Ukraine crisis. News in brief. Wednesday 23 September [Ukrainian sources]

WEDNESDAY

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

News -
Putin started firing again at the Ukrainian people. 9 times yesterday.
Update 1300. No Ukrainian military deaths yesterday, no injured. Slava Ukraini.
Also now more actively sending in sabotage groups to destroy what he can in Ukraine.
Blockade of Crimea continues.
Minsk - ultimatum from Russia. Agree to everything we want, regarding elections in Donbass. Blackmail.
Looking more and more like Transdniestr to me in the Donbass. A wasteland.

Weather -
Should be a pleasant day. Sunshine, in the mid-20s for most of the country.
Sun shining now, but a tad chilly at 12C nearing 0900.

Personal observation -
I went for a walk in a park this morning with some friends. Nice day. Squirrels running around, leaves turning color.
But also - sounds of anti-aircraft guns, sounds of helicopters, planes... Maybe mortars also.
The Ukrainian military are not resting. They are really training now. Essential. Because Putin is a nutcase.
Nobody knows what he will do next. Just like with Adolf Hitler.

http://www.rbc.ua/rus/news/zone-ato-aktivizirovalis-diversionnye-gruppy-1442984365.html
"Against the background of the fact that significantly reduced down to zero the number of attacks on our positions, as well as the settlements, which are under our control, we have quite lively activities of sabotage and reconnaissance groups of the enemy. They are mining roads, utilities, building settlements, that is, today it is a very serious problem, "- said Seleznyov.
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Madman Putin is not going to stop his war. The Russians always love wars and death. That's what they enjoy. Now Syria also.
Sabotage. Destroying Ukraine in a different way. Deadly games for Putin's bloodthirsty generals.

http://www.rbc.ua/rus/news/boeviki-sutki-raz-obstrelyali-sily-ato-shtab-1442981653.html
It is reported that the evening of September 22 under sniper fire, small arms and rocket-propelled grenades hit power ATO Mayorsk (Donetsk region)., Zaitseva, and closer to midnight - in Lozovo, Luhansk (Artemovskoye direction), and Sokolniki (Lugansk region.).
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Could be starting the war again... Who knows. Putin is a nutter.

http://www.unn.com.ua/uk/news/1503592-politichna-pidgrupa-schodo-donbasu-sogodni-prodovzhit-zustrich-u-minsku
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More games for madman Putin. An agreement will be reached when he wants it to be reached - if ever.

8:36
http://radio24.ua/news/showSingleNews.do?objectId=40606
[in Chicago]

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/09/22/osce-envoy-upset-by-intransigence-russia-backed-rebels-in-talks-with-ukraine/
An envoy from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has voiced regret over the intransigence of Russia-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine, who have insisted on holding local elections in defiance of the Ukrainian government.
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Transdniestr - here we come.

http://112.ua/politika/rossiya-vydvinula-v-minske-ultimatum-o-vyborah-18-oktyabrya-i-1-noyabrya-i-po-svoim-pravilam-bezsmetrnyy-260098.html
Russian militants and "LC" and "DNR" at a meeting of the political sub-group issued an ultimatum on the election of 18 October and 1 November, and by its own rules. This was the TV channel "112 Ukraine" said the representative of Ukraine in political subgroup Roman Immortal.
During the talks, representatives of the Russian Federation presented the document, which was painted on dates, when and what kind of commitments Ukraine must fulfill, and then, perhaps, 21 February to Ukrainian legislation on individual regions of Donetsk and Lugansk region. elections will be held in the village council.
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Russian blackmail. Do everything we want, otherwise....
Putin elections are a joke. Putin observers like Shaun Walker and his "DNR guys" with guns.
Making sure the people vote the "right" way.

13:08
http://hvylya.net/news/digest/nardepa-parasyuka-podozrevayut-v-prisvoenii-dzhipa-prislannogo-iz-kanadyi-dlya-sil-ato.html
In it Parasyuk came to inspect the place of the blockade of the Crimea, reports of Korrespondent.net
In particular, users of social networks Alexander Derkach on his page reported that the vehicle transmitted by the military in Canada, had to be volunteers, but for some reason turned out to be now with a deputy.
"Let explains now where he took it. A strange coincidence? In the summer from Canada I visited my friend John Yushchenko. He came to check whether the jeep came FORD, which they sent to the city to volunteer. We were told that the jeep with "Dnepr-1". We went and checked how it is done. But now it is with Parasiuk? "- He wrote.
In turn, MP Alexander Briginets on this occasion said: "And who does not like the honest members can steal property donated by volunteers? I would like to hear an explanation from the (Parasyuk - Ed.). He pays little Kolomoisky that he should strip the battalion? It does not pay? Well, then, is another matter. "
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Pretty typical I would say.
Ukrainian deputies are almost always bandits. Almost a given.
I also recall lots of computers given to the military by OSCE. Most ended up for sale on Slando within a week or two. Theft. Pure theft.

http://gazeta.ua/articles/np/_vvshniki-dnr-obstrilyali-rosijskih-voyakiv-u-debalcevomu/649060
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Some argument. Drunk. Automatic weapons.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-crisis-crimean-tatars-border-blockade-of-their-occupied-peninsula-could-strangle-the-economy-and-invite-forceful-response-from-russia-10513363.html
Representatives of the close-knit minority say blockade will remain in place indefinitely, but others doubt their ability to continue to block such a lucrative trade route.
“You’ve got to make up your mind”, Mustafa Dzhemilev said. “You’re either at war, or you’re trading with the enemy.” The leader of the Crimean Tatars, 71, was dwarfed by the lorries lined up behind him at the Chaplynka border crossing.
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Report by young kid Carroll, who interviewed Poroshenko in jeans. Hopefully he at least wore some underpants to talk to Jermilev.
These British journalists - a law unto themselves. Not a bad article though.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/23/putins-closest-ally-and-his-biggest-liability
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Long long long article about Kadirov.
Two sentences -
It is hard to assess Kadyrov’s true popularity, since ordinary Chechens are understandably reluctant to speak their mind to strangers.
...A full list of people Kadyrov is accused of having had killed would be long, but here is a selection: investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya (shot in Moscow in October 2006); FSB commander Movladi Baisarov (shot in Moscow in November 2006); rights activist Natalia Estemirova.....
You can see why Putin likes him.

14:17
http://tyzhden.ua/News/146966
However Dobkin promised myself to stay in the country and continue political activities.
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Dobkin. Mega-bandit in Kharkiv oblast. Controls all there along with Kernes. Ukrainian mafia - Rada Deputy. Synonymous.
But he must have lost a lot of his (allegedly) stolen wealth since Yanukovich left for Moscow.

14:26
http://magnolia-tv.com/text-news/2015-09-23/62777-mvs-pov-domilo-podrobits-sogodn-shn-kh-zavorushen-ta-provokats-i-u-kharko
...The first message is the duty of the Dzerzhinsky district police station around 10:45. It stated that one of the private houses Tula drove the lane unidentified masked at the gates of the building and did bullying.
"The activists hung a sign on the house Dobkin" street. Berkut "painted on the gate cock, sketched with white paint window house, knocked external surveillance camera. Also, masked men threw over the fence smoke bombs and flares, "- said in a statement.
Upon arrival police found that the action was over, all the participants went, none of the citizens suffered.
Approximately 12-00 hours police received the second message that some young men in masks entered the premises of the Kharkiv City Council.
Police officers with soldiers' Eastern Corps "stopped their bullying.
The police maintain public order by the City Council. Administrative building works in normal mode...
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Bandits Kernes and Dobkin. Need removing. Little Hitler's. Send them to Moscow, or Austria.

http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/economic/292000.html
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Anything better than buying coal from the occupying forces - Russia and its mercenaries.

16:28
http://nbnews.com.ua/ru/news/161655/
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What do the DNR care about Nato? Nothing.
It shows you who really is behind the farce called the DNR - Putin.

According to Ukraine’s Agricultural Policy Minister Olexy Pavlenko, US businessmen have plans to invest $1.5 billion in the agricultural sector, Finance reports Sept. 23.

“The total amount of confirmed investment is over $1.5 billion,” the official said.

In May Minister Pavlenko announced that the investment potential of the country’s agriculture for the next 3 years stands at $8 bn.

zik.ua

Admin wrote:According to Ukraine’s Agricultural Policy Minister Olexy Pavlenko, US businessmen have plans to invest $1.5 billion in the agricultural sector, Finance reports Sept. 23.

“The total amount of confirmed investment is over $1.5 billion,” the official said.

In May Minister Pavlenko announced that the investment potential of the country’s agriculture for the next 3 years stands at $8 bn.

zik.ua

Much of that $8 bn would have found its way into the Yanukovych family accounts. The question now, is how much, given Yanutin has fled, will actually find its way into the country's central bank for honest distribution and subsequent spending.

Vladimir Putin has used the fighting in both countries to trap the U.S.

espite what Vladimir Putin is saying, the United States still staunchly refuses to believe Russia is engaged in a new Cold War—and that the U.S. is losing. But Russia aggressively pushes its own narrative where U.S. leadership is absent. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov seems to be everywhere in recent weeks, speaking several times with his US counterpart and others in the region, selling Russia as a partner for peace and stability when the West is faced with crisis



Longish read, 2 pages. Agree 100% with the two authors.

The Dangerous Link Between Syria and Ukraine

Russia intends to raise a concern in international organizations over the blockade of Crimea annexed by it.

Russia's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told journalists in Moscow, Cenzor.NET reports citing UNIAN.

"We will raise these issue including in international organizations," Zakharova said.

At the same time, she stressed that it concerns the supply of water to the peninsula first of all.

Earlier, an indefinite action initiated by the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people to block the trucks bringing food in Crimea began Sept. 20. According to the Coordinating Council of the action, the pedestrians and passenger transport have unobstructed access through the administrative border.

The initiators of the blockade believe that the Ukrainian companies should stop trade relations with Crimea as the territory of the peninsula was occupied by the Russian Federation. According to the blockade organizers, they will deny trucks' access to the Crimea until Russia fulfills their demands including the release of political prisoners, the cessation of pressure on independent media, unimpeded access for international observers in the territory of the peninsula, the cessation of repressions against the Crimean Tatars.

The occupation authorities of Crimea believe that the residents of the peninsula will not be affected by the consequences of the "food blockade".

censor.net.ua In Russian

Ah! Were their feelings hurt that now they'll have to make-up for the shortage that they'll have to deal with that's not coming from Ukraine. More cost for them which they can't afford.

Good going Ukrainians. MOST still in The Crimea are pro-Russian. They'll now be adding the pressure on the Kremlin to do something about the shortages. They won't be happy about what the Kremlin's caused them to endure.

For the first time in 25 years the US is reportedly dusting off contingency plans for an armed conflict with Russia - and finds that NATO can't fully defend the Baltic States. DW asked three Kremlin watchers to weigh in.

From Deutsche Welle, Sep 22, 2015

The Pentagon has started to revise and update its plans for a possible armed conflict with Russia for the first time since the fall of the Soviet Union, Foreign Policy magazine reported last week. That does not mean that the US Defense Department thinks such a scenario is imminent or even realistic. But it does mean that Moscow's international resurgence has garnered enough attention that Washington's war strategists have taken the old plans off the shelf to adjust them to current circumstances.

Particularly worrying for US defense analysts is the fact that NATO and the US are reportedly not fully capable of defending Estonia and Latvia, regarded as the most likely cases for an armed confrontation with Moscow. That begs the question how realistic such a scenario is. To find out DW asked three experts how likely a Ukraine-style Russian intervention is in the Baltics?

Neil Melvin is director of the Armed Conflict and Conflict Management Program at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute:

Russia's military intervention in Ukraine has started a cycle of escalation with NATO in which the Baltic region has increasingly become the center of concern. This escalation is being driven by a security dilemma in which the steps taken by one side to strengthen its security makes the other side feel insecure, leading it to seek upgrades to its own security. Already, we see Russia indicating it will open a new airbase in Belarus, following NATO's plans to create new facilities (and possibly even eventually bases) east of Germany in Poland and the Baltic states.

Given the high stakes of this escalation, with the risks of a nuclear confrontation, a Russian intervention in the Baltic region is unlikely as a unilateral action relating to tensions directly with the Baltic States. Unlike Ukraine in March-April 2014 when the conflict began in eastern regions, the Baltic countries have strong well organized states and security agencies. Moreover, there is an active civil society to resist 'hybrid' conflict and media warfare. Most significantly, the NATO Article 5 commitment to the Baltic states provides a powerful tripwire to prevent Russian intervention.

ukrainebusiness.com.ua

“Ukrainian barometer” think tank director Viktor Nebozhenko says Russia has started to get rid of most active rebels in Donbas, Dialog reports Sept. 23.

It is not coincidental that Putin is sending troops to Syria from Donbas, not St. Petersburg, he says.

Putin is sending to Syria those rebels who may stand in the way to transfer the power in Donbas to Rinat Akhmetov.

Russia will even physically remove some of the rebels, Nebozhenko assumes.

Putin is at the crossroads now as Russia cannot liquidate all rebels and Moscow does not want to let them cross into the Russian territory, the expert says.

zik.ua

http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-ukraine-new-military-base-border/27265244.html
...intends to turn an old military depot in the town of Boguchar, 45 kilometers from the border with Ukraine, into a base....
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Putin has lost his marbles.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinion/article/kiev-ignores-public-dissatisfaction-at-its-peril/535102.html
...Reforming Ukraine is a daunting task. The low trust in the political process engenders constant questions over legitimacy, a consequence of the Soviet legacy and 24 years of false reform promises in the post-Soviet era. The influx of a new generation of policy-makers and government officials has not renewed trust in political leaders...
The Ukrainian government needs to manage expectations domestically and internationally. It has to be more open with information and establish a public space for inclusive debate. Ukrainian NGOs, often funded by the West, also bear responsibility for ensuring that dialogues engage more citizens....
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Not a bad article.
I agree with much.
People seemed to expect gold toilets after Maidan. They thought paradise was coming in the next week or two...
Reality has hit people hard.

20:50
http://news.liga.net/news/politics/6712940-boeviki_dnr_ugrozhali_zastrelit_nablyudateley_obse_otchet_missii.htm
"Representatives of the NPT at the checkpoint near the village under their control Zaichenko (26 km north-east of Mariupol) pointed their guns at the members of the monitoring mission, and threatened to shoot them," -
Moreover, as the document says, the fighters refused to observers at the intersection of the checkpoint, and then "a member of the" DNR "made a couple of shots in the air", forcing international observers to leave the territory.
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Shaun Walker's beloved "DNR guys" doing what they do best, threatening to kill good normal people.

http://www.svaboda.org/media/photogallery/27265283.html
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Lots of photos. Not much else. Article in Belarussian! Yeah... Plochad Svoboda. Minsk. Today.
Protest lead by Мікалай Статкевіч. Mikalai Statkevich. Used to be in jail.
That's a rare event for Belarus. Luka trying to show that Belarus is a normal democratic country, despite 20 years of dictatorship?

http://www.interfax.ru/russia/468816
Moscow. September 23. INTERFAX.RU - FSB of Russia intends to counteract the anti-Russian campaign in the media and on the Internet, aimed at destabilizing the political situation in the country, said the FSB Public Relations Center, received on Wednesday "Interfax".
Members of the Public Council under the Federal Security Service on Wednesday approved the appeal to the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Communications of the Russian Federation with a proposal to organize a creative competition for bloggers and journalists covering the events in Ukraine.
At a meeting of the Public Council discussed the priorities for the participation of social organizations and the media in countering anti-Russian campaign in various publications and on the Internet.
Thus, to establish a constructive dialogue decided to hold a "round table" with the participation of Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian journalists covering the situation in Ukraine.
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Good contender for "Joke of the Day" from the Russian news site, Interfax.
This article is no joke... "to counteract the anti-Russian campaign in the media....."

The Russians are living in outer space.

Inhabitants of Russia are most afraid of rising prices and increasing international tension. This was announced by the results of a survey conducted by VTsIOM, at the disposal of "Times".

The Russians are afraid of the growth of international tension at the same level as in January and April this year. It is noted that the second highest fear of rising commodity prices, the disappearance of some of the sales and the depreciation of savings. However, at the beginning, the rate was two times higher than in August, but lower than in July.

The decrease in revenues Russian citizens worried much less. Earlier this year, it is much more worried about the Russians. People are less afraid of job loss since the beginning of the year, although the rate slightly increased compared with June and July.

Health problems and difficulties in obtaining medical care also continues to worry less Russians. The index for this fear gradually decreased since the beginning of the year and was approximately the same in June.

The unrest and turmoil in the country of citizens of Russia scare less than at the beginning of the year, but this figure has changed slightly since May, remained in August at about the same level.

The last thing the Russians care about family conflicts - 79% of respondents do not fear them. Fears about the problems in the family gradually decrease since January this year.

Yulia Baskakov, director of VTsIOM research projects, age-appropriate stresses in the results of the survey, "the elderly are worried about health and price, and young people are more concerned about income and jobs."

She also notes that most strongly fears common in medium and large cities, the number of cities that are regional centers.

The poll was conducted August 29-30, 2015, when its holding surveyed 1,600 people in 130 settlements of Russia. The statistical error does not exceed 3.5%.

glavcom.ua In Russian

Residents of the occupied Crimea appealed to US President Barack Obama to cancel the economic sanctions that complicate the life of the peninsula. This is stated in the petition to the US president, posted on the White House Web site.

"Due to US sanctions Crimea and Sevastopol is now dying, violated our right to life", - emphasized in the petition.

For consideration of the petition the president of the United States during the month - October 8 - she must score signature 100 thousand. Man. Now only 92 people signed up.

Recall, the occupation of the Crimea Russia has become a basis for the imposition of economic sanctions on the peninsula of the West. In particular, because of the sanctions on the peninsula does not work payment systems Viza and MasterCard. In addition, the supply of the online store AliExpress.

glavcom.ua In Russian