Ukraine crisis. News in brief. Thursday 04 August. [Ukrainian sources]

THURSDAY

Please scroll down to view news items added during the day

News:
38 attacks by Putin's forces. The number of attacks goes up and down wildly.
But now, quite often, when the number is lower, there are more casualties.
I think Putin gets his regular army to shell sometimes, but with greater accuracy and with the help of drones for adjusting fire.
On other days perhaps he lets the druggies and jail scum earn their fix. My opinion.  
Update - 7 soldiers wounded. (Yesterday 3 wounded, with 72 attacks).

Weather:
Back to blue skies and sunshine. High in the upper 20s today. Maybe 28 for the capital.
It may hit 30 (upper 80s) again this weekend. But better than it was. Especially if, like me, you have no A/C.
Update - getting toasty again, up near 30.
I just went for a walk - collected about 5 kg of fallen fruit, apples, pears, apricots.
Quite nice to eat with porridge for breakfast, but now - compote.

ATO: Terrorists renew shelling of residential areas near Donetsk
http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2016/08/4/7116784/
Thursday, August 4, 2016, 7:17

The enemy 38 times opened fire on the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and renewed shelling of residential areas near the settlements of Donetsk.
The press center ATO headquarters.
Most - 21 cases adversary use of weapons registered in the Donetsk area.
Under fire 120 and 82-mm mortars and grenade launchers repeatedly hit positions of Ukrainian soldiers in Avdeevka and Mayorsku.
In Zaitsev enemy violated the Minsk agreement, twice opened fire with heavy artillery, using banned 122-mm artillery shells. Fire with large caliber machine guns, grenade launchers and small arms enemy drove in Nevelsk and Trinity. In Novgorod, in addition used armoured vehicle. Near Avdeevki fire anti-aircraft installations and sniper pair...

German police comment on Graham Phillips
http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2016/08/4/7116773/
also
http://www.bbc.com/russian/news-36964623

Thursday, August 4, 2016, 3:48

The German edition Correctiv complained to law enforcement agencies to Graham Phillips, who previously worked with the Russian TV channel RT and "Svesda."
It is reported by BBC.
According to the "Facebook" edition, Phillips and German journalist Billy Six [?! Scared to use his own name] broke into the premises of the Berlin edition Correctiv.
They immediately began to remove wording and demanded a meeting with the journalist Marcus Bensmannom, who led the investigation into the accident "Boeing" MH17 in eastern Ukraine in 2014.
It is reported that Phillips and Six shouted "false press" and "Why are you lying?"
They finally left the editorial office only after police arrived.
Publication Correctiv already appealed to the police with a complaint against unauthorized access violation of privacy.
Phillips confirmed in his "Twitter" that came to the editorial Correctiv.
"What happens when you put the question propagandists 21st century in the spirit of Goebbels. The accusation of a crime!" - He wrote.
Graham Phillips became famous after his reporting from the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine for Russian propaganda channels.
In 2014, the Security Service of Ukraine expelled him from the country with a ban on entry for three years.
journalist Sechs is known for his investigations of the crash MH17. The film BBC BBC about conspiracy theories, he said that, in his version, "Boeing" was shot down two warplanes, one shot from a gun, the other produced rocket.
===

For more on Phillips see our sticky -
"Journalists reporting on Ukraine - the good, the bad, and the ugly".
This guy is a real real psycho scumball. Kremlin payroll.

British blogger Graham Phillips breaks into a German media outlet and prompts a visit from German police
https://meduza.io/en/news/2016/08/03/british-blogger-graham-phillips-breaks-into-a-german-media-outlet-and-prompts-a-visit-from-german-police
The Berlin-based media outlet Correctiv was forced to call the police after it received a surprise visit from the Russian super-patriot (British blogger) Graham Phillips. The publication wrote about the incident on its Facebook page.....
===

This story has even made Das Bild, www.bild.de
Pro-russische Attacke auf Redaktion in Berlin - Bild.de

Phillips actually creating the news himself. Trying to push the Russian theory - any theory except the truth - on MH17.
see also

Correctiv: Unerwünschter Besuch
http://www.ndr.de/fernsehen/sendungen/zapp/Correctiv-Unerwuenschter-Besuch,correctiv112.html
has video

Experts forecast record high yield of peas in Ukraine
http://www.unian.info/economics/1451856-experts-forecast-record-high-yield-of-peas-in-ukraine-in-15-years.html
The gross yield of peas in 2016 is forecast at 752,000 tonnes, which is almost twice the figure recorded in 2015, according to experts....
====

The weather has basically been good. Fairly frequent rain, and very warm temperatures. Got a little rain yesterday also.

Russia kept denying its intervention in Donbas at today’s tough talks in Minsk, Ukraine’s negotiator Marchuk says
http://en.censor.net.ua/news/400384/russia_kept_denying_its_intervention_in_donbas_at_todays_tough_talks_in_minsk_ukraines_negotiator_marchuk
... As usually, the Russian side strongly denied its involvement in the war and even shrugged off the indubitable facts of its [troops'] presence in the temporarily occupied territories of the Donbas," he wrote.....
====

Putin clearly playing the long long game. Long term occupation.
Domestically he will blame the failure of the Russian economy on the west, and those who listen to RT, RIA - all the Russian channels - will believe it.
I think that's his strategy now for his re-election as president.

The Desire to Please Dictators: Why Trump’s Crimea Gaffe Matters
http://observer.com/2016/08/the-desire-to-please-dictators-why-trumps-crimea-gaffe-matters/
....There are two options to explain so many errors by Trump in a few sentences. Either he is clueless about Crimea and Ukraine, being totally unfamiliar with the basic issues, and decided to pontificate on the subject regardless while on national television. Or he is consciously parroting Kremlin propaganda. There is no third choice here....However, publicly acquiescing in Russia’s violent theft of Crimea, while lying about the Kremlin’s misconduct in Ukraine, represents a political and moral turning point for the Trump campaign. Simply put, only Russia plus its friends and vassals recognize Moscow’s occupation of Crimea....
Donald Trump’s foreign policy vision, with its desire to please dictators until they hopefully behave, seems to be more comfortable with the norms of the ancients than with those of the current century. This is why Crimea matters. Trump’s concept of international relations will only encourage more aggression against the weak while quite possibly unleashing major war and geopolitical hell with it.....
====

Quite a long article. Good read.

“Geisha” operation: Russian Grads, Gvozdikas, and Rapiras revealed in Donbas. PHOTOS
http://en.censor.net.ua/photo_news/400344/geisha_operation_russian_grads_gvozdikas_and_rapiras_revealed_in_donbas_photos
===

Lots and lots of photos of equipment from Putin.

"Let's change the country together," - National Police Day marked in Ukraine for first time. VIDEO
http://en.censor.net.ua/video_news/400410/lets_change_the_country_together_national_police_day_marked_in_ukraine_for_first_time_video
====

Some new police, but a lot of old. 30,000 old passed the "reassessment", and only 4000 failed.
Something wrong there.

U.S. Citizens Targeted in Russian Visa Clampdown
https://themoscowtimes.com/articles/political-climate-causes-visa-problems-for-americans-in-russia-54826

An increasing number of Americans are facing visa problems or deportation from Russia due to worsening political ties, the Kommersant newspaper reported Tuesday.

Twenty-five U.S. citizens had their residence permits annulled in the first half of 2016, compared to just two in 2014.

Many of those deported claim that they have not been given the chance to fight against allegations made against them, or that the charges were unsubstantiated.

American Wyatt Gerard Ford launched a complaint against Russia at the European Court of Human Rights after being deported from Russia in May for violating the terms of his visa.

Ford was accused of violating migration law by staying at his future wife’s apartment whilst registered at a different address, and by teaching English unofficially part-time without notifying the migration service..................

====

All part of Putin's war against the west. The road to North Korea. isolation.

Trump Campaign Changed Ukraine Platform, Lied About It
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/08/03/trump-campaign-changed-ukraine-platform-lied-about-it.html
Top Trump aide Paul Manafort swore that the campaign had nothing to do with a radical change in the official Republican Party position on Ukraine. He was lying.
The Trump campaign went out of its way to dramatically alter the Republican Party’s official position on Ukraine—against the wishes of GOP hawks and despite senior Trump aide Paul Manafort’s insistence that they weren’t involved.
The move, first reported by The Washington Post, alienated Republicans who have made up the party’s foreign policy base for decades, and indicates that the Trump campaign has a particular interest in Ukraine, where Manafort had previously worked for a pro-Putin leader....

Trump changed views on Ukraine after hiring Manafort
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/trump-manafort-ukraine-crimea-russia-226573
Where once he demanded tougher U.S. response to Russian aggression, the GOP nominee now says he can live with a Russian Crimea....
===
so-so article.

7 soldiers injured yesterday in the ATO zone - Staff
http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2016/08/4/7116818/
Thursday, August 4, 2016, 12:53

One day in the area of ​​anti-terrorist operation wounds suffered seven soldiers.
Told the spokesman for the Presidential Administration Alexander ATO Motuzyanyk the traditional briefing on Thursday.
"During the last day of hostilities, no Ukrainian military killed, 7 our men were wounded," - said the colonel.
Answering When asked about the causes of health loss Motuzyanyk noted that one hit a military explosive devices near the Mariinsky, and as a result of hostile attacks 4 soldiers injured near Zaitsev, and one - in Krasnohorivtsi and Avdiyivka.

No elections possible in Donbas until security issue resolved, - Mahera
http://en.censor.net.ua/news/400400/no_elections_possible_in_donbas_until_security_issue_resolved_mahera
....Mahera also remarked he was not aware of any progress regarding the preparation of a corresponding bill, expressing confidence that the parliament would not pass such a law unless security issue is settled, Russian troops are removed from the Donbas, Ukraine regains control over the state border, and the overall situation gets stabilized.
.....

Malaysia, Ukraine declare commitment to bring MH17 perpetrators to justice
http://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/08/163103/malaysia-ukraine-declare-commitment-bring-mh17-perpetrators-justice
...Speaking at a joint press conference with Ukraine president Petro Poroshenko today, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said Malaysia will work with Ukraine to bring the perpetrators to justice.....
====
Poroshenko on a 3-day visit to Malaysia. MH17 was from Malaysia airlines.

Ukraine's Main Intelligence Department of the Defense Ministry announced of four killed and six wounded pro-Russian militants from the so-called 1st army corps of the Russian Armed Forces on Aug. 3.


Censor.NET informs citing the press service of the authority on Facebook.

According to MID, on Aug, 3, four soldiers were killed, six received injuries from the 3rd separate motorized rifle brigade (Horlivka) and 11th separate motorized rifle regiment (Makiivka) of the 1st army corps (Donetsk) of the Russian Federation Armed Forces.

The intelligence notes that the gravest losses were incurred by units of the 3rd separate motorized rifle brigade (Horlivka) of the 1st army corps (Donetsk) of the Russian Federation Armed Forces, for those killed included two low-ranking commanders of the brigade (a company commander and a platoon commander).

It is also reported that five bodies were delivered to the morgue of the regional Kalinin hospital (Donetsk), as well as eight wounded were accepted in a hospital's special unit that serves as a military hospital for Russian soldiers. The wounded were from special recon Volkodav unit, which attempted an ingress near Krasnohorivka and failed.

Earlier, it was reported that residents of militants-controlled Yasynuvata (the Donetsk region) intentionally drove a truck over a group of Russian militants as a revenge for killing of their relatives in militants' shelling of the city.

ua.censor.net.ua In Ukrainian/український

In Odesa, police detained two Russian citizens involved in battles in the Donbas as part of the "Luhansk People's Republic" terrorist organization.

The press service of the National Police Main Directorate in the Odesa region told Ukrainski Novyny, Censor.NET reports.

"Those individuals were brawling in a cafe in the morning. Someone called the police. The check showed that they took part in hostilities in "LPR" detachments," the spokesperson said.

The police transferred the detained Russians to the officers of the Security Service of Ukraine.

The press service also specified that the detainees were Russian citizens of Chechen descent.

ua.censor.net.ua In Ukrainian/український

New details Kropiwnicki searches in the scientific and industrial enterprise "Radio", the management of which is suspected of embezzling more than 130 million of public funds.

The total amount of cash in various currencies seized from defendants in the case, has grown to more than 22.3 million UAH equivalent.

The company's management hindered the investigation within the criminal proceedings opened on ch. 5, Art. 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Law enforcement access to office space "radio" blocked caused by management, security service. Employees of the investigative team could continue only after the involvement of the SBU special unit "Alfa"





facebook.com In Ukrainian/український

The Clinton campaign, among others, has accused Vladimir Putin of encouraging Russian intelligence to hack the Democratic National Committee (DNC) files and hand over thousands of emails to WikiLeaks as part of a broader scheme to get Donald Trump elected president.

But why would Putin even want to influence the U.S. presidential election? There are several reasons Russia might want stir up trouble in an already contentious campaign. Russian views of the United States are at a low point; Putin believes the U.S. plays its own nefarious games in Russian politics; and Moscow would like to undermine U.S. international credibility by highlighting the deficiencies in American party politics.

PUTIN THINKS THE U.S. ALREADY DID IT TO HIM FIRST

As far as Putin and his inner circle are concerned, it was the United States that moved first to meddle in Russian politics when Putin decided to return for a third term. In 2011-’12, Russian demonstrators took to the streets to protest electoral violations in the parliamentary elections and the lack of alternative candidates to Putin in the presidential election. Putin and his inner circle believed the U.S. was to blame. Putin even asserted that then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had either incited or directly financed the demonstrations.

In Putin’s mindset, the West always tries to bring Russia down. Next year will be the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, and this year marks the 25th anniversary of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. In the Russian worldview, first Germany in World War I and then the United States in the Cold War took advantage of domestic divisions and vulnerabilities and the Russian state collapsed twice in one century.

So one of Putin’s primary objectives is to force Western leaders to back off in order to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Putin wants the United States and other Western governments to stop funding, as part of their foreign policies, organizations that promote political and economic transformations in Russia. He also wants to block U.S. officials from meeting with opposition figures and parties. From Putin’s perspective, democracy promotion is just a cover for regime change..........

ukrainebusiness.com.ua

“Donald Trump is one hundred and ten percent correct when he says that no one needs to be worrying about Ukraine,” she [Sarah Palin] said. “If you look Ukraine up on Google Maps, like I just did, it’s right where it’s always been.”

Donald J. Trump never misses an opportunity to strengthen his campaign team. If we are to believe the New Yorker magazine's Borowitz Report of August 2, 2016, Trump “attempted on Tuesday to reassure voters about his geopolitical expertise by adding the retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and the former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to his team of foreign-policy advisers.

“Donald Trump always said that, as President, he would surround himself with the best people,” Trump’s spokesperson, Hope Hicks, said. “In Governor Palin and Dr. Carson, Mr. Trump now has the Dream Team.”

Speaking to reporters, Palin dismissed the controversy over Ukraine as “much ado about a gotcha question.”

“Donald Trump is one hundred and ten percent correct when he says that no one needs to be worrying about Ukraine,” she said. “If you look Ukraine up on Google Maps, like I just did, it’s right where it’s always been.”

In a press conference held to announce Ben Carson’s endorsement, Dr. Carson said that, as President, Donald Trump would support the territorial integrity of Ukraine and “its magnificent network of underground grain tunnels.”

“I cannot overemphasize the importance of Ukraine’s grain pipeline,” he said. “If you choke off Ukraine, Europe cannot bake bread.”

Trump’s spokesperson said that the additions to his foreign-policy brain trust should give voters “great confidence” that a Trump White House would be equal to the challenge of an international crisis. “When that 3 a.m. call comes in, and Mr. Trump is busy on Twitter, Dr. Carson and Governor Palin will be there to take the call,” she said.

ukrainebusiness.com.ua

A first ship with anthracite would arrive to Ukraine on August 20 or August 21, Ukrainian Energy and Coal Industry Minister Ihor Nasalyk has said.

"A first small tanker with 130,000 tonnes would arrive on August 20 or August 21. Then one tanker after another would arrive," he said at a press conference in Kyiv on Thursday.

The minister did not disclose other details of supplies, referring to the commercial conditions of the contract. He said that Ukraine was able to buy coal thanks to establishing an indicative price of coal of UAH 1,370 per tonne from the beginning of August........

en.interfax.com.ua In Ukrainian/український