Ukraine News. Monday 24 September. [Ukrainian sources]

MONDAY HEADLINES:
Russia is working against US interests in Ukraine, Syria and other hot spots - Pompeo.  The Moldovan Constitutional Court temporarily withdrew Dodon from the post of President.  How Ukraine broke the sea blockade of Russia: a chronicle of events.  Russia is preparing a military demonstration in Crimea.  The Russian occupation administration banned the departure to the territory of the Russian Federation of all men of conscription age.  Sentsov’s sister: "Oleh’s lost hope. He feels really sick, does not know how long he'll last".  Macron invited Lukashenko to Paris, when Trump arrives.  US Embassy hopes for a quick and thorough investigation of the attack on activist Mikhail.  "Stop the war with Ukraine" - in Chicago and Moscow, activists demanded the release of Sentsov and Baluch. Putin's Italian friend came to an election in the European Parliament. In Russia, they are going to send tourists to the moon. Nothing is ready yet, and prices are higher than Musk. Poland plans to build a canal that will allow ships to miss Russia's water. The European Commission will sue Poland through judicial reform.

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Russia is working against American interests.

Russia is working against American interests in Ukraine, Syria and other "hot spots" of the world. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced this in an interview with NBC on the eve of the opening of the UN General Assembly in New York. According to the Voice of America , Pompeo acknowledged that the Trump administration has not yet been able to resist Russia's numerous destabilizing actions around the world, reports Censor.NET.

Russia supports the forces of the Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, occupied the Ukrainian Crimea, and began many other steps that are in direct contradiction with US foreign policy interests.

Press TV host Chuck Todd said Russia was not helping in any foreign policy direction, and Mike Pompeo agreed with him.

"This is a very fair assessment, which is very sad because there are places where we have common interests. I have worked closely with them on the problems of combating terrorism. There are many other places in the world where our interests coincide, which can not be said about values​​", - said the head of the foreign policy department of the United States.

"They are very different from us in this regard, they do not contribute to Ukraine, in Syria, you showed it," continued the Secretary of State. "Now, as to the attempts to counter Russia's malicious actions around the world, the president tried to establish relations and change the situation, but we failed, at least - until".

Pompeo rejected the assumption that he and other high-ranking government officials act as "evil policemen," while President Trump acts as a "good policeman." This opinion came after a trummous joint press conference by Trump with Russian President Vladimir Putin last summer, which was widely criticized.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

The Moldovan Constitutional Court ruled on the temporary suspension of President Igor Dodon from his duties.

As informs Censor.NET, informs " Gazeta.ru".

This happened because of his refusal to approve new ministers.

The court ruled that the head of the parliament or the prime minister, instead of President Igor Dodon, could appoint two members of the government.

"The circumstances that justify the temporary resignation of the president from office because of his refusal to appoint ministers, whose candidatures were reappointed by the prime minister, are stated", - said the chairman of the Constitutional Court Mihai Poolelung.

Previously, Dodon has been temporarily suspended for three times, and twice this was due to the refusal to approve the nominations of ministers - in October 2017 and January 2018.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

On Sept. 23, two Ukrainian warships - A500 Donbas search and rescue vessel and A830 Korets seagoing tug - which would become part of the newly created naval base of the Ukrainian fleet on the Sea of Azov, entered the sea waters with Russian reconnaissance vessel approaching them at obviously dangerous distance.

As reported by Censor.NET, the press service of the Ukrainian Navy said in a statement that Ukraine exercised its right to free movement through the Kerch Strait and in the Sea of Azov under the UN Convention and international agreements.

However, according to the Navy, tensions escalated during the maneuver: "In the Black Sea, the Ukrainian warships were escorted by the Russian Black Sea Fleet reconnaissance vessel Priazovye and Russian border guard vessels Ametist and Don. More than 10 ships and boats of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Black Sea Fleet escorted our vessels passing the Kerch Strait. The aggressor state’s aircraft repeatedly flew over our ships, including at extremely low altitudes."

The Navy press service added that Russia resorted to a number of dangerous provocations: "On Sept. 20 at about 5 p.m., the Russian reconnaissance ship Priazovye approached the Ukrainian vessels over the distance of two cable lengths in blatant violation of the international rules causing extremely perilous situation. On Sept. 21, the Russian Su-27 fighter (based in temporarily occupied Crimea, tail number 30) caused a near-crash situation by getting too close to Ukrainian An-26 air carrier."





The Navy said that the Ukrainian small armored artillery boats Kremenchuk and Lubny departed from the port of Berdiansk in the direction of the Kerch crossing, to meet the two vessels.

"The resources and capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including aviation, are also ready to respond to possible threats... The Ukrainian Navy will not allow the aggressor state to turn the Sea of Azov into its inner lake," the Navy said.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

On September 23, Ukrainian Interior Ministry ships were under the arches of the Kerch bridge controlled by Russia.

"Apostrophe" collected in it all known information, photos and videos.

It is known that on Sunday, September 23, the search and rescue vessel "Donbass" and the sea tug "Korets" passed the Kerch Strait. At the same time, the Naval Forces of Ukraine did not request permission from the countries of the aggressor, but realized their right to free navigation in the Kerch Strait and the Sea of ​​Azov in accordance with the UN Convention and international agreements.

As reported by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, the transition to the Kerch Strait and through it was in a difficult environment. On the Black Sea, ships of the Ukrainian Navy were directly accompanied by a reconnaissance ship of the Black Sea Fleet "Azov" and the frontier watchdogs of the Russian Federation "Amethyst" and "Don".

Ukrainian ships traversed the Kerch Strait, accompanied by more than 10 ships and boats of the FSB and the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation.

At the same time, aircraft of the aggressor country repeatedly carried out the flight of our ships, including at extremely low altitudes, provoking a dangerous incident.

It is reported that on September 20, around 17:00, the reconnaissance vessel of the Russian Federation "Priazovye" approached close Ukrainian courts (on the distance of 2 cables), which grossly violated the requirements of international rules and created an extremely dangerous situation.

On September 21, the Russian Su-27 fighter (from the temporarily occupied territory of the Crimea, flight number 30) also almost did not provoke an accident in the air, getting closer to the dangerous distance from the military transport aircraft of the An-26 Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which carried out the planned Task over the Black Sea water area.

Now search and rescue vessel "Donbass" and sea tug "Korets" continue to perform tasks. From the Kerch Strait their protection is provided by small armored boats "Lubny" and "Kremenchug". Appropriate forces and means of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including aviation, are also prepared to respond to possible threats.



apostrophe.ua  In Ukrainian/український

Russia decided to arrange "military training" in Crimea.

The press service of the Southern Military District of the Russian Federation, Vadim Astafyev, told reporters, TASS reports.

"More than 1 thousand servicemen of the association (4th Army of Air Force and Air Defense - TASS) will participate in joint training, and more than 50 long-range, tactical, and assault aircraft's, including a long-range radar detection aircraft, will be involved. control A-50, <...> supersonic bomber rocket launcher Tu-22M3, as well as about 10 ships of the Black Sea Fleet", - the statement said.

It is noted that at the first stage of the operational and tactical air squadron relocated from the Rostov region in Crimea, where during the week they will be required to conduct training with the Air Defense Division and the Black Sea Fleet.

In particular, squadrons of Su-30SM fighters and Su-34 bombers will use missiles and bombs against conventional targets in the vicinity of Opuk and Chauda landfills.

"The pilots should be hit by target shields, installed at sea, and real cruise missiles of the coastal missile complexes of the Black Sea Fleet. In addition, the flight composition of the aviation connection <...> within the framework of the doctrine will work on a complex element of refueling in the air and will conduct an air battle with aviation grouping of a conditional adversary numbering up to 30 planes", - added the head of the district press service.

apostrophe.ua  In Ukrainian/український

The Russian occupation administration secretly banned the departure to the territory of the Russian Federation of all men of conscription age, regardless of their nationality and the circumstances in which they found themselves in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.

As informs Censor.NET with reference to the press service of the Ministry of Defense, this is stated in the message of the GUR.

Also, according to the Ukrainian intelligence, other restrictions on civil rights for the male population were introduced. In particular, "law enforcement agencies" are prohibited from being treated outside the place of residence or for more than three days in other settlements without registration.

"These restrictions were imposed on the request of Russian investigators and officers of the FSB of the Russian Federation, which carry out the search of so-called servicemen of the Russian-occupying forces involved in the commission of offenses and the unauthorized abandonment of service places. At the same time, comprehensive measures are taken on the identification of evasive persons under this pretext. from the autumn call for military service as part of units of units and parts 1 and 2 of the Armed Forces of the RF", - said in a statement.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

Ukrainian filmmaker Oleh Sentsov unlawfully convicted in Russia does not believe he will ever be released while his health condition is really bad.

As reported by Censor.NET, Sentsov’s cousin-sister Natalia Kaplan said in an interview with Meduza.

"Oleh’s lost hope. That’s what he wrote to me: ‘I do not believe that we will ever live together in Kyiv,’ he was talking about himself and his kids. He made out his will. He also wrote that he suffers from hypoxia which impacts his heart and brain. He feels really sick and does not know how long he'll last," Kaplan said.

According to Sentsov's sister, she no longer hopes for a miracle but only does whatever she can.

"I now feel like I'm in a terrible stalemate. I used to have a plan: to hold a rally, to file an appeal, to print his stories, to meet with politicians, to deliver a speech somewhere. But now I have no idea what to do next," Kaplan said.

She notes that she speaks with foreign politicians on a regular basis and holds talks with Ukrainian Parliament First Deputy Speaker, Iryna Herashchenko.

"I myself already do not see who else on this planet can be involved in this effort. We’ve already tried everything, did everything we could, but so far to no avail," Kaplan said.

She stressed that not only Ukrainian officials make efforts to liberate Sentsov, but also French President Emmanuel Macron, President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Canadian officials.

Sentsov is serving a sentence in the maximum security labor camp in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District. This prison's inmates are serving sentences for commission of grave and especially grave crimes.

Sentsov was detained by the Russian FSB Security Service in Russian-occupied Crimea in 2014 together with activist Oleksandr Kolchenko. They were brought to Russia and tried in a trumped-up case on charges of organizing acts of terror and arson on the peninsula. On Aug. 25, 2015, Sentsov and Kolchenko were sentenced to 20 years and 10 years in prison respectively. On Oct. 21, 2016, Russia refused to extradite the two Ukrainians to Ukraine, claiming they had automatically acquired Russian citizenship after the annexation of Crimea.

Sentsov’s cousin-sister Natalia Kaplan said March 16, 2018 that her cousin reported on his failing health in a letter. He in particular said that he is losing his hair and has his teeth crumbling into small pieces.

On May 14, 2018, the fillmmaker said he went on an indefinite hunger strike demanding to release all Ukrainian political prisoners held in Russia.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

French President Emmanuel Macron invited President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko to Paris to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War

This was announced by Deputy National Assembly of France, president of the France-Belarus friendship Christophe Lejeune, reports the Belarusian edition UDF.BY.

According to the publication, Lukashenko is expected in Paris on November 11. President of Belarus has not yet confirmed his participation.

In general, over 120 high foreign guests were invited to the international memorial ceremony near the Arc de Triomphe, including more than 80 heads of states and governments of the countries participating in the First World War, representatives of European institutions, the UN, etc. After the ceremony, high guests will have breakfast at the Elysee Palace.

It is known that the ceremony has already been agreed to take part in US President Donald Trump.

On November 11, France celebrates a truce between former enemies. On this day, in 1918, a Compiego Agreement was signed on the cessation of hostilities between the Entente and Germany in the French region of Picardy near the city of Compiègne. Traditionally, the French leader visits the Champs Elysees to lay flowers at the memorial of an unknown soldier in front of the Arc de Triomphe. Celebration with the leaders of all countries participating in the war is scheduled for the first time.

espreso.tv  In Ukrainian/український

The US Embassy in Ukraine is counting on a quick and transparent investigation into the attack on Odesa activist Oleg Mikhailik and other similar cases.

As informs Censor.NET, this is stated in the message of the diplomatic mission in Twitter.

"We are deeply concerned about the attack on Odesa activist Oleg Mykhailyk on September 22. Attacks of this kind have become more frequent and should be stopped, and he and the people of Ukraine deserve a quick, transparent and thorough investigation," the statement said.

Recall that yesterday, September 22, Odesa was shot in a public activist, head of the city organization of the party "Power of People" Oleg Mikhailik. Local media outlets say that Mikhailik has repeatedly opposed the municipal administration of Odessa.

The security service of Ukraine joined the investigation into the attack . Her staff questioned the enclosure of Mikhailik and witnesses of the attack.



 ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

On September 24, in the American capital of Chicago and the capital of Russia, Moscow, the activists conducted a series of anti-war pickets demanding to stop Russian aggression in Ukraine and Syria and immediately release Ukrainian political prisoners, including Oleg Sentsov and Volodymyr Baluch.

These simultaneous actions Krym.Realiyi told Russian activist Vera Lavreshyna, reports Cenzor.NET.

Activists say that to stop the aggression of the "regime" in force in Russia and to bring the facts to the international court "can only be united efforts".

"We believe that we will succeed if we keep faith in ourselves, in our strengths and in the hope of the possibility of close changes that are still seen as ghosts," said Lavreshina.





Vladimir Baluch continues an endless hunger strike, which he announced on March 19, 2018. After a month of complete denial of the prisoner's intake of food, the Crimean Archbishop of the UOC-KP Clement persuaded Baluch to use a minimum set of products (two oven spoons, 50-70 grams of black bread and honey tea crackers), which supports "zero-mark balancing". July 5, controlled by Russia, "Rozdolnensky District Court" sentenced Ukrainian activist Volodymyr Baluch to 5 years of general-purpose colony and a fine of 10 tax-free minimum incomes (about 4 thousand hryvnias).

On May 16, 2018, lawyer Oleg Sentsov 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, sister O. Sentsov, Natalia Kaplan, reported that he continues to starve in the Russian colony, almost does not get up. "Everything is not just bad, everything is disastrously bad. Oleg sent me a letter through a lawyer, he almost does not get up. He wrote that the end is close, and 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 Russian President Mikhail Fedotov asking them 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.

In early September 2018, Sentsov handed over his unfinished films and scripts from Crimea to his colleagues.

On September 18, the Verkhovna Rada appealed to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, offering a candidate for a Ukrainian filmmaker, a political prisoner, Oleg Sentsov to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. For the corresponding decree No. 9040, 245 deputies voted.

ua.censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who has friendly relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, will nominate himself for the European Parliamentary elections.

This is reported by the agency ANSA.

The 81-year-old politician stressed that he was pushed to such a decision.

"Everyone asks me for this," he said.

Berlusconi also noted that 25 years later, Italy faced greater danger than Communism. According to him, the country suffers from ignorance, incompetence and social hatred.

"We will continue to be the ones who will save the country, but I will continue to participate in the next election in order to save the country I love," Berlusconi said.

At the moment, Berlusconi is the head of the "Forward, Italy" party. A few years ago, he was deprived of the right to run for election, since he was found guilty of financial malpractice.

apostrophe.ua  In Ukrainian/український

Russian Corporation "Energy" plans to send to the Moon and Earth orbit of space tourists

This is the Russian edition of RIA Novosti.

However, the declared cost of the flight (cost per ticket) to the Russians will be from $150-180 million - ten times as much as flying to orbit on ships Blue Origin or Virgin Galactic.

According to the source of the publication, "Energy" has been developing the project for several years, but the exact date of launch of the rocket has not yet been determined. The ship will have three seats - two for space tourists and one for the commander of the aircraft.

To the orbit of space tourists will launch a carrier rocket "Soyuz-2" with the ship "Soyuz-MS", and on the Moon - a rocket "Angara".

"The expedition's term should be about a week, the ship will be able to fly the moon a few hundred kilometers from the surface," added the source of the publication.

In 2017, the then head of the RSC Energia, Vladimir Solntsev, told that some wanted to fly the moon. This flight he called real in 2021-2022 years. At the same time, for the modernization of the "Union" under the auspices of the Moon, it needed 500 million dollars.

Interestingly, in Russia, the tour poles to the Earth's satellite were mentioned immediately after the SpaceX press conference, in which the head of the company, Ilon Musk, told of the planned flight of the Moon on a super-powerful BFR rocket and introduced the first cosmopolitan tourist who will make this trip - the Japanese billionaire Yusak Maesawa.

For more information about the upcoming trip and personalize Yusak you can find out in the article " The first tourist to the Moon: who will Ilon Musk launch into space on the SpaceX 's most powerful rocket".

About the cost of tickets to the moon on his missile at SpaceX was not told, but according to rumors, these figures are at least 4 to 5 times lower than the claims in the "Energy".

-Earlier it was reported that an employee of the corporation "Energy" drilled an extra hole in the "Union", and filled it with glue without reporting the error. Perhaps precisely because of this on the ISS there was a recent leak of air.

-Meanwhile, Blue Origin has for the first time shown the interior of a passenger capsule for space tourists. The founder of Amazon's online trade service, Jeff Bezos, said he would invest $2.5 billion in Blue Earth 's own aerospace company, and in 2018, 11-minute flights would be made to orbit for tourism.

-Startup Starfighters creates the first commercial astronaut training program. It is designed for space tourists who have booked space on Missiles SpaceX, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, or any other company that promises to send everyone to Earth in the near future.

espreso.tv  In Ukrainian/український

Poland plans to build a new channel connecting the Gulf of Vistula with Gdańsk. Due to the canal, large vessels will be able to enter the port of Elblong bypassing the territorial waters of Russia

This was stated by the head of the party Right and Justice Yaroslav Kaczynski, according to "Polish Radio".

According to him, the construction of a navigable canal in the Vistula spit will show that "the times when Russians dictated to the Poles that they could, and which did not end in Polish territory". He noted that "the first shovel" under the canal in the Vistula spit will be excavated even during the current election campaign.

"When we first made this decision, the Russians immediately stated that they opened the door for the ships to enter the Gulf of Vistula, but then it turned out that it was possible to do with their permission, as it always was with them," he said.

Kaczynski said that this channel is economically important for Elbląg and for that part of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship around this city. In his opinion, the construction of the channel will eventually drop out of Poland any remaining status of a dependent state.

In addition, Kaczynski criticized the construction of the North Stream and the North Stream -2 and stressed that there was no environmental safety in the construction of the canal through the Vistula spit.

"This is a widespread violation of environmental safety in the Baltic Sea, but there are no threats (during digging the channel - ed.)," Kaczynski said.

Russia states that the decision of the Polish government to build a political channel and threaten the ecology and economy of the region.

-The construction of the North Stream -2 between Germany and Russia causes a lot of criticism both in Europe and within Germany itself.

-Opponents of the North Stream-2 are the United States, Poland and the Baltic States. By the way, the vice-speaker of the Senate of Poland said that only US sanctions could be stopped for the construction of the gas pipeline.

-Ukraine opposes the construction of the gas pipeline and worries about the possible loss of the status of the main transit state for Russian gas in the EU. Chairman of the Board of NJSC "Naftogaz of Ukraine" Andriy Kobolev said that losses for Ukraine could be $3 billion annually.

-We remind that in late July, Nord Stream 2 already started to build the first pipes in Germany as part of the construction of the disputed pipeline North Stream 2.

espreso.tv  In Ukrainian/український

The European Commission said on September 24 that it would bring a lawsuit against Poland against the European Court in connection with violations of the principle of independence of the judiciary in connection with the adoption of the Supreme Court Law.

This is stated in a statement on the website of the European Commission.

The Commission also asked the court to take interim measures against Poland until the court finalizes the decision in the case.

The European Commission has asked the European Court to consider the expedited procedure in order to get the final decision as soon as possible.

The adopted Polish law on the Supreme Court obliges judges of the Supreme Court to retire not at age 70, but at 65 years. According to this law, 27 of the 72 judges of the Polish Supreme Court were forced to resign. As decided by the European Commission, such rules undermine the principle of independence of the judiciary, in particular the principle of immutability of judges, which is a violation of the Treaty on European Union.

Judges who are forced to leave their jobs through innovations, in accordance with the law, are given the opportunity to request the extension of the mandate to the president for a term of three years. However, there are no clear criteria for the decision to extend the mandate of the head of state. There is also no possibility of judicial review in case of rejection of the request.

The European Commission claims that this Supreme Court law does not comply with EU law as it undermines the principle of independence of the judiciary, including the principle of immutability of judges.

On June 2, the European Commission sent an official statement to the Polish authorities on its reservations regarding the law, and on August 14, a substantiated proposal. However, the reaction of the Polish authorities did not satisfy the Commission.

On the basis of a substantiated proposal of the European Commission or the European Parliament, the Council of the EU "can state the existence of an obvious threat of serious breach by a Member State of the EU values ​​bloc" and give the country recommendations for the correction of the violations detected.

As a result, such a procedure may lead to the temporary withdrawal of the State's right to vote in the EU.

Poland has recently been expelled from the European Judicial Council Network.

In December 2017, the European Union introduced unprecedented disciplinary measures against Poland , arguing that the judicial reforms adopted threaten the rule of law.

In case of suspension of some rights of Poland, the country may lose billions of euros in EU assistance.

The Senate of Poland has passed laws on the change of proceedings in response to a protest. Reforms actually give the parliament and the president the right to form the composition of the Supreme Court and the State Council of Justice. That is, these bodies will become dependent on the ruling party.

hromadske.ua  In Ukrainian/український