Donbass

Ukraine declares resumption of war against Donbass

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By  Eric Zuesse
Posted on RINF.com, March 18, 2015

On Wednesday, March 18th, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, the Prime Minister of Ukraine — who was selected for that post by Victoria Nuland of the U.S. State Department on 4 February 2014, 18 days before the U.S. coup that installed him into this office — told his cabinet meeting, “Our goal is to regain control of Donetsk and Lugansk.” Those are the two districts comprising Donbass, the self-proclaimed independent region of Ukraine, which now calls itself “The People’s Republic“ and sometimes “Novorossiya,” and which rejects the coup and its coup-imposed Government.

That Government of Ukraine is run by Yatsenyuk and the people whom he selected. Ukraine also has a President, who is elected by voters in the northwest of Ukraine, where the coup-government is accepted; but, since the coup, the Government has actually been run by Prime Minister Yatsenyuk, who is entirely dependent upon the United States Government and its subordinates (such as the IMF and NATO, in both of which the U.S. has veto-power) in order to obtain the financial and military support necessary to keep him in office

Yatsenyuk announced there: “Adequate financial resources are available,” to retake Donbass. Those “resources” came largely from the IMF, and from the United States, all with loans to the bankrupt Ukrainian Government. So that the investors will be paid the principal plus the extremely high interest on these junk-loans that are backed by their governments, Western taxpayers will ultimately be, basically, donating to Franklin Templeton, and to George Soros, and to the other financiers who are buying the Ukrainian Government bonds that purchase those weapons and military trainers to conquer the residents of Donbass. The Ukrainian Government officially calls these residents ‘Terrorists,’ and the military operation to conquer them they call the ‘Anti Terrorist Operation’ or “ATO” for short. They call their troops who are doing the killing there, “punishers,” which the residents of northwestern Ukraine take to mean punishers of terrorists. The residents in northwestern Ukraine see only television that is broadcast on stations that are owned by Ukrainian, European, and American, oligarchs. For example, one of these stations is Hromadske TV, which was founded with money from the Dutch Government, the U.S. Government, and George Soros’s International Renaissance Foundation. It has, on occasion, presented ‘experts’ who call for exterminating at least 1.5 million of the residents in Donbass. So, this is how the support of the residents in Ukraine’s northwest for the “ATO” is being maintained. The residents in Donbass have also been called “subhumans” by Yatsenyuk himself.

At this cabinet meeting, Yatsenyuk additionally announced that resumption of the war would be rushed: “We need to move the funding for the purchase of new equipment and weapons from the third and fourth quarter to the first and second quarter,” he told his cabinet.

At this same cabinet meeting, the Minister of Defense, Stepan Poltorak, announced that, to date, 100 contracts for military equipment have been signed, and soon there will be 160. He also said: “Just in the last week alone, factories brought in about a thousand pieces of equipment for repair.”

Yatsenyuk told his cabinet that, “We will fight using all methods and techniques for the resumption of peace and regaining control of Donetsk and Luhansk region.” By ‘resumption of peace,’ he meant resumption of control over Donbass. “Peace” is the term he uses to mean control. In other words: until the Yatsenyuk Government wins, there will continue to be war in Donbass, “using all methods and techniques” to achieve his (that is, America’s) victory in subduing the residents there. This subduing means exterminating some, and driving the others out; so that, in either case, they won’t become voters in future Ukrainian elections. The last time that these people voted in a Ukrainian election was 2010, when they voted 90% for Viktor Yanukovych, the man whom Obama overthrew. Without that 90% vote, Yanukovych wouldn’t have been elected. Obama consequently doesn’t want them voting in any future Ukrainian election. That’s the reason why they’re being bombed — to get rid of them.

On March 17th, Ukraine’s parliament, the Rada, voted to declare Donbass to be “temporarily occupied territory,” until the residents there are conquered. The day before that, the figurehead President of Ukraine had presented to the Rada a draft resolution proposing to solve the problem of the resistant Donbass with a resolution he published on his website on March 14th saying that the region has “special status,” and temporary self-government, but this proposal wasn’t the one the Rada passed. The President nonetheless declared that his terminology was somehow law from the moment it had been published on his website.

U.S. President Obama wants the war resumed as quickly as possible, but Angela Merkel and other European leaders have urged that it not be resumed at all. Consequently, there is a split in the Western alliance about this matter. Apparently, Prime Minister Yatsenyuk has determined that he now has enough weapons and loans to be able to resume the war very soon, until final victory.

Obama, evidently, is determined to finish the job that he started with his coup. It was bloody, but the follow-through will need to be far more so. And he has the full support of the U.S. Congress, and of the major think tanks, to continue this until victory. EU nations that don’t like it — well, Obama’s agent controlling Ukraine said famously, on 4 February 2014, “F—k the EU.”

Many European leaders don’t want to be involved in a war against Russia. However, on March 12th, Yatsenyuk said “Ukraine is in a state of war with … the Russian Federation.” That is the service he is providing to Barack Obama, and to the 98%+ of the members of the U.S. Congress who likewise want this war: Ukraine has become the proxy state for America’s war against Russia.

———-

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, and of Feudalism, Fascism, Libertarianism and Economics.

 

Report: War crimes of the armed forces and security forces of Ukraine: torture of the Donbass region residents (English) — PDF

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March 13, 2015
Democracyfund.ru
Published November 24, 2014

This report was written by a non-state organization ‘The Foundation for the Study of Democracy’ (headed by M. Grigoriev) and the Russian Public Council for International Cooperation and Public Diplomacy (presided by S. Ordzhonikidze) with the assistance of V. Dzhabarov, S. Mamedov, I. Morozov, S. Markov and other members of the Committee for Public Support of the Residents of South-Eastern Ukraine. For the purposes of investigating specific cases of torture, inhuman or degrading treatment, experts of the Foundation interviewed the ex-prisoners released by the Ukrainian side, in some cases five or ten minutes after the exchange. The report written by the Foundation includes the results of interviews with over 100 prisoners released by the Ukrainian side. Experts of the Foundation conducted the interviews in the period from 25 August to 4 November 2014. It should also be noted that, according to those interviewed, the Ukrainian side releases only those prisoners who are in relatively satisfactory physical condition. Thus, one may conclude that the situation in Ukraine regarding torture is more serious than the one described in this report.

1 The majority of the interviewees are still afraid of possible punitive and unlawful measures by the Ukrainian side against their families, most of their names in this report have been changed. However, as part of legal procedures, a video of each interview has been recorded and personal data – first and second names, age, and place of residence – collected. 

 As the European Court of Human Rights opined, the Convention on Human Rights prohibits in absolute terms torture, irrespective of other circumstances. Moreover, it is assumed in the law of the European Union that ‘the State is responsible for the actions of all of its agencies, such as the police, security forces, other law enforcement officials, and any other State bodies who hold the individual under their control, whether they act under orders, or on their own accord.’ Unlike other clauses of the Convention related to rights, Article 3 makes no provision for derogation (reservations) in the event of a war or other emergency threatening national security. Article 15 paragraph 2 explicitly states that there can be no derogation from Article 3 within the Convention. The information collected by the Foundation for Democracy Studies gives grounds to believe that the Ukrainian armed forces, the National Guard and other military units of the Ministry of the Interior of Ukraine, as well as the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) systematically and on purpose violate Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights that reads, ‘No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.’ The extent to which torture is being used and the fact that this is done systematically prove that torture is an intentional strategy of the said institutions, authorized by their leadership. Commenting on their practice of committing torture, Liliya Rodionova, deputy head of the Committee for Refugees and Prisoners of War (Donetsk), who is personally engaged in the exchange of prisoners, says the following about the prisoners that the Ukrainian side releases:

“Almost everyone released comes back with their ribs and legs broken and teeth ripped out. There is not a single person with no marks of beating. Treatment does not begin until right before the exchange. There is a guy with eight gunshot wounds. Even at the hospital, he was beaten. They stuck fingers in his wounds. They use pliers to rip out teeth and beat right in the wounds. Many come back with fractured skulls. One of the torture tools is an awl that they use for stabbing prisoners. Lately, they have been seizing ordinary people, not members of the self-defence forces. They use gunpowder and electroshock to torture people, they brand them. Some were thrown into a pit with dead bodies, crushed with a shovel bucket, had a smouldering iron stuck in their mouth. People were kept in iron containers with no source of oxygen. The torture techniques are sophisticated and brutal, they leave the victims maimed. Those in need of medical treatment, even with diabetes, receive no medical assistance. Prisoners from our side can be told by the color of their skin. It is greyish. Each time an exchange is to take place, we draw up a list of acute patients, but the other side won’t release them.”

Simon Verdian, a volunteer helping the Committee, who was himself released in September 2014, says, ‘I know of cases when prisoners had gunpowder spread over their genitals, were branded with hot iron, executed by shooting in front of other prisoners, sent to a mine field, crashed with shovel buckets into the ground and left in a pit of dead bodies for the whole night. Most of their meals consist of bread and water.’

1 «Prohibition of Torture, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment under the European Convention on Human Rights (Article  3)», Council of Europe, Interights, 2008.
Please read and share the full 49 page PDF report (in English) here:

 Part I.Methods and circumstances of torture committed by the Ukrainian armed forces and security forces

 

http://www.fortruss.blogspot.com/2015/03/pdf-report-war-crimes-of-armed-forces.html

“We have built an independent state” – Interview with Deputy PM, Donetsk People’s Republic

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By Mikhail Mnukhin
Posted on Global Research, March 7, 2015

We have the honor of interviewing First Deputy Prime Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Mikhail Mhukhin. He speaks to us about the ongoing crisis in the DPR, the history of Donbass and its relationship to Ukraine, and initiatives currently being implemented to end the conflict. For further correspondence, you can visit the official MOFA DPR website at mid-dnr.ru/en/.

HANEUL: One year after the US-backed Euromaidan coup, Ukraine is still engaged in a long and bloody civil war. What progress have you made in the fight against the fascist Ukranian military, Svoboda, and Right Sector?

MIKHAIL: First and most importantly, we have built an independent state. Even though some parts of our territory are still controlled by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the state system of the DPR is fully functional and controls all vital operations. We can pay salaries and social dowries, form state budgets, and arrange foreign trade.

At present, the DPR has legitimately elected authorities: the Head of the Republic, [Prime Minister] Alexander Zakharchenko, and the supreme legislative body, the People`s Council. The elections for local Councils will take place soon.

It should be stressed that we have achieved all these goals during unceasing hostilities and blockades made by the Ukrainian authorities, in addition to the critical humanitarian situation in the region. In our opinion, all of these problems are the main arguments in the fight against our enemy. We managed not only to survive, but also to develop a full-fledged state.

Militarily, the DPR Army has demonstrated to the whole world its ability to act effectively, and the number of magnificent victories over Ukrainian troops vindicates this. One should note that the number of UAF soldiers exceeds ours, as does their military equipment.

Nevertheless, we will always insist on and continue to desire a peaceful resolution to the conflict. We have never sought to annihilate Ukraine and the Ukrainians; however, our key issue is to provide the security of our people and to create the conditions for a normal, peaceful life. We are always ready for dialogue, even with Kiev.

HANEUL: After the May 11th referendum, the DPR declared itself independent from Ukraine, yet the international community has denounced your right to do so. Can you tell me what this signifies about democracy building?

MIKHAIL: The issue of DPR recognition remains urgent, indeed. This is the main priority for our Ministry`s work today, and we make progress gradually in this direction. The Republic of South Ossetia has officially recognized the DPR, and we are establishing diplomatic contacts now. The Republic of Abkhazia also announced its readiness to recognize the DPR.

Furthermore, we work in other areas of cooperation and with all countries on any continent. Some of them are officially recognized and some are not. Additionally, we are now actively promoting cooperation with other social and political movements to support the self-determination of their territories. This process is rather long and complex.

As for the position of a number of Western countries towards us, we understand extremely well the reasons of it. One should decide whether or not to recognize our Republic; it does not depend on us. From our side, we can ensure this process by proving our consistency as a full-fledged member of the international community. It is paradoxical that, even though the citizens of our state are similar to those in the USA, Britain, or Japan, we still have to prove our right to exist. In this regard, we have huge expectations of the public’s opinion, especially in western countries, as it starts to change. People from all over the world are getting to learn more truths about us, and we hope that your authorities will take an objective stance towards the DPR.

HANEUL: Can you give us a history of the Donetsk Oblast and its history in relation to Russia? Why did the DPR decide to remain autonomous instead of integrating into the Russian Federation like Crimea?

MIKHAIL: Donbass was always a place of enormous accumulated human resources’—the place where people of all nationalities united in order to labor together and use Russian as their common language. As a result, a unique political platform has arisen in Donbass; the consequences of which we can observe today. All this explains why Donbas has always strived for autonomy and independence.

Crimea has made its own long journey and has finally returned to Russia. However, we are two distinct regions and have formed differently. We do not have the goal to join Russia as a priority now, but instead follow our path to forming an independent state. We have resolved the social and economic problems brought about by Ukraine’s military aggression and complete transport and economic blockade of our land.

HANEUL: Historically, Ukrainians experienced the 1941 pogroms in Lyiv in which the Ukrainian Insurgent Army worked with the Nazis to murder thousands of Polish and Ukrainian citizens. Do you believe that you are reliving this nightmare? Who should be held accountable for this?

MIKHAIL: We stress that the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UIA or UPA) did not act alone during World War II. With the support of foreign states, the UIA successfully existed in some regions from 1946 until 1948 as a local instrument of the Cold War. However, the ideologies of Ukrainian nationalists have not changed; just their owners.

Repetition is a peculiar feature of history. The tragedy in Odessa—the repression of dissidents and multiple war crimes—proves this fact. The above-mentioned organizations and people unfortunately follow the examples of their historical leaders and idols. However, they should remember the fate of the UIA and its leaders, which will partially help them to predict their own.

You can see throughout history the actions of the UIA and other nationalist groups, which were directed not only against Poles but also Russians, Jews and representatives of other ethnicities. Those who support neo-Nazism in Ukraine should think about where the Nazis would turn their weapons tomorrow.

HANEUL: Which international organizations are working with your government to provide humanitarian aid to your citizens, and how long do you estimate this crisis to last? How can people around the world become involved in reporting, assisting, or donating to your cause?

MIKHAIL: We are open to dialogue and are always ready to accept help from all organizations and private persons. There are a number of organizations operating in the DPR, such as the International Red Cross, Medicines Sans Frontiers, and dozens of other charity funds and communities.

Our experiences have shown that we are not alone—that many people from numerous countries are ready to help us sincerely and freely. For example, we have received a few trucks with medicaments from all over Germany, collected with the assistance of some Bundestag MPs.

Remember that Donetsk currently has a full economic blockade. The direct deliveries of financial assets, food products, and other goods to the DPR are impossible now, but we are trying to solve this problem everyday. We are very pleased and appreciate the desire of people from the entire world to help us.

HANEUL: Do you believe that PM Alexander Zakharchenko should have taken part in the second Minsk agreement in Belarus? Why didn’t the Normandy Four (Russia, Ukraine, Germany, and France) include Donetsk, Luhansk, and Crimea into the peace talks? How have the peace talks helped ease tensions in Donbass, and do you believe that there should be separate talks between the DPR and other groups?

MIKHAIL: The situation surrounding the DPR, the LPR and Crimea cannot be combined in the negotiation process, as Crimea is already a part of Russia.

The Donetsk People`s Republic is one of several parties in the conflict, so without Alexander Zakharchenko`s participation, a negotiated resolution is impossible. However, we can explain Kiev’s harsh stance and attempts to ignore the DPR and LPR in the Normandy Four negotiations. Ukraine considers the truce as a period to accumulate military forces and prepare for further hostilities, and Kiev has never shown its full readiness for a lasting peace.

The real conflict is between the people of the southeast and Ukrainian government, whom should actually negotiate. Apart from that, the DPR’s entrance into the negotiation process means that it will achieve its new status, which Ukraine is trying to prevent. Alongside this, Ukraine is trying to expand the number of participants involved in the conflict, such as Germany and France, in order to supply them weapons. We hope this will not happen.

We are satisfied with Germany and France’s viewpoint; they have started to change their positions on events happening in Donbass. We expect that, instead of more sanctions, they will initiate humanitarian missions here in order to stop the catastrophe, not deteriorate it.

We are sure that peace will finally come, but we cannot achieve it with regular concessions from one side and continuous breaches from the other. Peace is always a compromise and we are ready for it, but only after ensuring the safety of our citizens.

HANEUL: The UAE has already committed weapons to the Ukrainian military, and the United States has considered arming the junta directly. If this occurs, how will this affect the current situation? Will this escalate to a large conflict between superpowers?

MIKHAIL: According to present information, the weapons contracts made between Ukraine and the UAE are not a significant concern, and we personally believe those contracts were made just for PR. We doubt Kiev managed to convince its partners to supply weapons on credit, and it does not have enough money to buy them. Another issue is the USA’s weaponry. According to confirmed information, they never stopped supplying weapons to Ukraine. Along the whole frontline, after each Ukrainian force’s retreat, one can easily find weapons made in America, including heavy artillery. Besides, the large amount of American personnel training Ukrainian soldiers invokes serious concern. In what way should we estimate [the outcome]? Exposing Washington`s participation in the Donbass conflict is difficult, but direct interventions take place and grow with every passing month, so it is very difficult to predict such consequences.

For more information, please visit The Last Defense at thelastdefense2012.tumblr.com or following us on Twitter at @thelastdefense

http://thelastdefense2012.tumblr.com/

http://www.globalresearch.ca/southeast-ukraine-we-have-built-an-independent-state-interview-with-deputy-pm-donetsk-peoples-republic-mikhail-mnukhin/5435211

Poroshenko puts in operation NSDC’s decision over “Russia’s aggression”

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From Channel 97.org

The cabinet of ministers of Ukraine is ordered to take a number of urgent measures to overcome the consequences of the situation in Donbas and recognise the DNR/LNR as terrorists.

 

Petro Poroshenko signed the decree on putting in operation the decision of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine (NSDC) of January 25, 2015 “On Emergency Measures of Countering Russian Threat and Manifestations of Terrorism Supported by the Russian Federation“, Liga.net cites a press release of the Ukrainian president’s press service.

 

In accordance with the NSDC’s decision, the cabinet of ministers of Ukraine is ordered to take urgent measures to provide aid to the people affected by terrorist attacks in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, first of all to civilians of Mariupol.

 

The government is instructed to elaborate a series of draft laws, particularly, on the improvement of composition, functions and powers of the Anti-Terrorist Centre under the aegis of the Security Service of Ukraine and the establishment of criminal responsibility for crimes against humanity.

 

The government with participation of the National Council of Ukraine on Television and Radio Broadcasting is instructed to take urgent measures on the termination of Russian informational aggression carried out by foreign and national media.

 

The government and local state administrations must determine and ensure the establishment of places for temporary deployment of people evacuated from certain territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions within two weeks.

 

The Security Service of Ukraine is instructed to intensify informational and explanatory work to neutralise dangerous influence of Russia on socio-political situation in Ukraine and its certain regions; organise timely and comprehensive informing of the people in Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhya, Luhansk, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Kharkiv, Kherson regions and the city of Kyiv about the order of actions in conditions of terrorist attack threat, particularly, through the creation of respective websites and social media pages with local executive government within two weeks.

 

The Ministry of the Interior must immediately increase control over the compliance with the order of registration of the place of living and the place of residence of Ukrainian citizens, foreigners and stateless persons.

 

The State Fiscal Service together with the State Service of Financial Monitoring was instructed to immediately take efficient measures to identify and eliminate terrorist financing channels.

 

The NSDC offered the National Commission responsible for the state control over the energy and housing sectors and the state-owned company Energorynok to take measures to stop deals on the electrical energy market with the plants that produce electrical energy in the temporally uncontrolled territories.

 

Heads of Donetsk and Luhansk Regional State Administrations are instructed to immediately take comprehensive measures to ensure the functioning of critical infrastructure of inhabited localities situated in the controlled territories; and measures to enhance the personnel provision of regional state administrations.

 

The NSDC also offered the Prosecutor General of Ukraine to take steps on the recognition of the so called “DPR” and “LPR” as terrorist organisations.

 

The National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine held a special meeting on February 18 and adopted decisions to response to the occupation of Debaltseve by militants and Russian forces and the violation of the Minsk agreements.

Source:
http://www.charter97.org/en/news/2015/2/20/140334/

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“This is what Ukrainian fascism looks like”–One year under the Wolfsangel

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2/23/2015
One Year Under the Wolfsangel
By Aleksey Albu, the Borotba [Struggle] Movement

Translated from Russian by J.Hawk

It’s been a year since the coup. Time to tally the results.

Remembering last year’s Maidan protests, one reaches the following question: what justified such casualties, if Yanukovich and his “bloody regime” had only one year left? What was the hurry? He could have been defeated during the elections, which would have given the new government legitimacy.

I reject the notion that the leaders of the Maidan wanted to improve the lives of their people.

What did Ukraine lose? Well, naturally, Crimea (almost two million people), Donbass (about five million people), and we have to keep in mind the process is not over. Next in line are the regions of Odessa, Kharkov, Zaporozhye, whose population will never accept the rule of neo-Nazis and oligarchs. But the main thing that Ukraine lost was the societal sense of balance, under which people of various political persuasions could discuss them without weapons but instead behind a glass of tea, or perhaps behind a negotiating table. Right now there are hundreds of thousands of people who do not want to meet with one another ever again, do not want to discuss anything together, and will never forgive.

There used to exist rules of the game in Ukraine, and those rules were violated a year ago. Judge yourselves—if earlier people could discuss those or other problems, they could convince one another of the validity of those or other ideas, could express their positions during elections, a year ago the aggressive nationalistic minority broke the mechanism of changing the government and brought their masters into power. The disorganized peaceful majority began to come out in protest, there were spontaneous uprisings in Kharkov, Nikolayev, Donetsk, Mariupol. Tens of thousands of people participated in protest actions in Odessa, Lugansk, and other cities. We need to emphasize that wherever those protests were peaceful they were drowned in blood or burned with fire.

What did people lose? It depends on the individual. Some lost their work, others their health, or their relatives, or…their life. Maidan’s result is counted in thousands of broken lives. The insane inflation had consumed both salaries and pensions. Inept economic policy destroyed hundreds of enterprises.

It’s no secret to anyone that the shock force of the Maidan were the right nationalist organizations, whose leaders obtained several key positions in the state and enormous financing. Naturally, all of the actions of the government were undertaken with an eye to the nationalists, who were willing to create a new Maidan at any moment. Human rights violations have become the norm in Ukraine. Every day there are arrests and beatings of dissenters.

The opposition forces which even recently could operate legally are now practically in the underground. Any protests driven by the catastrophic conditions in the industry are labeled as aid to the “occupiers.” Workers who have not been paid in months have also been deprived of their right to protest. The Labor Code is simply not adhered to at most enterprises.

Ukraine currently has a regime in which the big property owners and oligarchs can do anything they want to: not pay salaries, not pay benefits, fire people in violation of procedures, ban protests, suppress discontent. And to suppress it, and to reapportion property, they use the ultra-right militants. Nazi greetings, such as “Glory to Ukraine—Glory to Heroes!”, “Glory to the Nations—Death to Enemies!”, “Ukraine above everything!” are now deeply embedded in young minds. Thousands of people shout them out without thinking. This is what Ukrainian fascism looks like.

The year was spent to the sound of bombardment of civilian areas, the screams of people killed in the Labor Union building in Odessa, the cries of the mothers. May everyone who unleashed this war be damned! All who could not wait for the elections and led people to the Maidan. Everyone who gave orders to bomb peaceful cities and villages.

Glory and honor to all defenders of the Donbass, all participants in the anti-fascist underground, all progressive forces who fight against Ukrainian fascism!

Victory will be ours!

 

http://fortruss.blogspot.com/2015/02/this-is-what-ukrainian-fascism-looks.html

ANNOUNCEMENT: Russian news site to pay expenses of foreign journalists, bloggers, to visit Donbass

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Posted by the Saker, February 18, 2015

by Charles Bausman

I’m writing to let people know of an interesting opportunity.

A private Russian citizens’ initiative whose goal is to provide information about the Ukraine war not covered in the western media, is organizing a press tour to the Donbass and Moscow in the second half of March. The invitation is open to all journalists and bloggers, mainstream and alternative.

They are offering to cover all expenses in Russia, i.e. – accomodation in Moscow, transport to and from Donbass, and accomodation in Donbass. Participants would have to pay for their own transport to Moscow.

I am acquainted with the company organizing the tour, Europa Objectiv, and their CEO Andrei Stepanenko, and can confirm that they are a legitimate group and reliable people. They publish a German language news site providing news and analysis about what is going on in the Ukraine. www.europaobjektiv.com. Andrei asked me to share this information with our readership. Here is the announcement on their site in German.

They stress that they are a completely private initiative not funded by the Russian government, and from what I know about them, I believe this to be accurate, however, I should add the disclaimer that I cannot, obviously, confirm this absolutely.

There are a lot of these citizen initiatives in Russia, often organized by Russians frustrated with government policies they see as too hesitant, and many of them really are what they say they are. In the end analysis, I don’t think this is a critical issue. Participants should be aware that this group has a point of view they are trying to share, and factor that in to their reporting.

I think its a good opportunity for journalists with limited budgets, both alternative and mainstream, to have a chance to go to these regions and try to get to the truth.

I’m actually curious to see what the response will be, and curious to see what the ratio of mainstream to alternative journalists will be. Mainstream publications are also hampered by seriously slashed budgets. Lets see how many of them show an interest in this opportunity.

For those of you who sign up, the few of us from Russia Insider who are in Moscow would be delighted to meet you. We’ll also try to send someone on the tour.

Charles Bausman, Editor, Russia Insider

Full text of a letter from Europa Objectiv describing the tour follows below:

=====================================

«Europa objektiv» (europaobjektiv.com), being a non-government and non-commercial media project, offers the opportunity for journalists and bloggers to take part in the press tour in Donbas (Ukraine) and in Moscow (Russia).

The 5-day program assumes:

Stage 1 – Moscow (2 days)

– On the first day you will be able to meet with prominent Russian political scientists, experts on Ukraine, politicians, and hear their opinions on Ukraine crisis.

– On the second day you will be able to see the exclusive video footages, photo and audio recordings captured by Russian journalists since the beginning of the Ukraine crisis, which have never been broadcasted by the western mass media. Furthermore we’ll organize the meeting with the authors of these materials. You can freely use them to create your own materials.

Stage 2 – Donbas – (2 days, by request)

– we plan to meet with representatives of Donbas militia troops

– you will be able to talk to local citizens

– authorities of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic take over security issues and the possibility of maximum freedom of movement in Donetsk. As well as in Moscow “Europa Objektiv” will make video and audio recordings, these footages you can also use to create your own materials.

The aim of the press tour:

– to provide exclusive video and photo materials for alternative mass media in Europe

– to enable journalists to witness the truth about the events taking place in Donbas, to communicate with the victims of the war in the East Ukraine, to make your own decision about the reasons of the war in the contemporary Europe, to show the world community the facts, that are hidden by the mass media controlled by the current U.S. administration: the bloody revolution on the Maidan in Kiev, glorification and rebirth of the fascism in Ukraine, the reasons of the rebellion of the civil population in the East Ukraine.

In addition the opportunity to make your own journalistic materials, you will be able to take a part in the shooting of the collective documentary film (optional)

that is going to be spread among US and European mass media offices and on the Internet. The documentary will consist of 1.5-2 minutes reportages, that will be filmed by the participants of the press tour.

Costs:

– Europa Objektiv provides accommodation in Moscow and in Donbas, and transport to and from Donbas. Participants will travel to Donbas by flying to Rostov (Russia), and then traveling by bus to Donetsk.

– All transport charges to Moscow to be paid by participants of the press tour.

Time constraints: approximately 16-22 or 23-29 of March. The dates could be discussed. Your desires will be taken into account.

Concerning participation in the press tour info@ukraine-crisis.org or sozial@ukraine-crisis.org.

 

http://vineyardsaker.blogspot.com/2015/02/announcement-russian-news-site-to-pay.html

Leading Ukrainian Nazi will visit Washington next week seeking weapons

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From Fort Russ
By Eric Zuesse, February 17, 2015

Andrey [Andriy] Parubiy, a co-founder of the Social Nationalist Party of Ukraine, which the CIA renamed the “Freedom” Party (“Svoboda”) in order to hide its origin as Ukraine’s nazi party, announced on Sunday February 15th, that he’ll be seeking weapons from the U.S. He had started (but the CIA named) Ukraine’s ‘Anti Terrorist Operation,’ which has been trying to exterminate the residents in Ukraine’s Donbass region, Ukraine’s separatist region. Parubiy’s announcement said, “Next week I’m off to the United States to speak about this very subject,” of getting Washington to supply the weapons necessary to finish that job. 
The reason for his visit is: Ukraine is running out of bullets, guns, and other necessary equipment to achieve his goal. It’s a goal he had only begun as the organizer of Ukraine’s ‘Anti Terrorist Operation.’ The ‘ATO’ had commenced soon after the February 2014 coup in Ukraine, and has not been proceeding nearly as quickly as had been planned; it’s way behind schedule. 
According to German intelligence sources, no more than 50,000 people have been killed so far in the operation, though more than a million have fled, which also counts as success because the goal is to clear the land there. As a retired Ukrainian general who supports the operation said, “The shelling there is done as intimidation, … not just object destruction, but [also as] intimidation [to get the population to flee to nearby Russia]. The civilian population is intimidated by a chaotic bombardment.” That constant bombardment requires lots of bombs and bullets, which is why Parubiy now needs a big resupply.
Crimea’s Chief Prosecutor, Natalya Poklonskaya, who lived in Kiev and was a criminal prosecutor in Ukraine’s national government until the coup, but who quit because she didn’t want to serve in what she called a “nazi” government which was being established from the coup, says that Parubiy “was the leader of the armed part of Maidan” —  he was the key organizer of the masked snipers who dressed as government forces and shot both the police and the Maidan demonstrators during the coup and so brought down the sitting President of Ukraine. If what she says about his role is correct, then Paribuy was crucial in the success of the 22 February 2014 overthrow of democratically elected Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and was also crucial to the fulfillment of the appointment that occurred four days later of Yanukovych’s replacement as Ukraine’s leader, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, whom Victorial Nuland of the U.S. State Department had already selected, on 4 February 2014, to become Ukraine’s new leader. 
So, Parubiy was crucial in America’s successful take-over of Ukraine, and he will now be coming to Washington to request from Congress and the U.S. President the military support needed to finish the job that he and they had started, by completing the extermination of the residents in the Donbass region, which is the region whose residents had voted 90% for Yanukovych (it’s dark purple on that map) and have refused to accept the legitimacy of the Obama-coup Government. If those voters aren’t successfully eliminated, then any future Presidential election in Ukraine that would represent all of the land-area of the pre-coup Ukraine would need to include those anti-coup voters, and so would probably end U.S. control over Ukraine.
Parubiy in his announcement warned of the aggressive intentions of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin: “If he feels that he can go further, there is no doubt that there will be an attempt to break through and make a Crimea land corridor, he’ll attempt to get at least to the borders of Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts. And so, in order to have the guarantee that this will not happen, the most important thing is to strengthen our armed forces, and seek that the United States give us the modern weapons we need.”
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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.
http://www.fortruss.blogspot.com/2015/02/leading-ukrainian-nazi-will-visit.html

Ukraine: How can this happen? Here is how.

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By Eric Zuesse
Posted on Global Research, February 17, 2015
—————————————————————–
How can this happen?

http://fortruss.blogspot.com/2015/02/ukrainian-soldiers-break-into-house.html

Here is how:

http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/ukraines-land-agency-give-land-to-soldiers-in-the-east-for-free-352100.html

Screen Shot 2015-02-15 at 6.48.31 PM

So: Ukraine’s troops are permitted to steal whatever they want from the residents in Donbass, the rebelling region. The particular victim here lives in an apartment, and so all that Ukraine’s troops can take from him are his belongings.

He’s lucky they didn’t shoot him (if they didn’t).

The cover story in the 4 August 2014 issue of TIME was: “In Russia, Crime Without Punishment: Vladimir Putin backs the rebels …”

Screen Shot 2015-02-15 at 6.56.26 PM

Would a more-honest news-report have been titled, “In America, Crime Without Punishment: Barack Obama institutes ethnic cleansing in southeast Ukraine”?

Or, perhaps: “Crime Without Punishment: TIME magazine lies about Russia and Ukraine”?

Either way: How can such things as this happen?

Well, both things did — the ethnic cleansing did and does, and the cover-up of it and of its source did and does.

And that’s the biggest uncovered news-story of our time: both the ongoing crime, and its ongoing cover-up.

The present news-report is being distributed to virtually all U.S. ‘news’ media for publication, so that readers of all which do publish it (which can be determined by a google-search of this news-report’s headline) can come to know, from all that do not (show there), which ‘news’ media (other than TIME) are co-conspirators with Obama, in deceiving the American public into hiding reality so as to encourage further movement toward a nuclear war between the U.S. and Russia — a nuclear war in which America (and definitely not Russia) was the instigator. (Even the founder of the “private CIA” firm Stratfor acknowledges that the February 2014 overthrow of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovuch, which started this, was “the most blatant coup in history” — and it was run from the U.S. White House. It precipitated, as a purely defensive measure by Russia, Russia’s accepting Crimea’s bid to rejoin Russia: Crimea had been since 1783 the base for Russia’s crucial Black Sea fleet, which Obama wanted to kick out of there.)

Any news-media that issue this news-report are honest, because the news-report itself is (and none of them is being charged anything to publish it; so, expense is not involved here). Any that don’t issue it, each reader can judge — and nobody has to wait for a nuclear war in order to do so; the ‘news’ media can be judged right now, because this coup occurred a year ago, and yet still it has not been reported in the U.S. as having been a coup (this overthrow was supposedly instead a result of ‘the democratic Maidan demonstrations’ that were actually used merely as a cover for it).

Furthermore, the present reporter offers to all other journalists the full text of the only thorough investigation that was ever done regarding the overthrow of Viktor Yanukovych, a rigorous scientific analysis of all of the existing evidence. It concludes exactly as did the European Union’s investigator when he first reported on 26 February 2014 that it had been a coup, which had been perpetrated by “someone” allied with the EU (presumably by the U.S. White House); it shocked Catherine Ashton, the EU’s foreign-affairs chief, when she learned it from him. This lengthy subsequent independent investigation into the matter is by far the most thorough examination that exists of the event, and it is titled, “The ‘Snipers’ Massacre’ on the Maidan in Ukraine.” Its author is University of Ottawa political scientist, Dr. Ivan Katchanovski. Any ‘news’ medium that decides not to publish the present news report about this American international atrocity, and that also does not at least request from me (or from Dr. Katchanovski) that full investigative report by Katchanovski about how this ethnic cleansing started, is clearly not interested in reporting the truth, regarding what is actually the most important international-affairs news-story of the past year, since the February 2014 coup, at least — the only matter that could very possibly end up producing World War III. (Obama wanted a proxy war against Russia to soften them up for the real thing; and the result is all of this bloodshed in Ukraine during and since that coup a year ago.) So: nobody can say that the reason it’s not being reported is that it’s not important news (now become history) to report. It was, and (unfortunately) still is.

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.

Slavyansk surgeon talks about another May 2nd massacre in Semenovka

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From Fort Russ

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Mikhail Kovalenko, Slavyansk surgent

February 13, 2015
Andre Omelchenko for Newsbalt.ru
Translated by Kristina Rus

“The Ukrainian government has done everything to kill me personally”

“NewsBalt” interviewed Ukrainian doctor Mikhail Kovalenko, who was saving Novorossia civillians, militias and national guardsmen.

In two days, at midnight on the 15th of February, according to the Minsk agreements, bloodshed must end in Novorossia, bitter symbol of which for many is this photo from Slavyansk.

Information and analytical portal “NewsBalt” managed to find the man depicted in the picture, carrying in his hands the murdered girl, and talk to him. A doctor by profession, Mikhail Kovalenko now lives in Russia, but we will not mention the region, because the banderites are looking for a hero-surgeon.

– Mikhail Georgievich, this is a well-known photograph. The Ukrainian media said that it is the daughter’s father running away from the separatists, and that this girl was killed by the punishers. Is it you in the picture?

– Yes, it’s me. Where the picture came from, I don’t know. And the mines that killed this girl came from Karachun mountain. There was a Ukrainian battery, which regularly shelled the city. That’s where the fire came from.

– What are the events depicted in this picture?

– This happened on Trinity. We just returned with my wife from the church. At this time, city water system already did not function. In the single-house districts there were wells and all the neighbors went there to fetch water. The militia brought a generator (there was no electricity by then). Two explosions happened. They hit the spot where people got water. A militiaman ran from around the corner, carrying a child. Someone shouted: “There’s a doctor!” The fighter gave the girl to me. From my home to the hospital – 500 meters. I ran over there. Put her on the operating table, and realized that the child was dead. The girl had hip, abdomen, and head injuries. Then, when I was looking at this picture, I realized that the child was already dead. Then, in a rush, I didn’t see it.

– Who fired?

– Karachun mountain dominates over the city. Only mountain in our area. On it was a Ukrainian battery, which was constantly shelling the city. They fired from there. And the evidence clearly showed where the shells came from. Militia never fired on Slavyansk, I can vouch for that.

– Many Ukrainians supporting ATO [anti-terrorist operation], believe that the militias fired on themselves.

– A person can be convinced of many things. I myself had to convince the terminally ill that they will recover. They believed.

– Recovered?

– No. They were dying. But believed.

– Mikhail Georgievich, what are your impressions, memories from the beginning of the war?

– Until that Trinity I still had the feeling that it will be okay. They fired on the outskirts, but there were not many victims. The horror began on May 2nd. It is on May 2nd, when a column of the military, which took Karachun, fired on the village of Semenovka – small, by Donetsk standards, settlement, roughly two hundred yards.

Local residents blocked the road for the column, so that it would not get to Karachun. Locals made an agreement with the unit commander, that the soldiers will empty the ammunition into the air, and then report to his superiors: “fired everything and had to return”. And the regular UAF division shot a few rounds into the air, and then just started shooting at the people. This day was my shift at the hospital.

It was the first real slaughter. We got 16 people with gunshot wounds. Us, doctors, were not used to such injuries, especially in such quantities. Three received a bullet in the abdomen. One – in the chest. We lost him. The rest were wounded in the legs. That day we lost four. The rest survived. After this massacre some of the inhabitants fled to the city [Slavyansk]. Some stayed. There was a certain balance between the militia and Ukrainian troops. The militia took the position under the mountain. UAF dug in on the mountain.

At the initial stage there were 4 attacks on Slavyansk. There were many casualties among the civilian population. There were wounded among the militia. Even national guardsmen were brought to us. We took care of them. There was a lot of artillery shelling of residential areas. My house was bombed.

It is very scary when you hear the sounds of explosions, while operating on the wounded, and near the hospital there are such explosions that the building is shaking. The military somehow prepares for it. They know how to hide, how to behave in general. We don’t know that. Thirty meters from the hospital,  my senior operating nurse was killed. One house was bombed from aircraft. I am now settled not far from an airport. And only six months later stopped shivering when I hear the sound of a plane.

– Was there a lot of work?

– For some time I never left the hospital. Surgeons were constantly needed, because there was a non-stop flow of victims. We didn’t divide people into ours and theirs. We operated on all. Sometimes a militiaman and a national guardsman laid on beds next to each other.

– Mikhail Georgievich, how did you decide to move to Russia?

– June 17, when the militia left, I also left. After three or four days. First to Kharkov, then to Russia. We learned about the withdrawal of the militia exactly on the day when they left. The militias stopped by and said, “Doctor, we are leaving the city right now. Whoever wants to, can go with us now. Get in the car.”

We burned all the medical records. In Slavyansk militia almost all were local residents. Slavyansk by Donetsk standards is a small town – 120 thousand. Imagine what would happen to their families if UAF learned about their gunshot wounds? After militia left, the town was quiet all night. Some absolute, resounding silence. No people, no Ukrainian soldiers. Somewhere, about twelve o’clock, the first Ukrainian soldiers appeared in the city. People, of course, were hiding. I sat in the hospital and watched as two BTRs passed, then returned. Left for the night. The next day they again came back for the day,  left for the night. Only on the third or fourth day they began staying in the city. They made a caret [inverted “V”] with BTRs and slept inside.

– Why did you decide to leave?

– It’s personal. Personally I had been shot at. From cannons, small arms. Perhaps I can say that the Ukrainian government has done everything to kill me. They they didn’t kill me because I’m clever. Not because they didn’t try – they tried very well – but because I was lucky, I was able to avoid it. And to live in a country where the government personally shot at me, I just can’t.

– Did they believe they were in a hostile territory? Were they afraid?

– Yes. They are still afraid. A friend told me. After 18-19 o’clock there is no one in the city. No one goes out on the street. They patrol the city. My friend was out late, but was walking home before curfew. And then, ten meters from him, a machine gun round hit the asphalt. Without any warning. He jumped to the side: “What are you doing?”. And they said, “Turn and walk around”. I.e. when a civilian approaches them, they are afraid.

– What have you heard about extra-judicial executions in Slavyansk?

– People were disappearing. One of my friends disappeared. He was not in the militia. Just a small businessman. The majority of small entrepreneurs funded the militia. And in August his wife called, in tears, told me that her husband is missing for three days, and cannot be found. So only among my friends, there are two such facts.

– Mikhail Georgievich, did Strelkov raise everyone, or did the people rise up themselves?

– Strelkov appeared in a city ready to revolt. Therefore, “strelkovtsi” are almost all locals. It was a real popular uprising. At first people had shotguns, hunting rifles, a few German “schmeissers”, PPSh [Soviet submachine gun] …. Why people took up arms? There were mass rallies. And after the mass rallies people began to disappear. Plus everyone saw the footage from Korsun-Shevchenko. How they burned buses, beat and killed people. Until then I was skeptical about Maidan, with humor, as the last one, which was in 2004. Until the real slaughter began. Suddenly, like a devil out of a box popped the “Right Sector”, “Trident”, etc. We never heard about such organizations before. That’s when I got really scared. For the first time.

Video about “Korsun Massacre”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loKajkXoTBU

– The reason for resistance, was probably, not that you were forced to listen to news in the Ukrainian language?

– For many years we have heard from Kiev that in Donbass live not people, but “donbasiane,” that with these “donbasiane” they can speak only with a language of force, that Lvov – is a cultural capital. Despite the fact that they, excuse me, have a theater built by the Austrians and no theater company. And Donetsk academic theater staged “The Flying Dutchman” and this play was a world sensation. Only this was not mentioned anywhere in the Ukrainian press. This despite the fact that all of Europe was impressed with this “Flying Dutchman”. All this also played a role. We realized that no one will listen to us. As they said, “The government of winners came to power in Ukraine”. Not of the whole country, but “of the winners”.

Everything that I have observed in Ukraine, is fully described in Feuchtwanger, Remark. I felt like one, then another character in these novels. Only, for example, in the “Black Obelisk”, the characters live in a situation where the junta has already lost.

– You dealt with the Nazis face-to-face, even though wounded. Maybe after they saw the results of their “defense of Fatherland”, learned about the dead children, civilians, when there was no Ukrainian TV channels nearby, they changed their mind?

– I don’t recall that it has changed. And you know, I think it’s not the TV. I think its some psychotropic drugs. Those national guardsmen, whom I saw, looked like people under the influence of some other drugs. Perhaps from a fenamin group. This, apparently, was some kind of military pharmacology. It caused a decrease in the level of fear, pain threshold, increased muscle tone and responsiveness.

Had a chance to operate one of the fighters of national guard, who had a mortal wound. He behaved very inadequately. Was in a state of excitement. Aggressive. Didn’t feel pain at all. Got up, sat down. The expression on his face – indescribable. Glassy eyes, absolutely uncritical perception… Maybe this is just an opinion, maybe I’m wrong.

I think that the violence occurs in the process. Some submit to it, some don’t. Let’s take Khatyn. As it turns out, the Ukrainians did it. In the USSR this topic was a taboo. But it is now known that Khatyn – is a Ukrainian “achievement”. Same here. These are the same people with the same behavior.

– Why so few people at the initial stage went in the militia?

– They weren’t needed. My friend came to the assembly point. With his military papers, staff officer. He was asked: “Do you have children?”. He said – two. Didn’t take him. They took young, single, and retired.

– Have you heard about the hospitals, on the territories occupied by the junta, are full of raped women and even minor girls?

– I heard about it. But haven’t seen myself. And I believe it, because I saw these nazguardians.

– Mikhail Georgievich, is it possible to say that the Ukrainian government is carrying out a genocide of the population of Donbass?

– How would you describe it: a peaceful city, with militia made up of the residents of the city, is simply bombed by the government? Instead of talking with the residents, to send negotiators? Why was it not done? Why did they begin the shelling of the city?

And phosphorous bombs? I saw these burns. We had six people with these burns. I had seen it all and I am ready to testify under oath.

Did Poroshenko send any negotiators? At least to ask: “what do you want?”. People just wanted to feel like people. No one wanted to talk to us. And the war began.

– Would you like for the same shooting, the same war to begin in Central and Western Ukraine? That they feel the same, as your countrymen? That they realize that killing civilians is bad?

– Absolutely not! What is happening now in Ukraine – this is fascism. Understand correctly. Donbass is a place where people were not divided along ethnic lines. Where Russian, Ukrainian, Tatar, Armenian, Jewish and Uzbek drank cognac at one table. We ate and conversed about religion. Amazing scene.

– And how is the transition to civilian life?

– Friends in Russia helped with the move. And when we got here, it turned out that one of the hospitals of the city needs a surgeon and a therapist. And they took me and my wife. Slowly entering into a peaceful routine. Personally, I have only for a couple of weeks stopped shaking at night from the sounds of wedding fireworks. I want to wish everyone peace and a calm life.

Read other articles on the topic of “Effects of European integration of Ukraine” (Russian)

Vladimir Putin’s remarks following adoption of declaration on Ukraine, February 12

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“Kiev authorities still refuse to have direct contacts with representatives of the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics. Even though they have not been recognised, we have to proceed from the realities of life and if everyone wishes to achieve an agreement on establishing long-term relations, direct contacts are essential.”

From The Kremlin, February 12, 2015

Vladimir Putin, Angela Merkel, Francois Hollande and Petro Poroshenko took part in the talks on a settlement to the situation in Ukraine. At the final stage, they were joined by Heidi Tagliavini, OSCE Special Representative to the Trilateral Contact Group on the Ukrainian Settlement.

Participants from the Russian side included Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy Karasin, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, and Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office and Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov.

Following the Normandy format talks, the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany adopted a declaration in support of the Measures to Implement the Minsk Agreements adopted on February 12 by the Contact Group on the Ukrainian Settlement.

Vladimir Putin also made a statement for the press.

* * *

PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Good morning,

This was not the best night of my life, but the morning, I believe, is good. This is because, despite the difficult negotiations, we finally managed to agree on the key issues.

Incidentally, you might wonder why the negotiations took so long. In my opinion, this was because unfortunately the Kiev authorities still refuse to have direct contacts with representatives of the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics. Even though they have not been recognised, we have to proceed from the realities of life and if everyone wishes to achieve an agreement on establishing long-term relations, direct contacts are essential.

We operated under the existing conditions and, in my view, have managed to agree on many things. The first is that we agreed on a ceasefire to begin at midnight on February 15. The second item that I find extremely important is the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the current line of confrontation for Ukrainian troops and from the line established on September 19, 2014 in Minsk for the Donbass self-defence forces.

Then comes a set of matters dealing with a long-term political settlement. This includes several items, the first being a constitutional reform that should take into consideration the lawful interests of the people residing on the territory of Donbass.

This is followed by matters dealing with a solution to border issues upon agreement with the Donbass militia, humanitarian issues, and the implementation of the earlier adopted law on the special status of the Donetsk and Lugansk territories.

Finally, there is a set of economic and humanitarian items.

We proceed from the notion that all the parties will show restraint until the complete ceasefire. The problem here was that representatives of the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics claimed that in response to the aggressive actions of the Kiev authorities they not only held back the Kiev forces but also managed to mount an offensive and surrounded a group of 6,000 to 8,000 servicemen. They, of course, proceed from the idea that this group will lay down arms and stop its resistance.

We nevertheless call on both sides to show restraint and in order to avoid unnecessary excessive bloodshed and casualties they should do everything possible to ensure that the separation of forces, mainly the heavy equipment, is conducted without unnecessary bloodshed.

Representatives of the Ukrainian authorities believe their troops have not been surrounded and therefore think this process will go sufficiently smoothly. I had some initial doubts that I can share with you. If the troops really had been surrounded, then, logically, they will try to break free, while those who are on the outside will try to arrange for a corridor for their trapped servicemen.

Eventually, we agreed with President Poroshenko that we will instruct our experts – I am ready to do so – to establish what is actually going on there. In addition, I will repeat, we will try to develop a set of measures to verify the implementation of our decisions by both sides.

I would like to call on both conflicting parties once again to stop the bloodshed as soon as possible and proceed to a truly political process of a long-term settlement.

Thank you for your attention.

<…>

(Answering a question from a Russian journalist.)

One document has just been signed by the Minsk Contact Group, it is called Measures to Implement the Minsk Agreements.

The other document does not require signing: it is a statement by the President of France, the President of Ukraine, yours truly and the Federal Chancellor of Germany to the effect that we support the process.

Thank you.

 

http://eng.kremlin.ru/transcripts/23594