Ukraine crisis. News in brief. Friday 3 June [Ukrainian sources]

FRIDAY

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NEWS:

Russian proxies attacked Ukrainian troops’ positions 49 times.

Ukrainian Parliament Passes Judicial Reforms which the news was very welcoming. To fight overall corruption, it must be stopped in the judicial sector, as if it isn't the guilty will be set free. It'll also make it harder for Kremlin influence with Ukraine.

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The militants of the Russian-backed illegal armed groups committed 49 assaults on the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ positions along the demarcation line over the past 24 hours.

Censor.NET informs citing the situation report by the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Staff press center as of 6 a.m. June 3.
According to the Staff , the enemy employed weapons against Ukrainian defenders more than 30 times from yesterday evening until midnight.

"At the Donetsk section of the front, the enemy tried to hit several strongholds of the ATO forces near Pisky and Opytne using 120-mm mortars. The militants were shelling our soldiers over two hours starting from 8 p.m. having launched 86 rounds of 82-mm caliber and 10 more rounds of larger one.

"Small arms, large-caliber machine guns, and grenade launchers were employed near Avdiivka. The Defenders of Butivka mine came under Russian mercenaries' strike with 82-mm and 120-mm mortars," the statement reads.

It was also reported that the enemy employed large-caliber machine guns, IFV weapons, and 82-mm mortars in the vicinity of Luhanske, Zaitseve, and Troitske at the Horlivka-Svitlodarsk salient.

"The hostile activity of the illegal armed groups has increased at the section of the front adjacent to Mariupol. 31 assaults were recorded there. In particular, the militants again used 120-mm mortars on the outskirts of Novotroitske and 82-mm mortars in the vicinity of Pavlopil. Our units' positions near Berezove and Hnutove were fired at with small arms, large-caliber machine guns, and grenade launchers several times while automatic grenade launchers were employed near Shyrokyne, Slavne, and Taramchuk.

"Our soldiers deployed not far from Novozvanivka in the Luhansk region were attacked with small arms and grenade launchers. The enemy also used automatic grenade launchers against the Ukrainian servicemen near Stanytsia Luhanska," the Staff noted adding that the Ukrainian soldiers were forced to open fire in response several times.

It should be reminded that the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) recorded more than 500 explosions in the Donetsk region May 30.

censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

Verkhovna Rada passed the law to form a national roster of debtors, Kanal 24 reports May 3.

The roster will be freely available on the justice ministry site. The information on the site will be updated in real time, and this will prevent various wrong-doing, the ministry says.

Under the same law, there will be private bailiffs in Ukraine.

If a debtor on the debt roster will want to sell his property via a notary public (as the law requires), the latter has to inform a private bailiff or state bailiff service about the forthcoming deal.

zik.ua

Ukraine’s Treasury residuals increased 13.3% in May to UAH 18.4 bln as of June 1 from UAH 16.3 bln a month ago, Concorde Capital informed clients today, based on a State Treasury report. That’s also compared to UAH 27.8 bln in accumulations as of June 1, 2015. The highest level of Ukraine’s Treasury accumulations was achieved at the start of December 2015 (UAH 48.0 bln, or 2.4% of GDP).

Concorde analyst Alexander Paraschiy added: “This increase in Treasury accumulations could have come either from lower spending during the month or extra revenue from the central bank (so called “NBU profit,” which is the difference between NBU revenue from interests and costs incurred from conducting institutional activities). Apart from those two points, we do not see any source for higher residuals amid worsening budget collections (-4.2% yoy drop in general budget revenue in April). Recall, UAH 38 bln in NBU profit is budgeted for the year. Until April, the central budget did not receive any wires from the NBU though MinFin was expected to tap those funds already in 1Q16.........

ukrainebusiness.com.ua

An Interfax-Ukraine journalist reported that bill No. 4245 amending the Tax Code with respect to exemption of pensions from taxation was backed by 274 lawmakers on Thursday.

"We exempt pensions of working and non-working pensioners from taxation, but there should be social fairness," Head of the parliamentary committee for tax policy Nina Yuzhanina said in parliament.

For pensions equaling more than 10 subsistence wages for persons who lost ability to work the tax rate would be 18% for the sum than exceeds this amount.

Yuzhanina said that currently 10 subsistence wages equals UAH 10,750.

According to information from the website of the Finance Ministry, from May 1, 2016 the subsistence wage for persons who lost ability to work was set at UAH 1,130 and from December 1, 2016 it will grow to UAH 1,208. Thus, the smallest pension exempted from taxation would be UAH 11,300 and from December 1, 2016 – UAH 12,800..............

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Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has fired Oleh Havashi from the post of Ukraine's ambassador to Slovakia.

Poroshenko signed relevant decree No. 232/2016 on Friday, June 3, the president's official website said.

The State Fiscal Service branch in Zakarpattia region reported earlier that on May 21, 2016, a Volkswagen Transporter van driven by a citizen of Ukraine entered the "green corridor" of the checkpoint. At the customs control, he presented a diplomatic pass of a citizen of Ukraine, a certificate of registration of the vehicle, and a letter of one of Ukraine's embassies that the car is carrying diplomatic cargo, which, in accordance with the law, is not subject to control.

On Monday, May 23, Head of Zakarpattia Regional State Administration Hennadiy Moskal said that they detained a Volkswagen Transporter minibus with a cargo of smuggled cigarettes belongs to the Embassy of Ukraine in Slovakia, and its driver is "a resident of Kyiv, Serhiy Lischyshyn, who is the husband of the first secretary of the Ukrainian Embassy in Slovakia." When customs officers suspecting that the van was carrying contraband, began to insist on the inspection, Lischyshyn expressed his outrage and started threatening to call the consul.

"Customs officers contacted the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry and after obtaining a permit the inspection of the minibus revealed 5,685 cartons of cigarettes worth UAH 620,000," Moskal's press office quoted him as saying.

Moskal said the smuggler presented the customs and border guards "a diplomatic passport and a letter signed by his wife", according to which the minibus was transporting diplomatic cargo on May 21-24 and was not subject to control. "

Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Vadym Prystaiko said that the Foreign Ministry did not issue any permit for shipment of diplomatic cargo or mail to the husband of the first secretary of the Ukrainian Embassy in Slovakia, Oksana Lischyshyn.

The deputy minister said that the Foreign Ministry expected to receive a copy of the letter signed by the first secretary of the Ukrainian Embassy in Slovakia, the existence of which was earlier reported by Head of Zakarpattia Regional State Administration Hennadiy Moskal.

According to Prystaiko, the ambassador of Ukraine to Slovakia was aware of the incident on the border, but as of Saturday he knew nothing about the existence of the letter...............

interfax.com.ua

"On Monday night our monitors recorded 105 undermined explosions west and north-west of their position in Donetsk city centre. Many of those explosions happened in Kuibysheve district. Just two days before our monitors actually went there and saw damage to residential buildings. They were also told by residents that armed men were using the roofs of their buildings to fire weapons," Hug said at a briefing in Kyiv on Thursday.

He said that they found this to be common practice.

"Let me remind the sides that using densely populated residential areas as firing positions – or even locating military hardware in such areas – is banned," Hug said.

On Sunday night an SMM unmanned aerial vehicle spotted exchange of fire in so-called 'DPR'-controlled Mineralne, ten kilometers north-east of Donetsk, which is the violation of the Minsk agreements.

The SMM monitors registered surge in violence in the area of Kyiv-controlled Avdiyivka. On Tuesday, for example, the monitors recorded in Avdiyivka 227 explosions from 152mm artillery, 120mm and 82mm mortar. On the same day, other SMM monitors in Yasynuvata heard 113 undetermined explosions and 46 single shots of small-arms fire...........

interfax.com.ua

Pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday accused government soldiers of launching a new offensive near a prized but obliterated airport in the separatists' de facto capital of Donetsk.

The claim appears to fit with a mounting death toll reported by the government in Kiev and foreign monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

It also comes ahead of a decision later this month by the European Union on whether to extend its sanctions against Russia for its actions in Ukraine.

The insurgents seized Donetsk airport in January 2015.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko vowed to win back the main trophy of the 25-month war -- a pledge that has clashed with the West's efforts to bring peace to the European Union's backyard.

A rebel fighter who identified himself by the nom de guerre Moskva (Moscow) said the Ukrainian assault began from positions just north of Donetsk last Saturday.

"The entire (airport) terminal was hit by air defence guns," he told AFP.

Such heavy weapons were meant to have been withdrawn from the frontline dividing rebel-run regions from the rest of Ukraine within days of a February 2015 truce being signed.

Poroshenko's military spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk told AFP that "the Ukrainian armed forces are observing a state of ceasefire" and blamed the escalation on the rebels.

The truce helped contain the worst violence but failed to bring a halt to one of Europe's bloodiest conflicts since the 1990s Balkans wars.

US Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt said on Tuesday he was "shocked by the escalation happening in eastern Ukraine in recent days".

- Hundreds of 'undetermined explosions' -

The scale of exchanges of heavy weapons fire appears to have grown exponentially after weeks of relative calm.

The OSCE said its teams had recorded 305 "undetermined explosions" just north and west of Donetsk between late Monday and early Tuesday.

A man who identified himself as a 42-year-old Russian volunteer fighter told AFP that eight members of the separatist force had been killed in a town 10 kilometres (six miles) north of Donetsk since Monday.

And a spokeswoman for Ukraine's envoy to OSCE-mediated peace talks with Russia said that 26 government troops had died last month alone........................

To read further go to this link:  au.news.yahoo.com

Amendments to the Basic Law

MP Hope Savchenko explained why has registered a draft resolution, which proposes to abolish the new law on judicial system and status of judges.

She said on the sidelines of the parliament.

As previously reported, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a new law on judicial system and status of judges. US State Department also welcomed changes to the Constitution regarding justice in Ukraine.



glavcom.ua   In Ukrainian/український

Avakov called the adoption of amendments to the Constitution on justice huge step forward in the destruction of post-trial Monster

At least 5 of the 7 th. Judges will be dismissed under the law on amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine on justice. About this on his page in Facebook said the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Arsen Avakov.

"At least 5,000 of the 7,000 judges are dismissed! The courts will be created anew - no automatic transfer and conversion of old vehicles to new! Only new competitive sets! This, if someone does not understand - a rough summary of yesterday voted in the Council legislative package of constitutional amendments and related law "- said Avakov.

glavcom.ua   In Ukrainian/український

First deputy prosecutor general, known for role in opposing the reform of the PGO, Yury Sevruk, handed in his resignation today.

His resignation is followed by the other two notorious deputies of recently dismissed Prosecutor General Shokin, the present head of the PGO Yury Lutsenko said, speaking on 1+1 TV this morning, Ukrayinska Pravda reports. 

The three deputies resigned following the demand by Lutsenko.

zik.ua

Best for them to resign than being embarrassed and fired instead. If they want to run the law of the land as it was, then let them go to Russia, when the mafia system runs as the norm. If they don't want to run the enforcement of the law as it should be, they don't belong. This is an embarrassment to the Yanukobich run criminal organization that all Ukrainians are tired of. It's time for all of them to pay the price as the law calls for it.

It's time for a major change the way Ukraine's run. Either accept it, or get the hell out. Time for the law to be enforced, not for the mob to run the law and the land. Get use to it, as that's the way we in democratic countries want ours to be run.

In May, about 180 rebel servicemen were killed in Donbas, half of them Russian regulars, Ukraine army intelligence chief Gen. Vadym Skibitsky told journalists May 3, Interfax-Ukraine reports.

 “Fierce fighting started by Russian/rebel troops in Donbas resulted in the loss of 180 killed and 190 wounded,” the general said.

The bulk of the Russian loses are special troops servicemen.

 “70 killed and 70 wounded servicemen are Russian subjects, with 30 belonging to Russian special troops. In addition, 70 seriously wounded Russians were taken to hospitals in Rostov, Russia,” Gen. Skibitsky said.

zik.ua

Information in The Times article about Ukraine’s Security Service’s torture of pro-Russian militants and their supporters is false.

This was written by Censor.NET Chief Editor Yurii Butusov on his Facebook page.

"This lies has to be addressed immediately.

"Who knows what Alice does Croatian diplomat Ivan Simonovic from the UN office take? He who said that Ukraine allegedly implements a torture program against "pro-Russian rebel groups"? Please pay attention to The Times article - who can send a letter to the editorial in the UK that the article by reporter Maxim Tucker contradicts facts and disproves itself?

"Ukraine's spy agency, the SBU, is systematically rounding up and torturing suspected rebel sympathisers, the United Nations has told The Times.

"Ivan Simonovic, UN assistant secretary-general for human rights, said that in some areas Kiev's "disregard for human rights" had become entrenched and systemic and needed to be urgently addressed.

"The UN report documents hundreds of cases of illegal detention, torture and ill-treatment of detainees - both by pro-Russian armed groups and by government agencies.

"It draws attention to prisoner abuse and murders by pro-Russian rebel groups, but also exposes the scale and brutality of Ukraine's government-backed torture programme."



The caption of the image reads "A Ukrainian security service officer stands next to a monitor showing a Russian army major detained at the weekend"

"Mr. Tucker, this is an image of captive Russian major Starkov, dated July 2015. Starkov was swapped last year for a captive Ukrainian officer. Starkov said he had not been tortured in the captivity, he was treated fine and had no bodily harms. Don't you think this image disproves the text of the article? Don't you think that Major Starkov could not be a "member of pro-Russian rebel group" for he is a serviceman of the foreign army, not a rebel? It's a bit unsubstantial to allow such ungainliness in The Times.

"There is no "torture programme" in Ukraine, although many would have deemed it right in fighting the terrorists. There are no tortured militants posted online - we do not put prisoners on their knees, do not shoot them, do not beat and film it, do not cut their hands, do not imitate execution, do not rape captive females, there are no facts like these.

"Here is what tortures are, Mr. Tucker:

"WE WERE TORTURED LIKE HELL, WITH TWO OSCE CARS PARKED NEXT TO US - THEY JUST DIDN'T TAKE NOTICE" - DONETSK RESIDENT SVITLANA MATUSHKO SPENT SEVEN DAYS IN CAMERA ( in Russian ).

"Pastor Khomchenko on his captivity in the Donetsk NKVD: "Militants were executing people with machine guns and tested grenade launchers on some of them" ( in Russian ).

"And an article from a Russian propaganda website:

"How Cossacks kidnapped and tortured a Donetsk entrepreneur" ( in Russian ).

"Unfortunately, Ivan Simonovic from the UN office did not think going to Donetsk and Luhansk basements good; he did not mention that the invading Russian army and Russian-hired mercenaries were killing and torturing Ukrainian captives and civilians, kidnapping Ukrainian citizens and carrying them away to Russia. For some reason, the UN office had no critical issues with the Kremlin. Sounds as if Ukraine started the war and invaded Russia. Hey, UN office, when will you visit Russian prisons, when will you assess mass killings of Ukrainian citizens by the Russian army and Russian terrorists?

"I hope that the European Commission, all Ukrainian and international journalist organizations are fast and organized in disproving these lies. This is The Times - and the violation of the human rights and reporting standards is much higher here than around the Myrotvorets website publications, isn't it?" Butusov wrote.

censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

The $1-billion commitment is the third of its kind issued by Washington since a pro-EU revolution brought down Ukraine's Russia-backed president in February 2014.

The pledge is to provide Ukraine with more affordable access to international capital markets and fill its gaping budget hole.

"The guarantee sends a strong signal of the United States' continued support for Ukraine as it pursues reforms that fulfill the Ukrainian people's aspirations for a prosperous and democratic future," US Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt said in a statement on June 3.

Speaking in Kyiv on June 3, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said the U.S. move indicates that the United States is "a reliable strategic partner for Ukraine.".............

rferl.org

The Republic of South Africa may start buying Ukrainian pork, according to the press service of the Association of Pig Producers of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Rights Protection has received an offer from South African authorities to start supplying Ukrainian pork to that market, the press service reported with reference to Head of the State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Rights Protection Volodymyr Lapa.

As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukrainian pork producers have repeatedly complained about declining profitability due to low prices of their products. Prices declined against a backdrop of the growth of supply in the aftermath of Russia's import embargo, as well as the weaker purchasing power of many Ukrainian consumers............

unian.info

She said that her sister, Vera Savchenko, calls it "martinet"

MP Hope Savchenko, commenting on his statement on the sidelines of when she used bad language, said that she needs to learn to be more cultural and educated, said 112 Ukraine.

"First, I need to learn to be more cultured and educated, I'm probably a little wild. Indeed, army, war, Maidan - my sister always calls martinet. And as I go and be a politician to represent Ukraine in Europe, around the world - is still at least I learned to speak more cautiously. Above this will work, "- said the MP in the air" Shuster Live.

glavcom.ua   In Ukrainian/український

The MP said that this work does not want

People's deputy of Ukraine of "homeland" Hope Savchenko outraged, as are her colleagues in parliament.

"The MP said beautiful words. I listen and understand - yes, that is correct. I click the button "on". Then I realize something ... I take out a card and say, "Show me the amendment" ... She talked about one thing and amendment otherwise. Amendment - the evil, but she said such good things! As a way to work? "- Said Savchenko.

"If it is the Council, we are sorry, the *** people each day. I do not want to work "- she added.



glavcom.ua  In Ukrainian/український

He recalled that before the United States and the world is a lot of serious threats.

The United States is and will remain the only country in the world that owns the lead in solving global problems, including the issue of Russian aggression against Ukraine. This was announced by US President Barack Obama during a speech on the eve of a US Air Force Academy, reports Ukrinform.

"The United States remains the only indisputable power in world affairs," - said Obama.
He stressed that the United States has more than anyone alliances with other countries, and this, he said, "is the basis for global stability and prosperity" .

"Almost every problem the world looks to us to set the agenda. When there is a problem in the world, they turn not in Beijing or Moscow - they come to us "- said Obama.

In this connection, the call of the international order, he called and external armed conflict in Ukraine.

"Russian aggression against Ukraine disputes in the South China Sea - a challenge for a world order which we have built which respected the sovereignty of countries and all nations adhere to some rules," - said the US president.

He recalled that before the United States and the world is a lot of serious threats.

"Terrorist networks murder of innocent people and plan attacks against our nation. Civil wars, as in Iraq, torn countries and create humanitarian disasters and serve as a repository for terrorists "- Obama numbered.

Furthermore, nuclear weapons in North Korea and spirit of nuclear terrorism continues to threaten the entire world.

"Since we are in a complex world that America can not transmit to others the mantle of leadership. We can not be isolationists. This is not possible in today's globalized and interconnected world. In these uncertain times it seems sometimes tempting to step back, wash hands, not to interfere in conflicts that seem difficult to solve, and give them to the mercy of countries that they have coped with their own ", - said the head of the White House.

glavcom.ua  In Ukrainian/український