Ukraine crisis. News in Brief. Saturday 07 November [Ukrainian sources]

SATURDAY

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

News -
Report that Russian terrorists fired 13 times at Ukrainian people yesterday.
Update - watched the briefing on kanal 5 from Lysenko. No deaths, but 4 Ukrainian soldiers injured in an explosion - mine.
After the rest of the world, Putin stops Russian flights to Egypt. French investigators say no engine failure. And report explosion sound on voice recorder.
Exchange rate today in shopping mall. One dollar = 23.7 / 24.3 . It had been around 22 for much of the year.

Weather -
Cool damp today again. About +3. Warmer tomorrow, but rainy probably.
Update - raining at 1830. A couple of hours already.

http://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-society/1910464-doba-v-ato-13-obstriliv-z-boku-boyovikiv.html
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Доба в АТО: 13 обстрілів з боку бойовиків (Укрінформ)
I always struggle how to translate Doba. Really it is "day and night" - but I will often write "yesterday".
Same with Boiovikiv. Online it comes out as militants. But really - it is the Russian terrorists.
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Starting from 17.10 yesterday evening Russian-terrorist mercenaries fired 13 times our positions with grenade launchers of various calibers, anti-aircraft installations and small arms.
The press center of Staff TU.
Marinka militants were subjected to fire six times. Twice at Avdiyivka and Troiskina, and fired Pisky, and Krasnogorovka and Opitnoe. Quoting shelling took place at Avdeevka, where from 6.06 to 6.27 in our shooting sniper positions.

9:03
http://viknaodessa.od.ua/news/?news=124673
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Literal translation is "storm" but really, I think it should be "weather warning".
Fog was bad in Kiev on Friday am. Now in Odessa. Kiev better this morning.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/07/us-egypt-crash-idUSKCN0SV22R20151107#yIAIGB8o38PploA2.97
French TV station France 2 said on its website that the sound of an explosion could be heard on the black boxes recovered from the plane, according to an investigator who had access to them. The investigator ruled out engine failure, it added.
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It looks like Putin has given in trying to cover up this one. They must have known within a few hours that it was a bomb.
But they blamed the airline to try and protect Putin's "image" in Russia.

http://www.euronews.com/newswires/3085909-germany-france-see-progress-in-ukraine-peace-talks/
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Not much real detail. I read elsewhere that they also discussed how to "rebuild" the Donbass. ! I bet that was an interesting discussion.
Do not expect Russia to pay for rebuilding what it has destroyed.

http://www.osce.org/ukraine-smm/198471
In “LPR”-controlled Diakove (70km south of Luhansk), an “LPR” “border guard” “commander” refused to allow the SMM to proceed to Chervonyi Zhovten on the Ukraine-Russian Federation border.
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Lots of reports of "explosions".

http://www.economist.com/news/europe/21677992-trusty-defence-minister-only-person-serve-every-government-fall
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Can't see name on article, but believe by American Sneider. Getting a bit "buddy" with Shaun Walker, Putin yes man.
Suggests Shoigu as successor to Putin. No mention of him being directly responsible for 10,000 deaths in ukraine.

Nelson wrote:9:03
http://viknaodessa.od.ua/news/?news=124673
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Literal translation is "storm" but really, I think it should be "weather warning".
Fog was bad in Kiev on Friday am. Now in Odessa. Kiev better this morning.

It is not that bad!

Live Odessa Webcam

http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2015/11/7/7087866/
General Staff: Militants fired themselves could Donetsk
Saturday, November 7, 2015, 12:48
In the Armed Forces General Staff denied the accusations of the Ukrainian side of the rebels "DNR" to attacks from Donetsk MLRS "Grad".
This was on one of the channels of the General Staff spokesman Vladislav Seleznev.
According to him, the militants themselves could obstrilyaty residential areas of the city to potmi accuse Ukrainian soldiers.
However, as reported by "News of Donbass", Donetsk residents are not actively discussing the topic shelling the city center in the morning on 7 November.
"In Donetsk largest communities in a social network" Vkontakte ", which during active hostilities were used as" roll "between the residents, the theme of" shelling the center of Donetsk "Castle" is not even the most popular. Some city residents say and not heard any explosions. Topic fire for comments only support "fake" - the newspaper notes.
As you know, before the militants "DNR" Ukrainian accused of shelling a military occupied the center of Donetsk rocket systems "Grad".
Force ATO respected ceasefire and brought heavy artillery and "Grad", according to Minsk II.

http://nbnews.com.ua/ru/news/165379/
Over the past day in the area of ​​anti-terrorist operation no deaths among the Ukrainian military there. This was announced at a press briefing on Saturday, November 7, the Speaker of the Presidential Administration on ATO Andrey Lysenko.
"For the past day by fighting noUkrainian soldier was killed nor injured," - said Mr. Lysenko.
At the same time, near Marinka when viewed from the territory suffered four fighters because of an explosive device.
As reported by BNN, Nov. 5 in the Donbas and there were no losses among the Ukrainian military.
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A lot are getting injured clearing mines.
One wonders about the wisdom of clearing mines now. If Putin attacks again, probably it is better to have mines about.
Also Lavrov asked for the Minsk process to be "slowed up". Strange.
Putin not sure maybe whether to have his war in Syria, or go back to a big scale war against Ukraine and Europe.

www.bloomberg.com/energy/
About 1340 Ukraine time

Crude Oil & Natural Gas
INDEX UNITS PRICE CHANGE %CHANGE CONTRACT TIME ET 2 DAY
WTI Crude Oil (Nymex)
USD/bbl. 44.29 -0.91 -2.01% DEC 15 2015-11-06
Brent Crude (ICE)
USD/bbl. 47.42 -0.56 -1.17% DEC 15 2015-11-06
Crude Oil (Tokyo)
JPY/kl 37,210.00 -180.00 -0.48% APR 16 13:59:56
Natural Gas (Nymex)
USD/MMBtu 2.37 +0.01 +0.30% DEC 15 2015-11-06

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i can't remember seeing gas this low. Good for Ukraine - waiting until the New Year to purchase more gas. Maybe from Russia, or maybe via Western Europe.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/obfuscation-in-the-sinai-valley/2015/11/06/a7e5aa74-84ab-11e5-9afb-0c971f713d0c_story.html
The state media controlled by Messrs. Putin and Sissi have a nasty habit of blaming all disasters on the United States, no matter how far-fetched the theory required. So we won’t be surprised if Russians and Egyptians are told the CIA is somehow responsible for the tragedy in the Sinai. Those seeking a more rational conclusion must consider this somber point: The Egyptian and Russian regimes are far less adept at fighting terrorism than they are at lying.
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Agree. Russia and Egypt have very strong vested interests in the truth not coming out for a very long time.
Putin's own position as supreme leader of the Russian empire, following his new war in Syria and its obvious result, and the Egyptian tourist industry.

This photo from today at Sharm.
I've been there, a couple of years' ago. Not a big airport, but supposedly packed with tens of thousands of people!
In the photo, a lot of planes... but when will the people get on them?



Frankly, a real mess.

They should have sent other security people over to help. When I was there - little or no security, to be honest.

Pres Poroshenko said he had dropped the 4 members of the commission to select a special anti-corruption prosecutor in the wake of strong criticism from EU and Ukraine NGOs, DW reports Nov. 7.
“We have dropped the 4 persons recommended by Prosecutor General Shokin and proposed those nominated by the EU,” Poroshenko said.

The EU Commission, EU representative in Ukraine Ian Tombinski criticized Ukraine for the 4 PGO prosecutors nominated by Shokin accusing them of complicity in corrupt deals.

The prosecutor general is appointed by president.

zik.ua

According to the press service of the Ukraine's Foreign Ministry, during the talks in Denmark the foreign ministers of the two countries discussed the state of implementation of the Minsk agreements.

"Jensen confirmed that Denmark supports the political settlement of the situation in Donbas, while the Russian side should be responsible for ensuring a full ceasefire and the release of Ukrainian political prisoners," reads the report............

interfax.com.ua

Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project is dead in the water.

The plan to construct the undersea pipeline to Germany, in order eliminate Ukraine as a transit country, has hit the buffers after a number of EU states raised objections to the deal - which would allow Russia to increase its near monolpoly of European gas supply and distribution.

Speaking at the sidelines of the TATRA SUMMIT in Bratislava on November 6 Slovakia's Economy Minister Vazil Hudák told New Europe magazine "We believe that the enlargement of Nord Stream is against the European rules but also the European spirit."

Hudák said Nord Stream 2 would increase European countries dependence on Russian gas and be deeply damaging for Ukraine, currently the main transit route for Siberian gas to Europe.

A U.S. official this week said the pipeline risked depriving Ukraine of more than USD 2 billion in transit fees, and ran counter to the EU's goal of reducing its energy reliance on Russia...............

To read further go to this link: uatoday.tv

The Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia demand Russia pay compensation for decades of repressive Soviet rule.

In a joint declaration made during a conference to discuss Russia's war in Ukraine, the Baltics states said: "It is time to arrange the relationship with the past" and seek compensation for "enormous demographic and socio-economic losses."..........

uatoday.tv

Lithuanian Defence Minister Juozas Olekas says the the United States will pre-position tanks, artillery and other military equipment in Lithuania starting in December.

The US administration months ago had announced the pre-positioning of equipment in central and eastern Europe in June in a bid to reassure NATO allies unnerved by Russian involvement in Ukraine.

Juozas Olekas, Lithuanian Defence Minister: "We have the decision on pre-positioning of equipment in Lithuania. The decision is that this December U.S. troops will leave behind most of the equipment they used during exercises in Lithuania. I think that the pre-positioning really increases our security."............

To read further go to this link: uatoday.tv