Posted on Fort Russ
LPR Prime Minister Igor Plotnitsky
DPR Prime Minister Alexander Zakharchenko
http://fortruss.blogspot.com/2015/02/eng-subs-dpr-lpr-prime-ministers-joint.html
Author: admin
What is the Debaltsevo cauldron hiding?
From Fort Russ
February 8, 2015
Newsli.ru
What’s inside in the Debaltsevo cauldron? Why did the leaders of Europe rush to Russia?
Admittedly, when “the mousetrap” began to shut, everyone began to shout about the need… the need of what? Oh, about the need to follow the Minsk agreements..
The “Debaltsevo cauldron” was intended as a “Debaltsevo springboard” to start a victorious attack on DPR and LPR. In this regard, huge quantities of weapons, ammunition and food was brought to this area. This was confirmed by the militia after the capture of Uglegorsk. They got arsenals overflowing with weapons and warehouses with American food.
To foolishly lose such volume of weapons and “illegal American aid” for tens and hundreds of millions of dollars, and then to beg for the “ultimate weapon to defeat Putin” – this is the height of idiocy and helplessness of senior command.
Likely for this reason, to rehabilitate themselves in the eyes of sponsors, the Ukrainian offensive started today on all fronts at once, and with a simultaneous request for a truce…
It is a madhouse, and not a government and a General staff! They are so unpredictable, that honestly, it’s laughable! And yet, there are theories that in the arsenals of Debaltsevo one will find phosphorous and cluster shells and bombs, banned by international conventions, but used by the Ukrainian armed forces during the shelling of cities and towns. This could be evidence of war crimes…
http://www.fortruss.blogspot.com/2015/02/what-is-debaltsevo-cauldron-hiding.html
Does Poroshenko know the truth about Debaltsevo?
Posted on Fort Russ
2/11/2015
Ukraine’s Minister of Defense: The Debaltsevo Pocket is “Made Up.”
Translated from Russian by J.Hawk
There is no encirclement at Debaltsevo, said Ukraine’s Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak at a briefing in Kiev on February 11.
Poltorak denied the militia claims that the “encirclement had been completed around Debaltsevo.”
“There is no encirclement. It’s made up by those who want it to exist. The units which are located at Debaltsevo and the vicinity is receiving ammunition. There is contact with them, communications, and coordination. We are working according to plan. Right now we are working on reinforcing the grouping,” said Poltorak.
The Minister also said there is no threat to Mariupol, where Ukrainian forces went on offensive on February 10. “Mariupol is in good hands, the defense is strong, and there are also appropriate reserves. The armed forces jointly with the Azov regiment took a few measures to expand the territory under our control in accordance with the Minsk Protocol,” said Poltorak.
J.Hawk’s Comment: One has to wonder whether this piffle is just for public consumption, or whether Poroshenko believes in it too. Semenchenko may well be right that the senior commanders are sending up false reports of successes to avoid making Poroshenko angry. Consequently, Poroshenko may not even know what his own army is doing right now. And how would he know, given the low quality of senior officers and officials on whom he is relying for information?
http://fortruss.blogspot.com/2015/02/does-poroshenko-know-truth-about.html
Ukraine’s new Prosecutor General continuing the pattern of nepotism
From Fort Russ
2/11/2015
“What, again”? Godfather-President Appoints Godfather theProsecutor General.
By ua_katarsis
Translated from Russian by J.Hawk
Everyone remembers how the former President Yanukovych appointed Pshonka, to whose children he was the godfather, as the Prosecutor General. The new President Poroshenko decided not to deviate from the tradition and likewise appointed someone to whose children he is the godfather.
“The Verkhovna Rada voted to appoint Viktor Shokin the new Prosecutor General of Ukraine. Shokin was supported by 318 deputies, and needed 226 to be confirmed. Prior to that the Rada had voted to dismiss Vitaliy Yarema from that post. Shokin’s candidacy was presented by Poroshenko, who said he knows Shokin for over 15 years and knows him as a professional with good reputation.”
Shokin for his part opted not to ignore the ancient Ukrainian tradition of nepotism. “The Deputy Prosecutor for the Odessa region became Tatyana Gornostayeva, the daughter of the newly appointed Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin.”
Shokin’s other relatives are likewise employed by the Prosecutor’s General office. “They include Shokin’s son-in-law and father-in-law, who likewise were appointed to senior leadership posts at that institution. The husband of Shokin’s daughter, Aleksey Gornostayev, became the Deputy Prosecutor General for the Kiev region of Odessa. The father of Aleksey Gornostayev now works as the Deputy Prosecutor General of the Dnepropetrovsk Region. Prior to that he occupied various posts, and he has headed the Prosecutor’s General office in Dnepropetrovsk.
Faces may have changed, but the methods of exploiting the people remain the same.
J.Hawk’s Comment: Aside from the sheer nepotism and the “godfather angle” of this shockin’, excuse me, Shokin appointments (which Shokin, incidentally, denies) one thing they have in common is that they pertain to cities and regions (Odessa, Dnepropetrovsk) where Kolomoysky’s influence is quite strong. Shokin is known to have put together a number of cases against Poroshenko’s rivals in earlier years, including against Kolomoysky himself. The combination of Yarosh’s new Right Sector/Volunteer Battalion HQ being located in Dnepropetrovsk, and of Poroshenko’s loyalist to Dnepropetrovsk indicates either a brewing conflict between Poroshenko and Kolomoysky (this assumes that Yarosh remains in Kolomoysky’s pay), or a conflict between Poroshenko and Yarosh over how Kolomoysky’s empire is carved up.
http://www.fortruss.blogspot.com/2015/02/all-in-family-ukraines-new-prosecutor.html
NATO planes land in Kharkov every night
Posted on Fort Russ
February 9, 2015
Kharkov Anti-Maidan – Facebook Page
Translated by Kristina Rus
Kharkov Anti-Maidan Facebook page reports:
“At 02:06 AM a NATO Hercules plane landed at the Kharkov airport. According to eyewitnesses, they land at the Kharkov airport every night since February 5th.”
Obama refuses to rule out arming Kiev following talks with Merkel
The volume increases on the war talk. What will happen in Minsk? Who will pressure Obama to take lethal weapons off his options list, and to admit there has been no Russian invasion of Ukraine?
The White House phone number for making comments is 1-202-456-1111.
From World Socialist Web Site
by Patrick Martin and Barry Grey, February 10, 2015
At a joint White House press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday, President Barack Obama made clear he was considering authorizing the dispatch of advanced weapons to the US- and NATO-backed regime in Kiev, to be used against pro-Russian separatist forces in eastern Ukraine.
Obama indicated that he would wait to see the results of talks set for Wednesday in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, between Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, French President François Hollande and Merkel before making a decision on sending US arms to Kiev. The talks are aimed at brokering a new cease-fire agreement between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists following the collapse of an agreement reached last September.
At the press conference following talks with Merkel, Obama said:
“If, in fact, diplomacy fails, what I’ve asked my team to do is to look at all options. What other means can we put in place to change Mr. Putin’s calculus? And the possibility of lethal defensive weapons is one of those options being examined.”
Obama then added, “I want to emphasize that a decision has not yet been made.”
The US president left open the sending of weapons such as antitank missiles and armored vehicles to the Kiev regime, which has lost territory in the east of the country to rebel forces in recent weeks, despite warnings from prominent officials and some newspapers internationally that doing so could dramatically escalate the conflict and trigger a military conflict between NATO and Russia, with the possibility of a nuclear Third World War.
Merkel and the leaders of Britain and France have made clear in recent days that they oppose a US move to directly arm Kiev. Instead, they call for tougher economic sanctions combined with increased NATO military forces in the Baltic states and Eastern Europe to compel Moscow to accept the transformation of Ukraine, a former Soviet republic, into a staging ground for US and European imperialist moves to reduce Russia to a semicolonial status.
In her remarks, Merkel indicated her opposition to the dispatch of American weapons to Ukraine, saying, “I don’t see a military solution to this conflict.” But she stressed that Europe and the US were united in backing the Ukrainian regime, which came to power last February in a US- and German-backed coup led by fascist militias, and forcing Russia to end its support for pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk, Luhansk and other Russian-speaking regions.
“On certain issues we may not always agree,” she said, suggesting that Germany would continue to back the US-led offensive against Russia even if Washington decided to arm the Kiev government.
Obama, for his part, seemed to echo Merkel, saying there “may be some areas where there are tactical differences” while the US and Europe remained united in basic strategy and goals.
US military and civilian officials, including some within the Obama administration, are pushing for a decision to begin sending heavy arms to Kiev. At the Munich Security Conference last Saturday, US Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, NATO’s military commander, said sending weapons to help Ukrainian forces crush the separatists should not be ruled out.
At a Senate confirmation hearing last week, Obama’s choice to become the next defense secretary, Ashton Carter, said he would be inclined to back Ukraine with American arms.
Ukrainian President Poroshenko triggered the latest crisis in eastern Ukraine by ordering an offensive by Ukrainian military forces, including some battalions of neofascist “volunteers.” It is inconceivable that he would have done so without Washington’s approval.
The Russian-backed forces routed the invaders around the Donetsk airport and have pressed a counterattack, taking control of an additional 500 square kilometers of territory and threatening the town of Debaltseve, which sits on the main road between Luhansk and Donetsk. As many as 3,000 Ukrainian troops are trapped in the town and could be forced to surrender.
Washington, NATO, the European Union and the media have portrayed the fighting in eastern Ukraine as a Russian invasion, although the vast majority of combatants are drawn from the Donbass region, where most people are Russian speakers and the government in Kiev is widely hated.
Obama repeated the claims of “Russian aggression” at the onset of his joint press conference with Merkel, saying that “Russian forces continue to operate” in Ukraine, “training separatists and helping to coordinate attacks.”
Last week’s sudden trip by Hollande and Merkel to Kiev and Moscow, setting the stage for Wednesday’s summit in Minsk, appeared to be driven by concern that a US decision to provide billions in weapons to Ukraine was imminent and could escalate the crisis enormously.
A top official of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe told journalists at the Munich conference that he feared weapons deliveries would turn the crisis into an “existential conflict for Russia against NATO.”
Similar concerns were expressed in the American media, albeit by a small minority in the US national security establishment. The New York Times published an op-ed Monday by Professor John Mearsheimer under the headline “Don’t Arm Ukraine,” which asked rhetorically whether the United States would accept Canada or Mexico joining a hostile military alliance.
Even the rabid anti-Russian publicist Anne Applebaum, a Washington Post columnist, expressed concern about “a new World War” emerging from the Ukraine crisis, although she offered the lesser evil of “a new Cold War” in which NATO would “build a Berlin Wall around Donetsk in the form of a demilitarized zone and treat the rest of Ukraine like West Germany.”
Powerful explosions rock Donetsk; DPR commander briefs the press
Posted on Fort Russ, February 9, 2015
Submitted by: Joaquin Flores – uploaded from Kazzura
DPR dept corps commander Eduard Basurin’s morning briefing 09/02/15 — demonstration of the banned munition used against the Donetsk and answers questions regarding the powerful explosions, after the UAF strike at Donetsk last night.
http://fortruss.blogspot.com/2015/02/video-big-explosion-dpr-commander.html
Another Ukrainian military expert says, no Russian invasion or regular troops, Kiev government acts as a terrorist. Are NATO troops involved in Kiev war crimes? (VIDEO)
By George Eliason, February 9, 2015
Posted on Washington’s Blog
In an interview with Ukrainian Espesso TV in December, Ukrainian military expert Major Aleksander Taran confirmed what General Muzenko head of the Ukrainian Armed Forces had to say on the subject.
During a briefing with General Muzenko he announced that “To date, we have only the involvement of some members of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and Russian citizens that are part of illegal armed groups involved in the fighting. We are not fighting with the regular Russian Army. We have enough forces and means in order to inflict a final defeat even with illegal armed formation present. “- he said.
<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/t_iZKJ0tJN0″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen>
Both of these statements further confirmed the head of the SBU position.
November 6 th In an interview with Gromadske.TV, Markian Lubkivsky, the adviser to the head of the SBU (the Ukrainian version of the CIA) stated there are NO RUSSIAN TROOPS ON UKRANIAN SOIL! This unexpected announcement came as he fumbled with reporters’ questions on the subject. According to his statement, he said the SBU counted about 5000 Russian nationals, but not Russian soldiers in Donetsk and Lugansk Peoples Republics.
All of these statements add weight to the otherwise untrustworthy comments of Alexander Torchynov back in June of 2014.
According to speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Alexander Turchynov, representatives of security agencies deliberately whipped up the situation systematically misinforming the country’s leadership about Russia’s possible military intervention, which had never happened.
“Our intelligence agencies have about ten times a month reported that the time of a military attack on the part of the Russian Federation was defined – usually it was at three or four in the morning. And we sat in combat readiness at the command post… and the rest of the army was preparing for an open war with the Eastern neighbor. But it did not happen,” Alexander Turchinov said in an interview with Novoye Vremya, which is to be released tomorrow.
It would seem we have a long and illustrious history of Russia NOT attacking Ukraine in 2014.
Who is attacking then, that’s the question.
This morning NAF scouts spotted NATO tanks inside the encirclement(Cauldron) at Debaltseve. According to their information the possibility is strong that up to 25% of the trapped army may be NATO. Shell remnants marked clearly with US identifying numbers from 155mm shells, shot by the Paladin artillery system have been recovered from areas the Ukrainian army have attacked civilian targets. If the NATO troops are there, and who else would be running the complicated military equipment, the possibility that they won’t make it home is in the same government’s hands that brought the world a non-existent Russian invasion and is pushing the world to the brink.
This would explain both the US and EU trying to push a new peace initiative. If NATO troops are taken captive, what then? If hundreds of NATO troops are fighting for Ukraine in a war that even John McCain says is using prohibited weapons, what are the liabilities after? American troops in this case and just based on McCain’s admission are by any definition War Criminals for participating.
Support our Troops and keep them home.
What will Russia’s Reaction Be?
Until this point Russia has been the only country to show restraint and a desire to stop the conflict. The US and EU have wholeheartedly helped Kiev go forward knowing it was committing war crimes; terrorist bombings of buses, rockets and missiles at cities, and phosphorus bombs. The west knows the volunteer battalions are committing mass war crimes.
If NATO soldiers are captured or their remains recovered and confirmed it will certainly change the nature of the war. The Russian weapons that the entire MSM have insisted are here will no doubt show up. If NATO pushes back, where ever isn’t far enough. It will be the brink of WWIII.
Source:
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2015/02/another-ukrainian-expert-russian-invasion-regular-troops-kiev-possible-war-crimes.html
Another Ukrainian Expert -No Russian Invasion or Regular Troops- Kiev Possible War Crimes
On Minsk eve, Kiev refuses most terms, refuses to freeze conflict, asserts America can “thrash Russia”
by George Eliason, February 9, 2015
Posted on Global Research
According to the BBC on Febuary 9th President Barack Obama: ”The possibility of lethal defensive weapons is one of those options that is being examined.” What this means is if the Minsk talks fail, the US will supply lethal heavy weapons openly to Ukraine if Russia does not get into line with western policy.
Kiev, which has openly denied Russia is invading or sending regular troops into the conflict is now giving Russia an ultimatum. In October I traveled through the Donbass region and did invasive passport checks on soldiers. My findings agree with Kiev on this point.
There are no Russian military units or regular soldiers in the region. I interviewed Spanish volunteers. I spoke with Chechens, Afghanis, Russian citizens, and Cossacks. They are private citizens that have family here or have come to fight fascism so it does not spread further into Europe or Russia.
Even in the face of this According to the BBC Obama further stated “Russia had violated “every commitment” made in the failing Minsk agreement, he added, after talks with the German chancellor on a new peace deal.”
President Obama is under tremendous pressure from the combined Eastern European Caucus on Capital Hill to make this happen. For the nationalists the largest threat to them hasn’t been American democracy as it should have been, and should be. It has been Russia that has taken the lead in this and suffered the most for it.
On February 10th the Deputy Head of the Poroshenko Administration, Valery Chaly released these statements.
“Every decision concerning outcome of the upcoming meeting (Minsk) has been made already. Kiev unilaterally rejects all proposals for federalization, the expansion of the DNR an LNR to their administrative borders, and granting rights of broad autonomy.
The only thing that Kiev is ready to agree to is abolish duties between Russia and Donbass at their borders and indulge Donbass in the use of the Russian language.”
By taking any and all negotiations off the table, Poroshenko’s government has effectively rendered the Minsk talks and agreement worthless.
Taking a Stick To Russia’s Putin
Speaking for Poroshenko’s administration, Chaly went much further by saying under no circumstances will the conflict be frozen. In an ultimatum to Vladimir Putin’s government in Russia he boldly said “If Putin does not accept these terms the “West will thrash Russia! Russia will pay a high price, and among the serious consequences resulting from Russia’s lack of obedience would be an escalation of the conflict.”
How can Poroshenko’s Kiev escalate the conflict more than openly attacking civilians with banned weapons and destroying entire towns? The Ukrainian governments crimes against humanity in front of the world is what frames this conflict. This escalation can only mean drawing Russia into the conflict further, well beyond the diplomatic cover and humanitarian aid Russia is currently providing Donbass today.
This hit’em with a stick diplomacy is part and parcel to Ukrainian ultra-nationalist ideology. Diplomacy can only be conducted with a weapon pointed and your “enemy” crushed.
Heavy NATO weapons such as the Paladin artillery system and tanks are used in the arena already. The Ukrainian military has no training or experience on these systems. Will American troops fight for the openly nationalist Ukrainians? To date by the current reckoning well over 100 American mercenaries are buried here. Two US army military trainers were reported killed near Mariupol last August training Azov Battalion.
In one of the few articles to openly show the stark realities for Donbass the BBC in a congratulatory piece showed how much Ukraine is receiving for weapons and aid from private donors. It then compares the level of support Russia gives Donbass which according to the pro-junta BBC is minimal humanitarian aid.
Ukraine sealed off Donbass from getting medicines and foodstuffs from the west. Now it is demanding Russian do it from the East. It also demands that Russia take responsibility for weapons it is not sending. The twisted side politically is that Ukraine and the west want Russia’s Putin to take responsibility for decisions made outside his own country by the leaders of DNR and LNR who have clearly shown that while cooperative with Russia, Novorossya will be its own country. Vladimir Putin has also made it clear Novorossya does not have a future being absorbed as part of Russia.
Russia’s Response to the Ultimatum
As I sit writing this, the Kremlin has responded to both the ultimatums and the threat of US heavy weapons shipped openly to the conflict area. Simply, “we will respond to the US sending weapons with diplomacy.”
If Kiev was telling the truth about a Russian invasion through MSN all this time then US and EU troops are about to come in direct contact and conflict with them. This most dangerous of lies may eventually solve the problem of people not knowing where the Donbass conflict is. Should the worlds Titan countries go head to head, the Ukraine war, with Kiev’s lies, manipulations, war crimes, and eventual escalated attacks on Russia itself, may find its way to your own backyard.
For the American way of life, a crossroads has appeared in front of us. The decision about which road we should take will have profound effects on who we are as a country. If we are a great people we need to rely on and restore democratic principles.
If we sit by that decision is being made by neo-liberals and neo-cons for us today. In that case America will be remembered as a once great country that lost itself in both self-absorption and a nation that lost faith in its people. It became a people managed by its government. It is the most horrible of epitaphs.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/ukraine-war-kiev-announces-americas-war-with-russia/5430558
German Foreign Minister says Germany reserves right to “act decisively against Ukrainian leadership, including sanctions”
From Fort Russ
2/9/2015
Ukrainian MFA summons Germany’s ambassador after Steinmeier mentions possible sanctions against Kiev
Translated from Russian by J.Hawk
Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s announcement that sanctions against Kiev are possible cause a furious reaction by the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Foreign Minister Steinmeier made this statement in an interview with the ARD TV channel.
Steinmeier said that if no political decision is reached in Ukraine, the German government reserves the right to “act decisively against the Ukrainian leadership, up to and including sanctions”.
Germany’s ambassador to Ukraine Christoph Weil was forced to have a discussion with the Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Andrey Olefirov due to Steinmeier’s statement.
Ukrainian diplomats are very sensitive to Western countries’ position on the ongoing crisis in the country. However, that sensitivity is very one-sided. In December Ukraine’s ambassador to the EU Andrey Eliseev similarly strongly reacted to Steinmeier’s statement that Ukraine is not wanted in NATO.
“Nobody can prevent Kiev from joining NATO!” was the Ukrainian diplomat’s reply. Germans, as usual, took no offense, and nobody summoned Ukraine’s ambassador to the German MFA.
J.Hawk’s Comment: Let’s not forget Steinmeier’s statement was made against the background of Angela Merkel’s visit to the US. It would seem that everyone knows what Poroshenko must do. It would seem that we now know what was agreed to between Putin, Merkel, and Hollande in Moscow, namely the federalization of Ukraine. It’s a solution that is consistent with the interests of both Russia and Germany, as the two countries in effect decide the zones of their respective zones of economic influence. It also has the benefit (from everyone’s perspective except the junta’s) of cutting the junta out of the equation to a significant degree. Poroshenko, for his part, is still insisting that the situation should revert to the original (and never implemented) Minsk agreement. “Finis Ucrainae” is still the most likely scenario, unless something snaps in Kiev. That Western leaders are, for the first time, suggesting the possibility of Kiev being sanctioned suggests Poroshenko is in process of graduating from “disappointment” to “liability.”
Source:
http://ruposters.ru/archives/11676
http://fortruss.blogspot.com/2015/02/germany-reserves-right-to-impose.html
Free Ukraine Now 