Ukraine News. Thursday 16 August. [Ukrainian sources]

THURSDAY HEADLINES:
Russia told what response to wait from Putin on American sanctions.  The lawyer of a suspect in the United States of Russian Federation Butina will create a fund for her support.  Tramp canceled a directive to commit a cyberattack, which has been declassified by Snowden.  UN experts urged Russia to immediately release Sentsov.  "More evidence Russia’s military orchestrating conflict in Donbas," - US State Department. Putin's spokesman on Sentsov: "It's about the" terrorist "sentenced to a man who was preparing an explosion in Crimea", - Peskov.  The prosecution made a debate and asks for Yanukovych 15 years in prison.  Poroshenko and Merkel in a telephone conversation discussed the liberation of Sentsov and the construction of the North Stream-2.  

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Russia will not be able to oppose the next set of US sanctions.

This opinion was presented by the Russian blogger and financier, Slava Rabinovich, to the "Apostrophe".

"This was most clearly demonstrated by the first package of sanctions imposed against Russian officials prior to the occupation of Crimea and the Russian attack on Ukraine, the Magnitsky Act, so in fact Putin and his associates are so afraid - because nothing can counteract these sanctions. Of course, besides, which is called a memo "to bomb Voronezh," said the blogger.

According to him, from Russia one can expect something extraordinarily subtle.

"Over the years, Russia has shown that it can impose sanctions against its own people, impose a food embargo on its own population, destroy bulldozers and burn dozens of tons of high-quality food ... In principle, Russia, represented by Putin and his RAM, can do something against his own people. everything, but against America - nothing, "- said Rabinovich.

apostrophe.ua  In Ukrainian/український

A United States-backed lawyer in an advisory role in favor of the Kremlin, Maria Butina, will set up a fund to support her.

This lawyer, Robert Driscoll, told Izvestia.

"In the near future, I will announce the creation of a fund in support of Maria Butina. This will allow people from anywhere in the world to transfer funds through the Internet to protect it, "said Driscoll.

He also added that he hopes that Putin will be justified, because she "did not do anything illegal".

On July 16, it was reported that a Russian citizen was detained in Washington on suspicion of "penetrating into an American political organization." Arrested - 29-year-old citizen of the Russian Federation, Maria Butina, she was arrested on July 15.

In the United States, the great jury presented two allegations against the Russian woman, Maria Butine. Russians are officially accused of plotting and acting as a foreign agent in order to influence American politics. She faces up to 10 years in prison.

It was also reported that Butina contacted an official of the US Treasury Department.

On July 18, a court in the United States refused to release a suspect in the Russian agent's security activities on bail . The Russian Federation announces a "fabricated" case of Putin's Russian woman detained in the United States.

In the United States, a Russian woman, known as an activist for wearing a short-weapons weapon from the right to arms, is accused of attempting to organize an "unofficial communication channel" between the Republican Party and the Kremlin in the 2015-2016 election period. She allegedly acted with the deputy chairman of the Central Bank of Russia Alexander Torshin.

According to the prosecution, Butina worked in the interests of Torshin, trying to lobby for Russia through the National Infantry Association, which has a great influence on American politics.

On July 25, the first court session in the case of Russian-born Butina took place in the USA. The judge stated that he could prohibit Maria Butina's lawyers from communicating information about the case to the media. This happened after the prosecutors expressed concern about the transfer of defense evidence.

US District Judge Tanya Chutkan has been indicted by August 8 to file a proposed defense order in order to prevent public disclosure of evidence in this case. At the hearing, prosecutors charged Robert D. Driscoll's defense lawyer with the fact that he distorts the case in television news interviews.

On July 26, in Russia, they said that the United States suspected of engaging in activities in favor of the Kremlin, Maria Butina, allegedly was a political prisoner.

It also became known that Butina was copied with the director of national security in the election campaign of Trump Jophri Gordon several weeks before the election of the president of the United States.

hromadske.ua  In Ukrainian/український

US President Donald Trump canceled a secret directive on cyberattacking, which was announced in 2013 by a former US intelligence officer Edward Snowden.

It writes about the BBC.

It is reported that Trump has canceled the document that governs the US right to cyberattack, signed in 2012 by Barack Obama, and in 2013, his snood Snooden.

It is also unknown at this time what Trump replaced the canceled document.

However, the report said that one of the former high-ranking US officials dealing with cyber security issues said that Trump could present a new military body that would deal specifically with cyberwar issues.

Earlier, the White House supported the US defense budget, which provided $250 million for Ukraine.

hromadske.ua  In Ukrainian/український

UN experts called on the Russian authorities to immediately release Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov. They expressed grave concern about the physical and psychological state of the political prisoner.

This is stated in a statement by the UN experts.

"Life Sentsova - under the inevitable threat. His hunger strike began after a trial and sentence that did not meet the standards of international law. We urge the Russian authorities to immediately release him without conditions, "the document said.

The experts also called on the Russian authorities to provide Sentsov with immediate access to medical care on the basis of his full and informed consent.

In particular, the document was signed by David Kaye, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Physical and Mental Health, Daniyus Pyras, UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation with Human Rights Defenders Michael Forst and Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, non-suspects executions trial or arbitrary executions by Anyes Kalamar.

Recall that the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation said that to pardon Sentsov himself must write a request to Putin.

It should be noted that Putin, a former prisoner of war, and now a deputy, Nadiya Savchenko, who was convicted in Russia for involvement in the death of Russian journalists in the Donbass , had pardoned without her personal petition. The release of Savchenko was requested by relatives of Igor Kornelyuk and Anton Voloshin, murdered journalists of VGTRK, in which they were accused of assassination by Savchenko.

In addition, before the release of Savchenko Putin, her wife, two Aleksander Oleksandrov and Yevgeny Yerofeyev, were asked to exchange her Ukrainian woman.

On August 14, Oleg Sentsova was visited by Russian human rights activist Zoya Svetova in the colony. They talked with Oleg in his ward. They did not discuss the issues of exchange, however, according to Svetova, he hopes for it.

On August 8, the sister of a political prisoner, Natalia Kaplan, said that Sentsov's condition was heavy: he could not walk , nor did he send letters. Also on August 8 it was reported that Ms Sentsov's request for his release was transferred to the commission for the pardon of the Yamalo-Nenets district.

On August 9, the Presidential Administration of Russia informed that they received a letter from her mother, Ukrainian political prisoner Oleg Sentsov, about his pardon. President Vladimir Putin said they were not ready to talk about an official reaction to this letter.

Oleg Sentsov's mother Lyudmila wrote to Putin a petition for pardon.

On July 13, a video with Sentsov, recorded on the 18th day of his hunger strike, was published. This is the first 2 years footage with Sentsov in prison.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine urged partners to intensify pressure on Russia to liberate Sentsov.

Politician Oleg Sentsov, illegally sentenced to 20 years in the colony, May 14, 2018, declared a hunger strike. Sentsov demands the release of all Ukrainian political prisoners of the Kremlin. On May 28, Sentsov agreed to supportive therapy.

He started starving before the World Cup in Russia to attract as many people as possible.

On July 5, his sister Natalia Kaplan visited his short-term date with Sentsov in the "White Bear" colony in Labitnangi. This was the first meeting for 3 years . They spoke for two hours.

Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov and activist Oleksandr Kolchenko were detained in Crimea on May 10, 2014. They were accused of preparing terrorist acts, convicting Kolchenko to 10, and Sentsova - up to 20 years imprisonment. Together with them were also arrested by Gennady Afanasyev and Alexei Chirnya. Afanasyeva exchanged in 2016, Chirnaya is still in a colony in the Shahty of the Rostov region.

In Russia and in the annexed Crimea, there are 64 Ukrainian political prisoners, 27 of which are in Russia.

58 - detained in the Crimea or in cases related to the Crimea. These figures do not take into account the prisoners held in the territory of self-appointed republics.

hromadske.ua  In Ukrainian/український

Commenting on the new Russian electronic warfare systems recorded by the OSCE observers in the Russian-occupied Donbas region, spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State Heather Nauert called on Moscow to fully implement the Minsk agreements and pull its forces out of Ukraine.
Censor.NET reports citing the spokesperson's tweet.

.@OSCE_SMM conflict monitors spotted four new Russian electronic warfare systems in eastern #Ukraine -- more evidence Russia’s military is orchestrating the conflict in the Donbas. #Russia must fully implement the Minsk agreements and pull its forces out of Ukraine.

The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) said in its report of Aug. 10 that "in non-government-controlled areas, on 28 July, an SMM mini-UAV spotted four distinct electronic warfare systems (a Leer-3 RB-341V, a 1L269 Krasukha-2 and RB-109A Bylina, and an anti-UAV system, Repellent-1) near Chornukhyne (64km south-west of Luhansk).

The observers stressed that they saw all the mentioned EW systems for the first time. According to the same report, the SMM's drone did not spot the same systems during a flight over the same area on Aug. 2.

The Joint Center for Control and Coordination of the cease-fire in the Donbas (JCCC) noted that all the mentioned equipment was produced in the Russian Federation in recent years while RB-109A Bylina was to be adopted by the Russian army only this year based on the results of the military tests. The Center suggests that the necessary tests are actually carried out on the territory of Ukraine.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

The press secretary of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, said that the Ukrainian director, who declared hunger strike in the Russian colony, was sentenced to "terrorism" and "do not forget about it".

According to Censor.NET, referring to the Crimea. On this August 16, he said in response to a question about the opportunity to pardon Sentsov.

"I propose not to forget that it is a question of a person convicted under the article" terrorism "who prepared an explosion in the Crimea, probably, it is necessary to first of all not forget about it", - quoted Peskov Russian informational agencies.

Answering a question about the prospects of pardoning the director, Peskov said that "here, of course, must first of all comply with the norms of Russian legislation."

The day before, the Kremlin stated that Sentsov, who declared a hunger strike, should personally appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin for pardon.

Recall Oleg Sentsova detained in the occupied Crimea on May 10, 2014. In August 2015, the North Caucasus District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Oleg Sentsov to 20 years of prisoner-in-prison punishment for allegedly creating a terrorist organization on the territory of the peninsula.

On May 16, 2018, the lawyer Sentsova said that his client May 14 declared an endless hunger strike . Thus, Sentsov demands the release of all Ukrainian political prisoners who are in Russian prisons.

On August 8, Natalia Kaplan, the sister of a Ukrainian political prisoner, Oleg Sentsov, told about his difficult situation: "All is not just bad, everything is disastrously bad. Oleg sent me a letter through a lawyer, he almost does not get up, writing that the end is close and that he is not about dismissal,"- wrote N.Kaplan on his Facebook page.

After that, L. Denisova turned to Russian colleague Tetyana Moskalkova and chairman of the Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights under the President of the Russian Federation Mikhail Fedotov asking to discuss any conditions for the exchange of Ukrainian director for his salvation. The Ukrainian ombudsman emphasized that the situation with O. Sentsov calls for an immediate response in view of the deterioration in his health due to the prolonged hunger strike.

 ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

At the Obolonsky district court in Kyiv, where the case of the state-run agency of the president-fugitive Yanukovych is being heard, prosecutors have finished reading a debatable speech and asking the accused for 15 years in prison.

This is reported by the correspondent Censor.NET.

"We ask that you convict and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment!" - the prosecutor Maxim Crimea spoke loudly at the end of the reading of the debatable speech.

Today, prosecutors read a debatable speech at the court's request, but they did not hear it, since Yanukovych's lawyers choked them, demanded to question the witnesses and argued that ex-Prime Minister Mykola Azarov was ready to testify through a video connection from Moscow. By lawyer Yuriy Ryabovol and five defenders of Yanukovych appeared to court. They were against participation in the Riabovol process, they did not let him go to the hall, where, in the end, his troops were dragged by police officers twice.

It should be noted that the sanction of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (statezzha) provides for 10 to 15 years imprisonment. That is, the prosecutors ask for the maximum that the article provides.

Recall that Yanukovych is charged with three articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: Art. 111 (state betrayal), art. 27, part 2 of Art. 437 (aiding in an aggressive war); Art. 27, part 3 of Art. 110 (assistance in encroachment upon the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine, which caused the death of people or other grave consequences).

At the last meeting Yanukovych was appointed a free lawyer Ovsyannikov, who left the courtroom several times. in the end the court decided to appoint another governorate.

On July 17, the judge Ninewold announced the transition to the stage of the parties' debates on July 30, but they did not take place, because yesterday Yanukovych's attorneys disrupted the meeting by their failure, and the court decided to appoint the accused free state governorate.

At a meeting on July 16, Konstantin Kobzar, head of the security service of the fugitive president, gave testimony in the case.

On June 26, an advisor and spokeswoman Viktor Yanukovych - Anna Herman - was questioned.

At a meeting on June 22, an ex-guardian of Yanukovych - Sergei Bernatsky was interrogated.

At a meeting on June 8, the court heard a former head of the security staff of the fugitive president, Volodymyr Pavlenko.

On June 6, a witness from the occupied Crimea Andrii Rapoport was interrogated by video.

On May 3 and 4, testimony was given to Andriy Nikiforov, a Crimean citizen, Anatoliy Kobylinsky, former head of the "Mezhygirya" guard, and Dmytro Ivantsov, former guard of Yanukovych.

On April 19, an ex-head of the General Staff of Ukraine Yuri Ilyin, who lives in the occupied Crimea, was questioned. Upon completion of the interrogation, Judge Najatko announced the expiration of the trial and the transition to a stage of litigation, which led to disagreement with the defense . Attorney Vitaliy Serdyuk said that all witnesses of the party of defense have not yet been questioned and that the court is executing a political order. Later, lawyers from Yanukovych were summoned by the police, claiming that a crime against the ex-president was in court.

At the 46th meeting of the court testified ex-regional Michael Dobkin.

At the 44th meeting , experts from linguists from the Kyiv Institute of Forensic Experts were questioned and heard the defense side's request.

At the 41st and 43rd sessions, the court questioned participants of AntiMaydan, residents of the occupied Russian Federation of Crimea, Oksana Mediev and Valery Lugovsky.

At the 39th meeting, the court began questioning defense witnesses. The testimony was given by former head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Leonid Kozhara and the employee of "UkSATSE" Andriy Chertkov.

At the 37th session, the court closed the examination of the witnesses of the prosecution. The latter testified ex-ambassador of Ukraine to the Russian Federation, permanent representative of Ukraine to the UN Volodymyr Yelchenko, and also Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

The transcript of the interrogation of the previous witnesses of the prosecution, including the NSDC Secretary Oleksandr Turchinov, former Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, the head of the Interior Ministry Arsen Avakov and Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Andriy Parubius, read here .

Previously, Yanukovych announced that he would not take part in the trial of a state treason allegedly because the outcome of this process was predetermined, and also withdrew his lawyers. The accused state provided a free lawyer Vitaliy Meshechec.

Yanukovych's free lawyer supported the same line as paid protection: "The position of previous lawyers is legal and correct. "However, he later stated that it was a very complicated matter, and on August 17, the Obolonsky district court in Kiev complied with his rejection. On August 21, the regional center for the provision of free secondary legal aid in Kiev identified a new lawyer Viktor Yanukovych in the case of state betrayal Maxim Gerask.

At the 17th meeting, on October 26, Yanukovych was given the third account of a free lawyer, Igor Lyashenko, who left the case after his attorney-at-law, Vitaliy Serdyuk, Igor Fedorenko and Andriyna Fozekosh returned at the request of the accused.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko held a telephone conversation with the Federal Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel.

The interlocutors coordinated their position on the eve of the meeting between the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany and the President of the Russian Federation. Petro Poroshenko and Angela Merkel discussed the situation in the Donbass and further efforts, in particular peacekeepers, to ensure progress in a peaceful settlement, reports Censor.NET, referring to the press service of the AP.

"Particular attention has been paid by Petro Poroshenko to the release of Ukrainian hostages and political prisoners illegally detained in the temporarily occupied territories and in Russia, in particular the need for the immediate release of Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov," the statement said.

The President of Ukraine and the German Chancellor also discussed the security challenges associated with the construction of the North Stream 2.

The interlocutors agreed on a timetable for further contacts in the framework of further development of the bilateral dialogue.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український