Ukraine News. Tuesday 15 MAY. [Ukrainian sources]

TUESDAY HEADLINES:
Poroshenko reacted to Putin's opening of the bridge from Russia to the Crimea.  RF proposal on placement of peacekeepers in the Donbass will strengthen the division of the country .  US Attorney General Mueller summoned for ex-parliament MP Artemenko, who offered adviser to Trump to hand over Crimea to Russia.  Russian invaders began testing new submarine drone in the Crimea.  45% of Russian citizens believe that the worst times for Russia are still ahead.  The scheme of financing of Russia by its propagandists in Ukraine is published.  In Russia, they talked about a new trap, in which Putin got into Syria.  Top-propagandist Putin caught in lie about searches of the RIA Novosti office in Kiev.  Turkey recalled ambassadors from the United States and Israel for consultations through Gaza Strip.  Ukraine’s law enforcers expose network of Kremlin-controlled Ukrainian media outlets.  The Dutch government has refused Kaspersky Anti-Virus for security reasons.  US Envoy Volker arrives in war-torn Donbas.  In Aachen, I met with Merkel and Macron, to help us squeeze Russia.

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President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko accused the Kremlin in cynicism through the opening of the Kerch Bridge in Crimea on the eve of the next anniversary of the deportation of the Crimean Tatar people.

He wrote about this on his Facebook page.

According to Poroshenko, the illegal construction of the Kerch Bridge is another indication of the neglect of international law by the RF.

"It is especially cynical that the opening of it takes place on the eve of the next anniversary of the deportation of the Crimean Tatar people by the Stalinist regime," the president said.

However, according to Poroshenko, Russia will not be able to legitimize the temporary occupation of the Crimea.

"The successive decisions of a number of international courts confirm that the burden of an international crime for Russia will only increase, and Ukraine will continue to consistently defend its positions." I recall that my request to the Arbitration Tribunal of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was petitioned for the protection of Ukraine's sovereign interests, in particular, due to the illegal construction of the Kerch Bridge. It is a pity that the Russian authorities are trying to engage in their infrastructural adventures and individual representatives of the European business In trying to get rid of it from international legal responsibility, I am convinced that the aggressor will not succeed, he will bear responsibility in full," he writes.

apostrophe.ua  In Ukrainian/український

Russia should agree to the introduction of peacekeepers to the Donbas under the UN mandate, if peacekeeping forces were along the Ukrainian-Russian border. This was stated by the Special Representative of the US State Department for Ukraine Kurt Volker at a press conference in Slavyansk.

According to him, the RF proposal to place peacekeepers along the collision line will only strengthen the division of the country.

"We want Russia to take seriously the proposal to introduce a peacekeeping mission under the UN mandate. This would create conditions for the full implementation of the Minsk agreements. Russia's offer, which she made in September last year, is different from what we offered. The Russian proposal to place peacekeepers along the clash line will only strengthen the division of the country. An alternative proposed by the United States, Germany and France is the introduction of a peacekeeping mission under the UN mandate throughout the occupied territory for security reasons. This includes the control of the Ukrainian-Russian border, "Volker said.

The introduction of peacekeepers under the mandate of the UN, according to Volcker, would allow unlocking the further implementation of the clauses of the Minsk agreements.

"If this plan had been implemented, it would create conditions for peace, local elections, the adoption of an amnesty law, the granting of special status, that is, all that is provided for by the Minsk Agreements. If these conditions are met, it will become a mechanism for the return of Ukrainian control over these territories, "Volker said.

He said that the Russian side did not inform him about the resignation of Vladislav Surkov as a Kremlin negotiator concerning the Donbas, but he was ready for dialogue either with Surkov or with anyone whom Russia would appoint.

"If Russia is ready for such a dialogue, we are ready to meet with Mr Surkov or with anyone whom Russia will appoint for these talks," Volker said.

Earlier, President Petro Poroshenko said that more than 40 countries are ready to participate in the peacekeeping mission on the Donbas.

Earlier it was reported that Turkey supported the introduction of UN peacekeepers in the Donbas.

Earlier, Poroshenko said that Ukraine is ready for talks on the implementation of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Donbas. However, for this, according to him, it is only necessary to "squeeze Russia".

The Foreign Ministry of Ukraine reported that peacekeepers should gradually take control of the Donbas.

The UN expert report said that the organization should consider attracting 20,000 non-NATO peacekeepers and 4,000 other policemen to help resolve the conflict in the Donbas.

hromadske.ua  In Ukrainian/український

Former deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Andriy Artemenko, deprived of citizenship of Ukraine in 2017, is called for testimony before a large jury of jurists who work within the framework of an investigation into Russian interference in the US elections held by the Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller.

This is reported by the publication Politico, reports Censor.NET with a link to lb.ua.

Artemenko told the publication that last week he received a summons to call for questioning. According to him, he is going to testify on Friday, May 18. According to Artemenko's version, it is likely that he will discuss the proposed plan for resolving the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, which he spoke with US President Barack Obama, Donald Trump Michael Cohen.

In February 2017, the New York Times reported that Artemenko had contacted Trump's former business partner Felice Sater to find out how he could get Trump's administration informed of its peace plan. Sater arrested Artemenko with Cohen, and he transferred the plan to the office of former then-adviser Tramp of national security Michael Flynn. Cohen, however, denied this and said that he threw the document.

Cohen told the Washington Post that Artemenko boasted in January 2017 that the Russian government was aware of his proposal. Artemenko refuted this.

Artemenko's peace plan provided that Ukraine would "lease" the peninsula of Russia for a period of 50 to 100 years, Russia will withdraw its troops from the Donbas, and the United States will lift sanctions against the Russian Federation.

As stated in the article in Politico, Artemenko's testimony will help the Mueller team better understand the situation associated with the settlement plan in Ukraine and assess the role of this in Cohen and Sater. In addition, the Special Prosecutor may be interested in this topic because of the events that took place after the conversation between Flynn and the ex-ambassador of the Russian Federation to the United States Sergey Kislyak, during which he raised the issue of lifting anti-Russian sanctions.

Recall the The New York Times found out that the People's Deputy from the fraction Lyashko Artemenko offered Adviser to Trump the plan to transfer Crimea to Russia for 100 years. Such a statement caused a great social resonance. In particular, the representative of the President, Gerasimov, said: "These are Russians." And the head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Foreign Affairs Hopko said: "The Council should respond to the calls of parliamentarians who support the Kremlin's position." The People's Deputy (BPP) Leshchenko said: "Artemenko's plan" is actually the plan of Levochkin-Boyka / Surkov. "And the People's Deputy (FFT) Frisz sent to the SBU a request for "Artemenko's plan". The head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people Chubarov demanded: "The GPU must come up with a proposal to remove parliamentary immunity from Artemenko and bring him to criminal responsibility." And the faction of the Radical Party excluded Artemenko from its membership. For his part, the leader of the party Lyashko demands from the SBU to investigate the publication of Artemenko on the plan for the transfer of Crimea to the Russian Federation. Artemenko himself explained his "plan" in the following way: "This is done so that Putin and Trump signed a peace agreement with Ukraine".

The Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, based in Kyiv, opened a criminal proceeding on suspicion of Artemenko in treason.

Artemenko, for his part, stated that he had a mandate from Lyashko on a trip to the United States and a peace plan . "This was the initiative of the Radical Party," he said. The translation of the full text of the article in The New York Times on "Artemenko's plan" can be found here.

Later it turned out that Artemenka has the citizenship of Canada.

Subsequently, the Verkhovna Rada deprived Artemenko of a deputy mandate, and the State Migration Service banned him from entering the country. In May 2017, the DMS reported that, according to the decree of the head of state, Artemenko was deprived of citizenship of the country. The decision was due to the presence of an ex-deputy of the Canadian passport. In December 2017, the CEC registered Valerii Zaruzhko as a People's Deputy from the RPD instead of a deprived Artemenko mandate.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

Russian invaders began testing new submarine drone in the Crimea



Russian invaders began testing the latest unmanned robotics complex "Klavesin-2" at a sea landfill in Crimea.

As informs Censor.NET, the Russian edition of Izvestia writes about it.

According to the Russian edition, the complex has already received the official military index of 2R52, which means a high degree of readiness for adoption.

"In the future, Theodosius landfill will be used for testing marine robotic systems," the report said.

It is also reported that a special trial vessel of the 20360OS project "Victor Cherokov", recently transferred to the Black Sea Fleet of Russia, is involved in the tests.

It is noted, "Hlavesin-2" can examine the bottom at great depths, which allows you to search and collect various items, for example, fragments of ammunition. Also, "Klavsini" are capable of conducting exploration of the underwater environment, collecting data on the relief of the bottom in the interests of shipyards or other robotic complexes.

To test the new "Klavsin", a part of the Crimean coast with unique hydrological properties near the occupied Russian Federation of Feodosia is used. In the area of ​​the extinct volcano, which went under water, a complex bottom terrain with great depths was formed. Martial artillery and naval training of ships and submarines of the Black Sea Fleet are also conducted here.

"Hlavesin-2R" - the second generation of a family of Russian autonomous unoccupied submarines (ANPA). It is bigger and more massive than its predecessor - "Harness 1", which looks like a torpedo on the outside and its dimensions.

Externally, ANP 2R52 has the appearance of a miniature submarine of almost 7 m in length and approximately 1 m in diameter. At the top, it has a small superstructure protrusion. The mass of the apparatus is about 4 tons. The depth of immersion is up to 6000 meters. It is believed that by increasing the size it was possible to increase its autonomy. Also, "Hlavesin-2" has more modern and advanced equipment than the first model.

To deliver ANP 2R52, special nuclear submarines will be used to carry out works. New drums should be included in the equipment of the modernized APR of the 949AM project and the refurbished APH of the special purpose of the project 09787 BS-64 "Moscow region".

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

The All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion (VCIPHD) presented data from a monitoring study on how Russians assess the situation in the country and their personal lives.

It informs Cenzor.NET data presented at VTsIOM.

Yes, 77% of Russians surveyed today refer to a very good / good / rather good life situation.

More than two thirds of Russian citizens (68%) characterize the situation in the country definitely or more positively, with negative answers of 25%.

At the same time, it is noted that today 45% of Russians expect the worst times to survive, and almost twice (25%) think they are behind. According to the feelings of 18% of the respondents, the greatest difficulties of the inhabitants of Russia are experiencing right now.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has exposed the scheme of financing by the Russian Federation of its propagandists in Ukraine.

It is reported by the press service of the department.

"Law enforcers found that in 2014, according to the order of the Director General of MIA" Russia today "Dmytro Kyselyov, the Ukrainian representative of this structure was appointed citizen of Ukraine, Kyrylo Vyshynskyy, who founded a number of legal entities, including the" Intersetlect "LLC, which operates under the brand name "RIA Novosti Ukraine," the report said.

According to the deputy head of the SBU Victor Kononenko, such a scheme was used to conceal Russian sources of funding.

To cover its activities, the management of the MIA "Russia today" used the conclusion of an agreement on cooperation between LLC "Interselekt" and a company located in the capital of Serbia, Belgrade.

"Each month, the company referred to fictitiousness has redeemed almost 53,000 euros of Russian origin to the accounts of Ukrainian enterprises controlled by Vyshinsky," Kononenko said.

He clarified that this money was used for the needs of RIA Novosti Ukraine.

apostrophe.ua  In Ukrainian/український

The war in Syria has become a double trap for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

This opinion was voiced in an interview with "Apostrophe" by Russian political scientist and publicist Andriy Piontkovsky.

Speaking about the situation in Syria, he suggested that the United States and Israel would oust the Iranian units, but this is unlikely to emerge in the war on the territory of Iran. At the same time, this situation is difficult for Putin.

"This is another trap that Putin got, Syria is a dual trap for him. At first, the Kremlin fell into the trap of a religious war between the Sunni and Shia Muslims in the Islamic world, and now fell into a trap of war between Israel and Iran," Piontkovsky said.

At the same time, he cried that it would be difficult for Putin to make a decision in the current situation. In this context, Piontkovsky notes that the current head of the Russian Federation does not have anti-Semitic views. At the same time, the military and diplomatic tops of the Kremlin are very anti-Semitic.

"There are many texts on the Internet now with an emphasis:" So how are we betraying our Iranian allies? "That is, there is a tremendous pressure on the anti-Israeli lobby, so it is no accident that Netanyahu went to Moscow and engaged Putin all day.

Will Putin be able to resist the enormous pressure of the Anisemite establishment towards Iran's support? The fact is that if Russia comes up against Israel somehow it will become a military catastrophe for the Kremlin in this region. After all, the Israelis and the Americans are doing everything possible and impossible to avoid touching any Russian soldier. And only when the Wagner troops were completely insolent and climbed to some kind of oil refinery to pick him up and kill the Americans who guarded him, only then the Americans began to defend themselves. And so specially everything is done to ignore the Russians. If the same climb - they will make a big nonsense. So Putin does not have good moves", - explained Piontkovsky.

apostrophe.ua  In Ukrainian/український

The editor-in-chief of Russia's propaganda channel "Russia Today" Margaret Simonian was dismayed with a statement on searches at the RIA Novosti Ukraine office in Kyiv.

His propagandist statement was published on Twitter.

It is noted that Simonian earlier wrote about the searches : "Kiev decided to take revenge for us for the Crimean bridge. We broke into our office, the employees do not get in touch, the site is not updated, the phones are blocked."

However, later she realized that the office of RIA Novosti Ukraina was not legally linked to Russia Today.

"The resource is not legally linked to us, but it is our information partner. What's happening or happening is precisely what we do not know. The site is not blocked, but it is not updated an hour," Simonyan wrote.

"Still Stirlitz was not so close to failure..." - Anton Komarov, journalist commented on the words of an advocate.

apostrophe.ua  In Ukrainian/український

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recalled ambassadors from the United States and Israel for consultations.

This is reported by NTV.

Erdogan also noted that on May 15, three-day national mourning was announced in Turkey in connection with dozens of victims of the riots on the border of the Gaza Strip.

"We recalled our ambassadors from Washington and Tel-Aviv for consultations. We convene an extraordinary summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. We also propose to convene an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. We will hold talks with many leaders, "Erdogan said.

As reported, the White House is responsible for the violence in the Gaza Strip in the Hamas group.

During the protest rally on the Gaza Strip and Israel, 58 people were killed and more than 2,700 injured.

In protest of the opening of the embassy, ​​thousands of people gathered near the administration of the Gaza Strip. Several hundred protesters threw stones and tried to break through. Israeli soldiers opened fire.

On May 14, the US Embassy was opened in Jerusalem .

Earlier, it was reported that in Jerusalem, in honor of US President Donald Trump, they would call the square in front of the US Embassy's building in Israel.

Recall that in December 2017, Trump alone announced the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and announced its intention to move the US Embassy in Israel, which was still located in Tel Aviv.

This happened against the backdrop of mass population by Israelis in the Palestinian territories near the holy city of the three religions. Muslim states have called for the recognition of East Jerusalem occupied by the capital of Palestine.

This decision by Trump led to massive unrest among the Palestinians and caused criticism from the international community.

Trump's actions contradict the UN resolutions, according to which the eastern part of the city is an Israeli-occupied territory. Therefore, the UN Security Council did not support Tramp's decision to transfer the capital of Israel.

On December 21, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution condemning the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

hromadske.ua  In Ukrainian/український

Operatives of the Security Service of Ukraine in conjunction with the Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea exposed a network of Ukraine-based media outlets secretly controlled by the Russian Federation.

"The law enforcers found that they were used by the aggressor state in the context of a hybrid information campaign against Ukraine," spokesperson for the SBU Olena Hitlianska wrote on social media, Censor.NET reports.

According to the spokesperson, the details of the operation will be announced later today.

She also added that the investigation is ongoing.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

The Government of the Netherlands has decided to refuse to use Kaspersky Lab's anti-virus software.

This was stated by the Minister of Security and Justice of the Netherlands Ferdinand Grapperhaus in a letter to parliament, reports NOS.

"This is a precautionary measure taken from the point of view of national security," said Grapperhouse.

Security companies also have to stop using Kaspersky.

The minister said that the company is subject to Russian legislation and may be required to comply with the interests of Russian intelligence services. He also noticed that there is an offensive cyber program in Russia that targets the Netherlands in particular.

At the same time, he said that there were no specific cases of abuses on the part of the Russian company in the Netherlands, but this can not be ruled out in the future.

"The government came to the conclusion that the risk of cyber-espionage and sabotage due to Kaspersky Anti-Virus software exists," said Grapperhouse.

The measures taken are for Kasperky Lab's antivirus software, but not for other products or services of the company.

Earlier, Twitter has banned the advertising of Kaspersky Lab's services.

Recall that the Lithuanian government suspected the Kaspersky Lab's software in a threat to national security.

The US Senate has supported a ban on Kaspersky Lab's use by the government. Later Trump signed it.

On September 12, it was reported that Kaspersky Lab closed the United States unit that cooperated with the government.

On September 15, Kaspersky Lab's founder was asked to provide testimony in the US Congress. Later, the hearing was postponed indefinitely.

The US Congress suggests that Kaspersky Lab, a Russian company established in Russia, may be controlled by the Kremlin.

hromadske.ua  In Ukrainian/український

U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker arrived in Ukraine's Donbas region to see more about the situation on the ground and to learn about the humanitarian crisis.

"The U.S. special envoy has just arrived in the Donbas," Censor.NET reports citing the Voice of America.

Earlier, Volker had his mandate extended and expanded which gave him not only the authority to deal with the situation in the Donbas but also broad powers in Ukraine.

On May 11, the U.S. diplomat said he was heading to Ukraine's east to see more about the situation on the ground and learn about the humanitarian crisis in the Donbas.

I’m heading to eastern Ukraine next week to see more about the situation on the ground and to learn about the humanitarian crisis in the #Donbas. #ukrainenotforgotten

— Kurt Volker (@SpecRepUkraine) May 11, 2018

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

President Poroshenko once again stressed that peace assistance and peace support were important to Ukraine.

As informs Censor.NET, the press service of the President reports.

"A few days ago, in Aachen, I met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President of France Emmanuel Macron to help us squeeze Russia to take her occupation troops from the occupied Donbass and illegally annexed Crimea to the United Nations peacekeepers following the decision of the UN Security Council and to stop shooting in Ukraine, "the Head of State stressed during a working visit to the Kyiv region.

The President noted that this is being done in order to finally bring peace to the long-suffering Ukrainian land.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український