Ukraine News in brief. Friday 3 November. [Ukrainian sources]

FRIDAY

TODAY'S HEADLINES:
"We need to talk about Ukraine," - Trump said about a possible meeting with Putin at APEC Summit in Vietnam. U.S. Judge Turns Down Manafort Request To Ease Home Confinement.  US Congress urged not to delay funding for Ukraine's arms.  Russian "gumconvoy" prove Russia's participation in the conflict in the Donbas.  Trump criticized the investigation into Russia's interference in the US election.  "Putin thought there would be little military response from the west" - ex-director of the CIA about Obama's decision not to arm Ukraine.   

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President of the United States, Donald Trump, said he was likely to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the APEC summit in Vietnam.

As Censor.NET informs with reference to NewsOne, such statement was made by the American leader in an interview to the TV channel Fox News.

"This is a very important trip. We may have a meeting with Putin," said the American leader.

According to Trump, Russia can help the US in resolving the situation in Syria and the Korean peninsula. Also, the US president said that they should talk to Putin about Ukraine.

"This is important because they (Russia - ed.) Can help us with North Korea and Syria. We need to talk about Ukraine," Trump said.

It is worth noting that the APEC leaders' summit will be held in Vietnamese Danang from 6 to 11 November.

As previously reported, according to the American edition of The Wall Street Journal, the US Department of Justice prepares official charges against at least six Russian officials involved in hacking the hacking servers of party institutions in the United States as part of an investigation into Russia's interference in the presidential election.

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

A U.S. judge has turned down a request by Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, to release him from home confinement.

During a November 2 hearing in Washington, Judge Amy Berman Jackson kept in place the house arrest ordered for Manafort and his associate Rick Gates.

Both are charged with conspiring to defraud the United States in more than a decade of dealings with political forces in Ukraine.

The men had requested to be released from home confinement, denying they were flight risks and saying the large bond amounts were enough to ensure future court appearances.

Bond was preliminarily set at $10 million for Manafort and $5 million for Gates after they surrendered to authorities on October 30. Both pleaded not guilty.

Manafort faces 12 to 15 years in prison if convicted, while Gates faces 10 to 12 years, although prosecutors said other charges could still be filed.

The judge warned the men’s lawyers not to speak about the case outside of court, saying it could interfere with the ability to conduct a fair trial.

The judge said the initial bond terms for both men would remain in place for now and set a November 6 hearing to consider possible changes.

She said she might also set a tentative date for a trial to begin, possibly in April.

The indictment against Manafort and Gates is the first to stem from Justice Department Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible collusion by associates of Trump.

The indictment said the two men "generated tens of millions of dollars in income" from work they did for Viktor Yanukovych, the Moscow-friendly politician who was president of Ukraine from 2010-14, the Ukrainian government, Yanukovych's Party of Regions, and the Opposition Bloc, a successor party formed after Yanukovych was driven from power by pro-European protests and fled to Russia.

It alleged that "in order to hide Ukraine payments" from U.S. authorities, Manafort and Gates "laundered the money through scores of United States and foreign corporations, partnerships, and bank accounts" from about 2006 through 2016 at the earliest. It said that they also hid their work and revenue as agents of Ukrainian political parties.

In a court filing, Manafort, 68, dismissed the evidence against him, saying the case by Mueller was "embellished" and that his work as an "international political consultant" naturally involved global financial transactions..........

rferl.org

The House of Representatives Committee called on the US defense budget to be adopted as soon as possible, stressing the importance of additional support programs foreseen in the bill.

This is stated on the website of the Committee.

In particular, the bill provides for financing for the provision of fatal aid to Ukraine. "These powers will allow Ukraine to better protect its territorial sovereignty," the statement said.

"Every day that we work under the Continuing Resolution, a budget item introduced in case of a delayed adoption of the law on budget - GA, is harmful to our army," said MacTornerberry, chairman of the Armed Services Committee of the House of Representatives of the US Congress

"Russia continues to destabilize Ukraine, and therefore the United States must continue to provide security assistance so that it can better defend itself against the constant aggression by Russia," congressmen said.

The statement of the Committee notes that the United States is already providing vital assistance to Ukraine. However, it is important to extend the training program and provide additional equipment. "This will be an important tool for Russia's deterrence of Russia," the statement reads.

-Earlier, The Washington Post wrote that the current American government took a pause in the issue of making a final decision on Ukraine's lethal defensive arms. In this way, de facto, the policy of Barack Obama's previous administration continues not to provide official Kyiv with appropriate weapons systems to counter Russian aggression.

espreso.tv , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

Last week, Russia launched a regular convoy of trucks with unknown content on the territory of Ukraine, which is a significant proof of Moscow's continued involvement in the ongoing conflict in the Donbas.

As informs Tsensor.NET with reference to " Ukrinform" , with such a statement made on Thursday at a meeting of the Permanent Council of the OSCE in Vienna, the United States Charge d'Affaires auxiliary to the Organization, Harry Kamian.

"Significant evidence of Russia's participation in the conflict continues to take place, so on October 26, a column of 17 convoy trucks crossed an internationally recognized Russian-Ukrainian border in the direction of Ukraine without proper control or verification by the Ukrainian authorities. These convoy continue to openly violate sovereignty and territorial the integrity of Ukraine", - said the representative of the United States.

He also noted that the Russian campaign aimed at blocking access to SMM observation, including the Russian-Ukrainian border, does not allow the Mission to fulfill its mandate.

In addition, the American diplomat stressed that after the introduction of the so-called "school armistice", the cease-fire regime was mercilessly violated. So, on October 27, a 25-year-old civilian was killed in battles near Donetsk.

In the period from October 18 to October 24, the OSCE SMM only registered over 1000 violations of the ceasefire agreement in this area.

"In addition, thousands of violations are fixed continuously along the entire line of the collision", - said the representative of the United States.

Earlier, the US representative in the OSCE called on Russia to stop the repressions in the occupied Crimea.

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

Investigating alleged Russia's interference in the US presidential election, in which US intelligence services blamed Moscow, US President Donald Trump called shame.

He stated this on Fox News.

"This dossier is completely fake and looks like a novel, it became a shame, it was not necessary to start it. And then I hear the amount that they [democrats] have spent. I think it's shameful that such a thing can happen, "he said.

So Trump commented on the publication of The Washington Post, which reported in late October that the headquarters of the ex-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and the National Committee of the Democratic Party helped fund the investigation, which resulted in the publication of a dossier about Trump's alleged ties and came with him. in the White House.

Source sources familiar with the situation noted that Clinton and the National Committee of the Democratic Party sponsored the investigative firm, Fusion GPS, through the law firm of Stila Elias by the end of October 2016 (the elections were held on November 8th). The newspaper also extracted financial statements that showed Clinton's headquarters paid Perkins Coie $ 5.6 million for court costs from June 2015 to December 2016, and the National Committees - $ 3.6 million for "legal advice" from November 2015 th year

Previously, it was reported that Facebook, Twitter and Google  executives were questioned about Russia's interference  with the US election. The Senate held a hearing on this matter.

The head of Facebook said that in vain did not recognize that the social network could be used for political purposes.

On September 18,  Facebook provided the US Attorney General with  account information on advertising with the Russian Federation. She was watched by  more than 10 million people .

On September 29th, it was reported that  Twitter blocked more than 200 accounts  in connection with an investigation into Russia's interference with the US election.

hromadske.ua, Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

Putin's decision to go against Ukraine and start a military campaign in Syria was based on the notion that there would be no symmetrical military response.

The United States had to "give Putin a little sock from her nose" and respond to the aggression against Ukraine in a military way. About this former director of the CIA John Brennan said in a whimsical interview with PBS FrontLine. Brennan served as director of the US Central Intelligence Agency from 2013 to 2017. The interview was recorded in July, but his video - released only now, reports Tsensor.NET with a link to Voice of America.

"I think Putin is a very intelligent individual and he really appreciates his enemies and opponents. When they came to Ukraine, in my opinion, he thought that if he acted decisively and used significant force, this would not cause a military response from the West. I believe he was expecting that at the end of the last term of the Obama administration, Washington's response could have been foreseen and, in my opinion, he saw that Obama did not want a military conflict and therefore would use other instruments available in the United States - for example, sanctions", - told the director of the CIA.

At the same time Brennan noted that he personally was convinced that Putin had to "break his nose" in Ukraine.

"But I think that Putin's decision to go against Ukraine, his decision to launch a military campaign in Syria, was based on the notion that there would be no symmetrical military response. I thought in certain cases that we were supposed to make our reaction less predictable for Putin. it seemed that we could engage in actions that would not lead to an anti-war war with Russia, "Brennan said.

"I remember when I was studying at a school, the hooligans tried to intimidate and they kept pushing until they cracked their nose a bit. I thought that Putin really needed to put a little sock on her nose a little. I think it would force him to retreat, because as well as the majority of hooligans, he knows he can not resist others - all this is a showdown. "His desire to use tactics of intimidation, I think, would have slowed down, or he would abandon it at all if he got back," Brennan said.

In August 2016, Brennan first informed Obama that Putin had ordered an operation to destabilize and discredit the US presidential election.

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

The United States will be able to extend the provision of military assistance to Ukraine, including the delivery of weapons, after the final approval by the Congress of the defense budget for the fiscal year 2018, but until these funds are available.

This is stated in the commentary of the Committee of the House of Representatives on the affairs of the armed forces, reports Tsensor. NET with reference to TASS .

The committee says that "the United States must continue to provide security support to Ukraine in order to enable it to defend itself more effectively against continued Russian aggression."

"Although the United States now provides Ukraine with extremely important assistance, other options are available" to improve the training and equipping of Ukrainian military personnel, the committee believes.

It was recalled that in the previously approved lower chamber the draft defense budget provided an expanded list of equipment and facilities, it also recorded "both funding and the right to provide the president with lethal assistance to Ukraine."

Earlier, the US Senate had foreseen the allocation of Ukraine's defense weapons and $ 500 million in aid in 2018.

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

Russian oppositionist Alexei Navalnyi has called to court of Russian President Vladimir Putin because of hindering rallies from the authorities of Russian cities
This is reported by Radio Liberty.

The suit of Navalny was filed by the Moscow Tver Court. In a lawsuit, the opposition requests to recognize the illegal actions of the president, which binds with massive refusal of local authorities in different cities to coordinate rallies.

Earlier in the Kremlin, in response to the claims of Navalny to the regional authorities, they said that the president of Russia was not engaged in the coordination or prohibition of any mass actions.

Bulk plans to take part in the presidential election in 2018 and is campaigning for the country, but the authorities of many cities refuse to agree rally-meeting politics with its supporters.

-Recall October 2 Simonovsky District Court of Moscow arrested Alexei Navalny for 20 days for "repeated appeals to participate in uncoordinated actions."

-The Russian CEC declares that, due to conditional conviction, Alexei Navalny will not be able to run for president until 2028.

espreso.tv , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

Adviser to Interior Minister Anton Herashchenko says that the Russian national recently detained by the SBU on anti-state activity charges plotted mass killing of protesters holding rally in the tent camp established outside the building of the Ukrainian parliament by adding poisonous substances to their food.
He wrote in his blog on Censor.NET.

The lawmaker said that well-known activist Oleksii Hrytsenko called him Oct. 21 and told about a report in a social media about arson attack on the car owned by Herashchenko's wife allegedly committed by representatives of the Ukrainian patriotic forces. Since the lawmaker's wife owned no car, the MP concluded that it was a fake news aimed to be parroted by the Ukrainian media. A car was indeed burnt down in front of his house but it had nothing to do with the lawmaker. Moreover, the fake post in the social media with attached images of the scorched car was published just 7 minutes after the arson attack which means that it was prepared well in advance.

The law enforcers traced the attacker using surveillance videos and apprehended him not far from Kyiv's railroad station. He was disguised as a police officer and had a hand grenade on him. The investigators found that the person was a Russian national who temporarily lived in Dnipro City paying occasional visits to Kyiv to commit crimes. The subversive plotted mass killing of protesters holding rally in the tent camp established outside the building of the Ukrainian parliament by adding poisonous substances to their food. The blame for this atrocity was obviously planned to be put on the current government to subsequently make calls to overthrow it. Fortunately, the law enforcers foiled this plan, the MP wrote.

He added that the police was checking whether the detainee was linked to those who committed attempt on lives of MP Mosiichuk and Amina Okueva assuming that these facts constituted links in one and the same chain.

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

Canada has imposed targeted measures against 30 Russians, including the country's top investigative officer, in connection with a whistle-blowing Russian lawyer whose 2009 death and the crimes he uncovered have been a persistent thorn in the Kremlin's side.

As reported by Censor.NET citing Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe, the list, released on Nov. 3 by Canada's Foreign Ministry, largely mirrors a similar list compiled by the United States after it passed the Magnitsky Act in 2012, which punished individuals alleged to be connected to Sergei Magnitsky's death and a massive tax-fraud scheme he helped uncover.

Canada earlier this year passed its own version of the law, which, as with the U.S. law, prompted vocal criticism from Russia.

Investigative Committee Chairman Aleksandr Bastrykin is one of the most prominent names on the Canadian list, but it also includes several Interior Ministry and tax-agency officials. A group of Venezuelan officials, including President Nicolas Maduro, were also named.

Russian officials have warned repeatedly Moscow would retaliate if Canada went ahead with the sanctions. There was no immediate comment from the Russian Embassy in Ottawa.

Magnitsky was employed by British-American financier William Browder when he was arrested and charged with the $230 million tax-fraud scheme that he helped uncover.

He died in Moscow jail in 2009, and the fallout from his death, as well as the original fraud, have rippled through U.S., and now Canadian, foreign policy, helping to send Moscow's relations with Washington plummeting.

In the wake of the 2012 U.S. law, Moscow banned American parents from adopting Russian children. Congress later passed an expanded version of the Magnitsky law, amid a secretive lobbying campaign in Washington aimed at undermining the facts of the Magnitsky case.

Some of the funds from the stolen $230 million were allegedly laundered by a Russian businessman to buy Manhattan real estate. The Russian lawyer who represented him was involved in the lobbying campaign and met with President Donald Trump's son in June 2016.

Russia has also gone after Browder, accusing him of financial crimes and asking the United States for help in prosecuting him, pleas that Washington has ignored.

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

The Russian government has decided to impose a ban on entry into the country of a number of Canadian officials in response to the introduction by Canada of new anti-Russian sanctions.

This was reported by the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Maria Zakharova, reports Tsensor . NET .

"We have repeatedly warned the Canadian authorities of attempts to impose sanctions on Russia, warned that such actions would not be left unanswered. Unfortunately, the official Ottawa, under the pretext of the recently adopted anti-Russian" law of the name of S.Magnitsky, "once again imposed restrictions on our citizens," - says in a comment the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, distributed on Friday.

"Given the principle of reciprocity, it was decided to close the entry into the Russian Federation of a number of Canadian leaders, the list is long, it has dozens of surnames. It's about those Russophobic-minded citizens of Canada who systematically engaged in the destruction of bilateral relations," noted Zakharova

"If Canadian partners like to play sanction games, we will be forced to answer. Although we certainly prefer a constructive way of engaging with issues of importance to the peoples of both countries, we expect that the political circles in Canada will come to the fore and they will abandon the fatal course , which leads to further aggravation of bilateral relations ", - the commentary is mentioned.

Earlier, the Canadian authorities imposed personal sanctions against 52 foreigners, including 30 citizens of the Russian Federation, who, according to Ottawa, were involved in violating human rights or corruption . All the assets of these people are frozen, and they themselves prohibit entry into the territory of Canada.

Sanctions were imposed in accordance with the recently adopted "law on victims of corrupt foreign governments" in Canada, which is called the local analogue of the American "Magnitsky Act". The limitations were on Russians involved in the death of a SIZO employee at Hermitage Capital Sergei Magnitsky. Among them were the head of the Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrikin, the former Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Russia Alexei Anichin, Alexei Droganov, Alexander Gauss and others.

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