Ukraine crisis. News in brief. Saturday 19 March. [Ukrainian sources]

SATURDAY

Please scroll down to view news items added during the day

News -
Putin attacks Ukrainians 52 times yesterday.
Update - no dead, oo injured Ukrainian military.
Plane crash in Rostov on Don. Some Ukrainian victims. Latest says 8.

Weather -
Awful. Rain last night. This morning, -5, ice. Dangerous.
Stay in and watch footie.
Update - a little better now, this afternoon. Now near zero. 1330 hrs.

http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2016/03/19/7102617/
In the crash of Boeing in Rostov-on-Don killed seven citizens of Ukraine - MFA
Saturday, March 19, 2016, 8:36
When disaster Boeing 738 passenger aircraft airline FlyDubai, which crashed while landing at the airport of Rostov-on-Don, killing seven citizens of Ukraine.
This "European truth" According to the Consular Service Department
"Tonight, when to try again approach, crashed Boeing 737-800 airline, owned by United Arab Emirates. The aircraft flying from Dubai to Rostov-on-Don. All 55 passengers and 7 crew members who were on board, died...
====
Sad.
I've flown FlyDubai - obviously to Dubai. Seemed an ok airline. But reading also of wind gusts to 30m / second. That is strong.

http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2016/03/19/7102614/
7:41



==
Note this is for the city of Kiev.
I mus admit, I thought Kyivstar was Ukrainian. ?! MTC Russian for sure.

http://en.censor.net.ua/news/379901/we_will_consider_pm_candidacy_at_party_congress_it_will_most_likely_be_hroisman_poroshenko_bloc_mp_andrievskyi
====
But does Groisman want to be PM?
Seems like the kiss of death to me.

http://dailysignal.com/2016/03/18/is-this-real-life-inside-the-ukraine-wars-gray-zone/
....“The worst thing for us, worse than death, would be to be taken prisoner,” he told me. “So the grenade was to take ourselves and hopefully a few of the enemy out.”
Returned Ukrainian prisoners frequently recount being tortured while in the hands of separatist forces. And a May 2015 report from Amnesty International detailed instances of separatist soldiers arbitrarily executing captured Ukrainian troops....
====
Quite a long article. I haven't read it all, but it looks like pure observation to me. Quite a nice read. Well written. Engaging style.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/mar/18/putin-long-game-omens-europe-russia?CMP=share_btn_tw
...For by rekindling a US-Russia duality reminiscent of the cold war – or at least the pretence of it – Putin calculates that the ultimate geopolitical prize will come not in the Middle East but in Europe. That is where Russia’s historical obsessions truly lie....
===
I posted the Lavrov article she refers to a few days ago.
Personally I'm not particularly impressed by this article. It attempts to present some "philosophy" behind the Kremlin's position.
Very much a "sit on the fence" non-critical - non... article.

http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2016/03/19/7102615/
US Secretary of State John Kerry visited Moscow on 22-25 March.
This was reported at the State Department.
Kerry will meet with Russian officials, they will discuss the efforts of the International Support Group Syria peacekeeping in the country. In addition, negotiations will be raised to provide care and expand access of humanitarian assistance. They will discuss the fight against "Islamic state" and the transition of power in Syria.
Kerry plans for future meetings to discuss the situation in Ukraine and the implementation of the Minsk agreements.
Also, as previously reported, Kerry probably will use the opportunity to talk with the Russian leadership to once again raise the issue of Nadia Savchenko.
====
A complete waste of time.
Talking to a psychotic dictator is a waste of time.
Russia will use him as much as they can for their own propaganda purposes.
Russia is a land of lies and falsehoods. Kerry surely knows this by now?

https://www.rbc.ua/rus/news/rossii-soobshchili-redkom-prirodnom-vlenii-1458379417.html
...In the area of ​​the crash in Rostov forecasters recorded so-called "jet stream", which is a rare natural phenomenon. This was reported to RBC Center Weather FOBOS Specialist Eugene Tishkovets....
===
High winds. 100 km/ h. And higher.

11:48
["Видродження" - Renaissance. 23 deputies]
Source: Poroshenko, Yatseniuk and Kolomoisky agreed to participate "Renaissance" in the coalition (RBC-Ukraine)
Deputy group "Renaissance" may enter into a parliamentary coalition
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and businessman Igor Kolomoisky agreed to join the parliamentary group "Renaissance" of the coalition of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. This is stated in the article "Oil-for-TV ..." in the newspaper "Mirror of the week. Ukraine", citing sources....
Note, the group "Renaissance" in Parliament presented 23 People's Deputy.

Nelson wrote:

I mus admit, I thought Kyivstar was Ukrainian. ?! MTC Russian for sure.

KyivStar WAS originally Ukrainian, gifted by the odious Kuchma to his daughter.

A Boeing 737-800 passenger jet operated by the low-cost airline FlyDubai, has crashed due to bad weather conditions on landing in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don. All passengers were killed.

Censor.NET reports citing Ria-Novosti.

On Saturday morning, at 3:42 a.m. (Moscow time), FlyDubai's Boeing 737-800 crashed at the airport in Russia's southern Rostov-on-Don during the second circle on landing in complicated weather conditions (strong side wind and rain). According to the data of Russian Ministry of Transportation, the plane hit the ground with the tail and exploded.

The airline said it was in the process of verifying the passenger list but provisional information indicated there were 33 women, 18 men, four children and seven crew members on board. All of the passengers are believed to be tourists. The preliminary information is that nobody survived the crash.

censor.net.ua   In Ukrainian/український



There were eight Ukrainian citizens on a Boeing 737-800 passenger jet operated by the low-cost airline FlyDubai.
Censor.NET reports citing Facebook of the Department of Consular Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

"According to official data of the Consulate General of Ukraine in Rostov-on-Don, eight Ukrainian passengers were killed in the plane crash," the statement reads.

Earlier, it was reported about three Ukraianians killed in the crash. Later, the airline has confirmed the nationalities as 44 Russian, eight Ukrainian, two Indian, on one person from Uzbekistan.

censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

For months the national support organization for Vladimir Putin has been releasing cartoons showing the Russian president executing allegedly corrupt officials in elaborate fashion.

Now Putin himself has invoked imagery of capital punishment, threatening "to hang" the person responsible for reconstruction of a highway in Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula forcibly seized by Russia in 2014, if the individual "fails to do the job."

Speaking on Tuzla Island on March 18, Putin expressed surprise that local authorities are choosing contractors for the highway project connecting Crimea’s capital, Simferopol, with the Kerch Strait.

The general state plan to develop Crimea, after all, is being overseen by the Economic Development Ministry, while the project is under the supervision of the Transportation Ministry.

"We need a concrete person, whom it would be possible to hang if he fails to do the job," Putin was quoted by the state-run TASS news agency as saying.

Putin was visiting Crimea on March 18 to mark the second anniversary of the peninsula's annexation, which triggered Western sanctions targeting Moscow and preceded a bloody war between Russia-backed separatists and Kyiv’s forces in eastern Ukraine.

The reconstruction and widening of the Simferopol-Kerch highway is part of a plan to build a bridge across the strait to connect Russia with Crimea.

Kremlin critics say that much of the billions of dollars being poured into the peninsula is being looted, and senior officials in Crimea’s Moscow-backed government have been targeted in official corruption probes.

Road construction has long been plagued by graft and mismanagement in Russia, and Crimea appears to be facing similar obstacles................

To read further go to this link:  rferl.org

Police in Benbrook, a Fort Worth suburb, says Kholodenko discovered Nika, 5, and Michela, 1, in their bedrooms early on March 17.

Their mother, 31-year-old Sofya Tsygankova, is to be held for mental evaluation once she recovers from her physical injuries.

Kholodenko, 29, had an appointment to pick up the children from his estranged wife's home.

"Once he arrived there, he found the mother in an extreme state of distress and discovered the children in their state," Babcock said. "He has been cooperative in this investigation. He is not considered a suspect at this time."

Police previously said there were no signs of forced entry into the home and that the children have not been stabbed.

In 2013, Kholodenko won the gold medal in the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition....

rferl.org

There are documents in archives proving that the construction of the bridge over the Kerch Strait, which would connect the occupied Crimea with Russia, is impossible, according to the representative of Ukraine in the political subgroup at the Tripartite Liaison Group, Roman Bezsmertniy, 112 TV channel reports.

"The bridge will not be there! The Russians may drive these piles for decades. There was one man who drafted the real, credible mechanisms for the construction of this bridge. It was the Minister of Construction of Nazi Germany Albert Speer. You may check out the documents in archives," he said.

Bezsmertniy stressed that the construction site passes over the junction of tectonic plates............

To read further go to this link:  unian.info

The payments of insurances to all relatives of those killed in Saturday's plane crash in Rostov-on-Don, both Russian and foreign ones, will be made in keeping with the Montreal Convention rules, says Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov.

Russian law stipulates that the relatives of plane crash victims are eligible for insurance compensation, Sokolov said. "However, the airline that operated the flight does not fall under Russian law, and so the insurance payments will be regulated by the Montreal Convention," Sokolov said.

The airline's operations were insured for $500 million, he said........

interfax.com.ua

Putin's not going to like having to pay out on insurance coverage, even if it's not a Russian airline, as it happened in Russian airspace.

Russia continues to supply military personnel, weapons and military equipment in the occupied Donbas.

Censor.NET informs referring to Defense Intelligence press service.

Supplies from the territory of Russia were noted through the settlements, as follows:

- Shcherbak: seven tanks, four IFVs, two 122-mm Grad rocket systems, four refuellers;

- Izvaryne: 30 trucks with ammunition in the direction of Luhansk; 20 trucks accompanied by two APCs and a Tigr armored vehicle in the direction of Donetsk;

- Rovenky: an echelon with POL;

- Former Novoazovsk checkpoint: ten medical treatment vehicles (field military hospital).

In addition, a machine-gun platoon was redeployed to the contact line at Avdiivka, while a firing platoon with 122-mm Grads and nine support trucks were moved from the firing ground near Khartsyzk in the direction of Makiivka.

censor.net.ua   In Ukrainian/український

Pope Francis on Saturday March 19 published the first photo on his page on Instagram.

The appearance of the photo associated with the 3-year anniversary of his enthronement.

"I want to go with you the path of mercy and kindness of God," - said in the description of its pages.

At the time of writing the news the Pope was about 850 thousand subscribers.



glavcom.ua In Russian/русский

British Ambassador to Ukraine Judith Gough told Buzzfeed edition of the relation to her as a lesbian in Ukraine, also recognized that in our country, LGBT people have a hard time. This is reported by Voice of America .

"Look at the level of violence against gays, they often attack. I do not know whether the level of violence against gays has increased, or whether it has become a big report in the media ", - said Gough.

The diplomat noted the courage of Ukrainian LGBT activists who deliberately go to considerable risks. In her view, the issue of LGBT in Ukraine politicized by some political forces in Ukraine as an excuse for not developing close relations with Europe.

glavcom.ua In Russian/русский

Relatives of Ukrainians who died in Boeing crash in Rostov-on-Don are housed in the local Don-Plaza hotel. Psychologists and doctors are working with them.

Governor of the Rostov Region Vasiliy Golubev said answering the question of the reporter of Censor.NET.

"We are individually working with each relative," Golubev said.

He promised to provide complete information about the relatives of the killed Ukrainians by the evening.

"According to our data, which, of course, might be defined more exactly because some victims could have had dual citizenship, the crash killed eight Ukrainian citizens. We have already expressed condolences to our colleagues in the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine. Required work with the relatives of the victims is already under way, particularly here, in Rostov-on-Don," Maksim Sokolov, Russia's Transport Minister, who heads the government commission on liquidation of consequences of the crash, said answering the question of Censor.NET.

censor.net.ua   In Ukrainian/український

Rebel troops in Donbas demand their back pay, threatening to burn their tanks, Ukraine army intelligence says March 18.

 “Despite the efforts by 1st Corps commander Gen. Valery Asapov (Russian army) and his deputy Col. Yevgeni Chirkov (Russian army) the servicemen of the 9th Marine Regiment in Novoazovsk under the command of Col D. Bondarev (Russian army) put forward their ultimatum on March 16.

In it, the servicemen of the 3rd Company submitted their resignation reports and threatened to destroy their tanks if their demands to pay back wages were not met,” the servicemen said.

zik.ua

The procedure of identification of Ukrainian victims of the plane crash in Rostov-on-Don will be the same as for the Russian victims.

Representative of the Southern Investigative Department of Transport of the Russian Federation Investigative Committee Oksana Kovrizhnaya said at a briefing, Censor.NET reports.

"We treat all body pieces the same despite citizenship. The procedure is the same for all victims. At the stage when urgent investigative actions are performed, the procedure is the same. Later, perhaps, some nuances associated with international treaties and established rules might occur," Kovrizhnaya said.

censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

At the moment, Ukrainian diplomats were able to contact the relatives of one Ukrainian victim of Boeing 737 crash in Rostov-on-Don.

Consulate General of Ukraine in the Russian Federation told the correspondent of Censor.NET.

"Death of eight Ukrainians has been confirmed. Ukrainian diplomats have contacted the relatives of one killed passenger. They are internally displaced persons. They are looking for the relatives of seven other victims," the consulate stressed.

"We are looking for the relatives of the rest at the moment," the diplomats stressed.

The death toll of Ukrainian citizens:

Svitlana Tsehelska, born 1985;

Pavlo Tsehelskyi, born 1975,

Danylo Tsehelskyi, born 2011,

Zhanna Andriieva, born 1991,

Valentyna Somina, born 1948,

Volodymyr Fedianin, born 1980,

Tetiana Kravchenko, born 1965,

Anna Serhiieva, born in 1990.

censor.net.ua   In Ukrainian/український

Vladimir Putin's Syria gambit was always about more than Syria. And it was about more than breaking Moscow's isolation.

It was about establishing a new paradigm for global politics based on balance of power and spheres of influence.

It was about reviving a bipolar order reminiscent of the Cold War.

Putin appears to have won the upper hand in the tactical battle for Damascus.

But can he ride that to a new Yalta?

On this week's Power Vertical Podcast, we discuss Putin's quest for a new world order and its prospects for success.

rferl.org

On March 18, 2016 the ‘official DNR website' posted a press conference where Alexander Zakharchenko, leader of the so-called ‘Donetsk people's republic' [DNR] stated the following:

"We have insisted and continue to insist that elections in the Republic should be according to international OSCE standards. It suits us and Europe and generally the world community and absolutely comes under the understanding of democratic elections. It is absolutely unrealistic to hold elections in accordance with Ukrainian legislation and I am categorically against it".

The Minsk Agreement states clearly that the parties agree to "local elections in accordance with the Ukrainian legislation and the Law of Ukraine "On temporary Order of Local Self-Governance in Particular Districts of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts, " and also about the future of these districts based on the above mentioned law.

The rhetoric about OSCE standards is meaningless and not only because it breaches the above commitment. OSCE standards ensure universal suffrage; equal participation of all parties; non-discriminatory access of all media, etc. So does Ukrainian legislation and so must any separate law. This is what neither the militants, nor Moscow, are willing to accept.

It is not clear whether Dzherkalo Tyzhnya's report last week of behind-the-scenes negotiations to install Donbas ‘republic' leaders that both Moscow and Kyiv could live with seriously reflected current plans. It is not, however, in dispute that Ukraine has long been under serious pressure to fulfil the so-called ‘political' parts of the Minsk Agreement, including a law on local elections...........................

To read further go to this link:  uatoday.tv