Ukraine crisis. News in brief. Wednesday 28 October [Ukrainian sources]

THURSDAY

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

NEWS:

Proof was shown that Russians are fighting the ATO in Debaltseve. Terrorists shell Ukrainian positions near Avdiyivka. Yesterday there was report of one of the shelling hit a home. No reports of any casualties yesterday. One ATO soldier was wounded.

Ukraine stated that it didn't have no reason to close airspace, when the MH17 was struck by a Russian BUK missile.

WEATHER:

It's cloudy in Kyiv with +6c. The south is sunny with +12c.

The newly published video covers engagements of Ukrainian soldiers with Russian troops, destroyed Russian equipment, and the retreat of the Ukrainian soldiers. Please beware of rude language (in Russian).

As reported by Censor.NET, the video has been edited by volunteer from the 25th Kyivska Rus battalion of the Ukrainian Army Roman, call sign Kino. The footage covers engagements of the 25th battalion from the Kyiv region and the 128th separate mountain infantry brigade of the Ukrainian Army against Russian troops near Debaltseve and Ridkodub, the Donetsk region, in January 2015.



censor.net.ua In Russian

The Dutch Safety Board, legal representatives of victims and journalists have accused Ukraine that its authorities failed to close its airspace – and implicitly argued the disaster would have not happened if they would have done so.

Ukrainian online newspaper Euromaidan Press presents eight reasons why that accusation is not so justified.



One. Before the shot-down of MH-17 there had been not a single indication that there had been any danger to any airplanes flying above 10 000 meters (i.e. the height passenger planes had been using).

Two. The two Ukrainian military airplanes that were shot down at a considerable height on 14 and 16 July were still flying under 10 000 meters also in order not to endanger civil aviation.

Three. Ukraine had only three days to assess the situation, and no reason to believe that passenger jets would be targeted as only surface-to-air systems effective under 10 000 meters had been used.

Four. The exclusive target of Russian air-to-air or surface-to-air missiles had been the Ukrainian military, and no Ukrainian civilian flights were targeted..................

To read further go to this link: uatoday.tv  

War veterans and officials mark the expulsion of Nazi-occupiers on October 28 1944.

uatoday.tv

3,000 voters from Pavlohrad have mysteriously disappeared from the register of voters of Ukraine.

As reported by Censor.NET, the circumstances of the disappearance remain unknown, but the Central Election Commission announced this after it became known that the mayoral seat was to be contested in the second round by Opposition Bloc's Anatolii Vershyna and ATO veteran of the UKROP party Yevhen Terekhov. Reducing the number of voters to 89,000 makes it possible to elect city's mayor in one round - it is enough for the candidate to score a simple majority of votes. Opposition Bloc's candidate scored the majority in the first round of voting.

censor.net.ua In Russian

"Electoral system" and "revote" notions should not be double-talked with regard to the Pavlohrad mayoral election.
President Poroshenko wrote it on his Facebook page, Censor.NET reports.

"I am outraged by the situation around the mayoral election in Pavlohrad! [The Central Election Commission has canceled the second round of city's mayoral election - ed.] I think that voters and not officials should determine the winner. I fully support the position of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine on the inadmissibility of substitution of "electoral system" and "revote" notions. I hope that a legitimate decision of the court will protect Pavlohrad residents' voting right," Poroshenko wrote.

As previously reported, the Committee of Voters of Ukraine claimed that the Central Election Commission had brutally violated the law on local elections by its decision to cancel the second round of the Pavlohrad mayoral election.

censor.net.ua In Russian

Russia initiated its campaign of air strikes in Syria primarily to prevent militants fighting with Islamic State (IS) from returning to their home countries in the former Soviet Union, says the head of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB).

Speaking at a conference in Moscow on October 28, FSB Director Aleksandr Bortnikov estimated that people from more than 100 countries are now fighting for IS in Syria and Iraq, including "about 10 gangs…of citizens of Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, and Central Asian countries."

He said that "major cells" of IS and Hizb ut-Tahrir "were neutralized in Moscow recently."

Bortnikov also said the worsening security situation in Afghanistan presents a growing danger to the countries of Central Asia, saying that IS and the Taliban are joining forces with local "criminal groups" and could "attempt an incursion into Central Asia."............

rferl.org

Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine's Luhansk region have agreed to lift a ban on humanitarian aid deliveries by UN agencies, an official with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said October 27.

"Today I announce with satisfaction that according the information we have received, the UN agencies can work in some areas of the Luhansk region," said OSCE mediator Martin Sajdik.

He said he hoped that separatists in the Donetsk region would soon follow suit.

Separatists last month had ordered United Nations agencies such as the World Food Program working in Lugansk to leave the area by September 25, citing their failure to meet accreditation requirements.

The Luhansk ban was followed last week by a similar ban imposed by pro-Russian separatists in the Donetsk region.

The bans have included private charities as well, such as Doctors Without Borders, which operates a unique anti-tuberculosis program in Donetsk prisons.

The Donetsk separatists spared the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Czech Republic's People in Need, however.

The easing of the ban on humanitarian groups by Luhansk separatists comes after Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko criticized the measures and a new round of European-organized peace talks began in Minsk October 27.

Despite the puzzling move to oust charity groups that offer in some cases irreplaceable medical care and other services, Russia and the Russian-backed separatists have blamed Ukraine for the growing humanitarian crisis in separatist-held areas..............

rferl.org

The decision to work with the Bulgarian Orthodox Church toward the canonization of Archbishop Seraphim (Sobolev), one taken at Kirill’s personal insistence, is more instructive. Seraphim in the 1930s was an opponent of any ecumenical contacts and also cooperated with Nazi groups. His works will now become more widely available and influential.

By Paul Goble* for “Window on Eurasia”:

October 27 – Three decisions by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate last week clearly indicate “the further transformation of the leadership of the church into a rightwing organization of a fascist type,” according to Nikolay Mitrokhin, a longtime analyst of Orthodoxy in Russia.

The first of these was the elevation of Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov), Putin’s advisor, to the rank of bishop; the second, the formation of a joint commission with the Bulgarian Church to seek canonization of a man notorious for his nationalist views; and the third a call for a campaign against neo-paganism (grani.ru/opinion/mitrokhin/m.245335.html).

The elevation of Shevkunov, Mitrokhin says, allows him to “shift from the church’s ‘officers’ into its ‘generals’” and opens the way for him to pursue an even greater church career, possibly even to the point of succeeding Kirill as patriarch. At the very least, it indicates that Kirill’s position is not as unchallenged as it was.

The decision to work with the Bulgarian Orthodox Church toward the canonization of Archbishop Seraphim (Sobolev), one taken at Kirill’s personal insistence, is more instructive. Seraphim in the 1930s was an opponent of any ecumenical contacts and also cooperated with Nazi groups. His works will now become more widely available and influential.

And the decision to pursue a campaign against neo-paganism is simultaneously an indication of the Patriarchate’s failure to find points of cooperation with “’socially close’ categories” of young people such as football fans and other sports fanatics and a desire to find a way to rein them in for the service of the Patriarchate.

But all three of these decisions, Mitrokhin argues, must be seen in the context of the problems that the Church has created for itself among patriotically inclined rightwing radicals by its comments on Ukraine and represent an effort by some in the hierarchy to reach out to those who had been alienated as a result.

More important still, the religious affairs analyst says, these decisions are clear “signs of the increasing tendency to adopt fascist positions by the leadership of the church, with that being understood in this case as something which “describes the process of indoctrinating the subject of the public space with a definite complex of ideas and practices.”

Because it was under the control of the communists for so long, he continues, “The Russian Orthodox church in its ideological development was frozen for seven decades and is now passing through those very same stages through which the major Christian churches of Europe passed during the 20th century.”

If under Aleksii II, “mystical black hundreds ideas” were dominant, now under Kirill, the church has passed “into the stage of the modern fascist experiments characteristic of Europe in the 1920s and 1930s” and that was especially marked in the émigré Russian Orthodox Church of that time.

This would be truly worrisome if the entire church as opposed to the hierarchy were infected by this, but in large measure, Mitrokhin says, “there are more generals in this army than there are soldiers.” And it is even possible that the organizational innovations that the hierarchy has made in an effort to promote its ideas will have exactly the opposite effect and open the way to the further transformation of Russian Orthodoxy in a more positive direction...............

ukrainebusiness.com.ua

The Higher Economic Court of Ukraine upheld the decision of the administrative board of the Kharkiv Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine regional branch, which fined communal enterprise “Kharkiv Metro” for 68 thousand UAH .

The press service of the Ministry recalled that in June 2014 Kharkiv Metropolitan was fined for violating the legislation on protection of economic competition................

thekharkivtimes.com

Ukraine Today was joined by Tetiana Kozachenko, Head of the Lustration Department at Ukraine's Ministry of Justice to discuss the issues of purging the Government – the so-called lustration law.

On October 22, the Constitutional Court resumed reviewing the law on cleansing the government of corrupt officials, following protests held outside Ukraine's constitutional court, as judges inside held a session. The so-called 'lustration law' was brought in following Ukraine's pro-EU uprising last year, Ukraine Today reports.

“One needs to understand that lustration is what the public demands. This is a requirement of civil society. Now the Constitutional Court, with 50% members having a conflict of interests, is considering the appeal by judges - none of whom were purged, that is none of them were sacked during the last two years. Also the court considers the appeal by some 47 MPs, many from Yanukovych's former party, who are interested in (preventing) this procedure, because they are subject to the ban (lustration)...” said Kozachenko.................

unian.info

"The 13 provisions of the Minsk agreements should be fulfilled before the end of this year, but it is already clear that there is a certain delay, including in the elections on the temporarily occupied territories, […] that is, we now understand that it will be much later than December. And no one can now say when it all will end," Erler told a briefing in Kyiv on Wednesday.

He also reiterated that further work of the OSCE mission depends on the fulfillment of the Minsk agreements.

interfax.com.ua

Poroshenko informed Merkel about the recent developments in Donbas.

"The parties underlined the need for the full implementation of the Minsk agreements by Russia," the presidential press service said.

Poroshenko and Merkel also said that a "window of opportunity" which opened due to the ceasefire in Donbas should be used.

The two leaders also discussed the progress of reforms in Ukraine, particularly judicial reform, decentralization, and the fight against corruption.

They noted the democratic and transparent nature of the October 25 local elections in Ukraine, which was confirmed by international observers.

Poroshenko and Merkel also said that they would make every effort to ensure Ukraine's successful fulfillment of criteria required for the provision of the EU visa-free regime for Ukrainian citizens.

interfax.com.ua

One of the two Russian spetsnaz officers captured in eastern Ukraine in May this year is now denying that he was a serving Russian officer, and the other, whose family has just hired a different lawyer, may be planning to do the same.   Any claim now that they were pressured by the Ukrainian authorities into giving a different account fails to explain why they freely gave the same story to OSCE representatives, a Russian journalist and to a member of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Human Rights Council.

The two men – Aleksander Aleksandrov and Yefgeny Yerofeyev were captured on May 16 near Shchastya in the Luhansk oblast.   Both were injured and Aleksandrov has undergone a serious operation which, according to the doctors, enabled them to save his leg.  They were held in a military hospital before being transferred to a SIZO or remand prison.  Their trial on charges of terrorism is to be held in the Holosiyivsky District Court in Kyiv, though no specific date appears to have been set. .  

Russia’s Defence Ministry, after initial silence, claimed that the men had left the military at the end of December 2014.   The position that at least Yerofeyev has now taken – that he had left the Russian military, and was working as a free agent for the so-called ‘Luhansk people’s republic’ [’LNR’] militia, was that pushed by Moscow, but denied by both men.  Western reports are inclined to report only Kyiv’s assertion, and Moscow’s counter-claim, however the men’s story was clearly expressed not only in the taped questioning by Ukraine’s Security Service.

They were visited in hospital on May 20 by representatives of the OSCE Monitoring Mission who point out that they spoke to them “without the presence of Ukrainian authorities”.

“Both individuals claimed that they were members of a unit of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. They claimed that they were on a reconnaissance mission. They were armed but had no orders to attack. Both of them said that they came under fire, got injured and were captured on 16 May 2015 at the contact line near Shchastya. … Both of them said they had been to Ukraine “on missions” before”.

Sergei Krivenko, a well-known Russian human rights activist and member of the Human Rights Council, then spoke with them on June 1.  In his report on the visit, he stated that Sergeant Aleksandrov and Captain Yerofeyev had denied Russia’s claim that they were no longer in military service and had asked for help in contacting their families as all phone numbers that they had were either blocked, or didn’t answer.

He wrote that their conditions were good, and that both men categorically denied that they had been subjected to any form of torture or physical pressure, as had been claimed by Russian television.  Their main concern, he said, was that they were being prevented from contacting their families, and they were asking Krivenko and the Human Rights Council to help. ................

Recommend to read further. Go to this link:  khpg.org

The newly elected Kharkiv mayor, Hennady Kernes, says the city must restore economic ties with Russia.
“I believe, the city should restore the past economic ties with Moscow as many Kharkiv plants are oriented toward the Russian market,” Kernes said.

This will give city residents new jobs and confidence in life, he said.

“Preferably, those working for the revitalization of economic ties, should stay out of politics,” Kernes said.

zik.ua

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine concluded a number of agreements for the supply of 80 gasoline for the total amount of 212,830,000 hryvnia (about $8,868,000) Oct. 21.

This was stated in the State Purchases Bulletin, Censor.NET informs citing Nashі hroshі project.
The tenders were held under the negotiation procedure. Only two companies were invited to participate, which gasoline was eventually purchased from.

Trade Commodity LLC will receive 68,250,000 hryvnia (about $2,844,000) for the fuel at the price of 19,500 hryvnia per ton (about $812.5); the state owned Ukrhasvydobuvannia PJSC will receive 144,590,000 hryvnia (about $2,844,000) for the fuel at the price of 19,000 and 19,050 hryvnia per ton (about $791.67 and $793.75 respectively)

These prices are higher than the ones of previous procurement of the Ministry of Defense. According to the results of tenders conducted via 'Prozoro' (transparent - Ed.) online system, the military concluded an agreement with the same Trade Commodity LLC for the supply of the same type of gasoline (A-80-D3) at the price of 18,589 hryvnia per ton (about $774.54) Oct. 13, but for much smaller amount than the latest agreements - only 25 million hryvnia (about $1,041,667).

Founder of Trade Commodity LLC from Dniprodzerzhynsk with charter capital of only 7,400 hryvnia (about $308) is Vadym Maiko.

The company began winning government tenders (mostly issued by the Defense Ministry) just in 2015 and has already received contracts for 130,090,000 hryvnia (about $5,420,417).

censor.net.ua In Russian