Ukraine crisis. News in brief. Sunday 24 July. [Ukrainian sources]

SUNDAY

Please scroll down to view news items added during the day

News -
77 attacks by Putin yesterday.
He has established this as the norm now. The figure was in the 20s or 30s.
Sadly - Six Ukrainian soldiers killed yesterday, and thirteen injured.

Weather -
A pleasant Sunday morning. Quiet. No wind, hazy sunshine. 20 at 0900.
High today should be mid-20s for all of Ukraine.

ATO forces repelled 5 militant attacks: HQ
http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2016/07/24/7115747/
Sunday, July 24, 2016, 7:41

For the past day 77 times militants opened fire on the forces ATO units, including the Minsk II banned weapons.
The press center ATO headquarters reported on the page in Facebook.
 "In particular, the 40 attacks recorded in Mariupol, Donetsk and 19 to 18 at the Lugansk areas," - said in a statement
In Mariupol direction Mar'yintsi DRG militants tried twice to seize Ukrainian strongholds, but the Armed Forces repulsed the attack.
In addition, the 120 mm mortars, terrorists struck on Chermalyk, Hnutovomu, Novohryhorivtsi, Shyrokynomu, water and Starohnativtsi...

...n Mariupol direction Mar'yintsi DRG militants tried twice to seize Ukrainian strongholds, but the Armed Forces repulsed the attack.
In addition, the 120 mm mortars, terrorists struck on Chermalyk, Hnutovomu, Novohryhorivtsi, Shyrokynomu, water and Starohnativtsi.
...
In Lugansk region, near Novozvanivky, ATO forces repelled three attacks DRG. The headquarters said the militants suffered losses and retreated....

23:14
Zakharchenko postpones "DNR" elections until November
http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2016/07/23/7115735/
Saturday, July 23, 2016, 23:14

The head of the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic" Vitaly Zakharchenko postpones "local elections" from 24 July to 6 November.
As reported on "the official website of the NPT," the decree № 236 was signed July 22.
"According to the decree, the day of the election of local heads postponed from 24 July to 6 November 2016. Decree of the Head of the NPT April 18, 2016 № 108 found to have the strength," - said in a statement.
Decree of April 18 local elections in the "DNR" postponed from 20 April to 24 July.
As reported, on June 22 Zakharchenko said that the Ukrainian government should take to July 14 agreed to "DNR" law on local elections in Donbas, otherwise the date of the electoral process will be determined unilaterally.
As you know, the Minsk talks was agreed upon date no local elections in Donbas, no mechanism for their implementation.

Scheremet buried near Minsk (photos)
http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2016/07/23/7115728/
Journalist, one of the leaders of "Ukrainian Truth" Pavel Sheremet was buried in the North Cemetery in Minsk next to his father....

Donald Trump reminds me of Vladimir Putin — and that is terrifying
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/donald-trump-reminds-me-of-vladimir-putin--and-that-is-terrifying/2016/07/23/36397692-50e5-11e6-a7d8-13d06b37f256_story.html
....It is painful to admit, but Putin was elected in a relatively fair election in 2000. He steadily dismantled Russia’s fragile democracy and succeeded in turning Russians against each other and against the world. It turns out you can go quite far in a democracy by convincing a majority that they are threatened by a minority, and that only you can protect them......

====
Kasparov. In my opinion, the greatest chess player ever. And he's not bad as a political analyst also.

Revenge on Commanders: Russian soldiers in Ukraine's Donbas burn down their own rocket launcher
http://www.unian.info/war/1433953-revenge-on-commanders-russian-soldiers-in-ukraines-donbas-burn-down-their-own-rocket-launcher.html
Russian soldiers stationed in the occupied city of Horlivka deliberately destroyed their artillery system to protest a theft of their phones and rough treatment from commanders, that's according to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, Ukraine Today reports....

Deputy commander in ATO zone dismissed, charged with trading in ammunition
http://www.unian.info/war/1433698-deputy-commander-in-ato-zone-dismissed-charged-with-trading-in-ammunition.html
...who had sold more than 5,000 pieces of ammunition....
====

Such are Ukraine's commanders.
The whole structure of the Ukrainian armed forces is built upon corruption and stealing whatever you can.

Another [mafia boss] arrested in Odesa region, - Dekanoidze. Video
http://en.censor.net.ua/video_news/398803/another_crowned_thief_arrested_in_odesa_region_dekanoidze_video



One down, five hundred to go.

HQ: 6 soldiers killed and 13 injured yesterday
http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2016/07/24/7115766/
Sunday, July 24, 2016, 12:43

During the last day of hostilities in the area ATO 6 Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 13 injured.
This July 24 AP spokesman for the ATO Alexander Motuzyanyk.
In addition, according to the staff, another 8 Ukrainian soldiers received concussion.
However, according Motuzyanyka loss militants over the past day up to 7 people, 12 militants were wounded.
"These losses incurred once the Russian-4 compound occupation troops - so-called" 6th Regiment "(Stakhanov)," 7th Brigade "(Debaltseve)," 9th Regiment "(Novoazovsk)" 11 regiment "(Makeyevka)," - said a spokesman for the AP on ATO.......

Ato map from above link

The move comes after the IOC rules out backing any sports event in Russia

The European Olympic Committees (EOC) has said it will "maintain ongoing discussions" with other potential host cities of the 2019 European Games after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed today that it will not organise and give patronage to any sport event or meeting in Russia, the nation seen as firm favourites to stage the second edition in three years' time.

The IOC’s decision is one of a number of provisional measures taken by its Executive Board following the release of the damning McLaren Report here yesterday into alleged state-sponsored doping during the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, as well as in competitions in summer sports.

The report showed the Sports Ministry "directed, controlled and oversaw" a "unique" method of sample manipulation at Sochi 2014, involving a sample-swapping method where they were able to open and reseal tamper-proof bottles.

It comes as a major blow to EOC President Patrick Hickey, whose dream of preserving the European Games rests on persuading Russia, effectively their only realistic option, to host the 2019 edition.....

Over the last year there has been a recurrent refrain about the seeming bromance between Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. More seriously, but relatedly, many believe Trump is an admirer and would-be emulator of Putin's increasingly autocratic and illiberal rule. But there's quite a bit more to the story. At a minimum, Trump appears to have a deep financial dependence on Russian money from persons close to Putin. And this is matched to a conspicuous solicitousness to Russian foreign policy interests where they come into conflict with US policies which go back decades through administrations of both parties. There is also something between a non-trivial and a substantial amount of evidence suggesting Putin-backed financial support for Trump or a non-tacit alliance between the two men.

Let me start by saying I'm no Russia hawk. I have long been skeptical of US efforts to extend security guarantees to countries within what the Russians consider their 'near abroad' or extend such guarantees and police Russian interactions with new states which for centuries were part of either the Russian Empire or the USSR. This isn't a matter of indifference to these countries. It is based on my belief in seriously thinking through the potential costs of such policies. In the case of the Baltics, those countries are now part of NATO. Security commitments have been made which absolutely must be kept. But there are many other areas where such commitments have not been made. My point in raising this is that I do not come to this question or these policies as someone looking for confrontation or cold relations with Russia.

Let's start with the basic facts. There is a lot of Russian money flowing into Trump's coffers and he is conspicuously solicitous of Russian foreign policy priorities.

I'll list off some facts.

1. All the other discussions of Trump's finances aside, his debt load has grown dramatically over the last year, from $350 million to $630 million. This is in just one year while his liquid assets have also decreased. Trump has been blackballed by all major US banks.

2. Post-bankruptcy Trump has been highly reliant on money from Russia, most of which has over the years become increasingly concentrated among oligarchs and sub-garchs close to Vladimir Putin. Here's a good overview from The Washington Post, with one morsel for illustration ...

Since the 1980s, Trump and his family members have made numerous trips to Moscow in search of business opportunities, and they have relied on Russian investors to buy their properties around the world.

“Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets,” Trump’s son, Donald Jr., told a real estate conference in 2008, according to an account posted on the website of eTurboNews, a trade publication. “We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia.”

3. One example of this is the Trump Soho development in Manhattan, one of Trump's largest recent endeavors. The project was the hit with a series of lawsuits in response to some typically Trumpian efforts to defraud investors by making fraudulent claims about the financial health of the project. Emerging out of that litigation however was news about secret financing for the project from Russia and Kazakhstan. Most attention about the project has focused on the presence of a twice imprisoned Russian immigrant with extensive ties to the Russian criminal underworld. But that's not the most salient part of the story. As the Times put it,.....................

To read further go to this link: ukrainebusiness.com.ua 

At least 19 civilians were killed and scores injured in airstrikes carried out by Syrian regime and Russian warplanes in Syria’s northern Aleppo city on Saturday, according to a local civil defense official, Turkey's Anadolu news agency reported.

“Nineteen civilians were killed and 55 others injured, including children and women,” Ibrahim Abu Laith told Anadolu, adding that Syrian regime and Russian aircraft had bombed several residential areas in Aleppo city. Abu Laith said that civil defense teams were struggling to extract civilians from under the rubble......

unian.info

The International Olympic Committee’s decision in relation to the Russian national Olympic Team was released today, according to the organization’s website.

The IOC ruled the Russian national team eligible for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the official website of the IOC says. At the same time, a decision on the admission or non-admission of individual Russian athletes is handed over to the international federations. Any Russian athletes ever caught on using doping will not be admitted to the Games. In addition, before the Olympics, all the members of the Russian team will be required to undergo additional testing for doping................

To read further go to this link:  unian.info

"In the near future we'll present the concept of Hydropark, which will become a town of entertainment, where one can relax with children - the so-called Ukrainian Disneyland. Now we are in talks with investors who have extensive experience in implementing such projects. Our task is to implement this plan in the coming years," Klitschko said on the air of Kyiv TV Channel.

He stressed Kyiv should become a city that will attract attention of European countries, the cultural and sports center of Ukraine..........

en.interfax.com.ua

According to local newspaper ‘Dumskaya', Savchenko delivered her speech on the improvised stage, which is installed in the square where an ongoing protest against Odesa Mayor Hennady Trukhanov takes place.

Two men threw eggs at her but missed their target. They were detained by police.




uatoday.tv

Current and former officials of the anti-doping organizations have criticized the decision of the International Olympic Committee, which did not prohibit the participation in this year's summer Olympics athletes across all Russian state doping program in the country.

As the head of the Institute of national anti-doping organizations of 59 such organizations where Pansye Joseph, it was a "sad day for the" pure "sports", and the IOC "could not respond to the evidence strongly supported by the state of doping in Russia, destroying Russian sports system. "

LOC "ignored calls" clean "athletes of many sports organizations and leading national anti-doping organizations to act justly and to exclude Russia from the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro," said in its statement.

Also with sharp criticism was made the head of the US Anti-Doping Agency Travis Tayґart. "Disappointing that the answer to the most important point to" clean "athletes and the integrity of the Olympic Games the IOC refused to lead decisively forward. The decision on the part of ... - is a significant blow to the rights of "clean" athletes "- said in its statement.

Critical of the decision and the former head of the World Anti-Doping Agency Richard Pound, who has an independent expert to investigate the earliest reports of widespread doping in sport Russia in December 2014. As he said today, the IOC had a "tremendous opportunity to make a strong statement, and wasted it," testified "zero tolerance for doping, unless it is Russian."

Earlier on Sunday, the IOC announced its decision that Russian athletes are allowed to participate in this year's Summer Olympics only if the implementation of a number of conditions which must confirm for each or each international federation of their sports.

These federations are guided by the World Anti-Doping Code and other Olympic principles individually analyze the history of the use or disuse of doping each athlete, taking into account only the results of trusted international tests. The absence of positive national tests for doping can not be considered sufficient.

In order to participate in the games can not be admitted athletes against whom there is evidence of the use of doping in the independent report, prepared for the World Anti-Doping Agency and released recently. Also, the games can not be admitted athletes, though ever been punished for doping use, even if the ban them already coincidence.

International Federation also have the right to impose sanctions on national goals respective sports federations.

IOC agrees with the participation of each Russian athlete in this year's games only if the decision on the admission of international federations also support the experts approved the Sport Arbitration Court and independent of any sports organization involved in the Olympics this year.

The IOC also said that all Russian athletes admitted will be more rigorous checks on doping.

The IOC, in addition, has reserved the right to take further sanctions on the results of the expanded independent report on the state doping program sport in Russia, to be prepared.

Earlier, the International Association of Athletic Federations has banned all Russian athletes participating in the Olympic Games in Brazil Rio de Janeiro, allowing only individual exceptions. This decision confirmed the Sports Arbitration Court. After this decision the IOC participation in the games will take only one Russian athlete, and she can not act under the Russian flag.

Scandals about reports of the existence of a state program for athletes use doping and hiding it began last fall; at a time when the ban on participation in all international competitions, including the Olympics, Russian athletes were caught. July 18 World Anti-Doping Agency published a report prepared by an independent expert, which proved the existence of the program. As expected, the report will now expanded to give a final conclusion on the amount of "state doping" in Russia.

glavcom.ua In Ukrainian/український

Russian warplanes and ships approaching the borders of the republic in 2015, more than 270 times, and in 2014 - more than 250 times

Russian warship has once again been observed near the border of Latvia. It is reported Delfi referring to the national armed forces of the country.

"The Latvian exclusive economic zone of 12 nautical miles of territorial waters SiS today identified the ship" Bira "Russian Armed Forces," - said in a statement.

According to the Ministry of Defence of Latvia, Russian warplanes and ships approaching the borders of the republic in 2015, more than 270 times, and in 2014 - more than 250 times.

As you know, warships and aircraft of Russia since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine and strained relations between the West and Russia are increasingly close to record air and maritime borders of the Baltic States. Thus the air and sea space states they do not break, but in the case of airplanes referred to the threat to civil aviation.

Recall Bulgaria outraged numerous violations of its airspace by Russian planes, said Minister of Defense Nikolay Nencheva.

glavcom.ua In Ukrainian/український

Speaking of learning "Sea Breeze", the ambassador said that the main goal - to increase the ability of the Armed Forces to defend their territory

The main principle of US policy was and still support the Ukrainian people. This was during the opening ceremony of the active phase of the exercises "Sea Breeze 2016", said US Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey R. Pyatt, said the press service of the Defense Ministry .

"The main principle of US policy was and still support the Ukrainian people and emphasized the need to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine", - said Pyatt.

Speaking of learning "Sea Breeze" , the ambassador said that the main goal - to increase the ability of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to protect its territory. "The US government has provided more than $ 600 million as aid. The main thing - is to improve the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the Ukrainian leadership capabilities in security and defense, to be able to defend the Ukrainian people, "- he added.

glavcom.ua In Ukrainian/український

The thieves damaged a window and stole the tablet, mobile phone, 3.1 thousand. USD, 100 dollars and 70 euros

In the Lviv region two teenagers robbed the house of the family of a soldier who died in ATO during his funeral, said the regional department of the National Police.

Złoczew resident, who was 58 years, served in 53 separate mehbryhadi under fire and died between July 18 and Mayorskom Zaytsev. The incident occurred in the crimes, police in the city at 18:20 on July 22 reported that unknown in the period from 12:00 to 18:00 robbed the house where the family lives ATU soldier, who was buried the same day in Lviv. The thieves damaged a window and stole the tablet, mobile phone, 3.1 thousand. USD, 100 USD and 70 EUR.

As it became known later, teens and knew the deceased and his family. Soldier even worked as a lawyer provided legal assistance to one of the robbers.

Law enforcers arrested July 23 in Ukraine 14-year-old student, and on the night of July 24 in the Volyn region Shack. detained and his 15-year-old accomplice. On this fact openly criminal proceedings under Part. 3. 185 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

glavcom.ua In Ukrainian/український