Ukraine crisis. News in Brief. Sunday 16 August [Ukrainian sources]

SUNDAY

Please scroll down to view news items added during the day

News -
Putin attacked Ukraine 136 times yesterday with various weapons - a lot of artillery.
Slightly down on the 156 figure of Friday, but still way up there.
Putin has started the war again big time, and nobody has reacted in the west. They are on holiday, or no longer want to know.
Update. Soldiers 0 dead. 6 injured. Civilian deaths reported.

Weather -
Better. Yesterday was hotter than I expected. And humid also. But today - 21 already at 0900, but high predicted in the mid-20s. We'll see.
Cooler next week. The heatwave is over.
Update - 28C at 1500.

BBC -
Naive report in the BBC - David Stern.
He visited Vorsel, a place I happen to know, having several friends there.
he describes a place there for refugees as a "run down holiday camp". ...and 3 hours from Kiev..
I was there on Thursday, and unless it has undergone some amazing transformation, Stern is on drugs, whilst reading wikipedia.
If I didn't know better, I would assume he couldn't understand Russian or Ukrainian. Maybe he can't.
But he used to be the Soviet correspondent a few decades ago. More below, on his "humanitarian" angle story.

Independence Day -
some billboards appearing around Ukraine. This one - Berdichev yesterday. Svoboda.
There are also more posters appearing for the upcoming local elections.



[This guy is actually a Senior Sergeant in the army, and also a Deputy for Svoboda, I assume. ]

http://www.unn.com.ua/uk/news/1491539-malayziya-zaproponuvala-stvoriti-mizhderzhavniy-sud-schodo-katastrofi-mh17

[Lavrov recently spent some time in Malaysia.
Clearly the Russians do not want a UN court.
But Holland and Malaysia should first go back to the UN.
Russia said it was too early for a court - so - go back to the UN in another 3 months' time.
We all know what will happen. Putin and Cherkin will veto any resolution for justice again.
But it all shows the guilty party clearly to the world - Guardian editors excepted. For Shameus Milne Putin is a hero. Stalin also. ]

11:36
http://www.unian.ua/society/1112068-u-jitomiri-pravoohorontsi-viluchili-u-gromadyanina-rf-400-kilogramiv-burshtinu-foto.html

www.bloomberg.com/energy/

Crude Oil & Natural Gas
INDEX UNITS PRICE CHANGE %CHANGE CONTRACT TIME ET 2 DAY
WTI Crude Oil (Nymex)
USD/bbl. 42.50 +0.27 +0.64% SEP 15 17:14:58
Brent Crude (ICE)
USD/bbl. 49.19 -0.44 -0.89% OCT 15 17:59:51
===

I did read this morning that the price of Brent had fallen below 49, but now it is back above.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33880351
Irina Kipina left Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine and now lives in a single room with her two small daughters in a rundown holiday camp in the village of Vorzel, outside the capital Kiev....
She sees her husband infrequently. He has found work in a string of temporary jobs on construction sites in Kiev, and because of the commute, which can take up to three hours, he lives in a dormitory in the capital.
====

Comments from Nelson -
First. Yes - there are a million refugees. Why? Stern should ask this question first.
But - he refuses to use the word "Russia" at all. Not once in the entire article does he mentiion Putin or Russia.
Putin's tanks, Putin's "DNR guys" - as Shaun Walker calls them -  Putin's Grad missiles, Buk, ...
Prevention is better than cure. Why not explain why this has all happened, and then suggest ways to stop it?
I get sick of all the same "humanitarian" angle stories. Better to be honest, and say what is going on. But not from the BBC. Maybe's... avoid using the word "Russia". It might annoy somebody in London with lots of money. Money money money.... Russian money.

Yes - people have hard times. Harder still for the families of the soldiers killed. I visited another graveyard yesterday - so many young Ukrainian men dead in this war.
Ukraine is crawling with journalists from the UK giving the "human" angle. I even met one last year in Berdichev. Another idiot journalist.
He thought in Berdichev people spoke only Russian. !! Space-cadet.

The truth on Vorsel - not the bbc cr@p -
Vorsel. Now - a very desirable location. Land prices there are expensive. A small plot of land to build a house on - 50,000 dollars for starters... or more.
If you drive around Vorsel there are some very very very expensive residences. And lots are being built right now. I took a little tour on Thursday.
Vorsel was a location for sanatoriums during the Soviet times. And so has had no industry there. It is basically "clean". Apartments there are also very desirable. Not many have been built. Some are going up now, or trendy "town-houses" on the outskirts.
Old sanatoriums have closed down. And people want to buy them up and build trendy apartments.
I assume Stern visited such a place - now used to accomodate refugees from Putin's war.

"three hours to Kiev".... BOLLO@KS.  Absolute rubbish. Absolute cr@p from Stern.
There is an "ëlektrishtva" - electric train - I think runs every hour at the least - 40 minutes to Kiev. Regular. And it connects with the metro.
That is another reason the location is prefered by many who work in Kiev. e.g.

28 пл. Ворзель 20:38 20:39 1 Vorsel - slow electric train. 31 minutes to Svyatoshin - metro to Kreschatik - 20 minutes max..
35 Святошин 21:10 21:15 5
36 пл. Борщагівка 21:22 21:23 1
37 Київ-Волинський 21:30 21:33 3
http://swrailway.gov.ua/timetable/eltrain/?sid=92
shows over 35 trains each day stop at Vorsel..

By car - I went there and back by car on Thursday, from Kiev. 30 minutes max each way. Admittedly it was not rush hour, but..

I just asked somebody who lives there - she also said "half an hour". Pol chasov. 40 km.

Now -  Stern is supposedly a resident of Kiev. So he must know... you would think... Something strange somewhere... very strange...

The Donetsk lady's husband doesn't want to live with her and the kids - prefers to be with his mates in the big city. ... ??
But according to Stern, it seems as if the Ukrainian state is dividing the family... Half-truths from Stern. A major distortion.
Or the lady from Donetsk is giving the "hard-up" story to the naive journalist. ... very naive, if he believes the journey takes 3 hours.
And he lives in Kiev?
I travelled from Zhitomir to Kiev yesterday  - on a bus - in less than 90 minutes!! A distance of 140 km... yeah...

Stern's story - more of the same. Humanitarian angle. But full of half-truths, but a good "story".
Marks out of 10... 2? Comment - in a word - bollo@ks. In a phrase - could try harder. Maybe mention "Russia" next time.
Reading his background. He used to be a Soviet Union correspondent. But now "resides" in Kiev...
He should know better. Maybe he's drinking too much? Something strange going on... but I don't know what...

http://news.liga.net/news/politics/6428573-karta_ato_sploshnye_obstrely_uchastka_ot_marinki_do_svetlodarska.htm

Look at this map. Fighting right along the entire front line. Putin trying to stretch the Ukrainian forces.
Incidentally yesterday I saw a train heading east - with 4 tanks on it.
Likely they had been repaired, and now heading back to the frontline against the Russian forces.

http://politeka.net/61393-za-sutki-na-donbasse-raneny-6-ukrainskih-voennyh-apu/

[I saw on tv, about half an hour ago, it wrote - bottom of screen - 1 dead, 5 injured.
Sometimes difficult to know what is true. But the above figures I have already seen from a second source, so.. seems to be correct. ]

13:26
http://obozrevatel.com/crime/18695-v-donetskoj-oblasti-v-rezultate-obstrelov-ranenyi-6-chelovek-1-pogib.htm
As a result of the massive attacks in the Kuibyshev, Kirov and Petrovsky areas Donetsk region killed one and injured six people.
[I assume this relates to civilians. ? ]

15:44
http://www.charter97.org/ru/news/2015/8/16/164843/
[Putin has stepped up the war.
But nobody has reacted in the west. Perhaps the German Steinmeyer said something today.
But little reaction. ]

German foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned about the possibility of a new escalation of tension in Eastern Ukraine.

Censor.NET reports citing Bild am Sonntag.

"The situation in Eastern Ukraine is explosive," Steinmeier said.

According to him, a lot is at stake right now. If the parties do not reach agreement, the conflict might enter a new stage at any moment.

In this connection, Steinmeier called on the Russian and Ukrainian sides to hold a meeting between military representatives of the sides of the conflict and the OSCE to negotiate the withdrawal of weapons and prevent possible escalation.

censor.net.ua In Russian

A number of army units were ordered to move to Kyiv in February, 2014, during the mass protests on Maidan square.

Censor.NET Chief Editor Yurii Butusov wrote on Facebook.

"I learned some information from the military which would be a sensation in December, 2013. On December 2, 2013, immediately after the demonstration and events on Bankova street, the Chief of Staff Zamana and the Minister of Defense Lebedev (Russian agent and a traitor - Butusov) initiated adoption of the Temporary Doctrine of the Armed Forces Use, which permitted the use of the army to fight terrorism and conduct special operations on Ukrainian territory in peacetime. The doctrine confirms the version that Yanukovych initially prepared a scenario for the use of the army to suppress peaceful protests," Butusov stressed.

He noted that the temporary Doctrine still applies today.

According to him, on the basis of this doctrine a number of army units were ordered to move to Kyiv in February, 2014, which, however, was successfully sabotaged by the majority of the military personnel.

The Doctrine still allows the General Staff and the Ministry of Defense to use the army on the territory of Ukraine in the conditions of the 'hybrid war' and a real threat of terrorism.

So Butusov wonders if the Administration of the President and the Verkhovna Rada know about the document.

censor.net.ua In Russian

For years, the United States was China’s main source of corn. Not anymore.

In January 2015, Ukraine shipped 470,047 tons of corn to China, overtaking the United States, according to official customs data.

Ukraine shipped nearly 1 million tons of corn to China in 2014, and officials said in July that they want to double that amount this year.

For Ukraine’s flat-lined economy, its agricultural sector has provided a much-needed jolt of life.

The 16-month-long conflict with pro-Russian separatists in the east has not only cost more than 6,400 lives, but left much of the heavy industry there either shuttered or operating at less than full steam. Overall, the economy shrank nearly 7 percent last year and is projected to do even worse in 2015. The country’s currency, the hryvnya, has dropped more than 70 percent against the U.S. dollar since early 2014.

Despite that, Ukraine’s total crop production in 2014 reached 63 million tons, a post-Soviet record, and agricultural officials are hoping to come close to that this year.

The bumper crops should come as no surprise for a country once dubbed Europe’s “breadbasket” due to the bountiful harvests cultivated on fertile lands known as “black soil.” Ukraine has about 32 million hectares of arable land, about one-third as much as in the entire European Union.

This has officials in Beijing salivating.

Ukraine fits into China’s plans to diversify its agricultural imports, according to Fred Gale, a senior economist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“One of its key strategies has been to diversify its sources of corn imports because China has been importing almost exclusively from the United States," Gale told RFE/RL in a telephone interview.

China is the world’s second-biggest consumer of corn, which Beijing needs mainly to feed livestock as the Chinese population’s appetite for a Western diet -- including lots of meat -- grows.

And the Ukrainians have eagerly stepped forward...............

Recommend to read further go to this link: rferl.org

US businessman Donald Trump, who is vying for nomination as a presidential candidate from the Republican Party of the United States said it did not attach particular importance to Ukraine's membership in NATO, reports The Washington Post.

"I would not give it much importance. If that happens - great. If not - well, "- he said.

Recall, August 15 Trump said that if he wins the presidential election is going to deport all illegal immigrants from the United States.

glavcom.ua In Russian

Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold on August 17 in Yalta during his working trip to Crimea State Council Presidium meeting on the development of tourism in the Russian Federation.

This was reported by the Kremlin press service.

"The main themes of the event will be the priorities for the development of domestic tourism as a catalyst for socio-economic development of regions of Russia and in particular the Crimea", - the press-service.

Also planned informal meeting of heads of state and representatives of national associations of the Crimea.

glavcom.ua In Russian

Russian-terrorist troops four times from small arms, mortars and AGS-17 fired on the checkpoint "Marinka".

As the press service of the State Border Service, the fire was out of the village Aleksandrovka.

According to the State Border Service, the militants more than an hour of mortars fired at the checkpoint entry and exit "Georgievka." Affected among Ukrainian troops there.

In general, within the Donetsk and Lugansk regions frontier clothes and APU units recorded 4 drone. Another 4 drone, which the militants used for aerial reconnaissance locations of the Ukrainian military, border guards discovered Berdyansk squad on admingranitse to temporarily occupied Crimea.

glavcom.ua In Russian

Today, on August 16 in the area of ​​the ATO, fire opposition on the demarcation line decreased slightly.

From midnight to 18 hours, the illegal armed groups trying to involve in the fighting of our military generally use small arms. This was on his Facebook page the press center of the ATO.

According to the report, however, during the day, there were also cases of prohibited use enemy artillery fire.

"So, not far from Donetsk, about an hour of the night, the militants of artillery caliber 122 and 152 millimeters beaten on our positions in Avdeevka. Also, at night, under artillery fire appeared Taramchuk settlements and ceramics. And at 9:00 of weapons infantry fighting vehicles and heavy machine guns opened fire on the occupants outpost forces of ATO in the Pilot. During the day, the 120-millimeter mortars used by criminals Sands Krasnogorovka, Verhnetoretskom. And at 2.30 - the enemy with 122-millimeter artillery shelled civilian houses in the village Novokalinovo ", - the press-center of the ATO.

In Luhansk, fire fighters concentrated activity near the village of Lugansk. Here, the position of our troops 5 times fired rocket-propelled grenades and once with 120-millimeter mortars.

On Artem direction, around 6 am, the militants struck twice from the 122-millimeter artillery village Zaitsev.

A near Mariupol fire from mortars caliber opponent would cover 120 Ukrainian position in Bogdanovka and Starognatovke - reports UNIAN .

Showing restraint and strictly observing the Minsk agreement forces opened fire ATO only answer, of weapons, the caliber of which is not more than 100 millimeters, the report underlines.

glavcom.ua In Russian

The Russian command radio group increases troops in the zone of the antiterrorist operation in the east of Ukraine.

This was on his Facebook page said the journalist Yury Butusov.

"Changing Tactics of the Russian command in Donbas - strengthening of EW (Electronic Warfare. - Ed.) And SIGINT (adioelektronnoy Intelligence. - Ed.). The enemy has organized a permanent exploration areas of concentration of Ukrainian troops using their unmanned scouts, and at the same time, mobile EW offer fighting every "hot" sector of the front. interference are posed to our drones, UAVs and those who do not have a secure digital control channel, disabling, and the concentration of EW is happening rapidly, catching up quickly, smoothly, "- he wrote.

The journalist said that the volunteers work effectively with the problem of protection against noise, but "saturation drones troops far from the real needs."

"The enemy puts interference and bearing locations of our mobile artillery reconnaissance radars, causing them artillery strikes. By the way, several American AN / TPQ-48 work very well, efficient, and well protected from interference. It is a pity that they are few, and range the action is limited. And the parts needed - they are at war, often arrives, hunt for them, "- he concluded.

Changing Tactics of the Russian command in Donbas - strengthening of EW and RERRossiyskoe command increases grouped ...

obozrevatel.com In Russian

Russian Federation annexed Crimea in continuing maneuvers of heavy military equipment.

Russian occupants moving troops and military equipment from the landfill at Feodosiya towards Kerch, telling residents occupied the peninsula, according to the "Details".

People managed to take as the direction of the Kerch are columns of tanks, armored personnel carriers, multiple launch rocket systems "Grad" and military trucks.

As reported by the "Observer", formerly Ukrainian kibervoyska showed Russian military hardware in the occupied Sevastopol.




obozrevatel.com In Russian

Portal Cultprostir visited the peninsula and tried to find out from the Crimean how their lives have changed after a "polite" intervention.

Opinions, as expected, were divided. Responding to one question: "It has become better or worse?" - None of the interlocutor could not keep quiet. A direct question to cling to the living. The remaining findings do yourself: all answers are recorded.

Better

Alexander, 54 years old, an official in the Ministry of Agriculture, Simferopol

It was better, I think. In economic terms, how to look, of course. In every region of the Crimea is now wage a new pay, no uniform rates. The same specialty are paid in different ways in different towns and villages, there could be someone like luck. But I became a better person. First of all, because I have all the old Soviet movies reviewed on television. Previously, if Ukraine so not cool. And no one takes down sites. I feel like a Soviet citizen and proud of it.

Svetlana, 40 years old, civil servants, Belogorsk

Russia each Krymsk district chiefs fastened. Well, as oktyabryatskim "star" in Soviet schools attached pioneers older. Above our town Belogorskiy patron of Bashkortostan. We were so out come in large amateur such beautiful concerts given for free, words can not tell. Our artists Belogorsky far from Bashkortostan, we understand that. They Bashkirs, residents gathered near the House of Culture, held a solemn meeting. So many good words we said, everyone cried, were so touched. Never from the Ukraine, we have not heard anything. And the fact that my son lost his job, the husband salary delays and prices rose, we tolerate. Russia would not hurt.

Eugene, 45, a programmer, Sevastopol

All of us - the people of the Soviet mixing silly to deny it. We have pride in the blood of their homeland. I remember when my school years I learned that the USSR is separated from the Baltic States, I cried day and night. I could not understand how this is possible. Ukraine foolish acts, separated from Russia. The Soviet Union did not return, and there are enough horror. But Ukraine and Russia need to stick together. The fact that it is not the only thing that upset. The war you? Well, yes, the war. So who are you to blame? Certainly not Russia, which is struggling to help the wayward younger brother true. But you figure you help, you are each other there soak, do not hear the voice of reason. Who attacked whom, who shot someone on the Maidan - history has proved. Do not blame everything on Russia.

Evelyn, 35, a teacher of foreign languages, Ph.D., Yevpatoriya - Moscow

Ukraine as a state did not take place. It is a fact that can not be ignored. Historical justice is done. Thrive is now under the wing of the Crimea Great Mother Russia. Peninsula has never been and will not be Ukrainian. Terrible that people are dying on your war. Those who stayed with Ukraine, I wish a speedy solution of internal problems and stop the bloodshed. I was in Russia much better. Gone language issue from the scope of the scientific documentation. Now everything is in Russian only. Paper fuss was many times more work and higher education is much smaller. Salaries are not enough, but I can travel freely on undermining Moscow. In comparison with the scale of the historical process is not at all a problem.

Nikita, lawyer, 28 years old, Simferopol

In general, the better. I was a member of a branch of the Ukrainian bank, with the advent of Russia lost their jobs. This has led me to the discovery of private business, doing legal advice. Started going to church, I believe in God and family values. While Crimea was with Ukraine, my life do not turn. I am sure that things change in the state? Well yes. Around now so much talk about the values ​​that in my mind there was a change for the better. Everywhere the fight against corruption, bribery and dishonesty. No, the business is unprofitable. But I just started, I believe that I will succeed.

WORSE

Alex, 37, a taxi driver, a village Novoalekseevka

Tatars come in large numbers to the Crimea in 1990, legalized squatting. The land on which they settled illegally, is now their property. They are still dissatisfied with something, damn it. And if I grab the land, I will not give up its ownership. Because I do not Tatar. And where is your historical justice? In a hundred times worse. Togo golden rain, which had been counted our new "scattering", without spilling. Resorts empty, recreation destroyed before our eyes. Russia vbuhali a lot of money to the new airport, new trucks and new windows pontovyh stores - and so what? How does this help to survive the winter for those who live from summer earnings? And more than half of the Crimea.

Eldar, 31, a teacher of the Crimean Tatar language in high school, Simferopol

We, the Crimean Tatars, all without discrimination is now "separatists." Again, on their land, we disgraced the people gradually, one by one or in groups, squeezing out. You Simferopol at least one sign on the Crimean Tatar seen? All made off. So that in the spirit of our city was not. Cafes, newspapers, business more or less successful oppressed. After legitimizing, so to speak, "squatting", conflicts with the Russian became even greater than it was. We have now all the wolves look, do not find a job, a kind word from a neighbor not wait.

Olga, a pensioner, 69 years old, owner of the boathouse in the town of Mirny

Of course, the worse it became. I have a rest for the second year there, hardly take my ends meet. Yes, the pension has grown great, I can not say anything. And the prices further up. About the same as it was, it turns out. We were on the salt lakes were coming before many Russians, ideal conditions for sports, catering on the water. Worldwide, only three of these places. For the second season no Russians or Ukrainians. Cafes and shops are closed, prices are crazy. Who will go here? I sit alone now at his resort to a neighbor chasing teas.

Hope, 42, a farmer, a village flower, Belogorsky region

I am indignant when they say that the Crimea has always been Russian. It was not. And the new owners do not understand the characteristics of the region, do not protect what has been created with enormous difficulty. Build shops on-site parks. Entertaining complexes planted fields. Ukraine would not allow it. In 1960 in the Crimea because of Ukrainian universities distribution came experts raised agriculture. Khrushchev Dnieper water he held that to this day, by the way, drink. If not for these measures, there would be no trees here, no apple or grape. Fresh water is not local, salty soils, need a lot of strength and skill to put that on them that something has grown. And in the Crimea - the gardens, the fields, all the fruits. And it's all done by the hands of Ukrainians suffered in the Crimea from their love of the land chernozem and ability to take care of it.

Andrew, 45, a painter, sculptor, Yalta

It was just awful. All around someone else. Artwork is not. No future. There is no agreement. After friends repainted in the colors of the Russian flag, hand sink. Sympathy for the Ukrainian public can not express. Otherwise, you will stay in the police station with a polite polite people a few hours, the whole soul turned inside out. Ukrainian language under the unofficial ban. If you call in Kiev, those who can hear unkind look askance. Sane people there, but encrypted. What will happen, God knows.

obozrevatel.com In Russian