Ukraine crisis. News in brief. Saturday 6 May. [Ukrainian sources]

SATURDAY

Please scroll to view news items added during the day.

NEWS:
Ukraine gets help to ensure the information security of the United States, Britain and NATO. US pays special attention to the judicial reform in Ukraine. Member anti-Maidan Odess, a Russian nationalist Rajewski accused the Kremlin of deliberately provoking the tragedy on 2 May.  At the Odesa region of the unknown demolished Lenin monument.  Russia will not carry out the decision of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers of Crimea.  Gabriel and Lavrov discussed by telephone the situation in the Donbas.  Donbas is now 4 thousand Russian regular troops, not counting mercenaries.  SBU for 5 years has banned entry to Ukraine American actor Steven Seagal. Russian border guards attempted to seize Ukrainian cutter near Crimea. Ukrainian passenger ship and barge collided on Danube in Hungary.

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Sailors say that this is the second collision of "Irkutsk" with "Moldavia".

Two ships belonging to the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company collided on the Danube River in Hungary on May 5, Censor.NET reports citing Dumskaya.

''Irkutsk'' cargo ship piled on the left side of "Moldavia" passenger ship.



According to the deputy chairman of the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company board Oleksandr Harmash, "Moldavia" was damaged. A bulwark, portholes of the four cabins, bollards and mooring stop were damaged and a walking deck collapsed. The ship will be repaired at OSWAG shipyards in Austrian Linz.

No environment pollution, leakage of hulls and casualties are reported. Hungarian authorities investigate the incident.



Sailors say that this is the second collision of "Irkutsk" and "Moldavia". The first occurred in the early 2000s in the vicinity of Reni.

ua.censor.net.ua , Original in Ukrainian / на українській мові

Ukrainian sailors recorded a capture attempt.

Russian border guards attempted to capture Ukrainian cutter at the coast of Crimea annexed by Russia, Censor.NET reports citing Krym.Realii.

On May 5, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) Border Agency announced that a boat flying Ukrainian flag was banned to enter the Russian territorial waters on April 23. Russians claimed a boat crew had been photographing and videotaping Russian ships.

On April 24, the Russian ship attempted to capture Ukrainian rescue boat during routine drills by the rescuers of the Rescue Service in the Black Sea, in the vicinity of Skadovsk.

The team of the Ukrainian rescue boat refused to comply, claiming that the boat is in the territorial waters of Ukraine. The the ship headed for Skadovsk.

Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Volodymyr Omelian announced to reward the crew of the rescue boat, which did not allow the seizure of the ship in the Black Sea.

en.censor.net.ua , Original in Ukrainian / на українській мові

Ukrainian Navy's marines participated in the ''Platinum Eagle-2017-2'' multinational drills held as part of the "Black Sea region rotational forces-2017."

Censor.NET reports citing the Defense Ministry press service.

The drills were held at the Babadag military training camp (Romania) for two weeks. The main goal was to acquire the skills of joint actions of military personnel in a multinational unit in accordance with NATO standards.

The participants of the training worked out the basics of tactics, defensive and offensive operations, raiding operations, and patrol technique.



censor.net.ua , Original in Russian / На русском

An active participant in the Odesa anti-Maidan Russian nationalist Anton Rajewski accused the Kremlin of deliberately provoking the tragedy of May 2, 2014 in Odessa.

As the Tsenzor.NET , he writes about this "IV of power" .

Russian citizen Anton Rajewski, who in the spring of 2014 was an active member of the Odesa anti-Maidan and a member of the separatist organization "Odesa squad," confirmed that Russia did awhile financed separatist movement in Odesa, but at some point, "merged" protest and the actions provoked the tragedy of 2 in May, as the Kremlin were required "ritual sacrifice" in Ukraine.



Regarding this Rajewski wrote on his page on the social network

, "the Kremlin leaked Odesa, although before that for a long time was in charge of the activities of pro-Russian groups All activities Odesa anti-Maidan was a sham fight Odesa had the role of ritual sacrifice to the outbreak of the war.." , - wrote Rajewski .

Look at the "Tsenzor.NET: . SBU detained in Pokrovsk a local resident, who was commissioned by militants desecrate monuments and tore Ukrainian flags VIDEO

He also said that in early spring Moscow sponsored activities Odessa separatists, but in late April, some of the leaders of the Odessa anti-Maidan left Odesa, and then stopped funding

"in late April, Odesa, left the head of" Odesa Druzhiny "Dmitriy Odinov, he's Maydannik ( real name - Ed. .. ) and his deputy, who was involved almost exclusively inf ormatsionnym lighting and propaganda, Denis Yatsyuk. It was then that Moscow has ceased to finance the activities of "Odesa Druzhiny", which included a number of public organizations, such as the nationalist pro-Russian neo-pagan organization "Slavic Unity", the head of which was mentioned by me, Dmitry Maydannik " - said Rajewski. Rajewski on the background of the Trade Unions House in Odesa .

Russian nationalists, who arrived in the spring of 2014, the Odesa from Eagle to participate in the separatist movement, also said that some leaders of the Odesa anti-Maidan were provocateurs and passed his associates Ukrainian special services. "When Maydannik flew to Odessa from Moscow (!!!) On May 2, the SBU was arrested. It was passed Maydannik SBU Sergey Dolzhenkova, after which he was released and free to leave the territory of Ukraine. It Maydannik merged Dorogokuptsa and not only him" , - said Rajewski. In addition, he confirmed the presence in the annexed Crimea special camps, which are trained Russian fighters to throw the territory of Ukraine.

After the defeat of the pro-Russian groups in Odesa, Rajewski went to Donetsk region, where he joined the militia Russian saboteur Igorya Strelkova and participated in the fighting against the APU. His photographs are in 2014 became widely known in the network, thanks to a specific tattoo Russian.



ua.censor.net.ua, Original in Ukrainian / на українській мові

The leader of the terrorists, "DNR" Alexander Zakharchenko said that his great-grandmother was a prisoner in a concentration camp "Reykjavik".

As the Tsenzor.NET video with the corresponding passage in the briefing Zakharchenko appeared on the network.

In particular, the leader of the militants, said his grandmother "in the 41st was captured, held Buchenwald, Auschwitz, Reykjavik. Reykjavik was liberated by the Americans."

In Russian


Note Reykjavik - Iceland's capital. On the territory of this country's concentration camps never existed, but the US military did not release her. In social networks suggest that Zakharchenko could mean a concentration camp for women "Ravensbrück", which is 90 km from Berlin.

ua.censor.net.ua, Original in Ukrainian / на українській мові

United States pay special attention to the judicial reform in Ukraine, in particular, the establishment of specialized anti-corruption court.

This was stated by US Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch in Ukraine, reports Tsenzor.NET citing ZN.UA .

"We are working with all parties to the formation of the Supreme Court Separately, we highlight one important reform -.. The creation of an anti-corruption court in Ukraine After the country already has independent detectives and prosecutors, but to provide results that want to Ukrainian citizens need more and an independent judiciary." - said the diplomat.

Jovanovic also spoke about the US contribution to the establishment of anti-corruption mechanisms and institutions in Ukraine: the system of public procurement Prozorro was launched with the support of Washington, as well as formed national Anti-corruption Bureau, Specialized Anti-corruption prosecutor's Office and the national agency for prevention of corruption.

Speaking about the importance of judicial reform, Jovanovic has tied its success with the help of foreign investment.

"Reforms in the justice sector critically important both for the Ukrainians, who want fair treatment from the judges, as well as for foreign investors - when business disputes reach this", - said the US diplomat.

censor.net.ua , Original in Russian / На русском

In the village Calm Zakhar'evskii district of Odessa region of the demolished Lenin monument.

Unknown persons demolished the upper part of the monument, which stands near the railway station of the village, according to Tsenzor.NET citing " Deliberation ".

Why local authorities are not removed before the statue, as required by law dekommunizatsionnoe unknown.




ua.censor.net.ua , Original in Ukrainian / на українській мові

Ukraine receives technical and financial support to ensure the information security of the United States, Britain and NATO structures.

This was announced on the air " 112 Ukraine " Minister of Information Policy Yuriy Stets transmits Tsenzor.NET .

"There is some support for the program, with regard to information security of Ukraine, from the outside, such as NATO or the representative countries, including the United States. This includes financial support. Now set the TV tower in the Luhansk region, which is the technical assistance that we gave the United States. That has this tower is built in the USA, transported to Ukraine, and now there it is set, "- said Stets.

Look at the "Tsenzor.NET: Modern development of the national broadcast signal will allow the manufacturer Ukrainian radio and television for the demarcation line - VIDEO Turchinov.

Financial and technical assistance in the information security of Ukraine provides a number of countries.

" There are many others, including financial and technical assistance we have representatives of the uS government, I'm talking exclusively about information security, Britain, for example, a structure such as NATO ", - said the Minister.

ua.censor.net.ua , Original in Ukrainian / на українській мові

Russian Federation refuses to comply with a decision of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers of Crimea.

This is stated in a statement the press service of the Russian Foreign Ministry, reports Tsenzor.NET .

"The Russian Federation does not consider itself bound by this decision and the Committee of Ministers does not consider it legitimate to use it by the Ukrainian side in its future promotional constructions", - stated in it.

It is also noted that Russia considers this decision is politically and legally null and void, since it was not adopted by consensus.

In addition, Russia has submitted a draft decision of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers to support the "Minsk process" and violations of human rights in Ukraine and hopes their substantive discussion at the next committee meeting.

We remind the Committee of Ministers called for full implementation of the UN General Assembly resolution on human rights in the Crimea.

ua.censor.net.ua , Original in Ukrainian / на українській мові

Russia and Germany are ready for cooperation in the framework of the "Norman format" in order to stabilize the situation in the Donbas.

This is stated in a statement the press service of the Russian Foreign Ministry on the results of a telephone conversation between Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany, Sigmar Gabriel, transfers Tsenzor.NET .

The conversation was initiated by the German side.

Ministers reaffirmed their readiness to continue close cooperation in the framework of the "Norman format" for an early settlement of the conflict in Ukraine based on the full implementation by the parties of the Minsk agreements. It stressed the need to ensure a sustainable cease-fire, the creation of security zones and withdrawal of heavy weapons.

The Russian side insists on the parallel advancement in the implementation of the political sections of the Minsk agreements. Lavrov also called for the removal of "trade and economic and transport blockade".

ua.censor.net.ua , Original in Ukrainian / на українській мові

Due to the drawing against the war in Ukraine in St. Petersburg foiled an anti-war action "Children are painting the world."

Reported Tsenzor.NET citing Radio Liberty .

On the morning of May 5 activists have established a cube with children's drawings near the "Pioneer" metro station, were subjected to a series of attacks by members of pro-Kremlin "National Liberation Movement" (GCD) and local traders. The activists called the police, but the attackers managed to break the cube, and then took all its parts and other props and action was taken to an unknown destination.

According to one of the organizers - the activists of the St. Petersburg branch of the movement" Solidarity "Olga Smirnova - yesterday at the venue of the shares representative of the Primorsky district administration came According to the official, it is not. guessed that among the props shares will be children's drawings against the war in Ukraine According to Smirnov, the district administration is behind the attack GCD..

The activist also believes that the main factor of irritation was the inscription on one of the sides of a cube:" Forgive us, Ukraine, "which was intended to remind the citizens of Russia responsibility for the conflict in Ukraine!.

ua.censor.net.ua , Original in Ukrainian / на українській мові

David Frum is a senior editor at the Atlantic magazine. He is a former speechwriter to former US President George Bush.

Frum is a conservative Republican, who before the last US presidential elections endorsed Hillary Clinton and is a strong critic of Donald Trump. Frum is well acquainted with life behind the scenes of the White House and in American politics.

Hromadske’s Nataliya Gumenyuk had a chance to talk to him and asked about the significance of Paul Manafort’s Ukraine connections for the US inner circle as well how to interpret conflicting orders in  Trump's foreign policy and what Europe and Eastern Europe in particular can expect from the US administration.



From Ukraine it looks like something big, but looking at how long he was Trump’s campaign manager for, it was pretty short term. So to what extent could he really influence Trump? Does he have any real impact or connections?

The Trump campaign is full of secrets. There are all kinds of strange people, who became close to the campaign, who had very strange ties to Putin’s Russia. One by one, those people are being pushed out of government. The most important was Michael Flynn, who was briefly National Security adviser. But there is this enduring mystery with the Donald Trump connection to Russia. Obviously, it’s very infatuated with Putin and the Russian political system. We don’t know why that is. Maybe, he sincerely admires Putin, maybe it’s something financial, maybe it’s something else. Paul Manafort looks like a key to unlock that mystery, and Manafort may soon be in trouble with the law. If he didn’t pay taxes on Ukrainian money – we don’t know that he didn’t – he could be in trouble in the law, and then he will have things to say.

What do  we really know about the Trump-Russia connections at the moment? There has been a lot of talk about this, and in the end, you  don’t really know what is real and what is not. Maybe Trump likes the way Putin runs Russia. But the question is always, if there was something serious, why can’t anyone, including US journalists and intelligence, find anything more substantial?

There is a famous detective story in English called ‘The Purloined Letter’, in which police search a man’s office looking for a letter and they never find it, and the reason is because he left it on the middle of his desk. That’s the one place they never thought to look. Everything we need to know about Trump and Russia, - well, not everything you need t0 know - so much of what is important is there in  plain sight. We’ve known it all along. What we have seen is Donald Trump’s enthusiastic admiration for Putin. That  is no secret. That he recruited for key positions in his campaign, people who admire Putin and were close to the Russians, and had  proper financial connections to Russia. Michael Flynn, who used to be National Security adviser took money, not only from RT media, but also from a number of other Russian companies. It’s not an enormous sum of money by Manafort standards, but enough for a man, who is in financial trouble - as he was - a few tens of thousands maybe, a hundred thousand. It mattered at that time for him, and other people too. We know all that. We know that Donald Trump campaigned about Wikileaks, and he constantly used Wikileaks as a weapon against Hillary Clinton, and he would praise them, at the time when everybody understood that Wikileaks had an improper connection to Russian intelligence work. Everybody knew that. That’s the whole story. Maybe there are some dramatic secrets, but i don’t know what is the thing people are looking for. It’s almost impossible to prove, with any human being, to a person that someone did an action for a specified reason. We never know exactly why people do things, but we see what they did.

What do you understand of the meeting of the State Secretary Tillerson with Russia? Because he says things that you would more or less expect from a Republican government, not including the recent meeting with Lavrov. He sounds critical enough, despite all the concerns. So somehow, when you talk to people from the Republican party, policy makers, analysts, they say, “you see, it’s not so bad we were expecting the worse”.

What we can see – and once again, this is not a claim here – you have giant demonstrations in Moscow, hundreds  of people arrested, suppression of the press. In the USA there is nothing to say about it, it’s not a comfort word, and not any indication the Russian government would be well advised not to use violence and, in particular, we have our eye on certain people, who represent opposition political force in Russia and it’s really important that people continue being in good health. That’s the kind of thing that the Germans, the British say, but the US say it louder than everybody else. Under a normal press, under George Bush and Barack Obama, the US would have said, “we care about Mr. Navalny’s health”. That’s important to us, and they didn’t do that.There may not be some big secret here, there may not be some dossier, because after all, after the recent Turkish referendum, in which the last Turkish democracy was snuffed out, Trump made a call of congratulations to Erdogan. Maybe he just instinctively sympathises with authoritarian rulers, and maybe he doesn’t need more of an explanation than that.



Access complete text of the editorial:  en.hromadske.ua In English

SBU for five years prohibited American actor Steven Seagal enter Ukraine.

As reported Tsenzor.NET , stated in response to a request special services " apostrophe ".

"Using h. 1 Art. 13 of the Law of Ukraine" On Legal Status of Foreigners and Stateless Persons "and Art. 7 of the Law of Ukraine" On the Fundamentals of National Security of Ukraine ", the Security Service of Ukraine adopted a decision to ban travel to Ukraine said person for 5 years ", - stressed in the SBU.

Also, the publication publishes a document provided by the SBU. Read on "Tsenzor.NET": SBU banned enter Ukraine Russian TV Barnabas - Gitlyanskaya Recall In 2014, the actor appeared in the Crimea on the background of flags of the terrorists so-called "DNR". In November 2016 Segal received Russian citizenship.



ua.censor.net.ua , Original in Ukrainian / на українській мові

The occupied Donbas is now up to 4 thousand. Russian military, excluding mercenaries fighting for money.

This was in the air " 112 Ukraine ", said the head of the Donetsk regional military and civil administration Paul Zhebrivskyi transmits Tsenzor.NET .

"According to our estimates, the Russian regular army of 3-4 thousand. Man, not to mention the mercenaries who work for money there. After the siege, after the mines were closed, for example, in Makeyevka worked 10 mines, today no one mine does not work ... because of this, many do not have the choice, and some of them went to the illegal armed groups, because only pay at the IAF.

Literally Debalcevo razg ovarival, there are also forced to work on the railway, unloading diesel fuel, weapons, and not pay for it for 4 months, and people say that they have to go. Today there are issues with the local militants, who sometimes listen to their supervisors, and sometimes do not listen . Unfortunately, many of them Russian taught to fight, and today they shoot enough sighting of Ukrainian soldiers, "- said Zhebrivskyi.

According to him, in the ATO zone decreased the number of attacks, but improved their accuracy.

"But on the other side about, according to our estimates, 2.5-3 times the number of dead and injured more than our part", - he added.

ua.censor.net.ua, Original in Ukrainian / на українській мові

Press Gallery Committee of the US Congress refused to issue a permanent press pass representative of Russian state media Sputnik. Reported publication Politico .

As the official representative of the press gallery committee Justin Wilson, a member of the gallery can not be journalists whose work covered by the state.

According to him, the Russian news agency Sputnik may appeal the decision. Representative agency in Washington is Andrew Feinberg.

Under the rules of the press gallery journalists accredited to act as one's agent, be used by any State or local authorities.

Accreditation in the US Congress is also space in the White House and the US Supreme Court.

Recall, April 24, it became known that the headquarters of the presidential candidate of France Emmanuel macron refused to accredit the Russian propaganda channels Sputnik, RT, and videoahentstvu Ruptly.

apostrophe.ua, Original in Ukrainian / на українській мові

Promoter of the Russian Sputnik Agency denied accreditation to work in the US Senate

It is reported by Deutsche Welle .

The press service of the Senate said that accredited media can not "act as agents or be employed by federal, local or foreign governments or their representatives." The department stressed that no news service funded by a State, can not work in the Senate.

Sputnik Agency special correspondent in Washington, Andrew Feinberg promised to turn to a lawyer who specializes in freedom of speech. Feinberg said the decision of the Senate press gallery "the most absurd thing which ever encountered in decades of work as a journalist in Washington."

Earlier, propagandists and Russia Today Russian Sputnik repeatedly denied accreditation in the election headquarters of the presidential candidate of France Emmanuel macron.

espreso.tv, Original in Ukrainian / на українській мові

Russians are doomed to phantom obsession with the Nazis, while their country is not able to compete with the modern world. This writes the publisher of magazines Business Ukraine and Lviv Today Peter Dickinson in the article "Why the Kremlin is so obsessed with the phantom fascists?" for The Atlantic Council - the US non-governmental organization providing the ideology of NATO. Edition of "Gordon" with the permission of The Atlantic Council publishes a translation of an article without cuts.

In April, it was reported that the Kremlin is planning to hold a massive smear campaign against Russian opposition figurehead Alekseya Navalnogo. After a few days on YouTube anonymously out expensive video attack in the video compared Navalny and Adolf Hitler. Russian authorities denied any connection with the video, but few believed them. In the end, branding opponents as the Nazis is a proprietary Kremlin tactics and has been going on for several decades.

Kremlin officials enthusiastically play the Nazi card against any opposition since the height of the Cold War. When the Hungarians revolted against Soviet occupation in 1956, Moscow condemned the uprising as a "fascist rebellion" before sending to their tanks. The same thing happened during the Prague Spring of 1968. Communist Party officials even called the Berlin Wall "Anti-fascist protective wall".

This tendency has survived after the Soviet collapse and continues today. When Estonia in 2007, tried to carry in the center of Tallinn,  a Soviet  monument dedicated to World War II, the Kremlin's media have fallen into a frenzy over the "Fascist Estonia", sparking riots among the large ethnic Russian population in Estonia. Within days, Russia has launched the world's first full-fledged cyber war against the tiny Baltic state. This hybrid attack, contained misinformation and cyber elements along with the Nazi motives to stir up ethnic Russian minority, were ominous harbinger of things to come.



The most notorious Kremlin accusations of fascism traditionally intended Ukraine. It did not begin in 2013 with the negative coverage in Russia euromaidan protests; ever since the Second World War, Moscow is trying to portray the movement for the independence of Ukraine as practically indistinguishable from Nazism. These efforts are generally stressed the cooperation of various Ukrainian independence leaders with the Nazis during the war and at the same time whitewashed Soviet alliance with Hitler in the years 1939-1941.

In the post-Soviet period, the Kremlin's media began to actively call Ukrainians by the Nazis in 2004. While Viktor Yushchenko ran for president as a reformer who promised Ukraine's movement towards the EU. Since the theme of "fascist Ukraine" remains constant feature of Russian propaganda, which became the cornerstone of the Kremlin's efforts to discredit euromaidan and justify Russia's invasion of Crimea and eastern Ukraine. Nor miserable failure of the extreme right-wing political parties in Ukraine at the next election after euromaidan or appointment of a Jewish prime minister has not been sufficient to expose these insults. Just Russia has no other explanation for the loss of another friend and ally.

Why the Kremlin so obsessed with the phantom fascists? This may be more of a necessity than a choice. In the battle of "soft power" - the battle of ideas that determine the international dominance of today, Russia is practically unarmed. She has no intelligible ideology to oppose its relative rights and freedoms of democracies. Simply do not have the answer to higher standards and life expectancy, greater protection offered by the Western model. Playing the Nazi card and evoking the ghosts of the Second World War, the Kremlin is trying to distract the audience from the inside of the egregious flaws, while claiming the moral high position.

Russians of all ages is difficult to resist this approach. The fight against Hitler, and today continues to be an exceptional emotional response to the Russians, who consider themselves the state - the successor of the Soviet Union and its 27 million dead in World War II. Putin has skillfully used the Russian sensitivity. He made the annual celebration of the Victory Day, the central element of the Kremlin's calendar, making the triumph of the Red Army over Nazi Germany in the fundamental myth of the modern Russian state. Once a grim celebration devoted to mourning for fallen comrades and lost loved ones - Victory Day became a whole season jingoistic excesses new annual public rites on the background of the cult of victory, superior to all the species in the Soviet times.

Emphasis on the defeat of Nazi Germany's secret of modern Russia lacks and at the same time overshadows the horrors of the Stalinist regime and Soviet crimes against humanity are often written off as a necessary prelude to the military achievements. To question any aspect of this narrative akin to heresy. This sacred status makes WWII unique powerful propaganda weapon against anti-Kremlin dissidents. In this context, the glorification of the Red Army and the demonization of opponents as the Nazis - the two sides of the same coin. Sympathize with "fascists" - an insult to the memory of those who gave their lives to defeat Hitler. This is not just a crime, it is - sin. This is not a particularly rational argument, but he is emotionally explosive, when backed by all the power of the Kremlin's media machines.

There are some signs that this form of emotional blackmail may finally lose its power. For example, videoataka Navalny has disappeared from YouTube after several days of mass ridicule. She was not able to attack the young Russians, who are trying to influence. Nevertheless, it is still too early to say that Russia has reached "peak of fascism." The Kremlin has no alternative message across, capable to charge domestic audience as it makes World War II. In the absence of recent national achievements of Hitler's defeat, it seems, will continue to be the guiding star of the Putin government in the foreseeable future. As a result, the Russian public seems doomed to phantom obsession with the Nazis, while the country will not be able to compete with the modern world.

gordonua.com, Original in Russian / На русском