Ukraine crisis. News in brief. Monday 08 February [Ukrainian sources]

MONDAY

Please scroll down to view news items added during the day

News -
The Russians fire at the Ukrainian people in 61 separate incidents yesterday. A high figure.
Update - AP report says 1 soldier injured - Marinka. But other report says 3 injured when vehicle hit mine.

Weather -
Probably a copy of yesterday. A cool start to the day, but clear sky. -2. High maybe of +4. Above average.

Footie -
I think tickets for the Dynamo game against Man City all but sold out on the first day.
Fortunately Admin's Walmart card did the trick and I got myself a ticket. But a lot of tickets have been bought up by touts.
They will then try and sell the tickets for a profit to Man City fans - no doubt. But how many will travel?
For buying tickets online, see about 10 posts' down.

7:24
http://atmhunt.ru/2016/02/08/v-2016-godu-na-vodoemax-ukrainy-pogiblo-30-chelovek-iz-nix-4-detej/
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People are so used to walking on the ice, fishing on the ice, in winter-time. But this winter has been very very warm.

7:30
http://hronika.info/kriminal/119603-v-doneckoy-oblasti-podorvalsya-gruzovoy-avtomobil-s-ukrainskimi-voennymi.html
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No real word on casualties or numbers. Soldiers "taken to hospital".
Found more on this story here -
http://apostrophe.com.ua/news/society/accidents/2016-02-08/pod-avdeevkoy-podorvalsya-gruzovik-s-boytsami-ato-opublikovanyi-foto/49242
...As a result, injuring three soldiers. Two of them were hospitalized with minor burns, the third is in a serious condition....

http://www.unian.info/politics/1257985-yatsenyuk-names-required-principles-for-cabinet-team-to-continue-its-work.html
....None of the political figures, none of the businessmen who have their own interests, have the right to put pressure on a minister and forcing them to take the decisions that contradict with the minister’s policy and the Ukrainian interests."
"No more political quotas in state governing bodies. No political and business interests in the management of state-owned companies and state banks," he added....
===
Fine words, but can it slowly be put into practice? The reason most people enter politics is to steal money from the state - that's what I've observed, closely following some members of a particular party.

http://www.rferl.org/content/hospital-closure-siberia-panic/27537246.html
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Hospitals are not a priority for Putin. Tanks are. All money goes into his mad war effort. Russia 2016.
Quite a good read -
...According to government statistics, the number of health facilities in rural areas fell by 75 percent from 2005 to 2013, from 8,249 to 2,085....
"No one pays heed to the population's opinion nowadays," she says gloomily. ...
====
Sounds like the Donetsk Peoples' Republic run by Shaun Walker's "DNR guys".

8:47
http://obozrevatel.com/politics/20314-kreml-nameren-obedinit-dnr-i-lnr-no-pri-etom-ubrat-zaharchenko-i-plotnitskogo-politolog.htm
====
At some point these couple of bird-brains are going to go. Even the Russian terrorist leader Girkin made fun of Zakharchenko last week. Alcoholic waste of space.
Transdniest II for Putin. Donbass - a wasteland for the foreseeable future.

8:49
http://hronika.info/kriminal/119615-v-kieve-otdelenie-sberbanka-rossii-oblili-krasnoy-kraskoy.html



Sviatoschin Raion. Held protest. About 100 people.

9:54
http://asn.in.ua/ru/news/news/32151-na-donbasse-zafiksirovany-12-vrazheskikh-bespilotn.html
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Putin hasn't given up yet on his war.

9:52
http://glavcom.ua/news/360248.html
also here
http://tyzhden.ua/News/157939
In the Petrovsky district of Donetsk, near Rationalizers streets, consolidated unit identified as Russian marines, disguised as militants "DNR". It is reported by a group of "Information Resistance"......found south an armored group, which consists of 10 units. BMP and MT-LB, and the east - the tanks (6 units)....
====
Reading more and more of Putin's mercenaries being replaced by regular Russian troops. It saves Putin money.

If you want to have a look at availability and prices, go to
http://www.nsc-olimpiyskiy.com.ua/en/fc_dynamo/tickets/
(I got there via the Dynamo website.)
And then click on "buy tickets online" - in Ukrainian - in the box - Kupit bilet online.
http://arm.esport.in.ua/m-ticket/agent4site152ru/widget/site
Then you should get a diagram of the stadium, and you can click on each sector to see availability.
I'm amazed how quickly tickets have been sold.
but I think many have been bought by speculators-touts. We will see.
I looked on the Manchester City website. They have been allocated 2.200 tickets, priced at 4.50 pounds each.
"Динамо" (Київ) - "Манчестер Сіті" (Англія)  timetable 21:45
135.00 - 2000.00 грн.
Theoretically the cheapest tickets are about 4 pounds. But you can get some very good tickets for 750. Say 20 pounds.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/police-pursue-drunk-st-petersburg-man-driving-armored-carrier/559000.html
....police received a call about an armored personnel carrier “destroying the vegetable garden of a local ...
...The police Ford sedan got stuck in the muck, and officers continued their pursuit on foot until the personnel carrier drove into a ravine and slammed into a tree,...
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Keystone cops stuff!

http://www.unian.info/world/1258253-snap-combat-readiness-checks-begin-at-russias-border-with-ukraine.html
...The checks will also show how the aviation and air defense forces are ready to counter enemy strikes in the air and protect important military and state facilities, Shoigu added....
====
Not clear whether the occupied territory border, or the "original" border, before Putin started the war.

http://en.censor.net.ua/news/373056/zakharchenko_is_drunkard_huckster_thief_and_clown_i_am_abandoning_all_his_awards_terrorist_bezler
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Fairly clear, then, why Putin likes Zakharchenko, and put him in charge of Donetsk!
Drunkard, thief, clown... he ticks all the boxes in Putin's portfolio for a puppet dictator.

http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2016/02/8/7098227/
Monday, February 8, 2016, 12:41
Day in the zone of the antiterrorist operation passed without loss, injuries suffered 1 fighter.
This at a traditional briefing on Monday said the spokesman of the Presidential Administration on ATO Andrei Lysenko.
"For the past day because of fighting among our soldiers killed no one was injured near Marinka," - he said.
===
What about the three injured when their truck hit an anti-tank mine?

https://citeam.org/russia-s-top-brass-linked-to-war-in-ukraine/
[Quite a long report. Various photo evidence. Another piece in the jigsaw that is Russian direct involvement in the war in Ukraine. ]

The relatively mild weather hitting Ukraine at the moment is mostly due to a massive low-pressure system situated somewhere around Scotland, as a guess.
But the high winds are causing problems elsewhere.

Carnival parades cancelled as strong winds hit the Netherlands
http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2016/02/carnival-parades-cancelled-as-strong-winds-hit-the-netherlands/

Storm prompts German cities to scrap Carnival parades
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-3436807/Storm-prompts-German-cities-scrap-Carnival-parades.html

A bit windy in Britain also, but they are more used to it -
Storm Imogen batters Britain with strong winds and rain - latest updates
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/live/2016/feb/08/storm-imogen-batters-britain-strong-winds-torrential-rain-latest
A 19.1m wave has been recorded off the coast of St Ives.
wow - not too good for skiing, but not bad for surfing! Some talk of 100 mph winds - but that's just a gentle sea breeze for the locals; just "a flesh wound".

In Ireland, problems keeping the guinness cool -
Strong winds cause widespread blackout in Cork and Kerry
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/strong-winds-cause-widespread-blackout-in-cork-and-kerry-1.2526688

Carnival processions cancelled and parks closed due to storm [Belgium]
http://deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws.english/News/1.2567750



However, these strong winds will bring relative warmth to Ukraine for several more days.
A beautiful day today hee in Ukraine. Blue sky, sunshine. +4 maybe now, near Kiev; 10 in Lviv. 1400. Like spring.
But there is a steady breeze blowing. Not too strong.

http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/economic/323005.html
...20.3% more than on February 6, 2015 (9.019 billion cubic meters)....
...According to the company, on February 6, 2016 the gas taking regime was 36.78 million cubic meters per day, while on February 6, 2015 some 54.5 million cubic meters of gas per day....
===
Personally, I would say - good news.
Consumption way down on last year. But then - it is amazingly warm by comparison.
No need to buy any Russian gas, in my opinion. Really - this does seem to mark the end of the road for the formerly typical Russian winter gas blackmail.
I think Ukraine could cut back on buying from Slovakia, and wait until prices drop further in the next quarter - i.e. April 01. 7 weeks' away.
Reserves would still be around 7 billion cm. No problem.

http://korrespondent.net/world/russia/3626225-dmytryi-kyselev-nazval-BBC-pomoikoi
...Recall Dmitry Kiselyov is suing the EU due to his inclusion on the "black list". Kiselev said that restrictive measures are a violation of his rights as a journalist.
====
"journalist"? That's like calling Adolf Hitler a "democrat". Kiselev is the absolute bottom scum of Russian "journalism", and that is really saying something.
The BBC recently have run programmes on the Russian - Nato conflict, and also on Putin's wealth.
Obviously it was time for a reaction from the Russian media.
Frankly, I haven't been too impressed with the bbc coverage of Ukraine. Very - sit on the wall - stuff.
But I notice that their normally placid man in Moscow has been followed a bit recently, notably on his recent trip to Novosibirsk.
Steve Rosenberg, on twitter. Clearly the Russians are clamping down further and further on real journalism in their country. The road to North Korea.

https://tvrain.ru/articles/debaltsev-403220/
====
Basically saying that Debaltseve was a Russian military operation, and that the order to shoot retreating Ukrainian soldiers was an order from Russia.
What is strange is that this report appears in the Russian press. Maybe expect tvrain to be closed down shortly!
Shoigu is the Head of the Russian armed forces. He visited Russian soldiers injured in the Debaltseve battle, and gave then awards and presents.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-germany-idUSKCN0VH14U
Merkel also said she was "appalled" and "shocked" by the suffering in the Syrian city of Aleppo, which she blamed on bomb attacks originating primarily from the Russian side in support of the Syrian government.
She said the bombings have forced tens of thousands of civilians to flee and suggested Russia's actions might be in violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution that Moscow signed in December.
====
The headline on this story has changed.
I have kept the original. But why have Reuters changed it?!

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/turkeys-erdogan-says-putin-is-occupier-in-syria/559023.html
..."What are you [Putin] doing in Syria? You're essentially an occupier,"...
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And repeat that for Crimea and the Donbass.

http://www.radiosvoboda.org/content/article/27539006.html

International research group Conflict Intelligence Team claims that managed to find yet another confirmation of the participation of Russian tank in the battle for Ukrainian city Debaltseve. One of the wounded at the Russian military Debaltseve later personally awarded the Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu. According to the authors of the investigation, it indicates that the operation was planned in Debaltsevi and approved by the highest Russian leadership

https://www.rbc.ua/rus/news/zhitomirskoy-oblasti-zafiksirovana-vspyshka-1454943779.html
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Two comments
1. This is NOT swine flu, as in H1N1 that humans have been suffering from, but "African Swine Flu". = ASF
2. Found in wild boar.

https://www.rbc.ua/rus/news/sovet-koalitsii-soberetsya-zavtra-1454944651.html
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To discuss a "plan of action".
No.1 on Tymoshenko's list = "me - President".

https://www.rbc.ua/rus/news/inflyatsiya-ukraine-nvare-sostavila-1454937695.html
Инфляция в Украине в январе составила 0,9%
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Just spotted this while looking at the topic above.
I think that is good news. Under 1% for the month. Can they get inflation down below 10% this year? Unlikely, but - there is a chance.

When Galina Karelova, a senior politician at United Russia, addressed grassroots officials at Russia’s ruling party’s congress at the weekend, her voice took on a tone of urgency.

“You must be experts on any social and economic questions of the people that come to you, and you must not make promises you can’t keep,” she told them.

As sliding oil prices push Russia’s economy towards a second year of recession, the country’s political leadership is trying to ensure all goes well in parliamentary elections scheduled for September..................

To read further go to this link:  Financial Times

"Washington is between two fires (in the context of resolving the conflict in the east of Ukraine). On the one hand geopolitics demands an alliance with Russia due to Syrian issue. On the other hand the situation brings the U.S. into conflict with the Russian Federation because of war in Ukraine."

Ukraine's negotiator in Minsk talks to resolve situation in the Donbas Roman Bezsmertnyi expressed such opinion in an interview with Censor.NET.

"Berlin and Paris take every effort for this conflict (the conflict in the east of Ukraine - Ed.) to be resolved as soon as possible. The tactics in this process is Ukraine's sole power. No one has ever dictated it to us. But the problem still must be solved," Bezsmertnyi said.

Meanwhile, according to Bezsmertnyi, Washington is between two fires in the context of resolving the conflict in the Donbas. "On the one hand geopolitics demands an alliance with Russia due to Syrian issue. On the other hand the situation brings the U.S. into conflict with the Russian Federation because of war in Ukraine. Someone thinks it's our problem, although it is not true ... It is the Washington's one. They are very well aware of it just as Paris and Berlin realize that there is no key to the rapid solution of Ukraine's issue," the politician said.

"Leading French analysts wrote an appeal a few days ago titled "Guys, wake up!" This shows that European intellectuals are very well aware of the situation and the fact that it has regional and geopolitical nature. They also know that its solution is an appropriate response to Russia's actions, but not attempts to investigate events in the East of Ukraine," Bezsmertnyi said.

censor.net.ua In Russian

A court in Orikhiv, Zaporizhya oblast, convicted a leader of a terrorist group that blew up a rail bridge in the area in 2015, SBU reports Feb. 8.

A group of Donbas terrorists was captured by SBU in July 2014 on its second mission to Zaporizhya oblast. During the first mission, the group blew up a rail bridge in the Orikhiv area.

Now SBU special agents seized 35 kgs of the plastid explosive, 24 TNT sticks, mines, grenade launchers and fuzes.

The court sentenced the group leader to 12 years in jail. The investigation of other terrorists continues.

zik.ua

Lawmaker Iryna Herashchenko prepared an official appeal to OSCE and Red Cross to react to Donbas rebels’ threats to impose life and death sentences to Ukraine prisoners held by the rebels.

She cited the recordings of Donbas rebel leaders’ threats to convict Ukraine POWs to life and death sentences.

Such declarations are direct evidence that the so-called Donbas republics are terrorist organizations, requiring urgent reaction from international organizations and governments, she said.

Herashchenko accused Russia of sharing the guilt for declared atrocities. In so doing, the Kremlin shows that in its policies it is not different from ISIS.

zik.ua

Change is happening in Ukraine. Yes, it is slow, and it is painful. It is not as quick as we would like to see. Yes, corruption is continuing, there are still many who prefer to have the safety of the Soviet system back, because it makes personal initiative superfluous and above all gives ample possibilities to bribe, steal and accumulate illegal wealth. But the emerging new – post-Soviet – generation is increasingly making an impact, and is increasingly tilting the balance in favor of a new Ukraine. For me mental health is the litmus test: when things start moving in psychiatry, it means society is changing as a whole. But you need to be there to see it, to feel it, you need to go down to grassroots level to understand what happens.

What irritates me endlessly is the fact that those who organized the Dutch referendum on the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement have in fact no idea what is happening on the ground. In fact, I wonder how often they have been to Ukraine, and if they did – with whom they met and talked (and in which language). My guess is their knowledge of Ukraine is similar to the average knowledge of a Ukrainian of The Netherlands, although the latter might know more because of the prevailing interest in what happens outside the country’s borders. They sit in their cosy Dutch chairs and judge, totally unaware of the importance of this agreement to Ukraine, both in practical and in psychological terms. This agreement was the initial reason why people went to Maidan, why tens of thousands mastered the freezing cold, why thousands were wounded and more than a hundred Maidanovtsy lost their lives. Putting this at risk, while leading their comfortable Dutch lives, makes me wonder whether they deserve the freedom and democracy they claim to be defending................

To read further go to this link:   euromaidanpress.com

In January 2016, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced the formation of three new divisions in the Western Military District of Russia. Two of them will be located near the border with Ukraine and one—near the Belarusian border (Vedomosti, January 12).

At first glance, this military orientation contradicts official Russian policy statements that declare Russia’s main enemy to be the Islamic State, which operates mainly in Syria and Iraq (Interfax, April 22, 2015). Moreover, the Russian government has never publicly admitted to preparing for a war against Ukraine; rather, its officials continuously insist on the need to implement the Minsk ceasefire agreements (see EDM, November 10, 2015).

However, Russian media have increasingly been harping on the alleged threat from the West, particularly from the Baltic countries. Indeed, the director of the Moscow-based Center for Strategic Studies, Ivan Konovalov, directly compares the strengthening of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces in the Baltic region to the concentration of Nazi German troops in Eastern Europe, in 1941 (Svobodnaya Pressa, January 15). In similarly inverted logic, President Vladimir Putin has himself claimed that the war in Ukraine was the result of Western sanctions against Russia (Interfax, July 3, 2015).

The small Baltic States—Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia—fearful of Russia’s imperial revanchist policies, particularly following the annexation of Crimea and invasion of Donbas, have asked NATO to strengthen its defensive presence in Central-Eastern Europe. Such fear has regularly been fueled by threatening statements made by Russian experts close to the Kremlin. For example, Mikhail Alexandrov, a military expert at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), says “If NATO supports Turkey” after the incident with the downed Russian bomber, then “the most logical answer from the Russian side [will be] the invasion of the Baltic States. And all of them will be ours—without any losses [and] fast enough.” Notably, his published interview was entitled “Time to Correct Gorbachev’s Mistake” (Svobodnaya Pressa, December 23, 2015)..................

ukrainebusiness.com.ua

The exchange rate above RUB 80 to the dollar will result in a more tangible inflation, and the budget will not sustain social programs, that’s according to the chief economist at Alfa Bank, Natalia Orlova, who spoke with the Economy Times online newspaper.

"Strictly speaking, this is the limit not only for the economy, but for the budget as well. Because the rate of more than RUB 80 to the dollar will result in a more tangible inflation,” said the expert.

“With the concept we talked about (when we have quite a tight budget, but we are trying to somehow support the real sector), we can only implement tight fiscal policy - such as when there is only a 4% indexation of pensions when the inflation is at 8-10%. But when it’s a solid 15% for two years, it's another thing,” she said.

“There is a certain inflection point, up to which we can keep telling the state employees and retirees that their incomes will grow by only 4%, because there is an expectation that further inflation will decline. If inflation is not reduced, it will have to be compensated for the past year and also for the next one,” reads the article.............

To read further go to this link:  unian.info

Moscow has said that testing of the combat training skills of the Russian troops near the borders with Ukraine caused by a preparation to summer exercises, chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Viktor Muzhenko said.

"Today we received information that some units of the ground troops and Black Sea Fleet have been brought to the highest combat readiness level. We immediately responded. Russians explained this with a preparation to the exercises, which are scheduled for this year," Muzhenko said being asked a respective question by Interfax-Ukraine during the meeting with the foreign military attaches in Kyiv on Monday.......

interfax.com.ua

This thread continued for Tuesday at
https://ukraine-english-news.forumotion.com/t2208-ukraine-crisis-news-in-brief-tuesday-09-february-ukrainian-sources

or go to
https://ukraine-english-news.forumotion.com/
and choose Ukraine news

The event was attended by Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.S. Valeriy Chaly and the newly appointed Honorary Consul Valeriy Holoborodko.

"In his speech Ambassador Chaly noted that the opening of the honorary consulate will be an additional impetus for further development of closer ties between Ukraine and the state of Washington," the embassy said in a statement.

The Ukrainian diplomat added that Ukraine and the state of Washington had a huge potential for further cooperation in economic, cultural, and educational areas.

interfax.com.ua