Ukraine News in brief. Friday 29 December. [Ukrainian sources]

FRIDAY HEADLINES:
Broke out and prepare for worse: US intelligence predicted Kremlin's 2018 action. Putin sent fifty warships to Crimea.  it became known that the Kremlin will blackmail Ukraine towards the Donbas.  there was a video of Ukrainians who refused to go to "freedom" to the fighters of the DPR.  Volker pointed to the strange position of the Kremlin on the presence of Russian troops in the Donbas.  Can not afford a successful Ukraine: in the West they told what to expect from Putin.  Russia uses the national patriotic forces of Ukraine to destabilize.  The war, hundreds of thousands of deaths and the creation of a new state: named the main threats of 2018.  Printers deceive the United States post-referendum to the UN on Russia's interference in the election of a fictional country.   

WEATHER:
Kyiv, Ukraine
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Mostly cloudy and mild; a little rain this afternoon

In 2018, tensions between Russia and the US may increase.

This is stated in the 2018 forecast by the private American intelligence and analytical company Stratfor, which is at the disposal of the "Apostrophe".

"Moscow's relations with the West will be equally important next year. Washington said that next year it could put pressure on Russia through a variety of means, including a heavier regime of sanctions and the sale of lethal weapons to Ukraine. At the same time, the US is increasing its A missile defense system in Europe and Asia, Sparubing its full life under sanctions, Moscow resolutely wants to avoid additional restrictive measures by Washington in 2018, in view of this, Russia will determine the areas in which it will be ready or cooperate. USA, or to negotiate a deal, such as the peace process in Syria, the negotiations with North Korea or the conflict in Ukraine, while Moscow will be prepared to make its ties with Washington even worse - through the strengthening of relations in Asia and in the Middle East,

"In addition, to the concern of the Russian Federation about sanctions, the European Union will vote on the continuation of restrictive measures against the country over the next year. However, the EU will not follow the example of the States if they impose new sanctions on Moscow for political interference, despite the fact that in 2018 The year will provide Russia with wide opportunities for such interference in the affairs of Europe. Italy is preparing to hold elections by May, and the Kremlin will use its proven weapons of hybrid warfare - disinformation, propaganda and cyberattacks - in the hope of pushing In the end, if the populist Movement of Five Stars comes to power, it may violate the unanimous vote required to prolong EU sanctions against Russia in the future. It will be difficult to influence the outcome of the election, as Moscow understood during the last political races in France and Germany. However, Russia will continue to sow discord among the EU member states, even if it does not achieve its goals in the Italian elections."

apostrophe.ua  In Ukrainian/український

Russia attracted about 40 ships of the Black Sea Fleet for exercises near the coast of the occupied Crimea.

This is reported by the press service of the Russian Ministry of Defense.

"Ship crews of the Black Sea Fleet at the bases in Sevastopol are working on issues related to day-to-day preparations for a long-distance campaign, the use of weapons and technical means, and about 40 surface ships of the Black Sea Fleet are involved in such combat training activities," the report said.

It is noted that during the exercises the struggle for survivability of the ship at the park near the pier, combat air defense, anti-diversion techniques at the bases is being worked out.

As reported by the "Apostrophe", the Ukrainian government had previously published an infographic with the radius of defeat of arms that Russia had placed in the occupied Crimea.

apostrophe.ua  In Ukrainian/український

The exchange of captives in the Donbas for Russia is one of the types of blackmail of Ukraine, and next year the Kremlin will attempt to achieve concessions from Kyiv to the ORDLO.

This is written by military expert Oleg Zhdanov in his blog on "Apostrophe and."

"In addition, the Kremlin has thrown a moment like political pressure and blackmail, that is, we are ready to go on a negotiating process under any conditions to get our people. And then, we are listening to the statement of the Russian representative in the negotiating group in Minsk, Boris Gryzlov. And he says that the Russian Federation sets itself itself, for 2018, such tasks as the special status of the occupied territories and full amnesty, as well as the full implementation of the Minsk agreements with the "Steinmeier" plan (first elections, and then everything else). And this is absolutely unacceptable for us. , because it will lead to federalization of countries . And this is the tail, for which they will keep the dog"- said Zhdanov.

apostrophe.ua    In Ukrainian/український

The network has a video with Ukrainians who refused to return to the territory of the terrorist "DPR" and "LNR".

The video posted on its Twitter page a blogger nicknamed Necro Mancer, who specializes in monitoring illegal armed formations.

"Abstentions. It would be interesting to listen to everyone, of course, only three have been shown here," wrote the blogger.



As noted by Verkhovna Rada deputy human rights activist Valery Lutkovsky, about 15 militants brought in for exchange, refused to return to the terrorist "A / DNR".

"The number I will not tell you right now: at the moment it was 9 or 15. Why was refused? In principle, this is absolutely understandable, because someone was not even where to go... And they immediately said that all relatives are in a controlled territory and we want to return to our relatives and, accordingly, no longer want to return to an uncontrolled territory, and those who said that we are free people and we realized that we want to live in a controlled Ukraine territory, even those who drove to an uncontrolled territory , they answered that they though Ut back, "- said Lutkovska on the air of the channel" 112 Ukraine".

apostrophe.ua  In Ukrainian/український

The sharp reaction of Russia to the provision by the United States of Ukraine of anti-tank missile systems Javelin is a paradox.

This was stated by the Special Representative of the US Department of State to Ukraine Kurt Volker in an interview with the radio station "Echo of Moscow".

"It's an eternal paradox: they always say, but they say that they are not there, how it can be a threat to Russia, of course, it's a contradiction, and Russians, of course, know that they are in Ukraine, and they know, what they are doing.Any misleading in these statements, however, is that this decision seems to give Ukraine a significant opportunity to use aggression against the forces in the Donbass. But in fact, it is about deterrence, preventing further invasion of Ukraine"- said the American diplomat.

apostrophe.ua  In Ukrainian/український

In the near future, before the next election, Russian President Vladimir Putin will try to win a foreign policy victory to create a positive image.

This was told by the French political scientist, journalist, expert on European Union affairs, vice-president of the Kyiv International University Olivier Vedrin, "The Apostrophe".

According to him, the source of such a "victory" can be Ukraine, where Putin can decide on the use of military force.

"I'm afraid that we should beware for the next three months, because Vladimir Putin has a psychology of the 19th or 20th century, he thinks that the victory of the military can create a good image," the expert said.

Vedrin is confident that Russia's policy towards Ukraine will not change in the near future.

"Vladimir Putin will continue to disturb Ukraine, because he does not want Ukraine to be successful, he can not afford it. Therefore, nothing will change. If tomorrow the Ukrainian will earn more than a Russian, if Ukraine is a happy state, propaganda in Russia is not will be effective, and Putin will have to confront the revolution or something like that. Putin's goal is to destroy, punish Ukraine", - summed up the political scientist.

apostrophe.ua  In Ukrainian/український

Russia actively uses the national-patriotic forces of Ukraine to destabilize the situation in Ukraine and to disrupt relations with its neighboring countries, and members of these organizations often do not even guess about it.

This was stated by the head of the SBU Vasyl Hrytsak, reports Interfax-Ukraine .

"If Russian intelligence services can use SBU officers, high-ranking officials as their agents not only to obtain information, but also to influence the processes taking place in Ukraine, then they can use national patriotic forces," said Hrytsak, answering the questions. about whether the SBU has information about the use of Russia to destabilize the situation in Ukraine of national-patriotic organizations.

He stressed that many of those who belong to these organizations, "neither do not sleep and spirit know who is actually behind the scenes of this activity."

According to him, it is rather difficult to determine when Russian security services use national patriots "in the dark", and when these organizations deliberately carry out activities at the expense of the country.

"If one of the representatives of the national-patriotic environment suspects his associate of a party or a public organization in work on Russian or other special services, he can inform us, anonymously or directly, and we will definitely check this information," said Hrytsak.

-Recall that on December 20, SBU counterintelligence  officers disclosed an official of the secretariat of the Cabinet  on activities in the interests of Russia's special services.

-The detainee on suspicion in cooperation with the intelligence services of Russia  was the deputy head of the protocol of the prime minister of  Yezhov.

-Groisman  thanked the staff of the SBU  for their professionalism and vigilance.
Groisman  knew from the SBU that his translator worked for Russia's intelligence service  a few months before his arrest.

-Yezhov reported to Russian intelligence officers data  on foreign trips and talks with the head of government.

-Yezov was chosen as a preventive measure in the form of  detention  for a term of 60 days without an alternative to making a deposit.

-Hrytsak considers Ezhov to be the largest "fish" that was caught during Independence.

espreso.tv    In Ukrainian/український

An American historian of Russian origin, Yuriy Felshtinsky, voiced three major threats next year.

He told about this in an interview with the publication " Obozrevatel".

"The second threat of the Korean War is likely to be the greatest threat in the United States in 2018. It will begin with a blow by the United States of North Korea, but the consequences of this blow can hardly be counted.These blows can lead to a quick and brilliant victory of America over the North Korean communist dictatorship and the unification of Korea under the pinnacle of South Korea, but could lead to a prolonged Second Korean war and the deaths of hundreds of thousands and even millions of people, not to mention the existing risk of using nuclear belligerents, "says Fe lshtynsky

He also drew attention to the security situation in the Middle East.

"The second most explosive danger is the Middle East because of a possible military confrontation on the one hand by Iran and Israel, on the other hand, Iran and Saudi Arabia, and an aggressor party in this or these conflicts is Iran," the historian said.

In addition, says Felshtinsky, next year may be attempts to establish an independent Kurdistan, which will affect the stability of Turkey.

apostrophe.ua  In Ukrainian/український

During a telephone conversation with the United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Nicki Haley, telephone speakers discussed elections on the fictitious island of Binomoy

This is reported by The Hill.

Two of the Russian princesses from Russia successfully played Haley, presenting with the newly appointed Prime Minister of Poland Mateusz Moravetsky.

In the beginning, Haley thanked the "prime minister" for his support during a UN vote for a resolution condemning Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Then Poland refrained from voting, which was seen as US support.

After that, comedians Volodymyr Kuznetsov and Alexey Stolyarov asked Haley about the fictional island of Binomoy in the South China Sea. They said they suspected that Russia had intervened in the local elections.

"Yes, of course, they absolutely did it. We followed the process very closely and, I think, we will continue to observe the problems that arise in the South China Sea," said Hayley.

Representative Nikki Haley refused to comment on the situation and confirm or deny the authenticity of the audio recording.

Video comedy commercials posted on their YouTube page.



-Earlier, the Russian princesses tried to play the general director "Pivdenmash" Sergei Voit, calling him allegedly on behalf of the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Alexander Turchinov.

espreso.tv    In Ukrainian/український

The first contacts between Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Donald Trump were very difficult, including in connection with the Ukrainian issue.

This is written by the German edition Der Spiegel.

"Already during one of the first telephone conversations there were the first differences: after the election of Donald Trump, US President, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told him about Ukraine's importance for transatlantic relations... Trump also revealed in his conversation his ignorance about Ukraine and the conflict with Russia", - says in the article.

The German magazine also noted that Trump demonstrated "awful gaps in knowledge when communicating with Merkel."

Unnamed representatives of the federal government of Germany after the telephone conversation with Ukraine "were shocked by these gaps in knowledge," notes Der Spiegel.

On the other hand, advisers at the White House noted the condescending tone that Merkel first spoke with the US president. However, during their first meeting in March, she behaved very restrained, the publication writes.

The American magazine Vanity Fair had to apologize for the humorous video, in which the authors offered the ex-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to engage in next year by knitting, not politics.

espreso.tv  In Ukrainian/український

In 2017, the index of Ukrainian shares increased by 80%, which became the best indicator among all countries.

This was reported by Bloomberg.

It is noted that this message was supported by the International Monetary Fund, which declared in May this year that Ukraine has "privileged signs of economic recovery" and "a perspective basis for further growth".

The second after Ukraine broke Kazakhstan, which has a 64% increase in the stock index.

The worst performance in 2017 was for Pakistan (-22%).

hromadske.ua  In Ukrainian/український

In St. Petersburg unknown attacked a knife on activist Volodymyr Ivanuyenko, known for his mask, Putin.

This was reported in social network by his friend Diana Retinska.

"I came from the front door to work, many knife wounds, damaged stomach and internal organs. I had time to say:" NOIDs "and lost consciousness," she wrote.

Now Ivanutienko is in intensive care unit at the city hospital №26 on the street Kosciuszko.

At the hospital "Mediazone" site confirmed that the patient named Volodymyr Ivanutienko really resides in them in intensive care, but failed to clarify the information about his health.

Ivanutienko is known for the opposition demonstrations in the mask of Vladimir Putin.



"Immense enthusiasm for the courage of the Ukrainian people, you are a model for us, it's no wonder now that every decent person is a little Ukrainian..." - the words of the Russian activist of the "Voice of Ukraine" publication.



apostrophe.ua  In Ukrainian/український