Ukraine News in brief. Tuesday 28 November. [Ukrainian sources]

TUESDAY HEADLINES:
US Treasury Department will prepare an expanded sanction list against Russia by the end of January.
US never to accept Russia's invasion of Donbas and Crimea occupation. Ukraine is waiting for a signal from NATO regarding the possible membership.  US may supply Ukraine with two Island-class patrol vessels.  US Special Envoy Volker: Active fighting in Ukraine very likely to continue a year from now.  US advocates UN peacekeeping mission in Donbas with no Russian personnel in it.  Russian air strikes kill dozens of civilians in Syria.  Lithuania to grant Ukraine weapons, ammunition worth 1.93 million euros.  Ukraine for Russia is lost: we will not find a common language with today's Russian Federation.  "We agreed to take a pause, think about each other's position," Volker talks with Russia.  Russia blocks any progress in the negotiations on the Donbass, in addition to the exchange of prisoners. "PACE admits Russia's return to the assembly only after the cessation of its aggression against Ukraine". 

WEATHER:
Kyiv, Ukraine
-1c / 30f HI | RealFeel -5c /23f
Cloudy

[center]The US Treasury Department will prepare an expanded sanction list against Russia by the end of January - Klimkin[/center



A qualitatively new sanctions list against the Russian Federation will be prepared by the US Treasury Department at the end of January and will become a significant lever of pressure on Russia, says Foreign Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin.

"This law (on additional sanctions against Russia, the DPRK and Iran - ed.) Is very important, as it extends not only the list but the very logic (application - ed.) Sanctions. At the end of January, it should be prepared by the US Treasury for to support all American institutions in the relevant list, "P.Klimkin said to journalists in Kiev on Tuesday, reports Tsensor. NET with reference to Interfax-Ukraine .

According to him, the formation of this list should become a powerful instrument of pressure on Russia both on the part of the United States and on the part of Ukraine and the EU.

"This list will be a significant lever of pressure on Russia," the head of the Ukrainian foreign policy department expressed the conviction.

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

The U.S. authorities will never recognize Crimea a part of Russia and will always consider it as the territory forcibly included into the Russian Federation.

As reported by Censor.NET, this was said by Kurt Volker, the Trump administration's special envoy charged with ending the war in Ukraine, in an interview for Politico.

"We don't accept Russia's invasion and occupation of Crimea. But if we can make progress on the other one, on the Donbas, we should do it," the ambassador said.

Volker stressed that he brought up Crimea issue at each meeting with Russian president's aide Surkov but was always told: "We will not going to talk about Crimea."

Asked whether future generations will be looking at a map of the Crimean peninsula that includes it in Russia, the U.S. special envoy said: "No. It's going to be like when I was growing up and the Baltic states were with asterisk saying that the United States does not recognize forcible incorporation of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania into the territory of the USSR. I think its going to be maps like that."

Volker earlier said that the prospects for peace in the Donbas were so dim he reckoned it was very likely that active fighting would continue for another year.

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

Ukraine stands for enhanced cooperation with NATO.

The first deputy chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Iryna Gerashchenko wrote about this on his page in Facebook . Under the co-chairmanship of the NATO-Ukraine Inter-Parliamentary Council on Tuesday, the Censor.NET is being held.

"A joint meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Inter-Parliamentary Council is taking place in Brussels, an important platform not only to strengthen the inter-parliamentary dialogue with the Allies, but also to exchange views with high-ranking officials of this security and political organization." MPs represented in the delegation, are in common position: we are in favor of strengthening cooperation with the Alliance and are waiting for a signal regarding possible membership, "she said.

According to her, the Ukrainian delegation is convinced that "the refusal of Ukraine and Georgia in the MAP in 2008 was a huge mistake, and it resolved the hands of the RF, allowed aggression against Ukraine and Georgia."

"In turn, he informed the participants about the security and humanitarian situation in the Donbass, our efforts to release the hostages, and once again expressed the view that the world is not responding to the very fact of the existence of hostages, that dozens of Ukrainians are held in Russian prisons and 162 - in the occupied territories", - noted Gerashchenko.




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

The U.S. authorities consider possible granting of two patrol vessels to Ukrainian Navy.

As reported by Censor.NET citing Interfax-Ukraine, this was said by U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch.

The U.S. keeps working on the possible transfer of two Island-class patrol boats to Ukraine, she said speaking at the International Maritime Security Conference held in Kyiv on Nov. 28.

She also noted that the maritime security was a pilot project for the reform of Ukraine's entire defense sector.

The ambassador added that NATO continues supporting all naval operations in Ukraine.

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

Kurt Volker, the Trump administration’s special envoy charged with ending the war in Ukraine, says prospects for peace are so dim he reckons it’s very likely that active fighting will continue a year from now in Ukraine.

The ambassador said in an interview for The Global Politico, Censor.NET reports.

Volker dwelled on just how troubled relations are with Russia these days despite Donald Trump's hoped-for reconciliation, how the several rounds of talks he's held with a top Putin adviser have not yet made any progress, and what it's like to be a special envoy for a secretary of state who's vowed to get rid of them.

Overall, he said, prospects for peace are so dim he reckons it's very likely that active fighting will continue a year from now in Ukraine.

Asked by a correspondent for Politico how likely, Volker said: "I'd say it's at least 80 percent. There's a chance that there won't be, but the most likely scenario is that this continues."

Volker's version is what just about any U.S. administration's view of Russia and the Ukraine conflict would have been. And it's pretty much consistent with that of others inside the Trump administration: deeply critical of Putin and certainly not swayed by him; concerned that little or no progress can be made on key issues and that the bottom in U.S.-Russia relations has not yet been reached after this past year's election hacking, tit-for-tat spying accusations, diplomatic expulsions and consulate closure.

The ambassador said Trump himself is now on board with this version of his Russia policy, if only because Putin's moves have been so confrontational. "Russia brings it on," Volker said. "That's what the president always says: We would like to get along with Russia. But what Russia is doing makes it really hard."

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

U.S. Secial Envoy for Ukraine Kurt Volker says America stands for the deployment of the U.N. peacekeeping force in Ukraine's east providing that it will include no Russian personnel.

As reported by Censor.NET, the Trump administration's part-time special envoy for Ukraine told the Washington Post following meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladislav Surkov on Nov. 13.

Volker says the U.S. idea is to create a true U.N. peacekeeping force that would have not only free rein but also security authority throughout contested areas. The force must have access to the Ukraine-Russia border and not have any Russian personnel in it, he said.

Moscow rejected 26 out of 29 of the paragraphs in Volker's proposal. But Volker said he intends to keep negotiating. He said the peacekeeping plan represents the best hope to return to Minsk II, a peace agreement that both Ukraine and Russia pledged to follow.

That process is stalled primarily because Russia won't honor provisions mandating a cease-fire, the removal of its heavy weapons from eastern Ukraine and access to the border. Russia still won't even acknowledge that it has forces on the ground in eastern Ukraine, much less remove them.

But the U.S. strategy is based on the assumption that Putin is looking for - or at least considering - a way out of his financial and military commitments in eastern Ukraine. If Putin's long-term goal is to create a pro-Moscow Ukraine, his continued interference is having the opposite effect, Volker said.

"What we are trying to do is clarify the options," Volker said. "If they want to dig in, they can, but it's going to cost a lot. If they want to move on, it can be something we all agree on and we can find a way to make that work out."

On Sept. 5, Russian President Putin said deployment of U.N. peacekeepers in the Donbas was quite appropriate for solving of the conflict in the region, but only along the line of contact and with the aim of protecting the OSCE mission.

Ukraine's representative in Humanitarian subgroup of the Tripartite contact group in Minsk talks, deputy speaker of Ukrainian parliament Iryna Herashchenko commented on Putin's statement and said the Kremlin scenarios will fail; peacekeepers must be introduced across all Russia-occupied territories.

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

A monitoring group says at least 53 civilians have been killed in Russian air strikes in the east Syrian village of Al-Shafah,

As reported by Censor.NET citing BBC, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said 21 of those reportedly killed on Sunday morning were children.

The village is in Deir al-Zour, one of the last provinces where Islamic State still holds territory. Initially SOHR said 34 had been killed in strikes on residential buildings. But the monitoring group's head told the AFP news agency it now believed the figure was higher.

"The toll increased after removing the debris in a long day of rescue operation," Rami Abdel Rahman said.

Earlier Russia confirmed that six long-range bombers had carried out air strikes in the area, but said they had hit militants and their strongholds.

UN-backed peace talks are expected to resume in Geneva next week, but several previous rounds of negotiations have failed.

Separately on Sunday, there were reports of 23 people killed in a rebel-held enclave on the outskirts of Damascus. SOHR said several towns in Eastern Ghouta had been hit by air strikes and artillery fire. Neither of the reports have been independently verified.

The monitoring group says 120 people have been killed since the Syrian army began its offensive there nearly two weeks ago. After years of siege, conditions for Eastern Ghouta's 400,000 residents are dire, with reports of people dying of starvation. In a report last week, the U.N. said food was so scarce some residents had been reduced to eating animal fodder and even garbage.

Eastern Ghouta is one of several "de-escalation" zones in Syria announced by Russia, Iran and Turkey earlier this year. Russia is a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the country's long-running civil war.

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

Lithuania intends to donate to Ukraine weapons and ammunition worth 1,930,000 euros.

As reported by Censor.NET referring to Radio Svoboda, this is stated in the decree of the Lithuanian government drafted by the country's Defense Ministry.

According to the document, Ukraine may receive more than 7,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles, almost 2 million cartridges, over 80 machine guns, several mortars, anti-tank weapons and other military equipment.

The resolution of the Government of Lithuania was sent to the country's Finance and Foreign Ministries for review.

As reported, first Lithuania donated weapons to Ukraine in 2014.

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

Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said that Russia had lost Ukraine through its aggression.

He said the eighth National Expert Forum, reports Tsenzor.NET referring to lb.ua.

"Let's be honest, Ukraine for Russia, at least for what is now, is lost. I am not a futurologist, I do not know what will happen after 100 years." Maybe there will be another world with other rules, but I know that for our generation and generation after us Ukraine for Russia - for a reasonable future, not for two years, not for three, not for five - is lost. I remember the debate ten years ago: "East or West? And maybe, and so, and so? Maybe we'll have a ponytail? "It's all over," said Klimkin.

The Minister is convinced that Ukraine is in a position to find an understanding with Poland, Hungary and Romania. "But with today's Russia, we will not find a common language. It needs to be honest," he said.

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

The next meeting will not be held until December.

US Special Envoy for Ukraine, Kurt Volker, announced the next meeting with Russia's Presidential Advisor, Vladislav Surkov, on ending the war on the Donbass no earlier than in December. By this time, the parties had paused after previous negotiations, which did not succeed. Volker told about this in an interview with LB.ua, recorded to the VIII National Expert Forum, reports Censor.NET.

"During the first two meetings, I had the feeling that we are opening up access to opportunities, Russia is exploring the idea of ​​using peacekeeping forces, and they really wanted to link peacekeeping forces to existing formats - with Minsk, with Normandy, OSCE observers, and others. However, there was the impression that there was openness to discuss key parameters, including security in this area, access to the border, etc. The last meeting was really a step back. Russia returned to its original concept of using mere security forces. movylysya that we take a break, think about each other's positions, and prokonsultuyemosya meet again sometime in December "- said Walker.

He also noted that the concept of the introduction of a peacekeeping mission in the Donbas, proposed by the parties, although differing in some key points, however, open the discussion.

"We proposed the introduction of permanent peacekeeping forces with the UN mandate in this area, which is similar to what Ukraine offered a few years ago, and interestingly, after my first meeting with my Russian counterpart, the Russian Federation proposed the introduction of a UN Security Council mission. the Russian concept is only the protection of the observers of the OSCE mission and does not foresee, as a result, the control of the Ukrainian border by the international forces, and the question of heavy weapons remains unanswered, but at least it opens up a discussion. in the thing - these peacekeeping forces will be responsible for security throughout the territory for containment and monitoring of heavy weapons, as well as control of the Ukrainian side of the Russian-Ukrainian border. This will provide conditions whereby may continue implementation of other parts of Minsk II "

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

The Russian side received an installation blocking any progress in the negotiation process on the settlement of the situation in the Donbas within the framework of the Tripartite Contact Group (TKG), except for the exchange of prisoners, said the representative of Ukraine in the TGG security subgroup, Yevhen Marchuk.

"I can say that in the last round of 10-11 negotiations it is very clear that the Russian side has been given the idea to block any progress as much as possible. The only thing concerning the exchange of prisoners is that all this will be a positive result, since the highest level has been achieved. agreements ", - said E.Marchuk in the comments " Interfax-Ukraine" on Tuesday in Kiev, reports Tsensor.NET.

He said that the proposals of the Ukrainian side concerning monitoring of the concentration of detached weapons were already rejected, as well as proposals to set up OSCE SMM posts in the uncontrolled section of the Ukrainian-Russian border.

Speaking about the upcoming TKG meeting on Wednesday, November 29, E.Marchuk said: "The first issue will be a comprehensive cease-fire regime." The second issue is the breeding of live and military equipment, the definition of new plots, as three plots have already been identified. will be the protection of civilian infrastructure, the fourth - mitigating activity."

According to him, it was hardly possible to agree on the implementation of repair of the bridge across the Seversky Donets near the village of Stanitsa Luhansk Lugansk region.

"The bridge is very important for the civilian population, and the ICRC is ready to make big money for its repair. However, when we repair this bridge, there is a military danger, because even the tanks can go through the bridge. It was agreed that the insertion in the middle - a few tens of meters - would be wooden",

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

Volodymyr Aryev said that the majority of PACE members believe that the Russian Federation should return to the assembly after taking serious steps towards the de-escalation of its aggression against Ukraine.

According to Tsensor.NET, Volodymyr Ariev told in comments 112 Ukraine about the possibility of lifting sanctions against Russia by the Council of Europe and the likely consequences of such a decision. He noted that such a decision undermined the very foundation of the Council of Europe and discredits the organization:

"This statement and this position, I believe, are rather perverted, since it effectively means that the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, an organization created to protect human rights and the rule of law, calls for the protection of the rights of 130 million Russian citizens for the purpose of to avoid leaving the country from this organization at the expense of a significant deterioration of the human rights situation in Ukraine and due to neglect of the rights of Ukrainian citizens, in particular Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians in the Crimea, people living in the occupied territory of the Donbas, as well as those citizens, 1.5 LF who left the Donbass after the Russian aggression. In fact this call, which can be interpreted so that it undermines the very foundation of the Council of Europe and discredit this organization because he is secretary general of the organization. Therefore, in this case I believe it is outrageous".

Aryev also noted that his colleagues from the PACE, as indignant at what happened.

"We knew that Jagland was promoting the return of the Russian delegation to the PACE, but above all, it goes against the principles of the Council of Europe, exactly what it justifies, and secondly, it is an interference in the PACE. The PACE is a separate structure in the Council of Europe system, it has its president and secretary general,"- adds Ariev.

"Jagland is not the boss and is not the head of the parliamentary part of this organization, therefore, in this case it can be regarded as direct intervention of Jagland in cases that are merely PACE affairs, since the return of the Russian delegation is determined at the beginning of each year, when the powers of all delegations are updated. , and in accordance with the PACE Statute, only the Assembly can decide whether to accept the Russian delegation, or not to accept it at all, or to accept it with sanctions and restrictions, as it happened in 2015, and this vote is only taken by delegates of the PA E. In this case, the Secretary General does not have the right and had no mandate to make such statements PACE or trips like what he does, of promoting the Russian delegation to the Assembly, "- said the head of the Ukrainian delegation in PACE.

Asked about the motive of Jagland, Volodymyr Aryev replied:

"I find it difficult to say exactly what Jagland is guiding. He obviously believes that Russia should be left to be a member of this organization in spite of everything ... Yagland has long been a warm relationship with Vladimir Putin, and he, I think, wants to somehow help his friend to make a present before the presidential elections in 2018".

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