Ukraine crisis. News in brief. Wednesday 14 December. [Ukrainian sources]

WEDNESDAY

Please scroll to view news items added during the day.

NEWS:
Vladimir Putin will always be America’s enemy. 13 Times Russian Hackers Sabotaged Clinton’s Presidential Campaign
.  Dutch foreign minister says no deal yet on Ukraine treaty. Russian propaganda review: "Visa genocide," "Ukraine full of Nazis".  Why Russia wants Savchenko to negotiate with terrorists.  Dutch Court Rules Crimean Treasures Must Be Returned To Ukraine. Donbas rebels suffer massive losses. Lavrov calls Russia-US talks on Syria ‘fruitless get-together’.

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov believes that Russia’s talks with the U.S. to resolve the conflict in Syria are a ‘fruitless get-together’.

He said speaking to participants of the annual scientific and educational project Dialogue for the Future, Censor.NET reports referring to RIA Novosti.

"We maintain contacts, but every time we make some arrangements, the Americans deviate from the already reached agreements. That's what happened in September, that's what happened in early December. They lecture us and say: "Russia proposes to agree corridors for the militants to be able to leave the area, but the fighting must be immediately suspended first, and then, after a few days, these corridors should be made"," Lavrov dwelled on the situation in Syrian Aleppo.

"Rather than argue with us and try to impose breaks that have always been used to reinforce the militants, the U.S. could have agreed to create these corridors long time ago, and we would have cleared eastern Aleppo from the militants," he added.

The Russian minister said that Moscow also maintained a dialogue with the countries of the region, including Turkey, which stayed in touch with the insurgents, the Syria's armed opposition.

"I think that this channel can become more efficient than a months-long fruitless get-together with our American colleagues," he stressed.

censor.net.ua, In Russian / На русском

Due to accurate return fire of the Ukrainian army, Donbas rebels have suffered massive losses, both combat and non-combat, the Ukraine army says Dec. 14.

Dec. 5 thru 11, the rebels lost 30 of their fighters, with 21 killed and 11 wounded. 

Ukraine army intelligence named the units most hit by the losses – 9th Regiment (Mariupol zone), 11th Regiment (Avdijyvka and Yasynuvata), 6th Regiment and 7th Brigade in the Luhansk zone.

zik.ua

A Dutch court has ruled that a priceless collection of gold artifacts from Crimea that were on loan to a Dutch museum when Russia occupied the peninsula must be returned to Ukraine.

The Amsterdam district court said on December 14 that Crimea was not a sovereign country and so could not claim the treasures as cultural heritage.

The ruling drew a swift and angry reaction from Russia and praise from Ukraine, whose president said it means that "Crimea is ours, period.”

Kyiv and four museums in Crimea have been wrangling over the fate of the archeological treasures, which range from pots to a Scythian helmet dating back more than 2,000 years, ever since Russia seized control of the Ukrainian peninsula in March 2014.

The Ukrainian government claimed that, as state property, they could not be returned to territory outside its control, while the Crimean museums argued the objects must be returned by the Netherlands to the institutions from which they were on loan.

The treasures, popularly known as Scythian gold, are in the Netherlands because they were borrowed from the four museums in Crimea and one in Kyiv for an exhibition in early 2014 at Amsterdam's Allard Pierson Museum.

Shortly after the court issued its ruling, the Russian Culture Ministry said the decision "violates the principles of international exchanges between museums and the right of the people of the Crimea to have access to their own cultural heritage."

The ministry called the ruling an "extremely negative precedent" and said it contradicted "the norms of international law on the protection of cultural values."

'Pure Theft'................

rferl.org

Russia needs the meeting of Nadiya Savchenko with the leading terrorists of the so-called DNR (Donetsk People’s Republic) and LNR (Luhansk People’s Republic) in order to legitimize “people’s power.” In order to prove to the new US administration that the conflict in the Donbas is supposedly a civil war and not a conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

The meeting in Minsk between Nadiya Savchenko and the leaders of the so-called “people’s republics” — if this meeting actually took place — is one of the strangest events of recent times. Everything about this meeting is strange. The fact that it took place under conditions of strict secrecy. And the fact that Savchenko does not want to talk about it. And the fact that nothing can be said about any results. This suggests that we are only at the initial states of an operation by Russian special services whose meaning will become clear only with time.

Let us begin with the assumption that the agreement of Aleksandr Zakharchenko and Igor Plotnisky is necessary for the exchange of hostages to take place — even though this naturally is a strange assumption since the question of releasing Ukrainian citizens is decided not in Donetsk or Luhansk but in Moscow and Savchenko is absolutely not needed for any contact with the leaders of DNR and LNR.

It is precisely for this reason that Viktor Medvedchuk is present in the contact group (Medvedchuk, a close friend of Putin’s, heads up the pro-Russian and anti-EU organization “People’s Choice” and is a participant in the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine, which was formed to facilitate a diplomatic resolution to the war in the Donbas — Ed.) It should be obvious that the Kremlin trusts the former head of the Presidential Administration in Ukraine more than Savchenko. Furthermore, Medvedchuk can negotiate not only with Zakharchenko and Plotnytsky but also with representatives of the Russian leadership and military command. Therefore, if Moscow authorities really wanted to resolve some specific issues related to the release of Ukrainian citizens — as the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (again, not Zakharchenko) hinted recently — they would be speaking with Medvedchuk and not with the former pilot................

Access complete text of the editorial:  euromaidanpress.com In English

Russian propagandist could not but twist information about Ukraine's forthcoming visa-free regime with the European Union, according to a Disinformation Review from the European External Action Service East StratCom Task Force.

The recent period involved multiple pieces of disinformation regarding the visa liberalization process for Ukraine, a recent DisinfoReview newsletter says, giving examples of them.

For example, Russian outlet Lenta.ru invented the story that Ukraine has proposed that it accepts Middle Eastern migrants in exchange for visa-free travel into the EU (http://bit.ly/2hb0JMB). This piece of disinformation was promptly translated e.g. into Czech (http://bit.ly/2heihrw).

Other outlets specialized in spreading disinformation, such as Sputnik (http://bit.ly/2gi83o7), focused on scaring Europeans, and multiplied the many times refuted (see e.g. http://bit.ly/2hrUtDG) disinformation that Ukraine is full of Nazis who would invade the EU – also disregarding the fact that the visa will last for 90 days only...............

Access complete text of the editorial:  unian.info In English

The cabinet has not yet reached agreement with other EU states on a separate declaration to take away Dutch objections to the EU treaty with Ukraine, foreign minister Bert Koenders told parliament on Tuesday, according to Dutch News.

On Monday, opposition MPs asked Koenders and Rutte to publish the concept agreement so that MPs can discuss it ahead of Thursday's crucial summit, Dutch News reported. "There is no text which has been agreed on," Koenders said in his briefing. "Nor can we say if the Dutch position will be realized, given that a number of member states consider it to be far-reaching." International news agencies say agreement has been reached on some of the key points.

Rutte told the Financial Times last he needed a legally binding' declaration in his pocket. "If we do not get this we will put a law to parliament the next day, which will state that we will not ratify the association agreement," Rutte said..........

Access complete text of the editorial:  unian.info In English

Many conservatives and Trump supporters have been dismissive of the possibility that interference by Russian hackers changed the outcome of the 2016 election. But they would do well to rethink things. Even a cursory look at the events of the past few years reveals Russian meddling was absolutely decisive in denying Clinton her rightful position as president-elect.

Here’s a quick rundown of 13 major moments where Clinton’s seemingly invincible presidential campaign was brought down thanks Russian hacking efforts:

1996: Russian Spetsnaz special forces pepper Clinton with sniper rifle fire as she lands in Sarajevo after the Bosnian War. Shortly after, Russian hackers destroy all video footage of this event, replacing it with fake news accounts that Clinton’s visit was peaceful. Clinton’s unbelievable bravery in Bosnia is subsequently disbelieved.

Jan. 28, 2009: Russia-financed black hat hackers in Donetsk, Ukraine, hack Clinton’s personal Blackberry and modify the emails she sends. An email demanding that Clinton follow all Department of State email rules is quietly deleted, and replaced with a spoof email demanding the creation of a private email server stored at her personal home in New York....................

Access complete text of the editorial:  dailycaller.com In English

Vladimir Putin is our enemy. Not because we want him to be, but because resentment and hatred of the United States is central to his being. Russia’s president yearns to do us harm.

He blames us for the Soviet Union’s self-wrought collapse. He blames us for Russian stagnation. He blames us for the derelict lot of his drunken, diseased country. And he wants revenge.

Putin has five strategic goals: He wants international sanctions lifted, Europe divided and NATO destroyed. He seeks to restore the empire of the czars. And he wants to humiliate the United States.

Americans and Europeans are targets of a ruthless, audacious and skillful disinformation campaign portraying Russia as a victim, not an aggressor. Not since the heyday of the Soviet-sponsored Ban-the-Bomb movement in the 1950s has Kremlin propaganda thrived so broadly.

We naively insist the truth will prevail. That’s nonsense. Putin knows that big lies work, if repeated until absorbed. And he’s aided by Western stooges who, for money or malice or moral malfeasance, abet Putin in deluding our populations.

The current pro-Putin narrative holds that Russia’s a martyr to Western aggression, that we’ve abused Russia since the USSR dissolved and that NATO’s eastward expansion equals aggression. Then there are the preposterous claims that Russia’s battling Islamist terrorists on behalf of civilization, even as Russian bombs butcher civilians by the thousands..........................

Access complete text of the editorial:  nypost.com In English

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko says he regrets that Batkivshchyna faction MP Nadiia Savchenko met with leaders of Luhansk and Donetsk militants.

As reported by Censor.NET citing Interfax-Ukraine, the president said during a visit to Ivano-Frankivsk region.

"It is a pity, because this person has gone through a lot and I think that these steps benefit neither her nor the country," Poroshenko said.

As reported, Batkivshchyna faction MP Nadiia Savchenko met with leaders of the "DPR" Alexander Zakharchenko and "LPR" Igor Plotnitsky in Minsk Dec. 7. The lawmaker said she would meet even devil to release Ukrainian hostages.

en.censor.net.ua, In Ukrainian / на українській мові

Cyber criminals from the Russian Federation are behind the powerful cyber attacks upon Ukraine's governmental websites of recent days.

This was announced by National Security and Defense Council Secretary in a commentary, Censor.NET reports citing the NSDC press service.

According to Turchynov, a week ago an active phase of large-scale cyber attacks against information websites of government bodies, infrastructure facilities, and non-governmental agencies was launched.

"These attacks were planned in advance and coordinated from a center located in the Russian Federation," the NSDC secretary said.

"One of the main tasks of the cyber criminals was to destabilize financial and banking sector of Ukraine before the New Year, which would interrupt social payments, impede the work of state agencies, and block the budget process," Turchynov said.

The NSDC secretary said none of the attacked computer systems were harmed and normal operations have been restored.

The matter of strengthening cyber protection of the governmental websites under conditions of hybrid war with the Russian Federation will be discussed at today's meeting of the National coordination center for cyber security with the government, Turchynov said.

ua.censor.net.ua , In Ukrainian / на українській мові

By Paul Goble* for “Window on Eurasia”:

One of the most important warnings to emerge during World War II came from German Pastor Martin Niemöller who said first Hitler’s thugs came for the socialists, then the unionists, and then the Jews, but that he didn’t say anything because he wasn’t one. Then, of course, they came for him and no one was left to say anything.

Putin’s thugs are advancing in much the same way, and now they are coming for the Jews, something that the people of Russia should fear and that the apologists for Vladimir Putin and his increasingly vicious regime should be forced to account for now. Because make no mistake, the Putinists are not going to stop there.

On Sunday, as Ekho Moskvy and various bloggers have reported, activists from the extreme right National Liberation Movement of Russia (NOD) in St. Petersburg beat and denounced as “a kike” David Frenkel who took part in an unsanctioned march in support of gay rights (cursorinfo.co.il/news/xussr/2016/12/12/neonacisti--policeyskie-i-vrachi-izbili-i-unizili-zhurnalistaevreya-v-rph/ and echo.msk.ru/blog/echomsk/1890432-echo/).

The Russian police did not come to his aid. Instead, in response to his cries for help, they laughed; and then the Russian medical staff at a clinic to which he finally reached on his own treated him with contempt. When he refused to give them the camera he had photographed the NOD meeting with and said they’d get it over his dead body, they replied that was “no problem.”

And when Ekho Moskvy posted its story about this crime, many of those who wrote in to comment said they were on the side of NOD and that Frenkel had simply gotten some of what he deserved. (See a selection of these horrific remarks atecho.msk.ru/blog/echomsk/1890432-echo/comments.html#comments.)...............

Access complete text of the editorial:  ukrainebusiness.com.ua In English

A Ukrainian security chief said on Wednesday Ukraine needed to beef up its cyber defenses, citing a recent spate of attacks on government websites that he said originated in Russia, Reuters reports.



Over the past week, Ukraine's Finance and Defense ministries and State Treasury said their websites had been temporarily downed by attacks aimed at disrupting their operations, according to Reuters. "These attacks were planned in advance and coordinated from a center based in the Russian Federation," the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, Oleksander Turchynov, said. At the end of 2015, the council blamed Russia for a cyber attack on its power grid that left part of western Ukraine temporarily without electricity.

Cyber security experts consider Russia one of the world's most advanced cyber powers, along with the United States, China, Israel, France and Britain. Bratislava-based computer security company ESET said it believed the recent attacks on the ministries were attempted "cybersabotage" and likely carried out by the same group that targeted Ukraine's power grid last year......

unian.info

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko had a telephone conversation with President of the European Council Donald Tusk.

Censor.NET reports citing presidential press secretary Sviatoslav Tseholko's Tweeter page.

"Poroshenko and Tusk coordinated positions on the eve of the European Council meeting scheduled for Dec. 15," he wrote.

"Donald Tusk offered reassurance he would make every effort to ratify the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU and will contribute to the soonest conclusion of visa liberalization for Ukrainians.

"President Poroshenko stressed he counted on the continuation of EU sanctions against Russia for its failure to observe the Minsk agreements. He also expressed concern about the humanitarian situation in the Syrian city of Aleppo and noted Russia deserved new sanctions for its actions there," the presidential press service reported later.

ua.censor.net.ua , In Ukrainian / на українській мові