Ukraine News in brief. Tuesday 24 October. [Ukrainian sources]

TUESDAY

TODAY'S HEADLINES:
In the USA, a scandal around one of the Russian consulates broke out.  Pussy Riot in New York spoke for the freedom of Ukrainian political prisoner Sentsov.  Washington Post has published a poster calling for the next step in US military support to Ukraine.  The initiator of the "Magnitsky Law" resumed permission to enter the United States.  By the end of the year, Ukraine and the US plan to conduct an observation flight over the territory of the Russian Federation.  NATO will create two new structures in the event of a conflict with Russia.  Banner in support of Sentsov hung in the Trump Tower in New York.  Saakashvili denied refugee status and faces extradition.  American secret services have joined the fight against smuggling in the port of Odesa.  "From the point of view of international law, the Crimea is the Ukrainian point" - Sobchak.  People behind rally in Kyiv receive money from abroad.  In Russia, a soldier shot four fellow soldiers. Russian propagandist spoke about who he wants to fight from Crimea.

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The United States handed over to the Russian embassy in Washington the archives of a previously closed Russian Consulate General in San Francisco.

This Russian diplomacy reported on the Facebook page.

"The American authorities did not give us access to the building of the Consulate General of Russia in San Francisco, closed by their decision of September 2 to export the consular archives, instead they packed it on their own and took it to Washington." This was done contrary to the repeated protests by the Foreign Ministry of Russia and the Russian embassy in the United States. On October 23, the archive was transferred to the embassy, ​​"the statement said.





The embassy reminded that consular archives and documents are "untouchable at any time and regardless of their location."

apostrophe.ua , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

Participants of the Russian Pussy Riot Theater held a rally in support of a Ukrainian convict in Russia, Oleg Sentsov, in the Trump Tower in New York.

One of the participants of the Mariya Alekhina group reported this.

On stained sheets, they wrote "Free Sentsov" and lowered the inscription on the floors inside the tower.

"In those days that we were in New York, we met with cool activists who knew about Sentsov and realized that if we do one thing, then there are no boundaries between us. We must continue to talk about Sentsov's and Kolchenko's case, "Alekhina wrote in Facebook.



TRANSLATION:
We were in favour of Oleg Sentsov today.

Trump Tower, New York, made stéplerom sheets.

In the days that we're in New York, we met with the cool activists who know about the sentsov and realized that if we do one thing, there are no boundaries between us. We have to keep talking about case and kolchenko.

The Tower after our sign has been taken down by the police for half an hour, but the coolest moment of course is the guards transmission to each other about the sign: "free sentsov"- text

Freedom

According to her, after this action, the police blocked the tower for half an hour.

In August, participants in Pussy Riot after the action in support of the political prisoner Sentsov were detained in Russia .

Recall that in August 2015, the court in Russia recognized Oleg Sentsov and Alexander Kolchenko guilti of establishing a terrorist organization in Crimea, committing two terrorist attacks and preparing another one, as well as attempting to purchase explosive devices and illegal possession of weapons.

Sentsov was sentenced to 20 years of colony, Kolchenko to 10 years imprisonment.

hromadske.ua  , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

The Central American publication The Washington Post, on the initiative of the Embassy of Ukraine in the United States, posted on its pages a large poster calling for "the next step" in the military support of Ukraine, which protects the security of the whole of Europe.

The publication was published in the printed version of more than half a million copies, as well as in the form of an electronic mailing list to 775 thousand recipients, reports Tsensor. NET with reference to Ukrinform.

"Ukraine is able to keep its defense against Russian aggression in the eastern region of the Donbas, but the price is high: more than 10 thousand Ukrainian soldiers were killed and wounded. Violence continues, this threat to the Ukrainian people and the security of Europe must be stopped," - it is noted in the illustrated text .

It is noted that now Ukraine spends 5.6% of GDP on security and defense. Eight Ukrainian battalions have reached NATO-compatible standards; The United States put counterbalanced radar; American instructors conducted trainings for more than 4,000 Ukrainian servicemen - and this allowed us to save many lives in Ukraine.

"US military support to this day was vital for Ukraine's defense, and Ukraine is ready for the next step," the report says.




Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States Valery Chalyi in his comments on this subject noted that the announced message "absolutely transparent". He informs about the achievements of the Ukrainian Army, the real benefits of US assistance and the level of bilateral cooperation between America and Ukraine in the military-technical sphere.

"We are waiting for the next step, and I very much hope that such a step will be made," Chalia said.

He also noted that such publications, of course, have their own influence.

"I saw a newspaper that is open on this page in some very important offices in the United States, which means that they have definitely paid attention to it," the Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States:

ua.censor.net.ua , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

The head of Hermitage Capital, the initiator of the Magnitogean Act, William Browder, has been reinstated for entry into the United States.

This was reported by Browder himself.

GREAT NEWS! My ESTA (US visa waiver) was restored. I successfully checked into a US flight. Now we need to fix bogus Interpol arrest warrant

— Bill Browder (@Billbrowder) October 23, 2017

He said he successfully signed up for a flight to the United States.

"Now we need to fix the situation with the false order of Interpol to arrest," - added Browder.

On the eve of the US government canceled a British businessman, William Browder after Russia brought him to the Interpol base.

Former US ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, described the situation as "shocking" and urged US President Donald Trump and the State Department to "not join Putin's campaign against Browder."

On October 22, it became known that Russia, from the fifth attempt, was able to make William Browder on the Interpol list. The Russian authorities accuse him of financial malpractice and tax evasion. He was arrested in absentia.

Browder himself is convinced that his persecution is connected with the case of the death in November 2009 at the Moscow SIZO of the lawyer of Hermitage Capital Sergei Magnitsky, who revealed a scheme of large-scale thefts from the Russian budget.

Browder was one of the initiators of the adoption in the United States of the "Magnet Law".

The document was approved by the US Congress at the end of 2012. It provides for visa and economic sanctions against Russians involved in Washington's views of human rights violations.

By "Magnitsky Act", Canada has also joined  for what the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, called the actions of Ottawa unconstructive political games. According to him, this topic is used in the West to "inflate anti-Russian hysteria".

In February 2017, a law similar to the "Magnificent Act" was  endorsed in Britain.

hromadske.ua , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

By the end of this year, Ukraine and the USA intend to conduct an observation flight over the territory of Russia to control its military activities.

As informs Tsensor.NET with reference to Interfax-Ukraine , the Head of the Verification Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Andriy Gudz told a briefing in Kiev on Tuesday.

"This year, Ukraine managed to conduct a joint observation flight with Canada, the United States and Sweden over the territory of the Russian Federation, by the end of the year, planning another observation flight with the United States of America," he said.

According to him, according to the agreement on the open sky, Russia has enough time to disguise troops and military equipment.

ua.censor.net.ua , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

North Atlantic Alliance plans to create two new command structures against the backdrop of worsening relations with Russia

This is reported by The Wall Street Journal with reference to sources.

Thus, it is envisaged to improve the logistics of the Allies and the protection of supply lines and remove the weaknesses in the event of a conflict with Russia.

The Ministers of Defense of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization will consider creating new command structures at a quarterly meeting in November.

One of the new structures will provide for the accelerated movement of people and equipment, while the other will focus on protecting the sea routes in the Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean from hostile submarines that are critical to Europe's supply to Europe.

The amount of funding for new structures in the Alliance has not yet been decided.

espreso.tv , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

Ukraine’s State Migration Service has denied refugee status to the former President of Georgia, former head of Odesa region administration Mikheil Saakashvili. After the verdict, he can be extradited or deported from the Ukrainian territory under legal basis.

Yurii Lutsenko, Ukraine's Prosecutor General, has commented on the decision, Censor.NET reports citing Interfax-Ukraine.

"If previously I used to say that Saakashvili has a status that makes it impossible to deport or extradite him anyway, now that the migration service denied him the refugee status Mr. Saakashvili, as usually, did not appealed the verdict in court," Lutsenko said.

He stressed that "there are no longer special conditions" that can prevent from deportation or extradition of Saakashvili.

As reported, Saakashvili decided to enter Ukraine on Sept. 10 by train to avoid turmoil at the Krakovets border crossing point. Intercity train from Przemysl to Kyiv was supposed to leave at 1:07 p.m. but was delayed for several hours. Some sources reported the train was delayed by law enforcers, but police soon disproved the reports. In its turn, Ukraine's major railway carrier Ukrzaliznytsia explained the delay in schedule by presence of a person on board who had no grounds to enter Ukraine.

Saakashvili subsequently arrived at Shehyni border crossing point where his supporters breached across the Ukrainian border and brought the politician and his delegation onto territory of Ukraine.

On July 26, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko signed a decree that deprived former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, leader of Rukh Novykh Syl party, of his Ukrainian citizenship.

On Sept. 5, Deputy Justice Minister for European Integration Serhii Petukhov announced that the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine received a request from the Georgian Prosecutor General's Office to arrest and extradite former Georgian President, former head of the Odesa region administration Mikheil Saakashvili.

ua.censor.net.ua , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

A special port group of the State fiscal service will fight with the smuggling of the Odesa port.

This was stated in an interview with "Business Capital" dd. Director of the department for counteracting customs offenses DFS Vasyl Poise.

The staff members of the port group will be trained by the instructors of the US Customs and Border Guard Service.

"The US is ready to provide financing and specialist specialist investigations specialists who will train our employees to carry out in-depth analysis of cargo, containers that arrive at ports, and their experts have already trained 20 of our employees who will be part of the port group, which will start such a team in the port of Odessa At the end of October-November, we want to extend the work of this group to the Boryspil airport, "- said Vasyl Poise.

He emphasized that the active interaction of customs officers with foreign colleagues already brings results.

"In October, thanks to cooperation with the customs authorities of Germany and Lithuania, the fact of unlawful import of more than 1100 mobile phones worth 21.5 million hryvnias, as well as accessories to them, is revealed." Our department's interaction with the customs authorities of Turkey is very effective, "Vasyl Poizd said.

According to him, in the past two months, the fight against smuggling has increased the budget revenues by UAH 1.4 billion.

"In August, the Customs Code of Mykolaiv established the fact of replacing the goods code in order to exempt from taxation. The tanker, who came from Iran, took 17 thousand tons." Instead of the declared "gas condensate", in fact, it transported gasoline that was subject to excise tax. The amount of tax deficits was 207 UAH million We have drawn up a protocol for a total amount of more than UAH 600 million (a fine of 300% is foreseen). There are ongoing litigation", - reported the acting. director of the DFS department.

Vasyl Poise noted that the intensification of the fight against smuggling provoked the appearance of waves of fake custom materials in the media.

"All this comes from the people we have started to block their schemes and the possibility of illegal import of goods - clothes, footwear, fabrics - in the last few months. Smugglers and the people I'm talking about want to see in this post a more loyal person, more moderate than me We are constantly scrutinizing the list of risky businesses operating in the region and seeing that some of them are starting to come up with " black th "import into a" gray "plane, gradually increasing customs payments.I can see that our work yields the result.We have pressed them in Odessa, and they begin to manifest themselves in the Dnieper.We see their risk areas - where the re-sort of goods where non-typical packaging ,

As reported, according to DFS, from the beginning of the year to September Odessa customs has transferred to the state budget more than 15 billion 600 million UAH.

ua.censor.net.ua , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

Prosecutor General of Ukraine Yurii Lutsenko believes the participants of the rally near the Verkhovna Rada are preparing a coup while the event is being financed from abroad.

Censor.NET reports citing Interfax-Ukraine.

"The right to peaceful protest does not provide for the preparation for a coup being orchestrated by a small group of about 150-200 people who, having proclaimed themselves the only righteous, require the state to meet only their demands. They are funded from abroad, and some day I will prove it," he said Tuesday at a meeting of the Regional Development Council in Kyiv.

ua.censor.net.ua , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

Leader Ksenia Sobchak, who announced her intention to run for president in Russia last week, clarified her position regarding the Crimea.

As informs Tsensor.NET, this is reported by the channel "Rain".



She stated that from the point of view of international law, the peninsula is under the jurisdiction of Ukraine.

"I answer directly what I think I will not avoid. From the point of view of international law, Crimea is Ukrainian." The point, then, we will talk, "Sobchak said.

She also urged everyone to discuss this issue.

Crimea became part of Russia in 2014 on the basis of a referendum among the inhabitants of the peninsula. Most of them spoke in favor of joining Russia. The results of the vote are not recognized by Ukraine and most countries of the world. The authorities of Ukraine consider the peninsula to be a "temporarily occupied territory".

ua.censor.net.ua , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

Attorney General of Ukraine Yuriy Lutsenko declares that the participants of the rally near the Verkhovna Rada are preparing a coup d'etat in the country and are financed from abroad.

Reported Tsenzor.NET referring to "Interfax-Ukraine".

"The right to peaceful protest does not mean preparation for a coup d'état, which a small group of people, about 150-200 people, who, proclaiming themselves the only righteous people, have demanded from the state to do just what they want, with the support of finances from abroad - and at one time I will prove it - they are financed from abroad", - he said during a meeting of the Council for Regional Development in Kiev on Tuesday.

ua.censor.net.ua , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

In the evening of October 23, in Chechnya, a serviceman of Rosgvardiy shot four of his fellow soldiers in a barracks.

Russian media reported citing the press service of the National Guard of the Russian Federation.

The incident occurred around 16:00 in the military part of the village of Shelkovsky Chechen Republic. A serviceman, who was in the rank of senior lieutenant, opened fire on his comrades, resulting in four of them died. Everything happened in the barracks.

The arrow itself was liquidated by another unit.

It is reported that a special commission has been sent to the place of the event, which includes officers of the Military and Military Service, officers and specialist personnel and military psychologists. They should find out the circumstances and reasons for the event.

In September, a similar incident occurred in the Amur region of Russia, where an officer killed an officer and two soldiers.

apostrophe.ua , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

The military bases in the occupied Crimea are necessary for Russia to ensure the rule of its fleet in the Black Sea. Thus, these troops will be counterbalanced by the US Navy, located in the Mediterranean Sea.

This was stated by the editor-in-chief of the Russian newspaper "Zavtra", propagandist Alexander Prokhanov on the air of one of the broadcasts on the TV channel "Russia 1". According to him, Russia has launched two large projects: "Arctic" and "Southern".

"Russia's first project is Arctic, we are creating a new Russian civilization in the North, covering the North Pole's breakthrough that has been formed since 1991. We will put defense structures, radars, air defense armies that will meet the B-52 above the pole there. This is the first huge project"- said the propagandist Alexander Prokhanov.

He further noted that the second project is called "Southern" and is associated with the occupied Crimea and Sevastopol.

"The Crimea (occupied by the Russian Federation - the apostrophe), Sevastopol, the fleet and domination in the Black Sea, also need bases on the coast of Syria and the possibility of creating squadrons that will counteract the sixth fleet (US Sixth Fleet - US Navy Operational Fleet , deployed in the Mediterranean Sea - ed.)", - said Prokhanov.

apostrophe.ua , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою