Ukraine crisis. News in Brief. Friday 07 August [Ukrainian sources]

FRIDAY

Please scroll down to view news items added during the course of the day

News -
Putin launched 106 attacks yesterday. The vast majority around Donetsk. He also used Grad missiles.
Update -
Sadly 2 more Ukrainian soldiers lost their lives yesterday. 7 injured. Ato report - Lysenko. Posted below at about 1400.

Weather -
21C at 0630 this morning. Blue sky, sunshine. Expected high in the low to mid 30s. 90s.

Footie -
Yesterday, as expected, Zorya-Lugansk won. But Voskla-Poltava went out despite a good fight back.
Today - draw for the next rounds, including Shaktar in the Champions League.

Terrorists from the "Grad" missile system fired at Troitskoi. Under Krasnogorovka was a fight - a press center ATO (Tsenzor.Net)
http://censor.net.ua/news/346807/terroristy_iz_grada_obstrelyali_troitskoe_pod_krasnogorovkoyi_byl_boyi_presstsentr_ato
"Russian-terrorist forces from the 18 hours until midnight, almost without interruption, shelled positions in Ukrainian villages near Donetsk.
So about 20 hours mercenaries fired twice at Avdeevka from 122-millimeter artillery. And with ten o'clock the enemy four times fire with tanks ....

Relative calm was near Mariupol. During the night two occupants provoking our military small arms fired Chermalyk.
In general, during the day yesterday illegal armed formations 106 times violated the ceasefire. Of these, 78 cases of enemy weapons recorded near Donetsk.
After midnight on August 7th by bandits firing continued activity in Donetsk region ", - the report says

7:55
Kerry and Lavrov agreed on a videoconference on the Donbas (New Times)
http://nv.ua/world/geopolitics/kerri-i-lavrov-dogovorilis-o-videokonferentsii-po-donbassu-62986.html
[waste of time; the war will end when Putin and Lavrov decide to stop killing Ukrainians. ]

In the Europa League "Zorya" smash "Charleroi" (Radіo Freedom)
http://www.radiosvoboda.org/content/news/27175207.html
[rather an exaggeration. They won 2-0. Aggregate 5-0, yes]

8:10
Near Donetsk airport, two soldiers of the "Carpathian Sich" were killed (RBC-Ukraine)
http://www.rbc.ua/rus/news/donetskim-aeroportom-pogibli-dva-boytsa-karpatskoy-1438923797.html

8:03
Even in the morning the mortar duel in the village of Stanitsa Lugansk does not stop (Іnformator)
http://www.informator.su/k-utru-ne-styhaet-mynometnaya-duel-v-stanytse-luhanskoj/
Continuing mortar and artillery duels in many areas of the eastern front
[Basically, it looks like the war is becoming more and more open again. Artillery shelling, mortars.
And semblance of a ceasefire has disappeared.]

8:16
In the port of Odessa revealed corruption of a billion hryvnia (Columnist)
http://obozrevatel.com/crime/91638-v-odesskom-portu-vyiyavili-zloupotrebleniya-na-milliard-griven.htm
[not surprising. A big concern. I used to get business visas from Odessa port, in the days when you needed a visa to visit Ukraine]

8:25
The Republicans in the United States in the debate raised the issue of arms supplies to Ukraine (RBC-Ukraine)
http://www.rbc.ua/rus/news/respublikantsy-ssha-hode-debatov-zatronuli-1438924793.html
Scott Walker promised to provide Ukraine with weapons in case of victory in the elections
Candidate for President of the United States Republican Party Scott Walker promised to provide military assistance to Ukraine if he wins the election.
[I presume the other candidates "did an Obama" - sat on the fence.]

Ruble Tumbles to February Lows on Weak Oil
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/ruble-tumbles-to-february-lows-on-weak-oil/527499.html
The Russian currency sank to its lowest level since February on Thursday, extending a recent rout as the price of crude oil fell below $48 a barrel and appeared to be heading for a 2015 bottom.
The ruble tumbled 2 percent against the U.S. dollar to 64.6 in the early evening, bringing its decline against the greenback over the last fortnight to 11.3 percent. The currency dropped past the milestones of 70 against the euro and 100 against the British pound during morning trading.

[This report was from last night. This morning the rubble is near 64. 99 to a pound, but only because the pound has fallen against the dollar - as a result of the Bank of England saying that interest rates won't rise in the near future. ]

Russian FM slams MH17 investigation; says Russia wants "truth", "justice".
http://www.nltimes.nl/2015/08/06/russia-fm-slams-mh17-investigation-says-russia-wants-truth-justice/
“The representative of the Russian Civil Aviation Organization is participating in these procedures, … all our attempts to get answers ... were just stonewalled.”
Lavrov also said that other countries in the investigation “seem to be quite prejudiced” and want to “politicize the situation”. ..
When talking about Russia’s decision to use its veto power in the UN Security Council .. Lavrov said: “The creation of the tribunal might be used as a pretext to hide the inefficiency of the investigation which is being conducted by the Netherlands.”

[Just appeared yesterday, although the information is quite old.
So Lavrov is now openly saying that the Dutch are being biased. He can't like the direction things are going in.
We all know what the truth is, even Lavrov himself.
He will try and get the Malaysians to give the "Russian truth".
Obama in a hanglider, or Poroshenko in a Cessna, threw a grenade.]

Winter Is Coming: Why Vladimir Putin and the Enemies of the Free World Must Be Stopped - Hardcover – October 27, 2015
by Garry Kasparov (Author)
http://www.amazon.com/Winter-Is-Coming-Vladimir-Enemies/dp/1610396200
Putin has grown not only into a dictator but a global threat. With his vast resources and nuclear weapons, Putin is at the center of a worldwide assault on political liberty.
.. Putin's Russia, like ISIS or Al Qaeda, defines itself in opposition to the free

====
October 27, 2015. I presume the date when the book is released.
Kasparov - brilliant mind. Arguably, the greatest chess player ever. Now politician.
Book is 20 bucks. Even for a Kindle. I would expect that to fall, in time.

Also by Kasparov, in the WSJ - from a few months ago - but gives you a flavor of his writing
===
Putin’s Culture of Fear and Death
http://www.wsj.com/articles/garry-kasparov-putins-culture-of-fear-and-death-1425249677
By 2014 the increasingly depleted opposition movement, long treated with contempt and ridicule, had been rebranded in the Kremlin-dominated media as dangerous fifth columnists, or “national traitors,” in the vile language lifted directly from Nazi propaganda.

Mr. Putin openly shifted his support to the most repressive, reactionary and bloodthirsty elements in the regime. Among them are chief prosecutor Alexander Bastrykin, who last week declared that the Russian constitution was “standing in the way of protecting the state’s interests.” In this environment, blood becomes the coin of the realm, the way to show loyalty to the regime. This is what President Putin has wrought to keep his grip on power, a culture of death and fear...

InfoC: The number of attacks is increasing across the front line (LIGABusinessInform)
http://news.liga.net/news/politics/6360145-is_kolichestvo_obstrelov_uvelichivaetsya_po_vsey_linii_fronta.htm
[Detailed report at this link.
Putin attacking along the entire front line, as far as I can tell. ]

9:13
Dobkin intends to appeal against the ban on his party to go to the polls (Columnist)
http://obozrevatel.com/politics/96108-dobkin-nameren-obzhalovat-v-sude-zapret-ego-partii-idti-na-vyiboryi.htm
[It always disgusts me when the mafia, bandits, criminals, murderers, use the courts for their own interests.]

9:33
Independence Day 2015, in the center of events - the defenders of Ukraine (Native Country)
http://kyiv.ridna.ua/2015/08/37186/
Kyiv - A march instead of a military parade on Khreshchatyk and classical music concert instead of entertainment at Maidan on Independence Day in the Presidential Administration....
Parade of military equipment on Independence Day on August 24 in the capital will not. ...
On the eve of the Day of the Flag, also planned ceremony to commemorate those killed in the ATO, the official said.

Russia destroys tonnes of foreign food imports
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-33814362
Religious leaders expressed outrage. One called the actions "insane, stupid and vile".
Russia has suffered notorious famines in its recent history which saw millions starve.
More than 285,000 people have backed an online petition calling on President Putin to give the food away.
The petition says that food sanctions have led to higher prices and shortages that are causing real hardship.
Food price inflation is running at around 20%.

[Russia is lead by a madman. But you won't read this in The Guardian from Shaun Walker - also Russiatoday = , or Stalin loving Shameus Milne. ]

This, in the Australian press
===

Russia bulldozes tonnes of cheese and smuggled Western food as embargo bites
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-07/russia-destroys-smuggled-western-food-under-new-sanctions/6679348
One truck driver carrying a cargo of suspicious tomatoes turned his vehicle around and made a getaway back into Belarus to avoid them being destroyed, food safety agency Rosselkhoznadzor said.

[Some black humour in the same article - ]

"'In Belgorod they have begun destroying 10 tonnes of cheese' — the news agencies are reporting it like our troops are advancing on the second Ukrainian front," opposition politician Alexei Navalny wrote on Twitter.

A tweet from an account parodying the foreign ministry read: "The euro is at 70 the ruble, the dollar is at 60? Quick, let's distract them: set fire to the Parmesan!"

Opposition figure and former prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov responded with bitter irony. "20 million Russian citizens are below poverty line. Their president ordered food products' destruction from Aug 6. Some real triumph of humanism," he said on Twitter.

And what a headline in the Irish Times...
===
Don't give Edam: Russia destroys seven tonnes of banned cheese
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/don-t-give-edam-russia-destroys-seven-tonnes-of-banned-cheese-1.2308826

Russia Destroys Piles of Banned Western Food
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/07/world/europe/russia-destroys-piles-of-banned-western-food.html?_r=0
The frenzy, remarkable even by the standards of Russia’s recent politicization of food supplies, was gleefully reported by Russian state television....
“German cheese being burned in Pulkovo,” screamed one headline on the news portal Gazeta.ru.
===
Found the story -
Немецкий сыр сожгут в печи в Пулково
http://www.gazeta.ru/business/news/2015/08/06/n_7440105.shtml

And while on the theme of black humour -
Shaun Walker School of journalism at work -
====

The Weird World of MH17 Conspiracy Theories
https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-europe/2015/08/07/mh17-conspiracies/
a new trickle of conspiracy theories have emerged, including ... an undercover CIA agent working for the BBC plotting the plane’s downing. These new narratives ...have received varying levels of support from the Kremlin and its media outlets...

The West framed Russia and its separatists for MH17 by repainting and planting the debris of a previously crashed plane in the fields of eastern Ukraine. This flight was likely British Airways Flight 38, which crashed outside of London ...
====
Some really cuckoo stuff. But anything to divert attention from the real culprits.

11:12
Lightning in the Carpathian region killed two people (Socportal.info)
http://socportal.info/2015/08/07/bliskavka-na-prikarpatti-vbila-dvoh-lyudej.html
It is learned that at the time of lightning men were in the garden and hid from the rain under a tree.
[village called Chorna Richka.
Tempting, but don't hide from heavy rain - lightning, under a tree.. ] ]

11:08
Great-grandson of Sholem Aleichem visited hasidic shrines in Ukraine (RISU)
http://risu.org.ua/ua/index/all_news/other_confessions/judaism/60748
"For a long time I wanted to visit the holy sites and graves of the righteous, and now realized his dream. I visited the grave of rabbi - Bal Shem Tov - founder of Hasidism, Zushi of Hanipoli, Shneur Zalman. We visited in Zhitomir, Berdichev, Medzhybizh, Gadyach, Nizhyn. I visited a shelter where live children abandoned by parents - Jewish children. They all have such a difficult fate, this is very difficult to say ... "- said H. Berman.

===
I remember once getting on a flight from Kiev to London in August - , which turned out to have at least 50 hasidic jews on it.
In the end the stewardesses gave in asking them to sit down, and we all simply waited until they found places for their black hats.
The plane left half-an-hour late.
===

Berditchev (Hasidic dynasty)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berditchev_(Hasidic_dynasty)
Berditchev Hasidim, also known in Yiddish as Berditchiver Hasidim, originated in the town of Berdychiv, which over the years was under the control of Lithuania, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine.
During the 18th century Berditchev was an important center of Hasidism. Rabbi Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev (1740-1810), also known as the Kedushat Levi in honor of his great Talmudic and pietistic work, became the inspiration for subsequent generations of Berditchiver Hasidim.
Today, there are several synagogues called Berditshev, of which the rabbis of some are called Berditshever Rebbes.

see also
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berdychiv#Jewish_history
In 1867 the population of Berdichev was 52,563 of which 41,617 (80%) were jewish.

also
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhytomyr
a section on "Jews in Zhitomir".

This is excellent
Berdichev
http://jewua.org/berdichev/

12:14
Nurses at Odessa military hospital sold narcotic drugs (News)
http://vesti-ukr.com/odessa/110203-medsestry-odesskogo-voennogo-gospitalja-provadali-promedol-i-sami-delali-inekciju

[No wonder they were caught!
The police typically control the drug scene in Odessa. I have seen this with my own eyes - the police supervising, as addicts got there injections, in various parks usually.
One needle for all. Admittedly, this was over a decade ago, but I expect nothing has changed. Big money.
see also ]

HIV/AIDS in Ukraine
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HIV/AIDS_in_Ukraine
The HIV/AIDS epidemic in Ukraine is one of the fastest growing in the world. Experts estimated in August 2010 that 1.3 percent of the adult population of Ukraine was infected with HIV, the highest in all of Europe...
until the mid-1990s, when a sudden and explosive epidemic emerged among injecting drug users in the southern and eastern regions of the country..
Prevalence in the southern and eastern oblasts (Odessa, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Donetsk) is about three times higher than rates in the rest of the country.

12:28
Map ATO: the situation in the east of Ukraine, as of August 7 (i Dіlo Word)
http://ru.slovoidilo.ua/2015/08/07/karta/karta-ato-situaciya-na-vostoke-ukrainy-po-sostoyaniyu-na-7-avgusta

I think I've written over the past week or so, that it has been rather hot in central Ukraine. ...
===

Hottest Day in Kyiv for 64 Years
http://www.whatson-kiev.com/index.php?go=News&in=view&id=8757
temperatures climbed to 34 degrees Celsius – the hottest temperature recorded in the city for 64 years.
[it was hotter where I am]

I also mentioned that the last winter was much warmer than usual....
Putin was hoping to freeze Ukraine into submission. But it didn't work, for various reasons...

Historical Weather For The Last Twelve Months in Kiev, Ukraine
https://weatherspark.com/history/33809/2015/Kiev-Kiev-City-Ukraine
Relative to the average, the hottest day was March 10. The high temperature that day was 15°C, compared to the average of 5°C, a difference of 10°C. In relative terms the warmest month was March, with an average high temperature of 9°C, compared to an typical value of 6°C.

The longest warm spell was from February 18 to March 22, constituting 33 consecutive days with warmer than average high temperatures. The month of January had the largest fraction of warmer than average days with 87% days with higher than average high temperatures.

Austria has completed ratification of the EU-Ukraine Association (EURO true)
http://www.eurointegration.com.ua/news/2015/08/7/7036741/
[Better late than never.
Greece and Cyprus could be the main problem. Putin will try and stop it, for sure. Italy also.]

13:40
Last night at Donbass two soldiers ATO killed, seven more injured - Lysenko (Channel 5)
http://www.5.ua/ato-na-shodi/Za-dobu-na-Donbasi-zahynulo-dvoie-biitsiv-ATO-shche-semero-zaznaly-poranen--Lysenko--89661.html

[Detailed report of the fighting at the link above.
This must be the worst week for deaths for several months, in the war against Russia.]

Football seems almost superfluous, after reporting on the deaths of young men, every day, as a result of Putin's stupidity and insanity.
====

UEFA Champions League play-off draw made
http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/newsid=2269825.html

Shakhtar are drawn against Rapid Vienna.
Not the worst draw. Good also - they are second named, so they play the 2nd leg at home.



The draw for the Europa League is live right now on Football1 kanal. 1415.
I think the Lugansk team Zorya have been drawn to play Legia Warsaw.
That will be difficult for them.

The EU is going to provide necessary funds and expertise for Ukraine-wide open competition aimed at competitive recruitment of heads and deputy heads of local public prosecution offices (PPO).


This is reported by Censor.NET citing a statement by the EU Delegation to Ukraine. Charge d'Affaires of the EU Delegation to Ukraine Thomas Frellesen said "The EU stands ready to support a reorganization of the public prosecution offices and optimization of its human resources. Open, transparent and merit-based selection of heads and deputies of local prosecutors is a key element of such reform. It will result in an independent and impartial service, which will strengthen Ukraine's ability to ensure the rule of law and improve its fight against corruption".

Under a new law on public prosecutor's office, which was positively assessed by the Venice Commission and entered into force on July 15, for the first time in the history of the Ukrainian PPO, leadership of local prosecutors' offices will be recruited through an open and competitive procedure. The open competition will consist of professional knowledge tests, general skills tests, psychometric tests and face-to-face interviews.

The serving prosecutors can also apply, but will have no preferential treatment compared to any external candidate. The EU will provide the necessary funds and expertise to organize testing process with the help of EU funded project "Support to Justice Sector Reforms in Ukraine".

censor.net.ua: In Russian

Protesters in Donetsk, held by Russian-backed separatists, gathered outside a hotel used by OSCE monitors.



rferl.org:

Ukraine moves to the deepest economic crisis in 24 years. This broadcast «112.ua» said the third president of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko.

He noted that the war is not related to the fall of the economy.

"If you have not solved the problem of stability of money and prices, have made the financial destabilization, if you have lost control over prices and over the course, then ... we are Ukrainian economy into the deepest economic collapse in 24 years" - said the third president of Ukraine.

glavcom.ua : In Russian

In Donetsk, has three children blown up by shells that brought home and tried to dismantle. According to "TSN" referring to the users Twitter, the tragedy occurred near Mashzavod, outside Kovtiukh.

"At Kovtiukh children blown. About 2 hours ago. Brother amputate fingers and flogged leg, the other two of severed hands and feet, "- wrote one of the locals.

According to Donetsk, children from 11 to 13 years.

Earlier, under the Mariupol tractor was blown up by explosives. Tractor driver was taken to the surgical ward.

glavcom.ua In Russian