Ukraine crisis. News in brief. Tuesday 20 October [Ukrainian sources]

TUESDAY

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


NEWS:

One soldier was killed and one injured from an explosive used by the terrorists in the Novotroitske village area that's in the Donetsk region.

According to the PGO, FSB agents and Surkov came to Ukraine to gather information on the goings on at The Maidan. I smell a possibility of taking the Kremlin to international court and also to allow Russians to know that their government sent their own to kill Ukrainians. As deteriorating the Kremlin's reputation is becoming within Russians thoughts about their government, this won't help Putin at all.

Poroshenko again is asking the VR to pass the cancellation of immunity. Who knows if it'll ever happen. Too many criminals in numbers within the VR to have it pass. The only way I believe it can happen is with a national referendum.

There is talk about cancelling elections in Mariupol. This is due to disagreements within the local politicians and also a shelling of one house.

WEATHER:

In Kyiv, there's rain with +1c temperature. In southern Ukraine, the temperature is +14c and cloudy.

One soldier was killed and another injured having triggered an explosive device in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) zone over the past 24 hours.
Presidential Administration speaker on the ATO matters Oleksandr Motuzianyk said at a briefing on Tuesday, Censor.NET reports citing Ukrainska Pravda.

"One Ukrainian serviceman was killed and another one received injuries as they tripped an explosive device in the vicinity of Novotroitske village in the Volnovakha district of the Donetsk region," Motuzianyk said.

At the same time, according to him, no attacks or flights of the enemy drones were recorded in the ATO area on Monday.

censor.net.ua In Russian

The Ukrainian servicemen captured by the rebels in Donbas are used as political hostages, Yuri Tandit, adviser to SBU chief responsible for the exchange of POWs said, speaking on Kanal 5 late Oct. 19.

“Regrettably, the rebels in both breakaway republics are dilly-dallying with the exchange of prisoners of war, one of the conditions of the Minsk agreements. We can see that the rebels cannot take independent decisions, and the Kremlin is using our lads as political hostages,” Tandit said.

Now the talks on the exchange of POWs are held with rebel field commanders who keep some Ukraine POWs in an attempt to by-pass Moscow, he said.

At present, the SDU head adviser said, there are 148 Ukraine POWs, with some kept even in Russia, Yuri Tandit said.

zik.ua

The head of the Donetsk military/civilian administration, Pavlo Zhebrivsky, does not rule out that Oct. 25 local elections in Mariupol may be cancelled, Ukrayinska Pravda reports Oct. 19.

“If the political situation in Mariupol does not improve, I will appeal to the Central Elections Commission to cancel the elections here,” he said.

The city and local election commissions have locked horns over the appointments of their staff, with the city commission disbanding the latter.

The situation has been aggravated by yesterday night’s bazooka shelling of a house in Mariupol.

zik.ua

Prosecutor General's Office does not have information on Russia’s involvement in the killings during Euromaidan in 2013-2014.

PGO Special Investigations Directorate Head Serhii Horbatiuk said at a briefing on Tuesday, Censor.NET reports citing Ukrainska Pravda.

"Investigators of the Prosecutor General's Office have received information that the representatives of the security service of the Russian Federation visited Ukraine during the Maidan. 27 people visited the country in December, seven people - in late January, and another seven people including Russian Federation Presidential Administration representative Vladislav Surkov arrived Feb. 20," Horbatiuk said.
Read more: "There is no reason to talk about Russian trace in execution of Heavenly Hundred," - Prosecutor General

According to him, these facts were scrutinized by the PGO investigators. Investigation revealed that the delegations visited Ukraine to gather intelligence.

"They were gathering information on how the protests were held, how the Maidan was organized and what was the origin of its funding," the head of PGO Special Investigations Directorate said.

He noted that no additional information evidencing that these people committed crimes against the Maidan have not been obtained including from the Security Service of Ukraine.

censor.net.ua In Russian

Panic spreads within the ranks of the militants in connection with the postponement of the "elections", withdrawal of equipment, and strict sanctions imposed against them by their Russian handlers.

Anti-terrorist operation headquarters (ATO HQ) spokesman Leonid Matiukhin said at a briefing, Censor.NET reports citing UNIAN.

According to him, the mood of panic is observed among local militants against the the statements made by leaders of the breakaway "DPR" and "LPR" on postponement of the "elections", withdrawal of the equipment from the line of contact, and the "imposition of tough sanctions by the Russian handlers against the chieftains of the local gangs, who disagree with the ideology of the Minsk agreements."

"Many of those who participated in the armed conflict are nurturing the intention to leave for the Russian Federation together with their families," Matiukhin said.

He also noted that "those whose hands are not smeared with blood are getting rid of weapons."

censor.net.ua In Russian

His lawyers said Yanukovych has suffered "discriminatory treatment due to his political status and opinions."

Yanukovych fled to Russia in February 2014 after months of protests against his rule and is currently residing in Russia, though his exact whereabouts are unknown.

In August, a court in Kyiv began trying Yanukovych in absentia for his alleged role in the deaths of antigovernment protesters. Other charges against him include corruption and embezzlement.

His lawyer said Yanukovych cannot return to Ukraine because of security risks...........

rferl.org

Vladimir Putin’s brazen moves in Syria and Ukraine raise new questions about America’s contingency plans

By Andrew Tilghman and Oriana Pawlyk, Staff writers for MilitaryTimes:

Early on the morning of Sept. 30, a Russian three-star general approached the American embassy in Baghdad, walked past a wall of well-armed Marines, to deliver face-to-face a diplomatic demarche to the United States. His statement was blunt: The Russia military would begin air strikes in neighboring Syria within the hour — and the American military should clear the area immediately.

It was a bout of brinksmanship between two nuclear-armed giants that the world has not seen in decades, and it has revived Cold War levels of suspicion, antagonism and gamesmanship.

With the launch of airstrikes in Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin instigated a proxy war with the U.S., putting those nation's powerful militaries in support of opposing sides of the multipolar conflict. And it's a huge gamble for Moscow, experts say. "This is really quite difficult for them. It's logistically complex. The Russians don't have much in the way of long-range power projection capability," said Mark Galeotti, a Russian security expert at New York University.

Moscow's military campaign in Syria is relying on supply lines that require air corridors through both Iranian and Iraqi air space. The only alternatives are naval supply lines running from Crimea, requiring a passage of up to 10 days round-trip. How long that can be sustained is unclear.

That and other questions about Russian military capabilities and objectives are taking center stage as Putin shows a relentless willingness to use military force in a heavy-handed foreign policy aimed at restoring his nation's stature as a world power. In that quest, he has raised the specter of resurgent Russian military might — from Ukraine to the Baltics, from Syria to the broader Middle East..............

To read further go to this link: militarytimes.com

In the conversation, His Beatitude Sviatoslav told Pope Francis about the humanitarian crisis that Ukraine lives through due to the war in the east. The Head of the UGCC shared with the Pope the UN information that over half a million internally displaced people are victims of the war in Donbas. The Holy Father assured his Beatitude Sviatoslav of his prayer and support for the rehabilitation and building of a peaceful life in Ukraine. “Ukraine is in my heart and will always remain there,” Pope Francis said.

Additionally, the UGCC Patriarch thanked His Holiness for proclamation of the heroic virtues of Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytskyy. He noted that “the figure of Metropolitan Andrey is invaluable in the life of our Church and the signing of the decree on recognizing his heroic virtues is a token of immense support of Ukraine by Apostolic See.”

On this occasion the patriarch gave Pope Francis a medal depicting the great Metropolitan, made on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of his birth through the efforts of Volodymyr Palchynskoho, a Basilian monk from Ivano-Frankivsk monastic abode. The Pope gratefully accepted the gift from the Head of the UGCC and asked about symbols and images on the coin. According to the UGCC, it features two quotes from the works by Metropolitan Andrey stating his loyalty to the Church and the Ukrainian people. As Patriarch Sviatoslav stresses, the Pope knows how important the figure of Metropolitan Andrey is for UGCC, the UGCC Information Department said...............

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

The trial has begun in Yekaterinburg of a Russian woman accused of ‘inciting inter-ethnic enmity’, otherwise known as reposting material on the social network VKontakte critical of Russia’s policy with respect to Ukraine. Russia’s Investigative Committee claims that six publications posted by Yekaterina Vologzheninova are aimed at inciting ethnically motivated enmity, as well as enmity towards representatives of the Russian authorities.

Just before the New Year break in December last year, Investigative Committee [ICRF] officers carried out a search of Vologzheninova’s home and then took her to the ICRF for questioning. She was informed of criminal charges under Article 282 of the Criminal Code (inciting hatred or enmity, and denigrating human dignity).

She explained to Open Russia that she was accused of sharing links to documentaries and programmes about events in Ukraine, including ‘The Winter that changed us’ and the programme ‘Brave Hearts’.

It is easy to find the first documentary mentioned, very much harder to understand how this is supposed to incite ethnic enmity and calls to extremism. Vologzheninova says that all the material they accuse her of sharing was of a historical nature, or chronicled events. She is no politician, she says, nor civic activist, but she is interested in points of view alternative to that presented by Russian federal channels.

During that first interrogation, they grilled her about any links with ‘Ukrainian extremist organizations’, and why she knew some Ukrainian (which she has learned out of interest only).

It took ICRF over 10 months to prepare their charges, but unfortunately they have, and the trial began on Oct 13. Vologzheninova’s lawyer Roman Kachanov dismisses the ‘expert assessments’ of the 6 publications and says that no nationality is described in a negative fashion, and there is no incitement to enmity. The whole case is pulled out of the air, he says, and linked with the fact that his client does not support Russia’s position on Ukraine.

“She simply published material from other parts of the Internet. She wasn’t the author of any of them, and made no changes to them”.

The next hearing is due on Oct 27...................

To read further go to this link: khpg.org

According to Ukraine military intelligence, the bodies of 26 Russian servicemen killed in Syria have been delivered to Sevastopol.

The Russian troops in Syria suffer from epidemics due to bad sanitary conditions in their barracks.

Backed by Russia air force, the Syrian army continues to advance in the provinces of Aleppo, Damask, Latakia, Hama and Homs.

On Oct. 19, Russian planes flew 33 sorties and stroke 49 targets in Syria.

zik.ua

Photos have been discovered on the Internet, showing clusters of Russian military equipment in the village of Bezimiane (Novoazovsk district, Donetsk region) located 8 km from the village of Shyrokyne.
Censor.NET reports referring to InformNapalm.org.

After comparing the photos with the terrain, it has been established that Yandex.Maps successfully updated satellite images bearing evidence of a base of Russia's occupation forces located on the territory of agricultural facility No. 5 of Ilich-Ahro Donbas SE in Bezimiane village, where a Ukrainian mobile operator's phone tower is also installed.












As earlier reported, April 20, 2015, Dnipro-1 regiment aerial reconnaissance released a drone footage showing clusters of Russian occupants' military equipment in the village of Bezimiane (Novoazovsk district, Donetsk region) on the territory of the same agricultural facility No. 5.

As seen in the video, the place has long been occupied and used to deploy various military equipment of Russia's occupation troops. Today, only a few pieces of hardware are likely to be explicitly stationed in the open air - the rest of the equipment is hidden in a shed, garage, barn, in various production facilities, and wherever it may seem possible so that the OSCE and Ukrainian aerial reconnaissance could not record it. Frankly speaking, such a situation is present across all occupied territories in the Donbas.

censor.net.ua In Russian

The book is a collection of legal, political and moral arguments proving that the annexation of Crimea was unjust and unfair, said the presenter, a Russian political expert Stanislav Belkovsky, according to UNIAN correspondent in Russia.

"The book contributes to the understanding of why the Crimea is not ours," said Belkovsky presenting the book which title represents a hashtag popular in Russia, “Krymnash,” which translates as “Crimea is Ours.”

"In my opinion, everything that is connected with the Crimea, is subject to psychoanalysis rather than some political or legal analysis. That what happened is the desire of a particular individual to compensate for his inferiority complex," he said.

At the same time, the author, Yelena Lukyanova, who is a Russian lawyer, said that the legal "expertise on Crimea showed that the legal procedures have been violated repeatedly."

The expert believes that the Agreement on Crimea’s Accession in Russia was not assessed properly on compliance with international treaties and the Constitution of the Russian Federation.................

To read further go to this link: unian.info

“There is one more reason to be certain that the Putin regime will eventually disappear. Putin is not, despite what some of his supporters appear to think, a god; and he will not live forever.  And there seems little chance that even he can create a system that will replace him after his death with someone who will rule in just the same way he does.”

By Paul Goble for “Window on Eurasia”:

October 20 – Neither sanctions, nor international isolation nor the domestic opposition will lead to the fall of “the harshly authoritarian and semi-totalitarian regime” that is Vladimir Putin’s, according to Andrey Illarionov. It was pass from the scene only “as the result of a military defeat abroad.

After such a defeat, “the chances for the replacement of the regime will increase sharply,” and in support of his argument he points to a series of cases in Russian history ranging from the Time of Troubles in the early 17th century to the defeats in the Afghan and Cold wars at the end of the 20th http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2015/10/putin-regime-will-disappear-only-as.html

Today, the Russian analyst continues, “the level of support for the regime by Russians remains significant and the opposition has been marginalized,” a reflection of the fact that regimes like Putin’s “operate above all on effectively functioning mechanisms of propaganda and terror.”

As long as those “machines” continue to work – “regardless of the situation of the economy, social sphere, education, health or anything else – the regime will maintain a high level of stability. Now in Russia,” Illarionov continues, “both these machines work almost without any problems.”

Thus, he says, “the replacement of the current Russian regime hardly will take place as a result of the crisis, a growth of social tension, a decline in the price of oil, foreign sanctions or a coup in the ruling hierarchy. The replacement of such regimes if it happens at all is the result of defeat abroad.”

To a certain extent, Illarionov says, “the Kremlin regime suffered defeat both in Georgia and in Ukraine” if one compares the Kremlin’s goals and what Russia achieved. “However from the point of view of a large part of the Russian population, these were not defeats,” but something else entirely.

Illarionov’s argument recalls those of some of the early theorists of totalitarianism who suggested that such regimes could keep themselves in power more or less indefinitely unless they were defeated in a foreign war.  Many of these later changed their minds, suggesting that economic change could force regime change as well.

But there is one more reason to be certain that the Putin regime will eventually disappear. Putin is not, despite what some of his supporters appear to think, a god; and he will not live forever.  And there seems little chance that even he can create a system that will replace him after his death with someone who will rule in just the same way he does.

ukrainebusiness.com.ua

US does not consider the memorandum as a step towards a political settlement of the Syrian conflict, said Kirby.

A spokesman for the US State Department, John Kirby said that a memorandum on the safety of aircraft and the international coalition Russian airspace to Syria is not a cooperation agreement between the coalition and the Russian Federation. This memorandum does not provide for "cooperation, coordination, joint definition of goals." Kirby said that the sole purpose of the document is to ensure the safety of the pilots of the coalition involved in the air campaign against the "Islamic state." State Department spokesman said that the US does not consider the memorandum as a step towards a political settlement of the conflict in Syria. Washington still believes that the purpose of the operation of the Russian Federation in Syria is strengthening the regime of Bashar al-Assad, which will only exacerbate the conflict and lead to a resurgence of extremism in the region. "The signing of the memorandum ... not diminish our concern about Russian military activity in Syria," - said John Kirby. Air military campaign Russia in Syria began on 30 September, after the relevant request of President Bashar al-Assad, who since the war began in Syria in 2011, Russia has supported, while NATO and the European Union accused the Assad regime of war crimes and demanding his resignation. Despite the declared Russia the goal of the military campaign - the fight against insurgents, "Islamic State" Western nations led by the US, as well as Turkey and Saudi Arabia claim that the purpose of the bombing of the Russian Federation in Syria - in the first place, the Syrian rebels, opposition to Assad and not terrorists, "IG". Analyzing the goals of Russia in Syria, Victor Kaspruk article Syria "fuse" Putin for ZN.UA notes that "Putin's Game" is that he did not need all Syria. After all, for full control over the territory of the Russian Federation have no military or financial resources. But the organization of education like "Alawite People's Republic" (headed by Bashar al-Assad stored), the area which will run along the Syrian coast of the Mediterranean Sea - is the minimum program, towards which the Kremlin can make all the remnants of his forces.

dt.ua In Ukrainian

Russia’s airline connections to the outside world are diminishing as an economic slowdown hurts demand and renders more and more routes unprofitable, according to Bloomberg.

Lufthansa’s latest cuts will eliminate 15 weekly flights, or 25% of the total. Its Austrian arm will also cut routes this winter, limiting services to Moscow and Krasnodar in the south after quitting St. Petersburg and Rostov-on-Don. The Swiss unit will pare frequencies from Zurich to St. Petersburg.

British Airways will cut capacity by deploying Airbus Group SE A321 narrow-body jets on a five-times weekly London-Moscow flight that currently uses Boeing Co. 747 and 777 wide-bodies. Two other daily services already use the single-aisle planes.

SAS’s schedule shows Scandinavian Airlines will halt Copenhagen-Moscow flights in March, when EasyJet also ceases its sole service from London Gatwick to the Russian capital. Air Berlin Plc said Thursday it would end trips from Dusseldorf and Berlin to Moscow and Berlin to Kaliningrad on the Baltic, and British Airways is taking 747 jumbos off its London-Moscow route.

Read alsoMoscow requests talks on commercial flights, Ukraine agreesForeign carriers are retreating from Russia after the economy entered recession for the first time since 2009 in the second quarter, with the ruble down almost 25% against the euro in 2015 and wages declining for 11 straight months. Western sanctions imposed after the annexation of Crimea last year are also hurting trade, and stricter visa terms are hindering travel.

As UNIAN reported earlier, the State Aviation Service on September 28 notified the Russian airlines on sanctions imposed against them on the part of Ukraine. Once in the sanctions list, the Russian airlines will be banned from flying to the Ukrainian airports starting the 2015-2016 winter navigation period - from October 25.

On September 29, Rosaviation notified all Ukrainian airlines on the introduction of a ban on flights to Russia from October 25........

unian.info

Ukraine Today is examining decades-old Ukraine security guarantee with British-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce Chairman Bate Toms.

“If Russia doesn't leave the territories that are occupied, then they will develop nuclear weapons, as it is already going on in some countries - Iran, and others,” says Toms in an interview with Ukraine Today.

“The ultimate consequence of the violation of the Budapest Memorandum will be dozens and dozens of new nuclear powers. It will then become impossible to control all nuclear weapons, and we can then fear reasonably the development of nuclear terrorism,” he said.

Toms also discussed the role the BUCC plays in helping Ukrainian businesses access UK markets, and reform of one of the most corrupt spheres of Ukrainian life - the justice system.

unian.info