday, May 15, 2018.
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Russia's President Vladimir Putin behind the wheel of the lead vehicle, a Kamaz truck, during a passage of construction machines on the Kerch Strait (Crimean) Bridge
© Sergei Bobylev/TASS


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© Sergei Bobylev/TASS
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© Sergei Bobylev/TASS
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Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks to a group of workers after driving a truck to officially open the Kerch Strait (Crimean) Bridge
[URL='http://tass.com/economy/1004396'][/URL]
 
May 16, 2018 - Traffic in 12 hours of Crimean Bridge operation beats record of Kerch Strait Ferry Line
Traffic in 12 hours of Crimean Bridge operation beats record of Kerch Strait Ferry Line

Over 14,000 motor vehicles crossed the bridge in total to both sides by 7 pm.

Almost 14,000 vehicles crossed the Crimean Bridge opened on Wednesday during 12 hours of its operation and surpassed the earlier record of the Kerch Strait ferry line, the Crimean Bridge information center said on Wednesday.

"The traffic between two shores hit the absolute daily record of the Kerch Strait ferry line during first 12 hours from the Crimean bridge opening. Over 7,000 vehicles traveled to Crimea and more than 6,700 went to Kuban over the Crimean Bridge by 7 pm. Hence, over 14,000 motor vehicles crossed the bridge in total to both sides.

The Kerch Strait ferry line showed the absolute record in its operation in August 2017, when it carried almost 13,000 vehicles in both destinations, the information center says.

"Preliminary forecasts of specialists show that traffic intensity may reach 12-13 thousand automobiles per day after commissioning the Crimean Bridge motorway. Such peak loads were predicted for first months after the Crimean Bridge opening because of the interest in the unique facility in the Kerch Strait and customarily during the vacation season. Motor traffic between the Kuban region and Crimea is anticipated to surge by 35-40% in total during the first year of the Crimean Bridge operation," the information center reports.

The motorway section of Russia’s longest bridge, the Crimean Bridge, opened for vehicles on Wednesday morning. So far, only vehicles with the weight not exceeding 3.5 tonnes are allowed to cross the bridge. Passenger buses, taking tourists to Crimea during the high season, will be exempt from those restrictions, but truck drivers will have to use the ferry line until October.

The bridge connecting Crimea to the Russian mainland by road and rail, is the longest in the country and one of the largest in Europe. Its span stretches across 19 kilometers.

The construction and installation of the bridge kicked off in February 2016. The project’s total value is almost 228 billion rubles. The Crimean Bridge originates on the Taman Peninsula, runs through a five-kilometer dike area and the Island of Tuzla, then crosses the Kerch Strait and reaches the Crimean coast.
 
18.05.2018 - Arrests, Threats and Murder: Risks of Being Journalist in Ukraine
Arrests, Threats and Murder: Risks of Being Journalist in Ukraine

On May 15, the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) broke into the office of RIA Novosti Ukraine and detained its head, Kirill Vyshinsky, accusing him of treason. The SBU believes that he has been supporting the self-proclaimed People's Republics in Ukraine's southeast. Sputnik recalls other recent cases of journalists being prosecuted in Ukraine.

Is Criticizing the Government Equal to Treason?

Vasily Muravitsky has been working as a journalist since he was 16 and for the last 3 years has been working for the Russian news agency Rossiya Segodnya. He mainly focuses on political events in Ukraine, has harshly criticized the policy conducted by the government and has called for a peaceful resolution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

On August 1, 2017, the SBU arrested him in front of his wife while she was holding their newborn child (she later suffered personal health problems as a result of the shock). He was accused of treason, in spite of never having had access to classified information or secret objects; of attempting to disrupt the territorial integrity of Ukraine, perhaps by writing articles; of fueling ethnic hatred, despite his advocacy for a peaceful solution to the Ukrainian crisis; and of terrorism.

The Ukrainian prosecutor's office has been working on the case since his arrest, but has so far presented no evidence of Muravitsky conducting any of the alleged malicious activities. Several international organizations, such as Amnesty International and the International Society on Human Rights, have on multiple occasions during the case remarked that the Ukrainian government may be using it to pressure journalists in the country and that Ukraine may have violated certain provisions of the Human Rights Convention.

Highlighting Events in the War Makes You a Terrorist Supporter

Dmitry Vasilets and Yevgeny Timonin were arrested in 2015 accused of "supporting terrorist organization(s)" and in 2017 sentenced to 9 years of imprisonment. The SBU arrested the two for organizing the YouTube channel Novorossia TV, devoted to objectively highlighting events taking place in eastern Ukraine without and urging the sides to reach a peaceful solution.

In February, 2018, as a result of a successful appeal, they were released with the guilty verdict currently being reviewed. Both are currently under house arrest.

'We Are Under Unprecedented Pressure From the Government'

Some Ukrainian journalists, however, have managed to escape the grasp of the SBU, but their lives are far from perfect, as they have essentially been forced out from their homeland. One of them is Igor Guzhva, chief editor of the Strana.ua media outlet, who has also harshly criticized the Ukrainian government which came to power after the events on Maidan.

"We are under unprecedented pressure from the government. There are at least five cases against me and some [journalists] are facing even more," he said in an open latter.

Guzhva fled from Ukraine in February, 2018 and sought political asylum in Austria, after he began to receive death threats.

Peace is Not an Option

A journalist in Ukraine can get in trouble even if they are not criticizing the government, but just want their country to reach peace. Alexander Medinsky, a journalist and a former member of the armed forces, who participated in operations against the self-proclaimed People's Republics, has advocated for stopping the killing in the eastern Ukraine. For having done this, he was reportedly abducted and tortured, presumably by one of the multiple Ukrainian nationalist organizations. After surviving the ordeal, he applied for political asylum in the EU.

Another peace advocate, Ruslan Kotsaba, used to review the military actions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the East and in 2015 called on all Ukrainians to evade the mobilization, calling the military operation a "deliberate massacre of fellow countrymen and women, who live in the East." For this, the SBU accused him of treason and obstruction of military activities. His trial is still ongoing.

3 Years Since Journalist Slain, Killer Still Not Found. How Come, Ukraine?

Oles Buzina was a well-known writer and journalist who opposed fueling the ethnic divide in the country, as well as political censorship, until he was murdered in Kiev in 2015. He succeeded in getting through multiple suits filed against him for his views and books, and even an attack on the doorstep of the court, but was ultimately shot dead near his home.

The incident, which happened 3 years ago, is still being investigated, with the latest suspect having been released a year ago. So far, the Ukrainian investigators haven't found any new evidence or suspects. His representative, Renat Kuzmin, has expressed skepticism about the eagerness of the general prosecutor's office to find the killer.


21.05.2018 - RIA Ukraine Portal Head Vyshinsky's Defense Appealed His Detention - Lawyer
RIA Ukraine Portal Head Vyshinsky's Defense Appealed His Detention - Lawyer

RIA Novosti Ukraine portal head Kirill Vyshinsky's defense has appealed his arrest, lawyer Andriy Domansky told Sputnik.

"We have sent an appeal to the appeals court of the Kherson region by mail. Tomorrow we will also send it by courier to the office in Kherson," lawyer Andriy Domansky said.

On May 17, the Kherson City Court decided to place Vyshinsky in pre-trial detention for 60 days.

On May 15, the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) burst into the office of RIA Novosti Ukraine in Kiev. Vyshinsky was arrested on charges of treason. The SBU accuses Vyshinsky of helping the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) in Ukraine's southeast.

Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency and RT broadcaster said that every person, who speaks against the policy taken by the current Ukrainian government, was in danger.

Russia's International News Agency Rossiya Segodnya has launched a Twitter hashtag #TruthNotTreason in support of RIA Novosti Ukraine news portal head Kirill Vyshinsky, arrested in Ukraine.


21.05.2018 - RIA Novosti Ukraine Journalist Arrest Part of Anti-Russia Campaign - Zakharova
RIA Novosti Ukraine Journalist Arrest Part of Anti-Russia Campaign - Zakharova

Ukraine’s actions toward Russian journalists, including the arrest of RIA Novosti Ukraine portal head Kirill Vyshinsky, are all part of an anti-Russia propaganda campaign launched by Western states, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

On Tuesday, the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) broke into the office of RIA Novosti Ukraine in Kiev. Vyshinsky was detained on charges of treason. The SBU accuses Vyshinsky of supporting the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) in Ukraine's southeast. On Thursday, a court in the Ukrainian city of Kherson ruled that Vyshinsky is put under arrest, he was then subsequently transferred to a detention center.

"The situation with the journalists of the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency in Ukraine, the raids and arrests, the situation in the United Nations [when Ukraine falsely branded its event on the so-called fake news as organized under the UN auspices] – those are small parts of the whole information landspace. It also includes the story with doping and the Skripals affair. It is all part of the massive information-propaganda work. In fact, the anti-work that the West does in relation to Russia," Zakharova told the Rossiya 1 broadcaster on Sunday.

The spokeswoman noted that it was incorrect to compare the case of Vyshinsky, who is a legitimate journalist, and the case of Ukrainian national Roman Sushchenko detained in Russia on suspicion of collecting secret information on the activities of the Russian Armed Forces.

The difference is that the Rossiya Segodnya correspondent has in fact been working in Ukraine as a declared correspondent and it is his journalistic work that has become a reason for raids and subsequently, arrest. In regards to Sushchenko … he was not a journalist when he entered Russia. His documents prove that, he did not submit an application for a journalistic visa … That is why it would be wrong to compare Sushchenko with the Rossiya Segodnya correspondents in Ukraine not only in terms of moral standards, but also in legal terms," Zakharova told the broadcaster.

The claims that Russia paid Vyshinsky for "state treason" are groundless as the RIA Novosti Ukraine portal was an information partner of the Rossiya Segodnya agency, which, in turn, was paying for the services provided on a partner basis, according to the spokeswoman.

Vyshinsky was not the only journalist targeted by Ukrainian law enforcement officials during the recent SBU raid. The head of the Ukraine-based office of the RIA Novosti news agency, Andrey Borodin, said authorities had searched his place for several hours, adding that he had not been detained. Ukrainian authorities also searched the Kiev apartment of Ludmila Lysenko, a Ukraine-based RIA Novosti correspondent. Lysenko and Borodin have also been summoned for questioning by the SBU.

Rossiya Segodnya Director General Dmitry Kiselev has demanded that the Ukrainian authorities free Vyshinsky immediately and end the persecution of the media. Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency and RT has stated that she thought what was happening in Ukraine was Kiev’s "revenge" for the recently opened Crimean Bridge.
 
МОЛНИЯ: В ДНР взорван рейсовый автобус
22.05.2018 - 16:43

Translation
LIGHTNING: the DNR blown up the bus
22.05.2018 - 16:43
Today at 15: 50 in debaltseve there was an explosion of the regular bus No. 1 moving on Kurchatov street.
This "Russian Spring" was reported in the office of HP in the JCCC.
"According to preliminary information, the explosive was inside the bus," — noted in SCCC.
At the moment it is known about one dead, two wounded. More detailed information is specified.
МОЛНИЯ: В ДНР взорван рейсовый автобус

Хуже, чем геноцид: чем обернется галопирующая депопуляция для Украины
Андрей Манчук
21.05.2018, 16:49

Translation
Worse than genocide: what will the galloping depopulation turn out to be for Ukraine
Andrey Manchuk 21.05.2018, 16: 49
Depopulation of Ukrainians is at a record pace
Experts of the Department of economic and social Affairs of the United Nations published a new forecast on the dynamics of population decline in Ukraine. It is expected to decline at a record pace — and by 2050 the country's population will be just over 36 million at best. If we consider that in the last year of the Soviet Union in the former USSR lived almost 52 million people, we can predict-Ukraine will lose over half a century of market independence of about 16 million people, which is equivalent to the population of a large European country. And this monstrous depopulation exceeds in its scale many tragic events of the twentieth century, which are officially recognized in the world community as genocide. At the same time, it should be clarified that the UN expects the population of Ukraine, including residents of the uncontrolled territories of Donbass and Crimea.
"The scale of depopulation is so nightmarish that no one wants to conduct a census. In 1989, there were 52 million of us, plus 3 million immigrants. That's 55. Now, according to official data, we are 44 million. At the same time, 7 million are registered abroad. 44 — 7 = 37. And take away the Crimea 2.5 million, IDLO is 3.5. Get 31. From this figure, we take away the approximate figure of those who left for Russia and unaccounted for abroad. It's turning out to be about 29. In Poland-42. In fact, Ukraine is an empty territory in which the main population lives in cities of millions and along the Western border. Ukrainians may well repeat the fate of the rapidly disappearing of the Baltic States. Nations, as well as species, are dying out, " writes the former head of the press service of the security Service of Ukraine, nationalist journalist Stanislav Rechinsky.
....
The data of the UN demographic analysis can not be attributed to the Russian propaganda — especially since they are fully confirmed by the studies of Ukrainian sociologists. "During January-March 2018, the population decreased by 64.4 thousand people," the state statistics Committee said in a statement published yesterday. These data suggest that the rate of depopulation broke last year's record when the country lost 117.5 thousand Ukrainians in six months. At the same time, the excess of the number of deaths over the number of newborns in Ukraine remains one of the highest in the world, along with the poorest and most dangerous countries: only 55 are born per 100 Ukrainians who died. The main reason for the low birth rate is also poverty-people are less likely to have children, because they are not sure that they will be able to put them on their feet, providing education, access to health services. Not to mention the high cost, utility charges, constant instability and the growing level of crime, which also do not particularly motivate Ukrainians to take responsible steps to continue their kind.
However, the main reason for the population decline is still labor migration. The number of Ukrainian residents cannot be counted — according to sociologists, it can reach 7-9 million people. During 2017, the State statistics service of Ukraine counted about 10 million one-time visits of Ukrainians to Poland, 4.3 million trips to Russia and 3.1 million trips to Hungary. It is known that only Poland officially recorded at itself about 2 million working Ukrainian citizens. At the same time, the outflow of able — bodied population is constantly increasing: "according to the UN, Ukrainians are 80 people less every hour," said Ruslan Bortnik, Director of the Ukrainian Institute of policy analysis and management. According to the Institute of demography and social research, 65% of Ukrainians in the most able — bodied age from 14 to 35 years openly admit their desire to leave the country and go to live abroad-and experts of the Institute joyfully predict that in the next 45 years the population of Ukraine will decrease as a result of migration by at least 10 million people. It should be noted that this is the most optimistic forecasts — as the results of another poll conducted by the public organization "Movement for justice", indicate that 81% of young Ukrainians aged 18 to 28 years want to leave Ukraine.
Until recently, official Kiev welcomed the growing volume of labor migration. On Bank and Grushevsky openly rejoiced currency transfers from abroad, and believed that the outflow of unemployed youth will help reduce social tension within the country — according to the principle "after us though the flood." In fact, the state acted as a promoter of migration processes, calling them one of the main achievements of the visa-free regime with the EU. And on one of the Central Ukrainian TV channels there is still a TV show that teaches us to cheat European laws, and tells how easy it is to get a European work on collecting Mediterranean shells or oranges.
However, in recent years, Ukrainian politicians have begun to sound the alarm about the growing losses of the able-bodied population. So, the first Deputy Minister of social policy of Ukraine Olga Kristovska directly acknowledged that the number of Ukrainian labour migrants will continue to grow — which, in her words, "threatens the economic security of the state". The Minister of foreign Affairs of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin announced his intention to reduce the number of Ukrainian labor migrants in Russia, where, in his own words, every twelfth Ukrainian works. "It can't go on like this all the time. Now there are certain ideas, and we process them in such a way that three million Ukrainians are not constantly in Russia, because for me it is a very sad situation," the head of the Ukrainian foreign Ministry said. Finally, the other day, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman spoke about the problem-in his Twitter he wrote that Ukrainian employment centers should motivate Ukrainians to return to their homeland. Although for some reason he did not write about the expense of what is planned to implement this global comeback.
Meanwhile, it is important to understand that the mass depopulation of the population is not just an excuse to pathetically grieve about the extinction of Ukrainians, as many Patriotic publicists do now. This is a serious socio-economic problem that will arise in full growth in a few years, regardless of who will carry out the management of Ukraine in the future. The country will be trite to lack workers - not only for economic development, but even for the basic maintenance of existing production and infrastructure. Not to mention that the new generation of Ukrainians will be poorly educated, and will mainly be engaged in low-skilled labor, aggravating the backlog from neighboring countries. All this will lead to problems with filling the budget, non-payment of pensions and further degradation of society. It is this threat that we need to talk about and think about today — when we are getting smaller and smaller every day.

Хуже, чем геноцид: чем обернется галопирующая депопуляция для Украины

Благодаря деятельности ряда персонажей, мы уже не забудем реальных авторов кошмара, происходящего на Украине.

Translation
Thanks to the activities of a number of characters, we will not forget the real authors of the nightmare that is happening in Ukraine.
 
Представители украинского омбудсмена два раза посещали Вышинского в СИЗО
18:21

Translation
Representatives of the Ukrainian Ombudsman twice visited Vyshinsky in jail
18:21.
Representatives of the Ombudsman of Ukraine twice visited the head of the RIA Novosti Ukraine Kirill Vyshinsky, reported by his lawyer Andrew Domanski, who also met with the detainees.
"The state of health is satisfactory, the conditions of detention are normal. Although, of course, like any other person, he is waiting for the development of his business. It was visited twice by representatives of the office of the Ombudsman of Ukraine, so there is also control", - quotes the lawyer RIA Novosti.
He noted that Vyshinsky is grateful to the international community for their support.
Domanski also said that he had sent an application to appeal the appeal court of Kherson region.
"Until the end of the week we are waiting for the appointment of the appeal," the lawyer added.
Earlier, the official representative of the Russian foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova in an interview with the NSN appreciated the statement of Ukraine on the possibility of exchange of Director Oleg Sentsov to Kirill Vyshinsky.
Представители украинского омбудсмена два раза посещали Вышинского в СИЗО
 
Украина впервые провела пуски американских комплексов Javelin
19:14

Translation
Ukraine for the first time conducted launches of American Javelin systems
19:14.
In Ukraine, the first launches of American missile systems Javelin. This was reported by the Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko.
"Today, for the first time in Ukraine, Javelin missile systems were launched. Thanks to them, the combat capabilities of the APU have increased significantly," the President said on Twitter.
April 30, Poroshenko said that the Javelin arrived in Ukraine.
Later, the Ukrainian Deputy Minister for temporarily occupied territories and internally displaced persons Georgy Tuck said that the United States prohibits the use of missile systems on the contact line in the Donbass.
Украина впервые провела пуски американских комплексов Javelin
 
Взрыв автобуса в Дебальцево — установлена причина
22.05.2018 - 22:57

Translation
The explosion of the bus in debaltseve - installed reason
22.05.2018 - 22:57
As previously reported "Russian Spring", today at 15: 50 in debaltseve there was an explosion of the Shuttle bus No. 1, moving on Kurchatov street.
In the representation of NR in JCCC "Russian Spring" told the details of the incident.
As a result of explosion one was lost and three children, pupils of the 8th class of school No. 5 of Debaltsevo are wounded.
"Children went home from school, in a backpack of one of them there was a grenade. Following the detonation, an explosion occurred," — said the representative office of the DNI.
Взрыв автобуса в Дебальцево — установлена причина (+ФОТО)

In this case, I'd like to say "fortunately", but what is there happiness? One teenager died, two wounded-another grief of this civil war. The relative "happiness" of this situation is that the event is not related to terrorism. Banal teenage desire for weapons and the inability to handle it.
 
В бою под Горловкой уничтожена американская станция ANTPQ-48
22.05.2018 - 15:20

Translation
In the battle of Horlivka destroyed the American station AN TPQ-48
22.05.2018 - 15: 20
In the course of yesterday's positional fighting under the Horlivka the American station counter-battery fight was destroyed.
This was during today's briefing said Deputy commander of the operational command of the DPR Eduard Basurin.
"Anti-tank guns destroyed one enemy tank, one BMP, as well as the American station of counter-battery fight ANTPQ — 48, with which the AFU adjusted artillery fire on civilians," the Deputy commander said, stressing that the fire to defeat the enemy's military equipment to protect civilians was opened by order of the Supreme commander of the DPR Alexander Zakharchenko.
В бою под Горловкой уничтожена американская станция ANTPQ-48
 
May 13, 2018 - Brutal murder spree of Ukrainian millionaires continues
Brutal murder spree of Ukrainian millionaires continues - Fort Russ

Kiev media have confirmed reports about the death of Ukrainian citizens in Montenegro, who lived and had business in the Balkan country. Vasyl Kirilich, the head of the department of the consular service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, confirmed the Ukrainian citizenship of the deceased.

The body of Ukrainian citizen Anastasia Lashmanova was found in the evening of May 11 in her apartment in the Montenegrin city of Kotor, with severe stab wounds. The assessment showed that she died almost immediately after receiving them. The assets in Montenegro, which belonged to the deceased, are estimated at about 105 million euros (more than three billion hryvnia).

The deceased was the managing director of the chain of companies that owned the hotel “Mimosa” in the center of Tivat in Montenegro, the “Perla” complex, and the Fatalna beauty salon in the city of Budva, among other enterprises. The chain of companies was also involved in development of new hotels in the Balkans.

This is not the first such case of the murder of major Ukrainian entrepreneurs in recent times. At the end of April in Kherson, the businessman Igor Pashchenko was shot while his body guard was seriously wounded. In March, the director of the company “AQ Plastic” Sergei Zakharchuk also died in Kiev as a result of an attack by an unknown party.

The media has not put forward any theories of who may be behind the attacks, and whether they are connected. It is likely these individuals obtain many enemies together with their money in a country of one of the lowest GDP rates in Europe, but it is not clear whether these are cases of racketeering, politically motivated attacks, or something else.

It is also noteworthy that while the murders of wealthy individuals was previously mostly contained to the territory of Ukraine, the case of the death of the female millionaire Lashmanova shows that the potential crime syndicate also operates abroad.


May 18, 2018 - Russian OSCE rep demands Kiev release imprisoned Russian journalists
Russian OSCE rep demands Kiev release imprisoned Russian journalists - Fort Russ

The Russian ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Aleksandr Lukashevich, has demanded the immediate release of the head of RIA Novosti Ukraine news agency, Kirill Vyshinsky, who was detained by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) on May 15.

On May 15, a journalist from the Ukrainian news portal RIA Novosti, Kirill Vyshinsky, was arrested, condemned by the allegations of the Ukrainian Security Service, for fulfilling his work commitments, for telling the truth about what is happening in the country … we demand the immediate release of Kirill Vyshinsky,” Russia’s OSCE diplomat said.

Lukashevich recalled that the Ukrainians’ actions have been criticized by the representative for freedom of press of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Harlem Desir, who expressed “serious concern about this morning’s raid on Russian media offices in Kyiv, the arrest of journalists, and the search of journalists’ homes.”

“We demand the immediate release of Kirill Vyshinsky,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, commenting on the ruling of a court in the southern Ukraine city of Kherson to detain the journalist for two months.

“We call on our foreign partners to pay attention in the final run to the outrageous legal situation and unscrupulous struggle against any dissent in Ukraine,” the ministry said. “We hope that international rights groups and media organizations will not leave Vyshinsky’s plight unattended.”

The Security Service of Ukraine invaded the headquarters of the RIA Novosti in Ukraine in Kiev on May 15 and conducted a search that lasted about eight hours.

The SBU arrested the head of the service, Kirill Vyshinsky, accusing him of high treason and support for the self-proclaimed People’s Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk.

The Russian chancellery has called the actions of Kiev against RIA Novosti Ukraine disgraceful. Russia’s Foreign Minister has also called Kiev’s actions against the journalists of RIA Novosti Ukraine unacceptable. The Russian embassy sent the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry a note of protest demanding to cease violations against representatives of media. Russian President Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, has also stated that the Kremlin expects a harsh reaction from international organizations to the actions of the SBU.


May 19, 2018 - MAJOR: NATO Troops Killed in Donbass, War Provocations Suspected
MAJOR: NATO Troops Killed in Donbass, War Provocations Suspected - Fort Russ

Over the past two days, a number of important developments have taken place in Donbass and Ukraine.

Firstly, on May 17th, a group of NATO troops from the US and Canada stepped into a minefield near Avdeevka, a move which ended in explosions and, according to DPR reports, deaths and woundings. This news was published by Russia’s leading news agencies, which is in itself an important development, since earlier such resources had been very cautious in speaking of NATO involvement in the war in Donbass. Most significantly of all, Rossiiskaiia Gazeta, the official organ of the Government of the Russian Federation, shared the news.

To briefly recap, Avdeekva is a small satellite town of Donetsk. Since the very beginning of the conflict, the town has been occupied by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Avdeekva is known as an industrial giant, whose coke-chemical plant has worked throughout all four years of the war and been a major source of contention between oligarchs. The overwhelming majority of Avdeevka’s residents support the DPR, and one of Donetsk’s lines of defense runs right in front of the city. It is in this very city that Ukrainian troops and OSCE observers have been spotted collaborating during military operations.

Allow me to draw the reader’s attention to the fact that the DPR’s military intelligence reported at least two days before the minefield incident that the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ command is preparing a provocation involving NATO troops. It seems that they were deliberately sent into the minefield to blame Western troop deaths on DPR military sabotage. Such information was shared with journalists on May 15th by the speaker of the Donetsk People’s Republic’s army, Eduard Basurin.

But this story has another side. NATO troops, who are officially not supposed to be in Donbass, are undeniably, directly involved in the armed conflict. The US and EU’s constant accusations that Moscow is militarily and technologically aiding the Donbass Republics can now be rebutted by Russia’s foreign ministry. Moscow could now present evidence that the US and NATO are directly participating in the war.

The next piece of news is that also near Avdeevka, on May 17th, the commander of the DPR’s Pyatnashka international brigade, Oleg Mamiev, was killed. The backbone of Pyatnashka was made up of 15 fighters from Abkhazia, and the name “Interbrigada” was meant as a direct allusion to the international volunteer brigades from the Spanish Civil War. The unit was subsequently joined by many volunteers from North and South Ossetia, like Mamiev himself, who proved to be one of the most famous and authoritative Donbass commanders, a person who is spoken of with only the utmost respect. Mamiev was killed in the trenches alongside his soldiers.

In addition to these incidents, a number of events have taken place which would be difficult to fit into one article, but their significance can be expressed with one short word: war.

Ukraine is continuing to accumulate manpower and military vehicles and bring ammunitions up to the frontline. Kiev has essentially discarded its pretending to comply with the Minsk Agreements, and Avdeevka, Gorlovka, and the Svetlodarsk arch (near Debaltsevo) have been particularly “hot” as of late. Overall, things have been “hotter” in the DPR than in the LPR. Hence the differing assessments of the prospects of war from the two republics which I have shared in a number of articles for Fort Russ News.

Some of my friends in Donbass believe that the Americans and, as follows, the Ukrainians expect to play a long-term game. In other words, they want to wage a war of attrition. There is merit to this theory, but I nonetheless do not believe that the Ukrainians are capable of maintaining the status-quo for any significant period of time. Their resources and especially their patience are severely limited. Therefore, there are evermore grounds to believe that the war in Donbass will “wake up” again sooner or later.

Translated by Jafe Arnold
 
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