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[Funky Papa]

Somebody should make a different thread by the time it comes out.

 

[chadskin]

CNN has live coverage of the Dutch press conference.

 

[Dragon1893]

As expected. Russia is trying to divert the blame by countering with their own report.

Yup.
Every time I think about those poor families I feel sick.
Being hit with news like this on a daily basis is becoming too much to handle for me.
Why is the world like this?

 

[EdwardTivrusky]

Yup.
Every time I think about those poor families I feel sick.
Being hit with news like this on a daily basis is becoming too much to handle for me.
Why is the world like this?

The world was always like this, people have always been like this.
We just get to hear about it faster nowadays.

 

[Resident_UA]

The documentary about Maidan is up on Netflix. Please watch it! If you posted in this thread this is ESSENTIAL to understanding what was happening in Ukraine.

Anyone who is pro-Russia absolutely has to watch it. Sure you might feel that it's one sided because it is being told from the point of view of protesters, but at least you'll know what was happening and what people were fighting for.

Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom

 

[chadskin]

Coincidentally, Netflix granted me another free month yesterday and I just finished watching Winter on Fire. Truly a great, haunting and at times heartbreaking documentary. Here's hoping it eventually will be shown more widely than just on Netflix.

If anyone wants to discuss the documentary, I've made a quick OT here: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1125147

 

[chadskin]

Happened today:

After some days of quiet, Russian-backed militants began firing on Ukrainian positions near the Donetsk Airport, Unian.net reported, citing the ATO [Anti-Terrorism Operation] Center's Facebook page. Channel 24 later reported that one Ukrainian soldier had been killed.

Ukrainian army positions near Opytnoye and Peski were shelled. While at first Vladislav Seleznyev, spokesman for the General Staff said there was no shelling in Peski, later he confirmed there had been on his Twitter account.

A group of Belarusian volunteers fighting alongside the Ukrainian army named Zgurtavanne Partryytau reported on their Facebook page that more soldiers may have been killed, using the term "200" which means those killed in battle (translation by The Interpreter):

This morning separatist Grads fired on the town of Peski. They fired from the area of the airport on our "mechanic" and "night-light" position. The 93rd Brigade reports there are 8 200s and numerous wounded. Friggin' ceasefire...

Since as we reported earlier, the ATO had not made any report of killings, and only Channel 24 had reported the one soldier's death, readers doubted the accuracy of the information.

The page's editors replied later that their fellow fighter had called from the 93rd Brigade and given this report, and they had no reason [not] to believe him. "We're not a news agency and we don't have a staff of journalists," said the editors.

They then tried to call him back but the connection was lost. Without his permission, they don't want to cite his name as a source. There were several factors that made them trust the report, as they recounted:

- [Separatist leader Aleksandr] Zakharchenko's statement about the continuation of combat;
- Wounded people are brought to the hospital every day, but the ATO headquarters give statements about the lack of losses

- And finally: on August 10, 2015, there was a failed attempt to storm two villages near Starognatovka by the forces of the 72nd Brigade and the 5th Separate Battalion of the Right Sector Volunteer Ukrainian Corps, in which our guys took part. We lost three of our men that day and one later died in the hospital, and the 72nd Brigade lost 4 men, and a working tank was abandoned. The operation did not achieve the goals set. The ATO spokesmen announced the success of the operation and the lost of one (!) soldier. Do these official lies differ in any way from Life News.ru? Since there is no trust in the official information, people use unofficial sources. Refute it yourself, we're not Reuters.

On October 23, Zakharchenko, prime minister of the self-declared "Donetsk People's Republic" announced at a meeting with doctors that they should prepare for an influx of wounded, dialog.ua reported.

There will be some very heavy periods of military actions still...In any event, we will take Slavyansk, Kramatorks, Mariupol and so on...Unfortunately, conducting negotiations on the political plane isn't working out as we had wanted...You yourselves observe how the quiet regime is observerd only by us, but yesterday we began to reply actively...they don't understand the position of good, they only understand the position of strength. Therefore, we are preparing, military actions most likely will continue.

http://www.interpretermag.com/ukrai...ted-fighting-flares-on-edge-of-donetsk/#10587

Not a good sign ...

 

[chadskin]

Ukrainian rebels grow restless amid cracks in alliance with Russia

With their Russian backers turning their attention to the war in Syria, cracks are appearing in the rebels’ alliance with Moscow. The Kremlin is reportedly pressing the militants to put the conflict on ice, at least for the time being.

Some in the east feel abandoned, stuck between Syria and a ceasefire they are reluctant to respect. Fighters insist that the war is not over – it’s only the tactics that have changed.

“Our republic is not yet independent – it depends on help from Russia,” said Aleksey Markov, a nuclear physicist from Moscow and Shevchenko’s second-in-command. “We must first take more land, more industry, more cities. Only then can we finish the war.”

Peotr Berykov, another of the Ghost Brigade’s upper ranks, accuses Moscow of threatening to withhold humanitarian aid to prevent rebels from taking unilateral action. “The Kremlin tells us: ‘An offensive would be bad politically. Wait. Otherwise we won’t send our white trucks’,” he said. “Without their help, civilians will starve.”

Shevchenko’s rebels are keen to launch a new push to consolidate their breakaway territory. Despite a fresh truce, Markov said the conflict continues “just in different ways” – fewer artillery attacks but more “special ops”.

“We get help from the Russian people but the Kremlin is ignoring us,” he said.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/02/ukraine-ghost-brigade-ukraine-rebels

 

[chadskin]

We note that the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), which described an elevated level of fighting in their report based on information received as of 19:30 on November 3, published yesterday, said that they saw "fresh impacts" and shrapnel from a Grad rocket in separatist-held Staromikhailovka, around 5 kilometres east of Krasnogorovka:

The SMM visited “DPR”-controlled Staromykhailivka (19km west of Donetsk) following reports of shelling on 2 November. On Zhukovsky Street, the SMM saw a house with a sizeable hole in the roof and damage to an exterior wall, which the SMM assessed to be fresh impacts. Three elderly residents (two men, one woman) told the SMM that they heard explosions around 22:00-22:30hrs. According to the residents, no one was injured as the occupants were not in the house. The SMM found shrapnel assessed to have been from a Grad rocket (122mm calibre). The SMM assessed that the projectile was fired from the north-west.

The trajectory estimated by the SMM would indicate that the Grad was fired from Ukrainian-held territory. If Ukrainian troops are using Grad rockets and Russian-backed fighters have resumed using heavy artillery, then the Donbass may well be on the brink of a resumption of full-scale hostilities.

The Ukrainian military reports that Russian-backed forces attacked Ukrainian positions 12 times between 18:50 last night and 00:30 this morning.

According to the ATO Press Centre, Russian-backed fighters attacked positions near Opytnoye, Avdeyevka and Peski with grenade launchers, heavy machine guns and small arms.

The military also reported attacks on positions near Novgorodskoye, west of Gorlovka.

Meanwhile the separatist Donetsk News Agency (DAN) website reported, citing "a source in the security forces of the DNR" (self-declared Donetsk Peoples Republic), that Ukrainian forces had fired 124 shells from 82 and 120 mm mortars into the northern outskirts of Donetsk overnight.

http://www.interpretermag.com/ukraine-live-day-626-fighting-and-shelling-reported-in-donetsk/#10727

Is the Donbass on the brink of an outbreak in major fighting? As we've been reporting (see previous update) there are reports of heavy weapon use, and troop mobilization on behalf of one of the most infamous fighting groups within the ranks of the Russian-backed fighters.

Beyond what we've already quoted in the previous update, the latest OSCE report, dated November 3, at 19:30, lists significant violations of the ceasefire agreement including fighting and the movement of heavy equipment. The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) uses drones to monitor the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine. One of their drones was jammed in an area controlled by the Russian-backed fighters. The movement of heavy weapons by both sides may indicate that renewed heavier fighting could be imminent

http://www.interpretermag.com/ukraine-live-day-626-fighting-and-shelling-reported-in-donetsk/#10729

 

[Purkake4]

Nice to read updates on this topic, it doesn't feature in normal news at all these days.

 

[SecretMoblin]

Nice to read updates on this topic, it doesn't feature in normal news at all these days.

Yeah, I agree. I appreciate the continual updates in this thread.

 

[CHEEZMO™]

https://instagram.com/p/9wfWftIO9K/?taken-by=tmgneff

Top of the line US equipment being delivered to the CIA NATO Homosexual Jewish Nazi puppet regime in Kyiv.

 

[Purkake4]

This seems fun: EU diplomats launch Russia 'myth-busting' weekly

Ukrainian operatives are going to shoot down a US jet in Syria and blame Russia; the US is planning to destroy Russia in a nuclear strike; Western firms implant microchips under the skin of office workers to make them subservient; Americans wish they were ruled by Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

The fake stories are among dozens of similar ones propagated by Russian media in the past month alone, and brought to light by StratCom East, a new communications cell in the EU foreign service in Brussels.

They sound like the kind of conspiracy theories you might find on amateur websites.

But they’re reported as fact by Russia’s leading state-run media: Channel One; Kommersant; NTV; and RT.

EU states launched StratCom East in summer in order to “challenge Russia's ongoing disinformation campaigns.”

The small unit, led by a British former EU official, and containing experts seconded from member states, including the Czech Republic, published its first weekly newsletter, called Disinformation Review, on Wednesday (4 November).

It said: “Its objective is to show the European public the high amount of such disinformation attacks that target the European audience every single day.”

It also aims to “expose the number of countries targeted, and, thus, to explain to the European audience the breadth of this problem.”

The material was collected by StratCom East’s “myth-buster network” of over 300 journalists, bloggers, NGO activists, and government officials around Europe.

It also launched a Twitter account to promote its findings.

Other Russian reports said: the CIA murdered Russian dissident Boris Nemtsov; the US is planning to shoot down a Finnish plane and blame Russia; Poland plans to occupy western Ukraine.

They also said Saudi Arabia is feeding Islamic State fighters the same drugs that Western spies fed to Ukrainian pro-EU activists to get them out on the streets of Kiev.

More at the link.

 

[CHEEZMO™]

I feel it may be a waste of time. People who believe the shit put out by Russian media (and stuff like Alex Jones and GlobalResearch) already live in their own alternate reality and will just wave it away as "Information war!" like always.

 

[Purkake4]

I feel it may be a waste of time. People who believe the shit put out by Russian media (and stuff like Alex Jones and GlobalResearch) already live in their own alternate reality and will just wave it away as "Information war!" like always.

Well, it's at least nice to concentrate the efforts a bit and the potential comic value shouldn't be underestimated. Obviously it won't change any of the true believers' minds, but it might bring a nice spotlight on Russia's media efforts for Western Europe that seems to be pretty oblivious to the hilarity that happens in Russia's "alternate world".

 

[Pedrito]

I agree that it's a waste of time. Westerners turning to Russian media do so to be told what they want to hear, not to be informed. They don't give shit about the truth as long as the message is US/EU=bad; Russia/BRICS=good.

What I'm really curious to know is if people like Peter Lavelle and Anissa Naouai, among others, really believe the stuff they say or if it's just an act to get a paycheck.

 

[chadskin]

The foreign ministers of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany met once again in Berlin yesterday to discuss the further implementation of the Minsk protocol.

Lavrov (Russia):

"There is certain escalation of the situation in the sphere of security. The Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) has reported shelling from both sides, violations of weapons withdrawal liabilities also from both sides," Lavrov said after a meeting with his Normandy Four counterparts (foreign ministers of Germany, France and Ukraine) in the German capital city of Berlin.

"We actively support the OSCE SMM in its efforts to cut short occasional violations," he said. "I hope very much that escalation will be stopped."

The Russian foreign minister also noted that OSCE SMM’s reports did not rule out that outbursts of violence might be linked with the nationalists plans to send a signal to the Ukrainian government.

"There is no doubt that the Minsk agreements will remain in force until they are fully implemented. The fact that Ukraine should prepare the text of a law on elections in Donbas and the fact that it will take 90 days to hold the elections after Ukraine eventually adopts this law makes it clear that we will be unable to do that before the year’s end and will have to extend the Minsk-2 process into the next year," Lavrov said.

"We will send signals in strict compliance with the Minsk-2 package of measures adopted on February 12 to ensure that all aspects of the settlement be included in the agenda and be implemented," Lavrov emphasized.

"We paid much attention to the humanitarian situation in Donbas, especially to the problem of ongoing blockade," he said. "There are few crossing points, which adversely impacts the sphere of social services."

"All this creates a difficult humanitarian situation, and all this repeats the report of the European human rights commissioner which tells about problems created by Ukrainian authorities," Lavrov noted.

"There is common agreement that humanitarian organizations, which are ready to work in Donbas, should be granted such possibility," Lavrov said. "We call on the DPR and LPR authorities to continue to agree with the United Nations humanitarian organizations, with non-government organization, which are helping the population, on the formats of such work."

http://tass.ru/en/politics/834535

Klimkin (Ukraine):

"It is obvious for us that elections in certain territories of Donbas are to be based first of all on the Ukrainian law and criteria of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)," he said. That is why it is essential that representatives of international organizations arrive in Minsk to join the relevant working groups."

"The Minsk agreements describe this issue absolutely clear," he said, adding that the elections should be organized and controlled by the Central Election Commission.

"We have understanding that another ministerial meeting might be held by the yearend," he said. "We have not agreed a concrete date, it will be appointed later."

http://tass.ru/en/world/834548

Steinmeier (Germany):

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who hosted the meeting with his counterparts from Ukraine, Russia and France, told reporters the two hours of discussions had focused on "how to further shore up the ceasefire" agreed in September between Kiev and pro-Russian forces.

"No one denied the difficulties and the obstacles to a political solution," he said. "My impression here was that the participants are working to overcome these obstacles."

Steinmeier said a key sticking point remained the withdrawal of heavy weapons, including tanks, artillery and mortars -- a goal he said he hoped be reached by early December.

On the issue of mines, which have claimed scores of victims in the fighting zone, Steinmeier cited the end of November as a target for an accord on their removal.

http://www.afp.com/de/news/3760784/

 

[CHEEZMO™]

Another report on Russian military in Ukraine last Summer

 

[Phantast2k]

Another report on Russian military in Ukraine last Summer

I wonder: Are there even still people doubting that Russia is at war in Ukraine?

What a coincidence: Whenever Putin flies to an int. meeting to discuss Ukraine shit hits the fan in Ukraine:

Reuters: Ukrainian soldier killed in violence in east

A Ukrainian serviceman was killed and eight were wounded in attacks by pro-Russian separatists in the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian military said on Sunday, as both sides reported renewed violence despite a ceasefire deal.

The guns were mostly silent in September and October, but there has been an increase in ceasefire violations in recent weeks, with each side blaming the other.

"The most difficult situation is still around Donetsk airport, where illegal groups cynically violated agreements, firing at Ukrainian positions using 120 caliber mortars," Ukrainian military spokesman Oleksander Motuzyanyk said in a daily televised briefing.

For their part, separatist officials accused Ukraine of using mortars and tanks to fire on rebel-held territory, separatist news agency DAN reported.

Under the ceasefire deal, both sides are meant to have withdrawn most weapons from the frontline as part of a 12-point peace plan designed to end a conflict that has killed more than 8,000 people since April 2014.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which monitors the implementation of the ceasefire, warned on Friday that this month's increase in violence threatened to derail the peace process.

On Saturday Kiev reported five soldiers killed in direct attacks from the separatist side in the previous 24 hours, the highest daily death toll in two months.

/

Radars arrived in Lviv!

https://twitter.com/GeoffPyatt/status/665504358822502401

 

[chadskin]

Poroshenko Condemns Rise In Separatist Attacks In East

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has condemned an uptick in attacks by pro-Russia rebels in eastern Ukraine.

"We see there is a net escalation in the conflict in the east [amid] a rise in the number of [separatist] attacks," Poroshenko said.

"I have given orders to open fire in response as soon as our troops' lives come under threat," Poroshenko warned.

Fighting between government forces and pro-Russian separatists has intensified after weeks of relative calm.

http://www.rferl.org/content/ukraine-poroshenko-condemns-rise-in-attacks/27368103.html

Ukraine says may return artillery to frontline if situation escalates

Ukraine could return artillery to its eastern frontline if fighting with pro-Russian separatists escalates further, Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said on Monday after a weekend of the deadliest attacks in two months.

"If the situation escalates further our military commanders will be forced to return artillery and mortars to the first line of defense to defend Ukrainian positions and protect the lives of our servicemen," he said in a daily televised briefing.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/16/us-ukraine-crisis-conflict-idUSKCN0T512B20151116

 

[EdwardTivrusky]

I really hope things don't escalate further! Terrible situation for the people of Ukraine.
Thanks for the updates all of you, i can't do much more than read them and feel sad but i do appreciate the effort.

 

[MonsterHunter]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34842246

EU-Ukraine free trade deal will take place in the new year. VISA free travel will hopefully be announced soon too. Ukraine will have full access to the largest economy on Earth, while being allowed to keep some preferential tariffs to assist their transition.

 

[Resident_UA]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34842246

EU-Ukraine free trade deal will take place in the new year. VISA free travel will hopefully be announced soon too. Ukraine will have full access to the largest economy on Earth, while being allowed to keep some preferential tariffs to assist their transition.

I'm still skeptical visa free travel will happen, but it's great that Ukraine will finally get access to the EU market. I think Netherlands is the last country that needs to approve association with Ukraine.

Also it was really funny to see Ukrainian parliament try to approve equal rights employment laws. It took them a while to get past equal employment rights for gays provision, but they did pass it.

 

[leroidys]

I'm still skeptical visa free travel will happen, but it's great that Ukraine will finally get access to the EU market. I think Netherlands is the last country that needs to approve association with Ukraine.

Also it was really funny to see Ukrainian parliament try to approve equal rights employment laws. It took them a while to get past equal employment rights for gays provision, but they did pass it.

Great news

 

[Kabouter]

I'm still skeptical visa free travel will happen, but it's great that Ukraine will finally get access to the EU market. I think Netherlands is the last country that needs to approve association with Ukraine.

Also it was really funny to see Ukrainian parliament try to approve equal rights employment laws. It took them a while to get past equal employment rights for gays provision, but they did pass it.

And there is a referendum on it next year (which people got by basically campaigning against EU membership for Ukraine, which this treaty is not about, but such details are unimportant), so get ready for disappointment if our government is dumb enough to actually follow the inevitable result of the referendum.

 

[Resident_UA]

And there is a referendum on it next year (which people got by basically campaigning against EU membership for Ukraine, which this treaty is not about, but such details are unimportant), so get ready for disappointment if our government is dumb enough to actually follow the inevitable result of the referendum.

Yeah I know it's a referendum. It's really weird thing to have referendum on... I was hoping that there are enough anti-Russian sentiment in Netherlands to to get this thing passed.

 

[Kabouter]

Yeah I know it's a referendum. It's really weird thing to have referendum on... I was hoping that there are enough anti-Russian sentiment in Netherlands to to get this thing passed.

There is far more populist anti-EU sentiment, and as long as people keep campaigning for the no-vote on this referendum by essentially lying, I can't see the vote going the right way.

 

[Resident_UA]

There is far more populist anti-EU sentiment, and as long as people keep campaigning for the no-vote on this referendum by essentially lying, I can't see the vote going the right way.

Anti-EU sentiment is so weird to me. I get the culture differences, but isn't it awesome not to have any borders in the EU? When I was on vacation was so cool to drive from Poland to Amsterdam and back visiting about 10 different cities in 6 different countries and never hitting border control. Is their argument mostly economy?

 

[kingkaiser]

Anti-EU sentiment is so weird to me. I get the culture differences, but isn't it awesome not to have any borders in the EU?

Gun smuggling, human trafficking, organized crime and gangs spreading.

Well, it's certainly not all love, peace and harmony.

The terrorist attack in Paris was only possible because of the weapon smuggling from the Balkan states.

 

[anonymous_abc]

Gun smuggling, human trafficking, organized crime and gangs spreading.

Well, it's certainly not all love, peace and harmony.

Because all that doesn't happen when borders are closed to the public.

The terrorist attack in Paris was only possible because of the weapon smuggling from the Balkan states.

Which are interestingly enough not part of Schengen.

 

[MisterFalcon]

Which are interestingly enough not part of Schengen.

The Czech Republic is which is where a lot of the weapons come from. Slovakia too:

http://www.euronews.com/2015/02/18/charlie-hebdo-attacks-eu-gun-laws/

The automatic rifles used in the terrorist attacks in Paris last month may have been decommissioned weapons legally bought in Slovakia and reconverted to fire live ammunition, euronews can reveal.


Among the fatigues, camoflage nets and ammunition, can be found deactivated versions of the firearms the Paris attackers are reported to have used to kill 17 people in Paris between January 7 and January 9: AK-47 assault rifles, Tokarev pistols, Scorpion submachine guns or the compact VZ 58 Coulibaly shows off in a video which emerged after his death.

 

[chadskin]

Exclusive: EU's Juncker dangles trade ties with Russia-led bloc to Putin

European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker wrote to Russian President Vladimir Putin this week, suggesting closer trade ties between the EU and a Russian-led economic bloc once a ceasefire is implemented in Ukraine, but the Kremlin dismissed the idea.

In the letter, written after a G20 summit in Turkey and seen by Reuters, Juncker underlined the importance he attached to good relations between the European Union and Moscow, "which to my regret have not been able to develop over the past year".

He said he had asked Commission officials to study options to bring the EU and the Eurasian Economic Union - a grouping of former Soviet states dominated by Moscow - closer together.

"The decision on the circumstances in which to proceed along this path is in the hands of the member states of the European Union and should in particular be synchronized with the implementing of the Minsk agreements," Juncker wrote, referring to the name of a peace deal relating to Ukraine.

The initiative could offer Putin an incentive to cooperate in Ukraine at a time when France and some other west European states are trying to re-engage with Moscow after the Paris attacks to fight Islamic State and forge a peace deal in Syria.

The Kremlin reacted coolly, saying on Thursday it had received the letter, but that what Juncker was proposing was unrealistic.

"This correlation with fulfilling the Minsk accords, especially in the current conditions when we see Kiev's unwillingness once again to honor these accords ... is hardly relevant or possible," Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/19/us-eu-juncker-russia-idUSKCN0T821T20151119

 

[Abinash117]

Exclusive: EU's Juncker dangles trade ties with Russia-led bloc to Putin

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/19/us-eu-juncker-russia-idUSKCN0T821T20151119

Would closer ties destroy the point of EEU? I don't know if Russia itself joining the EU would benefit Russia's current interests.

 

[chadskin]

Western leaders agreed to extend Russia sanctions by six months: diplomat

Western leaders who met on the margins of last week's Group of 20 summit in Turkey agreed to extend sanctions against Russia for its actions in Ukraine by six months until July of next year, a senior European diplomat told Reuters.

U.S. President Barack Obama, Germany's Angela Merkel, Britain's David Cameron, Italy's Matteo Renzi and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who represented French President Francois Hollande at the summit, attended the brief meeting near the conclusion of the G20 meeting in Antalya.

The diplomat said that leaders had concluded that it was important to maintain pressure on Russia ahead of planned elections in eastern Ukraine.

"The elections in Ukraine are heavy lifting. We only have a chance to get what we want if we play the sanctions card. Financial sanctions need to stay in place until the bitter end," the diplomat said, requesting anonymity because the agreement was confidential.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/21/us-eu-russia-sanctions-idUSKCN0TA0XH20151121

Would closer ties destroy the point of EEU? I don't know if Russia itself joining the EU would benefit Russia's current interests.

While I haven't seen the letter, it doesn't sound as though Juncker's plan is anything concrete on how a closer cooperation would look like which makes any discussion pretty moot at this point, I think.

More importantly perhaps than being an economic union, the EEU allows Russia to exert its influence over the member countries and keep them aligned with Russian interests. If Ukraine and Georgia had joined the EEU it would've also served as a bulwark against a further EU/NATO expansion on Russia's borders. It's the Soviet Union in disguise, basically. Unless it similarly crashes, I very much doubt Putin would just give his pet project up, not to mention that contemporary Russia would have absolutely zero chance of joining the EU anytime soon, or ever, really.

 

[Purkake4]

Wow, that is interesting. I honestly though they would fold over Syria.

 

[antonz]

Looks like things may get bad real fast. Being reported that Crimea or at least large chunks of it have been disconnected from the Ukrainian Power Grid leading to total power outages in Sevastopol etc

 

[Purkake4]

Looks like things may get bad real fast. Being reported that Crimea or at least large chunks of it have been disconnected from the Ukrainian Power Grid leading to total power outages in Sevastopol etc

Links? Any background on this?

 

[antonz]

Links? Any background on this?

http://www.unian.info/society/1190349-russian-occupied-crimea-in-total-power-blackout.html

Seems like some people took it upon themselves to cut Crimea off by taking out transmission towers. There have Been Tartar and other Ukrainian led blockades of Crimea blocking shipping across the border etc. Seems like its escalating to cut Crimea off even more though it could also be Russia developing pretext for a further push as they have been escalating attacks all along the "cease fire" lines

 

[Purkake4]

http://www.unian.info/society/1190349-russian-occupied-crimea-in-total-power-blackout.html

Seems like some people took it upon themselves to cut Crimea off by taking out transmission towers

Thanks, I guess it depends now on what Ukraine's government will do.

 

[Resident_UA]

Seems like its escalating to cut Crimea off even more though it could also be Russia developing pretext for a further push as they have been escalating attacks all along the "cease fire" lines

It would be hard to sell it as pretext for anything. Even for Russia... That area is really far away from Russia controlled DNR. And even if Russia does decide to openly invade Ukraine again, that won't solve energy crisis because Ukraine can still cut off captured territory from energy supply.

The worst that could happen is Russia pressuring Ukraine by cutting off gas supply, but then EU will be involved....

 

[Jackpot]

I find it weird that Ukraine was still supplying Crimea with power all this time.

 

[chadskin]

Russia's retaliation for the Crimea blackout:

Russia says to halt gas supplies to Ukraine, mulling coal cut off over Crimea

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Moscow would cut gas supplies to Ukraine on Tuesday or Wednesday because Kiev had not paid up front for more gas and might also halt coal supplies to Ukraine in retaliation for a power blackout of Crimea.

"Today or tomorrow gas deliveries will be stopped because of lack of advance payment," said Novak, saying Ukraine was in any case using very little Russian gas.

He complained that Ukrainian authorities were not doing what they needed to allow repair crews to restore power to Crimea "out of some kind of political motivation", calling their inaction a crime.

"There are different options, political ones, economic ones," said Novak, when asked how Russia could retaliate.

"Russia delivers coal to the Ukrainian energy sector. We could, and maybe in this situation we need to, take a decision about halting deliveries of coal by our commercial organizations which deliver coal to Ukrainian power stations."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015...vak-idUSKBN0TD0PE20151124#XZF5slH6gQd3mRzd.97

 

[chadskin]

Obama to Hollande: Stay the course against Russia

When President Barack Obama hosts French President François Hollande on Tuesday, he’ll have more on his agenda than demonstrating solidarity against terrorism. He’ll also be working to make sure Hollande sticks with the international effort to punish and isolate Vladimir Putin for his aggression in Ukraine.

Privately, Obama officials say they are concerned about whether key European leaders are prepared to extend sanctions on Moscow, which expire in late January. And they are wary of any effort by Putin — who will host Hollande in Moscow later this week — to link events in Syria and Ukraine. The fear is that Putin might try to trade more aggressive Russian action against the Islamic State for France’s backing in reducing or ending the sanctions.
Story Continued Below

A premature end to sanctions in Europe “is always our worry,” said Evelyn Farkas, who served until last month as the Pentagon’s top official for Russia and Ukraine. “They can’t back away from sanctions. Ukraine is a separate situation” from Syria.

De Galbert said the U.S. worries are overstated.

"I don't think you will see significant concessions on Ukraine in exchange for some more airstrikes from the Russians. I think that the fate of the Russia sanctions will be analyzed based on the situation in Ukraine," he said.

But not everyone in the Obama administration is wholly convinced, and Obama continues to press the issue, just in case. Putin has already surprised him too many times.

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/obama-hollande-216118#ixzz3sMC8PhAM

The German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung reported on Sunday Merkel will pay Hollande a visit on Thursday, a day before he leaves for Moscow, to basically hammer home the same message as Obama.

 

[Resident_UA]

Russia's retaliation for the Crimea blackout:

Russia says to halt gas supplies to Ukraine, mulling coal cut off over Crimea


http://www.reuters.com/article/2015...vak-idUSKBN0TD0PE20151124#XZF5slH6gQd3mRzd.97

Good thing Ukraine buys very little gas directly from Russia. They buy most of the Russian gas from Europe instead. So the only way they could cut it of is by cutting off Europe from gas.

They can cut off coal. "DNR" stated today that they won't be supplying Ukraine with coal. That's probably a good thing . There's some coal on Ukrainian controlled territory, so those prices will just go up. (Why does Ukraine keep trading with "DNR" to begin with?)

 

[chadskin]

Airport Donetsk - A New Documentary

Shahida Tulaganova visits Donetsk Airport -- rebuilt in 2012, but now a scene of utter devastation -- shortly after Russian-backed separatists have taken it over. Weaving together the voices of fighters on both sides, she tells an unvarnished story of war through the eyes of those who were there. Through raw footage and deeply personal interviews, commanders and soldiers trace the contours of the desperate fight for an airport whose capture seems more symbolic than strategic.

 

[CHEEZMO™]

New Bellingcat OSINT report on the Novoazovsk offensive last Summer

https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-europe/2015/12/03/the-burning-road-to-mariupol/

 

[Resident_UA]

Airport Donetsk - A New Documentary

Do they at least present the conflict for what it is (conflict with Russia)? I heard that this documentary is somewhat objective, but at the same time they interview "Motorola" and his friends as if they are other side in some sort of civil war. The fact that "Motorola" is Russian citizen should raise some questions alone. And he's definitely not the one making any decisions... It's hard for me to watch documentary where Russian citizens are killing Ukrainians and are telling me that Ukraine is in civil war..

 

[Resident_UA]

In case anybody cares Putin finally admitted that there were "military intelligence officers" running "DNR"... He doesn't give a shit anymore and EU is still afraid of him. And what's worse people still support him...

Putin admits Russian military presence in Ukraine for first time

 

[CHEEZMO™]

A couple more months and he (along with Russian nationalists and mindless Western consumers of Russian state-produced agitprop) will be practically bragging about it like with Crimea.

They were always there, we never denied it. How dare you say we did!? Russophobe сука!

 

[Nikodemos]

http://www.interpretermag.com/russia-update-january-13-2016/

*imnotsayingitwasputin.png*