Ukraine crisis. News in brief. Friday 10 February. [Ukrainian sources]

FRIDAY

Please scroll to view news items added during the day.

NEWS:
US sanctions against Russia are working quite successfully - State Department. Russian mercenary Dmitry Stankevich eliminated in battle near Avdiivka.  "This is a fight for which Russia and separatists had prepared," - US Mission to OSCE on recent escalation in Avdiivka.  Trump adviser Flynn's talks with Russian ambassador about sanctions a potentially illegal sygnal to Russia on possible ease.  Top U.S. Senator Suggests Empowering Trump Officials Who Are Tough On Russia.  .  

WEATHER:
Kyiv, Ukraine
-6c / 21f HI | RealFeel® -6c / 21f
Precipitation 55%
Very cold with low clouds

The experts concluded that economic sanctions deprive those to whom they are dedicated, income and resources

The scientific report recently published on the website of the American State Department, argues that US sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin and his closest associates, working as it was intended; while President Donald Trump made it clear that it is open to removing these sanctions, it says BuzzFeed .

As the main party report stated deputy chief economist at the State Department Daniel Ahn, his co-author - Professor Rodney lyudem from Georgetown University. Experts "concluded that economic sanctions deprive those to whom they are dedicated, income and resources," reads the article. "The average company suffered sanctions or the related company loses about a third of operating income, about half the value of its assets and approximately tretynuspivrobitnykiv compared with similar companies that have not fallen under sanctions", - quotes edition quote from the report.

Also, according to the researchers, "smart" or "tarhinh" -sanktsiyi imposed in 2014 against Russian companies and individuals, to justify its name. "The report states that imposed four rounds of sanctions aimed at Putin's inner circle, several Russian banks, defense industry and the energy sector, could affect these specific subjects that are not caused significant damage to the Russian economy as a whole", - said Brown . Much more of macroeconomics hit by the global drop in oil prices.

Despite the critical economic situation, the Kremlin continues to devote a great deal on a hybrid war . For example, last year the secret expenditures from the federal budget of Russia rose to 800 billion rubles. As you know, most of the spending in this category is to finance Army. In addition, Putin will allocate more than a billion rubles to spread propaganda in France.

glavcom , In Ukrainian / на українській мові

A top U.S. senator has suggested lawmakers should empower officials in Donald Trump’s administration whose views on Russia diverge sharply from those voiced by the president.

The statement by Bob Corker (Republican-Tennessee) during a February 9 hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which he chairs, comes amid mounting bipartisan concern in Congress that Trump could soften Washington’s approach toward Moscow and President Vladimir Putin.

Corker's remarks came after Senator Chris Murphy (Democrat-Connecticut) criticized what he called "conflicting messages" about Russia from the administration. Murphy pointed to Trump’s recent interview with Fox News in which he expressed skepticism about Russian support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.

"In spite of the unfortunate statements that end up being made, I think there are folks within the administration that have a very, very different point of view, and I think us working with them to empower them to create policies that we would support is something that we can play a role in doing," Corker said.

Corker did not specify which officials or statements he was talking about. His spokesman, Chuck Harper, told RFE/RL that the remark "was general in nature."

Earlier in the hearing, which was devoted to Russia, Corker said he had "spent some time" with Trump’s secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, and "understanding the route he is planning to take to ratchet back what Russia is doing."

"I want to spend a little time making sure that what we do to strengthen his hand is appropriate, and I think you're going to see a very different type of activity towards Russia," Corker said.

In his confirmation hearing last month, Tillerson said Russia was backing separatists in the conflict in eastern Ukraine, which has killed more than 9,750 people since April 2014. Russia denies it is providing such support, despite substantial evidence of its role in the conflict.

Corker also joined the committee’s ranking Democrat, Ben Cardin of Maryland, in criticizing comments made by Trump in the same Fox News interview after host Bill O'Reilly called Putin "a killer."

"There are a lot of killers. We've got a lot of killers. What do you think? Our country's so innocent?" Trump said in the interview, broadcast February 5.

Corker told the hearing that he sees "no moral equivalence, none, between ourselves and the actions that Russia has taken" and that Trump’s comments do not reflect the views of "most members of the U.S. Senate."...............

Access complete text of the editorial:  rferl.org In English

Dmitry Stankevich, 24, a drug addict Russian mercenary eliminated in the Donbas, was buried in the town of Verkhnyaya Pyshma (Sverdlovsk Oblast of the Russian Federation). He was survived by his three-year-old daughter.

Censor.NET reports citing the article in the local news outlet 66.ru.

Eliminated mercenary Stankevich (call sign Detsl) was a member of the militants' Somali gang, which chieftain Mikhail Tolstykh aka Givi was killed by explosion in the occupied Donbas on Feb. 8.

The news outlet reports that the mercenary perished during a battle in the vicinity of Avdiivka. The terrorist's relatives say he was seriously wounded and bled to death.

An elderly relative of the killed mercenary told the news outlet that he had been committing outrages in the Donbas over a year. His "contract" allegedly expired in mid-January, but the militant resumed his membership in Somali gang. According to the terrorist's father, he left for the Donbas because of drug problem.

ua.censor.net.ua , In Ukrainian / на українській мові

Despite public denial of Russian sanctions conversations between national security adviser Michael Flynn and Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. during the transition of power, they did take place.

The Washington Post reports, cited by Censor.NET.

National security adviser Michael Flynn privately discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia with that country's ambassador to the United States during the month before President Trump took office, contrary to public assertions by Trump officials, current and former U.S. officials said.

Flynn's communications with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak were interpreted by some senior U.S. officials as an inappropriate and potentially illegal signal to the Kremlin that it could expect a reprieve from sanctions that were being imposed by the Obama administration in late December to punish Russia for its alleged interference in the 2016 election.

Flynn on Wednesday denied that he had discussed sanctions with Kislyak. Asked in an interview whether he had ever done so, he twice said, "No."

On Thursday, Flynn, through his spokesman, backed away from the denial. The spokesman said Flynn "indicated that while he had no recollection of discussing sanctions, he couldn't be certain that the topic never came up."

Officials said this week that the FBI is continuing to examine Flynn's communications with Kislyak. Several officials emphasized that while sanctions were discussed, they did not see evidence that Flynn had an intent to convey an explicit promise to take action after the inauguration.

ua.censor.net.ua , In Ukrainian / на українській мові

OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine gathered clear evidence of a military buildup by combined Russian-separatist forces near Avdiivka in advance of the recent offensive.

As reported by Censor.NET, this was said by Chargé d'Affaires of the U.S. Mission to OSCE Kate M. Byrnes as she delivered her speech to the OSCE Permanent Council on Feb. 9, 2017.

According to her, there is clear evidence of a military buildup by combined Russian-separatist forces in the area in advance of the offensive.

"A week before the assault began, the SMM observed trucks which were carrying boxes of ammunition assessed as matching the shape and size of MLRS rockets in the separatist held town of Khrustalnyi. Two days before the assault began, an SMM UAV spotted 45 military-style trucks 500 meters from a railway station in separatist-held Amvrosiivka, which lies only 15 kilometers from the Russian border," the diplomat said.

"Separatists harassed the SMM monitors and delayed them from leaving the site. That same day, SMM monitors were denied access at another separatist-held town, Markyne, less than 5 kilometers from the Russian border. Satellite images show not less than six artillery positions on separatist-controlled territory within striking distance of Avdiyivka.

"Combined Russian-separatist forces have been expanding their positions in Avdiyivka in the past six months - including into areas on the Ukrainian side of the line of contact.

This is a fight for which Russia and the separatists had prepared. As soon as the fighting started, combined Russian-separatist forces blocked the SMM's access to Yasynuvata - and kept the restrictions in place for the next three days," Byrnes said.

She called on Russia to end its aggression against Ukraine: "Our sanctions remain in place. We again call on Russia to comply fully with its commitments under the Minsk agreements. Proscribed weapons must be withdrawn, a comprehensive ceasefire must be sustained, and effective border monitoring must be established. We again call on Russia to observe the Helsinki Final Act, in which all participating States agreed that one another's frontiers are inviolable and that they will respect the territorial integrity of each participating State."

ua.censor.net.ua , In Ukrainian / на українській мові

It’s official: Mariya Savinova, the Russian athlete who shot to worldwide fame after her picture accompanied nearly every article about her country’s alleged state-sanction doping scandal, has been stripped of her Olympic gold. The middle distance runner, who was implicated in the scandal after being caught on tape admitting to using a performance-enhancing drug, had held the 800-meter gold from the 2012 London Olympics.
The final decision came down on Friday via the Court of Arbitration of Sport, which imposed a four-year ban on the athlete and nullified Savinova’s race results from July 2010 to August 2013 for having doped during that time period.

The CAS cited “clear evidence,” including her biological passport to support the allegations. The court also likely took into account Savinova’s own admissions of taking the anabolic steroid oxandrolone that Russian doping whistleblower and Savinova’s former teammate Yulia Stepanova caught on video. The undercover footage originally aired in 2014 on German television.

“Oxandrolone is very quickly out of my body again,” Savinova said while describing the sophisticated system her coach and others set up to cover up her doping. “It takes less than 20 days. We have tested that. My husband has very good contacts at the doping control laboratory.”...........

Access complete text of the editorial:  abqjournal.com In English

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Mikheil Janelidze said that US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson expressed strong support for the territorial integrity of his country.

He said Feb. 10 after meeting with the head of State, reports Tsenzor.NET citing Radio Liberty .

"Of course, we talked about the Russian-Georgian conflict, the situation of the occupied territories. We received full support from the US for our territorial integrity and sovereignty," - said the head of the Georgian Foreign Ministry.

remind the Russian-Georgian war of 2008 Russia recognized the independence of Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

ua.censor.net.ua, In Ukrainian / на українській мові

The EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said that the EU will maintain unity in the policy of sanctions against Russia to the full implementation of the Minsk agreements, but is not sure that the US will also stick to this unity.

She said this during a speech in Washington NGO Atlantic council, said Tsenzor.NET with reference to UNIAN .

Mogerini talked about already held meetings in Washington with influential senators and representatives of the new administration, including Secretary of State Department Rex Tillerson.

"My meetings were positive and, in particular, we agreed that sanctions be maintained until such time as the Minsk agreement is not fully implemented, but I do not know whether this consolidated policy" - said Mogerini hinting that "it was in the Oval office when President Trump called President Putin."


She noted that the European Union Minsk II implementation is an important issue. "I believe that this is an important issue not only for Europeans. I think that the Congress is also an important issue," - said Mogerini.

She also stated that, in its view, the EU will maintain unity on the issue of sanctions. "I do not know whether the Americans are united on this issue, but the Europeans," - said Mogerini.

However, she said that EU sanctions are a tool to put pressure and achieve results. "For us the result is not maintaining sanctions. For us the result - to resolve the conflict in Ukraine", - said Mogerini.

She also said Tillerson discussed with the question of how the EU and the US can best promote the full implementation of the Minsk agreements. Mogherini said that the real goal is to achieve peace in Ukraine on the basis of international law, which also applies to the Crimea.

ua.censor.net.ua, In Ukrainian / на українській мові

Ambassador of Ukraine Valeriy Chaly in the United States met with US Senator Rob Portman, which discussed cooperation between Kyiv and Washington.

It informs Tsenzor.NET , this senator wrote in Facebook.

Portman said: "He spent today meeting with Ukrainian Ambassador Valery Chalym to discuss extremely necessary cooperation between the United States and Ukraine, and how the United States should improve the assistance to Ukraine in the fight against Russian aggression. As co-chair of the Group to support Ukraine in the Senate I am proud to be on the side of Ukraine."



ua.censor.net.ua , In Ukrainian / на українській мові