kraine News. Saturday 17 March. [Ukrainian sources]

SATURDAY HEADLINES:
In the United States, two key threats to Putin have been identified.  Ukraine was told how Putin was preparing for a war with the West.  United States is preparing for clashes with Russian mercenaries in Syria.  Russian Foreign Ministry has announced the closure of the British Council.  British Foreign Ministry responded to the expulsion of its diplomats from the Russian Federation.  Russia will send out 23 British diplomats from the country in response to the British action.  The hacker who gave the US authorities data on the whistle-blower of WikiLeaks Chelsea Manning died.  On the eve of the re-election of Putin throughout Russia, detain observers from Navalny.  US Senators Sign Out Open Letter on North Stream - 2 Dangers.  Poroshenko urged Western countries to boycott the World Cup in Russia.  The ombudsman of the Russian Federation appealed to the UN because of the refusal of Kiev to hold elections in the Russian consulates.  Ukraine has sent official appeals to the UN about illegal Russian elections in the Crimea.  

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Two major changes - economic and demographic - threaten the ability of the Russian President Vladimir Putin to maintain stability in the country and keep power.

This is written by a senior analyst at the American private intelligence-analytical company Stratfor for Eurasia, and a specialist in the CIS, Lauren Goodrich, in a text which is available at the disposal of the Apostrophe.

"Putin's social contract . Upon coming to power, Putin signed an informal social contract with the Russian people to support financial and economic stability, which provides for a stable payment of wages, guaranteed pensions, a reliable banking system, state support for strategic assets and opportunities for the next generation." The economic situation in Russia generates loyalty (or, at least, notresistance) to the elite, the population as a whole, the military and security services.For Putin, Russia has recovered quite well after the economic hardship but at the moment it is entering a long period of stagnation that affects the whole country, "writes Goodrich.

He draws attention to the rapid pace of poverty in Russia, low wages, problems in the banking sector.

" It is the economy that is most alarmed by the overwhelming majority of Russians, with more than a thousand protests in the economy of two thirds in 2017. The posters held by the mass demonstrations in June 2017 urged the Kremlin to spend money on bread rather than on bombs - a case against military intervention of Moscow in Syria and Ukraine", - said the analyst.

Another reason for dissatisfaction in Russia is corruption. At the same time, the Russians largely ignored Putin's and his cousins' corruption until the country flourished, but an anti-corruption campaign against the Kremlin is gaining momentum.

"Similar dissatisfaction manifests itself both in the Russian elites, both in the Kremlin and among the oligarchs." The elites supported Putin until their assets were protected and multiplied, but now their business opportunities are limited due to stagnation in the economy and Western sanctions imposed in response to foreign policy activity of Moscow", - writes expert Stratfor.

He also points to increased competition among the elites and a decrease in Putin's ability to control this confrontation.

"In addition, major security services have been clapping weapons around key assets and capitals, which could be a problem during the Putin's fourth term to keep control of other elites," says Goodrich.

As to the demographic threat to Putin, the analyst draws attention to the increase in the number of Muslim population with a general decline in the population. This demographic shift enhances the influence of Muslim leaders, such as Kadyrov.

"In addition, Russia covers the change of generations: almost one third of the country's population was born after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. This class knows only Putin as the leader of the country and almost does not remember the misery of the 1990s. Russians who have reached the age of majority are not themselves anti-Putinists, although they mostly prefer the choice of a leader, rather than the alleged extension of Putin's rule. A recent poll from the Levada Center showed that only 15% of Russians aged 18-24 believe that Putin is acting in the interests of Russians, while 74% believe that it is responsible for the problems of the Russian Federation. In recent years, protesters have become mostly young people, compared to the 2011-2012 protests, which were taken by middle-aged people. Demos are increasingly organized in social networks (in which the new generation is active),"- says Goodrich.

apostrophe.ua  In Ukrainian/український

President Vladimir Putin literally immediately after coming to power began to prepare for a war with the West.

This was stated by an expert and blogger Oleksiy Arestovich in an interview with "Apostrophe".

"I analyzed Putin's speeches from the moment he came to power, since 1999. The bells rang immediately in his first speeches." In psychology, there is a principle that sounds like this: everything that will already be there. That means that everything What would happen in the future, even the most distant events, already have micro tags here. There are people who see them, but there are those who do not see it, "he said.

Arrestovich added that Russia's actions are very clearly seen as they went to confront the West, for example, when they suspended the operation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe.

"It was a shouting sign, and now the smartest Western experts say about how they did not look at it, and if we compare it with the Munich speech of Putin, the Cold War announcement, and the subsequent operation in Georgia, with the initiatives to establish a Union with Belarus With initiatives on the Customs Union and Eurasian space? According to the top [from Alexander] Dugin to Putin, it is clear how their policy was formed, "he said.

The expert reminded that the German dictator Adolf Hitler also spoke directly about his goals: he had not yet come to power, he announced the destruction of the Jews, the need for a "living space", plans to drive the Slavs to the Ural, and so on.

"No one does not hide anything, of course, because this is how politics works. In business, the idea needs to be hidden, and in politics, on the contrary, it is necessary to infect as many people as possible with their idea. Putin and his entourage are not at all ashamed and said in direct text that the West gives them a rope , on which they hang it, as Lenin said, and the West truthfully sold the rope to Putin's Russia, on which Putin is now trying to hang the West, we were all 100 years ago, "concluded Arrestovich.

apostrophe.ua  In Ukrainian/український

The US troops, which rebelled against the pro-Azadian forces, among which were Russian mercenaries of Wagner's PKK, are preparing for new clashes.

Brigadier General Jonathan Braga, head of operations at the United States-led anti-Islamic coalition, told NBC in an interview with NBC.

The Americans and their allies strengthen the embankment in order to prepare for potential future confrontations.

"These artillery shells could land and kill Americans, and therefore we continue to prepare our defense," the general said on the clash of February 7.

-Recall that on the night of February 7 to 8 the Russian mercenary column, reinforced with armored vehicles and diving artillery, attempted to capture an oil plant in the Syrian province of Deir-ez-Zor. However, US Special Forces joined them in combat, causing artillery and aviation.

-As a result of the clash, more than 300 mercenaries were killed, most of them Russian.

espreso.tv  In Ukrainian/український

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced the cessation of the British Council, an international organization promoting British culture and education, on the territory of the country.

"Due to the unsettled status of the British Council in the Russian Federation, its activities are stopped," the statement reads on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

London warned that if further "unfriendly actions against Russia" were made, Moscow could take other measures, added to the Foreign Ministry.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has announced the expulsion of 23 British diplomats "in response to Britain's actions."

Earlier it was reported that Russian diplomats will leave Britain on March 20.

March 14, British Prime Minister Teresa May announced the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats in connection with the poisoning of the former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal. In addition, Britain has declared the freezing of Russian assets in the country. Sanctions can affect Putin's closest environment , says Foreign Minister of Britain Boris Johnson.

Also, Britain has warned citizens about the danger of traveling to Russia . In addition, May announced the meeting of the NATO Council on Chemical Weapons in Russia . Due to an international scandal, the Royal Family and British ministers will not go to the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The British regulator in the field of broadcasting did not rule out blocking the Russia Today channel, working in Britain. Russia threatens to ban British media in case of Russia Today blocking.

The United States has supported the decision of Britain to send Russian diplomats.

A United States spokeswoman at the UN, Nicky Haiey, said at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that Russia is responsible for a British chemical attack on Sergey Skripal and his daughter.

Russian stock markets responded by a decline in Britain's statement.

A 66-year-old citizen of Russia Sergey Skrypal was hit by a hospital with severe poisoning on March 4. With him was his daughter.

hromadske.ua  In Ukrainian/український

This is stated in a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia.

"The diplomats from the British embassy in Moscow are notified by 23 non-gratuiters and expelled within a week, taking into account the disparity in the number of consular offices of the two countries, Russia's permission to open and operate the British Consulate General in St. Petersburg is revoked," the statement ministry added that the British Council's activities in Russia are also discontinuing.

"The British side has been warned that if further actions of unfriendly character against Russia are made, the Russian side reserves the right to take other measures in response," added the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Recall that on March 12, Prime Minister Teresa May announced that the British government had come to the conclusion that the responsibility for poisoning in Salisbury, the former employee of the GRU, Sergei Skripal and his daughter, most likely, lies in Russia. She also reported that the victims were poisoned by the nerve-paralytic substance "Novachok", which was developed in the Russian Federation.

Mae also said that Britain, by Tuesday evening, March 13, is waiting for explanations from Moscow in connection with the poisoning of the ex-employee of the GRU. After that London will be ready to take the most serious measures in response.

On Wednesday, March 14, May announced the decision of London to send 23 Russian diplomats who work for intelligence: "This will be the largest single expulsion in more than 30 years. This (this measure) reflects the fact that the Russian state is not the first time acting against our country"

The former Colonel of the GRU stockpiles Sergei Skryple, who lived in the United Kingdom and was convicted in 2006 for espionage in favor of British intelligence services, was injured as a result of poisoning with paralysis in the Salisbury shopping mall.

Also Tsensor.NET reported that former top-manager of Aeroflot and associate Boris Berezovsky Mykola Glushkov was found dead on March 12 in London with traces of strangulation.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

The hacker Adrian Lamo died who gave the US authorities data for the arrest of the WikiLeaks informant Chelsea Manning. He was 37 years old, the cause of death is unknown.

This was reported by BBC News.

Lamo's death told his friends Mario's father.

"A bright mind and a compassionate soul went," he wrote in Facebook, adding that he reported this "with enormous sorrow and a broken heart."

Lamo was involved in the fragmentation of Microsoft's databases and the newspapers of The New York Times. About the transfer of classified information, Chelsea Manning, who was then a man named Bradley, himself told Lamo in online correspondence.

In an interview with the Guardian in 2011, Lamo said that he did not accept the decision to issue Manning to the American authorities, but he "squeezed" him. He added that he would regret a rigorous sentence.

In 2013, Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison. In May 2017, she was released under the decree of President Barack Obama, which he signed before leaving the post of head of state.

Manning handed over to WikiLeaks classified documents, including a video of the shooting of civilians in Iraq by an American military helicopter. The victims of the attack were seven people, among them a journalist from Reuters. Prior to this, Manning, being a husband, served in the US Army and was a specialist in intelligence intelligence analysis at a battalion in Iraq.

Earlier it was reported that the former informer WikiLeaks Chelsea Manning, will take part in the elections to the US Senate.

hromadske.ua  In Ukrainian/український

In different regions of Russia on the eve of the election, the police are arrested by opposition activists Oleksiy Navvalnyi

Coordinator of the Tomsk headquarters Ksenia Fadeeva said that the police stopped the bus with observers from the Naval headquarters on the border of Tomsk and Kemerovo regions, Kasparov.ru writes.

Mikhail Svetov noted that all observers "checked documents, passports, written by name," but continue to hold "without explanation of the reasons."

As advocate Oleksandr Popkov has said, Kostiantyn Zykov, the coordinator of the Naval headquarters in Sochi, and his wife Tetyana were detained.

Zikova was brought to the Central District Court of the city. At the same time, Popkov said, Zikov is a member of the TEC.

Voronezh detained deputy coordinator of the local headquarters Pavel Potashov, said regional manager of the campaign Naval Katerina Moshonkina.

In Novokuznetsk, after a search in the bulk of the Police headquarters, they seized dozens of leaflets and took away the volunteer of Fedor Atamanchenko.

In addition, the police detained the lawyer of the Naval headquarters in Krasnodar, Shabby Simonyan. He is disproved by the lawful request of a police officer (19.3 of the Administrative Code). It is noted that in the headquarters Simonyan was engaged in the preparation and organization of monitoring the election of the president of.

Regular elections of the Russian president will be held tomorrow, March 18, on the day the Ukrainian Crimea is seized.

Bulk were not allowed to participate in the elections.

-Russia's Central Election Commission refused to register Navalny as a candidate for the presidential election in March 2018.

-The Supreme Court of Russia on Saturday, December 30, confirmed the position of the Central Electoral Commission.

-The politician, who is Putin's most optimistic opponent, calls on his supporters to boycott the presidential election to be held in March 2018.

-Bulk sent a congratulations to the new, 2018, the year in which he urged Russians to "start a new life" and told them that "everything depends on ourselves."

-In addition, he demands Putin to provide "peaceful transit" of power, otherwise, he says, events in Russia will develop in the scenario of the Ukrainian Maidan, and the current president can repeat the fate of Viktor Yanukovych.

-In general, according to a preliminary estimate by Navalny, under such conditions, the current Russian President Vladimir Putin can gain a convincing "victory" in the first round and immediately gain 73-76% of the votes of voters.

-At the same time, Bulk, unlike the head of the revolutionary wing of the revolutionaries Vyacheslav Maltsev, who is currently hiding in France, advocates the peaceful nature of change in Russia.

espreso.tv  In Ukrainian/український

In the United States, 39 Senators - 28 from the Republican Party and 11 from the Democratic Party - opposed the North Stream 2 pipeline.

This is stated in a letter sent to the Minister of Finance Stephen Mnuchina and Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan.

The document was published on the website of Republican John Barrasso.

"We must make sure that our European allies see our desire to support their energy independence and protect them from the devastating impact of the North Stream 2 in the long run," the letter said.

The Nord Stream II pipeline would undermine European energy security by increasing their dependence on Russian energy. https://t.co/4IcB7lj3oL

— Sen. John Barrasso (@SenJohnBarrasso) March 15, 2018

Senators noted that the administration of US President Donald Trump "should use all the means at its disposal to prevent the construction of this gas pipeline."

In Vilnius, the leaders of the parliaments of Poland, Lithuania and Latvia signed an appeal to the heads of parliaments of the EU countries, which condemned the construction of the North Stream 2 pipeline. Ukraine and Moldova signed an appeal earlier.

Recall Poland's prime minister called "Nord Stream 2" dangerous to Europe.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that North Stream 2 would monopolize Russia's gas supplies to the EU.

Germany allowed the "Nord Stream 2" to be laid on its territory.

On February 28, Stockholm Arbitration satisfied the demands of Naftogaz to Gazprom for a gas transit suit of US $4.673 billion. Thus, according to the results of two arbitrations between companies for the supply and transit of gas, Gazprom should pay NAK $2.56 billion.

Gazprom has confirmed its commitment to pay Naftogaz $2.56 billion, but said it does not agree with such a decision.

On March 1 Gazprom canceled delivery of already paid gas to Ukraine. Ukraine said that Gazprom will be penalized for refusing to supply gas.

Due to the cessation of supplies from Russia, Ukraine on March 2 reduced its gas consumption by 25 million cubic meters. m or by 14%.

Naftogaz has not supplied gas from Russia since the end of 2015. According to the decision of the Stockholm arbitration, Ukraine is obliged to resume the supply of minimum volumes of gas from Russia in accordance with the provisions of the contract "take or pay".

Naftogaz is suing Gazprom from 2014 on two major issues - prices for Russian natural gas and transit of gas.

hromadske.ua  In Ukrainian/український

Also, the President of Ukraine called for toughen sanctions against the Russian Federation.

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko called on Western countries to strengthen sanctions against Russia and boycott the World Cup that will take place in Russia from June 14 until July 15, 2018 inclusive. He stated this in an interview with the German media concert Funke Mediengruppe, published on Saturday, March 17, informs Censor.NET with reference to the Deutsche Welle.

Poroshenko also said he expects the support of the new German government.

"I expect that all the coalition partners in Germany will stand for freedom, democracy and territorial integrity of Ukraine," he said.

Poroshenko also hopes that Berlin will facilitate the sending of a UN peacekeeping mission to eastern Ukraine, noting that "Minsk agreements can only be implemented in this way." Until they are fully implemented, there should be no easing of sanctions against Russia, the Ukrainian leader said. According to Poroshenko, Moscow is trying to put Kiev on its knees, but it "still holds" thanks to support from Europe. Speaking about deliveries of weapons to Ukraine, Poroshenko said that Kiev expects them, first of all, from the USA, and then - from Canada, France or Lithuania.

"Arms sale agreements do not like loud discussions, so I will not say anything about possible agreements with Germany," added the Ukrainian President.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

The Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, Tetyana Moskalova, addressed the UN, the Council of Europe and the OSCE with a request to influence the Ukrainian authorities and ensure that Russian citizens vote on the territory of Ukraine at the presidential elections.

As informs Tsensor.NET, this is stated on the official website of the Ombudsman.

"I urge you to intervene in this situation and to urge the Ukrainian authorities to ensure the electoral rights of Russian citizens on the territory of the country," said Moskalkov.

According to her, it is "shocking to the fact that the statement on the refusal to allow Russians to be elected president of Russia was made by Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Arsen Avakov, who is" a member of all major international treaties and human rights organizations".

"I regard this position of the Minister of Internal Affairs as a flagrant violation of the norms of international law on the right to participate in elections without restrictions, defined by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and other international instruments and declarations", - added Moskalkov.

Recall that the presidential elections in Russia are scheduled for March 18th - the fourth anniversary of the illegal annexation of the Crimea. 8 candidates will take part in them, in particular the current president of the country. Russia has traditionally since the moment of the annexation of the Crimea intends to hold a vote on the peninsula. At the Crimean Prosecutor's Office, which is based in Kyiv, the organizers of the elections in Crimea have been threatened with criminal responsibility.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

The letter contains a statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine on the decision of the occupation administration of the peninsula to hold an illegal vote in the Crimea.

Ukraine sent official letters to the UN Secretary-General, the President of the Security Council and all the delegations of the member states, which states that the holding of the Russian presidential elections in the occupied Crimea violates the UN Charter. This is reported by Tsensor.NET with reference to Ukrinform.

"I have the honor of transmitting this resolution to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine with its appeal to the international community in connection with the organization of illegal elections of the President of the Russian Federation in the temporarily occupied part of the territory of Ukraine - in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol," the letter reads with the signature of the Permanent Representative of Ukraine with UN Volodymyr Yelchenko.

Also, the letter contains a statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine on the decision of the occupation administration of the peninsula to hold an illegal vote in the Crimea.

The message was addressed to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, as well as to the Chairman of the Security Council, the Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the United Nations, Karel Van Osterom.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український