Crisis in Oekraïne #94 Biden oligarch dynastie?

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Op donderdag 15 mei 2014 15:54 schreef JimmyJames het volgende:

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Verspreiden van propaganda. In één van de Baltische staten zijn Russische zenders ook uit de lucht gehaald.

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Poroshenko urges to lay mines at TV towers to prevent Ukrainians from watching Russian TV
KIEV, May 13. /ITAR-TASS/. Ukrainian presidential nominee Petro Poroshenko on Tuesday called on the authorities in Kiev to go as far as laying mines at television towers to block access to Russian television channels for Ukrainians.

“Today, we need to protect TV towers and lay mines there if necessary. Anyway, it is impossible to allow our people to be exposed to the Russian propaganda because that is creating a big problem,” Poroshenko said in a live interview with Ukraine’s ICTV television channel.

Poroshenko thanked all Ukrainian television channels for an initiative to remove all TV series and films about the Russian army from air.

Poroshenko earlier told media he had provided assistance to Euromaidan protesters in Kiev. “Euromaidan” is the unofficial name for anti-government protests in Ukraine that started when President Viktor Yanukovych refused to sign an association agreement with the European Union last year to study the deal more thoroughly.

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http://an-crimea.ru/page/news/62211/

Currently on Lenin Square is several hundred law enforcement officers and men in uniform .

On roadsides Sevastopol street parked buses and wagons , which are police . Also about two hundred people , mainly riot police lined up outside the Council of Ministers of Crimea , the correspondent of " Arguments weeks - Crimea".

Also located in the city center three APCs : one of them is near the supermarket " Selpo ", the second - the most Lenin Square , the third - near reversing the Council of Ministers .

Questions of our correspondent , about what is happening , the police say, " It's okay " or joking : " Get lost ! ".

At the same time , the press service of the Council of Ministers of Crimea, told us that at this point in the center of the city is carried out planned exercises

Военна� техника и ОМО� в Симферополе

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Two rebel bases liquidated, pro-Russian rebel leaders issue ultimatum with threat of military action
May 15, 2014, 5:17 p.m. | Mark Rachkevych

Two days after a half dozen Ukrainian paratroopers were killed in an ambush, authorities on May 15 said two pro-Russian rebel bases were eliminated near Kramatorsk and Sloviansk in northern Donetsk Oblast without the loss of civilian or military lives. The news came after Kremlin-backed militants on May 14 issued a second ultimatum in three days for Ukrainian forces either to withdraw from Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts or switch allegiance to a self-proclaimed republic that is calling for secession.

“Tonight (on May 14) near Kramatorsk a camouflaged terrorist military base was destroyed as part of our counterterrorism operation,” Acting President Oleksandr Turchynov said in parliament. In a similar statement on May 15, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry specified that the “fierce battle” took place in a pine forest near the village of Starovarvarivka during which three “terrorists” were captured and a rocket grenade launcher. Afterward the area was swept.

However, as of 10 a.m. the operation near Kramatorsk was still entering “its final stage,” according to military blogger and expert Dmytro Tymchuk. At a briefing in the Ukraine Crisis Media Center, he wouldn’t confirm the Defense Ministry’s information and told the Kyiv Post that he has “different information” with regard to the captured terrorists. On his Facebook page he posted that Ukrainian forces had encircled the village where “pro-Russian terrorists had taken up defense defensive positions inside houses where local residents are as well.”

He added that several Ukrainian soldiers were wounded and that “a number of terrorists were exterminated.”

A five-kilometer area near the Sloviansk television tower was cleared of pro-Russian militants on the same night, the Defense Ministry added. The area, guarded by the National Guard, had come under daily attack, mostly at night. The TV tower broadcasts Ukrainian channels to Sloviansk, Kramatorsk as well as other cities in Donetsk Oblast.

Also on May 14, Sergei Zdryliuk, the deputy commander of pro-Russian rebel forces in eastern Ukraine said Ukrainian forces would come under attack by midnight today if they don’t retreat 30 kilometers from Donetsk Oblast’s border to the west.

“If the so-called legitimate government doesn’t remove the armored vehicles and roadblocks then I have enough strength and means…everything will be done to destroy and burn everything,” said Zdryliuk. “Reconnaissance and sabotage groups are ready to move and some have already taken up positions.”

Zdryliuk, a native of Vinnytsia Oblast whose mother told gazeta.ua that he served in Ukraine’s Security Service in Crimea, warned that he has “10,000 fighters and 1,000 armored vehicles” at his disposal to wage war.

Tymchuk dismissed the figures, adding that at times the rebels don’t coordinate with each other, but didn’t rule out that “terrorist acts would be carried out in certain areas.”

On May 12, Igor Girkin, who authorities say is a Russian military intelligence colonel and the leader of Kremlin-backed rebels in the area, issued a similar ultimatum that has since expired.

Tymchuk added that officers with military experience serving in Iraq under NATO have joined the counterterrorism command staff. He said when they served, three elections were carried out in Iraq. “Their experience will be invaluable for carrying out the May 25 (presidential) elections,” said the military expert.

Meanwhile, Moscow announced that it would conduct military exercises near Ukraine's border on election day. The U.S. State Department and NATO recently published satellite images showing roughly 40,000 Russian troops, military hardware and other equipment stationed near Ukraine's border.

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Support for Putin Soars in Ukraine Crisis: Poll

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin, his popularity driven up by the crisis in Ukraine, is firmly on course to win a new term in 2018 if he decides to run, an independent polling agency said on Thursday.

A survey by the Levada research group found 81 percent of respondents would be ready to vote for Putin if a presidential election took place now, up from 77 percent in April and 68 percent in January.

Putin's public support has been rising since the start of the Ukraine crisis, during which Russia has annexed the Crimea region, the president has fiercely criticized the pro-Western leadership in Kiev and relations with the West have worsened.

"His determination appeals to the majority of the electorate," Alexei Grazhdankin, deputy head of Levada, said in a statement. "It is unlikely that by 2018 a politician will emerge who can compete with Putin for the presidential seat."

Putin's approval rating, a separate monthly index published by Levada, exceeded 70 percent for most of his first two terms from 2000 to 2008, when Russia benefited from an oil-fuelled economic boom. At times it rose above 80 percent.

Putin won a six-year third term as president in March 2012 with almost 64 percent of the votes, despite street protests against him in the preceding months.

Opinion polls show the former KGB spy remains Russia's most popular politician. He has not ruled out seeking a six-year fourth term in 2018.

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Russia, Ukraine Draw Closer to Reaching Deal on Gas

MOSCOW/KIEV — Moscow and Kiev took tentative steps on Thursday towards ending their standoff over the price of Russian gas supplies to Ukraine that has threatened to disrupt onward deliveries to western Europe.

A day after Moscow suggested price negotiations with Kiev could resume if its new leaders paid off part of their debts, Ukraine said it could give around $4 billion by the end of May but stood by a demand for a much lower rate for supplies.

Renewed talks would reduce the threat of a shut-off of Russian gas exports to Ukraine that could affect Europe, and would benefit Russia's state-controlled Gazprom, which has debts of just over 1 trillion rubles ($30 million).

Russian President Vladimir Putin urged European leaders to do more to help Ukraine through its economic crisis and to resolve the standoff over gas, repeating a threat to cut exports if Kiev fails to pay in advance for June deliveries but also the talks offer.

"The Russian Federation is still open to continue consultations and work together with European countries in order to stabilize the situation," he said in a declaration to foreign leaders.

Ukraine's deputy energy minister, Ihor Didenko, reiterated that Gazprom's price of $485 per 1,000 cubic meters was "non-market, monopoly-inflicted and unfair", adding that Kiev was coming up with proposals to avoid the gas taps being switched off.

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Ukrainian speakers leave Donetsk amid pro-Russia surge

Ukrainian speakers in the eastern region of Donetsk have started leaving the area, fearing for their safety as pro-Russian militants tighten their grip.

The declaration on Monday by separatist leaders that their self-declared "Donetsk People's Republic" was now an independent, sovereign state which could ultimately be absorbed into Russia is likely to hasten the exodus.

"If a separate Donetsk People's Republic is founded here, I will have to leave," says Olga, a businesswoman and single mother with a young daughter.

"I won't be able to speak Ukrainian, my native language. A lot of my friends are currently selling their houses and moving to west Ukraine. People are afraid for their lives and families."

Although it is not an easy decision for her, she believes she has no choice because "freedom is the most important thing".

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Op donderdag 15 mei 2014 17:23 schreef deelnemer het volgende:

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Niet alleen het internet

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twitter:

hdevreij twitterde op donderdag 15-05-2014 om 17:46:45 #Ukraine: fighting reported in Krasnyi Liman, 18 km NE of #Slavyansk reageer retweet

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Message to the leaders of European countries regarding the supply and transit of Russian gas across the territory of Ukraine

May 15, 2014, 17:00

Dear colleagues,

In early April we suggested immediate consultations in order to work out a coordinated approach to stabilise the Ukrainian economy and ensure stable deliveries and transit of Russian natural gas in accordance with contractual terms.

Over a month has passed. Consultations with the representatives of a number of non-EU countries have taken place in Moscow, in which our partners told us they completely shared our concerns over the situation with Ukrainian payments for gas deliveries from the Russian Federation and the risks due to insufficient amounts of gas being stored in Ukrainian underground storages.

As regards EU countries, we have only had one meeting in Warsaw with a delegation led by European Commissioner for Energy Günther Oettinger, attended also by Ukrainian representative Yuri Prodan. Unfortunately, we have to say that we have not received any specific proposals from our partners as to how to stabilise the situation with the Ukrainian buying company so that it can meet its contractual obligations and ensure reliable transit.

Moreover, the situation with payments for Russian gas only got worse over this period of time. Gazprom has not received a single payment for the gas supplied to Ukraine, and the total debt has grown from $2.237 billion to $3.508 billion.

And this despite the fact that Ukraine has received the first tranche of the IMF loan to the amount of $3.2 billion.

Given the circumstances, the Russian company has issued an advance invoice for gas deliveries to Ukraine, which is completely in accordance with the contract, and after June 1 gas deliveries will be limited to the amount prepaid by the Ukrainian company.

I would like to emphasise once again that we were forced to make this decision. The Russian Federation is still open to continue consultations and work together with European countries in order to normalise the situation. We also hope that the European Commission will more actively engage in the dialogue in order to work out specific and fair solutions that will help stabilise the Ukrainian economy.

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Op donderdag 15 mei 2014 17:57 schreef deelnemer het volgende:

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Ik citeerde alleen maar the Voice of Russia

Ukrainian Soldier in Underwear

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GrahamWP_UK twitterde op donderdag 15-05-2014 om 17:26:06 Telling the Ukrainian army that the Donetsk Republic wants them to leave, asking what they think of that - https://t.co/QwtoSyo0dE reageer retweet

Ukrainian Soldiers - Donetsk Republic Want them to Leave

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DanielSerwer twitterde op donderdag 15-05-2014 om 18:07:35 #Ukraine: Running out of Time http://t.co/RublfvU6TJ You know you are in trouble when @CrisisGroup writes its first report about you. reageer retweet

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Ukraine: Running out of Time

Europe Report N°231 14 May 2014

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Ukraine’s provisional government faces an uphill struggle to make it to the 25 May presidential election. Shaken by separatist agitation and distracted by Russian troops on its borders, it has not asserted itself coherently and has lost control of the eastern oblasts (regions) of Donetsk and Luhansk, which have voted for independence in contentious referendums. It appears incapable of keeping order in much of the south east, where separatists, supported and encouraged by Moscow, threaten the state’s viability and unity. Kyiv and the presidential candidates should reach out to the south east, explaining plans for local self-government and minority rights, and for Ukraine to be a bridge between Russia and Europe, not a geopolitical battleground. With relations between Moscow and the West deeply chilled, the U.S. and EU should continue tough sanctions to show Russia it will pay an increasing cost for destabilising or dismembering its neighbour, while pursuing parallel, vigorous diplomacy to reach understandings that avoid the worst and respect mutual interest.

The situation has consistently worsened since late February, as much of the optimism from the Maidan protests that brought down the Yanukovych government has faded. Following Russia’s annexation of Crimea, “volunteers” and quite possibly special forces (Spetsnaz) dispatched by the Kremlin have seized the initiative in the south east. The separatists’ objective seems to be to provoke sufficient disruption and bloodshed so that President Vladimir Putin can assert, if he chooses, what he says is Moscow’s right to protect Russian speakers anywhere – in the worst case scenario by carving off what would in effect be a new autonomous entity embracing almost a third of the country and many of its most viable economic resources, which might eventually be absorbed into the Russian Federation. All this deepens the crisis between the West and Russia, making the rapproche­ment necessary to resolve it much more difficult.

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