Ukraine crisis. News in brief. Wednesday 27 April [Ukrainian sources]

WEDNESDAY

Please scroll down to view news items added during the day

News -
Putin attacked 30 times yesterday.
5 soldiers wounded. All 5 due to shelling by Russian forces.


Weather -
Coolish again, but lovely blue sky and sunshine this morning. +6 at 0800. But warming up. High maybe of 17 today. Comfortable.

http://www.unian.info/war/1331210-osce-still-sees-grads-howitzers-tanks-in-militant-controlled-luhansk.html
....The OSCE SMM earlier reported that the Russian proxies had not withdrawn their heavy weapons from the contact line, as is stipulated in the Minsk peace agreements. ...

http://www.unian.info/economics/1331393-world-bank-raises-2016-oil-price-forecast.html
Amid improving market sentiment and a weakening dollar, the World Bank is raising its 2016 forecast for crude oil prices to $41 per barrel from $37 per barrel in its latest Commodity Markets Outlook, as an oversupply in markets is expected to recede, according to a press release of the World Bank....
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If true, good news for Putin, bad news for Ukraine.
But for a longterm price I still think it needs to be at a level where US shale gas producers can operate, thereby increasing supply. 45-50 area.

http://en.censor.net.ua/news/386391/poroshenko_instructed_national_guard_and_police_to_reinforce_odesa_law_enforcers_by_up_to_1000_men_saakashvili

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has instructed the heads of the National Police and National Guard to send additionally up to 1,000 law enforcement officers in Odesa for public order protection.

Odesa Regional State Administration Chairman Mikheil Saakashvili wrote on Facebook, Censor.NET reports
"The president instructed the head of the National Police and the chief of the National Guard to send additional detachments of up to 1,000 men in Odesa for protection of public order in the city," Saakashvili wrote. Source: http://en.censor.net.ua/n386391

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Clearly expecting trouble on the anniversary of the fire there.

http://en.censor.net.ua/news/386366/shuster_goes_on_hunger_strike_until_allowed_to_work_in_ukraine
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Tymoshenko supporter, according to Wikipedia. As clear as crystal.
Hunger strike?
Frankly this disgusts me. Nadia Savchenko - fighter - 2 years in jail in Russia, kidnapped.
Is Schuster - a multi-millionaire - passports from Canada and Italy - mansion next to his beloved Yulia, and the Kiev elite - is he trying to put his own "plight" in the same category as Savchenko?
Revolting. Absolutely disgusting.

http://www.rferl.org/content/bbc-accuses-uk-russia-media-skewing-mh17-documentary/27696557.html
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One twitter on this from Gary Kasparov -

Garry Kasparov ✔ ‎@Kasparov63
Idiots at BBC, what did they think? “Competing theories” of #MH17?! Produced by the Kremlin? Next, BBC can question if Holocaust happened.

http://24tv.ua/kabmin_vstanoviv_yedinu_tsinu_na_gaz___ozvucheno_noviy_tarif_n680851
Cabinet of Ministers adopted a decision according to which the price of gas will be the same for all residential customers.
The decision was approved by the government.
The only gas price will be 6879 Uah per thousand cubic meters.
As noted by Prime Minister Vladimir Groisman, the price is only for domestic consumers and will not be reviewed because the market level corresponding to fuel cost.
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Not sure if means that there is still a "winter" gas price, and a "summer" gas price.
Hopefully now there is ONE gas price. And that is it.
But being Ukraine, things are never that simple.
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Observatiion.
Driving out of Kiev on Monday I noticed several billboards advertising wood boilers. Many people are getting these, and heating with wood in the winter.
Especially people who live outside of the city.

13:29
http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2016/04/27/7106923/
In Donbass killed Russian military - intelligence
In the area of ​​ATO in Donbass recorded loss of 1 Armed Forces RF, who operated as part of sabotage and reconnaissance groups.
This was reported by the Defence Intelligence.
It is claimed that "on April 26 killed one and injured six soldiers from the 2 battalion of territorial defense, 11th separate motorized infantry regiment (Makiyivka), 9 separate assault motorized infantry regiment of marines (Novoazovsk), 3 separate motorized rifle brigade (Gorlovka) 1 AC and 7 separate Motorized brigade 2 AK ".
Also, according to intelligence fixed supply of arms and military equipment from the Russian Federation.
"In Sverdlovsk Oblast (the territory of Sverdlovsk repair-mechanical plant) moved by rail heavy flamethrower system TOC-1" Buratino "and three 122-mm MLRS" Grad "- said in a statement.
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Putin steadily moving in more and more military equipment.
He obviously regards the Donbass as his new border.

Odesa Governor and ex- President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili has appealed to Pres Poroshenko to send National Guard to the city, Saakashvili wrote in Facebook Apr. 26.

He stressed that on the night of Apr. 26 hired goons beat peaceful protesters outside the mayor’s office.

Saakashvili accused the mayor’s office of the accident, saying it was done in the tradition of 2013 stagnation year.

 “The office of one of the city’s banks was attacked using a grenade thrower Apr. 25. No one was seized. The local SBU, instead of hunting down separatists, is busy harassing the team of reformers,” Saakashvili said. 

Ahead of the second anniversary of bloodshed in Odesa on May 2 when separatists and patriots clashed, I wish to appeal to the president to send down the troops to make order in the city, Saakashvili said. 

He also asked Poroshenko and SBU to investigate Mayor Trukhanov, accusing him of being a pro-Russian and corrupt politician.

zik.ua

The U.S. will not lift the sanctions imposed against Russia after occupation of Crimea until Russia does not return the peninsula to Ukraine.


Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs at the United States Department of State Victoria Nuland said at a press conference, Censor.NET informs citing Ukrainski Novyny.

Victoria Nuland has reiterated the U.S. position that the sanctions imposed over annexation of Crimea will remain until the peninsula is returned to Ukraine.

Nuland also added that the U.S. was outraged by the decision of the Crimean "authorities" to ban the activities of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people.

censor.net.ua   In Ukrainian/український

An openly propaganda video trailer was launched in Russia ahead of the May 9 Victory Day. It is available on Yeralash Samara in YouTube, The Apostrof reports Apr. 27.

In it, a ghost of a WWII boy dressed in military uniform talks to a group of 10-12 year olds. He cheerfully says his entire family died in the war while he was making shells for the army.

Asked by the children if the shells weren’t too heavy for him, the ghost-boy said, ”It didn’t matter. How proud we were knowing that they killed the Germans.”

Finally, the children ask,” Isn’t it scary to die?” with the boy replying,” It didn’t matter. Important that we won the war.”

The video caused an uproar among the network users.

 “Crazy country, poor children,” was the comment in Twitter by journalist Oleh Panfilov.

zik.ua

Viktor Kantsurak, who figured in the corruption scandal in 2011 regarding the purchase of satellite imagery from an Austrian firm at staggering price, was appointed Apr. 20 deputy to Environment Minister Ostap Semerak by Premier Grojsman.

In 2011, Kantsurak was a member of the ministry’s tendering committee to buy satellite imagery from Austria’s Austroplan Austrian Engineering GMBH.

The Austrian company charged UAH49 mn ($2 mn), while the Kharkiv National Academy’s asking price was merely UAH250,000 ($10,000). 
 
The Kharkiv proposal was cheap because most of the imagery had been made before and was freely available on the Internet.

However, the tendering committee rejected the Kharkiv proposal on a formal excuse.

zik.ua

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has informed that the threat to Ukraine's sovereignty persists, while the enemy continues its attempts to sabotage the Minsk agreements.

As reported by Censor.NET citing Interfax-Ukraine, the president said this during presentation of new and modernized samples of weapons and military equipment of the missile forces and artillery in Divychky village of the Kyiv region on Wednesday.

"More attempts of the enemy to sabotage the Minsk agreements confirm high risks and the threat to Ukraine's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence," Poroshenko said.

According to him, in such conditions Ukrainian Armed Forces are putting maximum efforts into reliable control of the demarcation line.

"Under conditions of desperate need, under conditions when our military remain an object of assaults, when their lives are threatened, they have strict order - to repulse the enemy by opening fire for effect, and they act efficiently just as they should," Poroshenko added.

censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

Four people were killed and seven more were injured after two cars had exploded in neutral zone near Novotroitske entry/exit point (the Mariupol section of the front) Wednesday night.

Kramatorsk Border Guard Detachment Deputy Commander, Chief of Staff, Colonel Anatoli Kotsiurba announced at a press conference in Kramatorsk, Censor.NET reports citing Ukrinform.

"There was an incident at the section of the front near Novotroitske entry/exit point today: according to the preliminary data, four people were killed and seven more were injured after two cars had detonated. The incident took place in the territory uncontrolled by the Ukrainian government," Kotsiurba said.

According to the border guard, the cars were in a "neutral zone" between the checkpoint of the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) forces and the one of the illegal armed groups.

"It was not a shelling, it was detonation of two cars," he said commenting on the separatists' statements that the cars allegedly came under fire.

Novotroitske entry/exit point has reportedly stopped its work after the incident.

censor.net.ua   In Ukrainian/український

"SMM OSCE arrived at the checkpoint at approximately 10:00 Olenevka to verify media reports about fatal incident that occurred there. Observers have analyzed eight or nine craters. According to preliminary estimates, damaged three cars, four civilians killed and uninstalled the number of people injured, "- referred to in the message on Facebook in response to inquiries about the incident............

bbc.com  In Ukrainian/український

In a mopping-up anti-corruption raid in Odesa, SBU agents are checking the work of prosecutors, SBU says Apr. 27.

As of 13:00 on Apr. 27, SBU detained 6 prosecutors, 3 in Odesa and 3 in the regions. They were detained following searches in their offices and homes, SBU says.

The number of detainees may grow, SBU says.

zik.ua

Russia is disappointed with NATO's policy in Central and Eastern Europe, this is according to that country's Defence and Foreign Affairs ministers. During the opening of the 5th Moscow International Security Conference, both Sergey Shoygu and Sergey Lavrov insisted that the Alliance is guilty of provoking Russian authorities.

Recently Russia's Foreign Affairs Minister Lavrov stated that north-eastern Europe has become a zone of constantly increasing tension, and Russia is not to blame here. Lavrov claims NATO's anti-Russian policy is the reason for growing concerns. He thinks stationing the missile defence systems in Romania and Poland is a violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty of 1987.........

To read further go to this link:  uatoday.tv

Transparency International's Unmask the Corrupt investigation campaign reveals that former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov have been granted Russian citizenship and are now under state protection, according to Espreso.tv.

Many facts indicate that Yanukovych and Azarov have been granted Russian citizenship and now enjoy state protection, Espreso.tv reported.

As noted, one of the most important findings of the campaign is that the gradual rollback of sanctions from Yanukovych's and Azarov's relatives allows them to sell out most of the property earlier acquired on gains from corrupt activities........

unian.info

Leader of the faction "Fatherland" Yulia Tymoshenko patrol police fined for violating traffic rules.



According to sources, the incident took place in Kiev on Peter alley that connects the parkway with Hrushevsky Street.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs Department of Communications depo.ua this information is not confirmed nor denied. "As long as no such information, but it may well be, if violated traffic rules, then all fine", - the press-service of Ministry of Internal Affairs.

depo.ua In Russian/русский