Crisis Oekraïne - Rusland #186 Vuren nog niet gestaakt

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 00:33 schreef Nintex het volgende:

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Een opinion stuk uit de New York times met uitspraken van horen zeggen tegen de woorden van de man zelf.

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Gorbachev: NATO's eastward expansion has destroyed the European security architecture as it was defined in the Helsinki Final Act in 1975. The eastern expansion was a 180-degree reversal, a departure from the decision of the Paris Charter in 1990 taken together by all the European states to put the Cold War behind us for good. Russian proposals, like the one by former President Dmitri Medvedev that we should sit down together to work on a new security architecture, were arrogantly ignored by the West. We are now seeing the results.

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 00:36 schreef Pharmacist het volgende:

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Gorbachev zegt dat NAVO expansie onacceptabel is. Well, dat is geen beolfte vanuit NAVO.

Verder vind ik niet dat Gorbachev voor andere landen mag beslissen of ze wel of niet bij NAVO kunnen. Of bijv. Polen wel of niet bij de NAVO aansluiting zoekt is iets dat de Polen moeten beslissen en niet meneer Gorbachev.

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 00:50 schreef Nintex het volgende:

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De russen proberen keer op keer de geschiedenis te herschrijven, maar dat gaat gewoon niet. Nogmaals de EU en met name Duitsland heeft verregaande voorstellen gedaan en alles behalve de vragen en wensen van de Russen genegeerd.
http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/russia/eu_russia/tech_financial_cooperation/partnership_modernisation_facility/index_en.htm

Het zijn juist de Russen die de verdragen verscheuren of de samenwerkingsverbanden opblazen. Zelfs de annexatie van de Krim werd door de EU gedoogd. De echt 'zware' sancties kwamen pas toen de MH17 uit de lucht werd geknalt door een brigade Russen uit Koersk.

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 00:50 schreef Nintex het volgende:

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De russen proberen keer op keer de geschiedenis te herschrijven, maar dat gaat gewoon niet. Nogmaals de EU en met name Duitsland heeft verregaande voorstellen gedaan en alles behalve de vragen en wensen van de Russen genegeerd.
http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/russia/eu_russia/tech_financial_cooperation/partnership_modernisation_facility/index_en.htm

Het zijn juist de Russen die de verdragen verscheuren of de samenwerkingsverbanden opblazen. Zelfs de annexatie van de Krim werd door de EU gedoogd. De echt 'zware' sancties kwamen pas toen de MH17 uit de lucht werd geknalt door een brigade Russen uit Koersk.

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 00:54 schreef crystal_meth het volgende:

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Een brigade nog wel?

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 00:57 schreef Nintex het volgende:

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https://mh17.correctiv.org/english/

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SPOILER

Om spoilers te kunnen lezen moet je zijn ingelogd. Je moet je daarvoor eerst gratis Registreren. Ook kun je spoilers niet lezen als je een ban hebt.

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 01:16 schreef Zith het volgende:
Ze schoten niet expres op een civiel toestel, maar natuurlijk was dat een russische eenheid...

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 01:30 schreef crystal_meth het volgende:

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Maar volgens het Pentagon werden de rebellen vlak over de grens (op Russisch grondgebied) opgeleid in het gebruik van de BUKs. Wie zou een lijnvlucht voor een militair toestel aanzien, Russische pro's of slecht opgeleide rebellen?

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 01:35 schreef Straatcommando. het volgende:

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Ik denk ook niet dat een beroepsmilitair een lijnvliegtuig uit de lucht schiet. Die dingen hebben gewoon transponders en als het een volledig BUK systeem is geweest, hadden ze dat gezien.

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 01:44 schreef k3vil het volgende:
Goed, er wordt nog steeds geknald.
De vraag is:

Waar stoppen de russen?

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 01:44 schreef k3vil het volgende:
Goed, er wordt nog steeds geknald.
De vraag is:

Waar stoppen de russen?

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 01:16 schreef Zith het volgende:
Ze schoten niet expres op een civiel toestel, maar natuurlijk was dat een russische eenheid...

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 02:02 schreef Romanus het volgende:

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het is al eerder in dit topic gezegd en ik ben het daar mee eens: waarschijnlijk pas als ze het oude Novorossiya hebben. Dus sowieso een route naar de Krim en Transnistrië.

Geeft je ook te denken wat de Russen met Koningsbergen willen. Als ze daar ook een landroute heen willen gaan ze misschien via Wit-Rusland en de Baltische staten.

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 02:05 schreef k3vil het volgende:

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Gaat het nou echt om een aangepast aardijkskundeboek-kaart?

Ik meen me nog te herinneren dat Putin de potentiele inmengeling van het westen in Syrie niet zag zitten, en toen ook nog een artikel liet plaatsen in een de New York times.

Volgens mij wilt Putin af van de machtsmonopoly van het westen

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 02:05 schreef k3vil het volgende:

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Gaat het nou echt om een aangepast aardijkskundeboek-kaart?

Ik meen me nog te herinneren dat Putin de potentiele inmengeling van het westen in Syrie niet zag zitten, en toen ook nog een artikel liet plaatsen in een de New York times.

Volgens mij wilt Putin af van de machtsmonopoly van het westen

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 02:39 schreef sitting_elfling het volgende:

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 02:39 schreef sitting_elfling het volgende:

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RT_com twitterde op zaterdag 21-02-2015 om 03:30:15 'Wet Defense': #UK would lose war against #Russia – senior RAF officers http://t.co/O1UHcFh9Rp http://t.co/9BLWvtNXoa reageer retweet

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 03:35 schreef Houtenbeen het volgende:

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RT_com twitterde op zaterdag 21-02-2015 om 03:30:15 'Wet Defense': #UK would lose war against #Russia – senior RAF officers http://t.co/O1UHcFh9Rp http://t.co/9BLWvtNXoa reageer retweet

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 02:36 schreef DSVM het volgende:

Latest news: Ukraine War, Large Russian column on the move with tanks from Donetsk to Mariupol

Mariopol is het volgende doel van Putin.

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 02:36 schreef DSVM het volgende:

Latest news: Ukraine War, Large Russian column on the move with tanks from Donetsk to Mariupol

Mariopol is het volgende doel van Putin.

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Ukraine crisis: Oligarchs’ militia braced for next assault

The threat to the seaside town of Mariupol could be a ruse designed to tie down Ukrainian forces. But the coming days and weeks will provide the test, writes David Blair

Even in peace, the air smells permanently of sulphur in Mariupol. Ringed by steel mills and industrial plants, this grimy port city on the Ukrainian coast is a polluted commercial centre.

It could also be the scene of the biggest battle of the war. Pro-Russian forces are only a few miles to the east in the nearby village of Shirokino. At various stages, shells have fallen within Mariupol itself.

The reason why the city could be the next target of the Russian advance is clear. Mariupol sits on the E58 highway running westwards all the way to Crimea, which Russia annexed last April.

If Vladimir Putin wants to secure an overland link to his biggest conquest of 2014, then Mariupol must be captured. Moreover, Mr Putin’s friendly rebels make no secret of their ambition to seize all of the Donbass, which embraces the neighbouring regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

With 500,000 inhabitants, Mariupol is the second-biggest city in Donetsk region. The fact that it remains in the hands of the Kiev government makes it an important outpost of Ukrainian control. This was not always true. For several months last year, the separatists achieved mastery of Mariupol.

They occupied public buildings across the city, benefiting from a significant level of popular support, especially after Ukraine’s security forces killed civilians in a series of heavy-handed operations.

When the rebels held a referendum on independence for the “Donetsk People’s Republic” last May, thousands of people filled the streets of Mariupol to vote for separation – although the crowds were inflated by the presence of only four polling stations in the entire city.

Nonetheless, the Russian side will reason that they held Mariupol once and could do so again.

The reason why Mariupol slipped from their grasp says much about the nature of this conflict.

This successful counter-offensive was not the work of Ukraine’s national army, nor the legal security forces, but an irregular militia known as the “Azov Battalion”.

A group of oligarchs raised and funded this volunteer unit, which proved to be far more effective than the army.

If the Russian side now attacks Mariupol, the Azov Battalion will certainly resist – and street fighting could engulf a city of 500,000 people. Perhaps the threat to Mariupol is only a ruse designed to tie down Ukrainian forces. But the coming days and weeks will provide the test.

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Spot report by the OSCE Observer Mission: Russian convoy of 15 vehicles crossed into Ukraine and returned through the Donetsk Border Crossing Point

On 20 February 2015 at 07:00hrs (Moscow time), a Russian convoy arrived at the Donetsk Border Crossing Point (BCP). A total of 15 vehicles were checked by the Russian border guard and customs services. All the vehicles crossed back into the Russian Federation (RF) at 16:05hrs on 20 February.

This convoy came as a surprise for the Observer Mission (OM) because the Mission was not warned in advance. The Observation Team (OT) found out about the convoy only when it arrived at the BCP.

DETAIL

Leaving the Russian Federation

On 20 February 2015 at 07:00hrs, the Observer Mission (OM) observed the arrival of a Russian convoy at the gate of the Donetsk BCP. The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations team led the process of the convoy crossing. The convoy consisted of 11 cargo trucks, one escort vehicle, one ambulance and two support vehicles. All trucks bore the inscription “Humanitarian help from the Russian Federation”. The convoy entered the BCP territory and waited for the customs inspection to begin. At 07:25 the vehicles entered the customs control area and all of them were quickly visually checked by the Russian border guards and customs officers from outside. No dogs were used in the check this time round. Ukrainian officers were not present on site during the check. By 07:40hrs all vehicles had left the BCP towards Ukraine.

Returning to the Russian Federation

At 15:45hrs on 20 February, the convoy arrived at the customs area and was quickly visually checked by the Russian officers. Ukrainian officers were not present on site during the return of the convoy. By 16:05hrs all 15 vehicles had returned and crossed back into the RF.
http://www.osce.org/om/142126

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 11:35 schreef DeJori het volgende:

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De humanitaire hulp gaat ondertussen ook door.

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HughAWilliamson twitterde op zaterdag 21-02-2015 om 11:10:38 Powerful Eyewitness in #Donetsk #Ukraine: living with poverty, fear, cut off from healthcare by @hrw's yuliagorbunova http://t.co/YnPTCQUcOF reageer retweet

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ASLuhn twitterde op zaterdag 21-02-2015 om 11:56:55 Locals wipe their feet on Ukrainian flag in #Debaltseve townhall. Not much sympathy for Kiev among those who are left http://t.co/VaT71hylJP reageer retweet

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ASLuhn twitterde op zaterdag 21-02-2015 om 10:16:32 "We don't need western ideology and gay parades!" Anti-Maidan rally in #Moscow today via @varlamov http://t.co/yRfnJJHS5j reageer retweet

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Liveuamap twitterde op zaterdag 21-02-2015 om 10:05:01 Antimaydan in Moscow http://t.co/RyYOFdgntT #Ukraine http://t.co/QWg6jz01qa via @twitted_knitter reageer retweet

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Liveuamap twitterde op zaterdag 21-02-2015 om 09:37:01 Buses that brought "marchers" to the center of Moscow http://t.co/xDlAa3VGL0 #Ukraine http://t.co/U5n54sjRSj via @Tarapuz reageer retweet

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 12:39 schreef 99.999 het volgende:
Een demonstratie tegen het westen en dan op komen dagen op je adidasschoentjes

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Kateryna_Kruk twitterde op vrijdag 20-02-2015 om 18:14:12 When huge crowd shouts "Glory to #Ukraine".... That's incredible feeling.it's worth living for such moments.don't politicians feel the same? reageer retweet

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Kateryna_Kruk twitterde op donderdag 19-02-2015 om 22:48:20 talking to ppl in #Ukraine makes you feel you traveled in time-the same atmosphere of frustration as in 2013 right before #Euromaidan. reageer retweet

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Kateryna_Kruk twitterde op vrijdag 20-02-2015 om 18:06:50 Year passed,#Euromaidan didn't change:no trust in politicians,clear division between those on stage and in the crowd reageer retweet

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Kateryna_Kruk twitterde op zaterdag 21-02-2015 om 10:44:49 Many ask whether 3Maidan can happen.dissatisfaction in high,but if gov.start acting ppl'll support it.at least now,but patience has limits. reageer retweet

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 12:44 schreef SureD1 het volgende:

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The irony...die ander heeft Nikes aan, dat is nog erger..

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Russian conscripts tell of fears of being sent to Ukraine
MOSCOW (AP) — When Alexander was due to finish his year of mandatory military service in October, his commander told him he had no choice: He had to sign a contract to extend his stay in the army and head to southern Russia for troop exercises.

The 20-year-old knew that meant he might end up fighting alongside pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. Other soldiers he talked to had been sent there.

His commanders "didn't talk about it, but other soldiers told us about it, primarily paratroopers who had been there," Alexander said in an interview with The Associated Press, which is not using his surname for his safety.

The former private first class ended his military service earlier this month. He avoided being sent to Ukraine — although not without first being threatened with prison for desertion.

Human rights groups have received dozens of complaints in the past month alone from Russian conscripts like Alexander who say they have been strong-armed or duped into signing contracts with the military to become professional soldiers, after which they were sent to participate in drills in the southern Rostov region.

"We receive messages from all over in which (soldiers) say that they're being sent again to Rostov for military exercises," said Valentina Melnikova, head of the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers, a group with a three-decade history of working to protect soldiers' rights.

"Those who have been there (to the Rostov region) before know that in actual fact it means Ukraine."

Because only contract soldiers can legally be dispatched abroad, worries are spreading among families that inexperienced young conscripts could be sent to fight in eastern Ukraine.

While Russia has denied it is sending arms and troops to support the separatists, since the summer dozens of soldiers have been reported killed by explosions during drills in the Rostov region — deaths that rights groups actually attribute to the conflict over the border in Ukraine. Weapons appear to flow freely across the frontier, and one group of Russian paratroopers was even captured in August, 50 kilometers (30 miles) inside the war zone.

So far, the Russian government has been able to keep a tight lid on information about any soldiers in eastern Ukraine through a shroud of official denials, harassment of independent reporters who cover the deaths, and carrot-and-stick pressure on the families of those killed. But rising concerns among families with young sons could pose a risk for President Vladimir Putin.

Russia's secrecy about the soldiers' deaths has an important precedent: During the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan in the 1980s, the government released little information about those killed in the conflict. When the true numbers of casualties became known, the intervention turned unpopular.

More than 5,600 people have been killed since April in the fighting between Ukrainian troops and the rebels. It is unclear how many Russian soldiers have died in the conflict, as the Defense Ministry has rejected rights groups' requests on the number of soldiers killed on duty in 2014. But the rising casualty count among Russian soldiers specifically could prove decisive in Putin's thinking as he comes under pressure to prevent an expansion of the conflict that might put more Russians in the line of fire.

"This is a conflict that reaches pretty deep into the psyche of the Russian people. It's not a foreign conflict. ... It's something very close to home," said Dmitri Trenin, an analyst at the Carnegie Endowment in Moscow. "This is something that's at the back of a lot of people's minds, and in particular, people with sons of draft age are worried.

"Military conquest, in my view, would not be supported by the Russian people, and I think everyone knows it," he added.

In October, Alexander was preparing to return to his hometown of Inta, a city of 30,000 people that skirts the Arctic Circle, when he and a dozen other recruits were told to report immediately to their base outside of Moscow.

"They told us: You have to go on a trip," he said as he wolfed down a full tray of food at the local McDonald's. "At first there wasn't any talk about a contract, but later they said that in order to go on the trip we would have to sign a contract, because we can't go as conscripts."

Russia requires almost all young men to serve in the army for one year at age 18, although many find ways to defer or avoid it. Those who want to have careers in the army can become professional soldiers by signing contracts for two or three years.

Alexander and his best friend in the unit both have pregnant girlfriends and had no intention of extending their army service. But they were told that they had already agreed to the trip, and that they couldn't back out.

"We wanted to refuse," he said. "But they refused our refusal, and we had to go."

The commander assured them the contract was a formality and they could quit within a month, when the trip was over. But Alexander had different commanders in Rostov, who told him that he was obliged to carry out his three-year contract. He heard tales of fighting from more experienced soldiers who had already been to Ukraine. Alexander would not repeat those stories, noting that he "did not want to go to jail" for revealing state secrets.

The Russian Defense Ministry did not respond to a written request for comment sent Feb. 9 or to follow-up phone calls.

Adelya Kamelatdinova's 19-year-old son was serving as a recruit in the army in July when he sent her a text message saying he was being sent to military exercises in Rostov. Then in August, he disappeared for weeks — only to resurface in September and tell her had been stationed in the Ukrainian region of Luhansk, in a village about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the Russian border.

When she went to the local recruitment office to complain with another mother whose son had been hospitalized with a concussion, nobody listened: "They told us that our sons were participating in exercises and there aren't any soldiers in Ukraine; that it was a fantasy we thought up."

Kamelatdinova, who asked that her son's name not be used for fear of retribution, said he had not signed a contract but that he had been forced to sign a statement in which he agreed to cross the Ukrainian border. The document did not have a specific date on it listing the span of the assignment.

Melnikova, from the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers, believes the drive to recruit more professional soldiers could be a way to make Russia's involvement in the conflict look retroactively legal, were it ever to become public. Rebel leaders have also said that any Russian soldiers in eastern Ukraine are volunteers fighting during their vacation time — a privilege enjoyed by contract soldiers alone.

"Here they got some smart-aleck lawyers who said, 'OK, we'll observe at least this (law), we won't send conscripts,'" she said. "It's absurd and nonetheless illegal."

The recruits are sometimes tempted by the promise of relative fortunes — a minimum of 20,000 rubles ($300) per month, compared with the 2,000 rubles ($30) that conscripts usually receive. But often they say they are tricked, told that the contract will only last for one or two months, or threatened.

"My son said they held them all in an auditorium, threatened that they would ruin their reputations, send them crawling through the trenches ... and told them they were traitors of their country," said the mother of one soldier who serves at a military base in Kamenka, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) northwest of St. Petersburg. She asked that neither her name nor that of her son be used for fear of reprisals.

"A lot of them gave in, whoever's nerves didn't hold out," said the woman. She added that her son had managed to turn down the contract, but that many of his fellow conscripts hadn't, and were supposed to leave for Rostov this week.

Many conscripts who then try to break the contracts are threatened by commanders with being considered absent without leave, a charge punishable by up to five years in prison.

Alexander and his friend ultimately fled Rostov on Dec. 31. They said they were threatened with desertion by their commander in Naro-Fominsk, and it was only after reaching out to NGOs for legal help that they were able to return to Naro-Fominsk to legally quit. But most conscripts are 18 or 19 and have little awareness of their rights to do so: Alexander says that the 10 other conscripts from his division sent to Rostov with him in October are still there, and that he has heard from other soldiers that 500 new recruits signed contracts in January, and were also headed there.

"The phrase 'I'll put you in military prison if you don't sign the contract' explains everything," said Alexander, when asked why he and so many other conscripts collapsed under the pressure.

Irina, the mother of a 19-year-old recruit serving in the Nizhny Novgorod region who asked that her last name not be used for fear of reprisal, said her son had recently called to say he had signed a contract and was on his way to Rostov. She didn't know whether he had been coerced or not, but said she had never heard him previously mention plans to sign a contract.

"I deceive myself and tell myself that it's just the army, that everything has to be this way, that everything is OK," she told the AP. "But they've sent them for three months to the border with Ukraine. ... Of course I'm scared."

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 14:59 schreef haags_kwartiertje het volgende:
Wat staat ons allemaal nog te wachten, vraag ik mij oprecht af.. Stront aan de knikker tussen Rusland en Navo geloof ik niet zo in eerlijk gezegd.

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The Draft Dodgers of Ukraine

The country’s struggling army is trying to replenish its ranks. But with its forces taking a pounding in the east, Kiev is discovering that new recruits are making themselves scarce.

KIEV, Ukraine — Roman has been dodging the draft for almost a month now.

A longtime political activist and accountant in Lviv, in western Ukraine, he no longer lives where he’s registered at his parents’ house in a small village outside the city, so he wasn’t there when the local draft board tried to serve him notice on Jan. 16. His father refused to sign at first; he relented after the head of the village threatened to call the police. But Roman, 24, who declined to give his last name for fear of being tracked down, never showed up for the required medical examination.

“I am against every war, but especially this war, because it’s meaningless,” said Roman, who has been staying in an apartment in Lviv that belongs to his wife’s relatives. “I think this conflict was created artificially. The Ukrainian mass media helped this along by spreading this patriotic hysteria.”

Desperate for manpower in its standoff with pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine, which has lasted some 10 months and killed at least 5,600, the Ukrainian military early this year reinstituted a general draft, giving itself the power to conscript young men between the ages of 20 and 27. But a huge number of Ukrainians, like Roman, are reportedly avoiding service, either because they’re disturbed by the prospect of fighting their fellow countrymen in the rebel ranks, are against the war in principle, or because they are simply afraid to go. Although no exact figures on the number of those avoiding conscription are available, it could be as many as tens of thousands: The military said in September that during partial mobilizations in 13 regions in 2014, 85,792 of those summoned didn’t report to their draft offices and 9,969 were proven to be illegally avoiding service.

Now young men with views like Roman’s are on the run as the government tries to stem a rash of reported draft dodging and is cracking down on anti-war sentiments. Last week, high-profile journalist Ruslan Kotsaba was detained on charges of treason and espionage after he spoke out against mobilization. Days later, President Petro Poroshenko announced that the security service had “detained 19 active critics of mobilization” for their “anti-Ukrainian activity.” New regulations reportedly in the works could soon prevent those eligible from service for going abroad or even leaving their home regions without permission.

The reports of large-scale draft dodging have raised questions about whether Ukraine will, in the face of a cease-fire that appears increasingly shaky, be able to recruit the manpower it needs to defend itself against Russia aggression — and whether it will be able to do so without repressing freedom of speech or civil liberties.

Roman, for his part, is nervous. This month, worried that his arguments against the war would attract the attention of the authorities, Roman deleted all the posts on his Facebook page.

“I deleted everything, cleaned out the page, because I’m afraid,” he said. “I’ve been reading the statements of these parliamentarians that social network pages are full of terrorist propaganda … that what you write on networks can be held against you, that censorship should exist even on the Internet.”

The Ukrainian military, hollowed out by years of corruption, was woefully unprepared for the pro-Russian uprising that began in eastern Ukraine in April.
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A vast web of volunteer battalions sprang up to fill the manpower gap — some of which, operating only loosely within the scope the military’s chain of command, have been accused of human rights abuses and war crimes.
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The draft announcements have been met with alarm even in the country’s traditionally more nationalistic west. Ukrainian outlets have published reports of men fleeing the country en masse to avoid being drafted. In one village in the Ternopil region, 45 men out of the 60 who were to be called up left the country five days beforehand, and all the draft-age men in another village disappeared overnight, regional draft office commissar Andriy Masly told journalists. Of the 14,000 men who were supposed to present themselves at the regional draft office for medical examinations, 7,500 didn’t show up, he said.

Roman said that out of the 36 young men in his home village who were called up, he knows several who are avoiding service. More than 1,300 criminal investigations have been opened against citizens suspected of evading military service, according to the Defense Ministry.

Small anti-mobilization rallies have been held in places like Zaporizhia, which borders Donetsk region and is close to rebel-controlled areas.

The Ukrainian government’s response to reports of draft dodging has been to tighten the screws on civic freedoms.

The moves come just as Ukraine faces increasing scrutiny for its handling of the detained journalist, Kotsaba, who faces treason and espionage charges for recording a video statement in which he called on Ukrainians to resist Kiev’s “illegal” mobilization, and argued that the conflict in eastern Ukraine was a “civil war,” not an “anti-terrorist operation,” as Kiev officially calls it.

Human rights watchers roundly condemned Kotsaba’s detainment, and Amnesty International declared him a prisoner of conscience. But that hasn’t stopped the Ukrainian government from pursuing other measures that would clamp down on freedom of speech when it comes to the fighting: After Kotsaba’s arrest, Anton Geraschenko, an aid to interior minister Arsen Avakov, said he was working with Parliament to introduce legislation making it a crime to publicly call on people to avoid mobilization. On Feb. 7, Geraschenko warned activists planning to hold a picket against mobilization the next day that if they spoke out, each of them would be held for several hours to ascertain their identity, Amnesty International reported.

Valeria Lutkovskaya, Kiev’s official human rights czar, said in a statement on Tuesday that the “persecution of journalists and civic activists for their activities is unacceptable.” Lutkovskaya said she was “fairly confident” that Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees the freedom of expression, had been violated.

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 15:05 schreef Cherna het volgende:

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Daar geloof ik totaal niet in. Putler is een idioot, maar zo gek is hij ook weer niet. Al roepen de separatisten wel te willen doorstoten tot Kiev ook dat zie ik niet gebeuren. De steun van de Russen zal wel ophouden als het Novorossiya veilig is gesteld. Wel kan het zo zijn dat men wat blijft stoken om de destabilisatie in stand te houden zodat ook het Westen niets aan de Oekraïne heeft.

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 14:24 schreef Nintex het volgende:

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Apart hoe de geschiedenis zich herhaalt.

In 39/40 dacht Frankrijk veilig te zijn achter de Maginot linie en vonden de Duitsers de Blitzkrieg uit als antwoord op de slopende loopgraven oorlog uit WW1.

De huidige manier van Russische oorlogsvoering is een antwoord op de zeer geautomatiseerde manier van oorlogvoeren waar wij de NAVO gewend aan is geraakt. Echter zijn kruisraketten, bommenwerpers en drones niet te gebruiken als er geen grote afstand zit tussen jou en de vijand en het vooral gaat om straatgevechten en infiltratie missies.

In Fallujah hadden de Engelsen hetzelfde probleem, een angry mob met molotov cocktails die je tanks bestookt op straat is niet te lokaliseren of uit te schakelen met een vliegtuigbom.

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De VS en Groot-Britannië overleggen over nieuwe sancties tegen Rusland vanwege het schenden van het staakt-het-vuren in Oost-Oekraïne.

De Amerikaanse minister van Buitenlandse Zaken John Kerry houdt Moskou verantwoordelijk voor recente gewelduitbarstingen in het oosten van Oekraïne. Hij noemt het gedrag van Rusland 'landjepik'.

Zo wijst hij met name naar de situatie rond Marioepol, waar Oekraïnse soldaten bedreigd worden door een troepenopbouw van de rebellen. Als zij deze stad veroveren, hebben de rebellen een havenstad vlakbij de Krim, eerder geannexeerd door Rusland.

"Wat er gebeurt in Marioepol is onacceptabel, we denken aan extra sancties," aldus Kerry.

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 15:32 schreef Breekfast het volgende:

[..]

quote:

Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 15:44 schreef crystal_meth het volgende:
Afsluiten van SWIFT. Echt benieuwd wat de Russische reactie zou zijn.

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 15:52 schreef Cherna het volgende:

[..]

Dit.

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 16:02 schreef Nintex het volgende:

[..]

Zou het knap vinden als je in de tijd van Twitter en Facebook een geheime aanval kunt uitvoeren. Tot nu toe is iedere poep en scheet van het Russische leger van hun basis vlak over de grens tot in Oekraine bijgehouden en vastgelegd. Tanks zijn getraceerd met emblemen en markeringen van Rostov tot Debaltseve.

twitter:

MarQs__ twitterde op zaterdag 21-02-2015 om 15:58:45 In #Donetsk, damaged vehicles and ammo arriving, probably from #Debaltseve @21brklynhttp://t.co/G9pPpqZsm5 reageer retweet

twitter:

MarQs__ twitterde op zaterdag 21-02-2015 om 15:56:46 #Mariupol: City quiet but battles ongoing east of it. All checkpoints are closed.via @DEmmerich reageer retweet

quote:

Pro-Russia rebel build-up near port city alarms Ukraine military
[..]
A Reuters media team in Sakhanka, half-way between Mariupol and Novoazovsk, were told by rebels that one of the local roads had been closed "because of fighting" though no shooting or shelling could be heard.

Some rebels had formed a base in a complex of houses in Bezimenne further up the coast and there were dozens of well-armed fighters milling around, some of whom looked like Russian military special forces wearing Russian army patches and insignia on their uniforms.

There were no signs of a new influx of tanks and troops in the region as mentioned by Kiev on Friday. A couple of military trucks could be seen on the road from Novoazovsk to Mariupol and an armored personnel carrier was parked in a forest near Shyrokine also on the coastal road.

In Bezimenne, one rebel fighter who gave his nom de guerre as Boxer denied the Kiev reports of more Russian tanks and fighters being sent to the area.

"It's all a lie. The only people fighting here are miners, tractor drivers and farm workers," he said.

He said rebel fighters were observing the Minsk ceasefire agreement worked out by Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France in the Belarussian capital and had pulled back heavy artillery from the Mariupol area

The United States, which is considering tightening sanctions against Russia and arming Kiev, also says it has sighted Russian reinforcements in the south east. The State Department said Russian support for the rebels was undermining international diplomacy and would bring costs on Moscow.

quote:

Mass protest in Moscow against 'coup' in Kiev
Thousands of pro-Kremlin activists have taken to the streets of central Moscow vowing to prevent a Ukraine-style uprising in Russia.

The rally on Saturday by the Anti-Maidan movement marked one year since scores of demonstrators were gunned down in Ukraine's pro-Western uprising that came to be known as the Maidan protests.

"Ukraine's example has taught us a lot, and we won't allow a Maidan in our country!" organisers said ahead of the rally in support of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Putinism forever," said a hand-made banner held by an elderly woman, while a column of Cossacks brandished a placard reading "The Maidan is a disease. We will treat it".

After the Kiev uprising ousted Kremlin-backed president Viktor Yanukovych last February, Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine and has since backed a separatist rebellion in the east of the country.

Moscow police said some 35,000 turned up for Saturday's event.

The marchers, some dressed in fatigues, waved Russian flags and many sported the black and orange St George ribbon, a symbol of victory over Nazi Germany that Ukrainian separatists have adopted as their badge of honour.

"Yankee go home and take the Maidan with you," read a massive banner carried by several people.

Established early this year, the umbrella movement includes several groups representing bikers, Cossacks, athletes and Russian veterans of the Afghan and Chechen wars, some of whom have fought alongside rebels in eastern Ukraine.

Warning against coup attempts

One of the movement's leaders, Nikolai Starikov, said the march was their first major rally aimed at discouraging the pro-Western opposition from plotting a coup in Russia.

"Don't even try. Don't make any attempts to rock the boat in Russia," he said in televised remarks.

State-controlled television gave ample coverage to Saturday's event and said similar rallies had been held across the country.

The opposition plans a protest on March 1 against the Ukraine conflict as well as Russia's economic crisis, which has been exacerbated by Western sanctions over Moscow's support for the separatists.

Earlier this week a Moscow court jailed top opposition activist Alexei Navalny for two weeks in a move that will most likely prevent him from leading next weekend's rally.

The protest is set to take place in southeastern Moscow, after authorities denied permission for the activists to march through the city centre.

Putin remains Russia's most popular politician despite hardships brought on by the economic crisis and several rounds of Western sanctions.

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 16:33 schreef crystal_meth het volgende:
Er is nog geen sprake van een aanval op Mariupol, maar Westerse en Oekrainse media lijken zo'n aanval reeds te gebruiken om het akkoord van Minsk te begraven.

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 16:33 schreef crystal_meth het volgende:
Er is nog geen sprake van een aanval op Mariupol, maar Westerse en Oekrainse media lijken zo'n aanval reeds te gebruiken om het akkoord van Minsk te begraven.

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 16:33 schreef crystal_meth het volgende:
Er is nog geen sprake van een aanval op Mariupol, maar Westerse en Oekrainse media lijken zo'n aanval reeds te gebruiken om het akkoord van Minsk te begraven.

quote:

Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 16:46 schreef crystal_meth het volgende:
Als Reuters onder de titel "Pro-Russia rebel build-up near port city alarms Ukraine military" verklaart:

"There were no signs of a new influx of tanks and troops in the region as mentioned by Kiev on Friday. "
Tja...

twitter:

rConflictNews twitterde op zaterdag 21-02-2015 om 15:37:02 Kremlin commissioned/paid for these graffiti in Amsterdam, London, Paris, Berlin, Madrid - @christogrozev http://t.co/a0nX4XsOLP reageer retweet

SPOILER

Om spoilers te kunnen lezen moet je zijn ingelogd. Je moet je daarvoor eerst gratis Registreren. Ook kun je spoilers niet lezen als je een ban hebt.

quote:

Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 16:49 schreef Infection het volgende:

twitter:

rConflictNews twitterde op zaterdag 21-02-2015 om 15:37:02 Kremlin commissioned/paid for these graffiti in Amsterdam, London, Paris, Berlin, Madrid - @christogrozev http://t.co/a0nX4XsOLP reageer retweet

SPOILER

Om spoilers te kunnen lezen moet je zijn ingelogd. Je moet je daarvoor eerst gratis Registreren. Ook kun je spoilers niet lezen als je een ban hebt.

quote:

Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 16:46 schreef crystal_meth het volgende:
Als Reuters onder de titel "Pro-Russia rebel build-up near port city alarms Ukraine military" verklaart:

"There were no signs of a new influx of tanks and troops in the region as mentioned by Kiev on Friday. "
Tja...

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 17:10 schreef SureD1 het volgende:
Volgens @loogunda een hoop beschietingen bij Shyrokyne (bij Marioepol).

@conflictukraine heeft een youtube link van Russische tanks bij Yenakijeve (allegedly) (oblast Donetsk)

twitter:

loogunda twitterde op zaterdag 21-02-2015 om 16:29:32 #Mariupol area:07:20 #Shyrokyne: mortar shelling08:20 #Shyrokyne: grenade laucher fire reageer retweet

twitter:

loogunda twitterde op zaterdag 21-02-2015 om 16:31:13 10:00 #Shyrokyne: tank shelling, as of 12:00 'the shelling is still in progress'1 dead, 1 wounded reageer retweet

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 17:16 schreef SureD1 het volgende:

[..]

Het helpt ook niet als die rebellen 'op naar Marioepol' op hun tanks en vrachtwagens schilderen zoals in dat filmpje vanochtend..

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 17:31 schreef crystal_meth het volgende:
Ach, we zullen zien, misschien willen ze inderdaad revanche nemen tegen Azov.

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 17:34 schreef Zith het volgende:

[..]

En neem je dan je woorden terug dat het Westen Minsk II aan het begraven is?

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Russia’s new Armata tank on Army 2015 shopping list

Russian troops are receiving beta versions of a future armored tracked platform that could usher in the 5th generation conventional land tank, heavy APC, artillery and missile launcher and possibly fully robotic assault armored vehicle.

After five years of development, the Uralvagonzavod Research and Production Corporation has finalized manufacture of the first batch of Armata tanks and heavy personnel carriers. They have been included in Russia’s 2015 defense order, TASS said.

Reportedly, 20 units have already been manufactured and issued to troops for hands-on training.

The exact characteristics and appearance of the platform remain classified, though this might soon change as the new vehicles are on the verge of taking part in the Victory Day Parade on Red Square, May 9 this year.

A better chance to see these innovative battle vehicles of the future might be given to experts and public alike during Russia Arms Expo 2015 (September 9-12, Nizhniy Tagil).


The new Armata armored tracked platform has reportedly combined and assimilated all the last decade’s major developments and innovations in battle vehicle design and construction.

The platform’s chief tank (T-14) sports an unmanned remotely controlled turret armed with a brand new 125 mm 2A82-1M smoothbore cannon. Its muzzle energy is greater than one of the world’s previously considered best cannons: the German Leopard-2 Rheinmetall 120 mm gun.

The 125 mm gun has 15-20 percent improved accuracy and its rolling fire angular dispersion has improved 1.7 times.

According to Russian media, the Armata tank might also come with a specially developed 152 mm gun, the most powerful ever cannon to be mounted on a main battle tank.

The tank’s turret will also carry a 30 mm sub-caliber ranging gun to deal with various targets, including low-flying aerial targets, such as attack planes and helicopters.

A 12.5 mm turret-mounted heavy machine gun is reportedly capable of taking out incoming projectiles, such as anti-tank missiles. It’s capable of neutralizing shells approaching at speeds of up to 3,000 meters per second.

The tank’s crew is securely enclosed in a multi-layer armored capsule separated from the ammunition container. The vehicle is fully computerized and only needs two servicemen to operate it. Each can also deploy the tank’s weapon systems.

The tank’s targeting is reportedly done with an active-phased array antenna and a large variety of other sensors.

The Armata platform allegedly has a fully mechanized electric transmission, powered by a 1,200 HP diesel engine. For greater efficiency, maintenance and repair schedules have been extended.

Within its blueprint, the Armata armored vehicle has the potential to evolve into a fully robotic battle vehicle.

According to preliminary estimates, 2,300 units are required for the Russian army.


bron

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 19:00 schreef TLC het volgende:
Tsja hoe wil je Poetin tegenhouden ? als iemand hem doodschiet wordt ie toch weer zo vervangen

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 19:13 schreef DeJori het volgende:

[..]

*opnieuw in elkaar gesleuteld.

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 19:14 schreef Romanus het volgende:
In welke vorm is de NAVO verplicht een ander NAVO-land te helpen? Hypothetische situatie: de Russische bevolking in de Baltische staten komen in opstand. Is de NAVO-verplicht te helpen bij een burgeropstand? Want als dat niet goed is vastgelegd krijg je daar ongetwijfeld ook discussies over: moeten we ze helpen of niet.

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The current Ukrainian authorities have no other way to resolve the crisis in the eastern regions but to negotiate with the rebels, former President Viktor Yanukovich says one year after the climax of the Maidan protests in Kiev saw him leave the country.

"Stop the war, stop insulting the inhabitants of the southeast, remove these labels from people. Give guarantees that self-administration would be sufficient for these regions to protect their rights. And this process should by all means involve European countries and Russia," he said in an interview with the Russia-1 TV channel.

According to Yanukovich, there's a lot of "accumulated resentment, mistrust and hatred today among those people whose families have suffered."

READ MORE: Europe, not Russia pressed Kiev over EU association – ex-Ukrainian PM

"Many people have died, a lot of people have been humiliated. It takes time to reach a level of trust that will allow us to live together. Therefore, a transition is needed. And we need to go step by step along the way of building trust," Yanukovich wrapped up.

Yanukovich believes Western countries, which a year ago acted as guarantors of the agreement between the current government and opposition, must take responsibility for what happened in Ukraine afterwards.

"Obligations have been taken by two sides - the power and the opposition, while the guarantors were the three foreign ministers of the three major European countries. I agreed to early presidential elections, constitutional reform and to hold elections to the parliament and presidential elections on a new basis. What else was needed? [They] had to carry out everything and then wait for the decision of the Ukrainian people," he also said, in a TV interview on Saturday.

Yanukovich, who has been living in Russia since last February, said he made all these concessions to avoid bloodshed. He is on Interpol’s wanted list, accused by the new Ukrainian government of embezzlement and financial wrongdoing.

"The very arrival of the three ministers in Kiev was a milestone. Representatives of the three largest European countries had arrived [the foreign ministers of Poland, Germany and France] and, together with the president, the current government and opposition, they prepared an agreement. What is this? Involvement? Complicity? In what capacity did they come? After all, they have initiated the process, so they should bear the responsibility," Viktor Yanukovich said.

Subsequent events, according to the ex-president of Ukraine, occurred due to the fact that the new authorities "were afraid that people would react very negatively to their actions, and they wouldn't be elected."

"So the war was unleashed to exclude people from this political process. And partly they've succeeded in doing so. After all, southeastern Ukraine did not actually take part in the elections. And if it did participate, then only a small part of the population," Yanukovich added.

Last February, central Kiev saw several days of bloody clashes between rioters and the police at the ‘EuroMaidan’ rallies, where approximately 100 people were killed on a single day – February 20, 2014.

READ MORE: Batons vs Molotovs: Former Berkut riot police recall Ukrainian coup

Yanukovich remarked on Saturday that the Ukrainian authorities condemned those allegedly responsible for the deaths of people on Independence Square in February last year "without charge or trial."

"They announced [guilty] law enforcement and the president. In my opinion, this is a classic scenario of the color revolution," he said, adding that at the time when he was in power, law enforcement agencies "practically had proof that these murders had not occurred in those places and that corpses had been planted."

Events on Maidan compelled Yanukovich to flee the country while the opposition formed a new government.

In April, the new Kiev authorities started an anti-terrorist operation against breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine, who didn’t recognize the coup-imposed authorities in Ukraine. According to the latest UN estimates, the resulting civil war has claimed the lives of at least 5,600 people.

quote:

Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 19:31 schreef Nintex het volgende:
Volgende stap van het Russische schaakspel, Yanukovich naar voren schuiven als integere leider die het land er weer bovenop kan helpen en hem opnieuw installeren in Kiev, zodat Oekraine een straatarme Russische sattelietsstaat blijft die leeg gejat kan blijven worden door Putin's kliek.

quote:

Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 19:31 schreef Nintex het volgende:
Volgende stap van het Russische schaakspel, Yanukovich naar voren schuiven als integere leider die het land er weer bovenop kan helpen en hem opnieuw installeren in Kiev, zodat Oekraine een straatarme Russische sattelietsstaat blijft die leeg gejat kan blijven worden door Putin's kliek.

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 19:34 schreef Pharmacist het volgende:

[..]

Dit.

Vergelijk Polen en de Oekraine. Duidelijk dat de EU een betere partner is dan Rusland.

[ afbeelding ]

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 19:34 schreef Pharmacist het volgende:

[..]

Dit.

Vergelijk Polen en de Oekraine. Duidelijk dat de EU een betere partner is dan Rusland.

[ afbeelding ]

quote:

Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 19:40 schreef Nintex het volgende:
Veel Maidan'ers van het eerste uur, vooral studenten zijn het land ondertussen ontvlucht, naar Nederland, New York en andere plaatsen:

http://www.vice.com/read/the-heroes-of-the-euromaidan-revolution-are-leaving-ukraine-979?utm_source=vicetwitterus

quote:

Former members of the Berkut special force, accused by Kiev of instigating violence during Maidan protests a year ago, feel betrayed by the government and argue they had much less ammunition and supplies than those on the other side of the barricades.

Mikhail, formerly a member of the Crimean Berkut, shows RT how he was equipped to confront Maidan protesters a year ago: A pair of leg guards, a helmet, a shield and a rubber baton.

“We didn’t use weapons,” he says, recalling how protesters were growing more and more aggressive with each day and how he once went up in flames, after being hit by a Molotov cocktail.

“My clothes were burning, but thanks God the fire was extinguished before it got to my skin. Still, I was injured after a likely homemade explosive landed near me. Such explosives were often used against police by the people from the other side.”

READ MORE: BBC airs Maidan fighter admitting he fired on police before Kiev massacre

Mikhail says he didn’t like getting phone calls from home, as he had to lie he was in the rear so as not to scare anyone. But he was in the epicenter of the fighting. Being a member of the Crimean Berkut was double danger.

Mikhail, former member of the Crimean Berkut. Screenshot from RT videoMikhail, former member of the Crimean Berkut. Screenshot from RT video

“They were after the Crimean Berkut, because we spoke Russian. When someone in Kiev spoke Russian back then, people asked: ‘Why aren’t you speaking Ukrainian? You are from Crimea?’ and then insults would follow that I don’t want to repeat.”

Mikhail’s squadron did not take part in the bloody events of February 20, when more than a hundred people lost their lives. He says when they learnt of shooting in the streets they decided not to go there, as even their shields were not bullet-proof and they did not have guns to respond to gunfire.

Accusing Berkut of violence is nonsense, Mikhail believes.

“I still feel bitterness about it, because we were betrayed by the government,” Mikhail says. “I was doing my job. I was protecting the law and order of the country I was a citizen of.”

READ MORE: 15 terrifying images from Kiev’s 2014 Maidan revolution

After the February coup, he returned to Crimea, which in March voted for seceding from Ukraine and joining Russia. Mikhail says getting Russian citizenship was the most natural idea.

Aleksandr Popov and Sergey Khairulsky, also former Berkut, feel the same about their Russian citizenship. They now serve in the Moscow paramilitary police and say they have nothing to be ashamed of. They feel betrayed by Ukraine.

Sergey recalls Maidan protesters as a well-organized and well-sponsored force.

“We confiscated phones when we detained people,” he told RIA Novosti. “We also found a lot of those on the barricades. We regularly came across text-messages, listing money transfers. Card numbers, phone numbers, sums of money in hryvnyas and dollars.”

READ MORE: 10 dramatic videos from Ukraine's Maidan riots in 2014

Aleksandr and Sergey say it’s strange there’s almost not a word of casualties among the Berkut, while they saw police personnel die and get wounded.

“On Profsoyuznaya one shooter injured six of our people,” Aleksands recalls. “Where he is shooting from is unclear. We went inside that house and found a young man and a girl each with a gun. We took them to the headquarters. I guess they later returned to Maidan as heroes”.

Both the ex-Berkuts say they got machine guns on February 21, a day after the bloodshed. The weapons just helped them get out of Kiev, escaping the extremist Right Sector movement activists, who wanted Berkut publicly on their knees at Maidan and later on trial.

All of the former Berkut interviewed say they don’t feel sorry for what they did a year ago, and wonder why fulfilling one’s duty could ever be interpreted as a crime.

READ MORE: Maidan murders: 1 year on, still no justice over Kiev massacre

During last year’s clashes between Ukrainian anti-government protesters and riot police some 20 police officers and over 100 protesters – now revered as ‘the heavenly hundred’ in Ukraine – were killed. The majority were victims of the February 20, 2014, incident in which unidentified snipers started shooting on both sides of Independence Square and adjacent Instituskaya Street. The mass killings were the tipping point of the 2014 Maidan protest, escalating the already violent confrontation into an armed coup.

A police investigation conducted by the new authorities managed to produce several suspects, all of them Berkut riot police members, who are currently being prosecuted in Ukraine. The evidence incriminating them has never been made public, with Reuters reporting that the investigation process was flawed.

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 19:37 schreef reza1 het volgende:

[..]

Vergelijk Oekraïne en Wit-Rusland eens, Wit-Rusland doet het veel beter dan Oekraïne terwijl Wit-Rusland altijd pro-Rusland was en Oekraïne neutraal.

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 19:37 schreef reza1 het volgende:

[..]

Vergelijk Oekraïne en Wit-Rusland eens, Wit-Rusland doet het veel beter dan Oekraïne terwijl Wit-Rusland altijd pro-Rusland was en Oekraïne neutraal.

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 19:41 schreef DeJori het volgende:
Als je de cijfers objectief wilt vergelijken moet je een ander land pakken dat is aangevallen door de Russen en een gedeelte van zijn staat is verloren.

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 19:43 schreef SureD1 het volgende:

[..]

Kwam hier een aantal dagen gelden niet langs dat Belarus met de NAVO wil samenwerken?

http://eng.belta.by/all_n(...)th-NATO_i_79724.html

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 19:45 schreef Pharmacist het volgende:

[..]

Wit-Rusland redt het ook niet tegen Polen.

[ afbeelding ]

[..]

De cijfers eindigen allemaal voor de onrust. Oekraine was een economische ramp. Logisch dat de bevolking verandering wil.

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 19:43 schreef SureD1 het volgende:

[..]

Kwam hier een aantal dagen gelden niet langs dat Belarus met de NAVO wil samenwerken?

http://eng.belta.by/all_n(...)th-NATO_i_79724.html

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 19:45 schreef crystal_meth het volgende:

[..]

"Belarus is open to a constructive dialogue with NATO on the basis of parity and transparency."
Dat was ook het standpunt van Rusland, is het nog altijd denk ik, jammer genoeg is de NAVO niet bereid en heeft ze alle samenwerking en dialoog opgeschort.

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 19:26 schreef reza1 het volgende:
'Stop the war, probe Maidan shootings' – Ukrainian ex-leader Yanukovich year after coup

[..]

De enige legitieme leider van Oekraïne.

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 19:45 schreef Pharmacist het volgende:

[..]

Wit-Rusland redt het ook niet tegen Polen.

[ afbeelding ]

Edit: Overigens wil ik best toegeven dat de Wit-Russen het goed doen! Ben benieuwd waarom.

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 19:48 schreef SureD1 het volgende:

[..]

Uit hetzelfde artikel, zegt genoeg over waarom Lukashenko met de NAVO gaat/wil praten:

“Certainly, we would like to continue relying on the power of brotherly Russia provided our interests with regard to Belarus' sovereignty and independence are naturally taken into account,” said the President.

Ze voelen allemaal de hijgende adem van Vladimir in de nek...

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 19:54 schreef reza1 het volgende:

[..]

En de EU-lidstaten voelen de hijgende adem van Barack (en zijn schoothondje de EU) in hun nek.

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 19:56 schreef Igen het volgende:

[..]

Zijn termijn was intussen sowieso afgelopen (max. 5 jaar vanaf 7 februari 2010), dus wat je ook van Maidan kan vinden, Janoekovitsj is sowieso niet meer de "legitieme leider".

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 20:00 schreef Igen het volgende:

[..]

Nee, als er geen opstand was geweest dan had hij niet een staat van beleg kunnen afkondigen als vrijbrief om extra lang zonder verkiezingen legitiem aan de macht te blijven.

quote:

Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 19:45 schreef Pharmacist het volgende:

[..]

Wit-Rusland redt het ook niet tegen Polen.

[ afbeelding ]

Edit: Overigens wil ik best toegeven dat de Wit-Russen het goed doen! Ben benieuwd waarom.

[..]

De cijfers eindigen allemaal voor de onrust. Oekraine was een economische ramp. Logisch dat de bevolking verandering wil.

quote:

Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 19:51 schreef Igen het volgende:

[..]

Het gaat ook om acties.

Kijk, Ruslands standpunt is dat de Navo niet naar het oosten hoefde te worden uitgebreid en dat een raketschild niet nodig is omdat Rusland geen bedreiging is, en als de Navo dan toch uitbreidt, dan valt Rusland landen binnen en schiet ze aan puin. Ergens komen de woorden en de daden dan niet helemaal met elkaar overeen, vind je niet?

Bij Wit-Rusland lijkt dat niet zo te zijn.

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 20:03 schreef Igen het volgende:

[..]

Een opstand betekent ook geen gratis verlenging van je democratische mandaat zonder verkiezingen.

quote:

Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 20:04 schreef SureD1 het volgende:
@conflictreporter, door geolocation vastgesteld dat troepen en zwaar materieel op filmpjes zich niet naar het oosten maar naar het zuiden bewegen...

quote:

Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 19:52 schreef reza1 het volgende:

[..]

EU-lidstaten Letland, Kroatië, Roemenië en Bulgarije redden het niet tegen Wit-Rusland.

Wit-Rusland heeft als enige de shock therapie niet gevolgd, toen Loekashenko aan de macht kwam werd gelijk de privatisering van staatsbedrijven stop gezet.

quote:

Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 20:01 schreef arjan1112 het volgende:
Waarom die vergelijking met zuid-Korea ?

quote:

Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 20:06 schreef Igen het volgende:

[..]

Het idee was toch dat we allemaal vriendjes zouden worden?

Maar als de mutual assured destruction nog actueel is, dan heeft Poetin ook weinig reden tot klagen als wij als Navo proberen de upper hand in dat spelletje te krijgen.

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 20:08 schreef crystal_meth het volgende:

[..]

heb je de preciese naam, want @conflictreporter geeft slechts 9 hits op google...

quote:

Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 20:09 schreef Pharmacist het volgende:

[..]

Croatie is niet bepaald een eerlijke vergelijking mbt de EU omdat Croatie pas een jaar lid is.

Mbt de anderen is Wit-Rusland een midden-moter, hoewel het recentelijk de rest inderdaad outperformed.

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 20:03 schreef Igen het volgende:

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Een opstand betekent ook geen gratis verlenging van je democratische mandaat zonder verkiezingen.

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 20:13 schreef reza1 het volgende:

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Je kan beter op inequality-adjusted HDI vergelijken.
https://en.wikipedia.org/(...)quality-adjusted_HDI

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 20:15 schreef Pharmacist het volgende:

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Waarom? PPP is hoeveel mensen zich kunnen veroorloven. Ik zie niet in waarom inequality adjusted HDI beter is. Anyway, er zal zeker een dikke correlatie zitten tussen de twee.

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 20:19 schreef reza1 het volgende:

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PPP wordt vertekend door een kleine groep zeer rijke mensen die het gemiddelde doen omgaan.

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 20:11 schreef SureD1 het volgende:

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https://mobile.twitter.com/conflict_report

Via @loogunda berichten van beschietingen in avdeevka, ten noordwesten van Donetsk

twitter:

Conflict_Report twitterde op zaterdag 21-02-2015 om 18:50:54 From done geolocations, I can confirm, Russian army forces are NOT heading back to Russia after the Debaltseve victory, but south instead. reageer retweet

twitter:

loogunda twitterde op zaterdag 21-02-2015 om 19:58:54 20:16 #Donetsk: heavy explosions sound from #Avdeevka directon#donbasreports via @evergreen_dn reageer retweet

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 20:13 schreef Nintex het volgende:
Goede samenvatting van het verloop van het hele conflict tot nu toe en de onvoorspelbaarheid van Putin's acties.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/putin-the-improviser-1424473405?mod=WSJ_GoogleNews

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Yanukovych vs egg.wmv

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 20:23 schreef Pharmacist het volgende:

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Anyway, als jij een mooie vergelijking hebt van inequality adjusted HDI hoor ik het graag .

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 20:24 schreef reza1 het volgende:

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Die staat in de link die ik net postte: https://en.wikipedia.org/(...)quality-adjusted_HDI

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 20:25 schreef crystal_meth het volgende:
Anyway, als Mariupol binnen de vijf weken onder controle van de rebellen komt dan eet ik m'n hoed op.

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Ukraine's economy is balancing on the brink of default, its gold stocks are vanishing and land-grabbing is taking place. So far, the question remains if the Ukrainian nation still believes in the success of the Euromaidan revolution.
Ekaterina Blinova — In a year beginning with the notorious February military coup in Ukraine, also known as the Euromaidan revolution, the Ukrainian economy has come to the brink of default.

Ukrainian authorities are celebrating the anniversary of Euromaidan revolution in Kiev this week, turning a blind eye to their own failure to bring the country's economy out of crisis, and pushing it toward "irreversible" collapse, experts note.

It has turned out that a $27 billion bailout, offered by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and multinational creditors to Kiev, will not be enough to bolster the anemic Ukrainian economy as well. However, new loans, requested by Kiev to keep its economy afloat will only exacerbate the situation, experts say, pointing to the fact that Ukraine, saddled with heavy debts, will not be able to pay them off in the forthcoming decades.
According to IMF chief Christine Lagarde, an expanded emergency package will amount to $40 billion over the four year period and will come via international creditors, including major Western powers, for instance Switzerland and the United States, the World Bank, the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The chief of the IMF clarified that the decision was made due to the fact that the Ukrainian regime has already carried out a string of tough economic reforms, particularly increasing gas tariffs for the country's households to 56 percent, adopting a flexible exchange rate regime, freezing numerous social programs and conducting "governance reforms" of state-owned enterprises.

Ukraine's inflation tops 10% in year to September

The Ukrainian government is irresponsibly driving the nation deeper and deeper into a debt trap, analysts say, while the country's financial and industry sectors are facing tremendous losses unable to facilitate the growth of the state's economy. More than 50 percent of Ukrainian enterprises are unprofitable: over the last nine months the financial losses of large and medium-sized companies in the country mounted over $14 billion. Ukrainian GDP dropped by 7.5 percent. According to some estimates, Ukraine's external debt (including the debts of the country's enterprises) could reach $135.85 billion, with a debt repayment of $58.55 billion in 2015 alone. On the other hand, the internal war, launched by Kiev against the Ukrainian eastern region in 2014 has severely weakened the country's economy.
Making matters worse, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) reported in November 2014 that the country's gold bullion reserves had diminished tremendously. Surprisingly, the NBU head provided no explanation where the country's gold has gone. Valeria Hontareva, the Governor of the Bank, admitted that there was almost no physical gold left in the vaults, adding that the amount of solid gold ingots barely covered one percent of the Ukrainian national reserves. The statement immediately sparked controversy among experts, since in February 2014 Ukrainian official gold holdings amounted to 42.3 tons, or 8 percent of the state's reserves. So far, over the year Ukraine's overall gold and foreign currency reserves reduced from around $17 billion to $6.42 billion, analysts point out.

Meanwhile, a sinister atmosphere surrounds the seizure of the country's high-quality arable lands by Ukrainian moguls and foreign firms, funded by the World Bank and EBRD. According to German lawmakers, some prominent Western corporations including Monsanto and DuPont have been involved into land-grabbing in Ukraine, using the ongoing military conflict as a cover. The state's arable territory comprises of 32 million hectares, however, about 17 million hectares have already come under control of transnational holdings.
As Kiev's prolonged the moratorium on land sales lasts until 2016, investors took out a 50-year lease on Ukraine's agricultural territories, planning to buy the lands, once the state ban is lifted. The Ukraine-EU association agreements open the doors to the liberalization of the state's economy and relaxation of its agricultural laws. While the West is obviously benefitting from the reforms, Ukraine's small and middle-sized farms have been put under threat.

Ukrainian experts and political activists point out that the corrupt regime of Viktor Yanukovych was replaced by another venal group. According to Tatyana Montyan, a Kiev-based lawyer and politician, the West is not interested in Ukraine's development: the 45-million nation could become the EU's economic rival. Using the longstanding turmoil in eastern Ukraine as a smokescreen, the Ukrainian moguls are exporting capital abroad instead of reinvesting money into the state's economy. So far, the country has no chance to recover, burdened with huge debts. Analysts underscore that the IMF has long been using its "debt trap" strategy, referring to the example of Greece and other European debt-laden countries.
The question remains, if the Ukrainian nation still believes in the success of Euromaidan revolution of February 2014…

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 20:33 schreef Nintex het volgende:
Oekraine heeft formeel een verzoek ingediend voor Amerikaanse wapens
http://www.ukrinform.ua/e(...)o_us___avakov_329234
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Volgens Kerry volgt het besluit de komende dagen.

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Op zaterdag 21 februari 2015 20:25 schreef crystal_meth het volgende:
Anyway, als Mariupol binnen de vijf weken onder controle van de rebellen komt dan eet ik m'n hoed op.