Ukraine crisis. News in brief. Sunday 22 May [Ukrainian sources]

SUNDAY

Please scroll down to view news items added during the day

NEWS:

The terrorists have heavily shelled outskirts of Avdiivka last night.
More Russian soldier's bodies returning to Russia.
Justin Trudeau will pay a visit to Ukraine soon.

WEATHER:

Kyiv 21°
RealFeel® 22°Sunny

Odessa 23°
RealFeel® 27°Sunny

May 20, two Russian servicemen were killed in Donbas and 10 wounded, Ukraine army intelligence says May 21.

One killed and 4 wounded served in the 7th motorized infantry brigade (Debaltseve).

Three wounded servicemen served in the 11th infantry regiment (Makiyivka).

One killed and 3 wounded servicemen belonged to 9th marine regiment (Novoazovsk).

May 20, the bodies of 21 Russian servicemen were taken out of Ukraine via the Marynivka checkpoint, Tyzhden reports.

zik.ua

The Russians don’t like and will never pardon Ukrainians because the latter show them that there is a different way in life, Prof. Valery Solovej writes in Facebook May 21.

“What the Russians do not like about Ukrainians:
1. Ukrainians never know the winners of their elections. We, Russians, cannot live with such uncertainty – we know well ahead who will win.

2. If Ukrainians elect  a thief and bribe-taker, they will not wait till his tenure expires and just topple him. For Russians, corruption, burglary and abuse of office are the sacred privileges of those in power.

3. Ukrainians wish to belong to Europe, not Asia. They never know what the Russians know very well – the rule of law, freedom, human rights, effective economy are the devil’s invention that ruins the nation.

4. Ukrainians are not above working as waiters, plumbers, strawberry gatherers abroad. This is not for the Russians – we are the nation of creators, businessmen and showmen.

5. Greedy Ukrainian tycoons cash in on exploiting Ukrainians. In Russia, everything is honest and fair.

6. Creepy Ukes did not lay red carpets to meet the brotherly Russian tanks [when we captured Crimea or Donbas – Ed.]. It is a betrayal of our age-long friendship.

7. Ukrainians bury their dead servicemen like heroes. Russians diligently hide the graves of their dead.

8. All Ukrainians know by heart the national anthem and sing it with tears in their eyes. Fools! It’s so easy just to open your mouth and imitate the singing.

Finally, the major thing why we dislike Ukrainians – they demonstrate that there is an alternative way in life,” the Russian professor says.

zik.ua

The terrorists have heavily shelled outskirts of Avdiivka last night. The attack was launched at about 11 p.m.

Censor.NET reports citing the National Police Department of Communications.

As reported, the 59-year-old local woman received shrapnel wounds, and her house at 225 Kirova Street burned down as a result of a direct hit. Moreover, the local National Police reported about another damaged house at 9 Levanevskoho Street.

An investigative team of Avdiivka police department is working at the scene, assisting the citizens and documenting the consequences of the terrorists' crimes.

Information on casualties and damages is being specified.

Earlier, it was reported about two terrorists' artillery attacks at Avdiivka. Local resident was injured as a result of the shelling.






censor.net.ua   In Ukrainian/український

Ukrainian soldiers did not fire back in response to provocative shelling by terrorists.

ATO Staff speaker Anton Myronovych told 112 TV Channel, Censor.NET reports.

"Artillery is usually fired from the closed position. In this case, the only way to hit the enemy, it is to use artillery as well. We do not have such weapons at the forefront at all. That's why it was useless to fire from small arms and grenades launchers," Myronovych said.

According to him, Ukrainian military was force to fire back in other sectors along the demarcation line yesterday. "They fired from small arms and, in extreme cases, from infantry fighting vehicle (IFV). It was necessary in order to suppress the firing points of the enemy," the press officer added.

Anton Myronovych has also informed that late at night, during the shelling of Avdiivka, the Army hasn't used its weapons at all. "All charges, if they will be brought, have nothing to do with common sense and logic," he said.

censor.net.ua   In Ukrainian/український

If the Ukrainian forces can't defend themselves and citizens, then screw the Minsk Agreement. This is lik standing up in the front lines and letting the enemy take shots at you.

Obviously, the west isn't putting much pressure on Russia to stop the aggression, a they're a part of it and calling the shots. Fortunately, the Russian forces are the one taking on the most casualties, even if Ukraine's limited on their defense efforts. Must be one reason why the Kremlin's calling for the terrorists and their own troops to open fire, knowing that Ukrainian forces are strongly trying to follow the agreement and the only ones that are.

Prime Minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party Justin Trudeau plans be on a visit to Ukraine this summer.

Censor.NET reports citing Ukrinform's sources involved in the preparation of the visit.

Details of the visit have not been completely agreed; however, the most likely date of the visit is the beginning of July.

Read more: Merkel refused Obama in expanding Normandy format by United States, - media

It is planned to sign an agreement on free trade zone between Ukraine and Canada in Kyiv.

"Until that time, the agreement on a free trade zone between Ukraine and Canada should already pass legal and linguistic proofreading, and will be ready for signing," the agency's source said.

censor.net.ua   In Ukrainian/український

The next revolution in Ukraine will be short and bloody - either for its initiators or its targets, influential Ukrainian political expert Viktor Nebozhenko told Myr May 21.

He says Pres Poroshenko who was put in office thanks to Maidan-2 may not see the end of his tenure.

 “It will not depend on foreign or domestic political processes which neither Poroshenko nor we can control,” the expert believes.

Ukrainians have 4 million small arms. About 150,000 fought in Donbas, he notes. 

 “You won’t make them stand at attention on Kyiv’s central street and peacefully listen to empty declarations by politicians. Ukrainians remember how corrupt politicians stole their victory. The next Maidan will be short and bloody – either for its protesters or the power,” he said.

“That is why I want Pres Poroshenko to remember that Ukrainian may support his ouster. 

Poroshenko must not live with the illusions that Ukrainian can be cheated forever. The road to hell even for the president is lined with fraud, cynicism, greed and noble intentions,” Viktor Nebozhenko said.

zik.ua

Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has invited Pope Francis to meet with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church for a peace summit in Minsk.

Lukashenka extended the invitation during a meeting with the pope on May 21 at the Vatican, saying that the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine required a new initiative that was "preferably also spiritual."

Lukashenka said he also wanted to invite Ukrainian religious leaders to the summit along with representatives of Judaism and Islam.

There was no immediate word on the Vatican's response to the invitation, and it was not immediately clear if Lukashenka's idea for the proposed summit was a gathering that would focus exclusively on Ukraine's conflict.

But the Vatican praised Minsk for serving as a base for peace negotiations between Ukraine's government and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Lukashenka was quoted after his talks with the pontiff as saying: "Everything is in God's hands. If he gives his blessing, then the supreme heads of the [Roman] Catholic and Orthodox churches will meet on Belarusian soil."...................

To read further go to this link:  rferl.org

Members of the Russian elite became anti-American sooner and are more committed to anti-Americanism now than is the rest of the Russian population, according to a new survey conducted by scholars from Hamilton College in the US and reported yesterday in “Vedomosti.”

In its write-up of the survey’s results [see the original report here: “The Russian Elite 2016: Perspectives on Foreign and Domestic Policy] “Vedomosti” notes that “in 2016, the level of anti-Americanism among representatives of the Russia elite achieved the absolute maximum” of 88 percent.

Moreover, it says, the elite’s support for “militarist and expansionist ideas … has significantly grown” to 82.9 percent as has the share of those “who consider the zone of the national interests of Russia extends beyond its borders.” And for the first time, those who believe military force is the most important tool outnumber those who think the country should rely on economic power.

Members of the Russian elite, this and other surveys show, are less likely than ordinary Russians to view the annexation of Crimea as a violation of international law and more likely to accept the notion that “the main goal of the Russian operation in Syria is the neutralization of the terrorist threat.”....................

To read further go to this link:  euromaidanpress.com

The 130mm self-propelled Bereg artillery system is based near the village of Utash in Russia's southern Krasnodar region. It is operated by forces from Russia's Black Sea naval base at Novorossiisk.

The artillery vehicles are positioned where they can attack ships passing through the Kerch Strait that links the Black Sea with the Sea of Azov.

With a range of 20 kilometers, the Bereg artillery system is designed to destroy small and medium-sized warships as well as providing support for ground troops and countering an amphibious assault..............

To read further go to this link: rferl.org 

NATO’s deployment of a missile defense system in Romania this month brought the requisite Russian snarls and vows of countervailing action, such as reintroducing a movable, rail-based missile system that Moscow abolished in 2008.

The Romanian system is the latest piece in a strategic chess match between Russia and the West that is based on polar-opposite views of who is the threat to the region.

Russia, which has been invaded by the Mongols, Napoleon and Hitler, freaks out when it sees a force on its doorstep that it believes could be the vanguard of a new invasion.

The West, meanwhile, wants a strong military presence on Russia’s borders to insure there is no repeat of the Soviet subjugation of Eastern Europe that lasted from the end of World War II to the USSR’s collapse in 1991.

To read further go to this link:  huffingtonpost.com

One Ukrainian soldier was killed and another one wounded in the Donbas conflict zone in the last 24 hours.

Read also Fighting spikes in eastern Ukraine

According to the presidential administration spokesman for the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Oleksandr Motuzianyk, the casualties were reported in the town of Avdiivka that suffered heavy shelling.........

uatoday.tv

Russia is not interested in reducing its nuclear arsenal. These were the words of the U.S. President Barack Obama as he spoke to the Japanese NHK broadcaster ahead of his visit to Tokyo.

Evaluating the current situation of nuclear disarmament worldwide, Obama said some progress have been made:

"At least we are not seeing a huge increase in nuclear stockpiles. In the major countries that possess nuclear weapons, I think there's been an emphasis not on building up new weapons," he stated......

uatoday.tv

Leader of Mejlis of the past and modern Crimean Tatars

Refat Chubarov, the leader of the Mejlis and MP ( "Petro Poroshenko Bloc"), live Shuster LIVE spoke about the past and present of the Crimean Tatars.

"In the twentieth century Russian policy to the Crimea and Crimean Tatars returned to the XVIII century. When Crimea was annexed first. Then the Russian policy of Catherine II vtyahuvalasya three words: Crimea without Crimean Tatars. Putin occupied Crimea, wants there to see him disloyal to the people and especially the Crimean Tatar people. Through the methods of Stalin, Putin returned to the reign of Catherine II ", - said Chubarov.



glavcom.ua In Russian/русский

Terrorists occupied in the Donbass plan to hold elections in autumn 2016.

As Tsenzor.NET referring to Sehodnya.ua , told the leader of the militants, "DNR" Alexander Zakharchenko. "Oh syazhnymy and reasonable terms, I believe that in 2016. It is clear that the summer did not make it, because we are interested in observing all procedures. But the fall - is quite real. that's the autumn we are willing to wait. And then - the winter that during the economic blockade requires much effort, "- he said. terrorist added that the militants managed to update the voters' register.

The militants managed to update the voter registry, he added.

censor.net.ua   In Ukrainian/український

The command of the Russian occupation troops in the Donbas and the leaders of the terrorists conceal the real number of soldiers and civilians killed and wounded in hostilities.

Censor.NET reports citing the press service of the Defense Intelligence.

Around 50 criminal proceedings have been opened this week

District "police" departments in the "DPR" initiated 50 criminal proceedings on the fact of deaths due to gunshot and shrapnel wounds over the past week. The largest number of victims was reported in the vicinity of Yasynuvata and Avdiivka. At the direction of the Russian command, all deaths were reclassified as victims of suicide, bullying, domestic conflicts, etc.

censor.net.ua   In Ukrainian/український