Ukraine General

[ProfTournesol 956]

(BBC News) Russia brain drain after Putin crackdown

The increasingly harsh and reactionary political climate in Putin's Russia has sparked a wave of emigration among middle-class professionals, including several leading journalists.

(BBC News) Ukraine rebels renew push to take Donetsk airport

Rebel forces in eastern Ukraine are conducting an offensive to capture the government-held airport in Donetsk, officials say.

[Tonci87 163]

So much for the ceasefire. I guess Government troops will now resume their Combat Operations too.

[Dwarden 1124]

There is evidence that Georgia started the conflict, and Russia fought for lands that were rightfully theirs.

what?

You claim that these additional lands occupied by Russian forces in mainland Georgia and pro-Georgia regions in Abkhazia and South Ossetia are Russian Territory ?

as far I know whole Abkhazia and South Ossetia were part of Georgia Republic until "separatists" shown up, later all of sudden with "green men" from superpower neighborhood

guess these "seaports" and strategic "oil and gas pipes" were too tempting to not try to gain for that 'superpower'

all in all, if You claim Chechnya was "Internal problem and Internal Operation in Russian Federation"

why then Georgia could not pacify it's own rebels and same goes for Ukraine ?

Edited October 2, 2014 by Dwarden

[beastcat 14]

Russia Today just did a video on how a guy from Ekaterinburg sacrificed a chicken to "hex" Poroshenko.

So... uhm... can we finally declare russia insane on a state level?

[oxmox 73]

Well, the Georgia conflict did blaze up because the west did play with fire and it is about geostrategy.The western interests collide with russian interests in the caucasus areas due to the geostrategical interests in the caspian sea, this is all connected. Azerbajan is another important key country and of course the US lead west is interested to widen out their influence in this area due to the rich ressources around the caspian sea.

Edited October 2, 2014 by oxmox

[ProfTournesol 956]

Well, the Georgia conflict did blaze up because the west did play with fire and it is about geostrategy and NATO expansion.The western interests collide with russian interests in the caucasus areas due to the geostrategical interests in the caspian sea, this is all connected. Azerbajan is another important key country.

That's what the Russian would like us to think. I don't deny geostrategical interests, but that doesn't allow Russia to invade or annex parts of foreign countries.

[oxmox 73]

That's what the Russian would like us to think. I don't deny geostrategical interests, but that doesn't allow Russia to invade or annex parts of foreign countries.

This is not what the russian would like us to think, that is what western geostrategists and experts are saying and what you can read about international politics. The international conflicts are not just about humanitarian problems, those are side effects or occure in addition, but mainly they are about markets and ressources. The west is invading and destabilizing aswell, the world isnt black and white therefore it would be a mistake to favour one side only and blame others.

[Tonci87 163]

Yeah Russia is all like "But we have to invade those areas because our neighbours are suddenly doing what they think is best for them, not best for us. You have to understand!"

[oxmox 73]

Yeah Russia is all like "But we have to invade those areas because our neighbours are suddenly doing what they think is best for them, not best for us. You have to understand!"

This message would fit not only for russia, and we should not fool ourselves isnt it.

[danil-ch 165]

Activists of the "European Free Ukraine" catch dishonest in their opinion officials and throw them into the trash cans.

[Tonci87 163]

This message would fit not only for russia, and we should not fool ourselves isnt it.

Yes of course but "the other country does it too" is not a valid excuse.

[beastcat 14]

Apparently the Donetsk Airport is now back under Ukrainian control and the russians have ended the active phase of attack. Now they are just shelling the airport again. Edited October 3, 2014 by beastcat

[surpher 1]

(Reuters) Swiss Red Cross worker killed by shell in Ukraine's Donetsk

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said Laurent DuPasquier, a 38-year-old administrator in its Donetsk office, had been in Ukraine for six weeks before he was hit.

"We understand that there were other civilian casualties in Donetsk today. Indiscriminate shelling of residential areas is unacceptable and violates international humanitarian law," ICRC Director of Operations Dominik Stillhart said in a statement.

(BBC Radio4) Anything Goes - Steve Rosenberg

[beastcat 14]

Link

The "LNR" text looks kinda fake to me but there you go.

But the peacekeeping sign is definitely painted over.

Edited October 3, 2014 by beastcat

[surpher 1]

(BBC Monitoring) Darth Vaders run for parliament

Sixteen men named Darth Vader have registered to run in Ukraine's parliamentary elections.

They're among a number of candidates vying for seats in the 26 October polls who have registered under the name of Star Wars characters - including Grand Jedi Master Yoda and Chewbacca.

Their bid is supported by lavish amounts of roadside advertising strewn across Ukraine. One billboard features Chewbacca promising to "slap the hairy hand of corruption".

[Tonci87 163]

(Reuters) Swiss Red Cross worker killed by shell in Ukraine's Donetsk

(BBC Radio4) Anything Goes - Steve Rosenberg

Listen to this!

Anything goes!

[surpher 1]

(BBC World Service) Interview with the Pro-Russian rebel leader in Donetsk.

[mistyronin 1181]

(BBC World Service) Interview with the Pro-Russian rebel leader in Donetsk.

It's such a big joke the idea of "novorossiya" and the pretext they invent...

[surpher 1]

(OSCE) Statement by the Spokesperson for the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine

KYIV, 3 October 2014 - The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMMU) acknowledges that a breach of its own internal security regulations occurred in early September 2014 in Donetsk city involving one of our vehicles. The SMMU regrets the incident where two uniformed individuals boarded our vehicle. We have also undertaken all measures to prevent such a regrettable incident from occurring again.

Incident they are refering to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38TdqolKPqQ

(OSCE) Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine based on information received as of 18:00 (Kyiv time), 2 October 2014

Upon arriving at the “Joint Coordination Center for Ceasefire Monitoring†in Soledar, the SMM noticed that one military officer from the Russian Federation was wearing an OSCE patch on his uniform as well as carrying an ID card with the OSCE logo. The SMM made the necessary demarches in response to this unauthorized use of OSCE insignia.

[ProfTournesol 956]

Yeah, those Russian green men love to disguise themselves. A second nature.

[surpher 1]

(The Interpreter) Russian Deputy Fighting In Donetsk Says 90% Of His Unit Is Russian, Slams DNR Commander

In an interview Negrabetskikh, who insists he and his fellow citizens are not mercenaries but there to help, said that the remainder of the fighters were Donetsk residents. When asked why so few were locals he replied that they residents of the city were panicked and that many were fleeing to Russia, "but we are coming here!" Donetsk residents, he says, do not want to defend their homeland.

[oxmox 73]

Ukraine wary of fragile peace as patriotism surges (Washington Post)

Since Ukraine’s conflict with Russia erupted, Oleksandr Federenko has gone from village kid to army cadet, trading computer games for knife-throwing classes and morning marches. He is only 13. The government’s campaign against the rebels in the east has stoked a sharp rise in militarized patriotism in the rest of the country.

In this photo taken on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2014, Oleksandr Federenko, second right, and students march during military training exercise in a military school in Boyarka, close to Kiev, Ukraine. Federenko is one of many Ukrainians who doesn’t trust Russia or the Russian-backed separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine enough to believe that a shaky cease-fire called last month will hold. In four years’ time, he’ll be ready to fight. Federenko may come across as an unlikely fighter, but he and his friends are part of what Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense says is a 13.7 percent increase in applications to military-run high schools this year alone.

Army ads dominate TV stations, war heroes are at the top of every party’s list for this month’s parliamentary election and defense issues — once an afterthought in Ukraine — now lead the agenda. In Ukraine, the government’s campaign against pro-Russian rebellion in the east has united people of all ages in a newfound patriotic fervor.

Although many Ukrainians are ready to give a cease-fire called last month a chance, they see it only as a temporary fix and are digging in for years of confrontation, if not outright war, with Russia.

“Ukrainians are in theory in favor of restoring peace,†said Andriy Bychenko, the director of sociological services at Kiev’s Razumkov Center. “But the majority is not sure that this peace will be stable and dependable. They lack confidence in Russia.â€

In a poll conducted the week after the cease-fire by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, more than 50 percent of those polled in western and northern regions of Ukraine said that they supported ongoing military activities against the rebels. A total of 63 percent of respondents in the west and 54 percent in the north said they believed that Kiev had used “not enough force†against the separatists.

Stands selling smartphone cases decorated with Ukrainian embroidery patterns are also stocked with another top-selling item: toilet paper rolls showing Russian President Vladimir Putin and the inscription “PTN PNKh,†an abbreviation for an obscene message to the Russian leader.

One political party that owes much of its success to rise of armed Ukrainian patriotism is the Radical Party, a previously marginal group with only one member of parliament that is now slated to garner at least 10 percent of the vote in the upcoming elections.

The cease-fire “is a chance to re-arm so that later we can really hit them in the teeth and recapture our territory,†he said by phone from the Luhansk region. “I am for peace, but I am prepared to fight.†Sergei Melnichuk, the leader of a pro-Ukraine militia that operates near Luhansk, is number three on the party list.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/ukraine-wary-of-fragile-peace-as-patriotism-surges/2014/10/02/e58d1b5c-4a49-11e4-a4bf-794ab74e90f0_story.html

Edited October 3, 2014 by oxmox

[mistyronin 1181]

I think it's unlikely that with a Ukraine fully militarized Russia tries to start again any more hostilities.

One thing is when they were weak and unprepared. But now...

But well, probably Putin's idea was precisely to destabilize as much as he could to draw attention from his invasion of Crimea.

[Tonci87 163]

I think it's unlikely that with a Ukraine fully militarized Russia tries to start again any more hostilities.

One thing is when they were weak and unprepared. But now...

But well, probably Putin's idea was precisely to destabilize as much as he could to draw attention from his invasion of Crimea.

Yes, he is building enough pressure so that he can later trade peace for Crimea.

[oxmox 73]

Ukraine: German Bundeswehr preparing for combat mission

According to a report the Bundeswehr will support the OSZE in the Ukraine. Therfore german paratroopers preparing for the deployment. 200 soldiers are planned for deployments of drones.

German paratroopers preparing to support the OSZE for their monitoring efforts about the cease fire in the Ukraine, reports bild.de without mentioning a source.

According to intern plans, 200 soldiers are sheduled: 150 are going to monitor the conflict area with drones, 50 for protection.

The Ministry of Defence assumes the Bundestag will approve the mission supporting the OSZE. The amount of deployed drones, type "Luna", is still uncertain.

The OSZE itself asked for assistance.

Germany and France did sent a reconnaisance team into Ukraine in mid September to examine the conditions for such a mission.

http://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article132903547/Bundeswehr-bereitet-sich-auf-Kampfeinsatz-vor.html

Hopefully this does not escalate, its a long time ago since the last time german soldiers were only ~300km away from Stalingrad....:p

Edited October 3, 2014 by oxmox