Ukraine crisis. News in Brief. Monday 10 August[Ukrainian sources]

MONDAY

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

News -
Read that 1 soldier dead, 10 injured on Saturday. I don't know Sunday's figures yet.
But Russia has warned that the war may escalate, and only Russia knows that.
Putin - Shaun Walker's "DNR guys" - controls the war. How many die, how many live.
Update - Putin launched 127 attacks yesterday. The highest figure for several months.
Noon briefing - Turchinov announced one dead, 16 military injured.
There have been some battles. One involving about 400 Russians - separatists. Repulsed.

Weather -
Forecast is for more of the same. Undoubtedly the hottest summer I have known here, with no end in sight.
Temperature in the 30s every day.
Update. 1303 already 32C where I am. 90F. And it will get warmer this afternoon.
Last year you did not need air conditioning; it was mid-20s. Comfortable. And anyway, I don't have any.
But this year... 9pm last night  - and it was still 30C. In the 90s.

5:31
http://obozrevatel.com/abroad/19725-spiker-gosdumyi-nazval-churkina-spasitelem-sovbeza-oon.htm
Russia's veto on the creation of a tribunal on the fall of the flight on Malaysia Airlines MH17 on Donbas saved the reputation of the UN Security Council because the tribunal itself was "deliberately false and unjust."
Such an opinion was expressed by the Russian State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin in his article for the "Russian newspaper".

[Russia - 100% back to the Soviet ways. Soviet fear, Putin in East Germany 30 years' ago structure. Lies, and more lies. And propaganda and lies.]

6:02
http://www.radiosvoboda.org/content/article/27175591.html

[Suggesting that Tymoshenko may act like she did with Yushchenko, and gradually strangle the current government. ]

7:30
http://censor.net.ua/news/347089/rossiya_formiruet_35yi_putinskiyi_gumkonvoyi_dlya_okkupirovannogo_donbassa

[Another 100 trucks of ammunition, Grad missiles, and the like, for Shaun Walker's "DNR guys".

7:24
http://glavnoe.ua/news/n237217
[Now saying that 7 vehicles were set on fire in Donetsk - arson. ]

7:40
http://news.liga.net/news/politics/6382404-boeviki_prodolzhayut_narashchivat_ognevuyu_aktivnost_127_obstrelov.htm
In Mariupol direction of about 400 militants, supported by 122 milemetre artillery, tanks and armored vehicles tried unsuccessfully to break through the defense forces of ATO
Militants continue to increase fire activity: 127 bombardments
The past day were noted in the area of ​​the ATO largest number of attacks on Ukrainian position on the part of illegal armed groups in recent weeks. Reported ATO headquarters.
From 18 hours until midnight, militants virtually along the entire boundary line stepped up fire activity. "Not far from Donetsk, about 18 hours invaders bombarded our stronghold in the Novgorod region with mortars and small arms. In the evening, twice beaten by criminals Avdeyevka 120-millimeter mortars, and at midnight - from tanks. With 19 hours and almost one in the morning mercenaries used 122-millimeter artillery Krasnogorovka, "- said in a statement.

7:38
http://society.puls.kiev.ua/incident/343604.html
He said the attack by militants Shirokino the night of August 8, the Ukrainian side managed to repel, but the losses could not be avoided. One soldier was wounded, the second - was killed.
Later it became known about the loss of another soldier. There is speculation that he could steal the militants.

7:32
http://glavcom.ua/articles/31660.html
[A personal report by a journalist, commenting on Pisky, and Shirokino.
He says still held by Ukrainian troops.
Also says that Shirokino is in a valley - vunerable. So who controls the heights around it - Ukraine currently - is the most important thing.]

7:31
http://nv.ua/ukraine/events/zhurnalist-voennye-otrazili-ataku-na-starognatovku-vpervye-s-fevralja-pereshli-v-kontrnastuplenie-i-zanjali-novolaspu-63314.html



[You can see Starogrnatovku where it says "google" at the bottom of the map - below the red mark..
If this is true, Putin will not be happy.
And some Ukrainian generals will lose their Kremlin bonus, for sure.
There is no doubt that many of the Ukrainian high command are still secretly working for Putin. ]

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/09/russia-patriotic-education-rise-ukraine-military

[Children's clubs - brainwashing by another name. So reminiscent of the "Hitler Youth". ]

http://zik.ua/en/news/2015/08/03/gen_taran_osce_confirms_that_rebels_heavy_artillery_firing_positions_are_in_donetsk_612882
In the night of July 31, OSCE observers registered 40 artillery salvos coming out from the center of Donetsk

[Putin's scum, Shaun Walker's "DNR guys", hiding behind women, and children.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/11786024/Russian-region-bans-British-historians-books-on-Second-World-War.html?fb_ref=Default
The works of two of Britain’s most distinguished military historians have been banned in a region of Russia over suggestions that they misinterpret the events of the Second World War and are "imbued with Nazi propaganda".
[Oliphant. Not as bad as Shaun Walker, but known for producing propaganda for the Kremlin.
But this report is almost objective. Maybe Putin has cut his pay? He works for RIA Novosti - or used to.
Report is from 5 days' ago, but I missed it.]

August provocations
The political outlook for most alarming Month
Text: Sergei Naryshkin (Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation)
http://www.rg.ru/2015/08/09/naryshkin-site.html
I think the US will continue to brainwash people with his false information, wishful thinking and create new reasons for fomenting anti-Russian sentiment in Europe. Even the UN Security Council, they are trying to turn into a platform for their propaganda, which has already exceeded all conceivable limits. The Russian veto, in fact, saved the reputation of the Security Council - after a decision of such a tribunal would be obviously false and unjust, as recently bluntly told a Canadian international law expert Christopher Black (one of the participants of our "round table" in Moscow in July)....
Well, August has just begun. But his very first event - no wonder the smell of deep political autumn. Apparently, the aggravation of being prepared, but there it is - is not the first of a series of the same that happened before our eyes.

[Note - this is from a Russian source. And written by a Russian Deputy loyal to Putin - yes, crazed propaganda. But -
He is warning of trouble in August. Does he know something? Putin is going to launch a full scale attack?
Yesterday 127 attacks on Ukrainian positions - getting close to the state of war before the "ceasefire". ]

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/western-experts-cry-foul-over-russian-books-published-in-their-names/527629.html
Journalists Luke Harding and Edward Lucas and U.S.-based Russia expert Donald Jensen confirmed to The Moscow Times that they did not know anything about Russian-language books allegedly written by them and produced by Moscow publishing house Algoritm.
[Putin's propaganda knows no boundaries.
They are now using western journalists' names, and names of other people, as fake authors. ...
The real people have never written these books!
Russia is out of control... Even Hitler wasn't this mad. He just burnt books. ]

10:03
http://glavcom.ua/articles/31666.html
[long long interview.
He is now Ambassador to Poland.
Basically, he is correct. I don't see Putin withdrawing his Russian troops, or letting Ukraine control the old border, before Putin's invasion.
So what now? ]

12:30
http://www.rbc.ua/rus/news/zone-ato-sutki-pogib-raneny-voennyh-turchinov-1439198846.html
According to him, the provocation against the OSCE mission was part of the preparation of an offensive against the Ukrainian military.
Turchinov said that burning the cars of Permanent Representatives of the OSCE Mission, and creating obstacles to their movement, "the enemy then launched a powerful artillery preparation, attacked the forces battalion tactical groups, reinforced by armored vehicles, company a foothold in the direction of 72 batallion at Novolaspa-Starognatovka."

12:45
http://news.liga.net/news/politics/6382579-karta_boev_v_donbasse_situatsiya_na_10_avgusta.htm

12:39
http://censor.net.ua/news/347146/stalin_osuschestvil_neskolko_genotsidov_v_ukraine_amerikanskiyi_istorik
Stanford historian Norman Naimark said that Joseph Stalin against the Ukrainian people realized several genocides, whose purpose - the destruction of Ukrainian national identity.

latest figures at
www.bloomberg.com/energy/
Now, at 13.15

Crude Oil & Natural Gas
INDEX UNITS PRICE CHANGE %CHANGE CONTRACT TIME ET 2 DAY
WTI Crude Oil (Nymex)
USD/bbl. 43.75 -0.12 -0.27% SEP 15 05:41:57
Brent Crude (ICE)
USD/bbl. 48.65 +0.04 +0.08% SEP 15 05:42:36

It must be approaching the record low for this year.
And maybe for the past six years. .... Problems for Putin's war machine, and imperial expansion plans a la Adolf Hitler..

============

Hryvnia a little stronger
www.kurs.com.ua
22 / 23 to a dollar
24 / 25 to a euro
33 / 36 to a pound
which is strange, as the dollar is strong today. A little intervention? Now that the 1.7 billion from the IMF is in the bank?
Wasting money.

14:12
http://uaprom.info/news/146215-potreblenie-gaza-ukraine-sokratilos-20.html
Ukraine in January-July 2015 has reduced gas consumption by 20%, including industry - by 26% of the population - 20%, heating utilities - 12%, the Minister of Energy and Coal Industry Volodymyr Demchishin...
The minister said that the gas reserves are currently 13.4 billion cubic meters. m. "The question is not so much in stocks, how much in revenues," - said Demchishin, ..

[More bad news for Putin. Ukraine using less gas. And not worried even about supplies.
However this year, I think, especially the spring, has been the warmest on record - my opinion.
The statistics will prove me right or wrong. ]

14:18
http://business.vesti-ukr.com/110487-zmievskaja-tjes-ostanovlena-iz-za-otsutstvija-topliva
, in connection with damage on August 9 on the stretch of railway tracks between station Yasinovataya - Skotovataya suspended supply of wagons with coal

[TPP I assume stands for Thermal Power Plant. ?!
Original - Змиевская ТЭС остановлена из-за отсутствия угля ]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-10/ukraine-informs-allies-situation-in-east-worsens-as-attacks-rise

August 10, 2015 — 12:01 PM EEST Updated on August 10, 2015 — 1:24 PM EEST
Ukraine said pro-Russian rebels increased the intensity of shelling to the highest in weeks, prompting the administration in Kiev to inform its allies about the deteriorating situation in the war-torn east...
President Petro Poroshenko met earlier Monday with top defense and security officials to discuss the worsening situation, according to a statement on his website.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-09/some-ukraine-bondholders-in-no-rush-for-accord-as-payday-nears
There’s also a chance Ukraine won’t finish its debt revamp by the time a $3 billion bond owed to Russia matures on Dec. 23. Since Russia has threatened to take its neighbor to court if it isn’t paid, a default in September could create legal complications that Ukraine may want to avoid, analysts at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. including Clemens Grafe said in a research note on July 23.
[Very much in Russia's interests to stop any agreement, and make Ukraine default. ]

Russia's Gen.-Col. Aleksandr Lentsov, formerly co-head of the Joint Ukrainian / Russian Center for Control of Ceasefire in Donbas, now coordinates rebels' operations, Ukraine army HQ press secretary told Ukrayinska Pravda Aug. 10.

DEPUTY Lentsov is Commander of Russia's Land Forces. "Lentsov left the joint center in spring, and he Knows positions of the Ukrainian Troops. Now, he coordinates rebels actions, being 'on vacation,' the official says.


According to Ukrainian intelligence, his staff is in Donetsk.

zik.ua

Seven Ukrainian servicemen were killed and 11 more injured as a result of the engagement near Novolaspa.

Head of Medical Service and Rehabilitation of the Right Sector Yana Zinkevych wrote on Facebook, Censor.NET reports.
"The battle near Bilokamianka is over at the moment. Three soldiers of the Volunteer Ukrainian Corps Right Sector have been killed in just a few hours (their callsigns will be announced after we inform their relatives) as well as four soldiers of the 72nd Brigade. The Right Sector has five its men wounded while six servicemen of the 72nd and 14th Brigades received injuries," she wrote.
Read more: ATO commanders arrived in Novolaspa on behalf of Poroshenko: situation is under Ukrainian soldiers' full control, - Presidential Administration.

censor.net.ua In Russian. (PHOTOS)

Ukraine will get additionally $ 500 million to train National Guard and army, US Vice President Joe Biden wrote in his Aug. 10 letter to Rada foreign relations committee chair Hanna Hopko.

Earlier, Hanna Hopko urged the United States to tighten sanctions against Russia and disconnect it from the SWIFT system if no headway is made in the implementation by rebels of the Minsk agreements and withdraw the heavy artillery, exchange POWs and political prisoners.

Mr Biden also confirmed the US government's readiness to provide the additional $ 2 billion credit agreed on in April.

"If Russia fails to implicate the earlier agreements, resorts to new offensives along the touchline, the United States will raise a price Russia is to pay for aggression against Ukraine.

Our sanctions will hold until Russia stops its occupation of independent Ukraine, "he stressed.

zik.ua

For decades, Russia's strategic industries have been based on close ties with Ukraine. Now, Russia's military industrial sector has a hard time not only due to West's sanctions but also due to the rift with Ukraine, he says.

Last month Russia vice premier Dmitri Rogozin said the problem can not be solved until 2018.

As a result of the lack of Ukraine-made parts, Russian authorities can not supply new AN-70 to the army, even stopping the production of AN-140.

The Rokot project to send military satellites into orbit was suspended.

The Russian Navy will not get three 22350 frigates because no turbines will be sent by Ukraine.

The manufacture of helicopters has also collapsed after Ukraine Motor-Sich plant cut the supplies of turbines.

Although Dmitri Rogozin assured that the military industry will deal with Ukrainian and western-made parts by 2018, Russia's military expert Aleksandr Golts feels skeptical - "We can not take Rogozin's statements seriously. They can be trusted only after we see Russia-made turbines with our own eyes."

zik.ua

In January-July 2015 Ukraine collected almost UAH 102.5 billion in single social contribution income tax.

It is reported by the State Fiscal Service which administers the taxes.

"In the January-July period of this year, revenue from single contribution tax for mandatory social insurance totaled UAH 102.5 billion," the press service of the service stated.

In July, Ukrainians paid UAH 16.5 billion in single contribution income tax.

time-ua.com

Fitch Ratings says that it would expect Ukraine to have completed the restructuring before a $ 500 million eurobond maturity payable on September 23, and the second review of the International Monetary Fund's, also in September.

"On the announcement of a debt restructuring deal Fitch would expect to downgrade Ukraine's Long-term foreign currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'C'," Fitch said in a statement affirming Ukraine's Long-term foreign currency IDR at 'CC' and local currency IDR at 'CCC'.

Fitch says that it would classify the restructuring of Ukraine's sovereign external bonds as a distressed debt exchange.

"Growth volatility, fragile external and public finances, weak governance indicators and geopolitical risks constrain the ratings," Fitch said.

Fitch also says that the IMF expects real GDP to shrink 9% in 2015, after a 7% contraction in 2014. Fitch in its turn assumes that real GDP will stabilize in 2016 as inflation and interest rates subside and confidence improves, assuming that policy and geopolitical risks do not materially worsen.

"Despite fiscal consolidation, recession and currency depreciation are estimated to have pushed the burden of general government direct and guaranteed debt to over 76% of GDP in June 2015, compared with 61% of GDP at end-2014. Government debt will increase further as bank recapitalization costs materialize, "Fitch said...................

To read further go to this link: interfax.com.ua

"This bloody crime will look like as if Ukrainian Armed Forces take the offensive in response to numerous provocations," NSDC posted a statement of its secretary Oleksandr Turchynov on its website.

According to him, Moscow stages provocations to blame Ukrainian leadership of crimes against humanity and "to initiate bringing of the Ukrainian government to account on an international level, when terrorist attacks itself are to distract attention of the world community from Russia's liability for downed Boeing, to legitimize and justify stirring up of Russia aggression, as well as to deprive Ukraine of the world's support and to make it internationally isolated. "

According to Turchynov, the Russian leadership aims at provoking killing of the same number of civilians on the occupied territories during the terrorist attacks equal to the number of the people killed during MH17 disaster.

"Russian security services selecting facilities of massive people gathering: kindergartens, educational establishments, houses, infrastructure facilities and others to perfect scenarios of future terrorist attacks," he said.

interfax.com.ua

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