Ukraine News. Monday 12 March. [Ukrainian sources]

MONDAY HEADLINES:
In Russia they named the only reason why Putin is not ready to go on a big war on Ukraine.  The EU insists: Gazprom must fulfill its obligations to Ukraine.  Ukraine and Canada have agreed to jointly create a missile site.  Savchenko was summoned for questioning by the SBU in Ruban's case.  Russia is ahead of NATO in expanding its borders.  The candidate for the presidency of the Russian Federation, Stalinist Suraykin, announced a visit to Kyiv and a meeting with the communist underground.  The SBU is looking for organizers of anti-Ukrainian actions, among which there are journalists.  "It should become a new international initiative to punish the Kremlin criminals," Bourbak called for support for the 2018 FIFA World Cup boycott in Russia.  EU extends Ukraine-related sanctions against Russia for another six months.  Poland, Latvia and Lithuania signed a letter of concern regarding the "North Stream-2".  The Greek authorities issued a warrant for the arrest of a Russian businessman, the owner of PAOK football club Ivan Savvid, who, during the match with the AEK team, ran on field with a pistol.  Gazprom is delaying the execution of arbitration, but it is absolutely hopeless. Ukraine will get everything for a penny.

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According to Russian opposition leader Leonid Gozman , Russian President Vladimir Putin will not start a big war in Ukraine because of the danger of large casualties among his soldiers.

He stated this in an interview with UNIAN.

According to Gozman, so far, the war in the Donbas and Syria for Russia goes without great losses, the Russians are dying there, but they are not so much that the society noticed.

"Few and many, this is not just numbers, it's when many of us know such people. If I know, in this house the last couple of days hid a guy who died in Afghanistan and the same case - in my relatives' relatives, that means a lot losses, then, ours perish. Until now, neither Ukraine nor Syria has happened, "says the Russian opposition.

In the case of a full-scale war and the transition of Russian troops to the attack, according to Gozman, they will be able to win, but they are suffering great losses, as the professionalism of the Ukrainian army has grown in the recent times.

"Therefore, the readiness of the Ukrainian Army is a very important thing, because then he (Putin - ed.) Will not go into the attack," concludes the politician.

Recall that recently appeared detailed information about one of the Russian militants who died in Syria, and fought against it in the Donbas.

apostrophe.ua  In Ukrainian/український

Russian Gazprom should fully comply with its gas contracts obligations, in accordance with the Stockholm arbitration ruling

This was stated during a joint briefing in Kyiv with Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Federika Mogherini, according to Interfax-Ukraine .

According to her, at present, the European Commission in the person of the European Commissioner for Energy Union, Maros Sheffovich, is doing everything possible to resolve the situation between Gazprom and Naftogaz.

"Gazprom" must fully comply with its contractual obligations ", - emphasized Mogerini.

-Note that during this press conference, Groisman announced the creation of the Anti-corruption Court over the coming months.

-According to Mogerini, the EU sees significant progress in Ukraine's reforms.

-Recall that on February 28, the Stockholm Arbitration granted the demand of Naftogaz of Ukraine to compensate for the amount of gas for transit by Russia's not-equipped Gazprom. Arbitration awards pay in favor of "Naftogaz" $ 4.63 billion.

-Gazprom announced the immediate termination of all contracts with Ukraine. Subsequently, Gazprom stated that they had returned to Ukraine the prepayment for gas due to the discrepancy of the documents sent by Naftogaz to the decision of the Stockholm Arbitration of December 22, 2017.

espreso.tv  In Ukrainian/український

Space agencies of Ukraine and Canada will build a launch site for Ukrainian missiles in the territory of one of the Canadian cosmodrome.

This was reported by adviser to the chairman of the State Space Agency Eduard Kuznetsov in the comment "Radio HB".

In its turn, Ukraine plans to modernize the Cyclone 4 space carriers. The project budget is $ 500 million.

Kuznetsov also noted that with Australia, there is currently no agreement on the construction of the spaceport.

In his words, the Ukrainian government proposed the project in 2016, but no response from the Australians has yet been received.

Recall, the State Space Agency of Ukraine (SSAU) has proposed to build a cosmodrome not far from the Curtin Airbase in Kimberley, the county of Western Australia.

hromadske.ua  In Ukrainian/український

People's Deputy Nadiya Savchenko was summoned to the Security Service of Ukraine in connection with an investigation into a criminal proceeding concerning the head of the Center for the release of prisoners "Officers' Corps" Volodymyr Ruban.

This was stated by the Attorney General Yuriy Lutsenko, reports Interfax-Ukraine.

"The Security Service of Ukraine sent a people's deputy Nadezhda Savchenko to a poll for tomorrow (Tuesday, March 13th - ed), And today she left the territory of the country at 4 am," said the head of the GPU.

According to him, the deputy went to an international conference, although he was not an official member of the delegation. However, Lutsenko said that Savchenko had "full grounds" to attend this event.

He stressed that Savchenko must necessarily come to the Security Service of Ukraine ", since every MP should be a model of civic duty, and to cooperate with the investigation tomorrow would be very important both for Hope and for the country."

The Attorney General also noted that, as part of the investigation of criminal proceedings against V. Ruban, "the second message in this case will continue".

"This is a very serious matter, and I do not recommend anyone laughing at the individual facts that were promulgated by the Security Service of Ukraine. If they are analyzed in the whole array, and we will do this in the near future, after appropriate investigative actions against other members of this terrorist plot,"- added Lutsenko.

Recall that Vladimir Ruban was arrested on March 8 near the line of delimitation in the Donbass at the Konovalok "Myorslsk".

According to the SBU, in the car on which Vladimir Ruban ran, there were artillery mines, grenades, anti-tank guns and other weapons that they wanted to use for terrorist attacks in Kyiv.

On the morning of March 9, the Shevchenko court of the capital chose him a precautionary measure in the form of taking into custody for 2 months without the right to a pledge.

Ruban is charged with violations of articles of the Criminal Code on the illicit handling of weapons and the preparation of a terrorist attack. The text of the suspicion is that Ruban was preparing an assassination attempt on the president, the heads of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the National Security and Defense Council.

On March 9, at the press conference, the head of the SBU, Vasyl Hrytsak, said that Ruban actively cooperated with the political force "Ukrainian choice" of Viktor Medvedchuk. He also said that there would be other suspects in Ruban's conversation.

In the public organization "Ukrainian Choice", headed by Viktor Medvedchuk, commenting on the statement of the Security Service, said that the interpretation of the SBU is not true.

The head of the Patriotic Volunteer Group, Oleg Kotenko, commenting on the detention of Ruban's negotiator, said that the special services of Ukraine " finally reacted" to the database, to which information was provided about the militant's accomplices.

hromadske.ua  In Ukrainian/український

The American RAND analytical center has published a report stating that the Russian Federation is now better prepared for ground operations at its borders than NATO.
This is the edition of The Economist, reports Tsensor.NET.

"America and its European allies in NATO spent $871 billion in defense in 2015, while Russia's $52 billion, but the recent report by the American RAND analytical center suggests that reality is a bit different now," the newspaper writes.

As the newspaper writes, it would be too difficult for Russia to deal with the hidden forces of NATO, if they were used. But in the early stages of the conflict, at least during the first month, and possibly much longer, the Alliance will lose in terms of the number of military and technology, as well as the radius of defeat. NATO commanders are afraid that Russia will be able to focus a huge amount of combat forces in the Baltic region over a short period of time.

So, analysts RAND have determined that the number of tanks Russia will outstrip NATO in the ratio of 5.9 to 1, in the infantry fighting vehicles - 4.6 to 1 in the missile artillery 270 to 0.

"And when NATO decides to take a significant advantage in combat aircraft, their effectiveness will be significantly reduced as soon as the Russians invade a powerful integrated air defense system," the material said.

According to Ben Barry of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Russia has an advantage over NATO, due to the possibility of using its internal messages to quickly rebuild reinforcements, while NATO did not care to preserve its military transport infrastructure during the Cold War: bridges can not withstand weight. tanks, and the railway systems are not intended for platforms with heavy equipment.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

The Russian presidential candidate, Stalinist Maxim Surakin, during a regular debate on RosTv, said about his visit to Kyiv and secret meetings with communist and socialist undergrounds.
According to Tsensor.NET , Suraykin told about how he managed to get into the territory of Ukraine.

"I was told that I could be arrested, but, to our great joy, I was not in the bases, and I, literally, had time to jump out," said the candidate for the presidency of the Russian Federation.

Suaikin said he met in Kiev with many pro-Russian activists who were ready to "take power in Ukraine and destroy oligarchic capitalism there."



Maxim Surakin is a candidate for the presidency of the Russian Federation from the Communist Party of Russia party. In Russian media, he positions himself as a supporter of Stalin's policy.

"I am convinced by the Stalinists, because Stalin is not this here the image formed by the bourgeois media, before which the task was to spoil the Soviet period and, in general, all the Soviets, that the repressions, etc. Stalin is, first of all, a statesman who was aimed at the construction of the Soviet state in the interests of society, and he step by step realized this program. Consequently, Stalinism for us is a powerful defense complex, Stalinism for us is a wonderful system of education of personnel, producers who build a country, do not fill up their foreign accounts and", - he said in an interview with "Echo of Moscow".

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

On Monday, March 12, the SBU launched 25 searches in various regions of Ukraine in the premises of those who are likely to contribute to anti-Ukrainian actions in favor of Russia

This was reported by Facebook spokesman of the SBU Elena Hitylianska.

"During the search, propaganda materials, weapons, explosives and many other evidence of blasting against our country have been removed," Hitljanska wrote.

The SBU spokesman said that journalists are among the wanted persons.

"Unfortunately, among these citizens there are those who are related to the journalist's shop, but membership in the profession can not be an indulgence from legal liability for anti-state activities," added Hitliansky.

Meanwhile, Vesti newspaper reports that the SBU searched, in particular the premises of a Kyiv journalist Yuriy Lukashin.

espreso.tv  In Ukrainian/український

The head of the People's Front fraction, Maxim Bourbak, calls for the example of the United Kingdom to join the boycott of the 2018 World Cup, which will take place on the territory of the Russian Federation.
He stated this during the Conciliation Council, the parliamentarian correspondent Tsensor.NET reports.



"Terrorism for Russia is a state policy, another confirmation of this is Ruban's arrest and the failure of a possible terrorist attack, which is a special gratitude to our special services, but Russia plans and carries out terrorist attacks not only in Ukraine, but also in the territory of the EU and the US. We see another brutal a chemical attack against the former Scribe Spy on the territory of Great Britain.This is another confirmation that the entire civilized world should unite in the punishment of the Kremlin for the state policy of international terrorism. The Popular Front calls for active idtrymaty call British politicians and officials to boycott the World Cup in Russia. It has become a new international initiative to punish the perpetrators of the Kremlin"- said the head of the NF in Parliament.

Bourbak also said that next week "in Russia will re-appoint the president, and so-called elections they are going to hold in the Crimea." According to him, these "elections" are illegal and their result will be illegitimate.

Burbak also congratulated the signing of the Verkhovna Rada resolution calling for an increase in international pressure on the Kremlin by Parliament Speaker Parubius.

"The Kremlin and its leaders should be held accountable for this" unfriendly "(" elections "in the occupied Crimea - Ed.). The aggression against Ukraine and the West is systematic and aimed at destroying Ukrainian sovereignty and undermining peace in Europe and the world order. we call on our allies around the world to unite sanctions for Donbass and Crimea, as the leader of the "People's Front" Arseniy Yatsenyuk suggests. So-called events in the Crimea and on the Donbass are not something separate. These are different episodes of one international criminal offense, "summed up. Burbak

Recall that the investigation into an assassination attempt by Sergei Skripal and his daughter Julia lasts for the seventh day. Former Colonel-General of the GRU, Sergei Skryple, resident in the UK, convicted in 2006 for espionage in favor of British intelligence services, was hurt by the poisoning of an unknown substance at the Salisbury shopping mall. In the case of poisoning, there are about 200 witnesses.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

The Council of the European Union prolonged the restrictive measures against 150 persons and 38 entities associated with the Ukrainian crisis by six months, until September 15, 2018.

The restrictive measures are associated with "actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine," the Council of the European Union said in a statement issued on Monday, Censor.NET reports.

"The measures consist of asset freezes and travel restrictions. They continue to apply to 150 persons and 38 entities," the statement reads.

"An assessment of the situation did not justify a change in the sanctions regime. The relevant information and statement of reasons for the listing of these persons and entities were updated as necessary," the EU Council said.

"The legal acts will [be] available in the EU Official Journal of 13 March 2018," the statement reads.

The document addresses the restrictions expiring on March 15. The EU Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) approved the prolongation of the restrictions on February 21.

"Other EU measures in place in response to the Ukraine crisis include: economic sanctions targeting specific sectors of the Russian economy, currently in place until 31 July 2018; restrictive measures in response to the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol, limited to the territory of Crimea and Sevastopol, currently in place until 23 June 2018," the Council said.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

The leaders of the parliaments signed a letter expressing concern about Europe's security through the construction of the "North Stream 2"

This is reported by "Polish Radio".

"One principle is the general concern about the security of all the countries of the European Union, as well as those in the eastern part of it. We want to work with everyone, but we also want to respect and care for the security of our citizens in the Baltic countries and Poland. We support Ukraine, which is fighting hard for its independence these days, "said Marek Kukhtsinsky, Speaker of the Polish Sejm.

The letter states that energy security is a key component of a united and prosperous Europe. According to the authors of the letter, in spite of the fact that the Nord Stream gas pipeline is presented as a commercial project, it is, in fact, an instrument of the Russian state policy.

Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, Latvia and Moldova have called on European countries to ensure that the operation of the North Stream 2 pipeline will be in accordance with the European Union rules.

-Earlier, the Polish prime minister Mateusz Moravecki said that North Stream 2 is a very dangerous project for Europe.

-Poroshenko soon plans to visit Germany to discuss the "North Stream-2".

-On March 3, the German environmental protection association Nabu challenged the permit for the construction and operation of the North Stream 2 gas pipeline in Germany.

espreso.tv  In Ukrainian/український

The Greek authorities issued a warrant for the arrest of a Russian businessman, the owner of PAOK football club Ivan Savvid, who, during the match with the AEK team, ran on a pistol field.

This is reported by the Russian BBC service , informs Tsensor.NET.

According to the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Greece Panos Scurlytis, behavior of Savivide, who threatened the referee through an unacknowledged goal, "hurts Greek football."

"Anyone who goes out on a pistol field, arranges an unacceptable provocation," he said.

For his part, Deputy Minister of Culture and Sport Georgios Vassiliadis said that such incidents should be accompanied by "decisive steps".

He also said that after the meeting with the head of government, Alexis Tsipras, it was decided to suspend the holding of the championship of Greece.

Condemned the behavior of the Russians and the International Football Federation.

"FIFA totally condemns such behavior. Given the fact that this incident occurred in the national championship, disciplinary measures remain in the hands of the Football Federation of Greece," the statement reads.

At the same time, the assistant owner of PAOK Tetyana Gordina claims that her boss did not threaten anyone.

"Yes, he went to the field, violating the sporting regulations, but no threats, moreover, weapons, was not," - she assured.

Previously, it was reported that in the Greek city of Thessaloniki, a Russian businessman, the owner of the PAOK football club Ivan Savvidi provoked a scandal, coming out on a pistol field.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko reminded that every day of failure to comply with the decision of the Stockholm arbitration to compensate NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine for losses from transit of Russian gas will cost Gazprom PJSC $0.5 million.

Reported Tsenzor.NET with reference to Interfax-Ukraine.

"We have won a transit case, $4.6 billion is the amount of damage that Russian Gazprom needs to compensate for Ukraine... The current thesis that North Stream 2 needs to be built has far fewer supporters. One important detail: Gazprom is delaying the court to pay money in favor of NJSC Naftogaz... I would like to say that it is absolutely hopeless. Money will be paid, "the president said at a meeting with business community representatives on Monday In Kiev.

He noted that Gazprom will pay almost $0.5 million for each day of delay in payment.

"The day is $0.5 million - the price for non-compliance with the court decision, and I assure you that Ukraine will receive everything for a penny, given the relevant instructions, legal plans have been developed, and we will act in the near future to protect the interests of the Ukrainian state," said P. Poroshenko

As reported, the Stockholm Arbitration ordered Gazprom to pay NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine $4.63 billion for the short supply of agreed volumes of gas for transit. Thus, according to the results of two arbitration disputes between companies for the supply and transit of gas, Gazprom will pay NAK $2.56 billion.

For its part, Gazprom has confirmed that it will pay Naftogaz of Ukraine $2.56 billion by arbitration in Stockholm.

At the same time, Gazprom refused to start deliveries of gas to Naftogaz Ukrainy in March and repaid the prepayment, insisting on the necessity of signing an additional agreement to a valid contract for 2009-2019.

Ukrtransgaz said that Gazprom has not met the technical requirements since the beginning of the year, supplying gas to the Ukrainian border with a lower than contractual pressure.

Head of NJSC "Naftogaz of Ukraine" Andriy Kobolev said about Ukraine's gas shortage of about 10 million cubic meters per day due to frost and the refusal of Gazprom in its deliveries, because of this, proposed to introduce restrictions on gas consumption in the country on 3-4 March 2018.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український