Ukraine News in brief. Wednesday 25 October. [Ukrainian sources]

WEDNESDAY

TODAY'S HEADLINES:
A scandal surrounding the kidnapping of Kaspersky's US secret data.  The US Congress began investigating the sale of uranium to Russia.  Russia has become the number one country for delivering terrorists to the IS.  Putin reacted to Sotchak's statement regarding the non-recognition of Crimea by the Russian Federation.  in Russia they were told about the growing discontent with Putin in his environment. In Russia, after the brutal attack, the opposition activist died: photos and details. Saakashvili informed about the receipt of documents on deprivation of citizenship. Erdogan hinted at the prompt release of Umerov and Chiogoz in Kyiv. Donbas becoming one of the most mined areas in the world, - UN. Russia intends exchanging kidnapped Ukrainian border guards for FSB officers. ISIL claims capture in the battle of the Russian tank T-90A. Steinmeier: Conflict in the Donbas - one of the main stumbling blocks between Germany and Russia.

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Eugene Kaspersky, the head of the Kaspersky Lab team, admitted that his antivirus automated collection of secret data from computers from US government departments.

It is reported by the agency Associated Press.

The agency notes that the antivirus has automatically received access to the powerful digital intelligence tool of the US National Security Agency. These files were classified.

"They (employees of the company, ed.) Immediately came to my office and told me that they had problems," says Eugene Kaspersky.

He stressed that he answered without hesitation: "They (secret files, ed) Should be deleted."

The agency points out that antivirus sent secret data to servers in Moscow.

As reported by the "Apostrophe", in September, US government agencies banned the use of Kaspersky Lab products.

apostrophe.ua, Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

The US House of Representatives began an investigation into the circumstances of the sale of uranium company Uranium One to Rosatom.

This writes about Meduza.

The deal was approved by President Barack Obama when Hillary Clinton was the secretary of state. Republicans believe that the deal may have signs of corruption.

Uranium One controls one-fifth of uranium reserves in the United States, except for mines in Kazakhstan, Australia and South Africa. Due to the fact that uranium is a strategic resource, the agreement should have been approved by the US Department of State.

In the year 2015, The New York Times wrote that, against the backdrop of the Rosatom deal with Uranium One, the Clinton fund began receiving donations worth more than $ 30 million from entrepreneurs involved with uranium companies. Bill Clinton, in turn, received a $ 500,000 fee from Renaissance Capital Bank for a speech in 2010; At the same time, the bank assessed the assets of Uranium One.

As the newspaper wrote, through the transportation of uranium to Canada, Uranium One managed to circumvent the ban on the export of strategic resources from the United States.

Hillary Clinton argued that she was not involved in the approval of the Rosatom and Uranium One deals, and this was done by a foreign investment commission from the US government linked to the State Department. Significant evidence that donations to the Clinton Foundation were corrupt was not yet there.

Earlier Trump urged to investigate Clinton's ties with Russia.

hromadske.ua , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

Russia ranks first in the number of citizens who went to Syria and Iraq to join the ranks of the Sunni terrorist organization "Islamic State"

This is with reference to data from the American private intelligence Soufan Group writes Newsweek .

In particular, the number of Russians in the "ID" has significantly increased over the past 2 years. During this time they became much more than the citizens of Tunisia, which for a long time there was the largest.

At present, 3,417 militants from Russia operate in the ID divisions, whereas in 2015 this figure was about 2,400.

In addition, there are 3,244 immigrants from Saudi Arabia in the ranks of the Islamic State (2,500 in 2015), 3,000 from Jordan and 1,910 from France.

At the same time, 400 mercenaries from Russia have already returned home from the Middle East. They are mainly inhabitants of Chechnya and Dagestan.

-Soufan Group was founded by a former FBI agent from Lebanon Ali Sufan. This analytical firm specializes in tracking political processes and military conflicts in Asia.

-Beginning in 2011, the Turkish government has added over 4,000 Russian citizens to the list of non-gratuiters due to suspicion of ties to the terrorist "Islamic state ." For the same reason, more than 800 Russian citizens were deported from the country.''

espreso.tv , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov commented on Ksenia Sobchak's statement that no one recognizes the annexation of the Crimea.

It was reported by the federal agency RIA-Novosti.

"From the standpoint of international law, de jure and de facto, the Crimea is an integral part of the Russian Federation. Discussion of the territorial and sovereign affiliation of the Crimea is not subject to any discussion, "he said.

At the same time, Peskov did not voice Putin's position as to whether Sotchak should be prosecuted for such words.

It should be noted that in Russia, for the non-recognition of the Crimea by the territory of Russia, it is threatened with up to 5 years of imprisonment.

Earlier, TV presenter Ksenia Sobchak, who stated his desire to run for president of Russia, said that no world power and even "Sberbank of Russia" recognized the annexation of Crimea.

So she reacted to the statement of the State Duma deputies from "United Russia" Natalia Poklonskaya, who called the words of the TV presenter Sobchak that Crimea is an Ukrainian territory, "disrespect for people and their homeland".

Also in an interview with Yuriy Dudy Sobchak noted that the assistant to the president of Russia Vladislav Surkov is responsible for the situation in Ukraine and "blood on his hands".

October 18, Ksenia Sobchak announced participation in the presidential elections in Russia.

hromadske.ua , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

In the face of Vladimir Putin's Russian president, dissatisfaction is growing, in connection with the consequences of his policy, which begins to threaten his position at the head of the state.

This was stated by Russian political scientist Andrei Piontkovsky in an interview with "Apostrophe".

"I still think that the biggest threat to Putin is not so much from mass demonstrations, but from the growing discontent of his circle, which will intensify - I can confirm how the person in Washington - the resolve of the American establishment to fully comply with the law on sanctions , that is, to practically freeze and arrest a trillion dollars, which belongs to the entire Putin environment, starting from Putin himself, whose wealth is estimated at $ 250 billion, "he said.

Piontkovsky believes that Putin has always been regarded as a guarantor of the security of their assets, while now, on the contrary, they were endangered by him.

"And now he not only does not provide assets, but on the contrary - is toxic. And the criterion for including one or another billionaire in the list of sanctions is his proximity to Putin, and this is explicitly stated in the law," the political scientist said.

He noted that it would be very interesting to watch now how Putin's environment during the election campaign would try to save his trillion.

apostrophe.ua, Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

Alexei Stroganov, an activist of the democratic opposition, was brutally murdered in Moscow.

This was announced by Illya Yashin, the head of the Solidarity movement's opposition movement, on his Facebook page.

Aleksei Stroganov, an activist of the democratic opposition, was killed in Moscow, an attack was committed against him: an unknown stroganoff struck iron pipe on the head, Alex was in a coma for two months, he died yesterday and never came to mind, "Yashin wrote.


In the photo Stroganoff with the killed oppositional Boris Nemtsov

He noted in a comment that nobody knew anything about the incident all these two months.

"It was two months ago that the natives did not reach out on the connection. About what happened, it became known only yesterday," Yashin said.

He also said that the criminal case on the death of an activist has not been disclosed until now.

apostrophe.ua , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

Ex-head of the Odessa regional state administration, leader of the "Movement of New Forces" party Mikheil Saakashvili says he has received documents from the Presidential Administration about deprivation of his citizenship.

He told journalists in the State Migration Service of Ukraine, reports Interfax-Ukraine.

According to him, he plans to appeal this decision in court.

"I am going to court today or tomorrow. Finally, we received documents from the Presidential Administration on Citizenship. And we will challenge the deprivation of my citizenship, "he said.

Earlier, the State Migration Service confirmed that Saakashvili refused to be recognized as a refugee or a person in need of additional protection.

At the end of July, President Petro Poroshenko with his decree deprived Saakashvili of Ukrainian citizenship . Formal reason for this was that Saakashvili supposedly concealed information about the prosecution in Georgia.

At that time, Saakashvili was abroad, at the same time, saying that he would return to Ukraine. On September 10, Saakashvili crossed the Ukrainian-Polish border when a crowd of supporters "brought" him to the Ukrainian side, breaking through the border of law enforcement.

Later, the court found Saakashvili guilty of illegally crossing the border of Ukraine. The Interior Ministry said that 11 policemen and 5 border guards were injured at the time of crossing the Saakashvili border.

The politician is currently in Kyiv.

hromadske.ua , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Kyiv announces the release of Ilmi Umerov and Akhtem Chygoz

This was announced on the air by First Deputy Minister of Information Policy, Emina Jaaparova.

"Erdogan, while in Kiev, said that this good news will soon await us," said Jaaparov.

The official noted that Petro Poroshenko had appealed for the release of Majlis leaders to German chancellor Angela Merkel, but only the Turkish president was able to agree with Vladimir Putin.

"This was the result of a very powerful diplomatic component, as the president of Ukraine repeatedly turned to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, but the talks of the Turkish President Erdogan and Putin proved to be effective," the official said.

Read also: 8 years for a rally in the Crimea. History of deputy head of the Crimean Tatars, Akhtem Chygoz

At the same time, Dzhaparova confirmed that although under Russian legislation, the basis for the release of people who received a sentence, there is an appeal for pardon, such a letter to Ilmi Umerov and Akhtem Chiogoz did not write.

The First Deputy Minister of Information Policies also added that today the procedure for the transfer of political prisoners in Crimea is unlikely, unlike the prisoners in the Donbas, whose release is agreed in Minsk.



-Recall that on September 11, the Russian occupation court in Crimea sentenced to 8 years imprisonment of deputy head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatars, Akhtem Chigozu, who is accused of organizing mass riots on February 26, 2014 in Simferopol.

-On September 27, under the control of the Russians, the "Simferopol District Court" awarded two years of colony-settlement to one of the leaders of the Crimean Tatars, Ilmi Umerov. He was condemned for allegedly calling on the ATR channel for actions that "threaten the territorial integrity of Russia." In his last word Umerov stressed that he did not renounce his pro-Ukrainian positions and still considers Crimea a sovereign territory of Ukraine.

-On October 9, President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, visited Ukraine with an official visit, during which he discussed with President Poroshenko the issue of the Crimea-occupied by Russia and the problems of the Crimean Tatars.

-On October 25, deputy chairmen of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people Ahmet Chigoz and Ilmi Umerov, convicted in the occupied Crimea, were given to Turkey.

-Russian journalist Anton Naumluuk reported on his Facebook page that Umerov and Chiogoz were pardoned by secret orders of the Russian president.

-Mykola Polozov, a lawyer, said that Ilmi Umerov and Akhtem Chygoz did not ask Volodymyr Putin for pardon.

espreso.tv , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

Ukraine's Donbas, where fighting between government forces and Russia-supported separatists continues, is becoming one of the most mined areas in the world.

This was stated by UN Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Ursula Mueller, Censor.NET reports.

Eastern Ukraine is rapidly becoming one of the most mined areas in the world, which, if not addressed, will stall reconstruction and development for many years to come, Mueller said in her statement.

"Mine clearance and risk education is needed in all conflict-affected areas, particularly along the contact line, including the checkpoints at the de-facto border," Mueller said.

"Ukrainians are entering the fourth winter with no definitive cease-fire on the horizon. As members of the international community, we each have a part to play in supporting conflict resolution and lasting peace. This is the only lasting humanitarian solution for millions of people in Ukraine," Mueller summed up.

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

The State Border Service of Ukraine says Russians might want to exchange the two Ukrainian border guards it kidnapped in the Sumy region for two FSB officers detained in the Kherson region of Ukraine.

State Border Service press officer Oleh Slobodian told Espresso TV, Censor.NET reports.

He said this intention is witnessed by the refusal of the Russian side to either return the two border guards from the Sumy region or at least discuss the issue.

"Within regular cooperation at peaceful border areas, such matters are solved with just one meeting during a day or two after the incident, if there are no matters of aggravation," Slobodian said.

He said similar situations occurred earlier at Ukraine-Belarus border, when Belorussian guards unintendedly violated the border and were "returned" by Ukraine's Border Service.

"There were similar situations with our border guards as well, in different years," Slobodian said.

This issue could be solved in two days as well, but the Russian side took a different approach, the official believes.

"We suspect that Russia will probably attempt exchanging two our military for two Russian border guards we detained several months ago at the administrative border with temporarily occupied Crimea. The reluctance of Russia to talk makes us think so," Slobodian said.

It is not known where the kidnapped Ukrainian border guards are and what conditions they are in.

On Oct. 3, two officers of Znob-Novhorodske unit of the Sumy border guard service were monitoring a section of the state border, when connection with them was lost at around 8 p.m. Later, Russian media reported of detention by FSB border detachment of two 'violators' who called themselves Sumy unit border guards.

On Oct. 9, Russian court arrested the officers for two months for alleged illegal border crossing. Ukrainian consul is not allowed to visit the prisoners. A meeting of border guard representatives of Ukraine and the Russian Federation regarding the detained Ukrainian border guards was supposed to take place in Bryansk, Russia, on Oct. 9, but was sabotaged by the Russian side.

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

The fighters of the "Islamic State" captured Russian tank T-90A in battle.

This was announced on Wednesday, October 25, by the Telegram channel Directorate 4 , which is monitoring the activities of terrorists in the Middle East, reports Tsensor . NET .

According to the channel, the tank became a trophy of militants during the battles east of the city Meyadin At the same time, the terrorists themselves mistakenly perceived the captured car as T-72. Recall that on September 25, the senior group of Russian military advisers, Lieutenant General Valery Asapov, were killed during an operation to free Syrian city Deir-ez-Zor. On October 5 militants of the Islamic state were executed.



two Russian soldiers who were captured in Syria. On October 6, IDIL fighters shot down a Russian helicopter near the Syrian city of Sheikh Khalal, Hama province.

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

The conflict in the Donbas is one of the main stumbling blocks in relations between Germany and the Russian Federation.

According to the President of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, before the visit to Russia in an interview with the publication of "Kommersant" , according to Tsensor .NET. "The conflict in the Donbas is undoubtedly one of the main stumbling blocks in German-Russian relations, so it is worth reacting to serious initiatives and thoroughly examining their chances - in particular, from the point of view of possible compromises on Ukraine's formulated statements on involving UN forces in the situation in the east "said Steinmeier, answering the question of Vladimir Putin's proposal for a UN peacekeeping mission in the Donbas.


On September 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed the opinion that the presence of United Nations peacekeepers in the Donbass would be in favor of resolving the conflict in eastern Ukraine, and instructed the RF Ministry of Foreign Affairs to make a draft resolution for consideration by the UN Security Council.

First Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, representative of Ukraine in the Trilateral Contact Group on the Situation in the Donbass Iryna Gerashchenko stated that the introduction of a UN peacekeeping mission on the line of collision in eastern Ukraine can not be the language, peacekeepers should be introduced to the entire territory occupied by Russia .

The Russian Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Vasyl Nebenzha, said that the Russian side had sent a draft resolution on the deployment of peacekeepers to Donbass to the UN Secretary-General and head of the UN Security Council.

In numerous statements of the Russian authorities, it was emphasized that peacekeepers should be placed only on the line of delimitation of the parties to the conflict, but not on the entire occupied territory of the Donbas, and especially not on Russian-Ukrainian border.

Later, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Putin had agreed to host peacekeepers in all Donbass to protect OSCE staff.

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

One of the issues of the planned meeting between the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and the Special Representative of the US State Department, Kurt Volcker, will be the issue of the release of Ukrainian hostages in the occupied Donbass and political prisoners on the territory of the Russian Federation.

This was announced to journalists by the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, the representative of Ukraine in the humanitarian subgroup of the Tripartite Contact Group Irina Gerashchenko, reports Tsensor. NET with reference to Ukrinform.

"The President of Ukraine works in all cases, and I want to assure you that during the meeting of the President, for example, with the United States Special Representative for Ukraine, Mr. Volcker, the issue of the release of hostages, political prisoners of the Kremlin, hostages in the occupied territories will be one of the priority", - she said.

At the same time Gerashchenko pointed out that neither terms nor details were never spoken before.

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

Russian President Vladimir Putin, after meeting with German President Frank-Walter Steinmaier, expressed his hope for the implementation of the "Steinmeier's formula" for a settlement in eastern Ukraine.

Tsensor.NET informs about this , citing Interfax-Ukraine.

"Of course, I have touched upon and will be dealing with Ukraine. Mr. President is well versed in this topic. I recall that when he was the Minister for Foreign Affairs, he proposed some solutions directly related to his name, I hope that during the course of they will be implemented further, "Putin said at a press conference following the meeting with the President of the Federal Republic of Germany in Moscow.

"We, with Mr. President, once again noted that the basis of a comprehensive comprehensive settlement in the south-east of Ukraine should be the steady fulfillment of the Minsk agreements," he added.

He noted that in this context, Russia's initiative to establish a UN mission to ensure the security of OSCE observers in the conflict zone was discussed.

Recall that on December 21, 2016, German ambassador to Ukraine Ernst Reichel said that the so-called "Steinmeier formula" implies consolidating the special status of the Donbas.

The so-called "Steinmaier formula" foresees the order in which the Verkhovna Rada initially adopts a law on conducting elections on the territory of the ORDLO, and then elections are held on this territory, after which the OSCE concludes that the elections have met the European standards.

Russian party stated that the law on the special status of the Donbas should be adopted under the so-called "Steinmeier formula", that is, to all points of the Minsk agreements began to act simultaneously. At the same time, Ukraine insists that the return of control over the border should first take place, and then the elections and the special procedure for local self-government in certain districts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, which are now under the control of the terrorist organizations "DNR" and "LNR".

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

The United States Special Representative for Ukraine, Kurt Volker, drew attention to the underfinancing of United Nations humanitarian operations in Ukraine aimed at overcoming the consequences of Russian aggression.

Tsensor.NET informs about this , citing Ukrinform.

"Ukraine is ranked 9th in the world in terms of the number of displaced people," Volker wrote on his official Twitter page, referring to the report of the influential Atlantic Council's analytical center on internally displaced people.

Given this situation, the UN has provided insufficient funding for humanitarian assistance programs to alleviate this situation in Ukraine, the diplomat added.

"In 2017, 11.5% came from what is needed to conduct humanitarian operations in Ukraine," said Volker.

In the report of the Atlantic Council, referred to by Volcker, in particular, it is said that there are almost 1.7 million internally displaced persons in Ukraine. At the same time, according to statistics of last year, 51% of them are pensioners, 15% - children, and 3.6% - people with disabilities. In this regard, the document calls on the international community to increase its assistance to improve the humanitarian situation.

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