Ukraine News. Monday 16 April. [Ukrainian sources]

MONDAY HEADLINES:
Putin has no chances: Russia has sounded a forecast for a military clash with the United States. "Putin's lie falls to the truth" - US Vice-President Pence blames Russia for spreading misinformation about the events in Syria.  New US sanctions against Russia: fresh details came.  We must ensure that sanctions against the Russian Federation remain valid, and perhaps strengthened by the Kremlin's actions, - Volker.  WSJ: Trump was considering the possibility of strikes on Russian sites in Syria.  Peskov complained about anti-Russian sanctions, calling them "the seizure of property on an international scale".  Russia threatens to compromise against members of the British government.  France's Macron says he convinced Trump not to withdraw troops from Syria so far.  EU sanctions against Russia can be prolonged for a year instead of six months because of the lack of progress in the implementation of the Minsk agreements.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin loses his confrontation with Western countries if he continues to go on a confrontation.

This is the British political scientist, researcher at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at Johns Hopkins University, Taras Kuzio, told Today.

Political scientist noted that after the blow of the United States, France and the United Kingdom in Syria further developments were unpredictable.

"It reminds me a bit of the Soviet Union of the early 80's. Like the Union, Russia is now experiencing a period of stagnation, low prices for oil and gas, but Russia overestimates its capabilities: Russia is Nigeria with nuclear weapons, and to compete with the US (I already I'm not talking about NATO) in military matters, it will not be able to. It will lead to Russia's bankruptcy as the Soviet Union then went bankrupt. "Thus, Putin's image is macho, he goes without a shirt, but he will lose if he goes on to further confrontation." - stressed Kuzio.

At the same time, in his opinion, the position of the American leader Donald Trump in relation to Russia is beneficial for Ukraine, in contrast to the position of former US President Barack Obama.

"Obama was weak, he wanted to re-energize relations with Russia even after his military invasion of Georgia. After 2016, when Russia intervened in the American presidential election, the West finally woke up and it's good for Ukraine," said a political scientist.

Kuzio remembered that in 2014, Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko stood in the face of Russia's aggression almost by itself, while now Ukraine is becoming a powerful ally of the West.

apostrophe.ua  In Ukrainian/український

US Vice President Mike Pence has accused Russia of deliberately spreading misinformation about the events in Syria and clearing up Bashar al-Assad's crimes.

As informs Censor.NET, the "Voice of America" reports.

"But Putin's lies are falling apart before the truth," Pence said at a Summit of Latin American leaders held in Peru.

Mike Pence also said it was time to isolate Nicholas Maduro's regime in Venezuela.

He promised that the United States would not stop until democracy is restored in Venezuela.

Recall that on April 14, the United States, France, and the United Kingdom struck at Assad's sites in Syria that are related to the production of chemical weapons.

This is the answer to the chemical attack in the Duma on April 7th - then from 70 to 150 people were killed, poisoned with toxic gas. The West believes that responsibility lies in Asad's regime.

Lieutenant-General of the US Army Kenneth McKenzie said that all three targeted targets in Syria were successfully affected. The Syrian air defense system could not stop the Allies.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

New US sanctions against Russia, which the White House is planning to announce on Monday, April 16, will affect companies involved in the delivery of equipment and technology weapons to Syria.

This was stated by United Nations Permanent Representative to the United Nations at the United Nations, Nikki Haley, reports Censor.NET.

"Russia's sanctions will be strengthened, US Secretary of State Stephen Mnuchin will announce it on Monday and will be directed directly to companies involved in supplying equipment and technology related to the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian President Bashar," said Assad. she.

apostrophe.ua  In Ukrainian/український

Special Representative of US State Department for Ukraine Kurt Volcker said that sanctions against Russia should be preserved and possibly strengthened, in addition, he warned Italy against unilateral lifting of restrictive measures against Moscow, the Italian newspaper Stampa said on Monday.
"Canceling sanctions would certainly be a wrong signal, we must ensure that the sanctions remain valid and may even intensify through Russia's actions," said Wolker in an interview with the newspaper, reports.Cenzor.NET with reference to Interfax-Ukraine.

As a reason for the sanctions, K. Walker called "Russia does not comply with its obligations to implement the Minsk agreements".

"She did other things, for example, she carried out an attack using nerve-paralytic gas in the UK," added W. Walker.

In addition, he warned Italy against the lifting of sanctions from Russia unilaterally. "Italy can not lift sanctions from Russia without grave consequences," said W. Walker.

Read on "Censor.NET": EU sanctions against Russia can be prolonged for a year instead of six months because of the lack of progress in the implementation of the Minsk agreements, - Linkevichus

"This is a European measure, not an Italian one. Failure to do so would, first of all, cause problems with Brussels," he added.

K. Wolker called for the suspension of the North Stream 2 pipeline project, noting that it "strengthens Europe's dependence on Russian gas." He called for a diversification in the purchase of gas for Europe.

"It is necessary to continue development and access to non-Russian sources of supply, that is to American, Norwegian, African and from Qatar," he said.

K. Wolker also spoke of the blow to Syria, stating that their goal was "not to harm Syria or to provoke a conflict with Russia, but to stop the use of chemical weapons and lay the foundations for the end of the conflict."

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

The administration of the US President, Donald Trump, considered three possible options for rocket attacks on sites in Syria.

This is written by The Wall Street Journal with reference to its own sources.

It is noted that the most radical option could have been strikes on Russian air defense in order to "undermine the military power" of the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

At the same time, US Defense Secretary James Mattheys, presenting plans for strikes on Syria, said that this option could be dangerous because of the answers given to him by Russia and Iran.

According to the publication, the most conservative scenario envisaged blows for chemical weapons production facilities.

Another option, according to the WSJ, was the bombing of the command posts of Syrian government forces and facilities where chemical weapons could be developed.

According to the report, the rocket blast scenario selected by Trump was the closest to the "conservative option," but not only the targets for the production of chemical weapons but also the place for its development were chosen.

On the night of April 14, the United States, Great Britain and France struck Syria, Trump called them "perfect mission."

Attacks by the United States, Britain and France over Syria have supported NATO, Ukraine , and the League of Arab States.

The Russian Foreign Ministry reacted to attacks on Khimobjects in Syria. Russia convened an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council due to strikes in Syria, but the UN Security Council rejected the draft resolution of Russia.

The French Ministry of Defense has published a video of a strike on Syria.

On April 8, the city ​​of Duma, in the Eastern Guate , controlled the rebels, which killed at least 70 people and injured more than 1,000.

hromadske.ua  In Ukrainian/український

Putin's spokeswoman Dmitry Peskov believes that US sanctions are an example of unfair competition.

It is reported by Censor.NET with reference to Reuters.

"Sanctions against Russia are becoming an obsession, we continue to consider them illegal ... And we are convinced that any economist will recognize open attempts to push Russian companies from world markets," Peskov told reporters on Monday in Qatar, where he arrived. together with the president of the Russian Federation.

"It's nothing more than seizing property on an international scale," he added.

As it was reported, the US Treasury Department announced on Friday that after consultations with the State Department, the US administration imposed sanctions on seven Russian businessmen, 12 companies, 17 government officials of the Russian Federation, as well as against a Russian company involved in arms trafficking and related it's a bank

Shareholders of companies from the list of sanctions in a few days lost billions of dollars. Also, with the fall faced and those Russian companies that formally did not fall under the sanctions. Only on Monday, April 9, the total loss of Russian billionaires amounted to about $16 billion.

Sanctions also led to a weakening of the Russian currency.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

In retaliation for a strike on Syria, the Kremlin hackers plan to publish a compromise on ministers, parliamentarians and other high-ranking officials of the United Kingdom

This is the newspaper The Sunday Times.

British Prime Minister Teresa May has received a report from the intelligence services assessing the risk that Putin's regime might counterattack against members of its government.

Such a document was received by May after the United Kingdom military strike on chemical weapons-related facilities in Syria.

The prime minister has warned that politicians could become the target of the same cyberattack that has been committed against Hillary Clinton during the US presidential election.

The British cyber intelligence agency, the GCHQ Government Relations Center and the Ministry of Defense are in a state of preparedness to respond "in a proportionate way," according to the publication.

"We know Russian plans and kind of compromising data, we are all ready for this," said the source of the publication.

Special services are also ready to respond to cyber attacks against British critical infrastructure, such as power and medical systems, which have already received the necessary instructions.

-It was reported that on the night of April 13 to April 14, in response to Syrian President Bashar Assad's use of chemical weapons against civilians, the United States, France and the United Kingdom were subjected to military strikes on chemical weapons-related facilities.

-According to US Secretary of Defense James Mattheys, the first wave of strikes on Syria has been completed, and the fate of the campaign will depend on the behavior of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

-As the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff United States Joseph Dunford emphasized, the United States did not coordinate with Russia for these blows and did not warn Russians about them.

-The United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Nicky Gayley, explained what the country is seeking in Syria.

espreso.tv  In Ukrainian/український

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkavičius does not exclude that the sanctions against Russia related to the implementation of the Minsk agreements can be prolonged for a year instead of the traditional six months.

He said this today in Luxembourg before the meeting of the EU Council on Foreign Affairs, which will address the Russian issue, reports Censor.NET with reference to UNIAN.

"We have sanctions related to Minsk. As for Minsk, we have no progress, additional sanctions or, at least, extension of 12 months instead of six can be," - says Linkevičius.

At the same time, the minister expressed the opinion that sanctions should be directed against "oligarchs in money laundering, against those who support forces that really hurt the region."

"We have to deal with this very seriously," he said.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український