Civil War in Ukraine: Western Empire vs Russia

[angelburst29]

A minibus hit a landmine while crossing the border between Ukraine and the breakaway Donetsk region on Saturday, killing two civilians and injuring a third, local authorities and witnesses said.

February 23, 2019 - Two killed after minibus hits landmine near East Ukraine's Donetsk
Two killed after minibus hits landmine near east Ukraine's Donetsk

Investigators, representing the breakaway Donetsk People's Republic, work near the wreckage of a minibus destroyed by a landmine after swerving off road near the village of Yelenovka outside Donetsk, Ukraine February 23, 2019. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

YELENOVKA, Ukraine - A minibus hit a landmine while crossing the border between Ukraine and the breakaway Donetsk region on Saturday, killing two civilians and injuring a third, local authorities and witnesses said.

The bus, carrying three people, hit the mine after swerving off road in the buffer zone between two border posts, a statement on the breakaway Donetsk People’s Republic official website read.

The driver was killed along with one passenger. The other passenger, a 61-year-old man, was being treated in hospital. He told a Reuters journalist that the passenger who was killed was his mother.

The incident occurred near the village of Yelenovka, outside Donetsk. The passengers were returning to the rebel-controlled region after collecting their pensions, the statement said.

In the five years of its leadership, the Kiev government has been unable to properly investigate and find those responsible for crimes committed during the 2013-2014 riots in Ukraine that brought the incumbent Ukrainian leadership into power, Amnesty International has said.

Feb. 20, 2019 - Five years after Ukrainian riots, justice still not attained for victims — activists
Five years after Ukrainian riots, justice still not attained for victims — activists

Kiev residents lay flowers at the Heavenly Hundred Memorial honoring those killed in the February 2014 clashes in Kiev's Independence Square © Sergei Reznik/TASS

"Promises were made, strong words were said by the post-Yanukovych authorities, but time and facts speak volumes. Until all those responsible, including those in command, are brought to account there can be no sense of justice,"
the Ukrainian office of Amnesty International quoted Colm O Cuanachain, Senior Director at the Office of the Secretary General of Amnesty International, as saying during his visit to Kiev on Tuesday.

The official also stressed that the lack of an efficient investigation into the EuroMaidan events for such a long period of time was "a shame and an indictment of Ukraine’s criminal justice system."

Amnesty International also urged the Ukrainian government "to fully commit to the effective investigation of human rights violations committed during EuroMaidan, including beatings and killings."

"They must shield investigators from political pressure and equip them with the resources and authority they need to carry out their tasks, including allowing the re-enactment of the shootings that took place on 18-20 February 2014," the official said.

A group of unidentified people armed with sniper rifles opened fire at protesters and police as riots against then President Viktor Yanukovich and his government peaked in the heart of the Ukrainian capital on February 20, 2014. According to official reports, the attack left 53 people dead.

According to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, over a hundred of people were killed and hundreds were injured in clashes in Kiev on February 18-20. In total, more than a thousand of police officers were injured between November 21, 2013 and February 20, 2014, according to Ukraine’s Interior Ministry, but Ukrainian prosecutors have not been conducting an inquiry into those facts.

The Kiev government accused former officers of Ukraine’s riot police unit, Berkut, of crimes against EuroMaidan protestors. In May 2015, district court in Kiev started hearing a case against former Berkut officers, who were accused of following a manifestly illegal order to use weapons against protestors and of committing an act of terror. The defendants pleaded not guilty to all charges.

 

[angelburst29]

Nothing like blindly setting yourself up for a fall?

December 16, 2018 - Ukraine President hopes anti-corruption Court formed by February
Ukraine president hopes anti-corruption court formed by February | Reuters

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko proposed fresh legislation on Thursday aimed at fighting corruption, after the constitutional court threw out a previous anti-graft law, raising concerns that the country was backtracking on the issue.

February 28, 2019 - Ukraine President tries to salvage corruption law as tough election looms
Ukraine president tries to salvage corruption law as tough election...

FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko addresses lawmakers during a session of parliament in Kiev, Ukraine February 7, 2019. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo

Poroshenko’s record on tackling corruption is a central topic of debate ahead of his bid for a second term in a presidential election on March 31. He trails in the polls and critics accuse him of not doing enough to root out entrenched corruption.

Opposition lawmakers called him to be impeached earlier this week over allegations involving a close ally.

Ukraine passed a law criminalizing illicit enrichment in 2015 as a condition of it receiving bailout loans from the International Monetary Fund that kept the country afloat during a steep recession. It was also a precondition for the European Union to grant visa-free travel to Ukrainians.

But the constitutional court overturned the law this week on the grounds that it contravened the presumption of innocence, sparking concern in the EU and among anti-corruption campaigners and the anti-corruption bureau.

“This morning I have signed, and now I am commissioning to register, a presidential bill which takes into account the remarks but preserves the key position - the inevitability of criminal punishment for illicit enrichment,” said Poroshenko, who came to power after the Maidan protests in 2014.

Ukrainian pensioner Nadiya Ignatiy says she has had the plum and cherry trees in her garden cut down for firewood since the government raised gas prices late last year.

February 28, 2019 - No gas? No votes. Subsidy cuts imperil Ukraine leader's reelection bid
No gas? No votes. Subsidy cuts imperil Ukraine leader's reelection bid

Pensioner Nadiya Ignatiy, 60, carries firewood near her house in the village of Skryhalivka, Kiev region, Ukraine February 11, 2019. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

In next month’s election, she will vote against President Petro Poroshenko in favour of an opponent who has pledged to restore the gas subsidies that were scaled back to secure an international bailout.

“We cleared the garden,” she said in her house in the village of Skryhalivka, 80 km (50 miles) southwest of Kiev. “Not just me, other people are doing it now... previously you could heat with gas but now it’s a problem.”

Slideshow (8 Images)
No gas? No votes. Subsidy cuts imperil Ukraine leader's reelection bid


Ukraine presidential election (list of Candidates + graph )
Ukraine election

Published on Feb. 28, 2019 - About 35 million Ukrainians are eligible to vote on March 31, although several million of them live in Russian-annexed Crimea and separatist-controlled eastern areas and may be unable or unwilling to take part. If none of the 44 candidates win 50 percent of the vote, as polls predict, the top two would compete in a run-off on April 21.

 

[angelburst29]

With Ukraine's presidential election just weeks away, former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko on Friday turned up the heat on a top rival accusing incumbent Petro Poroshenko's campaign of fraud.

01/03/2019 - Ukraine presidential race heats up with fraud accusations
Ukraine presidential race heats up with fraud accusations

Tymoshenko told journalists at the interior ministry building in Kiev that she was providing "evidence, testimony, that today preparation for large-scale bribery and falsification is really taking place,"

"Today there is systemic bribery all over Ukraine," she said, accusing a pro-Poroshenko lawmaker of managing a structure that plans to "distribute money to people" in exchange for votes.

Presidential polls are scheduled in Ukraine for March 31.

Police confirmed to AFP that they have opened an investigation but said it is just one among "dozens" of probes into "election law violations" that could have been committed by various presidential candidates.

An opinion poll on the presidential race published by the Kiev International Institute of Sociology this week put Poroshenko in second place with 18 percent, while Tymoshenko came third with more than 13 percent.

The current frontrunner is comedian and actor Volodymyr Zelensky, with more than 26 percent respondents saying they would vote for the 41-year-old.

Ukrainian presidential candidate, former prime minister and leader of the Batkivshchyna (‘Fatherland‘) party, Yulia Tymoshenko, expressed confidence that the incumbent head of state, Petro Poroshenko, will not be able avoid responsibility after the upcoming March 31 elections.

01/03/2019 - Tymoshenko confronts Ukraine President with impeachment
Tymoshenko confronts Ukraine President with impeachment

I would like to appeal to Poroshenko and his criminal circle,” Tymoshenko said at a briefing on March, 1. “Nothing will help you – no bribes and no falsifications. You will assume responsibility for the crimes you have committed against Ukraine. And no one will let you leave the country and hide in other countries. You will be assume for every penny that was stolen from the people of Ukraine. “

Tymoshenko accuses incumbent President of abuse of administrative resources during the election campaign, bribing voters, and illegal use of the media during campaigning.

In addition, this week Ukrainian journalists unveiled the results of an investigation into frauds in defense procurement that lead to the closest circle of President Petro Poroshenko, in particular, to his longtime business partner, First Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleg Gladkovsky and the state defence concern “Ukroboronprom“.

On the basis of a journalistic investigation, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine has already opened a criminal case on embezzlement of state funds on exceptionally large scale. As follow Tymoshenko announced the beginning of the impeachment procedure against the current head of state.

 

[angelburst29]

Ukraine's Tymoshenko: 'gas princess', prisoner, and next president?

Yulia Tymoshenko has been Ukraine's prime minister twice, was the global face of a revolution, imprisoned by two different presidents, and the target of an operation to discredit her by President Donald Trump's former campaign manager.

Comedian Zelenskiy dashes ahead in Ukrainian presidential race

Comic actor Volodymyr Zelenskiy has pulled further ahead as the frontrunner in Ukraine's presidential election race, according to an opinion poll published on Monday.

 

[Voyageur]

An opinion poll on the presidential race published by the Kiev International Institute of Sociology this week put Poroshenko in second place with 18 percent, while Tymoshenko came third with more than 13 percent.

The current frontrunner is comedian and actor Volodymyr Zelensky, with more than 26 percent respondents saying they would vote for the 41-year-old.

It will be interesting to see how this election transforms from what the polls indicate and what happens behind the scene's as their preferred outcomes may differ from polls.

Back in January and February there were a few meetings as is known - like the one whereby Yulia Tymoshenko (her website) spoke at the 3rd Munich Ukrainian Lunch (Munich Security Conference) that was well attended with the likes of some of the same from the Davos breakfast a month earlier (Switzerland) - both sponsored by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation:

Among the speakers were President of Ukraine, H.E. Petro Poroshenko, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada Chrystia Freeland, 68th United States Secretary of State John Kerry, Leader of the “Civic Position” political party Anatoliy Grytsenko, Head of the parliamentarian faction All-Ukrainian Union “Batkivshchyna” Yulia Tymoshenko, and Founder and CEO of Jigsaw Jared Cohen. Fareed Zakaria, host of Fareed Zakaria GPS on CNN, moderated the conversation.

Davos was sponsored also by International Renaissance Foundation ("IRF is part of the Open Society Foundations network established by investor and philanthropist George Soros"), Western NIS Enterprise Fund (WNISEF) and Horizon Capital - Horizon is discussed here by Jack Rasmus (2014) Shadow Bankers Now Run Ukraine whereby its CEO, Natalie Jaresko had been for a time appointed as Finance Minister in Ukraine

and;

She began as a former official of the US State Department, a chief of the economic section of the US Embassy in the Ukraine in the early 1990s. Jaresko was, as they say, ‘in the right place at the right time’, when President Bill Clinton in 1995 set up the USA government funded, ‘Western NIS Enterprise Fund’ (WNISEF), a USAID $150m fund to promote USA and western investments into the then newly created Ukraine after the Soviet Union breakup. WNISEF specifically targeted the Ukraine and Moldova for western investors. Clinton appointed Jaresko to the WNISEF, along with several other ‘private’ bankers who together would operate WNISEF on behalf of the US State Department. Jaresko became WNISEF’s president and CEO in 2001.

Horizon is tied back to WNISEF above which is part of OSF's captain Soros and crew and I'm sure Jaresko and Browder might have had coffee together, or not, after 1995

Quotes from the speakers can be read here.

On stage, from left, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, BBC TV journalist Stephen Sackur, Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid, and Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland. They spoke at a Ukrainian lunch on Feb. 16 on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. The event was sponsored by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation.

Photo by Natalia Katser-Buchkovska

 

[angelburst29]

Davos was sponsored also by International Renaissance Foundation ("IRF is part of the Open Society Foundations network established by investor and philanthropist George Soros"), Western NIS Enterprise Fund (WNISEF) and Horizon Capital - Horizon is discussed here by Jack Rasmus (2014) Shadow Bankers Now Run Ukraine whereby its CEO, Natalie Jaresko had been for a time appointed as Finance Minister in Ukraine

International Renaissance Foundation - Really interesting you mentioned that and that the Foundation has Soros behind it!

This just surfaced in the news and I wonder, if there is a connection?

Ahead of EU elections, Macron unveils plan for 'European renaissance'
French President Emmanuel Macron has made an impassioned defense of a new Europe in a newspaper column published in each of the 28 member states in which he laid out his ideas for a "European renaissance" ahead of EU elections in May.

 

[Voyageur]

I see that Russell Bentley has a short documentary featured on SoTT here. After watching Russell for I don't know how many years now, he clearly has done so much to bring to light the full breadth and depth of what has happened to people of the Donbass. These are brave people in the face of the evil that befalls them...

 

[angelburst29]

Austria on Friday summoned the Ukrainian ambassador over his country's decision to bar the Kiev bureau chief for the Austrian national broadcaster ORF, calling the move an act of censorship.

Austria protests over Ukrainian ban on reporter from its state broadcaster

FILE PHOTO: Austrian ORF broadcast correspondent Christian Wehrschuetz arrives for an ORF meeting in Vienna, Austria, August 9, 2011. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader/File Photo

Ukraine told Austria that it would deny entry to veteran ORF reporter Christian Wehrschuetz, who is currently out of the country, calling him a “threat to national security”, an Austrian Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

Wehrschuetz says Kiev accuses him of crossing the bridge Russia has built between the Crimean Peninsula, which Russian forces seized from Ukraine in 2014, and the rest of Russia. He denies the accusation, saying that when he reported on the bridge in July his crew crossed it but he did not.

“The travel ban imposed on...Wehrschuetz in Ukraine is an unacceptable act of censorship,” Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl, who danced with Russian President Vladimir Putin at her wedding last year, said on Twitter on Thursday.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Friday the Ukrainian ambassador had been summoned and would meet the ministry’s secretary general on Monday. Kneissl will be in Moscow that day to meet her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

Wehrschuetz, 57, said on ORF radio on Friday that he would challenge the decision “by all legal means”.

Neutral Austria says it aims to maintain good relations with both Russia and the West.

 

[thorbiorn]

In war sometimes the guns are turned around like in MAJOR: Ukrainian Soldiers Kill their Commander after being Forced to Commit War-crimes - non-combat losses now exceed 10,000 - Fort Russ

DONETSK, DPR – Ukrainian servicemen shot and killed their commander, Sergei Sobko, in the aftermath of being forced to commit war-crimes for a Ukrainian media public relations spectacle. The killing happened immediately after an incident where the commander was scolding the troops in his command for drinking alcohol. This was announced by the official representative of the operational command of the DPR, Eduard Basurin.

According to Basurin, it happened on March 6th in the 128th separate mountain-assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, where the lieutenant at night allegedly discovered that a group of soldiers were drunk. The soldiers may have been engaged in heavy drinking as a coping mechanism to deal with the unit’s increasingly problematic activities at least since the end of February.

“There was a negative reaction to a remark of the platoon commander, and during the verbal skirmish, two sergeants used firearms and shot their commander at close range,” Basurin told Russian media.

and

The same Ukrainian troops from the 128th brigade had just days before, opened fire on the civilians in the city of Dokuchaevsk under Sergei Sobko’s orders, located on the territory of the DPR, for the filming of a television report.

While the aim of the report was to glorify the actions of the UAF, there was negative reaction in Ukrainian social media comments. The views expressed included that these were war crimes, and crimes against humanity being committed against largely innocent civilians. This may have been reflected also in the attitude of the participating soldiers in the aftermath.

 

[youlik]

Порошенко убежал от радикалов на митинге в Житомире

12 марта 2019, 05:21


Translation

Poroshenko ran away from radicals at a rally in Zhitomir

March 12, 2019, 05: 21

Spoiler

In a Network there was a photo with the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko hurriedly leaving meeting in Zhitomir on which radicals came. The picture caused ridicule among Internet users.
"The guarantor walks on water", - the blogger Denis Gorokhovsky wrote.
Journalist Andrey Manchuk offered to record a song about Poroshenko.
"Who are you? Come on, goodbye! Come on, go, take a walk!"There is the impression that if someone from competitors will write about Peter known meyxana her sing the entire country," opined the journalist.
Earlier on Monday, Petro Poroshenko at the election campaign in Zhytomyr scolded radicals from the party "national corps "(created on the basis of the national battalion" Azov", against the participants of which criminal cases have been initiated in Russia), who tried to disrupt his rally. During the speech of the President of Ukraine radicals chanted "Shame", " Fu!"and " Bullshit", shouting over the words of the head of state.
Elections of the President of Ukraine are scheduled for March 31. 39 candidates will compete for the highest post.

В Сети появилось фото убегающего с митинга в Житомире Порошенко

 

[youlik]

Пользователи Сети высмеяли учения украинского буксира в Азовском море

12 марта 2019, 04:05


Translation

Network users ridiculed the teachings of the Ukrainian tug in the sea of Azov

March 12, 2019, 04: 05

Spoiler

Users of social networks ridiculed the teachings of the tug of the naval forces (Navy) of Ukraine "Korets" in the Azov sea. Their record was published on YouTube video hosting.

The exercises were held on March 11. In the press center of the headquarters of the operation of the United forces (SLA), the country stated that it was a planned tug out to sea in combat training. The footage of the exercise Ukrainian soldiers are practicing shooting and throwing grenades overboard. Users of the social network ridiculed the actions of the military, called them clowning and compared with poaching. In addition, some users compared the output of the vessel with fishing and wondered whether the sailors intend to jam the fish.

Also many noted that the tug rusty, and thought over what arms on it can be, and over what tasks in the sea it can fulfill.

The tug "Korets" was launched in 1973. From arms available heavy Soviet machine gun NSV "Utes".

On February 6, Ukrainian sea border guards conducted exercises in the sea of Azov "to repel the attack of enemy forces." The exercise was also attended by representatives of the OOS and boats of the Ukrainian Navy.

Пользователи Сети высмеяли учения украинского буксира в Азовском море

 

[angelburst29]

Ukraine has detained an Israeli man who it says heads a massive global drug trafficking network that markets illegal drugs through the internet, the country's security service said on Tuesday.

Ukraine detains Israeli accused of running drug network

The SBU security service did not name the man, in keeping with its normal practice, but said Israeli police had taken part in the operation in Kiev on Tuesday.

The man was detained “on the basis of a petition for international assistance” and Ukraine was preparing to extradite him to Israel, the SBU said in a statement.

The detained man created an internet channel for marketing drugs and psychotropic substances in 2017 and within a few years the network extended to South and North America, the European Union, the Middle East, Asia and Africa, the statement said.

The syndicate consisted of more than 13,000 people, including smugglers, dealers, group administrators of social networks, it added.

Three members of a Ukrainian subversive group, which tried to sneak into the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) from the Kiev-controlled territory, were killed in a landmine explosion on Tuesday, a spokesman for Lugansk People’s Militia said.

March 13, 2019 - Three Ukrainian servicemen trying to slip into Lugansk killed by landmine blast
Three Ukrainian servicemen trying to slip into Lugansk killed by landmine blast

"At 19:30 today [on Tuesday], a sabotage and reconnaissance group comprising 10 members attempted to cross into the republic’s territory near the settlement of Zhelobok, but was spotted by our servicemen. During its attempt, the group walked onto a minefield and lost three of its members," spokesman Andrei Marochko was quoted as saying by the Lugansk informtsentr agency.

In this respect, Marochko requested international observers to make a call to the Kiev government to stop provocations and abide by the Minsk agreements.

"We hope that the OSCE [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe]’s special monitoring mission will take an uncompromising stance while thoroughly investigating the provocation, committed by the Ukrainian military," he said.

On March 7, members of the Trilateral Contact Group on the Ukrainian settlement agreed on a new, "spring," ceasefire, which was to begin on March 8. However, Ukraine’s forces violated the ceasefire on Saturday.

Ukraine has not purchased Russian gas since November 2015.

March 13, 2019 - US top diplomat accuses Russia of using energy to put political pressure on Ukraine
US top diplomat accuses Russia of using energy to put political pressure on Ukraine

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo has accused Russia of using energy reserves to put political pressure on Ukraine.

"We all know the story in Russia. It invaded Ukraine to get access to oil and gas reserves. It, in turn, deprived Ukraine of the possibility to develop these resources for itself and using its pipelines and its networks to bring energy to its own people. Rather, it uses those pipelines to put pressure - political pressure - on the people of Ukraine," the US top diplomat told the CERA Energy Week’s "Reshaping the Energy Future" conference in Houston, Texas, on Tuesday.

Ukraine has not purchased Russian gas since November 2015. Instead it preferred reverse gas supplies from the EU.

 

[goyacobol]

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo has accused Russia of using energy reserves to put political pressure on Ukraine.

Strange he thinks it is fine for the U.S. to do that to Venezuela. Boy, what a "baroque, contradictory, morose," twisted predator's mind can do is a thing to behold.

 

[angelburst29]

Canada will announce as expected on Monday that is extending a 200-strong military training mission in Ukraine, a source directly familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

Canada to extend military training mission in Ukraine: source

Canadian military instructors and Ukrainian servicemen take part in a military exercise at the International Peacekeeping and Security Center in Yavoriv, Ukraine, July 12, 2016. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan are scheduled to hold a news conference at 1 p.m. (1800 GMT) on Monday.

“It is the Ukraine extension,” said the source, who requested anonymity given the sensitivity of the situation.

Representatives for Sajjan and Freeland did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The troops, who first went to Ukraine in 2015, are due out at the end of March. Political and military sources had made clear the soldiers would stay longer, given continuing tensions between Ukraine and Russia.

Canada’s defense ministry said in December that the contingent had trained more than 10,000 members of the Ukrainian security forces.

The Canadian contingent is in western Ukraine, far removed from clashes between Ukrainian soldiers and Russian-backed separatists in the east of the country.

The Canadian trainers are in Ukraine as part of a larger mission that involves the United States, Britain, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden.

Chrystia Freeland recalled that on Friday, Ottawa announced new sanctions against 114 individuals and 15 entities of Russia’s defense industry.

March 17, 2019 - Canada vows to maintain pressure on Russia through sanctions over Crimea - minister
Canada vows to maintain pressure on Russia through sanctions over Crimea - minister

Canada is set to continue its policy of anti-Russian sanctions and of supporting Ukraine over Crimea, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said in a statement on Saturday. "Together with the international community, we will continue to maintain pressure, including through economic sanctions, until Russia respects Ukraine’s sovereignty and international law," she wrote.

Freeland recalled that on Friday, Ottawa announced new sanctions against 114 individuals and 15 entities of Russia’s defense industry. Among the individuals are Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin and businessman Igor Rottenberg.

The Canadian foreign minister urged Moscow to release Ukrainian prisoners and to stop suppressing human rights in Crimea, which she claims Russian authorities have been allegedly committing for five years.

Canada began imposing economic sanctions against Russian individuals and entities after Crimea’s reunification with Russia in 2014.

The Ukrainian president vowed that he seeks to return Crimea and Donbass to Ukraine by political and diplomatic means.

March 17, 2019 - Poroshenko urges Ukrainians to support him to cross ‘point of no return’ with Russia
Poroshenko urges Ukrainians to support him to cross ‘point of no return’ with Russia

Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko © AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner

Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko, who is running for re-election, has called on voters to support him at the upcoming polls to keep Ukraine’s independence from Russia.

"The goal of this election is to preserve real independence from Russia. Just a little effort and this spring we will cross the point of no return with Russia," Poroshenko said speaking on Mikhailovskaya Square in Kiev.

According to Poroshenko, Ukrainian voters will decide on their country’s future development at the March 31 election. "On March 31, we will either confirm our path to Europe or return to the empire," he stated. After the vote, pro-Russian forces will either take revenge or Ukraine will continue its path towards the European Union and NATO.

The Ukrainian president vowed that he seeks to return Crimea and Donbass to Ukraine by political and diplomatic means.
"After the election we will take political and diplomatic steps on ensuring the return of Donbass and Crimea," he said, stressing that "the path to peace lies through further enhancing the army." The new presidential term will start with upgrading Ukraine’s missile program.

Earlier the speaker of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin proposed to oblige Ukraine to offset to the Crimea economic losses from stay in its structure.

March 17, 2019 - Russia may demand Kiev’s compensation for damage to Crimea at highest level - MP
Russia may demand Kiev’s compensation for damage to Crimea at highest level - MP

Russia may demand Kiev compensate for its economic damage to Crimea inflicted when the peninsula was part of Ukraine at the highest international level, Chairman of the Russian State Duma’s International Affairs Committee Leonid Slutsky told reporters on Sunday.

"I think we will definitely declare our position at all international and inter-parliamentary platforms, conferences and forums, at the highest level. The international community should understand that Crimea really lost a lot during these 23 years of being part of Ukraine," Slutsky stressed.

Russian State Duma (the lower house of parliament) Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin earlier suggested using European parliamentary institutions to make Kiev offset the losses Crimea suffered as part of Ukraine. Crimean Head Sergey Aksyonov told reporters on Saturday that a joint group of the State Duma and Crimea’s parliament, the State Council, would start assessing the damage, which the peninsula had sustained from being part of Ukraine, in the coming month.

While in Simferopol, Putin will meet with members of the public and take part in events marking the fifth anniversary of the 2014 referendum and Crimea’s reunification with Russia.

March 18, 2019 - Putin to visit Crimea on fifth anniversary of reunification
Putin to visit Crimea on fifth anniversary of reunification

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit the Crimean cities of Sevastopol and Simferopol on March 18 to attend events marking the fifth anniversary of Crimea’s reunification with Russia, the presidential press service said in a statement.

"On March 18, 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Crimea and Sevastopol," the statement reads.

According to the Kremlin press service, the president will receive reports about the launch of the Balaklava and Tavria thermal power plants and participate in the unveiling ceremony of the Port electric substation in the city of Taman via videoconference.

While in Simferopol, Putin will meet with members of the public and take part in events marking the fifth anniversary of the 2014 referendum and Crimea’s reunification with Russia.

 

[angelburst29]

Earlier the speaker of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin proposed to oblige Ukraine to offset to the Crimea economic losses from stay in its structure.

March 17, 2019 - Russia may demand Kiev’s compensation for damage to Crimea at highest level - MP
Russia may demand Kiev’s compensation for damage to Crimea at highest level - MP

"I think we will definitely declare our position at all international and interparliamentary platforms, conferences and forums, at the highest level. The international community should understand that Crimea really lost a lot during these 23 years of being part of Ukraine," Slutsky stressed.

Russian State Duma (the lower house of parliament) Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin earlier suggested using European parliamentary institutions to make Kiev offset the losses Crimea suffered as part of Ukraine.Crimean Head Sergey Aksyonov told reporters on Saturday that a joint group of the State Duma and Crimea’s parliament, the State Council, would start assessing the damage, which the peninsula had sustained from being part of Ukraine, in the coming month.

March 18, 2019 - Putin to visit Crimea on fifth anniversary of reunification
Putin to visit Crimea on fifth anniversary of reunification

Putin said that the Crimean spring of 2014 was a new milestone in Russian history.

March 18, 2019 - Putin recalls what he bore in mind when making decision on Crimea’s return to Russia
Putin recalls what he bore in mind when making decision on Crimea’s return to Russia

© Michail Metzel/TASS

Russian President Vladimir Putin has recalled some of the considerations he bore in mind when he put his signature to the agreement on Crimea’s and Simferopol’s reunification with Russia.

"I’ll break a little secret to you," he said at a meeting with representatives of the Crimean and Simferopol public on Monday. "Over many years I’ve more than once had to stop to think what decision to make in this or that sphere. When you make a choice in favor of the national long-term interests and brush aside the likely negative side effects on yourself or some other people next to you, as a rule this point of view gains the upper hand. This is precisely what happened in this particular case."

Putin said that the Crimean spring of 2014 was a new milestone in Russian history, because "it demonstrated to ourselves and to the whole world that Russia is capable of protecting itself and its interests."

"We proceed from the interests of our people. This is the basic principle," he concluded.

Putin flies into Crimea for annexation party, launches power stations

Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses the crowd during a concert marking the fifth anniversary of Russia's annexation of Crimea, in Simferopol March 18, 2019. Yuri Kadobnov/Pool via REUTERS

President Vladimir Putin flew into Crimea on Monday to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Russia's annexation of the region from Ukraine and led cheering crowds in repeated chants of "Russia" after inaugurating two new power stations.

Putin, who has poured billions of Russian taxpayer dollars into Crimea since Moscow seized control of it in 2014, attended the launch of a power station in the city of Sevastopol and oversaw the launch of another in Simferopol by video conference.

The facilities — able to cover 90 percent of Crimea’s power needs — were partially launched last year, but Monday’s inauguration marked the moment they began working at full capacity.

The same power stations were at the centre of an international scandal after German engineering company Siemens said its power turbines had been installed at them without its knowledge and in violation of European Union sanctions. Russia denied that.

Putin on Monday fielded questions from local religious and community leaders and told a crowd at a pop concert that what he called their historical decision to become part of Russia in a 2014 referendum was comparable to the bravery of Red Army soldiers at the start of World War Two.

“Only the basic conditions of development have been laid down, but we will do everything to achieve the goals before us,” Putin told the crowd, some of whom could be seen wiping tears from their eyes.

Ukraine issued a diplomatic protest note over what it said was Putin’s unauthorised visit, saying Crimea was Ukrainian territory. Most countries continue to regard it as such.

Russia says the matter is closed forever however, and that the referendum held after Russian forces secured the peninsula showed Crimeans genuinely want to be part of Russia.

Crimea will forever remain part of Russia, and economic sanctions, pressure or military threats targeting Russia are pointless, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday.

March 18, 2019 - Crimea will forever remain part of Russia, threats are pointless, says Russian premier
Crimea will forever remain part of Russia, threats are pointless, says Russian premier

"Five years ago a treaty was signed between Russia and the Republic of Crimea on its accession to Russia and the establishment of new entities within the Russian Federation. The residents of the peninsula made a landmark decision at the referendum - to become part of the Russian Federation, thus making a crucial choice," the prime minister said.

"Any economic sanctions, political pressure or military threats are useless. We are once again together, and this is forever," the website of the Cabinet of Ministers quoted Medvedev as saying.

Putin said Erdogan was very positive about this invitation.

March 18, 2019 - Putin invites Erdogan to opening of Central Mosque in Crimea
Putin invites Erdogan to opening of Central Mosque in Crimea

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he has invited Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the opening of the Central Mosque in Crimea.

"I’ve invited Turkish President Erdogan. He knows about that and, as far as I understand, he is very positive about this invitation. We’ll wait and see if he has the time and opportunity to arrive here," Putin said.

He recalled that Russia would be developing relations with Turkey and friends in other countries.

The idea of inviting Erdogan to the ceremony was mentioned by the Mufti of Crimea’s Muslims Hajji Emirali Ablaev. "Let me invite you to the opening of the Central Mosque. It would be appropriate if you possibly decided to invite Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He will not reject your invitation," Ablaev said.

The Central Mosque in Simferopol will take up an area of 5,700 square meters and accommodate 2,600. It began to be built in October 2016. The finishing touches will be put to it at the end of 2019.

Putin said that all traditional religions, including Islam, were making tangible, constructive contributions to inter-religious peace.

Putin said Crimea’s Muslims had long dreamed of having their own Central Mosque. "Ever more Muslims from this country have been making pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. We maintain contact with our friends in Saudi Arabia. They are very helpful in arranging such trips. We will keep working along these lines," Putin said.

The sanctions apply to 294 entities and 848 individuals.

March 20, 2019 - Kiev slaps sanctions over Crimean bridge, elections in Donbass
Kiev slaps sanctions over Crimean bridge, elections in Donbass

Ukraine has imposed sanctions on 294 legal entities and 848 individuals who took part in the construction of Crimean bridge and in holding elections in Donbass republics, says a decree posted on Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko’s site on Wednesday.

"The sanctions lists include those individuals and entities who have been involved in the construction of a transport pass across the Kerch Strait, [who] were involved in an armed attack on and the seizure of Ukrainian naval boats and the illegal captivity of Ukrainian sailors," the statement says.

Moreover, the sanctions hit those who organized and helped to hold elections in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) and in Crimea. The sanctions were imposed on those who, according to Kiev, "deliberately violated Ukraine’s legislation when entering or leaving the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea," along with the individuals who "obtained illegally and are using the museum collections owned by Ukraine."

Comedian Zelenskiy keeps Ukraine presidential poll lead

Comic actor Volodymyr Zelenskiy has kept his lead in Ukraine's presidential election race, according to an opinion poll published on Wednesday.

Canada to extend military training missions in Ukraine, Iraq

Canada's Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan speaks during a news conference with Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, March 18, 2019. REUTERS/Chris Wattie

Canada will keep a 200-strong military training mission in Ukraine for another three years to help domestic security forces handle continuing tensions with Russia, Ottawa said on Monday.