Ukraine crisis. News in brief. Saturday 20 February [Ukrainian sources]

SATURDAY

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News -
54 attacks by Putin's terrorists yesterday. Update - no dead, 4 injured.

"The Heavenly Hundred" -
remembered today. Various events are planned this weekend. Concerts, events on Maidan. Mozart Requiem at the Organ Hall. Many events, reviews, also on tv. I find it hard to watch them. It still seems unreal.
Two years have passed since those barbaric days. This morning -





Weather -
-1 This morning. Will stay cool. But next week predicted to be warmer. Always plus temperatures during the day.
Update 1030 - some light snow in the Kiev area! It should melt by Monday for sure - if it lasts that long.

The "coalition" -
I've read nothing new this morning. Last night Liashko and others were on the Schuster tv show.
Liashko is seen as a complete joker. Tiagnibok couldn't stop smiling at liashko's antics.
So BPP and NF have 217 seats. In a minority. Will they press on and try and pass legislation? Possible.

http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2016/02/20/7099685/
===
Travelled from Hungary - Slovakia. Now going through Ukraine. Some agreement whereby Ukrainian trucks in Russia are released, and the same with Russian trucks stuck in Ukraine, or trying to get in at the border.

http://www.unian.info/war/1270939-osce-reports-about-88-militant-tanks-along-donbas-contact-line.html
..."Clearly, not all weapons have been withdrawn from the security zone. ...
===
Putin's tanks. Putin not complying with the Minsk agreement.
But expect the French, Greek and Italian fascists and communists to press for sanctions to be dropped against their murdering hero. We will see.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-poland-president-nato-idUSKCN0VS1OZ
..."If Mr Medvedev talks about a Cold War, then looking at Russian actions, it is clear who is seeking a new Cold War,"...
====
Absolutely.
I think intentional on Putin's part to keep his beloved supporters - mostly old babuskas - worried about war.
And not for them to think about how things in Russia and getting worse and worse and worse under dictator Putin.

http://en.censor.net.ua/news/375293/enemy_drones_dropped_phosphorus_grenades_at_ammunition_depot_of_93rd_mechanized_brigade_general_staff
..."The area, where the unmanned aerial vehicles took off and were operated from, was presumably on the territory controlled by the Ukrainian military in the village of Hrodivka.
"The National Police is currently engaged in search operation. The Security Service of Ukraine joined the investigation of the subversion. The investigation is underway," the statement reads ...
===
Putin's ceasefire.

http://en.censor.net.ua/video_news/375242/residents_of_zaitseve_lose_their_homes_as_russian_militants_continue_attacks_on_village_video


===
Putin's ceasefire.
I actually think Putin has a categorized mental problem in which he cannot see sympathy for somebody who is suffering. I believe this is a recognised medical condition.
In layman's terms, the guy is a complete and utter nutcase. Psycho-case.

http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-weaponizing-syrian-refugees-geopolitical-goals/27562604.html
....The charge is that the Kremlin, acting in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime as well as Syrian Kurd militias, is intentionally creating a fresh, destabilizing flood of refugees in order to overwhelm Turkey and Europe....
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu says Russia is "behaving like a terrorist organization and forcing civilians to flee"...
====
Russia IS a terrorist organization, not just behaving like one.

http://zaxid.net/news/showNews.do?yevrokomisiya_proanalizuye_uhvaleni_verhovnoyu_radoyu_bezvizovi_zakoni&objectId=1383341
====
Some people are saying that, maybe by August, Ukrainians can travel without visas to Schengen countries.
Not sure about other EU destinations. Reading also that people will need biometric passports. And other documents also. Proof of money in bank account etc.

http://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/politics/2016/02/160220_biden_poroshenko_yatsenuyk_az
Biden called Poroshenko and Yatseniuk unite and restore confidence
US Vice President Joe Biden during separate telephone conversations with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk called their joint efforts to restore public confidence about the government coalition and reform program, - the press service of the White House.
Biden expressed his respect for the people of Ukraine on the occasion of the second anniversary of the Revolution of dignity, and said that it inspires the progress that country has made during this time.
However, he stressed that "much more will be done to adequately honor the brave Ukrainian aspirations who have given so much for the sake of a better life for his country." ....

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/feb/19/sex-syringes-hiv-epidemic-russia-can-no-longer-ignore?CMP=share_btn_tw
....HIV is spreading with increasing speed, with about 95,000 new cases in 2015 compared with 90,000 in 2014, most of them from drug use and heterosexual sex. That represents a much higher per-capita rate than in the UK, for instance, where there were 6,151 new HIV diagnoses in 2014.
In January, Russia reached a sad milestone when a 26-year-old woman from the Rostov region became the millionth person officially diagnosed with HIV. Pokrovsky estimated that the actual number of people with HIV is as high as 1.5 million....
====
Guardian article, but not by Shaun Walker. So article is clear, unbiased.
A dilemna for Putin. He wants money for more tanks, to kill more people. But he is killing his own people by not addressing the AIDS problem.
...more than 27,500 Russians with HIV ... died in 2015, a 13% increase on 2014. ...
That's more than Putin has managed to kill in the Donbass.

http://zaxid.net/news/showNews.do?ofis_ahmetova_ta_viddilennya_alfabanku_v_kiyevi_zakidali_kaminnyam&objectId=1383350



Many people gathering today to remember the Heavenly Hundred. Feelings running high, for obvious reasons.

www.xe.com today

Hryvnia for one dollar / one euro / one pound
Inverse: 26.9400   . . .    29.9896  . . .    38.8057
Basically . . . 27  . . .           30    . . .         39

I just watched the 1 pm news on a couple of tv channels.
Lots of reports from Maidan, interviews with people, memories.
All the tv channels are carrying a candle symbol - in remembrance of those who died in the mindless violence unleashed by Yanukovich and his pro-Russian murderers.

13:18
http://hvylya.net/news/exclusive/bayden-vyistupil-kategoricheski-protiv-otstavki-yatsenyuka-mostovaya.html
===
In meetings at Davos a couple of weeks' ago.

http://granta.com/propagandalands/
Long long long write-up on maidan and beyond. A good read. Gives views from both sides of the war. Seems basically fair to me. Extracts -
====
She had woken at 9 a.m. and switched the computer to the live feed coming from the Maidan. At first she thought she had tuned into some action movie by mistake – snipers were mowing people down, and there was blood on the streets. Then her phone rang: activists at the Maidan, relaying messages from the Hromadske Sektor leaders. She could hear guns going off behind them and after a small time-lapse heard them crackle on the live stream too.
‘Get people to come to Maidan. We need everyone here.’...
But the crowds didn’t stop coming and the revolution was successful. ...
Then the Kremlin began exacting its revenge: ...
Propaganda has always accompanied war, usually as a handmaiden to the actual fighting. But the information age means that this equation has been flipped: military operations are now handmaidens to the more important information effect....

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko had a phone conversation with U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden.

Censor.NET reports citing the press service of the President of Ukraine.

"Vice President Biden honored memory of the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred and noted the exceptional role of the Revolution of Dignity in the history of independent Ukraine. He also praised the progress of Ukraine achieved in its cooperation with the EU and IMF due to the recent voting by the Verkhovna Rada.

"The parties coordinated actions to further exert pressure on Russia for it to implement the Minsk agreements and restore Ukraine's territorial integrity," the report reads.

censor.net.ua In Russian

As a result, 200,000 youngsters -- more than one-third -- need psycho-social support, UNICEF said on February 19.

"Two years of violence, shelling, and fear have left an indelible mark on thousands of children in eastern Ukraine," said Giovanna Barberis, UNICEF's representative in Ukraine. "As the conflict continues, we need to reach these children urgently to meet their physical as well as psychological needs."

Barberis called on all parties to the conflict "to ensure safe movement and unhindered humanitarian access to help children in need."

UNICEF found that more than 200,000 children have been displaced and at least one in five schools in the conflict zone have been damaged.

Because of destroyed infrastructure and a disrupted healthcare system, Ukraine is facing a polio outbreak, it said.....

rferl.org

Moscow-backed authorities in Crimea's Sevastopol have ordered schools to gather about 10,000 children to celebrate the so-called “Crimean spring” on February 22.

The term is used by Kremlin supporters to refer to Russia’s annexation of the Ukrainian Peninsula, which was finalized in March 2014. Clashes among Crimean civilians began on February 21.

Local news reports quoted teachers as saying they suspect the call is an attempt by the de facto authorities to prevent protests by other pro-Russian groups that are in opposition to the Kremlin-imposed government. Crimea has a two-day holiday on February 22-23 to mark Defender of the Fatherland Day.

According to ForPost, a local news site, one teacher said: "They wanted to have children there so that nobody else does anything in the center of Sevastopol at that time. They say there have been a lot of applications for various protests.”

Order No. 66, dated February 15, came from Sevastopol’s Kremlin-backed Education Department Director Mikhail Rodikov. The document lists Sevastopol’s educational institutions, how many students each establishment must send to the celebrations, and the times children must be present on the city’s main Nakhimov Square. The document calls for about 10,000 students to take part from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m..................

To read further go to this link:  rferl.org

Skyping with my wife just now, she told me about how life was with her grandmother, mother and herself regarding how back in her mother's and grandmother's days, no children were allowed to go to church. This was in Cherkasy, due to the Russian communist government didn't want the children to learn about their religion. Her grandmother use to have to sneak out to go to church, during the day what was called Pacta.

They she told me that Odessa's 50/50 Russian and Ukrainian speaking population. Same percentage for pro and against Ukraine. She also told me, when she went to school which was the same for her son, they were taught Russian and only 1-2 days during the week of Ukrainian and possibly one day of English. At first, when I met my wife, her my step-son spoke more English than my wife. Of course now, she speaks more than he does. She said many that spoke Russian in public, spoke Ukrainian at their homes. I was told the same happens in Kyiv. Now there's an emphasis to start teaching more English in schools.

There are so many ways recently of the attempt to cut the old ties with Russia, in Ukraine. As what's changed so far, I don't see Ukraine EVER having any kind of ties while there's a soviet attitude in the Kremlin, iF it survives at all. Ukraine's come a long way from the pre 1991 days and it's all for the good of the country. But! The old soviet attitudes will continue for many, until the propaganda's stopped coming into the country. Many do it for a living, as jobs are scarce in Ukraine for the youngsters. Hopefully in the near future, Ukraine will continue going down the road it's going up now. Then that old soviet skin will be peeled off for ever, as has been with most of the old soviet countries.

Ukraine's a very large country and has vast riches which is why Putin wants it so much, as compared to other smaller ex-soviet countries. He needs it, as even before the Dombas war, Russia's economy wasn't doing that well. That's why this was planned years ago. So far, his plans are failing and will pay big in the end.

слава Україні
Glory to Ukraine

Russian politician, deputy chairman of the PARNAS opposition party Ilya Yashin has said in an interview with UNIAN that the Kremlin now has full control over the occupied Donbas and explained why the Russian opposition is forced to participate in the parliament elections in the annexed Crimea at the same time condemning he very annexation.

One of the first ones in Russia to speak openly about the invasion in Donbas was the leader of the PARNAS party, Boris Nemtsov. Almost a year ago, just ahead of the release of his “Putin. War.” report consisting specific facts and names of Russian troops killed in the operation on Donbas occupation, Boris Nemtsov was shot dead right outside the Kremlin walls, for his bold statements and criticism of the Russian president. Nemtsov’s colleagues completed collecting evidence on Russian attack on Ukraine and released the finalized report. UNIAN got an exclusive interview with one of such Nemtsov’s allies, Ilya Yashin.

Speaking about the Kremlin’s total control over the occupied Donbas, Yashin also told UNIAN how many lives of the Russians how many Russian lives every inch of the Ukrainian land is worth. According to him, a new report titled "National Security Threat," which will be presented in Moscow February 23, will unearth more evidence of engagement of the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov's army against the Ukrainian troops.

Yashin also explained why his PARNAS party, which strongly opposes the Crimea’s annexation, will nevertheless be taking part in the elections to the State Duma on the territory of the seized peninsula.

The first question is the most difficult for the Russian opposition. Preparations are starting for the elections to the State Duma, and PARNAS intends to participate in the campaign, including in the occupied Crimea. So, despite you being in opposition to Putin, you’re fine with the fact of Crimea’s annexation?......................

Recommend to read further. Go to this link: [url=]http://www.unian.info/politics/1271043-russian-oppositions-ilya-yashin-russians-who-fought-in-donbas-may-turn-into-aggressive-opposition-to-putin.html (PHOTOS)  [/url]

"Our goal in 2016 is to move beyond emergency response that deals with the immediate crisis of Russia's invasion and focus on defense cooperation aimed at helping Ukraine build the NATO-standard military structures and institutions," the official said at Ukraine Defense and Security Forum 2016.

The ambassador stressed he welcomes the stated position of President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and Minister of Defense Stepan Poltorak to further reform the security sector.

"We want to see Ukraine continue to make progress in developing modern military doctrines, to implement the excellent recommendations that the RAND Corporation has made for defense sector reform, and to improve Ukrainian interoperability with NATO partners and allies," Pyatt said.......

interfax.com.ua

Poland's former president Lech Walesa is back under the spotlight. It's after fresh allegations emerged the Nobel Peace Prize laurate was also a communist-era informant. The case centres on documents dating back to the early 1970's. They were picked up at this property – a house belonging to a widow of a communist interior minister. Poland's state history institute confirms the papers implicating Walesa are genuine. There's 279 pages of archives in total. The Solidarity union movement hero has responded. He's currently not in Poland but Venezuela, as part of a delegation supporting the opposition movement there. He isn't fully denying the evidence but did say his own experience had shown him dialogue was the only way forward.................

To read further go to this link:  uatoday.tv

In the center of Kiev continues to rally, timed to coincide with the anniversary of the shootings on the Maidan in 2014. Protesters lit a fire in the garbage urns and bring under the stele Independence tires and firewood, reports Hromadske.tv.

On the makeshift stage under the stele Independence protesters urged not to disperse and stay organized, to avoid clashes with the law enforcers. Speakers expressed different positions: reading poetry, recall events 2013 - 2014's call for support for a protest against the inaction of the authorities.

On the Independence left around 150 people.

glavcom.ua In Russian

On the night of Sunday, February 21, for about two hours in the center of the capital drove the car to the guards, according to TSN.

Among the three trucks KrAZ trucks and several buses with the soldiers of the National Guard. They are located near the October Palace.

Prior to that, on February 20, the feast day of Heroes "Heavenly hundred" men in camouflage called "revolutionary right-wing forces" occupied assembly hall at the "Cossack". Subsequently it was found out that the room was rented.

They began to set up tents on Independence Square. When you install that scuffle with security forces. Activists CPF said they would remain on the Maidan, and unfurled a tent. They put forward the requirements of the authorities, among them - the resignation of the president and the government.

glavcom.ua In Russian

On cars with Kiev samooboronovtsy night attacked by four armed men on the Alfa Romeo, transmits Ekspreso.TV.

The conflict began at the intersection of Saksaganskogo and Leo Tolstoy. The car in Kiev defense fighters who returned from duty, cropped Alfa Romeo.

After that, unknown samooborontsev chased all the way home. Already under the house pursuers began to honk and provoke conflict.

Realizing that the attackers are armed, the man called the police. Now all four persecutors arrested, and they are in the district department.

glavcom.ua In Russian

Representatives of associations members of ATU "Justice" promise to prevent provocations on the Maidan, including at the time of the council, at which the organization "Revolutionary wing forces' plans to announce the requirements for power. This was stated by the representative of the association members ATO Taras Konstanchuk, former commander of the assault team "Donbas" battalion, reports Hromadske.tv.

He noted that the ATO veterans will remain for a few days on the Maidan to respond to possible provocation.

"Today we have 8 units, and we have shown that we are a force. We are here to prevent violence. Blood spilled in the East, but here we will not allow it ", - he stressed.

Konstanchuk said he could not name specific names among the organizers.

"I do not know who is the organizer. And I want to find out, like my colleagues. While we do not know who is there in this "headquarters" - he concluded.

glavcom.ua In Russian

In the Mykolaiv region Pervomaisk in the city park, activists pushed monument to Grigory Petrovsky. The chairman of the Mykolayiv Oblast Party cell "Freedom" Demid Gubskiy to Facebook.

"In Pervomaisk nationalists pushed monument tyrant Petrovsky of the Ukrainian people", - he wrote.





glavcom.ua In Russian

A US State Department Mark Toner urged the Ukrainian authorities to speed up reforms in the country, says the report published on the official website of the Ministry.

"The United States calls on the leaders of Ukraine to honor the memory of the Maidan, working together, speeding up reforms and respecting the will of the Ukrainian people, committed to progress", - says the official announcement.

Toner also called on the authorities to comply with the terms of cooperation program with the International Monetary Fund, to root out corruption and "put an end to the power of the oligarchs."

glavcom.ua In Russian

In Kiev, the building of the hotel "Kozatskiy", which took representatives of the so-called "Radical Right-Wing Forces", the Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Internal Affairs arrived leadership. Heads of security forces during the night came to negotiate, according to TSN.

In particular in the negotiations with the representatives of the RPS of about three in the morning came the deputy minister of defense Alexander Dubliany, representatives of the Ministry of Interior, a volunteer Alex Mochanov and others, the newspaper writes.

CPF members who stayed at the hotel premises is not allowed inside the journalists.

It is reported that some of the activists arrived at the hotel with the intention to evict the RPM of the room, but the deputy defense minister, said that the use of force to the protesters will not.

It notes that it is the Ministry of Defence owns the hotel "Kozatskiy".

In turn, "Gromadska" says that the hotel "Kozatskiy" Igor came to a spring, the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.

In addition, on the Maidan was the chief of police of Kiev Andrew Kryschenko.

As reported in the center of Kiev people in camouflage uniforms seized the hotel room. a few hours earlier in Kiev on Independence rallied about 200 people. Before that in Kiev set the tent on the Maidan.

In addition, in the center of Kiev arrived the National Guard under the machine.

glavcom.ua In Russian