eeeff1 No.2260[View All]
NEW UKRAINE THREAD
>24/02/2015
Latest events, I'll try to be brief
>UK sends non-lethal aid and advisors to the Kiev gov'
>Riot/False-flag atempts by Right-Sektor in Crimea thwarted
>Ukraine retreats from small villages near Mariopol, and trades aggression accusations with the rebels.
>Unrest in Kharkov also of note (possible false-flag)
Sorry if I missed anything.
Make necessary corrections at will.
We needed a new thread and now we have it
>Archive the old one, and enjoy.
242 posts and 53 image replies omitted. Click reply to view. 0c8a77 No.3242
Anna Duritskaya, Lone Witness In Slaying Of Russia's Top Critic, Gets Death Threat:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/06/witness-in-russian-boris-nemtsov-killing_n_6814662.html?utm_hp_ref=world&ir=WorldPost
>Authorities in Ukraine say the sole witness in the killing in Moscow of prominent Russian opposition figure Boris Nemtsov has received death threats since returning to her family home in Ukraine.
>The General Prosecutor's office in Kiev said in a statement Friday that Anna Duritskaya, the 23-year old model who was walking with Nemtsov at the time of his killing, is being provided with protection. The statement offered no information on who might have issued the threats.
>Duritskaya was detained by Russian police for several days of questioning before she was permitted to leave the country.
>Russian President Vladimir Putin has called the slaying of his top critic a "disgrace" to Russia, although scant progress has been made in the investigation into the shooting last Friday night.————-
Pressure to arm Kiev could increase despite risks: top U.S. diplomat:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/06/us-ukraine-crisis-usa-idUSKBN0M20SY20150306?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews
>The second-highest ranking U.S. diplomat warned on Friday that pressure to arm Ukraine would increase if aggression from pro-Russian separatists persisted, even though Moscow would easily be able to send more weapons into the country than the West.
>Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken told German radio (DLF) the United States was already working on supplying Kiev with non-lethal equipment, including $130 million worth of protective vests, night-vision goggles and other equipment.
>"But if the aggression continues, I think there will be more and more pressure to give them other means to protect themselves," he said in the interview with DLF.
>With both the government in Kiev and the rebels in eastern Ukraine accusing each other of violating a fragile ceasefire agreed last month, U.S. President Barack Obama and European leaders are weighing their next steps to try to halt a conflict that has killed about 6,000 people since last April.
>U.S. and European officials are concerned that sending arms to Kiev would risk escalating the fighting and suck them into a proxy war with Russia.
>But some U.S. lawmakers are urging Obama to counter what they see as increased aggression by Russia by providing weapons to Kiev.
>Blinken said he did not believe there could be a military solution and the emphasis must be on diplomatic efforts, which continued on Friday when European Union foreign ministers met in Latvia and Berlin hosted separate talks among top foreign ministry officials from Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany.
>"And you know, it's certainly true that, were any of us to provide weapons to Ukraine, Russia could match that and then double that and triple that and quadruple that," he told DLF.
>"But it's also important to have in mind that the Ukrainians should be able to defend themselves and we provided significant security assistance, defensive, non-lethal security assistance to Ukraine to do just that," he said.
>Accusing the separatists "who are armed and supplied by the Russians" of repeatedly breaking ceasefires declared by Ukraine throughout the conflict, Blinken added: "At some point you have to say almost as a moral proposition, we have to do whatever we can to help them defend themselves against aggression."
>Moscow denies Western and Ukrainian accusations that it is backing the rebels in eastern Ukraine with troops and weapons.———–
Latvian Defense Minister Calls Russia a 'Foe':
http://sputniknews.com/europe/20150306/1019138126.html
>Latvian Defense Minister Raimonds Vējonis has described Russia as Latvia's enemy in light of the latest developments in eastern Ukraine, news reports said.
>"Regrettably, the situation in Ukraine shows that Russia has decided to be our enemy, not a partner," Vejonis tweeted on Friday.
>The remarks came several weeks after Vejonis said that Russia is currently not a threat to the Baltic states , but could possibly use conventional or hybrid warfare against other countries. 0c8a77 No.3244
China People's Daily Slams Western Sanctions Against Russia:
http://sputniknews.com/asia/20150306/1019154858.html
>A commentary in China's most widely-read daily newspaper analyzing the impact of sanctions in the year since they were put in place, has said that they have had "no results," apart from "prolonging unrest in Ukraine, increasing the suffering of the Ukrainian people, and increasing anti-Western sentiment in Russia with every passing day."
>"Over the course of the last year, by carrying out several rounds of sanctions, the United States has constantly tried to link Europe with opposition to Russia, forcing it to toughen its restrictive measures against Moscow," says the commentary from the paper, which is one of the world's top ten selling newspapers and an official publication of the government of China.
>"However, the countries of the European Union, which are closer to Russia, and to Ukraine, after many rounds of sanctions have not gained the expected stability in Ukraine, and on the contrary, to a certain extent have started to feel the consequences of a rebound from sanctions."
>The commentary also referred to the regime of sanctions against Iran as an example of the counter-productivity of the sanctions approach, claiming that they "do not help to solve acute problems, but only complicate matters."
>"In negotiations on the Iranian nuclear issue, Western countries headed by the US never stopped waving the truncheon of sanctions," says the Daily. "However, in the long term, sanctions did not lead to a solution to the problem, and it's unlikely that any country would give up its own vital security interests in order to rid themselves of sanctions."
>At a time when the first signs are appearing of a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine crisis thanks to the agreements reached in Minsk, writes the author, it would be wiser "not to rush to threaten more sanctions, but continue joint efforts at mediation between the conflicting parties in Ukraine."
>"It can be said," continues the paper, "that the tragedy of Ukraine exists in the poor capabilities of the authorities to manage the state; because of this, the logic of the US attempt to overcome the crisis in Ukraine by sanctioning third countries is absurd and incomprehensible."
>"After all, they themselves had a hand in last year's overthrow of the government in Kiev, which in the end developed into a full-blown crisis in the country."———————
EU chief speaks out against arms supplies for Kiev:
http://www.stripes.com/news/europe/eu-chief-speaks-out-against-arms-supplies-for-kiev-1.333045
>The European Union's foreign policy chief on Friday came out against a bipartisan call in the United States to provide lethal, defensive weapons to Ukraine in its fight against Russian-backed separatists.
>House Speaker John Boehner and a group of top Democrats and Republicans wrote to President Barack Obama calling for deliveries but so far have found few backers in the 28-nation EU.
>Federica Mogherini said Friday that "the European Union is doing enough" and insisted that the implementation of the peace deal brokered in Minsk last month "is the way to go forward."
>German Chancellor Angela Merkel are been particularly outspoken against pouring more firepower into the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Mogherini said that "what Ukraine needs now is not only the full respect of its sovereignty, of its territorial integrity, but it is also peace."
>On Friday, Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz said arms deliveries "would only stoke the fire."
>"Our goal must be a ceasefire, not an escalation," Kurz said
>The U.S. lawmakers insisted the so-called Minsk agreements have only consolidated Russian and separatists' gains, and the urged quick approval of additional efforts to support Ukraine. They said the EU was far too slow and meek in its reaction to the crisis.
>Britain on Friday continued its policy of providing non-lethal defense assistance to Ukraine as the EU continues to look for a political solution, approving 850,000 pounds ($1.29 million) for first aid kits, night vision goggles, helmets and other equipment.
>"Our overall aim is to strengthen the defensive capability of the Ukrainian armed forces and build the resilience that they need," said British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon.
>Boehner and others found the EU approach insufficient, especially for a conflict happening on its doorstep, as they urged Obama "to lead Europe" in challenging Putin. 0c8a77 No.3247
Operation Atlantic Resolve expands with Black Hawks:
http://www.stripes.com/news/europe/operation-atlantic-resolve-expands-with-black-hawks-1.333038
>An additional 450 soldiers and 25 Black Hawk helicopters will join the expanding roster of units converging on eastern Europe in March as part of a longer-term effort to reassure allies worried about Russia’s intentions.
>Pilots, flight and ground crews from the 4th Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade out of Hunter Army Air Field, Ga., will be deploying to Illesheim, Germany, later this month.
>From the staging ground there, they will then deploy in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve, a multinational training mission to reassure Poland and the Baltic countries of NATO’s commitment in the face of Russia’s aggressive moves in Ukraine.
>The unit will remain deployed for about nine months, U.S. Army Europe said in a March 3 news release.
>While in Europe they will serve as a supporting element to the Operation Atlantic Resolve ground forces, led by the 1st Armor Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, from Fort Stewart, Ga., as that unit assumes the role of the regionally aligned force in the area. The Vilseck-based 2nd Cavalry Regiment is currently holding that position.
>About 100 soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division from Fort Carson, Colo., make up the regionally aligned force operational command element, led in part by Brig. Gen. Randy George, the 4th ID deputy commander.
>“USAREUR right now is running [Operation Atlantic Resolve], but the commander of USAREUR also has responsibilities elsewhere throughout Europe,” said 4th ID mission command element deputy chief of staff Maj. George H. Johnson. “He just has somebody now that he can give particular direction to.”
>George will run the first iteration of the mission command element in Europe. His first task, according to Johnson, will be to coordinate the transition with the outgoing 2CR.
>After that, the 4th Infantry soldiers will settle in for their first long-term command of troops in Europe as Operation Atlantic Resolve continues.———
Putin Takes 10 Percent Pay Cut:
http://www.rferl.org/content/putin-takes-10-percent-pay-cut/26885471.html
>Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree that reduces his salary as well as the wages of other top officials by 10 percent.
>The Kremlin announced on March 6 that the salaries of Putin, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Prosecutor-General Yury Chaika, and Investigative Committee head Aleksandr Bastrykin, will be cut by 10 percent from March 1 to December 31.
>From May 1, the wage reduction will also apply to those employed by the Kremlin administration, the cabinet, and the Accounts Chamber.
>The reductions come as Russia’s economy is being hit hard by a sharp drop in the price of oil, a key export, and is feeling the effects of Western sanctions imposed over Moscow's interference in Ukraine.
>They come less than a year after the Kremlin announced the tripling of Putin's salary. In 2013, the president was earning less than his ministers.
>Kremlin critics say official salaries for Putin and other top officials are meaningless because of perks and alleged corruption.————-
Two Injured In Car-Bomb Blast In Kharkiv:
http://www.rferl.org/content/ukraine-kharkiv-car-bomb/26885691.html
>A senior special-police officer loyal to Kyiv has been injured along with his wife in a car-bomb blast in the eastern city of Kharkiv.
>Police told RFE/RL that Andriy Yanholenko and his wife, Inna, were hospitalized after a bomb under Yanholenko's car exploded on March 6.
>City officials said they suffered shrapnel wounds.
>Yanholenko commands Slobozhanshchyna, a police battalion whose members refused to participate in a crackdown on the protests that led to the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych in February 2014.
>An aide to Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said on Facebook that authorities were treating the blast as a suspected terrorist act.
>Four people have been killed and 14 wounded in three apparent bombings since January 19 in Kharkiv, which lies northwest of the site of the conflict between government forces and Russian-backed rebels.
>Ukrainian authorities have blamed a series of bomb blasts in Kharkiv and the southern city of Odesa on Russia and the rebels. 0c8a77 No.3252
File: 1425668055087.png (172.61 KB, 2000x1459, 2000:1459, between the iron gates of ….png)
Ukraine says it is pulling back rocket launchers from front line in accordance with ceasefire agreement:
http://news.nationalpost.com/2015/03/06/ukraine-ceasefire-heavy-weapons-pullback/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:%20NP_Top_Stories%20%28National%20Post%20-%20Top%20Stories%29
>Ukrainian military officials say government forces are withdrawing heavy rocket launchers from the front line with Russian-backed separatists in accordance with last month’s cease-fire accord.
>Military spokesman Col. Andriy Lysenko said the Uragan launchers were being pulled back by 35 kilometres from the line of contact.
>Both sides in the conflict, which has claimed more than 6,000 lives since flaring up in April, have given assurances they are complying with pullback requirements. Monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe have complained that they have been obstructed from conducting exhaustive verifications, however.
>Also, despite the heavy weapons withdrawals, multiple skirmishes and exchanges continue to be reported daily.
>Lysenko accused rebels of mustering equipment, weapons and manpower in several locations in preparation for potential upcoming offensives.————
Ukraine's Conflict Tops Agenda Of EU Foreign Ministers In Riga:
http://www.rferl.org/content/eu-riga-talks-ukraine/26885071.html
>The Ukraine conflict is high on the agenda of two days of informal talks between European Union foreign ministers who are gathering in Latvia’s capital, Riga.
>According to officials in Latvia, which currently chairs the EU Council, the talks will focus on the conflict in Ukraine – including tensions between the EU and Russia over Moscow's deployments of troops and weaponry there, and the implementation of the Minsk cease-fire agreements for eastern Ukraine.
>On the eve of the gathering, European foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the ministers would consider additional sanctions against Russia over its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.
>Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, said ministers from the 28 EU member countries would also discuss the possible use of international peacekeepers in Ukraine.
>Also on the agenda are preparations for the EU’s Eastern Partnership summit in May. 0c8a77 No.3265
Ukraine: Separatists hand over bodies of 23 soldiers:
http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/181257/ukraine-separatists-hand-over-bodies-of-23-soldiers.html
>Self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic says it unilaterally returned bodies to Ukrainian volunteers.
>The bodies of 23 Ukrainian soldiers killed in the country’s east have been handed over to Ukrainian representatives by officials from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic.
>The 23 Ukrainian soldiers were killed last summer in clashes near the town of Illovaisk in the country’s east, according to Donetsk People’s Republic’s "defense ministry" representative, Liliya Rodionova.
>According to Rodionova, the bodies were handed over unilaterally to volunteers Thursday, as officials from the Ukrainian Defense Ministry did not attend the procedure.
>"The Ukrainian side is not handing over our men’s bodies," she said, "We are not exchanging bodies, we are just handing them over to Ukraine."
>She also added that the bodies of soldiers killed in intense clashes in Debaltseve would be delivered to the Ukrainian side as well.
>At least one Ukrainian was killed Thursday and another wounded in clashes despite a cease-fire signed Feb. 12, said spokesman for the Ukrainian military, Anatoliy Stelmakh.
>According to Stelmakh, the cease-fire was violated at least 20 times Thursday.————-
'The West' Did It: Nemtsov Conspiracy Theory Snowballs In Russia :
http://www.rferl.org/content/nemtsov-conspiracy-theory-russia-west-killing/26878381.html
>Since Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov’s slaying in central Moscow on February 27, numerous senior Russian officials, talking heads, and pro-Kremlin activists have insinuated or outright claimed that "the West" is responsible for the crime.
>"Some kill in cold blood in front of movie cameras, with all of the cinematic flourishes and techniques, …like Islamist radicals do in the Middle East. Others kill in such a way that it appears they have nothing to do with another person’s death, mumbling something about democracy," Dmitry Kiselyov said on March 1 in his weekly news program Vesti Nedeli on the state-run Rossia-1 television channel.
>Kiselyov, head of the state-owned media organization Russia Today who relentlessly decries what he calls attempts by the West to undermine Russia’s sovereignty, stopped short of directly accusing Western governments of organizing Nemtsov’s killing.
>But in the segment, which featured a graphic reading "Bloody Provocation," he added that the West would benefit from the images of the crime scene on a bridge near the Kremlin on the eve of an antigovernment protest in Moscow that he said was destined to flop.
>"No one would find out that the air was going out of the protest even before it started. Blood, stars, Nemtsov, bullets: Those are the associations they need," Kiselyov said.
>Unlike Kiselyov, other prominent members of Russia’s political elite refused to dance around the conspiracy theory that the United States or Europe was responsible for killing Nemtsov in order to discredit Russian President Vladimir Putin and his government. ———————–
Ukraine, Neocons And Neonazis:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-03-06/ukraine-neocons-and-neonazis[Excerpt]
>See, by now you would think that anyone who reads that all 31 US banks that were tested have passed the Fed stress test, knows this says absolutely nothing about the banks, but all the more about the test. You would think. But the media try – and succeed – to cram it down the public’s throat as a success story anyway.
>There’s simply a very strong feeling, if not conviction, in the western media, that they’ve won the propaganda battle. They have no adversary other than the blogosphere, and since they reach a thousand times more people, who are to a (wo)man more complacent and gullible than any of your typical interwebs readers, Bob’s their uncle.
>But come on guys, are we really going to let this happen without raising our voices or even batting as much as one of our eyes? We’re drowning in nonsense here, and we’re prepared to just die without even trying to swim?
>Look, I find real fun in reading that the UK House of Lords issues a report that claims 150,000 jobs will be created by 2050 in the ‘drone industry’, and at the same time clamors for a ‘personal drone registry’. I mean, these guys are way too old to even know how to spell ‘drone’. But that’s just mindless ‘journalism’, and to a point innocent.
>What is not is the two portraits of US girl power in Ukraine from the Guardian and Bloomberg that appeared over the past two days. That’s not innocent, that’s vile and bastardly lies. Victoria Nuland and Natalie Jaresko should not be praised by the western media, they should be taken apart bone by bone, because the roles they play are far too shady to stand up to our alleged democratic principles. 003e02 No.3268
Hi guys, you're doing a great job here, so I'd like to thank you first.
Second, I'd like to show you anti-Russia propaganda in western eu. This scan is from a belgian journal, it reads as follows :
>Russian embassy's anti-Ukraine propaganda.
>Russian embassy in Belgium wants to prove that the Ukrainian government is the one committing atrocities in eastern Ukraine. Cold war tier propaganda.
>One would believe he's back into the cold war and 60&70's Russian propaganda.
>The Russian embassy in Belgium sent a dvd to most belgian journals, featuring shocking videos of what is supposed to be atrocities commited by ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine.
>These pictures are woesome. And, of course, don't bring any proof that those atrocities were committed by ukrainian forces.
>We made a phone call to the russian embassy in order to know what was the purpose of this communication.
>The answers of Alexis Grigoriev, from the press office, are quite disturbing….
>(Q)Mr. Grigoriev, why did the ambassy send those videos to the journals? Isn't it straight propaganda?
>(A)We estimated that it was interesting as an information. You are free to use it or not.
>In Europe, we always only see a single point of views in the journals. We simply want to show the truth, with facts…
>(Q)So, according to Russia, Ukrainian forces are the only ones committing atrocities in eastern Ukraine.
>What about pro=Russian forces?
>(A)We are simply showing you the truth. Do you have proofs of pro=Russian forces commiting atrocities? Sounds, videos? If you do, you can send them to the embassy. What you are telling me, what we read in the newspapers, these are not facts. You should distinguish the cause from the effect.
>The cause is war, started by the Ukrainian government in eastern Ukraine. The consequence is that this governement pushed away the populations living there.
>(Q)And Russia, doesn't she support pro-russian forces in eastern Ukraine?
>(A)We have no proof of that. Everything Russia wants is that peace comes back in that country, the end of military action and that the Ukrainian government talks…
003e02 No.3270
>3268
forgot the file
0c8a77 No.3271
>>3270>>3268The ride never ends - it seems we're gonna get war no matter what.
Also, anon, are you Belgian? Any news on the general consensus in Belgium for arming Ukraine?
—————-
Ukraine government source: Russian troops 'rotating' into Ukraine:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31773932
>Ukrainian government sources have told the BBC that they believe that Russian troops are continually entering and leaving eastern Ukraine.
>According to some claims there could be at least 18,000 involved, despite last month's ceasefire agreement which requiring all foreign troops to leave the region.Hold on, what about the Georgian mercs fighting for Ukraine - aren't they required to leave as well? Is anyone following the goddamn agreement at this point?!
>At least 6,000 people are believed to have been killed since the conflict in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions erupted last April.
>Russia denies accusations that it is helping the rebels.—————
Russia defends Ukraine pilot's detention; U.N., U.S. demand release:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/06/us-ukraine-crisis-russia-savchenko-idUSKBN0M229Z20150306?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews
>The United Nations, the United States and Britain demanded during a United Nations Security Council meeting on Friday that Russia release Ukrainian military pilot Nadezhda Savchenko, but Russia defended her detention as legal.
>Pro-Russia forces captured Savchenko eight months ago and handed her over to Russia, where she is being held on charges of aiding the killing of two Russian journalists in east Ukraine.
>The 33-year-old, who has been on a hunger strike since December, has become a national hero in Ukraine and a symbol of resistance to Russian aggression. She denies the Russian accusation, but could be jailed for 20 years if found guilty.Pretty sure I posted an article earlier where she said she was ending her hunger strike. [ Ukrainian pilot Savchenko ends 83-day hunger strike:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31753535 ]
>"It is highly important to ensure that Ms. Savchenko is released from custody immediately. She should either be released under the "all for all" formula, or on humanitarian grounds, because of her health conditions," U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ivan Simonovic told the council.
>Under a deal agreed last month in Minsk, Belarus, to end fighting in eastern Ukraine, Russia and Ukraine agreed to ensure the release and exchange of all hostages and unlawfully detained people based on the principle of "all for all."
>"Russia committed to releasing all prisoners, and yet Ms Savchenko and many others remain in captivity. This is a clear violation of the Minsk agreement," Britain's U.N. Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant told the council.
>Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said the charges against Savchenko were serious and an investigation and trial would determine her guilt or innocence.
>"We keep talking about the fact that we need to protect journalists, there should be no impunity. She has been accused of this and her detention is in no way illegal," he said.
>U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, described Savchenko and other Ukrainians being held in Russia as hostages. "Again, we call on Russia to release Nadezhda Savchenko," she told the Security Council. 0c8a77 No.3272
File: 1425680904835.png (244.02 KB, 767x809, 767:809, and watered by the deeds o….png)
EU Drops Sanctions on Yanukovich's Security Chief:
http://www.voanews.com/content/reu-eu-drops-sanctions-on-yanukovichs-security-chief/2670306.html
>The European Union has dropped sanctions imposed last year on the head of ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich's security service, according to a legal notice published on Friday.
>Oleksandr Yakimenko, who ran Ukraine's SBU security service until the bloody street protests that forced Yanukovich from power, was one of four people whose assets were frozen a year ago but whose names were absent from an EU list of those on whom sanctions were renewed for a further period.
>EU officials declined to confirm the names dropped from the sanctions list or explain their absence. However, diplomats and EU officials had said some Ukrainians were likely to be exempted from sanctions because Ukrainian proceedings against them had produced insufficient evidence of their involvement in the theft of state funds, the charge on which the sanctions are based.
>The new authorities in Kyiv have accused Yakimenko, 50, of involvement in killing civilians during the Maidan protests last February and have demanded Russia extradite him. His successor at the head of the SBU accused him last summer of channeling arms to pro-Moscow rebels and called him “Traitor No. 1”.
>Yanukovich himself, who is now in exile in Russia, as well as his elder son and his last two prime ministers, was among 14 people on whom the asset freeze was extended for a further year, according to a notice in the EU's Official Journal giving details of a decision taken by member states on Thursday.
>The current government has said Yanukovich and his allies, known as “The Family”, looted the state treasury of over $30 billion during his four years in power.——————-
Donetsk Authorities Register 16 Artillery Attacks by Kiev in Past 24 Hours:
http://sputniknews.com/europe/20150306/1019166699.html
>Authorities of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine have registered a total of 16 artillery attacks by Kiev-led forces in violation of the Minsk peace accords, a senior DPR military official said Friday.
>"We have registered 16 artillery attacks from the Ukrainian side, including three instances of mortar shelling at the Donetsk airport," deputy commander of the DPR militia Eduard Basurin told a news briefing in Donetsk.
>Basurin added that officials form the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) in Ukraine, who were at the Donetsk airport at the time of the shelling, noted that the attacks were carried out from the Ukrainian positions along the line of contact.
>According to Basurin, on Friday, the Ukrainian side impeded the work of the SMM at least twice. First, by not letting the Mission's monitors observe the withdrawal of Kiev's heavy weaponry near the town of Volnovakha and second, by not letting two OSCE vehicles that left the DPR-controlled territories to return back.
>Basurin added that DPR authorities have registered the withdrawal of several units of heavy weaponry by Kiev but have no idea where they are being moved. Earlier of Friday, he stated that under the guise of withdrawing heavy artillery, the Ukrainian side was holding a covert rotation. 003e02 No.3273
>>3271I'm belgian, but I'm not watching TV. In local journals, Ukraine isn't n°1 priority, it gets maximum 2 pages on cheap journals. I'd say that as for everything in Belgium, politicians do what they are told, and keep fighting each other for sheckels (at least, it's the case in Wallonia).
I believe no public figure contests the image of russia given by the media, but I know that the people are balless leftists, they are anti war but don't protest when the govt goes on war. If the EU goes to war, Belgium will follow, but eu's biggest actor (germany) seems to hesitate.
I guess they don't want to risk anihilation.
0c8a77 No.3282
>>3273Thanks for the info and the article, anon.
>but eu's biggest actor (germany) seems to hesitate.Speak of the devil…
Breedlove's Bellicosity: Berlin Alarmed by Aggressive NATO Stance on Ukraine:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/germany-concerned-about-aggressive-nato-stance-on-ukraine-a-1022193.htmlI'm not going to do my 'few-huge-posts-of-copy-pasting-the-article-and-highlighting-bits' shtick for brevity's sake. I'll just say it goes over the dissonance between Germany and NATO supereme commander Breedlove.
0c8a77 No.3286
[video] In Ukraine's Nikishino, No House Untouched by Fighting:
http://www.voanews.com/media/video/in-ukraine-nikishino-no-house-is-untouched-by-fighting/2670753.htmlPlace got fucked up. Nikishyne is south-east of Debaltseve for reference.
———————
Russia, Germany, Ukraine agree to double OSCE monitors:
http://www.dw.de/russia-germany-ukraine-agree-to-double-osce-monitors/a-18301030?maca=en-rss-en-top-1022-rdf
>The German and Russian foreign ministers, Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Sergey Lavrov, urged the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to increase its number of observers in Ukraine's conflict-ridden east.
>"The ministers called on the OSCE Permanent Council to make a quick decision on extending the mandate of its special monitoring mission, ramping up its size to 1,000 observers and assigning it additional technical and financial resources," the Russian ministry said in a statement after Lavrov and Steinmeier spoke on the phone.
>The two ministers also acknowledged "progress on issues of observing the truce and withdrawal of heavy weapons by Ukrainian troops and Donetsk and Luhansk rebels," the statement added.
>Around 450 monitors have currently been deployed in eastern Ukraine to monitor the ceasefire after Kyiv and the pro-Russian separatists, along with Germany, Russia and France, hammered out a peace deal last month in Belarus' capital, Minsk. The ceasefire officially came into effect on February 15, but proved fragile with rebels and Kyiv indulging in skirmishes over border controls and withdrawal of heavy weapons.
>Ukraine also agreed to an increase in the number of OSCE observers following a discussion among officials from France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine in Berlin, the German foreign minister said on Friday.
>Also on Friday, OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier said his officials were still being denied full access to monitor the truce.
>"There are areas we simply can't reach," Zannier told the AFP news agency in Riga, where he was participating at an EU foreign ministers meeting.
>The OSCE mission had earlier reported that its capabilities were limited due to "lack of information on whereabouts of landmines and restrictions imposed by third parties."——————
Ukraine Showcases Captured Russian Military Hardware:
http://dailysignal.com/2015/03/06/ukraine-showcases-captured-russian-military-hardware/
>Normally the square outside St. Michael’s Cathedral in central Kiev is filled with sightseers taking photos of the famous golden-domed monastery while souvenir merchants hawk their goods.
>But this past week one of Kiev’s most famous tourist spots was filled with evidence of the nearly year-old war in eastern Ukraine, including a Russian drone aircraft perched on wooden pallets, Russian tanks and armored personnel carriers peppered with shrapnel damage, and Russian Grad rocket launcher systems pockmarked with bullet holes.
>According to the Ukrainian military, the Russian military hardware on display in St. Michael’s Square was captured from pro-Russia separatists during recent battles. The captured equipment is proof, Ukrainian officials claim, of the Kremlin’s complicity in the ongoing conflict.
>“It was bizarre, the rebels started out with hunting rifles,” Ukraine National Guard Capt. Alexei Lebed said, speaking about the evolution of military hardware used by the pro-Russian separatists over the course of the 10-month-old conflict. “And then the next day they had artillery, and then the next day they had tanks, and then the next day they had helicopters and missiles.”
>The display of captured Russian equipment in Kiev is part of a broader effort by Ukrainian officials to highlight Russia’s role in the conflict—a move meant to convince the United States and the European Union to continue sanctions against Russia and to secure additional military equipment and training for Ukraine’s armed forces.
>The military hardware currently on display in Kiev includes a Russian T-64 tank captured on June 13, 2014, during a battle between Ukrainian government troops and separatist rebels outside the eastern Ukrainian town Slavyansk. According to a Ukrainian information placard accompanying the display, the tank was never a part of the Ukrainian military, underscoring its Russian provenance.
>The Kremlin denies providing material support for the separatists and has said that any Russian soldiers captured fighting in Ukraine were there on their own accord while on leave. Moscow has also said that convoys of trucks crossing from Russia into separatist-controlled areas have been transporting humanitarian supplies despite claims from Kiev that the convoys were a ruse meant to conceal arms shipments. 0c8a77 No.3288
Ukrainian reforms are under threat – UN:
http://www.unian.info/world/1052821-ukrainian-reforms-are-under-threat-un.html
>The reforms Ukraine needs are under threat, UN Assistant Secretary General for Human Rights Ivan Simonovic says.
>He announced this at a UN Security Council meeting on Friday, an UNIAN correspondent reported.
>According to him, the reforms Ukraine has needed long ago and that have been promised are now under threat, as the government is currently focused on other priorities.
>Against the current economic background, the Ukrainian government needs to demonstrate its commitments when fighting against corruption and ensure the dispassionate execution of justice and punish those who are guilty of human rights violations, he said.
>"This will restrain further violations of human rights", Simonovic said.
>He also claims that those who are responsible for the violence that has killed many people should be brought to justice.
>John Ging, the Operations Director of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, earlier told the UN Security Council meeting on Friday that in the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine there are two million people that need urgent humanitarian assistance.———————
U.S. at UN Security Council accuses militants of murdering 500 civilians in Debaltseve:
http://www.unian.info/war/1052832-us-at-un-security-council-accuses-militants-of-murdering-500-civilians-in-debaltseve.html
>U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power claims that bodies of 500 civilians killed in firing by pro-Russian militants have been found in the town of Debaltseve in Donetsk region.
>Power announced this at a meeting of the UN Security Council in New York on Friday.
>According to her, the separatists use the current ceasefire for redeployment, and Russia continues to provide them with unrestricted access to weaponry.
>Describing the situation around the village of Shyrokyne, she expressed concern that the nearby city of Mariupol, which is currently under the Ukrainian government's control, could become the next target for separatists and the Russian military.
>Power also drew attention to the situation in Debaltseve, where "hundreds of bodies" have been found. In particular, referring to data provided by the UN, the U.S. Ambassador said 500 bodies had been found in the cellars of residential buildings in Debaltseve after the attack by militants on the town. According to her, people were hiding in the cellars and houses from firing by pro-Russian separatists.
>"An OCHA report from the end of last month said that 500 bodies had been found in houses and basements at the end of the siege – 500 bodies. Homes and basements where people took shelter from the endless barrage of Russian-made mortars and rockets as they rained down on the city's residents – residents who could not escape," she said.
>Power said that one of the rebel leaders had once declared that those who would be leaving the town would fall under their fire.
>"Weeks into the siege, at the end of January, the self-declared leader of the Russian-backed separatists had announced, “Anybody who leaves…will be in the interlocking field of fire of our artillery. From today, the road is under fire.” And so those inside were left with a choice: risk your life by staying, or risk your life by leaving. Civilians were killed doing both, and again, 500 bodies found in homes and basements where people took shelter," she said.
>According to her, the casualties and the displaced are one of the devastating consequences of this conflict. "Another – and one we rarely speak about in this Council anymore – is the ongoing illegal occupation and attempted annexation of Crimea by a permanent member of this Council. Crimea is important not only because it constitutes the continuing violation of the territorial integrity of a sovereign nation – a violation orchestrated in Moscow, and dressed up in a sham referendum – but also because it offers a preview of the kind of rule that we can expect in the other parts of Ukraine seized by those who see themselves as part of Novorossiya," Power said. 0c8a77 No.3289
Switzerland steps up sanctions against Russia over Ukraine:
http://www.unian.info/politics/1052853-switzerland-steps-up-sanctions-against-russia-over-ukraine.html
>The government of Switzerland has stepped up its sanctions against Russia over Ukraine by prolonging their effect and extending the list of restrictive measures taken by the European Union in connection with the situation in Ukraine.
>The Federal Council of Switzerland on March 6, 2015, decided to extend its measures to prevent the circumvention of international sanctions, Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported.
>"It added the measures decreed by the EU last December following non-recognition of the annexation of the Crimea and Sevastopol to the ordinance on international sanctions of 27 August 2014," the Federal Council said in an official statement.
>All foreign investment in the peninsular of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol is now prohibited. Service bans apply in the investment and tourism branches, and in some other economic sectors. The existing ban on the export of key goods to Crimea and Sevastopol has been extended to include further articles. In addition, the measures have been made more precise to accord with adjustments made to the EU sanctions.
>Furthermore, 28 names have been added to the existing list of individuals and businesses with whom financial intermediaries may no longer enter into new business relationships. Anyone in Switzerland with existing business dealings with any of these entities is required to report this relationship.——————
Poroshenko vows to release 204 Ukrainian soldiers from captivity:
http://www.unian.info/society/1052680-poroshenko-vows-to-release-204-ukrainian-soldiers-from-captivity.html
>The Ukrainian government has promised to release 204 Ukrainian soldiers from captivity in the self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Friday at a meeting with activists of the Khmelnitskiy region.
>"We will definitely return home 204 Ukrainian prisoners held by the Russian-backed militants. I also believe that Ukrainian pilot Nadia Savchenko will also be home soon," he said.
>"I do my best step by step so that Ukraine can live in peace. We need this peace to revive our economy," Poroshenko said.
>"If the war in the east of Ukraine ends, 2016 could be a year of economic recovery," he added. 0c8a77 No.3290
Russia to match US lethal aid to Ukraine: Top US diplomat:
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/ukraine/2015/ukraine-150306-presstv01.htm
>A top US diplomat has said the United States will supply lethal arms to Ukraine if "aggression" from pro-Russian forces persists, but warned that Moscow would easily match the effort by sending more weapons into the country.
>Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that the US was already moving to provide the Ukrainian military with non-lethal military assistance.
>'But if the aggression continues, I think there will be more and more pressure to give them other means to protect themselves,' Blinken said in the interview with German radio (DLF), according to Reuters.
>'And you know, it's certainly true that, were any of us to provide weapons to Ukraine, Russia could match that and then double that and triple that and quadruple that,' he stated.———————
Ukraine's Economy Is Worse Than It Looks:
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-03-06/ukraine-s-economy-is-worse-than-it-looks
>The world's worst-performing currency this year, the Ukrainian hryvnia, has bounced back 47 percent since last week's precipitous plunge. It's tempting to conclude Ukraine has pulled back from the brink of financial disaster. In reality, the Ukrainian central bank and government are just sweeping their problems under the rug to make them less obvious to the International Monetary Fund as it prepares a decision on a rescue package for the country on March 11. After the IMF money arrives, Ukraine will probably resume its previous monetary policy – the most disastrous and Soviet-like pursued anywhere in Europe since the early 1990s.
>This chart of the hryvnia's exchange rate to the U.S. dollar may look depressingly like a dead bird lying on its back, but, in theory, it shows progress in recent days: [see pic related]
>The hryvnia has now approached the 21.7 per U.S. dollar level stipulated by the IMF program. That would be great if it weren't just the meaningless official exchange rate. Though the hryvna was officially floated last month, it is propped up by Wednesday's refinancing rate hike to 30 percent from 19.5 percent and by currency controls. These include a ban on foreign exchange sales of more than 3,000 hryvnias to individuals and on foreign currency deposit payouts of more than 15,000 hryvnias, limits on currency purchases by banks for their own accounts, a requirement that exporters sell 75 percent of their foreign receipts for hryvnias and the ceaseless harassment of importers trying to make payments outside Ukraine.
>These draconian measures might seem reasonable given that Ukraine's international reserves at the end of February were down to $5.6 billion, the lowest level since June 2003. There's also the fact that the National Bank of Ukraine spends about $1 billion per month despite all the present restrictions, half on debt servicing and half on interventions to prop up the hryvna's official rate. With the coffers running empty, National Bank governor Valeria Gontareva had to do something to convince the IMF that Ukraine would be able to repay it.
>The problem is that the harsh foreign exchange regulation, which makes it nearly impossible to travel abroad or conduct cross-border business, and the interest rate, which pretty much precludes domestic investment through bank funding, are driving much of the economy into the shadow sector. Ukraine has long had one of the biggest shadow economies in the world. Before last year's "revolution of dignity," the IMF estimated it at about 50 percent of output, and it is probably bigger now, because private citizens' foreign exchange transactions have moved almost entirely to the black market, and the corporate ones have gone offshore. 0c8a77 No.3291
>>3290cont.
>At the same time, the National Bank is not independent by any measure. It is printing money to finance public spending: Last year, according to Gontareva, the National Bank funded 40 percent of the country's consolidated budget. This is being done through the direct – non open-market – purchase of domestic bonds issued by the government. The National Bank has promised the IMF to stanch this flood, limiting the direct funding of public expenditures to 90 billion hryvnias this year. But between Jan. 1 and Feb. 26, 2015, it has already bought 20.3 billion hryvnias of government bonds.
>Gontareva insisted in a speech to parliament today that the country's monetary base has actually shrunk in the last two months, but that's hardly what people believe. The black market exchange rate (this being tech-savvy Ukraine, you can follow it on the Internet) is now more than 27 hryvnias to the dollar, about 25 percent lower than the official one. More than half of the Ukrainian economy likely runs on this basis, outside the regulators' reach.
>As Gontareva spoke today, parliament deputies, led by radical populist Oleh Lyashko [pic related], shouted her down until it was impossible for her to finish the speech. The National Bank eventually published her full remarks on its site, which is the only reason I know what she planned to say. The legislators never heard the central bank governor announce that she expected a rate of 20-22 hryvnias to the dollar would eliminate Ukraine's current account deficit and that new IMF loans would be used to replenish the country's international reserves to $17 billion by the end of this year.
>But this is no panacea. If the planned increase in foreign reserves prompts the National Bank to relax its currency controls, the hryvnia will inevitably sink at least to the current black market level unless the National Bank intervenes and depletes the reserves again.
>Ukraine today faces a rare paradox. Its citizens are fervidly patriotic and energized by the need to resist Russian aggression, but they are so deeply mistrustful of the authorities they elected by a landslide last year that they do everything to escape their watch. They are drawing down their bank deposits and moving most of their economic activity to the shadow sector: Last year, banks lost 126 billion hryvnias in deposits, and in the last two months, another 18 billion hryvnias. The enormous volunteer infrastructure supporting Ukraine's ragtag military also exists off the government's radar.
>Strictly speaking, the IMF shouldn't approve the bailout package next week. Recent events have shown that the government and the national bank are losing control of the economy. Yet the Fund will probably make a political decision to fund Ukraine anyway. Any other decision will ruin the country and hand Russian President Vladimir Putin an easy victory.
>There are indications that once the bailout is all set, Kiev will see a massive government reshuffle, in which Gontareva and a number of ministers may lose their jobs. This game of musical chairs, however, is unlikely to increase trust in President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk. As long as there's no significant decrease in corruption levels and scant evidence that the government knows what it's doing, the possibility of a coup by the battered, angry military will grow. Ukraine has wasted time, and now not even the IMF may be able to help. c6eaba No.3295
>>3286>Hurrhurr here are some Russian weapons the other guys got from Russia>Shows off Soviet equipment likely built in Donbass in the 70's and 80's that might as well be wrecked Ukrainian vehicles since they're also in service in the Ukrainian armed forcesThis again, courtesy of the people that can't even be bothered to show a single photo to back up their repeated claims that they've beaten off entire Russian invasions without losing a single person?
These people are worse propagandists than the North Koreans. At least show off something like a T-72 model you don't have in your own stockpile, or something like that which has been operating in the region. You know, as opposed to showing off vehicles that your own army has lost in their hundreds over the past year. Or heck, that you abandoned in the hundreds to the NAF after Debaltseve!
Good on you guys for keeping this up by the way. I'd been mostly gone for over a week, so as time consuming as it was to go through a hundred posts full of summarized news articles, that's a pretty fantastic resource and I can't thank you guys enough for putting in the hours in this thread.
c6eaba No.3297
TWO MEN HELD OVER NEMTSOV MURDERhttp://rt.com/news/238653-suspects-nemtsov-murder-detained/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31778279Not directly Ukraine related, but since it's been talked about earlier in the thread this update seemed relevant. Russian and English sources provided for the sake of comparison.Jokes about a Perfect Prosecutor spinoff where Natalia tries to solve the crime once and for all go here.
c6eaba No.3298
YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.
Here's the current RT coverage on the murder for those that don't feel like reading the articles.
>Two suspects from the North Caucasus region are detained
>FSB claims to have strong proof supporting their case
b892a7 No.3302
>>3297>>3298It's not even remotely possible Putin ordered it, this is an obvious false flag.
0c8a77 No.3306
>>3297I figured it was likely to become relevant to Ukraine in some manner, but the only way it's connected now is through Nemtsov's alleged proof of Russian involvement in Ukraine (which he kept no record of, choosing to use his memory instead of notes). Source:
http://www.dw.de/russian-opposition-wants-to-publish-nemtsov-report/a-18301203
>Before he was gunned down in Moscow, Russian opposition figure Boris Nemtsov was working on a report that aimed to shed light on "the lies" of President Vladimir Putin, some of his associates have said to the media. Now, those same colleagues from the opposition movement Solidarnost want to publish Nemtsov's findings.
>Nemtsov's colleagues said most of what he had gathered was publicly available, but to their knowledge he had never written anything but a table of contents. He also dictated his accounts from memory. Shorina and Yashin hope to put his reports together and publish them next month. According to Yashin, the body of information will be called "Putin and the war." 0c8a77 No.3307
Welcome to Ukraine: Wild West of Populist Politics:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nikolas-kozloff/welcome-to-ukraine-wild-w_b_6820930.html?utm_hp_ref=world&ir=WorldPostGoes over the rise in populist politics in Ukraine - particularly Lyashko ( see
>>3291 ).
0c8a77 No.3310
>>3306>>3302Also, upon further thought, isn't it possible that Nemtsov was assassinated because of this report on Ukraine (assuming it isn't bullshit)?
——————
Statements by US permanent representative to the UN Samantha Power:
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/ukraine/2015/ukraine-150306-usun01.htm
>Just as Russia and Russian-backed separatists prevented the SMM from going to Debaltseve while these forces carried out their vicious attack, recent SMM reports chronicle repeated, persistent obstruction by Russian-backed separatists, obstructions that include even threatening to kill OSCE monitors.
>To date, the separatists have granted OSCE monitors sporadic access limited to certain roads, when and where it suits them. As we have asked before, it bears asking again: Who obstructs an objective observer other than someone who has something to hide from an unbiased eye?
>The Minsk Implementation Package also calls for the full pullback of all heavy weapons. That, too, has not happened.Not true, according to the rebels.
Pro-Russian Rebels In Ukraine Say Weapons Pullback Complete:
http://www.rferl.org/content/ukraine-weapons-withdrawal-rebels-russia-finished/26887141.htmlImportant to note, however, is that they only claim to have pulled back. OSCE will have to confirm. Back to Power's statements.
>Two days ago, Russia sent its 17th so-called humanitarian convoy into Ukraine, once again denying international observers and Ukrainian border guards the right to conduct a full and complete inspection of its contents. Russian convoys that should be coming out of Ukraine are instead going in. If these convoys are carrying humanitarian assistance, why not allow a full inspection?I do agree with this point; there's no reason the convoys should not be fully inspected.
I'll leave it at that - you can read the rest at will. Here are other statements by her:
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/ukraine/2015/ukraine-150306-usun02.htm c6eaba No.3313
>>3302>>3306That it isn't Putin is a no-brainer. At most you could probably argue that a lone wolf vaguely related to United Russia disagreed with his views, but even that seems very, very far-fetched and unlikely. The guy commanded almost no popular support, especially with his opposition to the Crimean unification and support for Ukrainian integration into the west, and was a no-name dead-end politician as far as most of Russian society was concerned. You can also correct me on this point if I'm mistaken, but his party didn't even have a seat in the Duma. So for western media to march in lockstep and claim that Putin was shaking in his boots in terror of this supposedly influential politician is absurd drivel. He might as well have Duma's janitorial staff shot at that point; they were closer to the seat of power than this guy.
This is what western coverage of Russian politics has always been though. Yeltsin 2.0's that are either reviled or completely unknown are described as the beloved hopes of the nation that only lose in the polls because of cheating, and actual opposition parties like the communists are unheard of. Propaganda press, nothing new, etc.
It will be very interesting to where the investigation leads. Of course, if it turns out to be a false flag, even if they catch a CIA/SBU stooge red-handed with all relevant documentation, I wouldn't exactly be shocked if BBC and their ilk brushed it all under the rug and went off on a new tirade on how Putin is murdering your kids. Speaking of fools!
EU won’t be pushed into confrontation over Ukraine – foreign policy chiefhttp://rt.com/news/238681-eu-oppose-confrontation-ukraine/
>The EU is resisting calls from hotheads to supply arms to Ukraine, saying it won’t be pulled into a confrontation with Russia. Europeans cite the progress in implementing a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine between Kiev and local rebels.The EU claiming it won't do what it's already doing, or a positive sign for the cease fire? You be the judge.
0c8a77 No.3314
A rebel battalion commander has been assassinated according to liveuamap.
——————-
Kiev Continues Third Stage of Heavy Arms Withdrawal in East Ukraine:
>Ukrainian army is continuing the pullout of heavy arms in Donbas, Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said Saturday.
>"The third stage of the Ukrainian armed forces' military equipment in accordance with the Minsk agreement is continuing. The withdrawal of Uragan multiple rocket launchers to a previously prepared site began yesterday," the National Security and Defense Council spokesman said at a briefing.
>The 100-mm Rapira anti-tank guns, as well as the 122-mm Grad multiple rocket launchers and the 152-mm Akatsiya self-propelled artillery have already been removed from the line of contact, Lysenko added.
>The pullout of large-caliber weapons from the line of contact in Donbas is part of 13 measures toward the Ukrainian reconciliation, collectively referred to as the Minsk agreement, signed by the sides of the Ukrainian internal conflict to the nearly year-long conflict on February 12.
>March 1, two weeks after a ceasefire came into force, marked the deadline for the withdrawal of heavy arms set out by the Minsk deal. Independence forces claim they have met the deadline by completing the process on Sunday.
>Eduard Basurin, a top military official of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), announced on Saturday the withdrawal of 24 120-mm heavy mortars.
>Basurin emphasized the pullout was not part of the February 12 Minsk peace deal, but was done in "the spirit, rather than the letter" of the agreement.———————
>>3313Related:
EU shows little appetite for more Russia sanctions:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/07/us-ukraine-crisis-eu-idUSKBN0M30GV20150307?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews
>EU foreign ministers showed little appetite on Saturday for stepping up pressure on Russia over Ukraine, preferring to give a fragile ceasefire a chance before deciding whether to apply more sanctions or even to extend existing ones.
>Most ministers at an EU meeting in the Latvian capital pinned their hopes on the latest Minsk agreement succeeding and said the EU should only consider tightening sanctions if the ceasefire was seriously violated, such as by a separatist offensive on the Ukrainian port of Mariupol.
>Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni saw "encouraging signals" on the ground in eastern Ukraine.
>"At the moment we don’t need either new sanctions or automatic renewals (of sanctions)," he told reporters.
>Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz agreed.
>"There is a glimpse of hope since Minsk … We should do everything now to improve the situation and decide later whether that improvement really happened and we can reduce the sanctions, or if we have to extend them," he said.
>The comments reflect divisions within the 28-nation EU over sanctions on Russia, the bloc's biggest energy supplier.
>While Britain, Poland and the Baltic states take a tough line, many other EU members, including Italy, Austria and Cyprus, are skeptical about sanctions. Alexis Tsipras's election victory in Greece has strengthened the dovish camp.
>A key decision that the EU must face soon is whether to extend economic sanctions against Russia which it adopted for one year last July. Unanimity is required to extend them.
>French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Friday that a debate was going on in the EU, with some countries saying the bloc should state now that it would extend the economic sanctions until the end of the year.
>"Others say it would be a bit contradictory to say, on the one hand, Minsk is being applied and on the other hand we are going to go (extend sanctions) until the end of year," Fabius told reporters in Riga.
>He said a decision on whether to extend existing economic sanctions on Russia could wait until around July.
>"If Minsk develops positively, then it is likely that nothing new will be done on sanctions," he said. If, on the other hand, there were serious violations to Minsk, sanctions remained available, he said.
>Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius, an EU hawk on Russia, said on Friday that extending sanctions to the end of the year was "the least we can do".
>Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said on Saturday existing sanctions would probably be extended until year-end.
>"What matters is that … we maintain unity within the EU, and above all that we continue to put on pressure so that things change on the ground," he said. 0c8a77 No.3315
>>3314Shit forgot source: Kiev Continues Third Stage of Heavy Arms Withdrawal in East Ukraine:
http://sputniknews.com/europe/20150307/1019195910.html c6eaba No.3316
YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.
>>3314I hope it isn't Givi assuming that it isn't just misinformation/fog of war.
Not surprised that the EU doesn't have much of a heart in it for more sanctions though. They're broke and set to lose the GDP of a small country due to lost trade at this rate. When you're addled with a mess like Greece, that's not the right time to burn away hundreds of billions just so America can have a few more missile bases in eastern Europe. When push comes to shove though, the MEPs tend to shoot themselves in the foot when asked to. There's been a rift between the US and EU over this, but I tend to air on the side of the EU being irrational if we're taking odds in any given scenario.
The attached video is related. Covers the optimism of the observers on the ground, prisoner/body swaps, and the weapons withdrawals. Since I'm shilling stuff from RT anyway, here's another related to the topic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BowKAIaBvMOn the EU/US split and the difference in rhetoric between Germany and the US/NATO brass.
For the sake of comparison:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31779869
>Pro-Russia rebels in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, says they have "fully removed" heavy weapons from the front line, as agreed in a ceasefire deal.
>The claim was made by the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, Alexander Zakharchenko, who added that Ukraine had not reciprocated
>Ukraine's government said it would move its artillery by the end of Saturday.
>The European-brokered ceasefire signed in Minsk last month appears to be holding despite sporadic violations.If both RT and the BBC can agree on a positive news story, that's usually a good sign that it's at least somewhat stable since the BBC is otherwise prone to make claims that reek of the prelude to the Iraq war in terms of credibility.
b892a7 No.3326
>>3313>>3310He was in the company of a Ukrainian spy at the time, who led him to the ambush point.
Obvious Ukrainians did it, question is why.
0c8a77 No.3327
Authorized anti-war rally in Moscow gathers about 20 participants:
http://www.unian.info/politics/1052998-authorized-anti-war-rally-in-moscow-gathers-about-20-participants.html
>Up to 20 people took part in the event. It had been agreed with local authorities in advance.
>Participants in the rally were holding posters calling on the Kremlin to stop military aggression against Ukraine, Ukrainian Channel 5 reported.
>In addition, there were banners with portraits of killed Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov and jailed Ukrainian pilot Nadia Savchenko. Activists were also wearing yellow and blue ribbons patterned in the national colors of the Ukrainian flag.
>The rally was resolutely countered by supporters of Putin's policy. A few dozens of people with flags of Russia and black and orange ribbons of Saint George, used by Russian civilians as a patriotic symbol and widely associated in Ukraine with Russian nationalist and separatist sentiment, gathered near the venue of the event. They made attempts to disrupt the anti-war rally. However, Russian police took measures to prevent clashes.————————
US/UK Set to Violate Minsk2 Agreement?:
http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/08-03-2015/129992-violation_minsk_two-0/
>What we've got laid out is six United States companies that will be training six Ukrainian companies throughout the summer."The training will take place at the level of US and Ukrainian national guard companies, Foster explained, adding that "we have nothing above battalion staff level" engaged in the military training.
>"The current plan is for US forces to stay six months, he said, and noted there have been discussions about how to increase the duration and the scope of the training mission."
>The UK also announced that they would be sending about 75 of their military over.
>However, look at the terms of Minsk2, Item 10:
>"Withdrawal of all foreign armed units, military equipment, as well as mercenaries from the territory of Ukraine under the supervision of the OSCE. The disarmament of all illegal groups."Not posting the rest since it's just biased vitriol directed towards the West, but I hadn't considered that the foreign troops training the Ukrainians would violate the Minsk protocol.
——————–
4 suspects in Nemtsov murder detained:
http://rt.com/news/238653-suspects-nemtsov-murder-detained/
>Four suspects in the high-profile murder case of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov have been detained, according to the Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Russian republic of Ingushetia’s Security Council.
>According to FSB chief Aleksandr Bortnikov, the authorities originally detained two suspects on Saturday, who were identified as Anzor Gubashev and Zaur Dadayev.
>Bortnikov said both suspects come from Russia’s southern region of the North Caucasus, a restive place with insurgency and crime problems.
>The Investigative Committee confirmed that the two detainees are implicated in both organizing and executing the hit on Nemtsov. “We are continuing our work to establish which individuals may be involved in this crime,” the committee’s spokesman Vladimir Markin said.
>Later on Saturday, the secretary of the Security Council of Russia's Republic of Ingushetia told Sputnik that two more people have been apprehended by the authorities in connection with the investigation.
>They were identified as Gubashev’s younger brother and a man who was in the same car with Dadayev at the time of the arrest, Albert Barakhoyev told the news agency.
>Investigators are looking into five possible motives behind Nemtsov’s assassination. According to Vladimir Markin, spokesman for the Investigative Committee, the murder may have been a provocation to destabilize the political situation in Russia.
>It could also be linked to threats Nemtsov received over his stance on the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris, or the current war in Ukraine. The politician’s business activities and a possible assault related to his personal life are also being looked into.
>The prime witness to the crime, Ukrainian model, Anna Duritskaya, who was accompanying Nemtsov, has since returned to Kiev. She told the media she was unable to identify the killer. 0c8a77 No.3344
5 suspects arrested over Nemtsov murder, 1 'confessed' - court:
http://rt.com/news/238813-nemtsov-murder-charged-court/
>Moscow's Basmanny district court has arrested five people in connection with the murder of Boris Nemtsov, a prominent opposition figure, who was gunned down last week.
>Two judges are reviewing the charges against the five people brought before the court by the prosecutors on Sunday.
>Two of them are Zaur Dadaev and Anzor Gubashev, who were identified as key suspects in the killing of Nemtsov after their detention on Saturday.
>The prosecutors asked the court to arrest the duo by April 28, the current deadline for the investigation, saying that otherwise they may flee or interfere with the investigation.
>According to the judge, who ordered Dadaev’s arrest as requested by the prosecution, he confessed his involvement to the police. The accused didn’t comment on this during the court session.
>Gubashev pleaded not guilty to the crimes he is charged with.
>The other individuals, who may have had a hand in the crime, are Gubashev’s brother Shagit and two identified as Ramzat Bakhaev and Tamerlan Eskerkhanov. The request for their arrest has been reviewed separately by another judge.
>“The suspects denied their ties to the crime, but we have evidence of their guilt. It includes forensic evidence and eyewitness accounts,”an investigator told the court.
>The trio denied their involvement, with Eskerkhanov claiming to have an alibi. But the judge ordered their arrests as well.
>Eskerkhanov and Bakhaev have been remanded until May 8 and Shagit Gubashev - until May 7.————-
ATO Headquarters: fourth phase of heavy weaponry pull-out over:
http://www.unian.info/war/1053157-ato-headquarters-fourth-phase-of-heavy-weaponry-pull-out-over.html
>The Ukrainian side has completed the fourth phase of the withdrawal of heavy weaponry from the line of contact in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) zone in eastern Ukraine.
>This was announced by ATO speaker Andriy Lysenko.
>"We've completed the withdrawal of heavy weaponry from the line of contact. In particular, 100mm caliber Rapira and Ruta anti-tank guns and Grad and Uragan multiple rocket launcher systems have been pulled out," he said.
>According to him, all the heavy weapons are being withdrawn to designated sites. The process is being monitored by OSCE observers and journalists.—————
Putin risks further sanctions on Russia over Ukraine, says Philip Hammond:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/08/putin-russia-risks-further-eu-sanctions-ukraine-says-philip-hammond
>Vladimir Putin risks a further round of punitive EU economic sanctions against Russia if Moscow-backed separatists mount another large offensive in the Ukraine, UK foreign secretary Philip Hammond has said.
>Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show, Hammond said the post-cold war detente between Russia and the west had soured under Putin’s presidency to the point where it now sees western countries as adversaries.
>Hammond also warned that Europe faced having a “difficult, prickly relationship” with Russia for some time to come, claiming Putin believed he had “some kind of strategic veto” over the freedom of action of former Soviet states.
>Hammond told Marr: “We have all made clear that if there is a big assault, for example on Mariupol, that will be responded to with a significant increase in the economic pressure on Russia from the EU.
>Asked if that could trigger a new cold war he said: “I don’t want to talk about cold wars, but we are clear that Russia has decided, it has made the decision that it wants to be in a strategic competition with the west, with Europe.
>“It doesn’t any longer see us as partners, it sees us as competitors or even adversaries and that means that we are going to have a difficult, prickly relationship with Russia probably for some time to come.”
>Hammond told Marr that under the Minsk peace plan Moscow agreed to hand back control of all Russian territory by the end of the year and could “expect the temperature to be turned up significantly” if it did not.
>He also said Putin was aware of Nato’s “hard red line” protecting its Baltic members from Russian incursions.
>The foreign secretary claimed the Russian president believed he had “some kind of strategic veto” over the freedom of action of former Soviet states, adding: “That puts him, frankly, at odds with our view of the post-Soviet settlement in Europe.” 0c8a77 No.3345
Nemtsov murder suspect blows himself up as more arrests made:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/11457476/Nemtsov-murder-suspect-blows-himself-up-as-more-arrests-made.html
>A suspect in the murder of Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov blew himself up with a grenade as police tried to detain him in Chechnya, it has been reported.
>Officers surrounded the man at an apartment in Grozny on Saturday evening, but he was killed by a hand grenade that exploded as he tossed it towards them, a law enforcement source told Interfax. b892a7 No.3352
>>3314liveuamap is a ukrainian controlled site, they said motorolla was dead too
0c8a77 No.3353
>>3352True, and I've yet to see any news on an assassination in Ukraine. I use liveuamap because the alternative site, militarymaps.info/ , is hell on my browser (usually crashes when I pull up the site) and it's also in Cyrillic the majority of the time.
0c8a77 No.3358
China vows cooperation with Russia despite West’s sanctions:
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1732599/china-vows-cooperation-russia-despite-wests-sanctions
>China vowed Sunday to plough ahead on economic and diplomatic cooperation with Russia despite Western sanctions against Moscow over the conflict in Ukraine, stressing their relations are based on “mutual need”.
>“The practical cooperation between China and Russia is based on mutual need, it seeks win-win results and has enormous internal impetus and room for expansion,” said Beijing’s foreign minister Wang Yi.
>As well as sanctions, Vladimir Putin’s Russia is facing a sharp decline in its ruble currency amid an economic crisis fuelled largely by plunging oil prices.
>Both countries are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, where they have in the past jointly used their veto power against Western-backed moves such as in the civil war in Syria.
>Wang told reporters on the sidelines of the National People’s Congress, China’s Communist-controlled parliament, that Beijing and Moscow will “continue to carry out strategic coordination and cooperation to maintain international peace and security”.
>Wang’s comments signal that Putin, assailed by the West over the annexation of Crimea and the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine, can count on continued Chinese economic and diplomatic support.
>Beijing and Moscow, allies and then adversaries during the Cold War, have over the past quarter century often found common ground internationally, frequently taking similar stands at the UN.
>They have also forged increasingly closer economic ties, with China hungry for Russia’s vast hydrocarbon resources. Western sanctions have made seeking stable markets an urgent need for Putin, whose economy has been hit hard by the fall in prices for oil, a major source of revenue.
>Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, who met five times last year, have a close personal relationship.
>Xi told visiting Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov in February that the two countries’ “cooperation grows ever deeper”.
>In the economic arena, the two sides will “work hard” to increase bilateral trade to $100 billion, while intensifying cooperation in the financial, oil and gas and nuclear power sectors, Wang said, after China-Russia trade totalled $95.3 billion last year.
>Among other results, he said they would begin “full construction” of an eastern natural gas pipeline and also sign an agreement on the western route.
>Wang added that they would “accelerate joint development and research” on long-range wide body passenger jets, begin working together to develop Russia’s far eastern region and step up cooperation on high speed railways. 00f02c No.3360
>>3353I have the same problem. 100MB/s download speed, i7 quad core CPU and 16GB of RAM. No idea why, but it runs like dogshit. Plus being unable to read Russian doesn't help.
0c8a77 No.3361
Falsification Revealed: Zbigniew Brzezinski Lied to US Senate About Crimea:
http://sputniknews.com/analysis/20150308/1019229771.html
>Zbigniew Brzezinski, the former National Security Advisor, urged US policy-makers to bolster NATO military presence in the Baltic states and provide military aid to Ukraine, by falsifying facts and history, an American political analyst said.
>At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on threats to US national security, former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski repeatedly claimed that Russia "seized" Crimea and could soon attack the Baltic states, urging American policy-makers to increase NATO military presence in Latvia and Estonia.
>The former national security advisor stressed that "the only sensible step" was to amass NATO military forces near the Russian border. He said that he also considered some "actions of a semi-military type" as well as "occasional military engagement" of NATO's forces in armed confrontation with Russia.
>According to Brzezinski, deterrence is the only way to peace, so far Washington should send arms and troops to Eastern Europe in order to prevent World War III.
>"I wonder how many people in this room or this very important senatorial committee really anticipated that one day Putin would land military personnel in Crimea and seize it. I think if anybody said that's what he is going to do, he or she would be labeled as a warmonger. He did it. And he got away with it. I think he’s also drawing lessons from that. And I'll tell you what my horror, night-dream, is: that one day, I literally mean one day, he just seizes Riga, and Talinn. Latvia and Estonia. It would literally take him one day," the old hawk Brzezinski underscored during the hearing.
>Eric Zuesse, an American political analyst, exposed the hypocrisy of Zbigniew Brzezinski pointing out three serious falsehoods in the former national security advisor's testimony.
>The analyst emphasized that what Brzezinski called the "seizure" of Crimea by Russia on March 16, 2014, was in fact an act of aggression of the United States, that backed a military coup in Kiev. The so called "Maidan revolution" resulted in ousting of democratically elected president Viktor Yanukovych.
>Eric Zuesse cited the founder of Stratfor, "the private CIA firm," who dubbed the event as "the most blatant coup in history." Predictably, Washington's move was qualified by Moscow as a hostile action directly threatening Russia's security. Surprisingly, Zbigniew Brzezinski did not say a word about it, although he had repeatedly claimed in his publications that without Ukraine Moscow would be unable to ensure its security and would lose a chance become a truly global player.
>The analyst even went so far to claim that Brzezinski could have intentionally deceived US congressmen, by not shedding light on the historical background of the event.
>Eric Zuesse also pointed to the fact that Gallup polls both before and after the Crimean vote on March 16, 2014 indicated an overwhelming majority of the population of the region (more than 90 percent) demonstrated their strong determination to be part of Russia. The analyst emphasized that Crimea had been a Russian territory from 1783 to 1954 and so far its inhabitants always considered themselves Russian, not Ukrainian nationals.
>Zuesse called into question the thesis of Brzezinski that Russia "land[ed] military personnel in Crimea and seize[d] it," pointing to the fact that Russia's Black Sea Fleet has been stationed in the region since 1783. The Russian military were ensuring security in Crimea during the peaceful vote. Therefore, the idea put forth by Brzezinski that Russia was preparing for a quick military assault against the Baltic states was completely divorced from reality, the analyst underscored.
>Zuesse also pointed out that the NATO Treaty is a mutual-defense provision, and denounced Brzezinski's idea that US should send weaponry and troops to all Eastern Europe NATO member states – Russia's former allies – in order to "prevent Putin to invade NATO" as ridiculous.
>He underscored that the alarmist statements made by the former national advisor are evidently directed to provoke a confrontation between Moscow and Washington. The question remains open, whether Brzezinski is demonstrating his ignorance as a geostrategist or whether he wants to trigger a possible military conflict between the global powers intentionally.>>3360And here I was thinking it was just my shitty laptop.
95621b No.3362
>>3360100mb/s internet? Is that domestic? Shit, domestic 100mb/s is fiction in my country, yet…
Also, i'm here to remind you guys to use the new thread, please.
d61338 No.12570
YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.
>>2650>Do not forget Russian is very pro-AssadThis video explains Putin's view on Syria.
781792 No.12571
>>12570Russia could do a lot about it now, though.
>Cypros d61338 No.12604
>>2719>Maybe the UN is going to be seen as a failure and disbanded like it's precursor: the League of Nations.Fuck that!
If the UN isn't there to, with the use of law, hold back the US the US could steam-roll the entire world militarily.
78f11e No.12645
Lots of claims on Twitter that there's fighting in Donetsk and that the ceasefire is over. Probably best to search ukraine on twitter than to try to paraphrase everything here.
(One account covering it)
https://twitter.com/shelomovskiy
>Russia to stop gas delivery via Ukraine by 2019, push ahead with Turkish Stream -Gazprom CEOI suppose it's not a surprise that the contract won't be renewed
(via RT)
https://archive.today/RFSw5
>#Novorossiya n hackers published the names of Western military instructors that will be training #Ukraine soldiers. (via cyber-berkut.ru, shitty English description, Russian language dox)
https://archive.today/7K0zt 78f11e No.12646
I'm seeing some more claims and videos (dark videos) of fighting at Donetsk Airport again. Isn't that airport well within rebel held territory? I don't understand how that can still be a front-line. It's almost like they put on a show there most of the video that has ever been released was from that same location.
78f11e No.12647
Lots more claims of heavy fighting in Donetsk here
https://twitter.com/NewRussiaPress
>BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's foreign minister met his Russian, Ukrainian and French counterparts in Berlin on Monday evening to discuss how the Minsk agreement can be put into action as violence intensified in eastern Ukraine.(via thestar.com.my)
https://archive.today/fg4jo e455e5 No.12684
>>12604>Implying that the US wouldn't just up and steamroll the rest of the world in spite of the UN to begin with, if it really wanted to. fccbf6 No.12795
>>12604>>12684
>implying it could, even if it wanted.Oh wait, they DO WANT, they just can't.
That is why they have to put up such theatrics.
Direct confrontation is Mutually Assured Destruction.
d5cfc3 No.12798
>>12604>If the UN isn't there to, with the use of law, hold back the US the US could steam-roll the entire world militarily.You're joking, right?
UN is an american tool to justify their deeds, not the other way around. They use it to justify their actions and to spill their propaganda, UN has no way of enforcing anything to anyone… Not even gonna comment about the part how US is steamrolling anything…
>>12646Shouldn't be possible.
Either its a missinformation, or the Ukrainian troops somehow survived in the airport for months without any food or supplies, hiding themselfs from any rebels, which is highly unlikely.
>>12647Thanks for the update.
But still, it was a no-brainer that the minsk treaty won't last.
According to the Minsk treaty Rebel held territory should become a special area WITHIN Ukraine, while according to the Rebels they would only accept a peace in which they are independant FROM Ukraine.
Basicly this treaty is doing the exact opposite of what the rebels said they want.
270660 No.12929
TL;DR Escalation despite peace talks since this Tuesday (April 15th).
Ukraine conflict: Soldiers killed despite truce talks
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32296796Ukraine said six government soldiers were killed in a 24-hour period and rebels said one of their fighters died in an army attack.
Fighting in eastern Ukraine rages on overnight despite talks
http://news.yahoo.com/fighting-eastern-ukraine-rages-overnight-despite-talks-072101600.htmlFighting raged overnight and in the early hours on Tuesday on the outskirts of the rebel stronghold of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine despite an agreement reached by the Ukrainian and Russian foreign ministers a day earlier.
Ukraine crisis: 700 explosions around Donetsk airport and Shyrokyne despite truce
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/ukraine-crisis-700-explosions-around-donetsk-airport-shyrokyne-despite-truce-1496509OSCE verifies heavy weapons are still being used despite truce.
8c56ee No.12934
>>12798But it is not peace, it's a ceasefire. In fact the Rebels considered being granted special status a minor victory.
d5cfc3 No.13053
>>12934Will post the videos and sources if I find them, but Im 100% sure that they've said numerious times that after all the shelling they've received they no longer fight for having a special status, and won't accept it no matter what. The only thing they'll accept is independence and it is not negotiable, the only thing thats negotiable is what size will Novorussia become.
fccbf6 No.13060
Attention
You guys have actually been posting in the old Ukraine thread.
Post in the latest one instead, please.