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Another MH17 cover-up: Hiding a key autopsy

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From Washington’s Blog, December 23, 2014
By Eric Zuesse

Decisive evidence as to how the July 17th shooting-down of the MH17 Malaysian airliner occurred is being hidden by the four-nation team that’s doing the official ‘investigation’ into the plane-downing incident.

This decisive evidence is the coroner’s report on the corpse of the airliner’s pilot. If the pilot was killed by bullets, then the standard ‘explanation’ of the downing (that the plane was downed by a ground-fired missile) isn’t just false, it’s an outright hoax. So: where’s the pilot’s autopsy?

This investigation is important because stringent economic sanctions against Russia were instituted immediately after the downing; these sanctions were based upon never-substantiated charges from the Ukrainian Government, and from its sponsor the U.S. Government, alleging that the plane had been downed by rebels who were supported by Russia. (The “Buk” missile launcher charged by Ukraine as the cause was actually manned by Ukraine’s soldiers.)

The same Government, the U.S., that had lied its way into invading Iraq, might now be orchestrating still-more-dangerous frauds, with the potential even for a nuclear war against Russia.

The four nations doing the official investigation and report into the airliner-downing are: Ukraine, Australia, Belgium, and Netherlands. All four are U.S. allies; and, one of them, Ukraine, is one of the two main suspects in this case, the other being separatists against the Ukrainian Government. (They’re not represented in this ‘investigation.’) The United States and Ukraine say that the airliner was downed by separatists who mistakenly thought that they were shooting down a Ukrainian bomber instead of an airliner. (Even if that had been true, the U.S. would still have been the ultimate cause of the downing. The whole cover-story was designed to be believed only by fools.)

However, the Ukrainian Government, which until now has maintained steadfastly that there is only one possible explanation for the downing — their explanation, that it had been downed by a “Buk” ground-fired missile controlled by the rebels — finally changed their tune on December 21st, and announced that maybe it wasn’t. Apparently, the other three nations on the team are refusing to sign their names onto a joint report from all four (according to the secret agreement signed by them all on August 8th, this report will be unanimous or else it won’t be at all) that commits to Ukraine’s ‘explanation,’ because the real evidence is overwhelmingly against it — as will herein be explained and documented.

According to London’s Daily Mail on December 5th, a video documentary from a Russian journalist “suggested” that, “pieces of 30mm rounds were found in the bodies of the pilots.” 30mm bullets are the same size of bullets that come from the types of fighter-jet planes that are in the Ukrainian Air Force, including the following jets: Su-25, Su-27, and Mig-29. 30mm bullets are very different from missile-shrapnel, which the U.S. and Ukraine allege had brought down this airliner.

A retired Lufthansa pilot, Peter Haisenko, examined a remarkably clear photo of the key piece of evidence on the downing, which is the side-panel of the fuselage right next to the pilot; this panel was riddled with what he said were 30mm bullet holes, shot right into the spot where the pilot’s belly would be. Apparently (if Haisenko is correct), the airliner’s pilot was machine-gunned to death, his belly was ripped into by a hail of bullets, after which the attacking jet or jets fired a missile into the airliner’s body, and the airliner then promptly plummeted to earth. No ground-fired missile was involved. (The ground-fired “Buk” would have been 33,000 feet below, much too far away for precise targeting at the plane’s pilot; and shrapnel-holes are not round; they’re very different from bullet-holes.)

What’s in question is whether the approximately two-foot-diameter gash into the fuselage right next to the pilot was the result of hundreds of bullets fired into the pilot’s belly, as Haisenko alleges. If any bullets at all were involved in this downing, then the Ukrainian Government is the guilty party in it, because only they have an Air Force; the separatists do not. The separatists had no way to machine-gun the plane’s pilot to death. The separatists were never that close to the airliner.

Because of the allegation in the Daily Mail, I consulted the source of that allegation, which was a documentary film that had been made by Russian journalist Andrei Karaulov. Because it’s in Russian, I engaged a Russian translator, who found that the source of the Daily Mail’s allegation was at 3:50-5:00 on this video.

It says there:

“Judging by the cockpit fragments photos, the cockpit was shot by 30-mm cannon projectiles. There should be plenty of them in the pilots’ bodies. As announced, the bodies of the passengers were transferred to relatives, but the bodies of both main and support jet crews (currently kept in the Netherlands), were in bad condition due to (1) heavy shelling targeted at the cockpit, and (2) crashing to earth. The projectiles must have been found by now, most certainly. Their type must have been definitely ascertained. Why are these findings not announced? There is but one inference: the high professionals on the international investigation board are severely pressured by some powers, which don’t want certain of the findings to be publicly disclosed.”

“One month ago [from the time of shooting the video] the international commission announced that it found certain ‘objects’ in pilots’ bodies. I believe these were 30mm cannon projectile particles. When we were in Copenhagen, we were told by the international investigation commission that investigation results would be made public on 9 October. To this day it hasn’t been done.”

So: Where’s this crucial autopsy-report? We’ve seen the side-panel with its bullet-holes; were bullets lodged in the corpse?

(Here are photos of the Pilot’s coffin and funeral-procession.)

What we have gotten instead is the Ukrainian Government backing away from the ‘explanation’ that U.S. President Barack Obama, who installed their regime, endorsed, and used as his excuse for the EU to hike sanctions against Russia — an act of war, which now has been followed by the President and Congress virtually declaring war against Russia by taking over Ukraine on Russia’s very border. Based totally on lies.

Evidently, Obama believes that if George W. Bush could fool the American public into invading Iraq, Obama can fool them into invading Russia. Can it be: he’s aiming to out-do even Bush?

PS: a note that my translator wants to append:

I have now read the Daily Mail article for the first time — what a distortion of the facts stated in the documentary!!!

  1. They claim that, according to the Russian media, the air traffic controller and the pilot fled together, which was never said (nor even suggested) in the documentary. This was apparently done in order to make the documentary look ridiculous and far-fetched, which it is not. 
  2.  They forget to mention, that authorities of Borispol [the airport] tower, when contacted by A. Karaulov’s team, said they never had anyone by the name of Anna Petrenko [the alleged fighter-jet’s alleged girlfriend] on staff, when the opposite was said by lower rank employees. And when the journalists contacted some unnamed boss, s/he just hung up the phone on them. 

3. The article doesn’t give any proof of the girl and the pilot still being alive, which makes it seem even more sinister [i.e.: did the Government kill them, to silence them?].

—————

Investigative historian Eric Zuesse is the author, most recently, of  They’re Not Even Close: The Democratic vs. Republican Economic Records, 1910-2010,  and of  CHRIST’S VENTRILOQUISTS: The Event that Created Christianity.

Source:
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2014/12/another-mh17-cover-hiding-key-autopsy.html

Unreported: Rostov’s MH17 flight data

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From Slavyangrad.org
Posted by ⋅ December 11, 2014

Quite interesting evidence has appeared that indicates that the Malaysian Boeing was hit not by a Buk missile, as the Junta and the USA are trying to claim, but by a Ukrainian aircraft which was close to the Boeing at the time of the crash.

Air traffic controllers’ data confirms that a military aircraft flew close to the Boeing which crashed in Ukraine.

Translated from Russian by Alexander Fedotov / Edited by GBabeuf and Olga Luzanova
Head photo credits: Harald Doornbos

On Tuesday [November 11, 2014—ed.] at the APEC Summit in Beijing, discussions about the crash of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing-777 in eastern Ukraine arose once again. According to Western media, the Australian Prime Minister told Vladimir Putin the Australian version of the accident according to the Australian intelligence service. Nothing new—the Australian, as well as the European and American intelligence agencies, assert: the liner was destroyed by a missile fired from a rocket launcher.

However, the facts tell us a different story. A document, certifying that at the time of the disaster a military aircraft was near flight MH17, has been made available to “MK”—a fact which the West is trying hard to ignore.

The reconstruction of the data from the radar of the Rostov air traffic control centre is a picture of events from a moment of the accident plus another 20 after it. The labels in the form of the letter ‘Т’ designate the military aircraft. A line of movement of flight MH17 displayed in lilac colour.

The reconstruction of the data from the radar of the Rostov air traffic control centre is a picture of events from a moment of the accident plus another 20 after it. The labels in the form of the letter ‘Т’ designate the military aircraft. A line of movement of flight MH17 displayed in lilac colour.

This document—a snapshot of the radar data of an air traffic controller at the time of the MH17 disaster—was granted to “MK” by the advisory and analytical agency, “Flight Safety”. We asked Sergei Melnichenko, the director-general of the agency, to comment on the air traffic situation data presented in this picture. He told us the following:

— I would not like to fully disclose the source of this information; however, if a specialist were to look at the picture, he would immediately understand where it came from—the photo was taken in an air traffic control centre. I worked for a long time in one and am well acquainted with the equipment used there.

The picture which we are now discussing, is, so we can say, the data which came from the Rostov air traffic control centre.

The radar in the Rostov area ‘sees’ the air traffic situation not only up to the border, but also somewhat further. This is necessary in order to know what is awaiting our air traffic controllers within the next few minutes: what approaching planes are about to enter their control, what intervals there are between them, at what altitude they are tracking… Accordingly, the radars ‘look’ beyond the border. Anyway a border is a broken line, while the radar coverage area is something closer to a circle. Therefore, though not all of the information above Ukraine is visible from the Russian side, the part which is now in question—and the aircraft was shot down in close proximity to our borders—was, of course, captured by the Rostov radar.

That information, then, has been collated and presented precisely as in the images here. We fully and completely trust the sources who have helped us to make it public.

— Does it correspond with the data presented by the Russian General Staff on the third day after the disaster?

— Our data are somewhat more precise than those presented by the military. They did not present the airline flight path so precisely. I do not know, perhaps they did this intentionally. But the overall picture—yes, it coincides with what the military presented at their press conference.

— What conclusion do you draw on the basis of the data from the Rostov radar?

— The data represent the trajectories of aircraft movements for the period up to 13:40:55 UTC.

— How does this relate to the timing of the crash?

— This is a picture of the events from the time of the accident, plus another twenty minutes after it—from the moment at which the signal from the Boeing disappeared. That is to say, it is not a momentary snapshot but a record of the movements of the aircraft in the area after the disaster.

The image represents a display of the radar used for air traffic control. It clearly shows that at the moment of the disaster, and after it, movement of some aircraft was observed to the North of the Boeing’s route. Most likely, military, since the tags are very closely grouped. One may conclude that it is either one or two aircraft. In any case, there was definitely something there.

The “unidentified object” is marked in the photo by the letters “T”. The blue lines show the other aircrafts’ routes. The lilac line shows the trajectory of flight MH17. The point where the line ends is the locality where the surface radars received a signal from the Boeing for the last time.

— How did you reach the conclusion that the “unidentified objects” in the area of the Boeing were military aircraft?

— Because they transmitted only primary radar signals.

— What do you mean by “primary”?

— How does radar work? It sends signals to all sides of the sky. And if there is an aircraft there, it is detected and a label appears on the radar screen, which shows that there is something in the sky. Though it is not clear what exactly it is. For the air traffic controllers to identify the objects, the aircraft should be equipped with special devices called transponders. They receive a signal from the radar and respond to it. When the transponder is on, a controller can see the transponder code, which is set by the crew, altitude, speed and the other parameters required for air traffic control.

Military aircraft are either not equipped with transponders or pilots switch them off while conducting combat missions. In that case, only a primary label can be seen on the radar screen. It means you cannot identify exactly what kind of aircraft was there—neither its type nor the altitude. Though the fact that the plane was there is unquestionable.

You know the Militia has no air force. If it had been a Russian aircraft, you can imagine what a noise would have been raised in the world concerning Russia violating the airspace of a sovereign country. However, so far no military airplane of our state has violated the Ukrainian border.

The probable trajectory of the shooting.

The probable trajectory of the shooting.

— What if they did it without being noticed?

— No, that is not possible. Ukrainian radars would have registered everything immediately, and we would have received a corresponding diplomatic note, as there is a standard procedure for such cases.

— Such a violation would surely have been registered by NATO satellites, which—as we now know—were situated above that location at the time, as well as NATO AWACS aircraft monitoring that borderline zone.

— NATO and Ukraine, both would have already responded long ago. Yet they did not—because there was nothing to respond to.

However, without any facts, they are trying to convince all of us—including Europeans and Australians—that there was an air defense complex, delivered from Russia, which, allegedly, brought down the Boeing 777. They just try to ignore the data taken from the radar screen (the labels marked with the letters “T”), which proved the fact that a military aircraft was in the air space for another 20 minutes after the disaster.

However, the availability of these markers on the radar screen conflicts with statements of the Ukrainian side that the Ukrainian Air Force conducted no flights in the investigated time frame.

It is also important that the location of the markers on the radar screen to the left of the Boeing’s course correspond with the photos made at the crash site, in which you can clearly see the signs of external action at the left wing and the left side of the Boeing 777 cockpit.

The damage of the cockpit of Boeing 777

The damage of the cockpit of Boeing 777

Unreported: Rostov’s MH17 flight data

Original article in Moskovskiy Komsomolets #26672, November 13, 2014.

MH 17 articles:

Air India pilots heard MH17 redirected over “hot” airspace by Ukrainian air traffic controller

http://www.globalresearch.ca/looking-who-is-talking-mh17-and-the-us-role-in-downing-passenger-airplanes/5398153

Amnesty International says humanitarian disaster looms as food aid blocked in Eastern Ukraine, yet doesn’t tell the whole truth

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From Amnesty International, December 24, 2014
Comments from Eric Zuess follow.

Pro-Kyiv volunteer battalions are increasingly blocking humanitarian aid into eastern Ukraine in a move which will exacerbate a pending humanitarian crisis in the run up to Christmas and New Year, said Amnesty International.

“As winter sets in, the already desperate situation in eastern Ukraine is being made even worse by the volunteer battalions preventing food aid and medicine from reaching those in need. It is no secret that the region is facing a humanitarian disaster with many already at risk of starvation,” said Denis Krivosheev, acting Director of Europe and Central Asia for Amnesty International.

“These battalions often act like renegade gangs and urgently need to be brought under control. Denying food to people caught up in a conflict is against international law and the perpetrators must be held to account.”

Amnesty International has received information that the pro-Kyiv battalions, which include Dnipro-1 and Aidar, have blocked aid entering territories controlled by the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (DNR and LNR).

The Dnipro-1 volunteer battalion, along with members of Donbass battalion and Pravyi Sector militia, are reported to have blocked 11 roads leading into the DNR-controlled territory. They have refused to allow most aid convoys through, because they believe food and clothing are ending up in the wrong hands and may be sold instead of being given as humanitarian aid. They also insist on the release of prisoners held by the separatist forces as a condition for granting access to the humanitarian aid to the east.

At least four convoys sent by the humanitarian foundation of Rinat Akhmetov, one of Ukraine’s richest men, were blocked on the roads leading to the separatist-controlled territory by the Dnipro-1 battalion last week.

After stopping one of the convoys Vladimir Manko, deputy commander of the Dnipro-1 battalion, told the Ukrainian media:

“We don’t have any control on the other side. It turns out that we’re at war with them and we’re spilling our blood, but in the same time we’re feeding them.”

Over half of the population in these areas are now entirely dependent on food aid as wages, pensions and social benefits are not being paid regularly as a result of the conflict that began in May. The decision of the Ukrainian authorities in Kyiv to essentially cut off the region from the Ukrainian financial system in November is also contributing to the hardship of the local population.

An aid worker from the Luhansk Region has informed Amnesty International that Aidar battalion is also stopping and searching cars that travel from Starobil’sk to Luhansk and vice versa. Members of the battalion, which was previously implicated in arbitrary detention and torture, are reportedly stopping food and medicines getting through to the region.

The aid worker recalled a particular case when medicines for four elderly people in Krasnodon, who are suffering from heart and blood pressure conditions, were snatched from a bus at a checkpoint.

“Checking the content of humanitarian convoys crossing frontline is one thing. Preventing it is another. Attempting to create unbearable conditions of life is a whole new ballgame. Using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is a war crime,” said Denis Krivosheev.

The population of the region has suffered from six months of fighting between Kyiv-controlled and pro-Russian separatist forces. More than 4,700 people have died and thousands more live in fear of being caught in the crossfire or being entirely cut off from vital food and medical supplies.

Amnesty International reiterates its call for the Ukrainian authorities to reign in the volunteer battalions and to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches those who desperately need it.

Source:
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/eastern-ukraine-humanitarian-disaster-looms-food-aid-blocked-2014-12-23

Comments: By Eric Zuesse

Ukraine’s Government is Starving Residents of the Breakaway Region
December 26, 2014

Amnesty International has found that “the already desperate situation in eastern Ukraine is being made even worse by” so-called ‘volunteer’ or mercenary forces for the Ukrainian Government, which are blocking the supply of food to residents in that region, and trying to starve them to death.

Thus, “The region is facing a humanitarian disaster with many already at risk of starvation,” said Denis Krivosheev, acting Director of Europe and Central Asia for Amnesty International, on Wed, December 24th.

Amnesty International reports that, “Over half of the population in these areas are now entirely dependent on food aid.”

The AI report quotes one commander of these mercenary forces as giving his reason for blocking the humanitarian supplies, as being: “We’re at war with them and we’re spilling our blood, but in the same time we’re feeding them”; so, they refuse to allow the aid convoys through.

Germany’s Nazi forces during World War II gave the same explanation for why they treated the entire population in their conquered regions as being the enemy: they were the enemy, to be exploited and not served; they were thus to be cleared out, or else slaughtered, in order to provide “lebensraum” for the conquering people (‘Aryans’), who would be moving in and taking over the natural and other resources of the region, to be used by the Nazi state. (In the present instance, gas is one of the main resources in the rebelling region, which is the site of the vast Yuzivska gas field, and Obama’s people want it; and one of the Obama team’s appointed leaders there, the billionaire Ihor Kolomoysky, hired Joe Biden’s son and a friend of John Kerry for the board of his gas-exploration company.)

The situation is similar in southeastern Ukraine to that during WW II. The United States Government (in the person of Victoria Nuland of the State Department) chose Arseniy Yatsenyuk on 4 February 2014, which was 18 days prior to the coup, to become the new leader of Ukraine as soon as the democratically elected leader, Viktor Yanukovych would be overthrown, which turned out to be on February 22nd (though Nuland had no way of knowing at the time what the specific date of the overthrow would be). Almost immediately after Yatsenyuk became the leader of Ukraine, on March 5th, he sacked the existing three Deputy Defense Ministers, and replaced them with three rabidly anti-Russian racist-fascists or nazis, who were committed to the policy of bombing the residents in that area, the area that had voted 90% for Yanukovych. The person who was made the Minister of Defense, Mikhail Koval, then announced his intention to ethnically cleanse from southeastern Ukraine the “subhumans” who voted for Yanukovych, who will “be resettled in other regions,” meaning either Russia (if Russia accepted these Ukrainian refugees) or else concentration-camps inside Ukraine (and then perhaps death). Their property was to be confiscated, and “Land parcels will be given out for free to the servicemen of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and other military formations, as well as to the employees of Interior Ministry and the Security Service of Ukraine that are defending territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country in eastern and southeastern regions of Ukraine.” That’s the euphemism for the ethnic cleansing, and mass-theft. In other words, Obama’s new rulers of Ukraine were offering their soldiers the opportunity to grab legally the property of their victims. Ukraine doesn’t have the money to pay for all the soldiers that are needed to do this ethnic cleansing; so, they’re being promised war-booty, instead. Destroying the residents is the way to get it.

Amnesty International cannot afford to say this. According to sourcewatch (before they took their site down) Amnesty International is largely funded by Western aristocrats, and the famous Professor Francis H. Boyle has said, “Amnesty International is primarily motivated not by human rights but by publicity. Second comes money. Third comes getting more members. Fourth, internal turf battles. And then finally, human rights.” So: they’re heavily dependent upon Western, and especially upon American, aristocrats, including such people as George Soros and his Open Society Foundation, and his International Renaissance Fund (which donated heavily to promoting the coup). In other words: AI needs to watch out.

Here is an uncensored description of the situation in that region of Ukraine, which is called “Donbass.” It comes from George H. Eliason, an American who lives there, and whose reports on the situation in Ukraine I have always found to be true in the past.

[George Eliason’s description is also posted at http://www.globalresearch.ca/kiev-regime-is-forcing-death-by-starvation-and-relocation-in-east-ukraine/5420460
and
https://freeukrainenow.org/2014/12/19/kiev-regime-is-forcing-death-by-starvation-freezing-and-relocation-in-east-ukraine-will-we-stand-by-and-do-nothing/%5D

Ukraine peace talks conclude for night in Minsk

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Ukraine peace talks conclude for night in Minsk | Русская весна

From Russkaya Vesna
December 25, 2014

Talks aimed at reaching a stable cease-fire in Ukraine between its government forces and representatives of Novorossiya ended Wednesday after more than five hours, with no indication of progress and questions about when the next round might take place.

The opening session occurred in the Belarusian capital, one day after Ukraine’s decision to drop its non-aligned status, which added a new element of tension to the attempts to resolve the violent crisis in the country. The talks were to discuss how to improve an often-violated cease-fire that was declared in September, to pull back heavy weapons and to exchange of war prisoners.

The negotiators included representatives of Ukraine, Russia, Novorossiya and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

News media were not allowed access to the meeting and the participants left the session without comment. Another round had been tentatively set for Friday, but the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said after the session’s conclusion that it was unclear if that would take place.

Fighting in eastern Ukraine between government forces, volunteer battalions and Novorossiya militia has claimed more than 4,700 lives since it began this spring.

Previous rounds of talks in September produced a cease-fire and an agreement to pull back heavy weapons, but both sides have failed to agree on a line of division and fighting continued.

Source:
http://rusvesna.su/english/1419479846

In Lugansk region lies “dead load” of 122 thousand tons of coal

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From Ukrainian Pravda, December 5, 2014

In stock: “LisichanskUgol” and “Pervomayskugol” have more than 122 thousand tons of coal.

On Friday the chairman of the Lugansk Regional State Administration Gennady Moskal writes on its website .

“Today in the associations’ warehouses ‘LisichanskUgol’ and ‘Pervomayskugol’ on the territory controlled by Ukraine is 122,000 tons of coal,” – said the governor.

According to him, the coal “is dead load, because the Donetsk Railway (central office which, despite a decision of the National Security Council and the Cabinet of Ministers and remained in the occupied Donetsk) has no rail cars for shipment of coal to thermal power plants.

“There is a paradoxical situation – coal is purchased only in South Africa, imported to Ukraine and hits the thermal power plants, and what is produced in the Lugansk region on the territory controlled by Ukraine cannot be sent to the thermal power plants due to a lack of cars and locomotives for diesel fuel,” – said Moskal.

It is known that on Friday at the Ministry of Energy and Coal (Minenergouglya) an emergency meeting takes place with the new Minister Vladimir Demchishin in which trying to find a way out of the catastrophic situation with the lack of coal at thermal power plants.

According to one of the directors of thermal power plants, if in the near future are not started oil-gas units, the plants will stop, and many cities will be left without light and heat, including Kiev.

Source:
http://www.pravda.com.ua/rus/news/2014/12/5/7046539/

Russian power will keep Lugansk lights on for the holidays

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DNR-LNR.ru
December 6, 2014

A creation of alternative energy systems of Lugansk Peoples Republic has been  completed. Lugansk is no longer dependent on TPP [thermal power plants] in the town of Schastye, said the head of the Center of Management of the Restoration of the Lugansk Republic (CUV LNR), Alexander Drobot -reported a correspondent of IA “Novorossia”.

According to the head of Center, now, in the event of a power outage at Lugansk TPP, which is located in the town of Schastye, controlled by Ukrainian troops, the power grid of the Republic will switch to direct power supply from Russia.

Consequently, the Ukrainian punishers will not be able to inflict significant damage to the power grid of the Republic. The head of CUV LNR assured that the citizens of the Republic are soundly protected in the energy department.

“Now residents of LPR are not afraid that they might be left without lights. The Republic cares for a stable future for its citizens”, – said the head of the CUV. Recall that the press service of DTEK announced that Lugansk TPP has three days of coal reserves left.

Translated by Kristina Rus

Posted on
http://fortruss.blogspot.com/2014/12/russian-power-will-keep-lugansk-lights.html

Original article:
http://dnr-lnr.ru/novosti-lnr/969-lugansk-bolshe-ne-zavisit-ot-tes-goroda-schaste.html

 

Rolling blackouts began December 2 in Ukraine

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Across the country began shutdown of light
Posted on Ukrainian Pravda, December 2, 2014

In Ukraine, from December 2 began rolling blackouts.

This was at a press briefing on Tuesday announced…Energy Minister Yuriy Prodan.

The minister said that the situation should return to normal until 6 December.

As explained, “Ukrainian Pravda”, the press service of the Ministry, shutdown caused by a lack of electricity.

“Disabling takes place in an approved schedule” Ukrenergo “. December 2, these graphs were used in the amount of 2,800 MW / h”, – explained the Ministry of Energy.

Electricity shortage caused by the fact that the repair of the third unit of Zaporizhzhya NPP and the shortage of coal in the power station warehouses .

“In addition,” Ukrenergo “reported that there are still 19 blocks at thermal power plants in Ukraine to be repaired. Moreover, the temperature dropped. And had to enter the graphics shutdown” – added in the press-service.

As reported by the readers of the “Ukrainian Pravda” Facebook page, the light for several hours in the evening and the morning was turned off all over Ukraine: in Kiev and towns around it, Lviv, Khmelnytsky, Odessa, Sumy, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Poltava, Vinnitsa and other cities. Electricity is turned off for 2-3 hours in the morning and in the evening on different schedules in different regions.

To avoid inconvenience, people are advised to carefully use elevators and disable appliances.

As you know, earlier Prime Minister Yatsenyuk promised that “heads will fly ” of officials in the case of disconnection the grid by the end of the inventory at the stations.

Source:

http://www.pravda.com.ua/rus/news/2014/12/2/7046158/

December 24, 15:00 — Meeting in Minsk for peaceful settlement on Donbass conflict

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Please consider praying for this very important meeting as well as the one on December 26. Prayer is heart action and doesn’t require a religion. Pray for protection of the meetings and the participants, and the resolution of these issues.

The meetings are planned for Minsk, Belarus 15:00 (3 pm) December 24

Equivalent time:
GMT/UT          12 noon
New York, USA 7 am ET
California, USA   4 am PT
Hong Kong           8 pm

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html for when the meeting will be held relative to your time zone.

Posted at vz.ru
December 24, 2014

Contact group meeting in Minsk for a peaceful settlement of the conflict in the Donbass “is scheduled for 15.00 on December 24,” said a representative of the People’s Republic of Donetsk, Vice-Speaker of the People’s Council DNR Dennis Pushilin.

“The meeting is confirmed, at least for the moment. The beginning is scheduled for 15:00. The previous agenda. It is four points: removal of artillery and multiple rocket launchers facilities to a safe distance from the line of contact, exchange of prisoners, the lifting of the economic blockade of Donbas and the introduction of the by Ukraine of the law on the special status of Donbass “, – he said, reports” the Donetsk news agency. ”

Precisely because of the agenda, for a long time were unable to agree on a date for the negotiations, reports Tass.

As the representative of December 17 LC at Minsk negotiations Vladislav Dane, the republic is ready to negotiate only under the condition that the agenda will include questions on the abolition of the decrees of Petro Poroshenko on the socio-economic blockade of Donbas, on the enactment of laws on the special status of the region and of amnesty .

On Tuesday, the Ukraine Minister of Foreign Affairs Pavlo Klimkin said that the trilateral meeting of the contact group to resolve the conflict in the east of Ukraine is scheduled for Wednesday.

It was reported that Lugansk People’s Republic is not officially invited to the talks in Minsk on December 24th, but its representative went there, “not to disrupt the meeting.”

Dane stated before that not a single document which could be signed at a meeting of the contact group in Ukraine has yet been prepared.

…Recall that on Monday evening, the press office of the Ukrainian president reported that leaders of Ukraine, Germany, France and Russia have agreed to hold new meetings of the contact group in Minsk on Wednesday and Friday (24 and 26 December).

Source:
http://www.vz.ru/news/2014/12/24/721949.html
Пушилин: Встреча контактной группы в Минске запланирована на 15.00

From google translation

From Ruvesna.su

Belarus to host a new round of Ukraine peace talks
December 23, 2014

Belarus is set to host a new round of Ukrainian peace talks this week.

Envoys from Kiev, Russia, and OSCE reps will attend the talks, which will be held on Wednesday and Friday.

The Ukrainian president has issued a statement saying that the dates were discussed in a phone conversation between the French, Russian, and German heads of state. Petro Poroshenko added that the leaders highlighted the need to implement the next steps of a ceasefire plan approved by Kiev and pro-Russian fighters in September.

The first round of talks in Minsk produced no concrete results, with the two sides accusing each other of violating the terms of the accord. Ukraine and its Western allies blame Russia for stoking the deadly conflict. But Russia has time and again denied that it is involved in the crisis.

Source:
http://rusvesna.su/english/1419304089

Oleg Tsarev: Five conclusions on Ukraine as the plunder continues

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End of the life cycle of the project “Ukraine is not Russia”
Конец жизненного цикла проекта «Украина не Россия»

by Oleg Tsarev, Chairman of Novorossiya Parliament, for vz.ru
December 19, 2014

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It has been a year since many Ukrainians came out on the Maidan, wishing to “improve life” in their own understanding, namely by integrating Ukraine into Europe. One can already make an assessment of the consequences but, to put it mildly, they are not encouraging.

First Conclusion: Maidan was very well prepared

The preparations did not begin with Victoria Nuland’s cookies but much earlier, with Kravchuk and Kuchma who generously handed out national properties to “their own people”, with Yushchenko who delivered the coup de grace both to the economy and the military, and with Yanukovych, who placed his “overseers” in all regions of the country.

Only in the last 15 years infrastructure wear and tear increased from 40% to over 80%. As a result by early 2014 Ukraine reached a pre-default stage. Gold and hard currency reserves shrank to 15 billion dollars, the country’s inability to fulfill its financial obligations increased to 65%, reaching an almost absolute record.

By comparison, the media is reporting that Russia is considered to be at 17% risk of default. Yet Ukraine’s total debt to all creditors is, by Ukrainian standards, astronomically high at $65 billion.

What did Ukrainians receive in return? The budget started delaying even the most important payments to the regions and to the population, the hryvnia already lost almost half of its value against the dollar and 42% against the euro.

The fall of Ukrainian currency is accompanied by growth of retail prices. Inflation already reached 20%.

Second Conclusion: Ukraine was subsidized by Russia during its entire independence period

This took mainly the form of lowering the price of energy.

The total level of subsidies exceeded $100 billion, and when Tymoshenko signed her “prison contract” forcing Ukraine to genuinely pay for gas, Ukraine’s budget instantly developed a “black hole” under the name of “Naftogaz” which amounts to 4-5% of the country’s GDP.

Of course, the national treasury did not empty itself out overnight, Yanukovych also made a contribution to that. However, right now the treasury is being filled by a massive currency emission by the National Bank of Ukraine which, according to Tymoshenko itself, is nearly equivalent to the entire national budget, exceeding $300 billion. Which spells a financial doom for the country.

Third Conclusion: The Plunder Continues

And it is continued by the followers of the kolomoyskiys, the poroshenkos, the yatsenyuks who came to power in the aftermath of the Maidan.

It all began with the transferring out of the country of Ukrainian gold reserves, and is continuing through profiteering on supplies to the combat zone, pumping out of petroleum needed to maintain the “Ukrnafta” oil pumping machinery, and by theft of 5 billion cubic meters of natural gas belonging to Firtash (originally purchased by a $1.4 billion credit from Gazprombank in order to preserve Ukraine’s chemical industry).

They do not shy away from direct seizure of factories belonging to their competitors. The most recent major seizure took place in Odessa, at an oil refinery.

Fourth Conclusion: “Western partners” are strenuously pretending that everything is all right

Unlimited currency emission and the de-facto freeze of hard currency markets, the banks’ inability to return deposits, the inability to fulfill budget obligations, all of that is being ignored. The International Monetary Fund does not even have, by its own mandate, the right to give money to a country in the middle of a war.

But the markets cannot be fooled. The interest rates on Ukraine’s Credit Default Swaps (CDS), Eurobond interest rates and internal currency obligations are beating all records, indicating that a default is inevitable. Business publications (The Economist, Der Welt, and others) are beginning to prepare investors for the inevitable: if Ukraine is not given, say, another 20-25 billion dollars in the nearest future (and this in addition to the IMF and EU assistance to the tune of $37 billion), Ukraine will declare bankruptcy.

The interest of a one-year Ukrainian bond increased from 10% at the beginning of 2014 to the unheard of 27% today. Analysts cannot recall another such massive jump.

The same is true for Ukraine’s default risk assessments. At the beginning it was rated at 49%, which is high enough, but during the period of greatest tensions with Russia the indicator jumped to 60%.

Fifth Conclusion: Ukraine has no money

The currency reserves of the National Bank of Ukraine are microscopic, and almost entirely consist of securities which nobody else wants (there are rumors that $6 billion of currency reserves were traded for shares in Lehman Brothers which went bankrupt in 2008), the exporters are not selling their hard currency since they themselves are struggling, and importers cannot obtain hard currency even for critical purchases.

At the same time Kolomoyskiy is supplying substandard body armor at their weight in gold and is increasing the capital of his own Privat Bank, while at the same time reducing tax obligations to the state.

Ukraine is bragging that it increased exports this year, forgetting to add that it accomplished that feat by exporting the last of its grain reserves. As to what will happen in the spring and how the people of Ukraine will be fed, it does not seem to concern the government.

No Coal for Power Plants and None in Sight

The Donbass coal cannot be purchased for ideological reasons since, according to Yatsenyuk himself, that would be “financing terrorists.” The entire energy sector of Ukraine is sustained by supplies of nuclear fuel from Russian Rosatom (which represents nearly 50% of energy production in Ukraine).

The winter is coming, yet ‘the provision of heating of the population’ (as Klitchko famously said before) is still under question.

The efforts of the new Ukrainian ruling elite include not only the attempts to hurt Russia and the owners of Ukrainian Eurobonds (half of the total of $17.5 billion is owned by the US-based Templeton Fund), but also their own citizens, otherwise the Ukrainian “bust-out” might fail.

They are even attempting to cut off the untamed Donbass from the Ukrainian financial system and close government offices and banks in the Donetsk and Lugansk Republics. That is to say, to abandon to their fate more than 4 million of our citizens by claiming that Donbass is not making budget contributions. And those are the policies which, in their view, are supposed to revive Ukraine’s economy.

Kiev is accelerating its own collapse

Donetsk alone fulfilled 89.2% of its budget contributions in 10 months. Yet now the retirees are being told that their pensions are not being paid by Kiev since June because allegedly Donbass has not been making transfers to the national budget. This despite the fact that since January Donetsk alone transferred 5.519 billion hryvnia, of which 4.746 billion went into the national pension fund.

One should also add that Donbass represents almost a third of Ukraine’s industry, nearly all of its coal, and a fourth of its exports.

Only one conclusion can be made on the basis of the above: a crisis is coming, and it will take many forms.

  1. The paralysis of the budget and the banking system. Default before individual depositors (which already took place as far as the inhabitants of Crimea and Donbass are concerned). Multi-month delays in the payment of salaries, pensions, benefits. The seizure of industries belonging to the competition (mainly Firtash, Akhmetov, the Yanukovych group). Plunder of the remnants of state property. The ultimate bankruptcy of Naftogaz.

But the key element of the process of the collapse of the economy is the default by the state before its own people, which can take place not only in the form of direct failure to fulfill social obligations but also through hyperinflation. This would represent a total war, aimed against one’s own country.

  1. Possibly (in parallel or slightly later) a chaotic external default, which may be triggered by the collapse of the IMF program (the next tranche was delayed until Kiev satisfies at least some of IMF’s conditions). Once that happens, Ukraine’s Gas Transit System will be snapped up for pennies (that system is only needed as long as an agreement with Gazprom exists), alongside other remaining “gems”.
  2. A total war against Novorossia (or Russia) is possible as a consequence, or an attempt to delay a complete economic collapse and chaos. After all, one can never blame the Maidan for anything. But will the people fall for it?

***

Right now Ukraine needs an injection of at least 100-120 billion dollars, which could prevent a sharp economic collapse. In the absence of such an injection the country’s GDP is likely to drop by 50%, implying the collapse of the country’s whole economy.

The final destination on this path is a catastrophe and complete bankruptcy, which would be an unprecedented trial not only for the people of Ukraine, but also for Russia, Europe, and the entire world. But the crisis can no longer be stopped; one could still try to switch course to a pro-Russian, Anti-Maidan one, but that is out of the question for those who have inspired the Maidan.

And therefore a collapse is not to be avoided.

 

Translated for FortRuss.blogspot.com

http://fortruss.blogspot.com/2014/12/ukraine-plunder-continues.html — translation — Ukraine: The Plunder Continues
http://www.vz.ru/opinions/2014/12/19/721135.html?google_editors_picks=true

 

NAF Intel: Kiev is preparing false flag terrorist attacks on strategic facilities

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From Rusvesna
http://rusvesna.su/news/1418742084
Translated on Fort Russ
http://fortruss.blogspot.com/2014/12/naf-intel-kiev-is-preparing-false-flag.html

NAF intelligence is reporting about impending terrorist attacks on Ukrainian strategic [facilities], which will justify an attack on Donbass.

Also there is information that foreigners and relatives of senior officials are being evacuated from Ukrainian border towns and cities.

Also recently on the occupied by UAF territory of Donbass soldiers and armored vehicles with symbols and flags of Russia and DPR were repeatedly spotted. This clearly indicates a preparation of provocations to justify a large-scale war.

At the same time the information was confirmed about the arrival of large numbers of mercenaries, equipment and machinery from NATO countries.

Today, the General staff of Ukraine started talking about a possible resumption of hostilities in the area known as ATO.

The head of the press service of the General staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Vladislav Seleznev announced about a possible resumption of hostilities in the area of the ATO and possible terrorist attacks by the militia on the objects of strategic importance.

According to him, because of the artillery strikes, the social-political and humanitarian situation in the zone of the ATO and the areas bordering it remains tense.

“There is also the risk of a resumption of active hostilities. However, we do not eliminate the risk of terrorist and sabotage acts in these areas, at government and military facilities, as well as mass protests and civil disobedience”, – he pointed out.

Recall that earlier Poroshenko announced that the army is prepared to take part of Crimea back from Russia.

Translated by Kristina Rus for FortRuss.blogspot.com