Ukraine News in brief. Wednesday 28 February. [Ukrainian sources]

WEDNESDAY HEADLINES:
Putin took an important step towards deploying peacekeepers in the Donbas.  United States is preparing the armed forces of Europe to use tactical nuclear weapons against the Russian Federation, - Lavrov.  In the West they told how Manafort gave advice to the party of Yanukovych after the victory of the Maidan.  The first deliveries of American weapons should take place in a few weeks.  Scandalous Russian model Nastya Rybka, who got into jail, asked for political custody in the United States.  An employee of the Russian embassy in Argentina said that 400kg of cocaine was thrown to him by Americans.  US intelligence has found evidence of Russia's hacking attacks on seven state voting systems.  The brutal murder in Odesa: an unknown beheaded young woman in her apartment.  There is an agreement on returning from Russia two more hostages by the end of this week.  Poroshenko reminded of a photo of Tymoshenko with the Russian ambassador "at the corners of the international conference".  Prosecutor Kravchenko: Upcoming Yanukovych’s press conference to be of much help to prosecution.  Poroshenko: “Ukrainians have their living standards growing very slowly. This doesn’t suit me”. Russia not adhering to ceasefire in Syria as it continue to back Bashar al-Assad’s government, - US State Department. Two Ukrainian higher schools rose in the ranking of the best in the world. The International Olympic Committee has lifted sanctions against Russia, a member of the IOC. Nazarbayev banned the use of Russian at the meetings of the Kazakhstan government and parliament. Russia prohibits conducting any international sporting event.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Kremlin does not oppose the deployment of a UN peacekeeping mission to the entire uncontrolled territory of Donbas.

He announced this at a press conference in Moscow on the results of the Russian-Austrian negotiations, reports Interfax-Ukraine.

"Now they say: no, it's necessary that they (UN peacekeepers - ed.) Should be everywhere, that is, in fact, it is about putting the whole territory under international control. Russia" for "or" against "? We are at least , not against,"- says the president of Russia.

However, he again stated the need to negotiate a peacekeeper with the so-called "DPR" and "LNR".

"But you need to negotiate with these unrecognized republics. Go then and agree with them. No, nobody wants to do this," Putin said.

Please note that Russia has repeatedly emphasized that peacekeepers should be placed only on the line of differentiation, and also strongly opposed the fact that "blue helmets" appeared on the uncontrolled section of the Ukrainian-Russian border in Kyiv. Also, the Kremlin has repeatedly insisted that in essence this should not be a peacekeeping mission, but an OSCE observer mission.

apostrophe.ua  In Ukrainian/український

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the availability of tactical nuclear weapons in the US in Europe is a manifestation of an aggressive attitude.

Reported Tsenzor.NET with reference to Interfax.

"Russia, I recall once again, does not have a deployed tactical nuclear weapon, does not finalize its use. The ammunition is concentrated on the central storage bases on its national territory," he said, speaking at a conference on disarmament in Geneva.

Lavrov stressed that in these conditions, "the availability of ready-to-use tactical nuclear weapons in the US in Europe - not just a rudiment of the Cold War, but a clearly aggressive position."

"Nuclear disarmament is also preventing the preservation of American non-strategic nuclear weapons in Europe, which is accompanied by a practice of" joint nuclear missions "that will destabilize," he said.

Lavrov emphasized that within their framework, "with a gross violation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, non-nuclear NATO members are involved in the planning of the use of US non-strategic nuclear weapons and are involved in the development of appropriate skills."

"It should be clear to everyone that the US military thus prepares the armed forces of the European countries to use tactical nuclear weapons against the Russian Federation," the Russian minister said.

The minister expressed the hope that "European citizens will be able to say firmly" no "to the deployment of weapons of mass destruction on their territory, including those belonging to the only state that has already used it against the civilian population of Hiroshima and Nagasaki."

Lavrov said that Moscow had reached a limit on the volume of carriers and warheads under the Treaty on measures to further reduce and limit strategic offensive arms, reducing its nuclear arsenal by more than 85%.

"On February 5, we confirmed that we reached the limits of carriers and warheads under the Treaty on measures to further reduce and limit strategic offensive arms," ​​the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation said.

"Thus, Russia's nuclear arsenal has been reduced by more than 85% compared to the peak of the Cold War," Lavrov says.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

Former political party strategist of the Party of Regions and former head of US presidential contender Donald Trump Paul Manafort began to advise the Opposition Bloc after the recent escape of former President Viktor Yanukovych to Russia.

Bloomberg reports.

"Manafort returned to Ukraine a few months after Yanukovych was overthrown, and Russia annexed the Crimea, and advised the former presidential Party of Regions to be renamed into a universal party - the Opposition Bloc, which could have been the voice of Russians in the east," said in the message.

According to the publication, Manafort 17 times visited Ukraine in 2014 and 2015 to work in elections. At the same time, the trips were carried out much later than indicated in previous indictments on the lobbyist activity of the American political consultant.

Sources familiar with the situation, specify that these trips brought Manafort less profit, since Yanukovych fled to Russia.

It is specified that for work in the parliamentary elections in Ukraine in 2014, where Manafort spends no less than a month, he has received about $1 million in advising party leaders.

However, Manafort was not paid for part of his work at the Ukrainian elections in late 2015.

apostrophe.ua    In Ukrainian/український

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko said that the first deliveries of weapons from the USA should take place in a few weeks.

He stated this during a press conference "Challenges - 2018", reports Tsensor.NET.



The president reminded that he had negotiated the supply of weapons with US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and US Secretary of Defense James Mattis.

"The first supply of this weapon should be in a few weeks," said Poroshenko.

He referred to the secrecy of information to tell more about the supply of weapons, but said that they would soon be supplying anti-nyperm kits.

"We are talking about a multitude of supplies, starting with anti-naiper complexes, because many Ukrainian fighters were killed by Russian snipers in the east of our country," the head of state said. According to P. Poroshenko, obtaining such complexes will help Ukraine to significantly reduce the number of victims, especially on the front line.

"We also talk about the means of electronic combat, air defense and many other types of weapons," he said.

As reported, on December 25, 2017, ABC News, referring to several sources at the State Department of the United States, announced the intention of US President Donald Trump to approve an anti-tank missile supply plan to Ukraine. According to sources, it is about supply of 210 anti-tank missiles and 35 launches for the amount of $ 47 million. Later, the information was confirmed.

On January 28, 2018, the United States Special Representative for Ukraine, Kurt Volcker, said that Ukraine and the United States are working together to transfer the Armed Forces of Ukraine to the Javelin PTRK, but this takes time.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

Scandalous Russian model Anastasiya Vashkevich (Nastya Rybka) and her mentor Oleksandr Kyrylov (Alex Leslie) asked for political patronage in the United States.

It was reported by RBC with a reference to the representative of Ribka, an American citizen Paul, who refused to name his surname.

"We were at the American Embassy in Thailand, they sent a letter to Alex and Nasti about political asylum, they are now in jail, I do not know anything about deportation," he said.

Specifies that this information was confirmed by Leslie and Ribka's friend who helped raise money for collateral. He noted that four of the ten previously detained police had put the trainers in a "full-fledged Pattaya prison with high walls and barbed wire."

"They said that they could not visit them; they would stay there for about two months," said the acquaintance.

According to the agency, in a letter to Leslie, the United States asks the United States to help and protect them as soon as possible, asserting that they have an important information for Washington. So, he asks for protection in the US for 10 detainees, including for himself and Nastya Fish.

apostrophe.ua  In Ukrainian/український

The suspect in organizing smuggling of 400 kg of cocaine from the Russian Embassy in Argentina, Andrei Kovalchuk, is convinced that the drug appeared at the school of the Russian diplomatic missions as a result of the provocation of the American intelligence services and the local police

This was stated by lawyer Kovalchuk Volodymyr Zherebenkov, reports Interfax.

"Kovalchuk is convinced that the drugs were thrown in by the Argentinean police with the participation of the American intelligence services in provocation to discredit the Russian diplomacy," Zherebenkov said.

According to the lawyer, his client insists that in the 12 suitcases identified coffee, alcohol, personal belongings and gifts. At the same time Kovalchuk claims that the suitcases were much lighter than before the discovery of cocaine. According to the suspect, the contents of the suitcase at the embassy were known.

"He has all the checks, receipts and witnesses confirming that he was purchasing coffee itself. Judge for yourself if he is a drug dealer who is doing it, it's strange that he has all this product lying for more than a year under the stairs and no reaction from his side is not", - said Zherebenkov.

The lawyer said that coffee and alcohol were bought in July 2016 and left for school in the embassy. Cocaine discovered at the end of November a new head of the embassy who conducted the inventory of the farm.

Zherebenkov said that Kovalchuk intends to give evidence to the investigator that there were no cocaine in his suitcases, and he himself is not a drug trafficker.

"Now we are preparing for protection, it is possible that he will appear because he has a great desire to come and establish the truth," said the lawyer.

Zherebenkov said that in the near future he will decide with the client on the renewal of the terms of the appeal and submit a complaint to the Moscow City Court for the extra-time arrest Kovalchuk with a request to change the measure he selected measure of restraint.

-Recall that earlier in the diplomatic mail of the Russian Embassy in Argentina they found nearly 400 kg of cocaine in 12 suitcases.

-At the Argentine airport, a Russian man was taken from 4 kg of cocaine in a suitcase.

espreso.tv  In Ukrainian/український

US intelligence agencies have found evidence that "secret agents of Russia" hacked attacks on the electoral systems of seven states during the presidential election in 2016.

It reports NBC News, citing three senior members of US intelligence.

According to sources, it is about Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Texas and Wisconsin.

"Systems in seven states tried to compromise in different ways, with some violations were more serious than others - from entering the state sites and before penetration into the voter registration databases," the interlocutors said.

These data are based, in particular, on the report prepared by American services in recent weeks by Barack Obama's presidency.

Also, of the seven states listed, cyberattacks were recognized only in Illinois. The authorities of other states deny interference with the work of their electoral systems. In addition, all interviewed US high-ranking officials agreed that none of the voters' voice was changed due to Russia's actions.

Federal officials expressed fears that "the Russians will return" during the upcoming Congressional elections. They believe that in 2016, Russian hackers "laid the foundation for a future attack".

hromadske.ua  In Ukrainian/український

Police in Odessa are investigating the brutal murder of a young woman.

As informs Tsensor.NET with reference to the press service of the National Police in the Odessa region, her body with a cut off head was discovered in an apartment on Vidnaya Street.

It is noted that the announcement of the event was received at the Khmelnytsky police station on February 27 approximately at eleven o'clock in the evening



It was established that the deceased - the landlady of the apartment, born in 1989.

Law enforcement officers are now investigating the circumstances of the tragedy. Measures are being taken to establish witnesses and witnesses of a crime, as well as persons involved in it.



According to this fact, criminal proceedings were initiated in accordance with Clause 6, part 2, st.115 (deliberate murder) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.



On this fact, criminal proceedings have been commenced in accordance with Clause 6, Clause 2 of Article 1115 (deliberate murder) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Police ask citizens who have any information about the circumstances of the crime or those who committed it, by telephone (093) 238-27-99, (048) 799-19-60 or 102.



ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko announced an agreement to return two more Ukrainian hostages by the end of this week.

He stated this during a press conference "Challenges - 2018", reports Tsensor.NET.

"By the end of this year, we will return two more hostages to our home, a place and a date have already been agreed. We think that this will not fail," Poroshenko hoped.

Later, the spokeswoman of the President, Svyatoslav Sezhgolko, clarified that the release is not expected until the end of the year, and by the end of this week.

Earlier in the office of the Verkhovna Rada of Human Rights Commissioner, Russians convicted of Roman Sushchenko and Oleg Sentsov were able to exchange former Ukrainian servicemen Oleksandr Baranov and Maxim Odintsov who served in the Russian army and sentenced by the Ukrainian court for state treason and desertion.

As previously reported, the court sentenced Maxim Odintsov to 14 years in prison for desertion and state security. Also, the court of Kiev sentenced to 13 years of imprisonment Alexander Baranov for state treason and desertion from the Ukrainian army in the annexed Russia of Crimea. At the end of December 2016, the Military Prosecutor's Office of the Mykolaiv Garrison of the Southern Region of Ukraine completed the pre-trial investigation and sent to court accusatory acts against two former Ukrainian servicemen, Alexander Baranov and M. Odintsov, who betrayed the oath and turned to the side of the aggressor country. They are suspected of committing crimes provided for in Part 1 of Art. 408 (desertion) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, Part 1 of Art. 111 (state betrayal) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Former junior sergeant and ensign, while serving in one of the military units stationed on the territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, during the occupation of the peninsula did not execute the order to arrive at the new place of service and remained in the occupied territory, thereby committing desertion, in connection with which they were declared wanted. Later, they entered into contracts for military service in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

On November 20, 2016, the Security Service of Ukraine announced the detention of two deserters in the administration of the Crimea , which, after the occupation of the peninsula, moved to serve in the Russian army. According to Ukrainian law enforcement officers, Odintsov and Baranov were detained at an attempt to cross the border crossing point with the occupied Crimea. The detainees used to serve in the Ukrainian Army earlier: a criminal proceeding against desertion was opened against them.

The Russian media reported that the Russian Ministry of Defense had accused the Ukrainian secret services of allegedly illegally detaining and exporting from Crimea two Russian servicemen .

Recall that on September 30, 2016, the FSB of Russia detained a correspondent of the Ukrainian agency "Ukrinform" in France, Roman Sushchenko, who came to Russia in private affairs. He was called "an employee of the Ukrainian intelligence," who allegedly "deliberately gathered information about the activities of the armed forces and troops of the National Guard of the Russian Federation, which constitute state secrets."

On January 24, 2018, the Moscow City Court extended Sushchenko's arrest until March 30 .

August 25, 2015 The North Caucasian District Military Court of Russia sentenced Oleg Sentsov, a Ukrainian filmmaker from Simferopol, to 20 years in prison in a strict regime colony on charges of involvement in terrorism. He denies his guilt.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko reminded about a photo of Yulia Tymoshenko with the Russian ambassador at the Munich conference.

As Tsensor.NET reports , this was stated by the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko during the current press conference.

"And for those of our oppositionists who, in the wings of an international conference, make a session with Russian ambassadors, I would like to explain that diplomatic victories are being fought not only in conference halls, but in negotiations rooms, sometimes very heavy and exhausting," - he said.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

Military prosecutor Ruslan Kravchenko believes that former President Viktor Yanukovych will help the prosecution by holding a press conference in Moscow.

As reported by Censor.NET, the law enforcer Wednesday said in the Obolonskyi district court of Kyiv, where the next hearing of Yanukovych’s treason case took place.

"These Yanukovych’s speeches will be of much help to the prosecution. We certainly will collect information on this speech," Kravchenko said.

According to the prosecutor, the announced press conference once again confirms that the defendant is aware of the pace of the legal action against him which means that this trial in absentia is legitimate and violates no human rights.

"The trial in absentia is held in line with Ukrainian legislation and European standards on human rights. There are no violations as one of the prerequisites for undertaking special judicial proceedings is that a defendant must be aware of the legal action held against one," Kravchenko stressed.

As reported, Yanukovych scheduled a press conference in Moscow for March 2 in order to disclose "new evidence of the current Ukrainian authorities’ involvement in deadly attacks on protesters on the Maidan Nezalezhnosti" in 2014.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko said that Ukraine’s economic growth bounced back but "this recovery is insufficient for normal pensions and salaries."

He said at a press conference Challenges 2018, Censor.NET reports.

"I understand this discontent. But the economy was dead when we came to power. The banking system was actually insolvent. Then Russia attacked us, annexed Crimea. We had to find funds for defense given that we lost more than 20 percent of the economy. We restored the economic growth. But this recovery is insufficient for normal pensions and salaries," Poroshenko said.

The president noted that he was not satisfied with such a slow pace of changes. Poroshenko also stressed that it was necessary to make every effort to revive Ukraine’s middle class.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

Russia supported the ceasefire in Syria but it certainly does not adhere to it because it continues to sponsor and back Bashar al-Assad’s government.

Spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State Heather Nauert told a briefing on Tuesday, Censor.NET reports.

"I want to point out some of the countries that are backing that ceasefire: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Bolivia, Cote d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, and Sweden. All of those countries coming together to call for a ceasefire in Syria. Why are they doing that? Well, we are watching what is going on – and I spoke to this on Thursday – the horrific attacks taking place against civilians in Eastern Ghouta. It is not too dissimilar from what happened last year in Aleppo. It is horrific," Nauert said.

"I will point out, though, that Russia supported the ceasefire. Russia is certainly not adhering to the ceasefire. They’re not adhering to the ceasefire because they continue to sponsor and back Bashar al-Assad’s government. That is tragic. As a result of that, we are seeing innocent civilians – and you’ve all seen the video. Many of you are parents; you have seen the children who are suffering and dying. You’ve seen the innocent people doing that. The world has come together. The world has said that this has to stop. I find it ironic when Russia calls for a humanitarian road, a humanitarian zone. You know what the humanitarian zone is? It’s the entirety of Syria, not just one little area that Russia cutely tries to carve out. It should be the entire country, because that is what Russia and those 15[i] other countries agreed to in the UN Security Council resolution," the spokesperson said.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

Six Ukrainian universities have entered the new annual list of the best universities in the world, of which two have improved their positions.

The complete list is published on QS World University Rankings.

The Kyiv National University named after him succeeded in raising the rating . T. Shevchenko , and the Kiev Polytechnic Institute. KNU has risen from 431-440 places to 411-420, and KPI - from 551-600 to 500-550.

Kharkiv University is still the best Ukrainian university according to the rating version. Karazin, which retains leadership, despite some decrease - from 382 to 401-410 positions.

In addition to the three leaders, Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute, Donetsk National University (now in Vinnytsia) and Sumy State University are also on the list. All of them are in the 701+ position.

apostrophe.ua  In Ukrainian/український

The International Olympic Committee has renewed the membership of the Russian Olympic Committee in the organization.

This was reported by a member of the IOC and the honorary president of the Olympic Committee of Russia Shamil Tarpshev, reports RBC.

"All the results of the inspections of our athletes, showed their" cleanliness." Procedurally, Russia does not need to do anything, renewal of membership of the OCR occurred automatically, the IOC has no complaints", - said Tarpshev.

Russian athletes competed at the Winter Olympics -2018 under a neutral flag. Such restrictions were introduced for the country after the doping scandal.

At this Olympiad, several cases of doping in Russian athletes have been detected.

Bobsheyte Sergeyev was disqualified from the Olympics through doping - in her analyzes, the prohibited drug trimethazidine was found.

Alexander Krushelnytsky and his wife Anastasia Bryzgalova have taken "bronze" in mixed couples competitions with curling. Both Krushelnytsky's doping tests showed a positive result. Curlingist disqualified. The couple lost the medal , accreditation and returned to Russia.

hromadske.ua  In Ukrainian/український

President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan has forbidden the parliament and government to use Russian at their meetings and ordered to speak only in the state language.

This is reported by the Ukrainian service "Radio Liberty", informs Tsensor.NET.

"It is necessary to continue work on improving the status of the Kazakh language. The activities of the parliament and the government should be carried out in the state language ... At the same time, citizens' rights in this matter can not be limited, they should be provided with the possibility of simultaneous interpretation," Nazarbayev said.

On February 27th, the government meeting was practically fully implemented using the Kazakh language. In particular, Akim of the Akmolin region reported to Russian, and some other officials did not translate the slides they used during the speeches into Kazakh.

In April 2017, Nursultan Nazarbayev spoke for the transfer of the Kazakh language from Cyrillic to Latin. On October 27, the president signed a decree on the gradual transfer of the Kazakh language from Cyrillic to Latin in 2025. Then in the proposed version of the alphabet there were 32 letters, in particular nine letters with apostrophes. In February 2018, he approved a new version of the Kazakh alphabet in Latin, which does not include the use of the apostrophe.

Such a transition is considered the next step of the president of Kazakhstan for the removal of his country from Russia. Astana is in good relations with Moscow, but is pursuing an independent policy, as well as fighting Russian nationalism in regions where Russians make up a significant proportion of the population.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

Russia from April will be deprived of the opportunity to apply for international sporting events

This will happen if the Russian anti-doping agency (RUSADA) is not restored until April, according to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

In the fall of 2015, WADA suspended the work of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory and made a decision on the non-compliance of the RUSADA Code Agency.

The ban will only apply to future tournaments, for which Russia will want to apply. At the same time, the sanctions will not affect the competition that the Russians received earlier. Including the World Cup, which will be held in the summer of 2018 and winter Universiade, which will be held in winter 2019 in Krasnoyarsk.

-RUSADA was denied a license due to systematic violations of anti-doping rules by Russian athletes.

-Due to the use of banned drugs from the 2016 Olympic Games, Russia's national teams of light and athletics were removed.

-Later, WADA proved the existence in Russia of a doping program supported at the state level, which has led to the suspension of membership in the International Olympic Committee.

-The Russian national team was suspended from the Beijing Olympic Games in Pyongchang , where only a few Russian athletes were neutral in status, not seen in doping scandals.

-But among them, not all were "clean", at the Olympics-2018 recorded two cases of Russian doping use were disqualified bobsleader Nadezhda Sergeyeva and curling Alexander Krushelnytsky, who took a bronze award in the mix, where he performed with Anastas Bryzgalova.

espreso.tv  In Ukrainian/український