Ukraine crisis. News in Brief. Monday 06 July [Ukrainian sources]

MONDAY

Please scroll down to view news items added during the course of the day

News -
Now reading that 5 soldiers died on Saturday when their vehicle hit a mine. Not 3 as originally stated.
Not sure of the figures for today. Report of the fighting in the first post below.
I noticed in the graveyard near me - two more dead soldiers from the war against Russia. So very very sad.

Weather -
In a word, hot. 22 at 0600 this morning. High will be in the low to mid-30s. 90s.
No rain, and clear blue sky. Toasty.
Update - now at 0900 it is already 27.

Greece -
Poroshenko made a statement that things will not collapse in Ukraine as they are doing in Greece.
But people must be worried. What will happen now in Greece is anybody's guess.
And after the crazy finance law that will require Ukrainian banks to pay 100 - or perhaps 200 billion uah over the long term -
It will be interesting to see how they stop this law now. Or just leave it to Poroshenko not to sign it?
And he can take the blame. Populism.

Militants fired at Pisky with artillery and tanks (Glavnoe.ua)
http://glavnoe.ua/news/n232937
The situation in the area remains stable and ATO-controlled Ukrainian military. It is reported by the press center of Staff ATO.
From 18 to 24 hours of July 5 pro illegal armed groups more than 20 times the forces were shelling positions of ATU. Double gunmen used weapons banned by the Minsk agreements.
In the vicinity of the settlement 21.10 Pervomaisk for half an hour pro gunmen fired from a 122 mm artillery and tanks. Also, near the settlement Pisky, with 21.15 on 21.40 militants carried out the shelling by 122-mm artillery positions forces ATO. And with 22 hours at Pisky began shelling also from the tank and small arms....
Basically militants were harassing fire on positions of ATU forces in the area of ​​human settlements ...
From zero hours to 6 am today, July 6, the number of attacks on positions of the pro-Russian forces ATO bandits significantly reduced.

In the "Chornobyl Forest" continue to put out two smoldering peat fires (Gordonua.com)
http://gordonua.com/news/localnews/V-CHernobylskoy-pushche-prodolzhayut-tushit-dva-ochaga-tleniya-torfa-88221.html
[That could go on for a long time. Especially with temperatures in the 30s - 90s. ]

8:59
SBU detained 14 people who planned to terrorize Odessa and Nikolaev (Tyzhden.ua)
http://tyzhden.ua/News/140148
[Putin simply will not give in on trying to destabilize Odessa.
There is a sizeable Russian population there. But the vast majority don't want Putin's terrorism. That's for sure.
I suppose Putin dreams of uniting the wasteland called Transdniestr with Russia, via Crimea, along the coast.
And for this seizure of land he needs Odessa. - And mariupol, and Nikolaev, and... and... ]

8:50
Russia is creating a new army in the "LNR" - Butusov (Columnist)
http://obozrevatel.com/politics/32081-rossiya-sozdaet-novuyu-armiyu-v-lnr-butusov.htm
The Russian military leadership is trying to create the so-called "LNR" new army, fully under its control.
This was on his Facebook page says journalist and military expert Yury Butusov.
"The enemy is trying to improve the combat capability of units of mercenaries. Go attempts to create an army organization - all top-level management in the hands of" vacationers "- acting officers of the armed forces of Russia. Trying to establish military training bands near the front line, and increase the number of - in the occupied territories: universal mobilization" - he said.
[My impression over the past 2 or 3 months is that Russia is steadily replacing the alcoholic drug addicted terrorists with regular Russian army forces. ]

In Kharkiv arrested a financier of the terrorists
http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2015/07/5/7073475/?attempt=1
[Kharkiv - strong base of Kernes and Dobkin - Regions bandits, friends of Yanukovich, Putin.
This report was also on the tv yesterday. ]

9:16
Indicators of watching TV news dropped to historic lows (Sostav.ua)
http://sostav.ua/publication/pokazateli-smotreniya-tv-novostej-upali-do-istoricheskogo-minimuma-67414.html
[Understandable in a way.
The news - especially about the war, deaths, can become depressing for many. ]

Landmine kills five Ukrainian soldiers in separatist east [in English]
http://www.euronews.com/newswires/3030683-landmine-kills-five-ukrainian-soldiers-in-separatist-east/
[confirming what I wrote above. Happened 50 km west of Lugansk.
Apparently Russian forces are moving more and more into this area, replacing the normal drug-addict terrorists.]

Crimeans Protest Artek Youth Camp's Expansion Under Russian Rule [in English]
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/crimeans-protest-artek-youth-camps-expansion-under-russian-rule/525084.html
As Artek launches into an ambitious development plan backed by 22 billion rubles ($390 million) in investment from the Russian state, residents of Gurzuf claim that the camp was illegally granted 10 hectares of the town's cherished seaside property in the wake of the annexation last year.
In a campaign to reclaim this land, a grassroots protest movement of a kind rarely seen in Russia has now declared war on Artek, even calling on Russian President Vladimir Putin for help.
"We ask our president: send [the director of Artek] to Siberia, to the taiga. He can then set up the biggest camp in the world," ..
"You need permission to enter here, enter there. All our children have left is a road. They'll be left with nothing else,"
[Welcome to life under Russian rule.]

Interesting report from the BBC from the end of last month, which I missed.
======

How Russian TV changed during Ukraine crisis [in English]
http://www.bbc.co.uk/monitoring/how-russian-tv-changed-during-ukraine-crisis
...The period of the crisis in Ukraine has seen a surge in the amount of news on Russian state TV, especially on the main official channel Rossiya 1, which is second in the overall ratings to state-controlled Channel One....
Rossiya 1's main "Vesti" bulletin lasted on average for around 45 minutes. ... at the moment is around 70 to 75 minutes...
The surge in news on Russia's two main channels has been matched by a proliferation of political talkshows....
Despite the proliferation of news and current affairs programmes, Russian TV news contains very little coverage of key domestic issues, such as the country's economic problems and the state of its public services.
Instead, viewers are distracted from these important matters by what media analyst Vasiliy Gatov has called a "manufactured agenda"...

[Intelligent observation by the bbc guy.
Now - why couldn't decades' long Moscow residents Roland Oliphant (Ria Novosti, Telegraph) or Shaun Walker (Russiaprofile, = RIA, Guardian) have noticed this?
Answers to our competition in an email please, to *Putin pays my rent*@kremlin.ru ]

This story about Russia, and Putin getting his way, one assumes. He needs money.
====

Cossacks on the run to protect nature [in English]
http://www.politico.eu/article/russia-environmental-protest-cossacks/
Putin’s decision to open up the deposits, thought to be the largest un-mined nickel reserves in Europe, sparked a series of protests in towns and villages across the region.
...to ask if she is really so unconcerned that her children and grandchildren are drinking what is, in effect, poison. “So what? We don’t decide anything here,” she tells me, her tone weary now. “Everything is resolved there, in Moscow. What can we do?”

10:31
In Berdyansk died fighter from "Azov" (News)
http://vesti-ukr.com/pridneprove/106128-v-berdjanske-ubili-bojca-azova
[The batallion holding back Putin from Mariupol.
Apparently he got into an argument with locals. His body was found on the beach with multiple injuries.]

13:33
Confrontation around Mariupol (Telegraph)
http://telegraf.com.ua/ukraina/mestnyiy/1964593-pod-mariupolem-prodolzhaetsya-protivostoyanie.html
"Over the past day the enemy made 10 attacks on the positions of ATO forces within the sector" M ". The epicenter of the confrontation moved from the village Shirokino in other towns," - said in a statement......
Ukrainian military also shot down an enemy drone flying over the Sea of ​​Azov near Mariupol.
13:33
Mariupol neighborhood "Eastern" shuddered from a blast. There are injured(CRIME.in.UA)
http://crime.in.ua/node/10608
[a grenade exploded - Kiev Ulitsa - around midnight - injured]

Call it corn diplomacy. Ukraine is set to become China’s top supplier of corn in the first half of 2015 as both countries reap the benefits of closer trade relations and Beijing looks to diversify its grain and oilseed purchases.

The latest customs data for May shows China imported 403,881 tonnes of corn — mainly used as livestock feed — of which almost 95 per cent came from Ukraine. This takes the total imports from Ukraine — the bread basket of eastern Europe — to 1.55m tonnes for the first five months of the year, or nearly 90 per cent of China’s overseas corn purchases.....................

Read further at link: ft.com

China's a big market to supply. This is big news for Ukraine.

There recently has been moves by major countries boosting exports from Ukraine, and it might just be a behind closed doors talks to squash Putin's original plans. He'd rather see Ukraine economically go down than see it prosper and possibly more than before.

The Security Service of Ukraine detained a saboteur group in Kharkiv region. It consisted of three persons with its leader being a "DPR" militant.

As reported by Censor.NET, this is announced by the SBU press service.

"Since last Sep. a 20-year old resident of Kharkiv region have been a member of one of the illegal armed units of the "DPR" terrorist organisation, calling themselves Cossacks. A militant nicknamed Cardinal served as a scout of a sabotage and reconnaissance group, participating in fightings against the defenders of the Donetsk airport," the statement reads.

It is noted that on his return to Kharkiv region at the beginning of the year, the criminal got the job from terrorists to collect and transmit intelligence information on the location and movement of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as to recruit people to carry out acts of sabotage in the region. To accomplish the task, two local residents were involved.

"Additionally, with a view to enrich themselves the criminals tried to organize traffic in firearms and ammunition, which were supposed to come from the "DPR" militants," the SBU reported.

A criminal proceeding under Part 1, Art. 110 (encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine) and Part 1, Art. 263 (illegal handling of weapons, ammunition or explosives) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine has been commenced.

The investigation continues.

censor.net.ua: In Russian

The hybrid war waged by Russia in Ukraine will continue as long as Putin is alive, former FSB officer Ilya Bogdanov who defected to Ukraine and fought in the Pravy Sector battalion in Donbas told in his interview with Ukrinform July 5.

The conflict in Donbas will remain smoldering, picking up in intensity and then letting up.

Meanwhile, the Russians are told that everything is all right. Putin is destroying Russia and the Russian nation. All potential revolutionaries will be exterminated, Bogdanov believes.

He does not believe Putin will have the nerve to start a full-sized invasion of Ukraine, except of some isolated regions.

Putin will never approve the unification of the Donbas republics with Russia as they will be millstones around Moscow’s neck.

The main purpose of keeping the Donbas conflict in a smoldering state is to let Putin remain in power. The Donbas war will distract the Russians and help Putin stay in power, the ex-FSB officer said.

West’s economic sanctions won’t lead to mass protests of the population brainwashed by Putin’s propaganda. “In Russia, the people are ready to eat tree bark for some crazy mythical ideals. Besides, the sanctions had only a gradual impact on Russia – and the Russians got used to their worsening conditions. Had the sanctions been rapidly effective, it would have led to protests,” the ex-FSB officer says.

zik.ua

Ukraine’s crisis-stricken banking system is set to receive a boost from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which has announced plans to invest in the Ukrainian unit of Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International.

The EBRD on Monday said it was in talks to buy a significant minority stake in Raiffeisen Bank Aval, Ukraine’s second-biggest western-owned lender, that “will send a strong positive signal to the market during the period of severe political and economic crisis”......................

Read further at link: ft.com

Ukrainian Inflation Slows Further in June as Hryvnia Stabilizes [in English]
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-06/ukrainian-inflation-slows-further-in-june-as-hryvnia-stabilizes
Consumer prices rose 57.5 percent from a year earlier after surging 58.4 percent in May, the statistics office in Kiev said Monday on its website. That matches the median estimate of three economists in a Bloomberg survey. Prices advanced 0.4 percent from the previous month.
====

57% sounds frightening. But this is over the year.
Prices did rise a lot last year - a lot of this being related to the fall of the hryvnia, and also connected to the rise in oil and gas prices.
But recently things have been stable in the supermarket.
A rise of 0.4% for May is fairly good. Fresh produce is now cheap, of course  - in season.
And if the currency stays stable, things should get better.
But - the politicians are all very stupid. And anything could happen, of course.

After strengthening a lot over the past couple of months, the uah fell a little today, i noticed, at the Bureau de Change.
Weekend it was 22.20 / 22.60 - but today - about an hour ago - I saw 22.55 / 22.95... something like that... uah to a usd

Putin's Fortress Mentality Infects Russian Law (Op-Ed) [in English]
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinion/article/putin-s-fortress-mentality-infects-russian-law-op-ed/525165.html
What does a leader do who wants to rule forever and ensure that he remains safe from discontented subjects? He simulates the conditions of a besieged fortress in order to convince his people that they must tighten their belts and accept a wartime economy, and to give himself the right to deal as he wants with naysayers and critics. George Orwell has given us an outstanding description of that system of rule.
The Kremlin continues moving along that path....

Whatever the Kremlin finds most advantageous at any given moment is what the authorities declare as law. And as high as that price is for the country's isolation, Putin and his cronies are clearly willing to pay it.

====
That is one heck of an article. Excellent.
You'd never get this from Shaun Walker, or the Kremlin journalists, that is for sure. Very well written. And truthful.
But I worry for the Moscow Times now... Will Putin move to close it down?

And an example of how Putin's isolation policy is affecting normal people in Moscow -
====

Market for Used Moscow Apartments Falls 40% [in english]
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/market-for-used-moscow-apartments-falls-40/525171.html
The steep drop was precipitated by high lending rates and falling real wages,
[Wages down about 9%. And no doubt, according to the polls, Putin is more popular than ever!
I don't believe it.
And from the same paper -  ]

Part-Time Employment Soars as Russia's Crisis Deepens [in English]
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/part-time-employment-soars-as-russias-crisis-deepens/525169.html
The number of part-time employees in Russia shot up nearly 8 percent in a single week
[Cutting wages, and moving people from full-time to part-time employment... recession? ]

According to David Sakvarelidze, prosecutor general’s deputy in charge of fighting corruption, the first deputy head of PGO criminal department Volodymyr Shapakin and deputy Kyiv prosecutor Oleksandr Korniets have been arrested today in the course of receiving a $140,000 bribe.

“We got the tip-off from a businessman involved in the mining of sand that these prosecutors demanded a bribe from him, stalling his business meanwhile.

When we started digging jointly with the Security Service, we found out that Kyiv prosecutors operated under the umbrella of their PGO colleagues,” Sakvarelidze went on.

During the search of their offices investigators found $400,000 in cash, a lot of jewelry, 65 diamonds and an unregistered Kalashnikov, Sakvarelidze said.

Both suspects now face terms between 8 and 12 years and the confiscation of their property.

“Let me say it again – there won’t be untouchables neither in prosecutor’s offices in small towns nor in the central apparat in Kyiv,” the ex-Georgian official said.

zik.ua

Roman Makria and Sasha Malinka arrived at Ben-Gurion Airport on July 1, part of an exodus of Jews escaping the chaos of the Russian-financed invasion of Ukraine’s eastern provinces.


By Sam Sokol for the Jerusalem Post, July 2, 2015

Over three-quarters of Donetsk’s pre-war Jewish population of between 10,000 and 11,000 have fled the city since fighting broke out last year.

Two Jewish escapees from eastern Ukraine who say that they underwent interrogation and even torture at the hands of Moscow-backed separatists landed in Israel on Wednesday, joining the more than 7,000 Ukrainian refugees who have come here since their country descended into civil war* last year.

One of the 89 new immigrants who arrived on Wednesday’s flight – which was sponsored by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews – was Roman Makria, 25, a lawyer from the rebel stronghold of Donetsk. A government worker, Makria was kidnapped from his office and interrogated by the separatists, who accused him of espionage.

“In Donetsk, I worked as a lawyer in the district attorney’s office,” he said in a statement.

“In May 2014, a couple of thugs came to our offices and took me away. They interrogated me over the course of two days, all the while threatening to kill me, and then let me go. [Afterward,] I got fired from work because they didn’t want to be involved with all this and the thugs had told them I was a spy............

Read further at link: jpost.com

"The intelligence services of many NATO member countries, as well as open sources - the media, messages from families of Russian soldiers - all confirm the same situation: Russia provides the separatists with substantial support, supplies heavy and modern military equipment, such as air defense systems, artillery, tanks, as well as conducts their training. There are also Russian forces present on the territory of eastern Ukraine and along the Ukrainian-Russian border," the head of the Alliance said.
Stoltenberg could not give specific figures regarding the number of Russian troops in the east of Ukraine, because, according to him, these data differs.

"What we have seen is that over the past few months Russia has supplied more than a thousand pieces of heavy equipment to the separatists," he said.

ukrinform.ua

The Ukrainian troops participating in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) zone in eastern Ukraine have successfully repelled combined Russian-separatist forces' attack near the village of Bohdanivka in the Mariupol sector in Donetsk region, according to the ATO press center.

The fight began near the village of Bohdanivka in the Mariupol sector at 17:50 Kyiv time when two enemy infantry groups numbering 10-15 men attacked the ATO forces with the use of small arms.

unian.ua: In Ukrainian

According to the intelligence of NATO, Moscow provided significant support to militants in the Donbas equipment.

This was stated by Secretary General Jens Stoltenberґ in an interview with " Ukrinform ".

Our exploration of the many NATO member states, as well as open source - mass media messages from families of Russian soldiers - all confirm the same picture: Russia provides substantial support separatists, supplies and heavy modern military equipment, including air Defence systems, artillery, tanks, facilities management, as well as trains," - said Stoltenberґ.

According to him, over the past few months Russia has put the terrorists more than a thousand units of heavy equipment. As for the number of Russian troops on the territory of Ukraine, then, according to Stoltenberґa, the exact amount he can not give.

[url=24tv.ua/news/showNews.do?za_kilka_misyatsiv_rosiya_peredala_teroristam_tisyachu_odinits_vazhkogo_ozbroyennya__gensek_nato&objectId=591055&tag=ukrayina]24tv.ua: In Ukrainian[/url]

Illegal terrorist groups of so-called "DNI / LC" received orders from Moscow to demonstrate real disarmament steps on the eve of a new round of talks in Minsk. To this end, the militants took his troops to 5 km from the village Shirokino. About this in the air "on Channel 5," said the director of the Department of Social and Humanitarian Policy of the Ministry of Defense Valentin Fedichev reports "Ukrinform"

"It is the eve of a new round of talks in Minsk on an initiative concerning the elimination of militants from Shirokino troops, and it really took place, they (the army of terrorists. - Ed.) Are currently being held at a distance of 5 km from Shirokino", - he said.

This Fedichev opined that now Russia has changed the means of achieving their goal - controlled Ukraine. In particular, according to him, Russia is trying to settle the conflict took place on the conditions terrorists and Ukraine took part in a so-called "LC" and "DNR".

"Therefore, controlled from Moscow and carpentry Zakharchenko, we think so, given the task to show the world its real steps to cease-fire", - he explained the representative of the Ministry of Defense.

For the same reason, according to him, the ringleader of the DNI Zakharchenko issued an order, which today has been circulated on the Internet, with respect to the dissolution of 8 battalions, including "Hold" and "Orthodox army."

"They (militants. - Ed.) Demonstrate that it is controlled by the formation of Moscow took over the initiative for peace," - added Fedichev.

glavcom.ua: In Russian