L’UE exhorte à lever le blocus commercial du Donbass

Sputnik

16.02.2017

Un blocus du Donbass au lieu d'une aide

Face à la perspective des coupures d’électricité tournantes en Ukraine, l’Union européenne s’est enfin aperçue du blocus commercial du Donbass, Kiev n’en recevant plus la houille anthracite absolument nécessaire pour les centrales ukrainiennes.

Le blocus commercial du Donbass viole les droits des Ukrainiens habitant sur les territoires qui échappent actuellement au contrôle de Kiev et risque de déclencher une crise énergétique dans le pays, prévient, dans un communiqué, la représentation de l’Union européenne en Ukraine, ajoutant que les organisateurs du blocus doivent le lever immédiatement.

« Le blocus du Donbass par l’Ukraine contredit l’approche inclusive envers les Ukrainiens habitant sur les territoires où les organes du pouvoir n’exercent pas provisoirement leurs fonctions. Les responsables du lancement du blocus doivent le lever immédiatement. Quant aux autorités, elles doivent régler ce problème au plus vite », lit-on dans le communiqué, cité par Sputnik.

Il s’agit en l’occurrence du blocus de la communication ferroviaire avec le Donbass qui se poursuit depuis fin janvier, quand un groupe d’anciens combattants des bataillons de volontaires, qui avaient participé aux hostilités dans le sud-est de l’Ukraine, et de députés de la Rada suprême (parlement ukrainien), a barré le trafic sur la ligne de chemin de fer. Les organisateurs du blocus ont affirmé que tout commerce avec les Républiques populaires autoproclamées de Donetsk (DNR) et de Lougansk (LNR) était illégal, et que toutes les marchandises transportées relevaient par conséquent de la contrebande.

Le blocus ferroviaire a débouché sur des problèmes de livraison de houille anthracite depuis le Donbass, engendrant des difficultés dans le secteur énergétique de l’Ukraine. Comme résultat, Kiev envisage d’ores et déjà des coupures d’électricité tournantes dans la plupart des régions du pays.

https://fr.sputniknews.com/international/201702161030122172-ue-blocus-donbass-levee-commerce-kiev/

Ukrainian security forces are fighting each other

From Fort Russ

April 12th, 2015
Anatoly Tarasov for Vesti, Latvia – translated by Joaquin Flores

Fighting occurred between regular units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces yesterday in Avdeyevka, in the Donetsk oblast. This was reported by the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) Ministry of Defense Corps, Deputy Commander Edward Basurin.

“We have documented evidence of an exacerbation of confrontation not only between the regular army and the Ukrainian Volunteer Battalions, but also skirmishes between units of the UAF,” explained Basurin.

The Deputy Commander said this before reports that the 93rd mechanized brigade of the UAF required the rogue volunteer battalion ‘OUN’ (Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists) to leave their positions near Peski.

“And today, April 11, in Avdeyevka there has been fighting between regular units,” said Basurin.

“Please note that these facts of Ukrainian units firing at each other, are presented to the Ukrainian authorities as a violation of the ceasefire by the DNR militia, as regularly reported in the OSCE and Ukraine controlled media,” – said the representative of the military department DNR .

Recall that on April 1st, the DNR Defense Ministry reported that the Ukrainian battalion “Donbass” opened fire on positions of the “Right Sector.” According to representatives of the militia units who do not want to obey the command of the UAF, “We reserve the right not to respect the ceasefire.”

The leadership of the armed forces of Ukraine had decided, at the end of the day, to take the Volunteer Battalion ‘OUN’ from the line of contact (ceasefire line) in Peski.

“By staying on the front line, the Volunteer Battalion of the OUN, which is not officially part of the armed forces, did not allow Ukraine to fully implement the Minsk agreement”- said in a statement posted on the UAF website.

The ceasefire officially came into effect in Donbass on February 14, 2015 at 01:00 in Donetsk. The DNR has repeatedly stated that compliance with the truce depends entirely on the Ukrainian side.

http://fortruss.blogspot.com/2015/04/ukrainian-security-forces-are-fighting.html

Saker: End of 2014 report and a look at what 2015 might bring

http://vineyardsaker.blogspot.com/2014/12/2014-end-of-year-report-and-look-into.html

Introduction:
By any measure 2014 has been a truly historic year which saw huge, I would say, even tectonic developments. This year ends in very high instability, and the future looks hard to guess. I don’t think that anybody can confidently predict what might happen next year. So what I propose to do today is something far more modest. I want to look into some of the key events of 2014 and think of them as vectors with a specific direction and magnitude. I want to look in which direction a number of key actors (countries) “moved” this year and with what degree of intensity. Then I want to see whether it is likely that they will change course or determination. Then adding up all the “vectors” of these key actors (countries) I want to make a calculation and see what resulting vector we will obtain for the next year. Considering the large number of “unknown unknowns” (to quote Rumsfeld) this exercise will not result in any kind of real prediction, but my hope is that it will prove a useful analytical reference.

The main event and the main actors
A comprehensive analysis of 2014 should include most major countries on the planet, but this would be too complicated and, ultimately, useless. I think that it is indisputable that the main event of 2014 has been the war in the Ukraine. This crisis not only overshadowed the still ongoing Anglo-Zionist attack on Syria, but it pitted the world’s only two nuclear superpowers (Russia and the USA) directly against each other. And while some faraway countries did have a minor impact on the Ukrainian crisis, especially the BRICS, I don’t think that a detailed discussion of South African or Brazilian politics would contribute much. There is a short list of key actors whose role warrants a full analysis. They are:

  1. The USA
  2. The Ukrainian Junta
  3. The Novorussians (DNR+LNR)
  4. Russia
  5. The EU
  6. NATO
  7. China

I submit that these seven actors account for 99.99% of the events in the Ukraine and that an analysis of the stance of each one of them is crucial.  So let’s take them one by one:

1 – The USA

Of all the actors in this crisis, the USA is by far the most consistent and coherent one.  Zbigniew Brzezinski, Hillary Clinton and Victoria Nuland were very clear about US objectives in the Ukraine:

Zbigniew Brzezinski: Without Ukraine Russia ceases to be empire, while with Ukraine – bought off first and subdued afterwards, it automatically turns into empire…(…)  the new world order under the hegemony of the United States is created against Russia and on the fragments of Russia. Ukraine is the Western outpost to prevent the recreation of the Soviet Union.

Hillary Clinton: There is a move to re-Sovietise the region (…) It’s not going to be called that. It’s going to be called a customs union, it will be called Eurasian Union and all of that, (…) But let’s make no mistake about it. We know what the goal is and we are trying to figure out effective ways to slow down or prevent it.

Victoria Nuland: F**k the EU!

Between the three, these senior US “deep-staters” have clearly and unambiguously defined the primary goal of the USA: to take control of the Ukraine to prevent Russia from becoming a new Soviet Union, regardless of what the EU might have to say about that.  Of course, there were other secondary goals which I listed in June of this year (see here):

As a reminder, what were the US goals in the Ukraine: (in no particular order) [Editor: I’ve substituted Saker’s colors for words]

  1. Sever the ties between Russia and the Ukraine [Still possible ]
  2. Put a russophobic NATO puppet regime in power in Kiev [Still possible ]
  3. Boot the Russians out of Crimea [Failed ]
  4. Turn Crimea into a unsinkable US/NATO aircraft carrier [Failed ]
  5. Create a Cold War v2 in Europe [Compromised ]
  6. Further devastate the EU economies [Still possible ]
  7. Secure the EU’s status as “US protectorate/colony” [Still possible ]
  8. Castrate once and for all EU foreign policies [Still possible ]
  9. Politically isolate Russia [Failed ]
  10. Maintain the worldwide dominance of the US dollar [Compromised ]
  11. Justify huge military/security budgets [Achieved ]

I have color-coded these objectives into the following categories:
Achieved – black 
Still possible – too early to call – blue
Compromised – pink
Failed – red

Current “score card”: 1 “achieved”, 5 “possible, 2 “compromised” and 3 “failed”.

Here is how I would re-score the same goals at the end of the year:

  1. Sever the ties between Russia and the Ukraine [Achieved ]
  2. Put a russophobic NATO puppet regime in power in Kiev [Achieved ]
  3. Boot the Russians out of Crimea [Failed ]
  4. Turn Crimea into a unsinkable US/NATO aircraft carrier [Failed ]
  5. Create a Cold War v2 in Europe [Still possible ]
  6. Further devastate the EU economies [Achieved ]
  7. Secure the EU’s status as “US protectorate/colony” [Achieved ]
  8. Castrate once and for all EU foreign policies [Achieved ]
  9. Politically isolate Russia [Failed ]
  10. Maintain the worldwide dominance of the US dollar [Compromised ]
  11. Justify huge military/security budgets [Achieved ]

New score card: 6 “achieved”, 1 “possible”, 1 “compromised” and 3 “failed”

At first glance, this is a clear success for the USA: from 1 achieved to 6 with the same number of “failed” is very good for such a short period of time.  However, a closer look will reveal something crucial: all the successes of the USA were achieved at the expense of the EU and none against Russia.  Not only that, but the USA has failed in its main goal: to prevent Russia from becoming a superpower, primarily because the US policy was based on a hugely mistaken assumption: that Russia needed the Ukraine to become a superpower again.  This monumental miscalculation also resulted in another very bad fact for the USA: the dollar is still very much threatened, more so than a year ago in fact.

This is so important that I will repeat it again: the AngloZionist Empire predicated its entire Ukrainian strategy on a completely wrong assumption: that Russia “needed” the Ukraine.  Russia does not, and she knows that.  As we shall see later, a lot of the key events of this year are a direct result of this huge miscalculation.

The US is now facing a paradox: “victory” in the Ukraine, “victory” in Europe, but failure to stop a rapidly rising Russia.  Worse, these “victories” came at a very high price which included creating tensions inside the EU, threatening the future of the US shale gas industry, alienating many countries at the UN, being deeply involved with a Nazi regime, becoming the prime suspect in the shooting down of MH17 and paying the costs for an artificially low price of gold.  But the single worst consequence of the US foreign policy in the Ukraine has been the establishment of a joint Russian-Chinese strategic alliance clearly directed against the United States (more about that later). Continue reading

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

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