Ukraine: Russo-Ukr War (June-December 2015)

[OUTLAW 09]

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry urges #Russia to stop escalation of situation in Donbas http://mfa.gov.ua/en/press-center/comments/3981-statement-of-the-ministry-of-foreign-affairs-of-ukraine-on-significantaggravation-of-the-situation-in-donbas …

EU condemns escalation of violence near #Mariupol #Ukraine
http://www.euractiv.com/sections/europes-east/eu-condemns-escalation-violence-near-mariupol-316880 … pic.twitter.com/SRlbz47UnI

Maryinka: 5-month-old baby was wounded - shrapnel abdominal wound @donetsk62ua http://goo.gl/rBsBzj

Russia has started military drills on the occupied territories of #Georgia & Crimea

Rusa-backed militants fired reactive artillery on Starohnativka, anti-tank missiles on Luhanske, from BMP on Krymske https://www.facebook.com/ato.news/posts/1050515324959273 …

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: #Putin warns Crimean Tatars not to seek special status http://uatoday.tv/politics/radio-free-europe-radio-liberty-putin-warns-crimean-tatars-not-to-seek-special-status-476980.html … pic.twitter.com/5CAKuFi7Ic

Appears Russia does not quite like the Tartars claiming special status in their own homeland.

[OUTLAW 09]

There is a true war and invasion by Russian in the Ukraine--maybe the US NSC, Obama, Hollande and Merkel AS well as anyone else--SHOULD read the following to fully understand the depth of this war in Central Europe in the 21st century THAT was to be the century of "peace" in Europe.

http://dailysignal.com/2015/08/18/the-death-of-daniel-kasyanenko/

What the Death of a 19-Year-Old Ukrainian Soldier Teaches Us About War

Nolan Peterson / @nolanwpeterson / August 18, 2015 /
 
MARIUPOL, Ukraine—A mortar killed Daniel Kasyanenko on a battlefield in eastern Ukraine. He was 19 years old.

He died on Aug. 6, almost six months after the Feb. 12 cease-fire. He was one of 18 Ukrainian soldiers to die in a 10-day stretch from Aug. 1 to Aug. 10; 98 Ukrainian soldiers were wounded in combat during the same period.

Daniel Kasyanenko’s death reflects a truth: The notion that there is, or ever was, a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine is a farce.

I met Daniel in mid June, seven weeks before he died. We were in Pisky, a frontline city on the outskirts of Donetsk. I was there as an embedded journalist, and Daniel was there as a soldier fighting in the Ukrainian army’s 93rd Brigade. He had been on the front lines for two months.

A group of us, about a half-dozen soldiers and two other journalists, were standing inside a cluster of farmhouses on a sunny day with blue skies as the sounds of battle cut through intermittently. We all ducked at the sporadic Doppler zaps and supersonic pops of bullets passing overhead.

Zip, zap, pop, phew.

It almost sounded like birds chirping. Almost. So long as one forgot that each chirp was the lethal song of a trigger pulled with the intent to kill.

I was speaking English to another Ukrainian soldier, wiping away beads of sweat from my forehead (whether due to the heat or the nearby bullets, I’m unsure), when a young man with a buzz cut, tan face and narrow dark eyes looked over at me with an expression instantly recognizable as a desire to talk. He introduced himself in near flawless English and said his name was Daniel. He had a story he wanted to tell, I could see that. I asked if I could film him, and he agreed.

We talked for a while, dropping to the ground when the deadly chirping got a little too close for comfort.

Zip, zap, pop, phew.

“It is the DNR army shooting at us,” Daniel said, looking to the sky in the direction of fire. “The separatist Russian army.”

“So, this is … this is Pisky,” he added after another barrage of bullets, smiling and laughing like he was delivering the punch line of a joke.

Daniel Kasyanenko’s death reflects a truth: The notion that there is, or ever was, a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine is a farce.

Daniel’s fellow soldiers gave him the nom de guerre “Mobile Phone” because he was always taking photos with his cell phone. While I was in Pisky he ruined that phone, shattering the screen when he dove to the ground during an artillery barrage. He was going to ask a friend from back home to send him a new one, he said, explaining that his hometown friends had sent him his uniforms, body armor and first aid kit. The rest of his equipment came from civilian volunteers. He said the government only gave him weapons and ammunition.

Daniel told me how much he wanted to go home to Zaporizhia. He also talked about how hard it was to kill, and how it was even harder to see his friends die. He explained, revealing an understanding of human nature remarkable for a 19-year-old, that he did not hate his enemies. He said many were probably fighting for their friends like he was.

As a journalist, whose job it is to remain impartial in war, it was a challenge maintaining moral relativism toward those trying to kill me. Yet Daniel, a 19-year-old combatant, seemed to understand with an ease that eluded me the universality of duty. He didn’t take combat personally.

Continued......

“They don’t know what is war,” he told me, talking about his friends back in Zaporizhia.

“They sit there,” he continued, “but here, they don’t want to go here. When I was going here, I said to my friends, ‘Come with me, we will fight for our home, for our land.’ They said, ‘You know, I’m studying, I have leg broke … ’ I was thinking, ‘OK, good-bye. I go.’”

He had only been on the front for two months, but he had seen combat almost every day since he arrived in Pisky. Like many Ukrainian soldiers who volunteered after the war began in spring 2014 (Daniel was part of the Karpatska Sich volunteer battalion, which was recently integrated into the 93rd Brigade), he only received a few weeks of training before leaving for the front. Most of his training occurred in combat. He would shadow the older, more experienced soldiers, learning lessons they had themselves learned the hard way. And when he saw others die, he would learn from their mistakes.

One soldier described the battlefield education of Ukrainian troops in Pisky as “natural selection.”

Continued.......

Daniel said he was in the trenches when the separatists shot at his position with a machine gun, creating a hailstorm of bullet fragments and shattered pieces of concrete from the barrier behind which he was hiding. One of those tiny pieces of shrapnel struck the right lens of his sunglasses, gouging out the divot. Without the special ballistic lens he would have lost his eye. But now he needed a new pair, he explained, adding that he couldn’t afford the expense and the Ukrainian army doesn’t supply things like eye protection. Civilian volunteers had given him the pair he had. So he planned on waiting for the next volunteer equipment delivery.

“Maybe I’ll get lucky,” he said.

Daniel was superstitious like many of the soldiers on the front lines. He had frequent brushes with death; seconds and inches determined his fate on a daily basis. And there was ultimately no explanation for his survival that made more sense than the crucifix bracelet on his wrist, or the letter from an elementary school student that he kept tucked in the front pocket of his body armor.

Daniel was committed to the war, but admitted he was tired. He was worried about the psychological toll of the endless combat and wondered if he had seen too many terrible things to ever be a normal young man again. He feared that, at 19, his spirit was already ruined for life.

“I want to go home, just for a bit,” he said. “Just for a week.”

Do you get tired of the battles?

“Physically, no. Morale, I’m tired. Very tired.”

In the evenings, Daniel would come by the basement in which we lived to share a meal and talk. He had a lot of questions about life in America.

“What is Thanksgiving?” he asked. “What are the beaches like in Miami? Are the women in Los Angeles pretty? Do they really wear cowboy hats in Texas?”

His dream, he told me, was to go to America. That was why he studied English so diligently. He liked American rock and rap music, and he knew the Hollywood action movies by heart, frequently dropping quotes by Schwarzenegger, Willis and Stallone.

“Get to the chopper,” he would say in a German accent before going on patrol, quoting a Schwarzenegger line from the movie “Predator.” Ironic, since wounded Ukrainian troops are carted off the battlefield in the backs of bullet-hole riddled minivans and SUVs, not medevac helicopters.

The Ukrainian air force was banned from the conflict area according to the first cease-fire signed Sept. 5, 2014. For the past 11 months Ukrainian troops have fought from the trenches in eastern Ukraine without air support or the possibility of helicopter evacuations. Consequently, wounded Ukrainian soldiers almost never reach an emergency room within the “golden hour” of combat casualty care.

“You have no second chance here,” Daniel told me. “If you get injured, it’s just you and your medical kit. And nobody will help you, only you.”

Daniel truly knew about war, unlike the action-movie actors he could quote. And he knew it wasn’t like in the movies. Daniel, more than many soldiers twice his age, recognized the things he would have to carry with him for the rest of his life because of what he had seen and done.

“I want to get out of these battles,” he said. “I want to forget it. But I can’t.”

Daniel was supposed to stop by and say goodbye the day I left Pisky, but he never showed up. He later emailed me and apologized. The day before I left a mortar fell inside the trench he was in. The shrapnel missed him, he explained, but the concussion knocked him unconscious, leaving him with what he described as a “head contusion.” I suspected he had likely suffered a concussion or maybe even a traumatic brain injury. But after a few weeks in a hospital to recover and a couple days at home, he was back at the front.

“I’m OK, but sometimes it’s not so good,” he emailed me before he left home for the last time.

“I need to take a day off to Florida as fast as I can,” he added.

In “Into Thin Air,” his account of the 1996 disaster on Mt. Everest, Jon Krakauer wrote:

… I agree that readers are often poorly served when an author writes as an act of catharsis, as I have done here. But I hoped something would be gained by spilling my soul in the calamity’s immediate aftermath, in the roil and torment of the moment.

Thus, my writing about Daniel is not meant to cure any sadness over his death, although it helps a little, nor is it a humanist ploy to give the war a face in the hope of making you care about it.

No, explaining who Daniel was, why he fought and how he died is meant to be a warning, because Daniel’s story could have been an American soldier’s story.

And if our leaders continue to downplay what is at stake in the Ukraine war—it will be.



 

[OUTLAW 09]

Will continue to post this evening when I am on a customer site--OR sooner if the T-Systems guys clear/clean up the issue.

Either way the war in the Ukraine is not going to go away anytime soon.

NOTICED this morning in all the European press virtually nothing--actually absolutely no reporting out of the heavy fighting in the Ukraine AND not a single comment by any Western leader especially Obama, Hollande and or Merkel---total silence--just how strange is that????

Never would have thought that the so called values of "rule of law, good governance and transparency" would fold so easily under the pressure of an aggressor nation.

If this is the reaction of elected Western leaders no wonder we complain that civil societies in the so called democratic western countries really no longer care about whether democracy works or does not work.

[OUTLAW 09]

Back up and posting--still fighting the battle of the "little green men" on a main telco backbone router---but after almost a doctorial thesis in internet network resolutions we are almost there.

Must compliment T-Systems--they are promising shortly before midnight up and normal.

[OUTLAW 09]

THINK Obama, his NSC and Nuland should rethink their badly thought through unilateral appeasement moves they forced on the Ukraine over the pull back as a "sign of good faith" from Shyrokyne as demanded by Putin.


I remember #Lavrov yesterday told us how the militia moved back 3km from #Shyrokyne in a 'gesture of goodwill'

This statement by the Russian Foreign Minister is an outright blatant lie on his part as the Russia mercenaries themsleves confirmed only pulling back 1.4kms and have been attacking the UAF ever since their so called pull back.

Remember what Obama himself stated in 2014--"we will judge Putin on his actions not his words"--appears the President has forgotten what he stated These days.

[OUTLAW 09]

Russia to redeploy T-80 tanks under the guise of having been seized from Ukrainian Army http://24today.net/open/503241 pic.twitter.com/6ONRZKEWwO

Russian infowar strategy now - "boy who cried wolf". When no attention to "Minsk is dead"=> attack seriously

Five Russians involved in international terrorism detained in Kyiv. PHOTOS http://24today.net/open/503455 pic.twitter.com/dOeADmJy76


AND we are off to the shelling races this evening --only the fifth week in a row--AND with not a single comment by Obama, Hollande and Merkel----


Horlivka @thunderbolt1488 "Long time since I saw so many orcs in the city. arrived from positions. Many are drunk as a skunk..."

18:21 #Donetsk @UkraineSuper1 4th outgoing from Scheglovka by now

19:15 #Luhansk Mirniy block @esorrrose very loud pat

19:40 #Donetsk @AlfaNubovsky a BTR rushed along Mira Ave towards the center

Krasnohorivka @hyeva_maryinka [vk]
19:00 They were shooting in Stalino road direction
19:30 quiet

Maryinka hyeva_maryinka [vk]
19:00 assault rifles and booms in boarding school direction
19:10 AGL joined at Novomaryinka
19:40 quiet

19:33 #Donetsk @hyeva_maryinka [vk] As if scheduled, at 19:08-19:18 there was rumble on Abakumova, several landings in pond&dachas Areas

19:07 #Donetsk @PVB40 [fb] 2tanks, 2BMP w/covered cannon went out fr/TV center to Kirova& went tow/#mariupol interchange escorted by a jeep

[OUTLAW 09]

Russia to redeploy T-80 tanks under the guise of having been seized from Ukrainian Army http://24today.net/open/503241 pic.twitter.com/6ONRZKEWwO

Russian infowar strategy now - "boy who cried wolf". When no attention to "Minsk is dead"=> attack seriously

Five Russians involved in international terrorism detained in Kyiv. PHOTOS http://24today.net/open/503455 pic.twitter.com/dOeADmJy76


AND we are off to the shelling races this evening --only the fifth week in a row--AND with not a single comment by Obama, Hollande and Merkel----


Horlivka @thunderbolt1488 "Long time since I saw so many orcs in the city. arrived from positions. Many are drunk as a skunk..."

18:21 #Donetsk @UkraineSuper1 4th outgoing from Scheglovka by now

19:15 #Luhansk Mirniy block @esorrrose very loud pat

19:40 #Donetsk @AlfaNubovsky a BTR rushed along Mira Ave towards the center

Krasnohorivka @hyeva_maryinka [vk]
19:00 They were shooting in Stalino road direction
19:30 quiet

Maryinka hyeva_maryinka [vk]
19:00 assault rifles and booms in boarding school direction
19:10 AGL joined at Novomaryinka
19:40 quiet

19:33 #Donetsk @hyeva_maryinka [vk] As if scheduled, at 19:08-19:18 there was rumble on Abakumova, several landings in pond&dachas Areas

19:07 #Donetsk @PVB40 [fb] 2tanks, 2BMP w/covered cannon went out fr/TV center to Kirova& went tow/#mariupol interchange escorted by a jeep

Shakhtarsk @masliuta In #Velyka_Shyshivka today smth new at the range near quarry was heard. Not SPG/tanks/Grads. What have they aquired?

20:58 #Donetsk @Donetsk_Ukraine The center has heard3 volleys by 3 shots at once

20:56 #Donetsk @donetskye Party started. 2 salvos from Smolyanka? I hear such ones at first

20:57 #Donetsk @BylByleva It seems the are shooting down a UAV in Leninsky ds

20:57 #Donetsk @AkaDON12 And here come first rumbles

New area of the front is now being hit----

Bryanka @elonline40 The 2nd recent night in a row militants make noise in #Verhulivka-#Komisarivka direction. Quiet in Bryanka.

20:50 #Luhansk @chernyvaya "today about 5pm from the center direction towards Hayoviy block 3 trucks w/troops drove"

20:45 #Maryinka @hyeva_maryinka a bit of shooting heard from Novomaryinka direction

20:41 #Donetsk @jackson_villi "suspiciously quiet"

20:06 #Donetsk @funkermanjke [artillery volleys started about 10 min ago], salvo each 8-10 sec

#Bezymenne today: grass on Bezymenne spit was on fire @huyovyvuyko @GirkinGirkin pic.twitter.com/lisMuAB0U7

Militants staged provocation 4 "journos": mortared Ukr troops outside Zaitseve,"returned fire" on parts they control https://www.facebook.com/ato.news/posts/1050683898275749 …

20:05 #Maryinka @hyeva_maryinka [vk] We can hear landings somewhere within town limits again

Russia|n tanks in the Kirov District of #Donetsk, today about 11:00 pic.twitter.com/EjItgFSYJL

[OUTLAW 09]

Some humor is needed this evening-------

After the dive Putin said he'd gone as deep as he could but still couldn't see how far Russia's economy has sank

pic.twitter.com/kHRIOfQdE6

[OUTLAW 09]

Wonder what Obama and his entire 700 Person NSC will say about this????

Russian MOD TV: Residents of Alaska wants to re-unite with Russians pic.twitter.com/7RjivSQcBE

[OUTLAW 09]

Footage
Russian invaders with (in Debaltseve) captured KrAZ-5233.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDzTbunwduI …
pic.twitter.com/2GFITT19n7

Russian ground attack is currently in progress------

21:30 #Luhansk @ukrainebang It sounds like UKR are beating up RUS on the hill w/price Ihor near #Stanytsia_Luhanska [=not close combat]

#Luhansk 21:30
At Stanytsia Luhanska serious skirmish, mines flying on both sides, volleys, explosions, large calib https://twitter.com/vzglyd2/status/633708161527099393 …

Artillery battle near #Stanytsia_Luhanska, both sides firing at each other

21:30 #Luhansk @vzglyd2 Serious scramble in #Stanytsia_Luhanska direction, bombs at both sides, many rounds and blasts, heavy machine guns.

21:50 #Stanytsia_Luhanska @100007182042214 Hard [shelling]

Donetsk 21:37
Shchetinina ds - heard a series of volleys away, from the south side https://twitter.com/DoneckiiPatriot/status/633709562319781888 …

21:45 #Makiivka @VasyaMakeevskiy Single distant rumbles [are heard] sometimes in #Donetsk direction

Krasnyi_Partizan 16-17.08.2015 shelling aftermath. https://twitter.com/VasyaMakeevskiy/status/633707349182685184 …

21:46 #Horlivka @DobryShubin Quiet 2 days in a row. Are you nervous about?
@dimetros7776 #OSCE 2 days in #Dzerzhynsk,maybe that's the reason

Donetsk 21:57
Proletarsky ds - Heard distant single volleys. https://twitter.com/DoneckiiPatriot/status/633715553455218688 …

#Horlivka @DobryShubin Here too [=#OSCE in #Horlivka] https://twitter.com/loogunda/status/633716946849153025 …

Donetsk 22:03
Orcs shooting from the railway station, like a tank, singles. Flies away, landings not heard. https://twitter.com/PVB40/status/633715880464093184 …

22:02
SPG firing from the #Aleksandrivka farm. https://twitter.com/Shrik_E/status/633715560845570050 …

MORE Russian ground combat operations tonight--this time with not their usual heavy arty fire support preceeding the attack-- change of previous TTP

#Maryinka
Battle ongoing in road police post and hospital area, machine guns, mortars, AGS, SPG can be heard https://twitter.com/hyeva_maryinka/status/633715307283116032 …

22:02 #Dokuchaevsk @Shrik_E They are shelling from behind the farm in Oleksandrinka
@goky4_ykpauHa Affirm, 3-4SPGs
22:08 @Shrik_E drove away

22:12 #Dokuchaevsk @shuttle1907 "Putin's fascists started shelling 47.789873 37.696248"

[OUTLAW 09]

VIDEO Ukranian position under Russian tank fire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE1AR3i2k6c …

Krasnohorivka, 152mm projectile crater @East_lg pic.twitter.com/h6PkpD9nUv

Clearing way for a fire base? Russians to evacuate 2,000 residents of Kuibyshevskyi urban district, Donetsk city, Ukraine (via @zvezdanews)

Intelligence Detected Terrorists’ Tanks Disguised With Ukrainian Insigniahttp://www.unian.info/war/1112253-intelligence-detected-terrorists-tanks-disguised-with-ukrainian-insignia.html … pic.twitter.com/ChJN3HRWwo

[OUTLAW 09]

About 500 #Russian soldiers arrived to #Lugansk city center today. In the photo they register as local militia. pic.twitter.com/YqzAbiG0Je

[OUTLAW 09]

Footage
Russian invaders with (in Debaltseve) captured KrAZ-5233.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDzTbunwduI …
pic.twitter.com/2GFITT19n7

Russian ground attack is currently in progress------

21:30 #Luhansk @ukrainebang It sounds like UKR are beating up RUS on the hill w/price Ihor near #Stanytsia_Luhanska [=not close combat]

#Luhansk 21:30
At Stanytsia Luhanska serious skirmish, mines flying on both sides, volleys, explosions, large calib https://twitter.com/vzglyd2/status/633708161527099393 …

Artillery battle near #Stanytsia_Luhanska, both sides firing at each other

21:30 #Luhansk @vzglyd2 Serious scramble in #Stanytsia_Luhanska direction, bombs at both sides, many rounds and blasts, heavy machine guns.

21:50 #Stanytsia_Luhanska @100007182042214 Hard [shelling]

Donetsk 21:37
Shchetinina ds - heard a series of volleys away, from the south side https://twitter.com/DoneckiiPatriot/status/633709562319781888 …

21:45 #Makiivka @VasyaMakeevskiy Single distant rumbles [are heard] sometimes in #Donetsk direction

Krasnyi_Partizan 16-17.08.2015 shelling aftermath. https://twitter.com/VasyaMakeevskiy/status/633707349182685184 …

21:46 #Horlivka @DobryShubin Quiet 2 days in a row. Are you nervous about?
@dimetros7776 #OSCE 2 days in #Dzerzhynsk,maybe that's the reason

Donetsk 21:57
Proletarsky ds - Heard distant single volleys. https://twitter.com/DoneckiiPatriot/status/633715553455218688 …

#Horlivka @DobryShubin Here too [=#OSCE in #Horlivka] https://twitter.com/loogunda/status/633716946849153025 …

Donetsk 22:03
Orcs shooting from the railway station, like a tank, singles. Flies away, landings not heard. https://twitter.com/PVB40/status/633715880464093184 …

22:02
SPG firing from the #Aleksandrivka farm. https://twitter.com/Shrik_E/status/633715560845570050 …

MORE Russian ground combat operations tonight--this time with not their usual heavy arty fire support preceeding the attack-- change of previous TTP

#Maryinka
Battle ongoing in road police post and hospital area, machine guns, mortars, AGS, SPG can be heard https://twitter.com/hyeva_maryinka/status/633715307283116032 …

22:02 #Dokuchaevsk @Shrik_E They are shelling from behind the farm in Oleksandrinka
@goky4_ykpauHa Affirm, 3-4SPGs
22:08 @Shrik_E drove away

22:12 #Dokuchaevsk @shuttle1907 "Putin's fascists started shelling 47.789873 37.696248"

Russian shellings and ground attacks are picking up the pace now----


22:08
"In #Maryinka hell" https://twitter.com/PVB40/status/633717491374682112 …

Reports of heavy fighting in #Mariinka

Krasnohorivka 22:06
Small arms shooting all night, heavy not yet heard. https://twitter.com/arthurnkua/status/633716629831028736 …

22:18 #Yenakiive @ZloyEnakievec Evening's becoming not that languorous - distant dull salvos reach us fr/W/NW - #Yasynuvata-#Skotovata

22:30 #Komsomolske @Ukr_Che Artillery work is heard, unclear whether shots ot blasts, loud, vibration

22:28 #Makiivka Gvardeyka @Shymanovski We are starting over to listen [=rumble again]

Russian attack troops on the move tonight---
movement of columns, from Starobesheve to Styla, more escalation for putin troops...
quick map pic.twitter.com/pXHgazriU8

22:30 #Komsomolske @Ukr_Che Artillery work is heard, unclear whether shots ot blasts, loud, vibration

22:28 #Makiivka Gvardeyka @Shymanovski We are starting over to listen [=rumble again]

Donetsk, 10:11 pm 7 howitzers towed via Petrovskogo st in Mariinka direction... https://twitter.com/kozerog_62/status/633721257557655552 …

22:30
Russian armor convoy on the way towards #Styla!!! https://twitter.com/GirkinGirkin/status/633723051193069570 …

22:42 Battle towards #Stanytsia_Luhanska still ongoing. https://twitter.com/vzglyd2/status/633725994726227968 …

22:43 #Donetsk Proletarsky ds @DoneckiiPatriot shooting

22:42 #Luhansk @vzglyd2 Battle in #Stanytsia_Luhanska scarcely ceases, pauses 2-3min and flares up again, less shooting, [more] blasts

[OUTLAW 09]

Russia desparately looking for a reason to officially launch their already unoffically launched general offense----from TASS today


Ukraine concentrates heavy artillery and aircraft in Donbas — DPR’s Defense Ministry

August 18, 19:15 UTC+3

The intelligence service has also confirmed the location of the Tochka-U tactical missiles, DPR’s Defense Ministry spokesperson said



MOSCOW, August 18 /TASS/. The intelligence service of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) has discovered more than 500 combat vehicles and Grad multiple rocket launcher systems near the disengagement line with Ukraine, according to the DPR’s Defense Ministry.

The intelligence service has also confirmed the location of the Tochka-U tactical missiles, the ministry’s spokesperson, Eduard Basurin, told journalists on Tuesday.

"Two armoured personnel carriers; one Grad multiple rocket launcher system and two off-roaders with submachine guns on top have been re-deployed in the direction of Dokuchayevsk," the Donetsk news agency quoted Basurin as saying.

"The DPR intelligence has also noticed how a column comprising six Grad multiple rocket launcher systems; two radar systems (used for detection of air, off-shore and ground targets) as well as 18 trucks with ammunition and personnel was leaving the Selidovo populated locality in southeastern direction," Basurin said.

He added that a column comprising 18 armoured personnel carriers, six of which were armed with anti-tank guided missiles, were moving out of Mariupol towards the Lebedinskoye populated locality.

"The intelligence confirmed reports about the location of two Tochka-U tactical missile systems in the town of Chasov Yar (the Artyomovsky district)," Basurin said.

Under the Minsk agreements, artillery guns with a caliber of more than 100 mm should be pulled out to a distance of 50 kilometers from the contact line; MRLS to 70 kilometers; the MRLS "Uragan" and "Smerch" as well as the Tochka-U missiles to 140 kilometers from the disengagement line.

The sides are supposed to pull out their weapons to equal distances: Kiev from the current line of contact and the DPR and LPR from a line fixed in the Minsk memorandum of September 19. Nevertheless, the Ukrainian army continues shelling populated localities in the DPR, including the use of heavy artillery and multiple rocket launcher systems.

So if the UAF fired this many shells JUST HOW many did the Russians and her mercenaries fire in the last five days--estimates are close to 150-200 tons per day.

Ukrainian forces fire more than 7,000 shells and mines at DPR territory — DPR

[OUTLAW 09]

Russians are still attempting to get the French and Germans to apply more unilateral appeasement pressure on the Ukraine to change their constitutuion to the Putin proposed Bosiaian solution.
Will be interesting to see if the US also pressures them as well--

Munich 1938 here we come---one would think the Europeans had learned from 1938.


MFA Russia ✔ @mfa_russia
Possibility of experts' Normandy Four format consultations on constitutional reform in #Ukraine is being discussed - http://goo.gl/rDYl3x

[OUTLAW 09]

Shelling and ground attacks all along the eastern front line tonight--will catch up with the reports in the morning when the total attack numbers finally come in.

[Azor]

Outlaw09 - you deserve thanks for continuing to document and publicize Russia's war in the Ukraine, which has largely faded from the MSM since Debaltseve. The Ukrainians have not yet matched the Russians in disseminating information to the Anglopshere, so every person working tirelessly to note each lie and provocation is crucial.

Cheers

[OUTLAW 09]

Outlaw09 - you deserve thanks for continuing to document and publicize Russia's war in the Ukraine, which has largely faded from the MSM since Debaltseve. The Ukrainians have not yet matched the Russians in disseminating information to the Anglopshere, so every person working tirelessly to note each lie and provocation is crucial.

Cheers

Many thanks--why do I do it--I see the same Russian moves being made that the Soviets made during the Cold War, I see the new NATO and EU members of the former Warsaw Pact as a testament that peace truly arrived in Europe in the 21st century and a solid a addition to the NATO old boys club of the Cold War days that in some aspects bring new ideas and thoughts to a somewhat dying organization before the Ukraine, I do it for a Ukraine that as a civil society stepped up and fought for their own future at great and still ongoing costs that in many ways replicated what the US did on 1776 and for a Ukraine that has great economic potential if it can catch the reform curve and kill their systemic corruption.

AND I do it for a civil society in Russia that truly needs a government and political leadership that takes them into the 21st century which they richly desire as they have suffered way to long at the hands of a Soviet style systemic corruption when an economy provides the central government 5T USDs over 15 years--what a true tragedy--- that they are going backwards when the rest of Europe is moving forward.

I do it as I reside and work 10 car hours from the fighting and fully understand Putin's geo political goals which if he succeeds impacts me then directly.

I also do it because it provides me insight into the Russian non linear warfare in ways the class room cannot teach.

[OUTLAW 09]

I big sorry---the ISP network hack problem turned out to involve myself a long year Cisco CCIE, my entire team as private citizens who assisted a major telco--DT in resolving something I had not seen since 1994.

It pointed out something that I had seen when I was mentioning over 41 BCTs and having spent time in Iraq supporting a BCT and five long years at the NTC.

There is a term --"grey beards" used with respect when referring to older well experienced former military mentors and advisors. The US army mindset and ie culture ignored us in Iraq and at the NTC and now years after Iraq and AFG it turns out the "grey beards" were totally correct.

Well in the IT world we have them as well and the IT world whether in the US or Germany tends also to ignore the "grey beards" failing to realize some of us have been dealing with IT since 1988 with DOS 5/floppies and then the march through all the MS products with now Windows 10 as well as the march through the development of networking from it's infant days and the Internet.

In that march we met the virus problems, the DoS/DDoS problems to now cyberwarfare and cybercrime via hacking.

Well when DT finally admitted they were out of ideas we showed them something that I had noticed that reflected a old virus called Monkey only updated as a hack to 2015 standards.

Two days and 11 individuals later the problem was finally fixed --now I am in the process of building a wall around my home office equal to what we built for DT.

But am back up and running is the short version.

Lesson learned--regardless of age--experience counts and it should be respected even if the SME is three times the average age of the network engineer these days.

There was a GDR Stasi saying that summed up the last three days that fits the IT cyber warfare/crime world as well--"there is a invisible war on the invisible front".

Cyber warfare/crime is real, it is serious and it is not going to go away any time soon and it impacts all users of the internet equally.

[OUTLAW 09]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/19/us-ukraine-crisis-russia-lavrov-idUSKCN0QO1GO20150819

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during a news conference after a meeting with Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in Moscow, Russia, August 17, 2015.

Reuters/Maxim Zmeyev


Russia wants the leaders of Germany and France to put more pressure on Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to implement a February peace plan for east Ukraine, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.

Poroshenko will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande in Berlin on Monday in a bid to end a new wave of violence in east Ukraine between Russian-backed rebels and Ukraine's armed forces.

Kiev blames the rebels for violating a shaky truce. The West says Moscow has been driving the rebellion there since April, 2014, feeding it with serving Russian troops, arms, intelligence and funds. Moscow denies that.

"It is necessary in our view to mount additional pressure on Kiev to convince them that they have to implement the agreements and obligations agreed in Minsk," Lavrov said in referring to the peace deal brokered by Germany and France.

He was speaking during a visit to Crimea, a Black Sea peninsula annexed by Moscow from Kiev in March 2014, before unrest spread to east Ukraine.

"We expect that on Aug. 24 .... Germany and France, who are the guarantors of the implementation of the Minsk agreement, will do everything to ensure it is carried out in full," Lavrov said.

Moscow says Kiev has failed to deliver on multiple provisions of the peace plan, signed in Minsk in February, and that the Ukrainian authorities must hold direct talks with representatives of the self-proclaimed rebel "republics" of Donetsk and Luhansk, which are backed by Russia.

The Ukrainian authorities have been unwilling to do that, negotiating with the rebels via a former Ukrainian president.


Russia wants Germany, France to pressure Kiev on peace plan

[OUTLAW 09]

If we look at the Minsk 2 agreement one will notice a two part concept built around the principle of shutting off the fighting and then moving towards the political questions that the Russian mercenaries have raised for a total of 11 points.

It breaks out roughly 5 for stopping the fighting and 4 political with 2 being both areas to a degree.

This was so designed by largely the French and Germans who basically wanted to stop the fighting and if the fighting could stop then the EU sanctions against Russia could be reviewed and potentially stopped as everyone would state see Russia is trying to resolve the problem and the EU could get back tobusiness as normal.

The whole construct that was developed by the French and Germans was strange from the beginning—1) the so called Normandy Four was originally the US, France, Germany, the Ukraine and Russia based on the first meeting held in Normandy France—the even stranger the US pulled back and until now no one has asked Obama and his NSC just why they pulled back.

THEN if we look at the actual Maidan Agreement worked out in early 2014 it was pushed by Germany, France and Poland with just an observer of Human Rights from Russia who refused to sign the agreement in the name of Russia—NOW Poland has been pushed out of the Minsk process and many point a finger at Merkel and the German FM Steinmeier. WHY --some say the Germans do not and did not like the hard stance towards Russia the Polish side takes.

From the beginning Minsk 1 and 2 were simply designed to stop the fighting and many in Europe stated it would fail as it has no real basis to exist outside of stopping the fighting.

The core failure was never from the side of the EU and the US stating openly that Russia was a factual participant in the support of an d in the fighting itself in eastern Ukraine---thus giving Russia practically a veto right over all negotiations while being at the same time a very active combat participant—that combination will and has never worked historically in Europe.

NOW we are at the point that the Ukraine has to a large part attempted to implement a large number of the points in Minsk 2---they largely pulled back their heavy weapons into holding areas and largely verified by the OSCE vs the total noncompliance by Russian troops and her mercenaries, the Ukraine fully exchanged all the POWs they held at that point vs the Russian side starting to exchange but with conditions and then finally just stopped all POW exchanges and never did released those Ukrainian POWs held inside Russia as stipulated in Minsk.

Did this create a true ceasefire –no—the Russian troops and her mercenaries were sill firing and shelling –just less—recently the so called defense minister of the DNR openly stated a ceasefire is when there are 30 attacks a day. From the Ukrainian side they largely withheld return fire when provoked EVEN though Obama and Biden publicly stated they had the right to “self defense” and when returning such fire they were not in violation of Minsk 2.

Since Minsk 2 in Feb 2015—there never was a ceasefire to speak of—then three months ago the Russian shifted tactics and largely supported but the French and Germans started the mantra—well if the fighting cannot stop then let’s implement the political points ie self governance with a special status within the Ukrainian constitution for the mercenary occupied zone which actually was the Russian hidden concept of the Bosnian model where their mercenaries would have the total ability to veto any Ukrainian law and or agreement with NATO and or the EU.

At some point Obama and his NSC decided this was the way forward as well—some point to the fact that he is building his legacy for history and needs Putin’s help in resolving Syria, getting an Iran deal and combatting IS. All valid points but somehow Obama and his NSC overlooked Russian actions I nthose areas--Russia—a has driven a dual lane policy ie stating they are supporting but at the same time selling and delivering weapons to Assad that has continued to allow him to fight and they blocked all UNSC decisions on Syria to include humanitarian assistance for the millions of IDPs, refugees and to stop the utter destruction via the Assad airstrikes.

Reference Iran the Russians desperately want to conclude large arms deals with Iran and to do long term oil contracts via their state owned oil/gas companies.

Reference the IS—many fingers point to Russian actively allowing Islamists to leave Russia to fight for the IS following the mantra better them than us and now when they come back Russia discovers they had a serious internal Islamist problem and scream for joint help from the West.

Obama needing his legacy to be completed decided a month ago to apply unilateral appeasement move pressure on the Ukraine on the questions of the special status and other points inside the Minsk 2 agreement—the direct result is now that Rusia is virtually trying to reframe the entire Minsk 2 agreement ie coupling the call for amnesty to the POW exchanges, demanding elections held under the mercenaries and not tied to the Minsk 2 construct and they still are adhering to their Bosnian model of what they call “federation”.

At the last Normandy Four meeting Putin actually demanded that the Ukrainian side “show a sign of good faith” and pull back which then the US, French and Germany pressured the Ukraine to do which they did and at the same time they pressured the Ukraine to concede to a 30km DMZ in the same area which they did—the Russian troops and her mercenaries pulled back exactly 1.4kms the UAF 15kms.

Since that pull back the Russians have shelled and attacked the town and basically ignored their side of the “sign of good faith” resulting in a shelling tow days ago that destroyed 50 civilian houses killed three civilians and wounded 11.

NOT a single negative comment by Obama, Hollande, Merkel concerning this specific shelling attack.

Now the Russian FM stated that at the 24 Aug Normandy Four meeting again without the US present they want the question of special status discussed EVEN though the Ukrainian RADA has in fact passed a special zone law-WHICH does not fulfill the Putin idea of a Bosnian solution.

QUESTION is—will Obama, Hollande and Merkel continue their unilateral appeasement much in the Munich 1938 style or will they finally defend the Ukraine has having fulfilled much of Minsk 2 AND Putin not fulfilling a single point—simply put Russia is in total noncompliance But will they call out Putin in that fact???

Interestingly the Russian FM just released a propaganda White Book on the noncompliance by the Ukraine on fulfilling Minsk 2 BUT at the same time does not state exactly what they and their mercenaries have done to fulfill Minsk 2—typical Russian Orwellian doublespeak.

[OUTLAW 09]

SOUTH-EASTERN UKRAINE BECAME THE FIRST BATTLEFIELD TO TEST RUSSIAN T-90A
http://defence-blog.com/?p=7434 pic.twitter.com/HGq5CKw1tq

Someone hoisted #Ukraine flag in #Donetsk Aug19. Heroes. http://donpress.com/news/19-08-2015-doneck-eto-ukraina-v-centre-goroda-povesili-ukrainskiy-flag … pic.twitter.com/LnsuY8cs2Q

While there has been a drop in shelling attacks—any attack number between 50-55 is stil active full combat operations along the eastern front

Russian proxies attack ATO forces 67 times
http://www.unian.info/war/1113564-russian-proxies-attack-ato-forces-67-times.html … pic.twitter.com/Xm3HBhhl0p

The Russian 8th Motorized Rifle Brigade as Part of the “People’s Militia” of LNR: https://en.informnapalm.org/the-russian-8th-motorized-rifle-brigade-as-part-of-the-people-s-militia-of-lnr/ … pic.twitter.com/sUTPVsaYPB

This guy still surprises me weekly—a former if not still FSB officer who is wanted for war crimes in the Kosovo events—led the actual takeover of the eastern Ukraine with his FSB team from Crimea—was then kicked out of the Ukraine by Russia and is constantly giving interviews that would normally have gotten an average Russia killed—instead he gets married and drives a new BMW.

Strelkov: We need to fight. Ukraine should be destroyed by troops of the Russian Federation pic.twitter.com/8oEhCiLKcl http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/20-august-strelkov-we-need-to-fight-ukraine-should-be-destroyed …

[OUTLAW 09]

Russian ammo delivered picked-up at "unused" #Donetsk railhead 47.995787, 37.868293 http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=47.995404&lon=37.868409&z=18&m=b&v=1 … pic.twitter.com/Lmf9HaCpTo

Reference the constant Russian “humanitarian aid convoys”—nothing but ammo, fuel and food deliveries for the Russian army/mercenaries not the civilians of the Donbas that Russia state are being starved by the Ukrainian blockade.

Humanitarian ammo" delivery/pickup #Donetsk May 2015 http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=47.995404&lon=37.868409&z=18&m=b&v=1 … Note:Before white ID on trucks pic.twitter.com/mJuazLD8cG

Another Russian Hybrid Army Build-Up Site Is Found in Donetsk: https://en.informnapalm.org/another-russian-hybrid-army-build-up-site-is-found-in-donetsk/ … pic.twitter.com/UPwM3mMgMj

People in #Russia fight over free apples. In the mean time, tons of apples continue to be destroyed to please #Putin. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN869bzD6Po …

'DPR' aggressively threatened OSCE monitors to be killed at #Bezimenne checkpoint. Thus had to return.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmO_mUGlRgs …
v @djmoskou

[OUTLAW 09]

Three more Russian troll farms found w Google Trends http://otakvot.livejournal.com/170541.html

Blogger uncovers evidence using Google Trends of several new pro-Kremlin ‘troll factories’

18:44, 19 August 2015 TheRunet.com


A LiveJournal blogger by the name of Otakvot has published evidence that he says demonstrates the locations of several "troll factories" throughout Russia: companies that pay people to blanket the blogosphere and news media with pro-Kremlin comments.

Otakvot says he was able to locate these centers using the service Google Trends, which reveals how often a particular search-term is entered relative to the total search-volume across various regions of the world, and in various languages. By studying searches for various "political" queries (such as the words "Maidan," "sanctions," "referendum," and so on), Otakvot found that, in addition to being common in major cities, these search terms were extremely popular in less populated areas like Olgino (once the home of Russia's most famous "troll factory," the Internet Research Agency), Perekatnyy, Yablonovsky, and Zelyony.

Far from the Ukrainian border and home to far fewer people than Russia's biggest cities, Otakvot argues that it's unlikely that such areas could naturally produce as much online interest in these search terms as the levels of traffic found in a metropolis like Moscow. In fact, activity for these political queries sometimes surpasses the number of searches recorded in Russia's capital, which is home to more than 12 million people. Yablonovsky, meanwhile, is home to just more than 30,000 people, and it is significantly more populated than any of the other three suspected "troll" bases.

Lviv's regional admin website hacked from the territory of #Crimea
http://goo.gl/dkjbqY
TT @HromadskeTV pic.twitter.com/ff3HF6UNwa

[OUTLAW 09]

4 Ukrainian troops killed, 14 injured in Russian attacks on Wednesday http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/20-august-4-ukrainian-troops-killed-14-injured-in-russian

ATO spox: A militiaman took the opportunity to start a new life having abandoned ranks of so-called “DPR” militants https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5Av3A_Vbl4 …

ATO spox: No UAVs were detected within the military operation area. 1 UAV was seen in the Kherson region flying from the occupied Crimea

Col. Motuzyanyk: The enemy regularly conducts chaotic fire from howitzers and MLRS Grad of Starohnativka pic.twitter.com/5n9cDTJ6D6

ATO spox: Mariupol sector: the most intense area of hostilities – frontline stretching from Novotroitske – Bohdanivka – Starohnativka

Col. Oleksandr Motuzyanyk: Skirmishes between UA troops and militants are ongoing near Opytne, Pisky, Krasnohorivka & Maryinka.

ATO spox: At the contact line from Avdiivka to Maryinka, there is a tendency of decrease in intensity of hostile shelling.

Col. Motuzyanyk: Yesterday, the enemy held one shelling of UA positions near Novobakhmutivka using MLRS Grad

ATO spox: Donetsk sector: Calm military situation remains near Sitlodarsk & Horlivka with only 3 short-term hostile armed provocations

Col. Oleksandr Motuzyanyk: Four cases of enemy shelling of Ukrainian positions near Troitske occurred yesterday.

ATO spox: UA servicemen incurred casualties near Orihove village and Popasna from hostile mine traps.

Col. Motuzyanyk: No enemy activity was recorded at the frontline stretching from Stary Aidar to Popasna.

ATO spox: 5 hostile armed provocations from the right bank of Siversky Donets River took place took place yesterday in the Luhansk sector

Col. Oleksandr Motuzyanyk: Luhansk sector: armed hostilities took place in the eastern and far western areas of the Luhansk region.

Ukrainian Side Provided OSCE Mission With Photo Confirming Shelling Of #Starohnativka By Militan… http://ukraineunderattack.org/en/30800-ukrainian-side-provided-osce-mission-with-photo-confirming-shelling-of-starohnativka-by-militants.html …

Militants shelled border guard unit in Stanytsia Luhanska area. Damage office building - Border guard service
http://dpsu.gov.ua/ua/about/news/news_8318.htm …

OSCE in Horlivka: Monitors call for more security amid upsure in fighting, residents disillusioned http://uatoday.tv/politics/osce-horlivka-478502.html …

[OUTLAW 09]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/19/us-ukraine-crisis-russia-lavrov-idUSKCN0QO1GO20150819

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during a news conference after a meeting with Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in Moscow, Russia, August 17, 2015.

Reuters/Maxim Zmeyev

Russia wants Germany, France to pressure Kiev on peace plan

US Embassy Brussels ✔ @usembbrussels
Russia talks of peace but refuses to impl its Minsk commitments that would make peace possible http://goo.gl/Gsq0iI pic.twitter.com/jG33qcq4iB

[OUTLAW 09]

Putin: External forces prepare destabilization of the situation in #Crimea pic.twitter.com/f8xYQsnjzP http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/19-august-vladimir-putin-external-forces-prepare-destabilization …

Normandy in World War II?
Nope.
#Mariupol, #Ukraine, 2015. pic.twitter.com/dEumexPWDl

Shouldn't surprise anyone that OSCE UAVs are constantly jammed with Russian equipment. (https://en.informnapalm.org/militant-from-vostok-battalion-posted-selfie-with-russian-automated-jamming-station/ …). pic.twitter.com/EewszRjryT

Some 30 military hardware units arrive in occupied Donbas from Russia over last two days – Parubiy
http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/284928.html …

Another thermobaric/incendiary RShG-1 in #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/GRoR9tl9HL

Russia|n MLRS grad hiding on the "demarcation line" in #Donbas
Article: @InformNapalm @OSCE
https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=https%3A%2F%2Finformnapalm.org%2F11699-rossyjskye-rszo-on-line&edit-text= … pic.twitter.com/6tVSfbY4gL

Russian Paratroopers Miss The Killings: https://en.informnapalm.org/russian-paratroopers-miss-the-killings/ … via @en_informnapalm pic.twitter.com/qQDNISwtQd

Russian Artillery Base in Krasnyi Luch: https://en.informnapalm.org/russian-artillery-base-in-krasnyi-luch/ … pic.twitter.com/YGEdgJ4ZNB

Self-Propelled Artillery of the 9th Brigade Fires Towards Mariupol: https://en.informnapalm.org/self-propelled-artillery-of-the-9th-brigade-fires-towards-mariupol/ … pic.twitter.com/YdRvzs2EfQ

[OUTLAW 09]

Light humor----

According to Standard & Poors the standard Russian is poor.

FSB agents starving at #RigaStratCom, had only two million rubles on them to buy lunch: 'We had to split a Snickers' pic.twitter.com/tXIPnpBwg8

Easy way to spot Russian intel at #RigaStratCom is to tell them how much a coffee costs in Rubles & wait for them to cry.

18 Russian ships will exercise with China. Not counting the tugs we send to tow the ones that break back home

[davidbfpo]

Outlaw 09,

This thread has been going for just over a month; it has 1777 posts mainly by you and has had 34.7k views.

The previous ten month long thread had 4772 posts and 181k views.

It is a sad reflection on the MSM, including the BBC, that to get news on this war this thread is where I start and yes, usually stop.

Thank you.

[OUTLAW 09]

There is an interesting question about the ongoing Russian shelliings and ground attacks—is it a general offensive, probing, recon with fire, recon in force, artillery fire strikes—ie just what the heck are the Russian troops and her mercenaries doing??

For now going on four weeks the Russian shellings which began just as shellings accompanied by an occasional Spetsnaz recon probe-- to last week's majors two pronged attack which was launched with one prong having 400 infantry supported by prepping arty fire strike, then tanks and APCs, and the second prong was over 200 infantry supported by tanks, APCs and preceded by heavy arty strikes as per Russian doctrine.

If one takes the Russian military doctrine of deep battle and envelopment to heart they were in fact launching a serious breakthrough attempt to capture a strategic town thus 1) openly broke Minsk 2 by crossing the demarcation line, 2) setting the stage for a swing towards the south towards Mariupol which came the following days under heavy arty strikes and infantry/Spetsnaz assault attempts as well.

Throughout what I call the fighting ceasefire implemented in Feb 2015 by Minsk 2 I have often asked myself just how is it that the UAF seems to be holding up well against the massive shellings and seems to be able to anticipate Russian attack points.

Example during two days of the heavist attacks—152 and 175 per day the UAF had only 4 WIAs, and during the ground assaults they only had small number KIAs and WIAs in relationship to the intense fighting and counter attack that followed the two Russia break through attempts.

I have taken the time to reread a US Army SAMS document from 1992 that sheds some light on the Russia deep fight doctrine and potentially answers just how the UAF is bale to resist the ever increasing number of shellings and ground attacks.

TACTICAL DEEP BATTLE: THE MISSING LINK
A Monograph
by
Major Charles K. Pickar
Field Artillery
1992

The answer is relatively simple—both sides were in fact trained on the same Russian deep battle doctrine and the UAF being in a defensive position has the home court advantage of knowing the terrain and they have adapted their rotation of front line units in such a way as to preserve that advantage meaning their units are rotated every four weeks to give them a rest from the shellings and then that same unit comes right back into the same positions thus preserving the TTPs gained from the previous rotation and the UAF is doing an extremely good RIP TOA in prepping the incoming unit as to changes in the Russian TTPs.

Secondly, the fighting abilities of the Russian mercenaries even with recent extensive training by active duty Russian trainers still has not produced a soldier capable of standing and fighting toe to toe with the UAF for a number of reasons but primarily the main reason being the UAF fights for his civil society and the Ukraine Russian troops and her mercenaries fight for money and have no ties to the Donbas worth dying for.

If one takes the time to read the SAM document the Russian doctrine actually states the ability to defeat their deep attack in a number of different ways and it appears the UAF has reread those ways—they have positioned their forward units in such a way to to present a viable defense in depth not revealing exactly where their rear support lays—and the Spetsnaz recon attempts have clearly failed via the ground recon to define that depth—thus the often massive Russian UAV surveillance flights trying to ascertain that depth—secondly and I think this is key the defense is so laid out that ithey immediately swarm to the prong attack and blunt it while still holding reserves in the rear—this last two prong attack was met head on and stalled by the forward blocking forces coupled with very selective artillery and mortar counter fires depriving the ground assault of their armored support that is built into the Russian attack doctrine.

Also in some way the UAF is practicing the US concept of mission command—since they are virtually in a constant jamming and EW environment the individual unit commander knows what their commanders intent is and then implement what they think they need to do to follow that intent with little to no comms or UAV support—if anything they have gotten good at the old time lost art of foot recon and in finding workarounds in a high EW environment and in penetrating enemy lines and defensive positions.

We are also seeing a return to the WW1 concept of trench warfare by the UAF to survive the constant heavy shellings—some of these positins are intertwined to provide supporting fires and reinforments if needed without creating holes in the defensive line. Actually the UAF is positioning smaller units forward to be the trip wire for attacks and this let’s the UAF unit commander then know where he has to rapidly reinforce o not reinforce depending on the Russian attack style.

If and when this fighting ends the US Army would be well advised to understand the UAF lessons learned in defeating the Russian doctrine of the “deep battle” as it is the current core Russian attack doctrine.

Another battle that has to be analyzed in detail was the encirclement of the UAF at Debaltseve of 2.5K troops by largely Russian active duty troops with mercenary reserves—even Putin boasted in Budapest of their defeat—while their withdrawal was ragged and sometime chaotic most of the units successfully pulled out and and took most of their heavy equipment as well---if one reads the SAM document Russia doctrine even foresees the ability of an encircled unit breaking out of a Russian envelopment.

It so surprised the Russians that one Ukrainian Sf team went back into the pocket to led out a UAF unit that had been surrounded and yet the UAF SF team had found a way in and out and the unit of 50 came out safely.

In a number of ways the UAF is holding it's own weapon wise with the Russians ie artillery, MLRSs and 100mm and below weapons--it is just they do not have counterbattery radars, night vision, secure comms, and drones in order to improve their defensive abilities.

[OUTLAW 09]

There is an interesting question about the ongoing Russian shelliings and ground attacks—is it a general offensive, probing, recon with fire, recon in force, artillery fire strikes—ie just what the heck are the Russian troops and her mercenaries doing??

For now going on four weeks the Russian shellings which began just as shellings accompanied by an occasional Spetsnaz recon probe-- to last week's majors two pronged attack which was launched with one prong having 400 infantry supported by prepping arty fire strike, then tanks and APCs, and the second prong was over 200 infantry supported by tanks, APCs and preceded by heavy arty strikes as per Russian doctrine.

If one takes the Russian military doctrine of deep battle and envelopment to heart they were in fact launching a serious breakthrough attempt to capture a strategic town thus 1) openly broke Minsk 2 by crossing the demarcation line, 2) setting the stage for a swing towards the south towards Mariupol which came the following days under heavy arty strikes and infantry/Spetsnaz assault attempts as well.

Throughout what I call the fighting ceasefire implemented in Feb 2015 by Minsk 2 I have often asked myself just how is it that the UAF seems to be holding up well against the massive shellings and seems to be able to anticipate Russian attack points.

Example during two days of the heavist attacks—152 and 175 per day the UAF had only 4 WIAs, and during the ground assaults they only had small number KIAs and WIAs in relationship to the intense fighting and counter attack that followed the two Russia break through attempts.

I have taken the time to reread a US Army SAMS document from 1992 that sheds some light on the Russia deep fight doctrine and potentially answers just how the UAF is bale to resist the ever increasing number of shellings and ground attacks.

TACTICAL DEEP BATTLE: THE MISSING LINK
A Monograph
by
Major Charles K. Pickar
Field Artillery
1992

The answer is relatively simple—both sides were in fact trained on the same Russian deep battle doctrine and the UAF being in a defensive position has the home court advantage of knowing the terrain and they have adapted their rotation of front line units in such a way as to preserve that advantage meaning their units are rotated every four weeks to give them a rest from the shellings and then that same unit comes right back into the same positions thus preserving the TTPs gained from the previous rotation and the UAF is doing an extremely good RIP TOA in prepping the incoming unit as to changes in the Russian TTPs.

Secondly, the fighting abilities of the Russian mercenaries even with recent extensive training by active duty Russian trainers still has not produced a soldier capable of standing and fighting toe to toe with the UAF for a number of reasons but primarily the main reason being the UAF fights for his civil society and the Ukraine Russian troops and her mercenaries fight for money and have no ties to the Donbas worth dying for.

If one takes the time to read the SAM document the Russian doctrine actually states the ability to defeat their deep attack in a number of different ways and it appears the UAF has reread those ways—they have positioned their forward units in such a way to to present a viable defense in depth not revealing exactly where their rear support lays—and the Spetsnaz recon attempts have clearly failed via the ground recon to define that depth—thus the often massive Russian UAV surveillance flights trying to ascertain that depth—secondly and I think this is key the defense is so laid out that ithey immediately swarm to the prong attack and blunt it while still holding reserves in the rear—this last two prong attack was met head on and stalled by the forward blocking forces coupled with very selective artillery and mortar counter fires depriving the ground assault of their armored support that is built into the Russian attack doctrine.

Also in some way the UAF is practicing the US concept of mission command—since they are virtually in a constant jamming and EW environment the individual unit commander knows what their commanders intent is and then implement what they think they need to do to follow that intent with little to no comms or UAV support—if anything they have gotten good at the old time lost art of foot recon and in finding workarounds in a high EW environment and in penetrating enemy lines and defensive positions.

We are also seeing a return to the WW1 concept of trench warfare by the UAF to survive the constant heavy shellings—some of these positins are intertwined to provide supporting fires and reinforments if needed without creating holes in the defensive line. Actually the UAF is positioning smaller units forward to be the trip wire for attacks and this let’s the UAF unit commander then know where he has to rapidly reinforce o not reinforce depending on the Russian attack style.

If and when this fighting ends the US Army would be well advised to understand the UAF lessons learned in defeating the Russian doctrine of the “deep battle” as it is the current core Russian attack doctrine.

Another battle that has to be analyzed in detail was the encirclement of the UAF at Debaltseve of 2.5K troops by largely Russian active duty troops with mercenary reserves—even Putin boasted in Budapest of their defeat—while their withdrawal was ragged and sometime chaotic most of the units successfully pulled out and and took most of their heavy equipment as well---if one reads the SAM document Russia doctrine even foresees the ability of an encircled unit breaking out of a Russian envelopment.

It so surprised the Russians that one Ukrainian Sf team went back into the pocket to led out a UAF unit that had been surrounded and yet the UAF SF team had found a way in and out and the unit of 50 came out safely.

In a number of ways the UAF is holding it's own weapon wise with the Russians ie artillery, MLRSs and 100mm and below weapons--it is just they do not have counterbattery radars, night vision, secure comms, and drones in order to improve their defensive abilities.

Ukrainian military is not so much outgunned as it is out-teched. The Pentagon is ready to even the odds. Obama is not.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Pentagon is ready to supply Ukraine with these weapons, but the White House is holding up the process – presumably to avoid angering the Russian government, which is supposed to be cooperating on other areas of geostrategic importance, like Iran and Syria.

[OUTLAW 09]

http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2015/08/19/ukraine-shifts-closer-to-open-war-with-recent-attacks/

Ukraine shifts closer to open war with recent attacks

By James Miller August 19, 2015

PHOTO:
An employee works on a turret as armored vehicles are repaired at the Kiev armored plant, Ukraine, Aug. 14, 2015. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko


Renewed fighting in Ukraine has claimed the lives of dozens of civilians and soldiers in the past two weeks alone. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin have both called emergency war councils since Aug. 4, as the ceasefire and diplomacy have further broken down. In its recent reports, the Ukrainian military has used the phrase “most shelling in six months” multiple times, and with increasing frequency.

On Aug. 10, Russian-backed fighters, whom Ukraine claims were led by Russian military units, launched a tank and artillery assault on the strategic town of Starognatovka, which lies between the capital of the Russian-backed separatists, Donetsk, and the key port city of Mariupol. The battle did not go the way the Russian-backed forces anticipated, however. The Ukrainian military units stationed in the area, which apparently included volunteer units, beat back the offensive within hours, and even counterattacked before returning to their positions. Though some facts are disputed, a few things are clear: The battle marked a significant escalation in fighting, both sides suffered higher casualties than they have in months and the bloodshed in eastern Ukraine has not ended.

On Aug. 3, the day before the Ukrainian president chaired an emergency war council, the Ukrainian military released a map that showed where the fighting was occurring across the front lines and expressed great concern that both civilian and military targets were under regular attack across the entire front line.

The focus of the newest wave of attacks launched by the Russian-backed fighters is on the western front, from Gorlovka in the north to Mariupol in the south. Nearly every night for more than a week, citizens of Donetsk posted video of outgoing Grad multiple-launch rocket fire. “Grad” is the Russian word for “hail,” and it could not be more appropriate, as these dumb-fire rockets fall indiscriminately on civilian and military targets alike.

The Ukrainian military has been firing back, and civilians have reportedly been harmed and killed on both sides of the demarcation line. But Ukrainian soldiers complain that the military response to the attacks is neither proportionate nor effective because they do not have the necessary equipment to respond properly. In particular, the Ukrainian government has lobbied the United States for sophisticated ground-scan radar, which would allow the military to monitor and target vehicles and artillery beyond its line of sight. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Pentagon is ready to supply Ukraine with these weapons, but the White House is holding up the process – presumably to avoid angering the Russian government, which is supposed to be cooperating on other areas of geostrategic importance, like Iran and Syria.

The Russian government has already supplied its proxies with similar weapons. In November, long after the Putin-negotiated Minsk ceasefire was supposed to take hold, both the 1RL232 “Leopard” and the 1RL239 “Lynx” ground-scan radar systems were photographed by journalist Stefan Huijboom and others traveling through Donetsk. There is no evidence that the separatists have ever captured a 1RL232 from the Ukrainian military, and the Ukrainian military has never possessed a 1RL239. The only plausible explanation for these weapons appearing in Ukraine is that they were supplied by the Russian military, which likely operates them since they are highly sophisticated war machines.

Furthermore, Ukraine does not possess sophisticated surveillance drones, yet it has shot down (and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has witnessed) many Russian military drones operating on the wrong side of the border since the start of the conflict. If that is not bad enough, the organization’s monitors in Ukraine have recently seen an R-330ZH “Zhitel” jamming system not far from the front lines. The system is capable of jamming GPS navigation and communication; it was used by the Russian military during its takeover of Crimea last year. Several OSCE drones have been jammed in the past months, and in one incident the aircraft crashed after the signal between the unmanned aerial vehicle and its controller was disrupted. The separatists actually told the OSCE that they have access to sophisticated equipment that can jam unmanned vehicles; in late June, soldiers from the Vostok Battalion, a group long thought to be Russian Special Forces, took selfies with an R-330ZH. Not only is Russia deeply involved in front-line operations in eastern Ukraine; it is hardly making any effort to hide it.

So, the Russian-backed fighters are firing hundreds of shells and rockets toward Ukraine each day, many of which are launched from civilian areas, and Ukraine is unable to respond adequately.

It is possible that Eastern Europe is closest to open war than it has been since the “Russian invasion” of Ukraine one year ago nearly to the day. If this seems like a headline that repeats itself every few months, that’s not an accident. The Russian military has steadily increased its direct intervention in eastern Ukraine since the Minsk protocols, signed in September and again in February, were supposed to freeze the conflict. As long as the fighting never reaches a dramatic threshold, Putin has been able to keep the conflict out of the headlines, and away from the attention of voters in Europe and the United States, who might otherwise pressure their governments to do something to stop it.

[OUTLAW 09]

If we look at the Minsk 2 agreement one will notice a two part concept built around the principle of shutting off the fighting and then moving towards the political questions that the Russian mercenaries have raised for a total of 11 points.

It breaks out roughly 5 for stopping the fighting and 4 political with 2 being both areas to a degree.

This was so designed by largely the French and Germans who basically wanted to stop the fighting and if the fighting could stop then the EU sanctions against Russia could be reviewed and potentially stopped as everyone would state see Russia is trying to resolve the problem and the EU could get back tobusiness as normal.

The whole construct that was developed by the French and Germans was strange from the beginning—1) the so called Normandy Four was originally the US, France, Germany, the Ukraine and Russia based on the first meeting held in Normandy France—the even stranger the US pulled back and until now no one has asked Obama and his NSC just why they pulled back.

THEN if we look at the actual Maidan Agreement worked out in early 2014 it was pushed by Germany, France and Poland with just an observer of Human Rights from Russia who refused to sign the agreement in the name of Russia—NOW Poland has been pushed out of the Minsk process and many point a finger at Merkel and the German FM Steinmeier. WHY --some say the Germans do not and did not like the hard stance towards Russia the Polish side takes.

From the beginning Minsk 1 and 2 were simply designed to stop the fighting and many in Europe stated it would fail as it has no real basis to exist outside of stopping the fighting.

The core failure was never from the side of the EU and the US stating openly that Russia was a factual participant in the support of an d in the fighting itself in eastern Ukraine---thus giving Russia practically a veto right over all negotiations while being at the same time a very active combat participant—that combination will and has never worked historically in Europe.

NOW we are at the point that the Ukraine has to a large part attempted to implement a large number of the points in Minsk 2---they largely pulled back their heavy weapons into holding areas and largely verified by the OSCE vs the total noncompliance by Russian troops and her mercenaries, the Ukraine fully exchanged all the POWs they held at that point vs the Russian side starting to exchange but with conditions and then finally just stopped all POW exchanges and never did released those Ukrainian POWs held inside Russia as stipulated in Minsk.

Did this create a true ceasefire –no—the Russian troops and her mercenaries were sill firing and shelling –just less—recently the so called defense minister of the DNR openly stated a ceasefire is when there are 30 attacks a day. From the Ukrainian side they largely withheld return fire when provoked EVEN though Obama and Biden publicly stated they had the right to “self defense” and when returning such fire they were not in violation of Minsk 2.

Since Minsk 2 in Feb 2015—there never was a ceasefire to speak of—then three months ago the Russian shifted tactics and largely supported but the French and Germans started the mantra—well if the fighting cannot stop then let’s implement the political points ie self governance with a special status within the Ukrainian constitution for the mercenary occupied zone which actually was the Russian hidden concept of the Bosnian model where their mercenaries would have the total ability to veto any Ukrainian law and or agreement with NATO and or the EU.

At some point Obama and his NSC decided this was the way forward as well—some point to the fact that he is building his legacy for history and needs Putin’s help in resolving Syria, getting an Iran deal and combatting IS. All valid points but somehow Obama and his NSC overlooked Russian actions I nthose areas--Russia—a has driven a dual lane policy ie stating they are supporting but at the same time selling and delivering weapons to Assad that has continued to allow him to fight and they blocked all UNSC decisions on Syria to include humanitarian assistance for the millions of IDPs, refugees and to stop the utter destruction via the Assad airstrikes.

Reference Iran the Russians desperately want to conclude large arms deals with Iran and to do long term oil contracts via their state owned oil/gas companies.

Reference the IS—many fingers point to Russian actively allowing Islamists to leave Russia to fight for the IS following the mantra better them than us and now when they come back Russia discovers they had a serious internal Islamist problem and scream for joint help from the West.

Obama needing his legacy to be completed decided a month ago to apply unilateral appeasement move pressure on the Ukraine on the questions of the special status and other points inside the Minsk 2 agreement—the direct result is now that Rusia is virtually trying to reframe the entire Minsk 2 agreement ie coupling the call for amnesty to the POW exchanges, demanding elections held under the mercenaries and not tied to the Minsk 2 construct and they still are adhering to their Bosnian model of what they call “federation”.

At the last Normandy Four meeting Putin actually demanded that the Ukrainian side “show a sign of good faith” and pull back which then the US, French and Germany pressured the Ukraine to do which they did and at the same time they pressured the Ukraine to concede to a 30km DMZ in the same area which they did—the Russian troops and her mercenaries pulled back exactly 1.4kms the UAF 15kms.

Since that pull back the Russians have shelled and attacked the town and basically ignored their side of the “sign of good faith” resulting in a shelling tow days ago that destroyed 50 civilian houses killed three civilians and wounded 11.

NOT a single negative comment by Obama, Hollande, Merkel concerning this specific shelling attack.

Now the Russian FM stated that at the 24 Aug Normandy Four meeting again without the US present they want the question of special status discussed EVEN though the Ukrainian RADA has in fact passed a special zone law-WHICH does not fulfill the Putin idea of a Bosnian solution.

QUESTION is—will Obama, Hollande and Merkel continue their unilateral appeasement much in the Munich 1938 style or will they finally defend the Ukraine has having fulfilled much of Minsk 2 AND Putin not fulfilling a single point—simply put Russia is in total noncompliance But will they call out Putin in that fact???

Interestingly the Russian FM just released a propaganda White Book on the noncompliance by the Ukraine on fulfilling Minsk 2 BUT at the same time does not state exactly what they and their mercenaries have done to fulfill Minsk 2—typical Russian Orwellian doublespeak.

It appears that the unilateral appeasement moves forced onto the Ukraine by Obama, Hollande and Merkel have basically been about Putin suckering them.

Boy did they get taken for a political ride---Putin demands a "sign of good faith"--Obama diligently obliges and then that so called DMZ that was to be setup is being constantly attacked by Russian troops and her mercenaries who only pulled back 1.4kms vs 15kms by the compiling UAF.

Ukrainian Marines control the situation in #Shyrokyne, east of #Mariupol http://www.mariupol.tv/news/war/mariupol/5527/morskie_pehotincy_kontroliruyut_situaciyu_v_shirok ino.html … via @Mariupol_TV 20 Aug

Reports of heavy shelling in #Ukraine less than 5 kilometers outside of Mariupol - @Interpreter_Mag http://www.interpretermag.com/ukraine-live-day-549-heavy-shelling-less-than-5-kilometres-outside-mariupol/ …

Ah... those ringing and awe inspiring words of Obama from 2014--" we will judge Putin by his actions not his words".....

What a farce--it is and has been always about Obama's legacy--now for all to see and fully understand.....

[OUTLAW 09]

Russia'n businessman: #Kremlin destroying food to divert attention and 'troll' society http://belsat.eu/en/articles/russian-businessman-kremlin-destroys-food-divert-attention-and-troll-society/ … pic.twitter.com/y3F9NV38VM

Rus logic: Since French Auchan is best food chain in RU, send in food inspectors to destroy it! http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/78f95178-467d-11e5-b3b2-1672f710807b.html#axzz3jM2Tdul5 …

I've burned more. No I've burned more! Russian officials rush to impress the boss with how much food they can destroy http://www.wsj.com/articles/cheese-it-its-russias-calamari-cops-1440020900 …

Under the WTH--what the heck rubric......
Customs service says penalties for importing sanctioned cheese too weak, want govt to make it equiv. to WMD smuggling http://newsru.com/russia/20aug2015/omu.html …

Strange so now cheese is the new secret U-238 WMD dirty bomb weapon of choice for the jihadi's?????

Russia’s textile industry wants EU clothes destroyed, just like the food imports http://buff.ly/1LmCPtI

Next we will be hearing from journalists out of Moscow about naked and hungry Russians.

[OUTLAW 09]

Russian mercenaries use civilian shields----
Pervomaisk. Residential block - a shield for #Russia|n fighters.
http://nplm.in/4le
v @BuTaJIu4eK
pic.twitter.com/Tpn1oyhqob

Staroignativka shelled by DNR. pic.twitter.com/xMjWDWhwpp

Russian 23rd Samara Brigade, on holidays in #Ukraine https://informnapalm.org/11510-23-omsbr via @newsburko

Yet Another 'Ukrainian Assignment' of the 35th Motorized Rifle Brigade: https://en.informnapalm.org/yet-another-ukrainian-assignment-of-the-35th-motorized-rifle-brigade/ … via @en_informnapalm pic.twitter.com/n9BuAeFLXM

Good @washingtonpost article emphasizing Gazprom's weakness & decline. Money is running out. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/russia-used-to-have-a-powerful-weapon-in-its-energy-sector-not-anymore/2015/08/17/b58f314c-4043-11e5-b2c4-af4c6183b8b4_story.html …

Russian 247th paratrooper regiment (mil.unit No. 54801, Stavropol, Russia) of 7th airborne division - in Donbas. https://twitter.com/en_informnapalm/status/634304463847714817 …

[OUTLAW 09]

Light humor----

According to Standard & Poors the standard Russian is poor.

FSB agents starving at #RigaStratCom, had only two million rubles on them to buy lunch: 'We had to split a Snickers' pic.twitter.com/tXIPnpBwg8

Easy way to spot Russian intel at #RigaStratCom is to tell them how much a coffee costs in Rubles & wait for them to cry.

18 Russian ships will exercise with China. Not counting the tugs we send to tow the ones that break back home

Attendees at #RigaStratCom are warned to check for Russian 'tourists' using the new zero Ruble note. pic.twitter.com/n3XBpJl5yy

FSB agents at #RigaStratCom confused about the term "free speech"
This is not true. It's freedom *after* speech that's confusing.

After seeing inauguration of new #NATO StratCom building, #Russia shows its speed by opening one too pic.twitter.com/NfhU5CBfxy

[OUTLAW 09]

Hybrid trolls on Latvian portals attack #NATO aggresively and take more moderate, "educational" approach on #EU

STRATCOMCOE @STRATCOMCOE
Expertise in human behaviour is at the heart of understanding social media landscape and winning a hybrid war.

STRATCOMCOE @STRATCOMCOE
Tips how to identify a hybrid troll fr om Martins Daugulis @RigaStradinsUni #RigaStratCom pic.twitter.com/NGoR6RVrGQ

Truth and objective reporting are our strongest weapons. #RigaStratCom

[OUTLAW 09]

Only 67 #Russia|n attacks on #Ukraine positions yesterday. But don't hold your breath, another 'aid' convoy just crossed the border.

DPR Media: DPR is ready to hold another referendum to join the #Russia|n Federation http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/19-august-dnr-media-dnr-is-ready-to-hold-another-referendum …

More serious Russian military equipment problems.

Nuclear SLBM oxidiser leak rpt #Russia Pac Fleet Kamchatka Pen prob R-29R from Delta III SSBN http://militarynews.ru/story.asp?rid=1&nid=386503 … pic.twitter.com/tCunT0ieQV

Map-----
Yesterday #Ukraine lost 2 KIA and 1 WIA in #Lugansk Region. Stanytsia Luhanska attacked also. http://lugansk-news.com/ukraine-lost-2-kia-and-1-wia-in-lugansk-region-terrorists-attacks-continue/ … pic.twitter.com/O4jbgw7tnF

MORE Russian “fake news”---
LOL, Zvezda claiming Ukrainian weapons found by LNR,
use pic of weapons showed by Donbass Batt. a few weeks ago http://tvzvezda.ru/news/vstrane_i_mire/content/201508201532-i36k.htm …

Pics from Donbass Battalion: https://twitter.com/AbraxasSpa/status/626069970724782080 …

Grad somewhere in Donetsk. Anyone IDs the vehicles on the background? looks like comms. on GAZ-66 pic.twitter.com/3EhDNr4jHs
Hey @5urpher any idea where is this? looks like a coal depot on the background, thanks

Russians Take It Out on the Ukrainian Refugees: https://en.informnapalm.org/russians-take-it-out-on-the-ukrainian-refugees/ … pic.twitter.com/ca8jeL9z6u

This is not the first such reporting on this topic (4th in the last three months)--actually a large number of ethnic Russian Ukrainians who fled the Donbas to Russia have actually resettled as IDPs in the western Ukraine and speak Russian and are never hassled for their use of Russian.

So much about the Russian myth Russian was being forbidden by the Ukrainians---

[OUTLAW 09]

Russia'n businessman: #Kremlin destroying food to divert attention and 'troll' society http://belsat.eu/en/articles/russian-businessman-kremlin-destroys-food-divert-attention-and-troll-society/ … pic.twitter.com/y3F9NV38VM

Rus logic: Since French Auchan is best food chain in RU, send in food inspectors to destroy it! http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/78f95178-467d-11e5-b3b2-1672f710807b.html#axzz3jM2Tdul5 …

I've burned more. No I've burned more! Russian officials rush to impress the boss with how much food they can destroy http://www.wsj.com/articles/cheese-it-its-russias-calamari-cops-1440020900 …

Under the WTH--what the heck rubric......
Customs service says penalties for importing sanctioned cheese too weak, want govt to make it equiv. to WMD smuggling http://newsru.com/russia/20aug2015/omu.html …

Strange so now cheese is the new secret U-238 WMD dirty bomb weapon of choice for the jihadi's?????

Russia’s textile industry wants EU clothes destroyed, just like the food imports http://buff.ly/1LmCPtI

Next we will be hearing from journalists out of Moscow about naked and hungry Russians.

AND now Mickey Mouse is dodging the Russian police---it is getting stranger by the day in Russia---

Russia’s antimonopoly police launch a case against the Disney Channel
14:54, 20 August 2015 Interfax


Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has launched an investigation against the Disney Channel's advertising practices, following complaints that the station broadcasts commercials in excess of statutory limits. A hearing is scheduled for September 24. Disney's representatives have yet to respond to the allegations.

FAS received a complaint that advertisements [on the Disney Channel] during feature-length animated films exceed the statutory nine minutes per hour of broadcasting, and some individual commercials are longer than four minutes.

The Disney Channel has been broadcast in Russia since 2012.

It's time to play the "Russia threatens to ban something" game again. Today, the honor goes to Wikipedia. https://meduza.io/en/news/2015/08/20/russia-threatens-to-ban-wikipedia …

[OUTLAW 09]

NATO, US and EU approach to foreign policy-----

The NATO/US/EU approach to Georgia.

1. Call for "democracy", join NATO.
2. Russia annexes land 1.8km the entire length of the common border
3. NATO condemns annex

Facit: GEO loses land.

AND we wonder why there is no common approach to Russia???

[OUTLAW 09]

Shellings have started early today—after 67 yesterday anticipate tonight will be a heavy one again—they needed time to resupply munitions to the artillery and MLRS forward units as another munitions “humanitarian aid/munitions convoy” (35th) was announced today by Russia---

Horlivka 16:12
Towards #Mayorsk, #Zaitsevo noisy! https://twitter.com/_John__Carter_/status/634352364938489856 …

Donetsk 16:11
Kyivskyi ds - orcs are shooting now towards the airport more frequent https://twitter.com/UrriKara4en/status/634353265757560836 …

BTW--after each and everyone of the 34 Russian aid convoys had arrived in Donbas there was a marked increased in shellings and ground attacks--AND there is no connection???? Aid=munitions=shellings--simple actually.

Ground combat being reported now----
Donetsk - reports of battle in the area of airport http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/20-august-donetsk--reports-of-battle-in-the-area-of-airport … via @PVB40

Oleksandr Motuzyanyk: Russia-backed militants use Grad multiple rocket launchers near Donetsk
http://uacrisis.org/31661-oleksandr-motuzyanik-24 … pic.twitter.com/rwVOkHeiVq

[OUTLAW 09]

Hybrid trolls on Latvian portals attack #NATO aggresively and take more moderate, "educational" approach on #EU

STRATCOMCOE @STRATCOMCOE
Expertise in human behaviour is at the heart of understanding social media landscape and winning a hybrid war.

STRATCOMCOE @STRATCOMCOE
Tips how to identify a hybrid troll fr om Martins Daugulis @RigaStradinsUni #RigaStratCom pic.twitter.com/NGoR6RVrGQ

Truth and objective reporting are our strongest weapons. #RigaStratCom

Inauguration today of @stratcomcoe in Riga. Important effort in this new age of hybrid peace. http://www.mfa.gov.lv/en/news/latest-news/broadcast …

[OUTLAW 09]

Russian applies more indirect threat pressure on the Ukraine and NATO--

Russian Baltic Fleet coastal forces artillery live-fire combat exercises with MLRS and SPGs in Kaliningrad region http://ria.ru/defense_safety/20150820/1196961146.html …

Russian T-72 tank crews of Southern MD training in Armenia for high speed manoeuvres, fast attack firing (2km shots) http://ria.ru/defense_safety/20150820/1196823645.html …

Whose side is Belarus on? Russia and Belarus to develop new line of electronic warfare systems http://ria.ru/defense_safety/20150820/1196748965.html … pic.twitter.com/6DsG3NieAg

Rus jails are full of "rebels" sent to Donbas on Rus tanks, w/ Rus weapons, thrown to jail upon return http://www.khpg.org/en/index.php?id=1440021219 …

Combat exercises in southern Russia: 1,500 aircrew + 80 jets/helicopters training for close support of ground forces http://tass.ru/en/russia/815494 …
Su-25 / Su-25SM ground attack aircraft
Su-27 / Su-30SM fighter jets
Su-34 / Su-24M frontline bombers
Mi-28N / Mi-35M strike helicopters

[OUTLAW 09]

NOW the eastern Ukraine is getting a little bit tight for Putin and may force him to move militarily when he does not want to at the moment.

If he moves militarily he risks far greater economic damage via sanctions on top of this following development from today;

���� The Ruble is free..... FREEEEE FALLLINNNNG��
����Cos oil is free....FREEEEE
FALLLINNNNG ��

AT an estimate 50M USD per day to run his Ukrainian adventure--JUST how much longer can he take the massive financial hit without showing any return that will boost his poll numbers in the homeland??????

the core problem with the Russian non linear warfare is that Putin to anticipate the third and fourth order of effects when he entered the Ukraine.

BTW--things are getting serious for Putin--second indicator was that the Russian Central Bank took an exceptionally long time in finally stating their foreign reserve numbers----unusual for them as they have always been prompt.

[OUTLAW 09]

Hybrid trolls on Latvian portals attack #NATO aggresively and take more moderate, "educational" approach on #EU

STRATCOMCOE @STRATCOMCOE
Expertise in human behaviour is at the heart of understanding social media landscape and winning a hybrid war.

STRATCOMCOE @STRATCOMCOE
Tips how to identify a hybrid troll fr om Martins Daugulis @RigaStradinsUni #RigaStratCom pic.twitter.com/NGoR6RVrGQ

Truth and objective reporting are our strongest weapons. #RigaStratCom

Western journalism, key target of @RT_com etc, is supposed to hold gov AND media accountable, but it ignores @RT_com etc Why?

Because they don't want to be 'attacked' by the #Troll Army! It wastes time/effort. pic.twitter.com/sTmjnQjsjB

Agreed. Why are organisations so slow? Now I see civilians doing military-level info ops. For free. #RigaStratCom
https://twitter.com/mikestaresinic/status/634362488394510336 …

Ah... the power of social media in countering Russian info warfare--finally being clearly seen.

[OUTLAW 09]

Shelling reports are starting to drift in--will pick them up in the morning when the total attack count comes in for the 24 hour period.

One ongoing daylight ground battle is slowly building at the Donetsk airport--will probably get bad tonight on this portion of the demarcation line.

[OUTLAW 09]

AND now Mickey Mouse is dodging the Russian police---it is getting stranger by the day in Russia---

Russia’s antimonopoly police launch a case against the Disney Channel
14:54, 20 August 2015 Interfax

It's time to play the "Russia threatens to ban something" game again. Today, the honor goes to Wikipedia. https://meduza.io/en/news/2015/08/20/russia-threatens-to-ban-wikipedia …

Russia threatens to ban Wikipedia. https://meduza.io/en/news/2015/08/20/russia-threatens-to-ban-wikipedia … That'd ban this list of things that Russia has banned. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censorship_in_Russia …

[Azor]

Russia's propaganda has been so effective that we need to be on top of things. Tim Snyder noted that while Soviet propaganda tried to get people to actively support their ideological goals, Russian propaganda is geared toward inaction.

Western publics are having difficulty shaking off the notion of Russia as a basket case during the Eltsin years. In comparison, Putin's firmness seems to many "reasonable", in the way that Hitler's opposition to Versailles seemed reasonable to many right through the Anschluss.

Western Europe's capacity for inaction (other than their Libya adventure) is unbounded. Maybe Rumsfeld was right?

In any event, I think the slow turning of the screw is the best policy from D.C., despite my attachment to the Ukrainian cause. The threat of Javelins and possibly "errant" Apaches and Warthogs (on vacation of course) appearing in the event of a breakout towards Kharkiv or Mariupol is a good place to sit tight for now.

I don't think Russian tactics or strategy is particularly innovative or worthy of new terminology...but that's me...

I DO think Ukraine deserves a Marshall Plan. In that respect NATO and the EU have been very lacking...

[OUTLAW 09]

Russia's propaganda has been so effective that we need to be on top of things. Tim Snyder noted that while Soviet propaganda tried to get people to actively support their ideological goals, Russian propaganda is geared toward inaction.

Western publics are having difficulty shaking off the notion of Russia as a basket case during the Eltsin years. In comparison, Putin's firmness seems to many "reasonable", in the way that Hitler's opposition to Versailles seemed reasonable to many right through the Anschluss.

Western Europe's capacity for inaction (other than their Libya adventure) is unbounded. Maybe Rumsfeld was right?

In any event, I think the slow turning of the screw is the best policy from D.C., despite my attachment to the Ukrainian cause. The threat of Javelins and possibly "errant" Apaches and Warthogs (on vacation of course) appearing in the event of a breakout towards Kharkiv or Mariupol is a good place to sit tight for now.

I don't think Russian tactics or strategy is particularly innovative or worthy of new terminology...but that's me...

I DO think Ukraine deserves a Marshall Plan. In that respect NATO and the EU have been very lacking...

The Russia propaganda is built on 6 Ds---distract, dismay, distort, deflect al designed to create doubt and distrust--understand that when reading comments, articles and press releases and one easily spots it.

Marshall Plan is needed for the Ukraine to overcome the deep corruption loses over the last 25 years BUT the Soviet style systemic corruption needs to be first addressed and eliminated otherwise the money goes in the front door and out the backdoor.

The second issue to be addressed are the oligarchs who basically through hook and or crook stole the large Soviet enterprises after 1991.

Will address your other comments on Monday.

[OUTLAW 09]

Will be off the commenting until Monday morning--as I had promised my team a canoeing outing on the various canals around Brandenburg this weekend if we could beat the "little green men at the IT game" which we did--so we are taking a weekend to do team building with families and simply turn off all chatter of any type---have a great weekend---

[OUTLAW 09]

We know the Russians are getting ready for something. We just don't know where." - Gen. Odierno https://news.vice.com/article/the-armys-top-general-points-a-spear-at-russia?utm_source=vicenewsfb …

My comments to cover the weekend---the war with the continued shellings and ground attacks are a given--right now IMHO the Russian military and Putin are trying to ascertain if a true general offense is politically and economically worth the pain that would hit their economy which is floundering badly right now.

IMO Russia has been attempting an actual offensive --they just cannot seem to get it on track and find a breakthrough point and the UAF is doing an excellent job at blunting those attempts and not giving the Russian arm really a solid target to attack using their deep battle doctrine--if the UAF continues this frustration of the their deep battle Putin will have an interesting decision to make in about three weeks--go for it totally and risk a war with NATO and the US or back off and figure out how to claim a "victory" and go home.

Shellings have been ongoing today in several major hotspots along the eastern front.

Nothing on US/EU/NATO politics will change by Monday as it appears they all do not really know what they are doing.

So again to all---taking a much needed weekend---weather here in Berlin is great and no rain.

[OUTLAW 09]

From a great US based Professor who thoroughly understands Russia and the Ukraine.


“Hybrid War as a War on Governance” – interview in Small Wars Journal of Mark Galeotti:http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/hybrid-war-as-a-war-on-governance



Usually, an interview means fifteen minutes spent on the phone with a journalist, the first ten of which are telling him or her the basics they should already know, and the outcome typically being a single slightly mangled and out-of-context quite in paragraph six. In this context, it was especially refreshing to have a long conversation with Octavian Manea on "hybrid wars" (not that the current conflict in Ukraine ought really to be called that) and generally the "new way of war" (or is it an old way, fought in a new world?), answering interesting and well-informed questions and then seeing the whole transcript posted on Small Wars Journal. How far more words translated into any more insight is for each reader to decide, but there it is for those of you interested in my thoughts.

[OUTLAW 09]

Russia's propaganda has been so effective that we need to be on top of things. Tim Snyder noted that while Soviet propaganda tried to get people to actively support their ideological goals, Russian propaganda is geared toward inaction.

Western publics are having difficulty shaking off the notion of Russia as a basket case during the Eltsin years. In comparison, Putin's firmness seems to many "reasonable", in the way that Hitler's opposition to Versailles seemed reasonable to many right through the Anschluss.

Western Europe's capacity for inaction (other than their Libya adventure) is unbounded. Maybe Rumsfeld was right?

In any event, I think the slow turning of the screw is the best policy from D.C., despite my attachment to the Ukrainian cause. The threat of Javelins and possibly "errant" Apaches and Warthogs (on vacation of course) appearing in the event of a breakout towards Kharkiv or Mariupol is a good place to sit tight for now.

I don't think Russian tactics or strategy is particularly innovative or worthy of new terminology...but that's me...

I DO think Ukraine deserves a Marshall Plan. In that respect NATO and the EU have been very lacking...

Azor---typing this while floating down the Havel heading to Potsdam using for the first time a floating hotspot via T-Mobil--works great--speed is somewhat slow as it is jumping from cell tower to cell tower.

Here is an aspect largely overlooked by the US, France and Germany---

If we look at the Russian concert of non linear warfare an interesting question arises---is the current fighting in the eastern Ukraine really non linear warfare OR are we seeing an actual interstate war being carried out by an aggressive larger neighbor against a smaller country.

Yes there are still elements of non linear warfare in play—ie cyber attacks, trolling, and weaponization of information which has not abated a single millimeter if anything it has picked up.

BUT the actual fighting is actual combat between two nation states—yes the Russian military is using their Spetsnaz SOF but more in a recon and leading attack unit not in the traditional behind the lines typical SF mode.

Western leaders are inherently avoiding the big W word ie war because in their various languages and legal systems when war is in fact recognized then they are legally required to take certain actions against Russia which they really do not want to do.

Example--that is why Obama uses the term "incursion" as it carries a different legal concept--if in fact the West would declare Russia as the aggressor then the UN becomes an interesting playground--ie in the UN Charter a country can be declared an aggressor state and it can lose it's UN sitting and the question of Russia the UNSC becomes even more interesting.

The EU has all but called Russia an aggressor state via PACE and the OSCE but the various Foreign Ministries of say Germany and France still refrain from using the term aggressor.

[OUTLAW 09]

The role the US is playing in the Ukraine is typical for this administration and their rather weak NSC--meaning in the face of a breaking serious incident just play for time.

There was today an article being carried by Bloomberg indicating that the US applied massive pressure on the interim Ukrainian government before the Presidential elections to refrain from taking any response to the Russian takeover of Crimea.

There are many analysts publicly stating and that includes some critical Russian analysts that say the non action on the part of the Ukraien in defending the Crimea is actually what motivated both Putin and his military to make their move in the eastern Ukraine.

So if in effect the US did apply massive pressure on the Ukraine--begs the simple question was it again an appeasement move designed to ensure Russia remains friendly with Obama and his NSC or was it just a stupid foreign policy move made with now thoughts behind it which is actually far more dangerous.

IMO it was a combination of the two aspects--a stupid geo political move and wanting not to block a future path in dealing with Putin.

Seems they did not notice that Putin has moved his military to a full scale nuclear alert and that he had moved in anti ship missiles to protect his troops.

The moves made by the US in Libya were similar actually--the US fully understood that it was the French driving the Libyan actions and yet when the US could that influenced the French to stand down they did nothing.

Yes should have Gadhafi been removed --at some point--BUT by his own civil society not via Western airpower and drone attacks.

Gadhafi was a thorn in everyone's side but he had given up his nuclear WMD components and had guarded the massive chemical weapons sites religiously even through the fighting against him.

I still cannot see even today a clearly defined reason to kick him out other than the French wanting him out--it was not in the best interests of the US so I am still today not sure exactly why Obama and his NSC never said a public word--UNLESS Obama wanted a legacy win.

[OUTLAW 09]

The Russian military is developing a new flame-throwing system — via @IBTimes http://read.bi/1I1ahy3 pic.twitter.com/5tbxVqNFGj

Russia|ns attacked #Ukraine positions 102 times yesterday. Shelling increasing again, two days before Ukraines Independence Day.

MAP----
Ukr troops incurred no casualties in the last day, 8 servicemen were wounded in action - #ATO daily report http://mediarnbo.org/2015/08/22/zvedeni-dani-shhodo-situatsiyi-u-zoni-ato-22-serpnya/ …

Only two UAF WIA on Thursday----

Shyrokyne @HromadskeRadio "ghost settlement, only cats and dogs live permanently here" pic.twitter.com/AukyXpVTF5 img credit: Taras Chmut

Poroshenko: aggressor planned to seize another 8 regions of Ukraine
http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2015/08/22/7078641/ …

Ukrainian ex-Security Service chief in custody over #Euromaidan killings
http://khpg.org/index.php?id=1440195919 …
pic.twitter.com/b1Wwicw9Q6

9P135 tripod from a 9K111 Fagot ATGM, used as a tripod for a PKT coaxial machine gun #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/QUwsE0lUfm

VIDEO: Residents of Mariinka continue to suffer from militant shelling
https://m.youtube.com/feed/subscriptions … pic.twitter.com/bz2yAJEWps

Little known history about the death of Russian service members in August 2014—there were solid rumors that even though the Ukraine took a beating in one encirclement the Russian loses were exceptionally high—some say as high as 500 plus KIA/WIA.

BREAKING Russians knowingly killed their own servicemen who escorted Ukrainian Ilovaisk-withdrawal-convoy incl. POWs https://twitter.com/DmytroKuleba/status/634725352825294848 …

[OUTLAW 09]

AND the shellings are back on as usual—although a tad too early.


12:45 #Maryinka @hyeva_maryinka [vk] since 12:00 booms and skirmishes are heard from hospital direction

13:25 #Krasnohorivka @hyeva_maryinka [vk] "[there were] hits on Lutuhyna St"

13:21 #Krasnohorivka @hyeva_maryinka [vk]"on the phone, there were impacts on pole on the head of Geolohichna St&like the church damaged"
13:13 #Dnipropetrovsk @gdalinka Ambulances rushed [=maybe wounded are delivered w/ambulance aircraft]

Donetsk @kozerog_62 [forum] "2:30am intense roar.. Along Shevchenko Blvd covered trucks column went as 'constant flow' tow/center"

Donetsk @DnBend [RUS tucks] come every night, going over the bridge, turn to the market etc, also thru Gvardeyka https://twitter.com/loogunda/status/635030213718593536 …

Donetsk @kozerog_62 [forum] She counter about 40 trucks, but saw those column not from the off

[OUTLAW 09]

http://www.newsweek.com/putins-war-frontline-residents-discover-churchills-defiant-spirit-364834

Putin’s War: Front-line Residents Discover Churchill’s Defiant Spirit

By Nolan Peterson 8/21/15 at 11:17 AM

08_21_Ukraine_01

A man cries as he inspects debris while standing outside his damaged house, which according to locals was caused by recent shelling, in Donetsk, Ukraine, on August 17. Fighting flared between Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed separatists in two separate parts of eastern Ukraine overnight, with several civilians killed by shelling, Ukrainian police and separatist sources said. Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters

This story first appeared on The Daily Signal.


A biography of Winston Churchill sits on Stephan Machsma’s desk. Machsma is the mayor of Sartana, Ukraine, and he is leading the town’s approximately 10,000 residents through their own darkest hour.

On the night of August 16, starting around 10 p.m., combined Russian-separatist forces shelled Sartana with 122 mm and 152 mm artillery for about 25 minutes. The attack killed three, injured six and damaged 170 homes. It was the fifth time combined Russian-separatist weapons have struck Sartana, including a Grad rocket attack on October 4, 2014 that hit a funeral procession and killed seven.

After the August 16 shelling, Machsma said he went to the local library and checked out the book on Churchill. “I want to use the experiences of great people for inspiration,” he said. “We cannot just learn from our mistakes.”

Worse Than World War II

Nina Konstantinovna, 87, was in the kitchen when the artillery began. A shell hit one meter from the wall of her home, collapsing a corner on the side facing adjacent Krasnoarmeyskaya Street and spraying shrapnel in her living room. “If I had been in my bed, I would have died,” she said, speaking three days later, standing with a cane in one hand.

Although broken glass from a window shattered by the explosion wounded her, Konstantinovna credits a table covered in orthodox icons and a framed picture of her late husband (he died eight years ago) with the good luck that led to her survival. “There’s no other explanation,” she said.

After the explosion, neighbors rushed over to pull Konstantinovna out of her smoke-filled home. She recalled sitting on a bench under the grapevine-covered trellis of her garden, waiting for the smoke to clear, unsure whether more artillery was coming. “It wasn’t this bad when the Germans attacked,” she added, referring to the invasion by Nazi Germany in 1941. “I never saw shelling like this.”

Konstantinovna was too young to remember much of the Holodomor—Stalin’s government-organized mass famine from 1932 to 1933, which killed millions—but she remembers World War II clearly. When the Wehrmacht retreated in 1945, she covered her arms in chemicals to give her a rash so that she would be medically disqualified from being taken to forced labor camps in Germany.

“We were young, and we weren’t so scared,” she said. “The Germans destroyed a lot of things, but we were safe from it.”

Konstantinovna has been living in her home since 1958, and even though the damage is extensive, she doesn’t want to leave. “I want to live the rest of my life in this house,” she said.

Sartana is an ethnic Greek enclave, and Konstantinovna is of Greek heritage. The local Greek society as well as the Ukrainian government is raising money to repair her home, she said, explaining that without the help, she would have to move.

Konstantinovna’s son-in-law, Vasiliy Koktash, 62, also lives in Sartana. He is a factory worker at the nearby Azovmash manufacturing plant and a former sergeant in the Red Army. He worked on ballistic missiles. “I’m not scared or angry,” Koktash said. “I just want to focus on rebuilding and moving on.

“But no one in my family died,” he added. “If they did, I’d feel differently.”

Life Goes On

On Wednesday, the third day after the attack, life had returned to normal in Sartana. It is a typical Ukrainian suburban town, comprising both factory workers and farmers, located about 10 kilometers from Mariupol’s city center. Brick homes painted in bright colors with vertical windows and pitched corrugated metal roofs line the dirt and gravel streets. The smokestacks of the nearby Ilyich Iron and Steel Works plant, endlessly churning out acrid smoke, distort the horizon.

On Sartana’s streets, children and the elderly alike are out walking and riding bikes as young men in track suits stroll by talking on cellphones. People are waiting at bus stops. At the main intersection downtown, babushkas sell watermelons and potatoes.

“There was no panic, but people are afraid,” Machsma said, describing the mood after the August 16 attack. “Nobody can tell if it will happen again.”

“For me, I’m used to it,” Koktash said, speaking about the threat of rockets and artillery. “I’m so used to it that I didn’t worry. I didn’t even go to the basement.

“We have our problems,” he added. “War is war.”

Machsma said there is no early-warning system in place in Sartana (nor is there one in nearby Mariupol), which would trigger an air raid siren that could give residents a few valuable seconds to get to a shelter or off the streets during an attack like the one on August 16.

Two of the fatalities in that attack were people caught on the street in the open with no warning to take cover from shrapnel. “Our early-warning system is when the power goes out,” Machsma said, referring to when artillery cuts through power lines, shutting off electricity.

There is also no organized effort to teach civilians how to react during a bombardment. But after more than a year of war, with the fighting often only a few kilometers away, most citizens are now well versed in how to react. Even so, the stress of a life-or-death situation is one with which many civilians struggle.

“When you ask people if they know what to do in an attack, they can write it for you on a piece of paper,” Machsma said. “But in the moment of an attack, they forget.”

Instilling Fear Among Civilians

Machsma blamed combined Russian-separatist forces for the August 16 attack. He said the artillery came from combined Russian-separatist-controlled territory and deliberately targeted a civilian area.

The nearest fixed Ukrainian military position to the impact area is a checkpoint on a public road about two kilometers away. The nearest Ukrainian military base is more than five kilometers (straight-line distance) away. “I don’t understand at all what they were aiming at,” Machsma said.

Ukrainian military officials say that attack was the latest in a pattern meant to instill fear in the population of Mariupol and surrounding villages. There is a mounting sense of frustration in the area toward the government in Kiev and its prosecution of the war, many residents admit. And by sporadically attacking civilian areas, some say, the combined Russian-separatist forces are looking to destabilize the region politically and create panic.

In the aftermath of the attack, a government-appointed psychologist visited Konstantinovna to evaluate her for post-traumatic stress. “Now I’m scared of noises at night,” Konstantinovna said. “It’s hard to sleep.”

“I don’t think it was the last bomb, and I don’t know what will happen the next day,” she added. “That’s why I’m scared.”

[OUTLAW 09]

Humor----

Filming of "Mad Max: #Novorossiya" has begun, Max tries to get a #BUK over the border without being photographed pic.twitter.com/dnRAnJRDUj

In the winter of 1982 #Putin ran the marathon in 1:58:30 w/o shoes in a forest, carrying a bear he'd killed with his bare hands #Beijing2015

After a wild night out in #Moscow, #Lenin didn't quite make it back to mausoleum before sunrise pic.twitter.com/8ommGMUYnd

[OUTLAW 09]

Russian propaganda “dream world”—they are truly in the “twilight zone”---

DNR & LNR terrorists spread false maps with "planned major offensive by #Ukraine Army"
https://www.facebook.com/euromaidanpress.en/photos/a.224406674409809.1073741830.220542374796239/433281133522361/?type=1&permPage=1 … pic.twitter.com/iUEgt4GuD7

Russian propaganda is still trying to find that provocation reason to start their offensive even through is has been actually ongoing for four weeks now.

[OUTLAW 09]

For the Ukrainian Independent Day another 170 pieces of military equipment for the entire UAF on top of an already delivered 12K pieces.

Chuhuyiv @banderenko Osa, BMPs, HMMWV, tanks, Gvozdika SPG, Kraz trucks, D-30, transport planes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQGjH5oSRrw …

А, не Пионы тоже были.
Oh, no, there were also Pion SPGs, not just Gvozdika ones https://twitter.com/itsector/status/635041139775700992 …

Ministry of Defense of #Ukraine is getting a lot of new equipment. Check the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2619PIyr2DQ … pic.twitter.com/ryq30goXCY

[OUTLAW 09]

Back on Monday--slowly getting out of range of any cell tower.

To all-a good weekend--the war will be there again on Monday.

[Azor]

Azor---typing this while floating down the Havel heading to Potsdam using for the first time a floating hotspot via T-Mobil--works great--speed is somewhat slow as it is jumping from cell tower to cell tower.

Here is an aspect largely overlooked by the US, France and Germany---

If we look at the Russian concert of non linear warfare an interesting question arises---is the current fighting in the eastern Ukraine really non linear warfare OR are we seeing an actual interstate war being carried out by an aggressive larger neighbor against a smaller country.

Yes there are still elements of non linear warfare in play—ie cyber attacks, trolling, and weaponization of information which has not abated a single millimeter if anything it has picked up.

BUT the actual fighting is actual combat between two nation states—yes the Russian military is using their Spetsnaz SOF but more in a recon and leading attack unit not in the traditional behind the lines typical SF mode.

Western leaders are inherently avoiding the big W word ie war because in their various languages and legal systems when war is in fact recognized then they are legally required to take certain actions against Russia which they really do not want to do.

Example--that is why Obama uses the term "incursion" as it carries a different legal concept--if in fact the West would declare Russia as the aggressor then the UN becomes an interesting playground--ie in the UN Charter a country can be declared an aggressor state and it can lose it's UN sitting and the question of Russia the UNSC becomes even more interesting.

The EU has all but called Russia an aggressor state via PACE and the OSCE but the various Foreign Ministries of say Germany and France still refrain from using the term aggressor.

How was the Havel? I have a particular fondness for the Wild East - especially the lush countryside in the Summer.

Well, when Great Britain was alone and Churchill decided to "set Europe on fire", the forms of warfare employed were non-linear. Rather than dismissing the SOE's activities as "hybrid warfare", the Germans regarded them as acts of war and responded accordingly. The "non-linear" nature of the SOE only invited German barbarity on captured operatives...

War is war. Russia has been in a state of war with Ukraine the moment its forces openly annexed Crimea. Debating whether or not Russian forces MAY ALSO be present in Eastern Ukraine is double-think intended by the Kremlin to paralyze international opposition and used by the said opposition to ignore the obvious.

We all know how Russia would react to "hybrid" warfare by a non-NATO member against it.

The 2008 War with Georgia was about NATO, but Putin's Ukrainian adventure is squarely aimed at the EU. Russia does not want to get absorbed into the EU - it wants to be a first among equals - and it's own integration project is competing directly with the EU. Rather than operating under NATO's Article 5 threshold (which doesn't apply to Ukraine anyway), Putin is trying to operate under the EU's threshold.

Unfortunately for the Kremlin, there was enough of a backbone in the West to apply sanctions. Irrespective of whether TOWs and Javelins are funnelled into Ukraine, neither side can back down. The EU and NATO could easily collapse over this issue, and Putin's Kremlin could be overthrown.

How do you turn the screws on a nuclear power and not suffer blowback? It's a tricky situation. As for the UN, remember when the USSR and Germany were booted from the League of Nations?

[OUTLAW 09]

Russian army Donets river-crossing drill 24 May in Kamensk-Shakhtinsky https://t.co/mODoTFBLv pic.twitter.com/IPQ1RDNgOE via @el_roosevelt

A year ago, DNR and what we later found out to be Russian forces took the Ukrainian town of Novoazovsk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgrSb8G57cI …

Multiple reports of RU aviation over Luhansk, Alchevsk, seen from Schastye @Liveuamap

77 attacks of Russian forces on Ukrainian Independence Day (-5) http://liveuamap.com pic.twitter.com/QGQ8qFb1il

[OUTLAW 09]

Here is the results of the US, French and German unilateral appeasement moves forced on the Ukraine by Western leaders under a demand by Putin for a"sign of good faith".

When will Western leaders more specificially Obama and his NSC wake up and realiye they committed a Munich 1938??

This is the Russian "sign of good faith" and where is the Western response--no where to be seen and or heard from.

Russian artillery overnight strikes at #Sopyne #Mariupol : 2 KIA Marines , 5 WIA (Donbass battalion, Marines). https://twitter.com/from_diana1/status/636086431312707584 …

[OUTLAW 09]

WATCH: #Russia's fake #Ukraine war report exposed in Putin PR disaster http://shr.gs/QwW3ysL
#RussiaLies pic.twitter.com/tXZwL24wrA

[OUTLAW 09]

#News
A fresh indication by the @OSCE_SMM, a Russian forces tank shelled an Ukrainian village under their control. pic.twitter.com/9IUGYB9sRO


East #Ukraine this August. 30 killed and 165 wounded Ukrainian soldiers. pic.twitter.com/FyJzF1FpKj


So much for the so called US social medai being Independent and for free speech???--virtually all of the US social media gaints have caved on demands by Russia in order to continue doing business in a fasicst state.

So Russian fascist values are more important to them to protect than the values of the US--how strange is that???

#Wikipedia Caves In, Avoids Being Banned in #Russia:
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/wikipedia-avoids-being-banned-in-russia/528457.html …

[OUTLAW 09]

#News
A fresh indication by the @OSCE_SMM, a Russian forces tank shelled an Ukrainian village under their control. pic.twitter.com/9IUGYB9sRO


East #Ukraine this August. 30 killed and 165 wounded Ukrainian soldiers. pic.twitter.com/FyJzF1FpKj


So much for the so called US social medai being Independent and for free speech???--virtually all of the US social media gaints have caved on demands by Russia in order to continue doing business in a fasicst state.

So Russian fascist values are more important to them to protect than the values of the US--how strange is that???

#Wikipedia Caves In, Avoids Being Banned in #Russia:
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/wikipedia-avoids-being-banned-in-russia/528457.html …

1,8 secs btwn firing & impact indicates mortars had been fired from max 2,3 kms. Well WITHIN Russian controlled area. pic.twitter.com/QUSSsLDRSL

Civilians in the video walk TOWARDS blast area. Looks like they were instructed and Russian TV tried to get victims. pic.twitter.com/Fwveup4xgs

"Intelligence" of DNR: Ukrainian armed forces preparing to take Donetsk in double circle http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/23-august-intelligence-of-dnr-the-ukrainian-armed-forces … pic.twitter.com/ECH0vM3WCc

Basurin of DNR: Ukrainian army will hit center of Donetsk with Scarab-B/Tochka-U tomorrow http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/23-august-basurin-from-dnr-to-tass-ukrainian-army-will-hit … pic.twitter.com/nk6dCtUABQ

'DNR' tested many times w 'Tochka-U'-like explosions at Donetsk Chemical Plant. Tomorrow they can explode 'dirty bomb' & blame Ukraine 4it.

Russian militants in Pereval'sk pic.twitter.com/uN8A7sDffj http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/23-august-russian-militants-in-perevalsk …

17 bodies of victims of the Russian-backed "Bryanka USSR" battalion found near #Luhanskhttp://euromaidanpress.com/2015/08/22/17-bodies-found-in-luhansk-victims-of-militant-bryanka-ussr-battalion/ … pic.twitter.com/sZUEJyWyGu

[OUTLAW 09]

Today, situation in Donbas deteriorated. From 00:00-07:00 militant attacks were recorded all along the front - ATO
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1054371227907016&id=820651001279041&refid=17&_ft_=top_level_post_id.1054371227907016&__tn__=%2As …

ATO spox: Two Ukrainian servicemen KIA, nine were wounded in action in last 24 hours

Ten brand new and covered GRADs hauled by trucks moving towards #Donetsk / #Makeevka:
https://twitter.com/xuilolala/status/636225040430837761 …

H21 highway, from Khartzysk to Makeevka, 10 trucks are hauling 10 Grads, all brand new, covered. https://twitter.com/PVB40/status/636224637517623296 …

17:15 #Starohnativka @Staroignatievca For already 2 hours one can hear monotone booms, like mortar rounds

17:48 #Donetsk @nixer79 They moved northwards, maybe to the airport/#Spartak https://twitter.com/loogunda/status/636220073183735809 …

19:10 #Maryinka @hyeva_maryinka [vk] All the same, battle in boarding school direction

Today, 14:00 in Shakhtarsk, 12 BM-21 Grad vehicles went to Donetsk direction. https://twitter.com/SNEGNOEnashe/status/636219290488864768 …

16:39 #Donetsk @nixer79 3 Kamaz trucks towinf small covered canons w/troops in body along Mira to Chelyuskintsev

20:04 #Perevalsk @legion111113 dense black smoke is seen from #Perevalsk in direction #Bryanka-#Lomovatka

ATO also confirms 2 Ukrainian marines were killed and 3 wounded during militant artillery attack near Sopyne last night.

#Krasnohorivka @hyeva_maryinka "Such a thing near the east shop. During my drive to #Maryinka I saw half dozen more" pic.twitter.com/xU34U7Q50j

During the daylight hours, militants somewhat reduced intensity of attacks, which were mainly in Donetsk area - ATO

[OUTLAW 09]

Horlivka @ahab7822 Arrows show where it came from pic.twitter.com/HeGuInGhcO
[When it was being hit] there were outgoing from Rtutny

13:10 #Horlivka @ahab7822 I've been on Kirova, there's hell...
fr/misc directions:N,maybe NE&NW

These are file photos. However, 25 Jun video of Russian forces in occupied-Donbas training for river crossing

Russian tank and motor rifle (mechanised infantry) have been training for deep water (river) crossing for 2 months pic.twitter.com/z9SB1F5tmw

The Donets River border runs for about 40km east of Luhansk city, between Luhansk (UA) and Rostov (RU) regions.

[I]Turchynov: Russian troops have constructed 5 pontoon bridges across Donets River border with Ukraine for offensive http://www.rnbo.gov.ua/en/news/2238.html …

Blue truck parked alongside regular green ones.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrxPW_NhX2c … (06:15) pic.twitter.com/u2u8cLh3GU

[OUTLAW 09]

How was the Havel? I have a particular fondness for the Wild East - especially the lush countryside in the Summer.

Well, when Great Britain was alone and Churchill decided to "set Europe on fire", the forms of warfare employed were non-linear. Rather than dismissing the SOE's activities as "hybrid warfare", the Germans regarded them as acts of war and responded accordingly. The "non-linear" nature of the SOE only invited German barbarity on captured operatives...

War is war. Russia has been in a state of war with Ukraine the moment its forces openly annexed Crimea. Debating whether or not Russian forces MAY ALSO be present in Eastern Ukraine is double-think intended by the Kremlin to paralyze international opposition and used by the said opposition to ignore the obvious.

We all know how Russia would react to "hybrid" warfare by a non-NATO member against it.

The 2008 War with Georgia was about NATO, but Putin's Ukrainian adventure is squarely aimed at the EU. Russia does not want to get absorbed into the EU - it wants to be a first among equals - and it's own integration project is competing directly with the EU. Rather than operating under NATO's Article 5 threshold (which doesn't apply to Ukraine anyway), Putin is trying to operate under the EU's threshold.

Unfortunately for the Kremlin, there was enough of a backbone in the West to apply sanctions. Irrespective of whether TOWs and Javelins are funnelled into Ukraine, neither side can back down. The EU and NATO could easily collapse over this issue, and Putin's Kremlin could be overthrown.

How do you turn the screws on a nuclear power and not suffer blowback? It's a tricky situation. As for the UN, remember when the USSR and Germany were booted from the League of Nations?

Azor--sorry for the long period of silence but am fighting a "new little green men" battle in the "last mile" if there are some out there that understand the DSL telco switching world.

Got a reputation with resolving a core routing issue with DT now we are on to bigger and worser problems.

BUT to answer your commnets---

The Havel was massive and a great break--I rented two house boats for my team and their families which we could drive ourselves and conoes for all--then cruised to one of the 3000 or so lakes in Brandenburg--parked and conoed and swam for hours--all families had a great time, computers were turned off and it was simply conversations around families, kids, cats, schools and the world in general.

Wein from Alsace flowed--they do have some unknown and vastly underrated weins not commonly seen in Germany and it came from where I have a house where you can see the weinery at work and where I have often helped harvest their grapes.

Now for the serious side--if Obama had not ridden his "soft power" approach literally in the ground of utter failure the US had two specific economic instruments of hard power that would have signalled his serious intent to stop Putin in mid tracks BUT he has utterly refrained from using them as he somehow fears Russia will escalate.

The same Russia that has constantly escalated ever since Crimea.

There are two simple yet heavy nuclear equal economic weapons Obama has refused to use--that would in fact signal a clear, concise intent to stop Putin.

1. reduce the current sanctions on Russian companies raising cash USDs from 30 days to seven days--this is the tactical nuclear strike AND

THEN

2. decouple Russia from SWIFT--that is the strategic nuclear strike.

The Russian economy is seriously hurting --they had hoped to drive the Ukraine into the economic ground through their invasion and war in eastern Ukraine BUT in fact right now Russia is racing the Ukraine to the bottom and the question for me is how much longer can their economy take falling oil prices that will not recover in time to help them and an out of control Rubel coupled with war costs of an estimated 50M USDs per DAY.

Remember it was the falling price of oil that collasped Russia the first time.

Eurasian free-trade bloc shaken by Russia’s economic straits - Bloomberg http://en.censor.net.ua/n349057

Ukraine suspends Russian electricity imports - read on - http://uatoday.tv http://uatoday.tv/news/ukraine-suspends-russian-electricity-imports-481462.html …

FSB reportedly stalling a huge deal involving US oil giant Schlumberger
(Don't ask about Russian licenses in US & UK) http://www.businessinsider.com/fsb-is-stalling-schlumbergers-deal-2015-8 …

Russia Faces Reality With Prediction of Deeper Economic Slump http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-25/russia-faces-reality-with-prediction-of-deeper-economic-slump …

[OUTLAW 09]

Kohver, #Sentsov, #Savchenko - victims of #Putin's jihad against int'l rules, norms and law http://www.rferl.org/content/meet-putins-hostages/27197872.html … pic.twitter.com/mtLCeurrNi

[OUTLAW 09]

Ah...the truth concerning Russian loses in the Ukraine came out ans then "suddenly" disappeared.


RU paper 'Delovaya Zhizn' removed article on 2,000 Russian warriors KIA & 3,200 WIA in combat in east #Ukraine [pic] pic.twitter.com/CJhsTblIjm

[OUTLAW 09]

Today, situation in Donbas deteriorated. From 00:00-07:00 militant attacks were recorded all along the front - ATO
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1054371227907016&id=820651001279041&refid=17&_ft_=top_level_post_id.1054371227907016&__tn__=%2As …

ATO spox: Two Ukrainian servicemen KIA, nine were wounded in action in last 24 hours

Ten brand new and covered GRADs hauled by trucks moving towards #Donetsk / #Makeevka:
https://twitter.com/xuilolala/status/636225040430837761 …

H21 highway, from Khartzysk to Makeevka, 10 trucks are hauling 10 Grads, all brand new, covered. https://twitter.com/PVB40/status/636224637517623296 …

17:15 #Starohnativka @Staroignatievca For already 2 hours one can hear monotone booms, like mortar rounds

17:48 #Donetsk @nixer79 They moved northwards, maybe to the airport/#Spartak https://twitter.com/loogunda/status/636220073183735809 …

19:10 #Maryinka @hyeva_maryinka [vk] All the same, battle in boarding school direction

Today, 14:00 in Shakhtarsk, 12 BM-21 Grad vehicles went to Donetsk direction. https://twitter.com/SNEGNOEnashe/status/636219290488864768 …

16:39 #Donetsk @nixer79 3 Kamaz trucks towinf small covered canons w/troops in body along Mira to Chelyuskintsev

20:04 #Perevalsk @legion111113 dense black smoke is seen from #Perevalsk in direction #Bryanka-#Lomovatka

ATO also confirms 2 Ukrainian marines were killed and 3 wounded during militant artillery attack near Sopyne last night.

#Krasnohorivka @hyeva_maryinka "Such a thing near the east shop. During my drive to #Maryinka I saw half dozen more" pic.twitter.com/xU34U7Q50j

During the daylight hours, militants somewhat reduced intensity of attacks, which were mainly in Donetsk area - ATO

20:30 #Maryinka @hyeva_maryinka [vk] Boarding school: machine guns. #Krasnohorivka: booms

Avdeevka shooting started 20:40 https://twitter.com/GirkinGirkin/status/636233258028670976 …

VIDEO: Results of shelling from GRAD MLRS - Avdiivkahttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hINkLT3dAeQ … pic.twitter.com/C1l4w2sCtL

besides tankers, low loaders hauling 3 T-80 to Donetsk from Zhdanivka https://twitter.com/KornerSe/status/636242574639022080 …

21:25 #Donetsk @postz5 fighting started

Krasnogorivka 21:00 no changes, machineguns, occasional heavy booms https://twitter.com/hyeva_maryinka/status/636241643398672384 …

Spotter for militant attack in Donetsk region confesses - watch on - http://uatoday.tv http://uatoday.tv/crime/shelling-of-sartana-481054.html …

Avdeevka, Peski, maybe Mariinka - be prepared, it's gonna be loud. https://twitter.com/LuftGanze/status/636244567323484160 …

20:30 #Russia|n's beginning to spread false information of Ukrainian attacks - Worrying given #Russian build up https://twitter.com/GirkinGirkin/status/636235293746704384 …

LNR in Luhansk prepared for "UA advance". a lot of equipment, counterstrike planned. No dates given. Gonna be scary https://twitter.com/Karlik_Pu/status/636246993489293312 …

Donetsk 21:20
Outgoing fire from Trudovsky https://twitter.com/77bot1/status/636247410826739712 …

3 loaders carried T-72s. passed Mayak in Donetsk. we're waiting them near Peski. https://twitter.com/sex_Dombas/status/636243221883056129 …

[OUTLAW 09]

Azor--sorry for the long period of silence but am fighting a "new little green men" battle in the "last mile" if there are some out there that understand the DSL telco switching world.

Got a reputation with resolving a core routing issue with DT now we are on to bigger and worser problems.

BUT to answer your commnets---

The Havel was massive and a great break--I rented two house boats for my team and their families which we could drive ourselves and conoes for all--then cruised to one of the 3000 or so lakes in Brandenburg--parked and conoed and swam for hours--all families had a great time, computers were turned off and it was simply conversations around families, kids, cats, schools and the world in general.

Wein from Alsace flowed--they do have some unknown and vastly underrated weins not commonly seen in Germany and it came from where I have a house where you can see the weinery at work and where I have often helped harvest their grapes.

Now for the serious side--if Obama had not ridden his "soft power" approach literally in the ground of utter failure the US had two specific economic instruments of hard power that would have signalled his serious intent to stop Putin in mid tracks BUT he has utterly refrained from using them as he somehow fears Russia will escalate.

The same Russia that has constantly escalated ever since Crimea.

There are two simple yet heavy nuclear equal economic weapons Obama has refused to use--that would in fact signal a clear, concise intent to stop Putin.

1. reduce the current sanctions on Russian companies raising cash USDs from 30 days to seven days--this is the tactical nuclear strike AND

THEN

2. decouple Russia from SWIFT--that is the strategic nuclear strike.

The Russian economy is seriously hurting --they had hoped to drive the Ukraine into the economic ground through their invasion and war in eastern Ukraine BUT in fact right now Russia is racing the Ukraine to the bottom and the question for me is how much longer can their economy take falling oil prices that will not recover in time to help them and an out of control Rubel coupled with war costs of an estimated 50M USDs per DAY.

Remember it was the falling price of oil that collasped Russia the first time.

Eurasian free-trade bloc shaken by Russia’s economic straits - Bloomberg http://en.censor.net.ua/n349057

Ukraine suspends Russian electricity imports - read on - http://uatoday.tv http://uatoday.tv/news/ukraine-suspends-russian-electricity-imports-481462.html …

FSB reportedly stalling a huge deal involving US oil giant Schlumberger
(Don't ask about Russian licenses in US & UK) http://www.businessinsider.com/fsb-is-stalling-schlumbergers-deal-2015-8 …

Aroz---

BTW--working late tonight in a major switching center, listening to Eurodance music out of Australia--- Energy FM Australia--, trying to type this on a German keyboard with no English spell check that wants to capitalize a word when it thinks the word is German and needs a capitalization.

Ah.. the life of a networker on a long night shift---company owner working right along with his team ---who would have thought that these days---but it beats the heck out of my previous "life".

For those that do not know it--the IT break fix world also has a "war room" and uses military terms when fighting a major issue and as my team is all Swedish which is strange for this business and all certified White Hat hackers ---so the long all nighters are rather interesting as about 0300 the pizzas will be coming in-somehow they can exist only on pizzas.

[OUTLAW 09]

This Is What New Massive Escalation In East Ukraine Looks Like
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NubYRghok8&list=PLPnX89fQLdsnTsiDOpYtxvMJZobCjqBC-&index=5 …
#Mariupol pic.twitter.com/vllcMhGl7D

Despite its counterterrorism tough talk, Russia has been sending jihadis from the North Caucasus to Syria: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/08/23/russia-s-playing-a-double-game-with-islamic-terror.html?via=ios …

[OUTLAW 09]

Various reports of telecoms networks down in eastern Ukraine tonight. We ask our Electronic Warfare monitoring team for news, but no reply!!


We have (had?) a secure channel, but it appears it's being actively blocked by Russian EW from unknown source/location. Bummer!

Will be posting in the next few days a summary of key points taken out of the Russian "New Generation Warfare" and "informational warfare" current doctrine that we in the West in the discussion on the Russian UW strategy "non linear warfare" have largely overlooked in our discussions that help in placing into context Russian military activities in eastern Ukraine..

[OUTLAW 09]

Horlivka @ahab7822 Arrows show where it came from pic.twitter.com/HeGuInGhcO
[When it was being hit] there were outgoing from Rtutny

13:10 #Horlivka @ahab7822 I've been on Kirova, there's hell...
fr/misc directions:N,maybe NE&NW

These are file photos. However, 25 Jun video of Russian forces in occupied-Donbas training for river crossing

Russian tank and motor rifle (mechanised infantry) have been training for deep water (river) crossing for 2 months pic.twitter.com/z9SB1F5tmw

The Donets River border runs for about 40km east of Luhansk city, between Luhansk (UA) and Rostov (RU) regions.

[I]Turchynov: Russian troops have constructed 5 pontoon bridges across Donets River border with Ukraine for offensive http://www.rnbo.gov.ua/en/news/2238.html …

Blue truck parked alongside regular green ones.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrxPW_NhX2c … (06:15) pic.twitter.com/u2u8cLh3GU

10 April: Russian invaders built pontoon bridge across Siverskyi Donets River to secretly deploy weapons in Donbas http://en.censor.net.ua/photo_news/332213/russian_invaders_built_a_bridge_across_the_siversk yi_donets_river_to_secretly_deploy_weapons_in_donb as …

[OUTLAW 09]

15 million roubles for doing the #Kremlin’s dirty work in #Ukraine? http://khpg.org/index.php?id=1440447628 …
#Girkin pic.twitter.com/4HkUe41W1N

From Kremlin-armed Donbas militants to millionaire criminal bosses :: http://khpg.org http://khpg.org/index.php?id=1440447628 …

OSCE fixed 120 civilian trucks which transported Ukrainian coal to Russia https://twitter.com/unian/status/636235317289320449 …

[OUTLAW 09]

Various reports of telecoms networks down in eastern Ukraine tonight. We ask our Electronic Warfare monitoring team for news, but no reply!!


We have (had?) a secure channel, but it appears it's being actively blocked by Russian EW from unknown source/location. Bummer!

Will be posting in the next few days a summary of key points taken out of the Russian "New Generation Warfare" and "informational warfare" current doctrine that we in the West in the discussion on the Russian UW strategy "non linear warfare" have largely overlooked in our discussions that help in placing into context Russian military activities in eastern Ukraine..

The 'fog of war' thickens ;)

[OUTLAW 09]

20:30 #Maryinka @hyeva_maryinka [vk] Boarding school: machine guns. #Krasnohorivka: booms

Avdeevka shooting started 20:40 https://twitter.com/GirkinGirkin/status/636233258028670976 …

VIDEO: Results of shelling from GRAD MLRS - Avdiivkahttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hINkLT3dAeQ … pic.twitter.com/C1l4w2sCtL

besides tankers, low loaders hauling 3 T-80 to Donetsk from Zhdanivka https://twitter.com/KornerSe/status/636242574639022080 …

21:25 #Donetsk @postz5 fighting started

Krasnogorivka 21:00 no changes, machineguns, occasional heavy booms https://twitter.com/hyeva_maryinka/status/636241643398672384 …

Spotter for militant attack in Donetsk region confesses - watch on - http://uatoday.tv http://uatoday.tv/crime/shelling-of-sartana-481054.html …

Avdeevka, Peski, maybe Mariinka - be prepared, it's gonna be loud. https://twitter.com/LuftGanze/status/636244567323484160 …

20:30 #Russia|n's beginning to spread false information of Ukrainian attacks - Worrying given #Russian build up https://twitter.com/GirkinGirkin/status/636235293746704384 …

LNR in Luhansk prepared for "UA advance". a lot of equipment, counterstrike planned. No dates given. Gonna be scary https://twitter.com/Karlik_Pu/status/636246993489293312 …

Donetsk 21:20
Outgoing fire from Trudovsky https://twitter.com/77bot1/status/636247410826739712 …

3 loaders carried T-72s. passed Mayak in Donetsk. we're waiting them near Peski. https://twitter.com/sex_Dombas/status/636243221883056129 …

MAP---
NSDC Claims Russian Troops Have Set Up Pontoon Bridges On Seversky Donets River http://bit.ly/1Nza11i pic.twitter.com/Omfibcn2Cp

Krasnohorivka 22:07
Shooting.
Noisy, almost non-stop. https://twitter.com/arthurnkua/status/636253675783122946 …

Donetsk 22:19
From Zasyadko mine - Mineralne area ruscist artillery battery working, at least 4 guns https://twitter.com/nixer79/status/636257366305079296 …

Avdiivka 22:20
Incoming, in city center https://twitter.com/GirkinGirkin/status/636256985093173248 …

Donetsk 22:18
Buzz heard from Motel area, equipment on move https://twitter.com/Dusya60000018/status/636256775679922177 …

22:28
BMP on move from Abakumova mine settl. towards #Staromykhailivka https://twitter.com/hyeva_maryinka/status/636259213484945409 …

22:20 Donetsk north @UkraineSuper1 outgoing [salvos]

Krasnohorivka
22:00 Machine guns now more intense
22:11 Volleys from something heavy https://twitter.com/hyeva_maryinka/status/636258305917235200 …

Makeevka 22:16 Artillery began shooting, smwh in W suburbs (Mineralne-Zemlyanka?)
22:35 After ~20 shots calmed down https://twitter.com/VasyaMakeevskiy/status/636256539599179777 …

Donetsk: More military equippment on the move + outgoing artillery fire

22:41
In #Staroignatievka area loud, shelling https://twitter.com/062_Region/status/636262119206481920 …

Donetsk 22:33
#Pisky, airport - battle. Small arms, mortars. https://twitter.com/062_Region/status/636260053796945920 …

Volnovakha 22:39
"Here we go. Artillery started" https://twitter.com/solomazheka/status/636261586458554378 …

22:39 #Staroignatievka #Starohnativka
Volleys closer and stronger https://twitter.com/Staroignatievca/status/636261628036689921 …

[OUTLAW 09]

Got to get back to my real job--heavy shellings are being reported all along the eastern front lines and heavy equipment is on the move.

Will pick up the reporting in the next day or so.

Still not a single major comment and or statement by Obama, his NSC, Hollande and Merkel about the shellings and figthting.

[Azor]

Azor--sorry for the long period of silence but am fighting a "new little green men" battle in the "last mile" if there are some out there that understand the DSL telco switching world.

Got a reputation with resolving a core routing issue with DT now we are on to bigger and worser problems.

BUT to answer your commnets---

The Havel was massive and a great break--I rented two house boats for my team and their families which we could drive ourselves and conoes for all--then cruised to one of the 3000 or so lakes in Brandenburg--parked and conoed and swam for hours--all families had a great time, computers were turned off and it was simply conversations around families, kids, cats, schools and the world in general.

Wein from Alsace flowed--they do have some unknown and vastly underrated weins not commonly seen in Germany and it came from where I have a house where you can see the weinery at work and where I have often helped harvest their grapes.

Now for the serious side--if Obama had not ridden his "soft power" approach literally in the ground of utter failure the US had two specific economic instruments of hard power that would have signalled his serious intent to stop Putin in mid tracks BUT he has utterly refrained from using them as he somehow fears Russia will escalate.

The same Russia that has constantly escalated ever since Crimea.

There are two simple yet heavy nuclear equal economic weapons Obama has refused to use--that would in fact signal a clear, concise intent to stop Putin.

1. reduce the current sanctions on Russian companies raising cash USDs from 30 days to seven days--this is the tactical nuclear strike AND

THEN

2. decouple Russia from SWIFT--that is the strategic nuclear strike.

The Russian economy is seriously hurting --they had hoped to drive the Ukraine into the economic ground through their invasion and war in eastern Ukraine BUT in fact right now Russia is racing the Ukraine to the bottom and the question for me is how much longer can their economy take falling oil prices that will not recover in time to help them and an out of control Rubel coupled with war costs of an estimated 50M USDs per DAY.

Remember it was the falling price of oil that collasped Russia the first time.

Eurasian free-trade bloc shaken by Russia’s economic straits - Bloomberg http://en.censor.net.ua/n349057

Ukraine suspends Russian electricity imports - read on - http://uatoday.tv http://uatoday.tv/news/ukraine-suspends-russian-electricity-imports-481462.html …

FSB reportedly stalling a huge deal involving US oil giant Schlumberger
(Don't ask about Russian licenses in US & UK) http://www.businessinsider.com/fsb-is-stalling-schlumbergers-deal-2015-8 …

Russia Faces Reality With Prediction of Deeper Economic Slump http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-25/russia-faces-reality-with-prediction-of-deeper-economic-slump …

Sounds idyllic...

Firstly, I think that the White House is concerned that any unilateral moves might face headwinds from certain EU/NATO "partners". The Kremlin is very determined to extricate the US from Europe and to dismantle both the EU and NATO. Any US involvement beyond the "allied" consensus would serve Russia's initiative. I realize that these are the same European governments that were over-eager to overthrow Ghaddafi, and depended upon US logistical support and SEAD during their little adventure, and who now seem to think Ukraine is someone else's problem.

Secondly, the US has been ambiguous about responses to a Russian/Separatist advance beyond the Minsk II boundaries e.g. towards Kharkiv, Mariupol and/or Odesa. Its "partners" have been silent. However, it is worth noting that if the US announced its responses (e.g. anti-tank weapons, counter-battery radars, exclusion from SWIFT, etc.), Russia would have time to undermine support for any or all of these measures. There is enough discussion of these options, however, to signal to the Kremlin that there will be a firm response. Therefore, it is Putin that is guessing this time around. This could explain why the separatists' Marinka offensive was supposedly countermanded by the Russians.

Thirdly, there is a scenario whereby the screws on Russia's economy are turned too tightly and provoke a collapse of the government. At that stage all those 1990s thrillers about rogue Russian generals with nuclear warheads will start to sound less fantastical. On the one hand, Russia can't get away with invading and annexing its neighbors; on the other, we don't want to help spawn a rogue or failed state with thousands of nuclear weapons.

[davidbfpo]

Whoops:
According to Forbes[/URL], Russian news site Business Life (Delovaya Zhizn) revealed what seem to be official figures detailing the number of Russian troops killed and injured in "Eastern Ukraine." The site, which generally focuses on coverage of markets, finance and leisure, posted a piece entitled “Increases in Pay for Military in 2015,” that at first glance would be uncontroversial....

Paul Roderick Gregory continues in his translation, "as of 1 February 2015, monetary compensation had been paid to more than 2,000 families of fallen soldiers and to 3,200 military personnel suffering heavy wounds and recognized as invalids.”
Link:[URL]http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/the-number-of-russian-troops-killed-or-injured-fighting-in-ukraine-seems-to-have-been-accidentally-published-10472603.html (http://www.forbes.com/sites/paulroderickgregory/2015/08/25/kremlin-censors-rush-to-erase-inadvertent-release-of-russian-casualties-in-east-ukraine/)

[Firn]

Good catch. The numbers actually don't sound that high if one considers the number of Russian troops involved, the intensity of some fighting and the duration of the occupation. The fallen and maimed of the various other types of forces fighting for Putin should get handled through different channels.

On the other hand the official Ukrainian casualities seemed the last time I checked, a rather long while ago, considerably underreported.

[OUTLAW 09]

Whoops:
Link:http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/the-number-of-russian-troops-killed-or-injured-fighting-in-ukraine-seems-to-have-been-accidentally-published-10472603.html

Interesting point is that this only includes those paid some kind of death compensation---many Russian families have been via Russian social media and military family groups complaining they have received no compensation, some have received no death notices but know they died because of others telling their families and some families have not heard a word from their family members after departing for the Ukraine and nothing from the Russian military--so the death rates are actually higher.

If one takes a look at how the Russian MoD has been shuttling in units for only 3 months--this to avoid any high loses from occurring in any one specific unit--that is why they are maintaining such a high presence on the borders.

If we take the steady state of 9K which is actually has been except for the short spike in August 2014 to 12K---say formally 2K KIAs, 3.5 seriously wounded WIAs, an unknown high number of just WIAs, and say an average of roughly 1.5K in unpaid compensation cases of KIAs--MIAs are evidently not being reported BUT there have been a high number of burials in unmarked graves inside eastern Ukraine and on the Rostov border area of 1.2K graves formally dug in the Rostov region in the last year ie from August 2014 to August 2015.

Total them up and calculate against the say average of 9K for the year's worth of fighting--THEN the numbers are actually quite high.

A loss rate of KIAs/WIAs and MIAs of say 30-49% average for the year August 2014 to August 2015 is definitely not so good.

Might actually explain just why the Russian current offensive has been lacking a punch--even when in a heavy ground fight the Russians are not fighting through the UAF resistance--if the resistance had been tough the Russians in the end pull back and have not been exploiting their armor/artillery overweight.

[OUTLAW 09]

UPDATE: Heavy losses reported near strategic port city of #Mariupol http://uatoday.tv/politics/ukrainian-military-spokesmen-report-escalation-of-fighting-482398.html … pic.twitter.com/4w56DCtcNu

Russian forces in #Komsomolske garrison/ammo dump #2 http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=47.659303&lon=38.077878&z=18&m=b … pic.twitter.com/Bs0PSFn5Yx

Russian financial magazine accidentally publishes official figures of Russian soldiers deaths in Ukraine
http://www.forbes.com/sites/paulroderickgregory/2015/08/25/kremlin-censors-rush-to-erase-inadvertent-release-of-russian-casualties-in-east-ukraine/ …

Seven Ukrainian soldiers killed, 13 wounded in Donbas in last day
http://www.unian.info/war/1115922-seven-ukrainian-soldiers-killed-13-wounded-in-donbas-in-last-day.html … pic.twitter.com/hwgSaufqZy

Ukraine, separatists to strive for full ceasefire from September 1 http://news.yahoo.com/ukraine-separatists-strive-full-ceasefire-september-1-193241107.html …

.@Poroshenko in #Brussels calls for immediate ceasefire, not from Sep 1 "No fire is a direct obligation of Russia [under Minsk-2 accord]"

[OUTLAW 09]

Some thoughts on the Russian "new generational warfare" or what we call hybrid warfare---that we tend to forget in the last six months of fighting in the eastern Ukraine.

Russia’s Hybrid War in Ukraine
Breaking the Enemy’s Ability to Resist
András Rácz
Senior Research Fellow

The Finnish Institute of International Affairs

This below refers to the two Russian doctrinal types mentioned in the article:
The Nature and Content of a New-Generation War
Col. S.G. CHEKINOV (Res.),
Doctor of Technical Sciences
Lt. Gen. S.A. BOGDANOV (Ret.),
Doctor of Military Sciences

New-generation war: step by step Chekinov and Bogdanov describe the phases of the way in which a new-generation war is likely to start in such a detailed manner that their description warrants further attention. The authors divide the war into an opening and a closing period.

The opening period starts with an extremely intensive, months-long coordinated non-military campaign launched against the target country, including diplomatic, economic, ideological, psychological and information measures. Added to this, a heavy propaganda campaign has to be conducted in order to depress the enemy population, spark discontent vis-à-vis the central government and weaken the morale of the armed forces. Deceiving and bribing governmental and military officers in the target country is an important way of decreasing the functionality of enemy armed forces in advance.

They prescribe that secret agents have to be deployed within the target country, properly supplied with funds, weaponry and other materials in order to commit terrorist acts, conduct provocations and
create chaos and instability.

The authors also anticipate the arrival of international militants in the target country to exacerbate the situation. Directly prior to the start of the military phase, large-scale reconnaissance and subversive missions are to be expected, which use all possible means and methods of information gathering, ranging from diplomatic signaling tools to espionage in order to locate and map out enemy military units, key governmental facilities and critical infrastructure.

This is to be followed by a full-scale electronic warfare operation, an ‘electronic knockdown’ aimed at disabling the enemy’s government and military. Immediately thereafter, the real military attack would begin, probably with a massive aerial operation involving precision missiles, drones and other automated weapons, as well as long-range artillery. According to the authors, by the end of the opening phase, the enemy country would have its main government and military control centres destroyed, and critical infrastructure heavily damaged to such an extent that it would be rendered ungovernable. Hence, it would also be unable to properly deploy its defence forces. The next, closing phase of a new generation war would see the attacker’s regular ground forces entering the target country, in order to isolate and destroy the remaining points of resistance. This second phase is much less detailed; in contrast to the several pages dedicated to the opening phase, the closing phase constitutes only one paragraph.

This reinforces the impression that Chekinov and Bogdanov consider the first, predominantly non-military phase of the conflict to be much more important than the second. There is a striking similarity between the new generation war theoretically described by Chekinov and Bogdanov in 2013 and the
events that took place in Ukraine in 2014, particularly prior to and during the Russian operation in Crimea.

As the authors prescribed, a several-months-long non-military preparatory campaign against Ukraine must have started well before the EuroMaidan, in mid-2013 at the latest, but probably even earlier. Interestingly enough, the original Chekinov-Bogdanov article was published in the No. 10. issue of the Voyennaya Misl’ in 2013. This may well mean that the Russian strategy that was already being employed against Ukraine was published at that time, which is indeed a rare case in military history.

However, this did not help the new Ukrainian leadership that came to power in February 2014 to stop the hybrid war and prevent the Russian annexation of Crimea.

The timeframe of 2012/2013 is interesting for a number of reasons---but more specifically the USAREUR Russian exercise scenario called Atlas vision 2012 and 2013 with 2014 being cancelled due to the Crimea annexation. BTW it took the DoD a really long time to cancel the 2014 AV exercise.

Background story to the AV scenario---in mid 2012 the Russian MoD approached USAREUR about restarting combined exercises that were stopped five years earlier named the Torgau scenario.

The Russian MoD wanted suddenly to engage within approximately eight weeks and hold a combined “peacekeeping” scenario and they laid emphasis on their desire that it involve logistics planning and logistic operations—again this was mid 2012. USAREUR via the JMTC Mission Command team built the scenario but did not include the logistics piece as it was not possible in such a short timeframe.

Those that attended from the Russian side were—a COL from the Ministry of Defense, reps from their Military Academy, and the entire staff and commander of the 14th Mech Brigade one of their two dedicated peacekeeping brigades and the commander and small staff of one of their BNs in the 14th—commanded by the old style kill them LTC.

What was unusual about the sudden request was that USAREUR had attempted since the last Torgau eecise (four years) to get an invitation for the then Commander General Hertling to visit the Russian High Command with no success what so ever.

Approximately 28 Russian officers attended the AV 2012-38 attended in AV 2013.

NOW kicks in the serious lack of understanding by the US Army in 2012---USAREUR had for a number of years a five person Russian intel analysis section who many of which spoke Russian and had some insight into the Russian Army activities but not much ---as the powers to be in DC decided to eliminate the entire section as we were at “peace with Russia this no need for them to exist”—one of the most shortsighted mistakes made by DoD since 2012. EUCOM was no much better off.

During the December 2012 joint planning session the team lead for this Russian analysis team a GS14 told me point blank I had far more understanding than most about the Russian processes and had been able to get them to reveal far more than anything they had seen in years. Then she left for the States.

Why do I say that—with the outbreak of Russian activities in Crimea I made a comment here that it appeared that the entire US intel community at EUCOM blew it on the Indications and Warnings side of the house—up popped a SWJ commenter who stated that was not the case and they had been watching the developments and when I pushed back and replied then why was the US response –totally stunned?

No reply came back from him which convinces me they were taken by surprise as well but did not want to admit it.

Back to the Atlas Vision scenarios---the exercise was pulled off and the Russians were relatively happy.

THEN came the demands—BUT at the next AV we want logistic planning and operations included and we will run with the US Army’s decision making model—ie let’s try to take the Russian decision making model and layer it over the US model for a hybrid approach to joint command.

I spent an entire week in the Marshall Center negotiating with three LTCs (one from the Russian MoD, one from the Russian General Staff and an Airborne officer who spoke a good quality English) over the joint operating model ie using the US Army Decision making concept MDMP even down to the common reports needed for each step of the decision making model-fully translated into Russian.

Basically building a blueprint for the Russian General Staff to fully understand the US military decision making in the smallest of ways.

During both exercises INSCOM was more interested in trying to block Russian FSB/SVR than they were interested in trying to understand why the urgency by the Russians to conduct both exercises and the emphasis on the number of Russian MoD entities—ie General Staff, Military Academy and Peacekeeping
Planning when they had been so silent for over five years.

NOW go back to the initial paragraphs and notice that the two Russian doctrinal types mention the use of peacekeeping forces in their concert of “non linear warfare.

NOW if one had the Russian slide presentations from the Atlas Vision 2012—you will notice that the Russian Army has a number of reasons that it can logically and from the Russian point of view argue “legally take actions” which in the end supports their non linear warfare.

Taken from that presentation:
Documents the Russian Army uses for “peacekeeping operations”
Constitution of the Russian Federation;
United Nations Charter;
Military doctrine of the Russian Federation;
CIS Charter;
Contract of the common security of CIS (CTSO);
Russian Federal laws.

Notice just how only one point out of the six points is from the UN and the rest based on Russian definitions of their use of peacekeeping forces—NOW go back up to the article and reread it keeping these points in mind.

THEN notice this from the slide Peacekeeping Operations;

Peacemaking operation (activities) can be conducted without the agreement of opposing forces or with the agreement of 1 of the sides—now go back to the article and reread it keeping this point in mind.

So an interesting question arises—was the sudden Russian interest in peacekeeping operations tied to an intel operation to gather everything they could on the way the US plans logistical operations in general and as well just how a standard Army BCT makes decisions for use in the Ukraine.

AND did they know in the summer of 2013 with the Atlas Vision 2013—they were going to move into Crimea and eastern Ukraine in 2014.

Think so-------

[OUTLAW 09]

And so the loop closes to the above comment---

Now couple this article with the fact that a number of verified social reports and geo tagged photos of vehicles of the 14th peacekeeping brigade were in 2014 seen on the on in the immediate area of the border to the Ukraine in August 2014 and inside the Ukraine after August 2014 and recently again photos of vehicles of the 14th were reported inside the Ukraine in July 2015.

In the first closed thread of the Ukraine war has a number of my posts which were pointing to members of the Russian GRU inside the Ukraine during the Maidan events and immediately after the end of the Maidan up through the timeframe August 2014.


The same Russian brigade we trained in AV 2012 and AV 2013----

[OUTLAW 09]

Russia’s Hybrid War in Ukraine
Breaking the Enemy’s Ability to Resist
András Rácz
Senior Research Fellow

The Finnish Institute of International Affairs

Taken from Page 59----

The preparatory phase of hybrid war — or, in other words, those
traditional measures of Russian foreign policy that may serve as the basis
for a hybrid war — can be divided into three sections, as shown below:

Section 1. Strategic preparation
• Exploring points of vulnerability in the state administration,
economy and armed forces of the target country.
• Establishing networks of loyal NGOs and media channels
in the territory of the target country.
• Establishing diplomatic and media positions in order to
influence the international audience.

Section 2. Political preparation
• Encouraging dissatisfaction with the central authorities in the target country
by using political, diplomatic, special operation and media tools.
• Strengthening local separatist movements and fuelling
ethnic, religious, and social tensions, among others.
• Actively using information measures against the target government and country.
• Bribing politicians, administrative officials and armed
forces officers, and then ‘turning them over’.
• Establishing contacts with local oligarchs and business people; making
them dependent on the attacking country via profitable contracts.
• Establishing contacts with local organized crime groups.

Section 3. Operational preparation
• Launching coordinated political pressure and disinformation actions.
• Mobilizing officials, officers and local criminal groups that have been ‘turned over’.
• Mobilizing the Russian armed forces under the pretext of military exercises.

During the preparatory phase, no violence is openly engaged in, and the measures taken do not contravene any political or legal threshold that would make the target country take serious, active countermeasures. However, if the targeted government detects these steps and gets concerned about them, this already serves Russia’s purposes, as the pressure felt may make the other country more receptive to Russia’s demands and interests. Self-doubt and fear constitute important parts
of Moscow’s foreign policy inventory.

[OUTLAW 09]

Russia’s Hybrid War in Ukraine
Breaking the Enemy’s Ability to Resist
András Rácz
Senior Research Fellow

The Finnish Institute of International Affairs

Taken from Page 59----

The preparatory phase of hybrid war — or, in other words, those
traditional measures of Russian foreign policy that may serve as the basis
for a hybrid war — can be divided into three sections, as shown below:

Section 1. Strategic preparation
• Exploring points of vulnerability in the state administration,
economy and armed forces of the target country.
• Establishing networks of loyal NGOs and media channels
in the territory of the target country.
• Establishing diplomatic and media positions in order to
influence the international audience.

Section 2. Political preparation
• Encouraging dissatisfaction with the central authorities in the target country
by using political, diplomatic, special operation and media tools.
• Strengthening local separatist movements and fuelling
ethnic, religious, and social tensions, among others.
• Actively using information measures against the target government and country.
• Bribing politicians, administrative officials and armed
forces officers, and then ‘turning them over’.
• Establishing contacts with local oligarchs and business people; making
them dependent on the attacking country via profitable contracts.
• Establishing contacts with local organized crime groups.

Section 3. Operational preparation
• Launching coordinated political pressure and disinformation actions.
• Mobilizing officials, officers and local criminal groups that have been ‘turned over’.
• Mobilizing the Russian armed forces under the pretext of military exercises.

During the preparatory phase, no violence is openly engaged in, and the measures taken do not contravene any political or legal threshold that would make the target country take serious, active countermeasures. However, if the targeted government detects these steps and gets concerned about them, this already serves Russia’s purposes, as the pressure felt may make the other country more receptive to Russia’s demands and interests. Self-doubt and fear constitute important parts of Moscow’s foreign policy inventory.

The attack phase of the hybrid war can again be divided into three
sections, as follows:

Section 4. Exploding the tensions
• Organizing massive anti-government protests and riots in the attacked country.
• Infiltrating special forces, disguised as local civilians, deliver the first
sabotage attacks, capture the first administrative buildings in the
targeted regions (with the active or passive support of corrupt local
officials and police), in cooperation with local criminal groups.
• Provocations and sabotage attacks are taking place everywhere in the target
country, in order to divert the attention and resources of the central power.
• The media of the attacking country launches a strong disinformation campaign.
• Meanwhile, counter-attack possibilities by the attacked government are
blocked by Russian regular forces, which are lined up on the border, to
present an imminent threat of an overwhelming conventional attack.

Section 5. Ousting the central power from the targeted region
• Disabling the central power by capturing administrative buildings and
telecommunications infrastructure in the targeted region.
• Blocking the central power’s media, establishing
communication and information monopoly.
• Disabling the local armed forces of the central power in non-armed
ways: blockading their barracks, bribing their commanders, breaking their
morale, etc. Disabling the border guards is of particular importance.
• Meanwhile, the diplomacy, media, economic actors and armed forces of the attacking
country put strong pressure on the target country. The media of the attackers tries to
mislead and disorientate the international audience, and discredit the target country.

Section 6. Establishing alternative political power
• Declaring an alternative political centre, based on the captured administrative
buildings, by referring to real or fabricated traditions of separatism.
• Replacing administrative organs of the central power with newly
established political bodies, thereby creating a quasi-legitimacy.
• Media of the attacking country strengthens the legitimacy of the new political bodies.
• Alienating local population from the central power via the information monopoly.
• Counter-attack options of the central power are continuously
blocked by the threat of a conventional military attack.

[OUTLAW 09]

Stabilization phase

In order to consolidate the results achieved by the hybrid war, the attacking country needs to take additional steps to further strengthen and legitimize its rule. This third phase can be referred to as strategic stabilization. However, in this respect the Eastern Ukraine scenario turned out to be radically different from the Crimean one.

The stabilization phase can be described in detail in three sections
as follows:
Section 7. Political stabilization of the outcome
• Organizing a ‘referendum’ and decision about secession/independence in the target
country, all with the strong diplomatic and media support of the attacking country.
• The new ‘state’ asks for help from the attacking country.

Section 8. Separation of the captured territory from the target country
• 8a: attacking country annexes the captured territory (Crimea), or
• 8b: establishes (open or covert) military presence there, and starts fighting the central
government in the name of the newly established ‘state’, thereby continuing to
weaken it in the political, economic and military sense (Eastern Ukraine). A sub-variant
is an open invasion under the pretext of ‘peacekeeping’ or ‘crisis management’.

Section 9. Lasting limitation of the strategic freedom of movement of the attacked country
• Loss of territory (economy, population, infrastructure, etc.) results in severe economic
hardship, domestic political destabilization and possibly grave humanitarian situation.
• Lacking full control over its territory, the attacked country is unable to
join any political or military alliance that requires territorial integrity.

[OUTLAW 09]

Russia could not have given the West such a clear and concise concept of what it is and did undertake in Crimea and eastern Ukraine--AND yet utter silence from literally any western leader.

Just how strange is that???

[OUTLAW 09]

UPDATE: Heavy losses reported near strategic port city of #Mariupol http://uatoday.tv/politics/ukrainian-military-spokesmen-report-escalation-of-fighting-482398.html … pic.twitter.com/4w56DCtcNu

Russian forces in #Komsomolske garrison/ammo dump #2 http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=47.659303&lon=38.077878&z=18&m=b … pic.twitter.com/Bs0PSFn5Yx

Russian financial magazine accidentally publishes official figures of Russian soldiers deaths in Ukraine
http://www.forbes.com/sites/paulroderickgregory/2015/08/25/kremlin-censors-rush-to-erase-inadvertent-release-of-russian-casualties-in-east-ukraine/ …

Seven Ukrainian soldiers killed, 13 wounded in Donbas in last day
http://www.unian.info/war/1115922-seven-ukrainian-soldiers-killed-13-wounded-in-donbas-in-last-day.html … pic.twitter.com/hwgSaufqZy

Ukraine, separatists to strive for full ceasefire from September 1 http://news.yahoo.com/ukraine-separatists-strive-full-ceasefire-september-1-193241107.html …

.@Poroshenko in #Brussels calls for immediate ceasefire, not from Sep 1 "No fire is a direct obligation of Russia "

Direct results of the Obama, Hollande and Merkel unilateral appeasement moves pushed onto the Ukraine as demanded by Putin----he wanted a "sign of good faith" and this is what he delivered on--look like "a sign of good faith"????

Seems the Obama NSC cannot figure out what is and or is not a strategic location in the Ukraine for the UAF----

[U]Ukraine has lost 7 soldiers killed, 13 wounded, after rebels shell positions at #Mariupol. Recent lull in attacks was only for Berlin meet.

Seems to be some confusion on the part of the Ukrainians as to whether they had loses and or no loses----or maybe they do not want to rock the boat right now---???

ATO Speaker Seleznyov: data on large losses of Ukrainian Army in region of Mariupol have no basis. https://twitter.com/v_selezniov/status/636901490062413824 …

Will wait to see if the Donbas volunteer BN comes in with a statement as they have usually been accurate with loses if any occurred in that area.

[OUTLAW 09]

National Defence Academy of Latvia
Center for Security and Strategic Research
RUSSIA’S NEW GENERATION WARFARE IN UKRAINE:
IMPLICATIONS FOR LATVIAN DEFENSE POLICY
Policy Paper
02 April 2014

Page Five-----

As a result, it follows that the main guidelines for developing Russian military capabilities
by 2020 are:

i. From direct destruction to direct influence;

ii. from direct annihilation of the opponent to its inner decay;

iii. from a war with weapons and technology to a culture war;

iv. from a war with conventional forces to specially prepared forces and commercial irregular
groupings;

v. from the traditional (3D) battleground to information/psychological warfare and war of
perceptions;

vi. from direct clash to contactless war;

vii. from a superficial and compartmented war to a total war, including the enemy’s internal
side and base;

viii. from war in the physical environment to a war in the human consciousness and in cyberspace;

ix. from symmetric to asymmetric warfare by a combination of political, economic, information,
technological, and ecological campaigns;

x. From war in a defined period of time to a state of permanent war as the natural condition in
national life.

Thus, the Russian view of modern warfare is based on the idea that the main battlespace is the mind and, as a result, new-generation wars are to be dominated by information and psychological warfare, in order to achieve superiority in troops and weapons control, morally and psychologically depressing the enemy’s armed forces personnel and civil population.

The main objective is to reduce the necessity for deploying hard military power to the minimum necessary, making the opponent’s military and civil population support the attacker to the detriment of their own government and country.

It is interesting to note the notion of permanent war, since it denotes a permanent enemy. In the current geopolitical structure, the clear enemy is Western civilization, its values, culture, political system, and ideology.

I have been commenting here a large number of times that Putin is chasing three core Russian geo political goals;

1. discrediting and damaging NATO
2. discrediting and damaging the EU
3. totally disconnecting the US from Europe

ALL the while attacking the Russian so called “ US neo liberalism” that it blames for the current state of unrest in the entire world.

Core question now is --just how much of the Obama and his NSC unilateral appeasement moves in the Ukraine are actually contributing to Putin achieving his three geo political goals--all in the name of his "legacy"?????

[OUTLAW 09]

Zakharova: opening of NATO base in Georgia is continuation of provocative policy http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/27-august-maria-zakharova-the-opening-of-nato-base-in-georgia … pic.twitter.com/n91cObNkA4

MAP analysis---
At least 5 Ukrainian soldiers were injured in #Prokhorivka last night.
As you can see,there was no "Ukr provocation". pic.twitter.com/kI5rtKtjzW

Aug.27 UA officials: Russia has increased UAV reconnaissance in eastern Ukraine and fighter flights along the border https://twitter.com/ostro_v/status/636876311156379648 …

And Russia just keeps on sending “humanitarian aid convoys” that are usually filled with munitions and fuel—very little food makes it to the civilians—and after each aid delivery the shellings and ground attacks pick up and there is no connection?????/

MFA Russia ✔ @mfa_russia
#Zakharova: We continue to provide humanitarian aid to Donbass. Today, @MchsRussia has delivered another batch with the 37th convoy

Russia Fails To Observe Minsk Agreements – European Commission President
http://ukraineunderattack.org/en/32113-russia-does-not-fulfill-minsk-agreements-european-commission-president.html … pic.twitter.com/AKBTyQzb73

Now Russia-led terrorists in eastern #Ukraine keep 86 #Ukrainian servicemen, as POWs, and many volunteers as hostages - dep. mil. min. Budik

Russian fighter jets scurrying along Ukrainian border - Military Headquarters
http://ln.is/www.ukrinform.ua/eng/7KuCe …

[OUTLAW 09]

Taken from the newly released Russian Security Doctrine from 2014 which was a revised version of their 2010 Security Doctrine.

The only new element is a warning to countries bordering Russia on the inadmissibility of any policy threatening its interests. This section deserves attention for several reasons. First, the threat to the political regime has been raised to the rank of a military threat to the state. This kind of reflection is consistent with the traditional approach, in which political security is considered as the security of the institution of the state. Secondly, this section establishes the principle of the limited sovereignty of the allies and immediate neighbours of Russia: they are required to comply strictly with the interests of Russia. Thirdly, Russia’s sphere of influence has thus been expanded: in previous editions it was defined as the area of the CIS, but in the present edition it now constitutes the area of the former Soviet Union and part of the former Eastern bloc countries. Fourthly and finally, this is the wordingused by Russian commentators referring to the situation in Ukraine, which has allegedly been forcibly colonised by the West.

With the formal Russian invasion into eastern Ukraine in August 2014 to rescue their failing mercenary movement until August 2015 the Russian hybrid warfare or non linear warfare has effectively been defeated if one takes the eight phases they themselves have stated is the basis of their UW strategy.

First failure---after annexing Crimea there was a long delay in the Russian military and Putin’s processing of what to do next---Girkin a so called former and really still active FSB/GRU officer and a wanted war criminal from Kosovo took 13 other potentially GRU members and instituted their takeover of cities and towns in the Donbas (New Russia) eastern Ukraine following the Russian non linear warfare doctrine.

Girkin has in a number of interviews actually criticized Putin for having been to slow in making his decisions on when to enter the Ukraine.

If one looks at the numerous interviews and a number of comments coming out of Moscow the Girkin takeovers failed in cities that they had assumed would go proRussian----Karkiv, Mariupol, and Odessa which would have given the mercenaries a viable nation state capable of economically supporting itself and it would have fulfilled for Putin the ability to leverage their hold over the Ukraine by cutting them off of the coast line and the ports of Mariupol and Odessa thus making the Ukraine a landlocked nation totally dependent on Russia.

This first failure was due to the lack of understanding that the ethnic Ukrainians in these towns while speaking Russian still identified themselves as Ukrainian not Russian AND the various volunteer BNs that were stood up during the Maidan moved quickly to quell the various Russian attempted takeovers—even if rag tag they were able on sheer determination to end the mercenary actions which were successful.

Failure two---the Russian military anticipated that after the weak response by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Crimea they would see the same responses in eastern Ukraine—WHAT they did not anticipate were the volunteer BNs joining forces with the UAF and yes they were a rag tag heap of a military, but they were still able to effectively defeat the mercenaries in fight after fight to the point of a total defeat thus forcing Putin to move militarily into eastern Ukraine.

Something I believe he never did envision in the early stages of Russian non linear warfare as that had not happened in Crimea. THERE is something in the Russian military doctrine that is actually causing a major problem for Putin and his non linear warfare model---the belief in a total defeat of the opposing forces---Putin and his military have been attempting to cause a massive military defeat of the UAF thus forcing the Ukrainian government to negotiate on Russian terms. In the Russian invasion of August 2014 they surrounded a rag tag force of 1K to 1.5K and soundly defeated them—but overall a large group was able to slip away to fight another day.

This defeat forced the UAF to address their shortcomings and rebuild a professional military in a hurry while the fighting was and is still ongoing. In August 2014, there were only 6K personnel available to fight in august 2014 ---now that number is close to 64K along the front lines.

We see the improvement in the UAF in the fighting at Debaltseve a clear and concise violation by Russia of the Minsk 2 agreement. Again surrounded the UAF this time did not listen to their higher command and on their own the ground commanders organized a fighting withdrawal and were able to effectively withdraw 2.5K troops that were surrounded with minimum loses and they brought out all their heavy equipment. Even Putin who voiced in a public interview in Budapest boasted of their defeat and the next day the UAF announced they had successfully withdrawn all fighting units.

Since Debaltseve the tenacity and resilience of the UAF has even surprised the Russian Mod ie sustaining over 150 to 200 tons of munitions being fired at them with only on one recent day having just two WIAs. The UAF has beaten back a number of strong ground attacks and has been as well beating back countless Spetsnaz led ground attacks. The UAF has effectively bottled up Russian forces and her mercenaries forcing Putin to either go for a major ground offensive which would trigger harsher sanctions and or lose face and pull back.

Failure three—Russian doctrine clearly sees/states--- the use of economics as a weapons system in non linear warfare and has been hoping through constant fighting to drive the Ukraine into economic collapse as their economy was in bad shape before the August 2014 invasion. While struggling the Ukraine has though passed a number of major economic reforms, received a 27B USD commitment from the IMF and millions/billions in other forms of aid from the EU, the Baltics, Japan, US and Canada and are in the verge of negotiating a debt buy down combined with the current free trade and no import tax regime of the EU. The Ukrainian economy while still struggling has improved vastly in the last six months and is projected to rebound in late 2016 with a moderate growth goal.

Russia on the other hand because of poor economic governance, oligarch controlled enterprises, poor political leadership coupled with the Crimea and eastern Ukraine sanctions, falling oil prices and a Ruble crash is in dire straits while not admitting they are in dire straits. AND having to service the war costs in eastern Ukraine of an estimated 50M USDs per day Russia has a far more serious economic struggle than does the Ukraine.

Failure four----the use of information warfare, fake information, disinformation, outright propaganda and a constant barrage of outright lies is slowly losing it’s effectiveness as social media and a number of Ukrainian and EU organizations are calling out this propaganda faster than the Russians can create new myths.

The use of massive troll nets while new, intensive and very large --- as a major issue--it is also diminishing. While initially effective in shaping the Russian myths of why they annexed Crimea and why they are protecting so called ethnic Russian speakers the effects of these myths are slowly receding in the West—a vast amount of the Russian informational war is being directed towards their own civil society in order to avoid what they view as their worst nightmare---a Moscow Maidan.

We see this diminishing effect in the way they have handled the propaganda pushback with the shot down of MH17. We have now at least six different shot down versions with Russia claiming they are all true while social media has torn them apart as blatant lies.

This does not mean informational warfare should now be ignored—no rather it must be viewed as a critical piece of the Russian non linear warfare and must be fully understood and countered as Russia now views war to be a daily event even in peacetime thus driving their informational warfare in ways to effect the success of this unspoken war by shaping the opinions of entire civil societies and their economic and political leadership.

Failure five---the unintended 3rd order of effects of non linear warfare is time---something that the Russian military and Putin has totally until the last month or so overlooked. Non linear warfare as being practiced by Russia in the eastern Ukraine was designed to be fast paced with results being in the form of a functioning mercenary government and the ability to force the Ukraine to cave to Russian demands in a continuous ongoing and speedy fashion.

We are now a full year into the non linear warfare and actually since August 2014 and outside of the still ongoing informational warfare and cyber warfare non linear warfare elements we are seeing a clear and concise interstate war ongoing. Russia has been forced into a tank on tank approach which is time consuming and costly and their “New Russia” project has since February 2015 not really gone anywhere and time is running out as there has been no additional territory gained since Minsk 2 the demarcation line.

Failure six---if we look at the diplomatic efforts on the part of Russia as being one element in their non linear warfare which it has been so defined then since Minsk 2 they are failing on all fronts. Even the attempts by Putin to “demand” that Obama, Hollande and Merkel apply direct pressure on the Ukraine and to force the Ukraine to do unilateral appeasement moves as defined by Russia which has occurred has led to nothing in the end.

In the end we have to start actually looking at what has and has not worked in the new Russian UW strategy called new generational warfare/non linear warfare and called by the West hybrid warfare.

The failures are starting to out weight the victories.

[OUTLAW 09]

The Russian eight phases of their new UW strategic strategy called "new generational warfare or non linear warfare" which we call hybrid warfare.

First Phase: non-military asymmetric warfare (encompassing information, moral, psychological,ideological, diplomatic, and economic measures as part of a plan to establish a favorable political, economic, and military setup).

This phase already kicked in –in 2012 with the beginnings of the Ukrainian internal discussions and civil society discussions on joining the EU. Remember in 2008/2009 Putin stated he had no problems with the Ukraine joining the EU. It went into overdrive with the advent of the Maidan and really overdrive when the former corrupt Ukrainian President was basically thrown out of office. Remember even his own political party—Party of Regions voted overwhelmingly to strip him of his position.

Second Phase: special operations to mislead political and military leaders by coordinated measures carried out by diplomatic channels, media, and top government and military agencies by leaking false data, orders, directives, and instructions.

After the Crimea and Maidan social media began an extensive search of social media sources epseically the Russian FaceBook VK and have identified a number of Russian Spetsnaz who had been in the area of the Maidan and definitely in the Ukraine BEFORE Crimea.

Third Phase: intimidation, deceiving, and bribing government and military officers, with the objective of making them abandon their service duties.

This phase was initiated with the Russian military annexation of Crimea and with the arrival of FSB/GRU officer Girkin and this team from Crimea and their take over of numerous Donbas towns and cities especially Donetsk. They failed to takeover Kharkiv. Mariupol and Odessa –a significant failure tactically speaking.

Fourth Phase: destabilizing propaganda to increase discontent among the population, boosted by the arrival of Russian bands of militants, escalating subversion.

Russian information warfare against the Ukraine began actually in a serious fashion in 2012 and still continues.

Fifth Phase: establishment of no-fly zones over the country to be attacked, imposition of blockades, and extensive use of private military companies in close cooperation with armed opposition units.

A Russian military de facto no fly zone was established with their invasion of August 2014 when they sent in numerous AD weapons systems and with the continuous shot down of Ukrainian military aircraft culminating the in the shot down of the civilian airliner MH17.

Sixth Phase: commencement of military action, immediately preceded by large-scale reconnaissance and subversive missions. All types, forms, methods, and forces, including special operations forces, space, radio, radio engineering, electronic, diplomatic, and secret service intelligence, and industrial espionage.

This phase began in the Ukraine in August 2014 with social media open source analysis indicating that Russian Spetsnaz had been in the Ukraine in 2013. Russian GRU/FSB officers in my opinion have been coming and going from the Ukraine long before 2012 as a part and parcel of the then Ukrainian State Security known as the SBU.

Seventh Phase: combination of targeted information operation, electronic warfare operation, aerospace operation, continuous airforce harassment, combined with the use of high precision weapons launched from various platforms (long-range artillery, and weapons based on new physical principles, including microwaves, radiation, non-lethal biological weapons).

This phase has been ongoing in eastern Ukraine since the Russian military invasion of August 2014 with now over 400 tanks, thousands of APCs and hundreds of artillery and MRLSs sent by Russia to the Ukraine not to mention 9K plus Russian troops and over 2K Russian mercenary advisors and 55K Russian troops on a high state of alert parked directly on the Ukrainian borders.

Eighth Phase: roll over the remaining points of resistance and destroy surviving enemy units by special operations conducted by reconnaissance units to spot which enemy units have survived and transmit their coordinates to the attacker's missile and artillery units; fire barrages to annihilate the defender's resisting army units by effective advanced weapons; airdrop
operations to surround points of resistance; and territory mopping-up operations by ground troops.

Russian troops and her mercenaries have been attempting this since the Russian invasion of August 2014, the Debaltseve pocket and all along the demarcation line drawn in Minsk 2 in February 2015. What has been missing is the use of airdropped troops—Russian airborne troops have though be coupled with armored units as a spearhead type of force—ie their invasion of August 2014 when 50 got killed and 10 were captured after a heavy arty strike and subsequent ground attack on them by the UAF.

There has been virtually no further territorial gains made by Russian troops and her mercenaries since February 2015.

In the last four weeks Russian troops and her mercenaries have been conducting a rather slow stepped ground offensive coupled with intensive artillery and rocket shellings gaining basically nothing.

Slow stepped meaning keeping the fighting just a slight tad under the radar so as to not draw attention to it by mainstream media and Western leaders ie Obama, Hollande and Merkel WHO all seem to think “the ceasefire is largely holding” which flies in the face of over 100 attacks a day and when the Russian mercenaries themselves claim 30 attacks a day are in fact a “ceasefire”.

So again all phases of the Russian “new generational warfare” have been engaged by Russia but nothing as been politically, economically or militarily achieved outside of what is anchored in the Minsk 1 and 2 agreements—with the Ukraine closer and closer to NATO and the EU which Putin claimed he wanted to hinder.

Thus the statement---the so called Russian “new generational warfare” being practiced currently by Russia in the eastern Ukraine has all but failed as a doctrine as it has not achieve the results it was designed for.

Instead of creating a “frozen” situation impacting the Ukraine in fact Russia has been “frozen” in place and the costs are getting severe militarily, politically and economically.

[OUTLAW 09]

Appears as if the Ukraine is getting bolder since they restructured their debt and declared--Russia take our offer and or not--but on our terms not yours.

THEN this---

No Minsk-3: #minskagreements not to be reconsidered - #Poroshenko http://belsat.eu/en/articles/there-will-be-no-minsk-3-poroshenko/ …

They are sensing a shift in the fighting towards them not the Russian troops and her mercenaries-----

[OUTLAW 09]

In Russia destroyed 1.5 tons of food for German BMW team members (Moscow stage of racing series DTM) Idiots)) pic.twitter.com/XUgBBcRj6L

Russia is in serious problems with their demands on the repayment of their 3B USD loan to the Ukraine—the Ukraine using Russians tactics called and odious debt can in fact negate the laon by stating that it was paid as a bribe to the former Ukrainian President for him to say no to the Eu Association Agreement and 1.3B of the loan went straight into his pockets which the Ukraine Finance Ministry can in fact prove.

Russian Finance Minister Says Will Demand Full Debt Repayment From Ukraine
- State TV http://tmt-go.ru/528854

IMF has stated if the Ukrainians declare the debt as correct then the IMf will assist the Ukraine in paying that debt.

Russian fighting over repayment for the French none delivered Mistral ships and now this 3B loan indicates just how serious the Russian financial problem really are.

Russian demanded 1.4B from the French and yet settled for 972M USDs.

Right now they are seemingly willing to take just about any amount of money.

[OUTLAW 09]

Humor----

Putin's approval rating dropped from 89% to 83%, FSB suspects Levada-Center has been infiltrated by the CIA pic.twitter.com/79Zl4Jp7ow

[OUTLAW 09]

Interesting point is that this only includes those paid some kind of death compensation---many Russian families have been via Russian social media and military family groups complaining they have received no compensation, some have received no death notices but know they died because of others telling their families and some families have not heard a word from their family members after departing for the Ukraine and nothing from the Russian military--so the death rates are actually higher.

If one takes a look at how the Russian MoD has been shuttling in units for only 3 months--this to avoid any high loses from occurring in any one specific unit--that is why they are maintaining such a high presence on the borders.

If we take the steady state of 9K which is actually has been except for the short spike in August 2014 to 12K---say formally 2K KIAs, 3.5 seriously wounded WIAs, an unknown high number of just WIAs, and say an average of roughly 1.5K in unpaid compensation cases of KIAs--MIAs are evidently not being reported BUT there have been a high number of burials in unmarked graves inside eastern Ukraine and on the Rostov border area of 1.2K graves formally dug in the Rostov region in the last year ie from August 2014 to August 2015.

Total them up and calculate against the say average of 9K for the year's worth of fighting--THEN the numbers are actually quite high.

A loss rate of KIAs/WIAs and MIAs of say 30-49% average for the year August 2014 to August 2015 is definitely not so good.

Might actually explain just why the Russian current offensive has been lacking a punch--even when in a heavy ground fight the Russians are not fighting through the UAF resistance--if the resistance had been tough the Russians in the end pull back and have not been exploiting their armor/artillery overweight.

From Radio Free Europe--notice they state the cached Russian article indicates more than 2K were killed.

http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-ukraine-war-casualties-report-leak/27210762.html

By Mike Eckel

August 26, 2015


A Russian-language website has caused a stir with a report asserting that more than 2,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Delovaya Zhizn, which translates as Business Life, published the information online in March, as part of a larger story of how the Russian federal budget was compensating relatives of servicemen killed in the line of duty.

The report went unnoticed until Ukrainian websites and Forbes magazine's online edition drew attention to it this week. Two former U.S. ambassadors to Russia and Ukraine -- Michael McFaul and Steven Pifer, respectively -- tweeted out mention of the report.

The issue of Russian soldiers fighting in eastern Ukraine is critical for the Kremlin, which has routinely denied that its military forces are involved in the conflict between Ukrainian government troops and Russian-backed separatists, despite mounting evidence to the contrary. In some cases, the Kremlin has said that any Russians fighting in Ukraine are merely volunteers.

In May, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree classifying Russian military casualties in peacetime "special operations" as a state secret, and prohibiting their publication.

Research released earlier that month by Russia's political opposition tallied at least 220 Russian soldiers who had died in Ukraine. The United Nations has placed the death toll in the conflict that began in April 2014 at more than 6,400, including civilians and combatants, and said it may be much higher.

As of August 26, most of the original story was still posted on the Delovaya Zhizn site, though the material specifically related to Russian casualties had been removed. Cached versions, however, showed the article reporting that as of February 1, more than 2,000 families had received compensation for relatives killed in Ukraine. Another 3,200 soldiers wounded in battle had also received compensation, it said.

RFE/RL could not independently confirm the figures. A person who responded to messages sent to Delovaya Zhizn's e-mail address identified himself as Anatoly Kravchenko, and said that the website had received the casualty figures from relatives of dead servicemen as well as "insider information" from the Russian Defense Ministry, but declined to identify any specific sources.

The person also said the site had removed the information about casualties from the article after receiving a warning from Russia's media regulator, Roskomnadzor, saying that the site was in breach of Russian law and threatening consequences if the article was not removed or revised.

A phone call to Roskomnadzor's office in Moscow was not immediately returned.

In the period leading up to Russia's annexation of Crimea in March 2014, masked, camouflaged soldiers appeared abruptly around the Black Sea peninsula. The soldiers wore no insignias and the Kremlin repeatedly denied they were Russian servicemen.

Later on, however, Putin acknowledged that the soldiers were Russian and a holiday was established to honor them.

In an effort to discredit Russian claims, Ukraine has frequently distributed photos and videos of captured soldiers who identify themselves as active-duty Russian servicemen.

In a video released earlier this month by Ukraine's main security agency, a man captured by Ukrainian forces near the city of Donetsk said he had served 19 years in the Russian Army and appealed directly to Putin to secure his release.


30,000-50,000 Russians have participated in the war in Ukraine – former militant leader



Aleksandr Borodai the former Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic said Thursday (August 27) that "between 30,000 and 50,000 Russian volunteers" fought in eastern Ukraine over the last year, Russian news site gazeta.ru reports.

To unite the ‘volunteers' Borodai, who is currently living in Moscow, said he would create a so-called Union of Donbass Volunteers in Russia. According to Boradai, the organization won't have a political agenda and will rely on private donors.

Watch also Number of Russian troops killed and injured in Ukraine is no longer a secret

However, Borodai stressed that the members of the future union will be ready for mobilization, if needed.

The new Union of Donbass Volunteers will be for "all of those who took part in defending Donbas in one way or another. Everyone who was there," Borodai said.

According to the official Kremlin's line Russian citizens fighting in eastern Ukraine are all either volunteers or troops on leave from their jobs.

Reporting by Agence France-Presse, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

BTW--the these figures are a tad high---to impress propaganda wise--if one takes the steady state of 9K rotating every three months then in fact 36K have served--he appears to be claiming "actual Russian troops as "volunteers" notice--not actual active duty troops which the 36K were in fact.


This is why I say a steady state of 9K----

Turchynov: reserve of 9K Rus troops from 21th tactical group are in occupied #Donbas. 50,5K are close to Ukr border http://www.rnbo.gov.ua/news/2244.html

Turchynov: there r 35K troops in occupied #Donbas, 40% are local militants + Rus mercenaries, rest regular Rus troops
http://www.rnbo.gov.ua/news/2244.html

The figure of 40% of 35K is a steady state and has not changed much in the last six months--this means the mercenary count is not increasing nor are the numbers of local Donbas fighters increasing.

NOTE: what is even more interesting is that the leader of Chechnya claimed two months ago to have completely pulled out his so called
"Chechen volunteers"---if that had happened the estimate of 35K would have dropped by about 7K--which it did not so they were evidently not in fact pulled out.

AND he has not repeated that claim since then-----

[OUTLAW 09]

The Russian eight phases of their new UW strategic strategy called "new generational warfare or non linear warfare" which we call hybrid warfare.

First Phase: non-military asymmetric warfare (encompassing information, moral, psychological,ideological, diplomatic, and economic measures as part of a plan to establish a favorable political, economic, and military setup).

This phase already kicked in –in 2012 with the beginnings of the Ukrainian internal discussions and civil society discussions on joining the EU. Remember in 2008/2009 Putin stated he had no problems with the Ukraine joining the EU. It went into overdrive with the advent of the Maidan and really overdrive when the former corrupt Ukrainian President was basically thrown out of office. Remember even his own political party—Party of Regions voted overwhelmingly to strip him of his position.

Second Phase: special operations to mislead political and military leaders by coordinated measures carried out by diplomatic channels, media, and top government and military agencies by leaking false data, orders, directives, and instructions.

After the Crimea and Maidan social media began an extensive search of social media sources epseically the Russian FaceBook VK and have identified a number of Russian Spetsnaz who had been in the area of the Maidan and definitely in the Ukraine BEFORE Crimea.

Third Phase: intimidation, deceiving, and bribing government and military officers, with the objective of making them abandon their service duties.

This phase was initiated with the Russian military annexation of Crimea and with the arrival of FSB/GRU officer Girkin and this team from Crimea and their take over of numerous Donbas towns and cities especially Donetsk. They failed to takeover Kharkiv. Mariupol and Odessa –a significant failure tactically speaking.

Fourth Phase: destabilizing propaganda to increase discontent among the population, boosted by the arrival of Russian bands of militants, escalating subversion.

Russian information warfare against the Ukraine began actually in a serious fashion in 2012 and still continues.

Fifth Phase: establishment of no-fly zones over the country to be attacked, imposition of blockades, and extensive use of private military companies in close cooperation with armed opposition units.

A Russian military de facto no fly zone was established with their invasion of August 2014 when they sent in numerous AD weapons systems and with the continuous shot down of Ukrainian military aircraft culminating the in the shot down of the civilian airliner MH17.

Sixth Phase: commencement of military action, immediately preceded by large-scale reconnaissance and subversive missions. All types, forms, methods, and forces, including special operations forces, space, radio, radio engineering, electronic, diplomatic, and secret service intelligence, and industrial espionage.

This phase began in the Ukraine in August 2014 with social media open source analysis indicating that Russian Spetsnaz had been in the Ukraine in 2013. Russian GRU/FSB officers in my opinion have been coming and going from the Ukraine long before 2012 as a part and parcel of the then Ukrainian State Security known as the SBU.

Seventh Phase: combination of targeted information operation, electronic warfare operation, aerospace operation, continuous airforce harassment, combined with the use of high precision weapons launched from various platforms (long-range artillery, and weapons based on new physical principles, including microwaves, radiation, non-lethal biological weapons).

This phase has been ongoing in eastern Ukraine since the Russian military invasion of August 2014 with now over 400 tanks, thousands of APCs and hundreds of artillery and MRLSs sent by Russia to the Ukraine not to mention 9K plus Russian troops and over 2K Russian mercenary advisors and 55K Russian troops on a high state of alert parked directly on the Ukrainian borders.

Eighth Phase: roll over the remaining points of resistance and destroy surviving enemy units by special operations conducted by reconnaissance units to spot which enemy units have survived and transmit their coordinates to the attacker's missile and artillery units; fire barrages to annihilate the defender's resisting army units by effective advanced weapons; airdrop
operations to surround points of resistance; and territory mopping-up operations by ground troops.

Russian troops and her mercenaries have been attempting this since the Russian invasion of August 2014, the Debaltseve pocket and all along the demarcation line drawn in Minsk 2 in February 2015. What has been missing is the use of airdropped troops—Russian airborne troops have though be coupled with armored units as a spearhead type of force—ie their invasion of August 2014 when 50 got killed and 10 were captured after a heavy arty strike and subsequent ground attack on them by the UAF.

There has been virtually no further territorial gains made by Russian troops and her mercenaries since February 2015.

In the last four weeks Russian troops and her mercenaries have been conducting a rather slow stepped ground offensive coupled with intensive artillery and rocket shellings gaining basically nothing.

Slow stepped meaning keeping the fighting just a slight tad under the radar so as to not draw attention to it by mainstream media and Western leaders ie Obama, Hollande and Merkel WHO all seem to think “the ceasefire is largely holding” which flies in the face of over 100 attacks a day and when the Russian mercenaries themselves claim 30 attacks a day are in fact a “ceasefire”.

So again all phases of the Russian “new generational warfare” have been engaged by Russia but nothing as been politically, economically or militarily achieved outside of what is anchored in the Minsk 1 and 2 agreements—with the Ukraine closer and closer to NATO and the EU which Putin claimed he wanted to hinder.

Thus the statement---the so called Russian “new generational warfare” being practiced currently by Russia in the eastern Ukraine has all but failed as a doctrine as it has not achieve the results it was designed for.

Instead of creating a “frozen” situation impacting the Ukraine in fact Russia has been “frozen” in place and the costs are getting severe militarily, politically and economically.

Why would the Russian troops and her mercenaries being calling for a total ceasefire on 1 Sept especially when you have been trumpeting you are winning????

Actually for a number of reasons and they are not good for Russia.

1. there was in fact for the last five weeks a slow stepped Russian general offensive so as to not awake the West to the actual fact hidden under the guise of constant ground attacks and shellings which subsided the moment the western main stream media starting picking up on it.

2. that general offensive has largely failed and ft Russia wants to gain more Ukrainian Donbas territory then they must institute a force scale invasion using actual Russian troops and the release time for Russian conscripts and some of her "contractors" is getting close and their own loses are a tad on the high side and would be worse if they went into actual full scale combat operations thus awakening the Russian home land.

3. the Russian use of their economic weapons in their non linear warfare model are not working as the Ukraine restructured their debt and have cut back drastically their energy dependence on Russia and even cut Russia purchases of cross border Russian electricity---removal of three Russian economic weapons and limiting Russian cash earnings

4. the political clout after this latest Normandy Four meeting was practically zero after Putin demanded his "sign of good faith" which the West then pressured the Ukraine to fulfill and then Russia attacked the so called DMZ repeatedly--the same DMZ they claimed they wanted "a sign of good faith" on.

5. the Ruble is still basically in free fall, oil is in free fall and Putin and his inner circle remember only too well the last time that occurred the Soviet Union collapsed.

6. the EU sanctions renewal is coming up in December

Basically if in fact the Russian troops and her mercenaries ACTUALLY do stop firing totally as demanded by the Ukraine---Russian non linear warfare has basically failed.

IMHO opinion--they will keep on shelling and attacking---their track record is nothing short of zero--they did not pull back their heavy weapons under Minsk 2, they did not fully and completely exchange POWs as required under Minsk 2, they did not even attempt outside of a Russian PR show for internal consumption attempt to pull back weapons of 100mms---THEIR own proposal and they did not adhere to the DMZ--THEIR very own JCCC/Putin proposal in Mariupol.

AND the list goes on--so why now and if they hold to it then WHY????

Ukraine, separatists to strive for full ceasefire from September 1 http://news.yahoo.com/ukraine-separa...193241107.html …

.@Poroshenko in #Brussels calls for immediate ceasefire, not from Sep 1 "No fire is a direct obligation of Russia [under Minsk-2 accord]"

[OUTLAW 09]

Today (00:00-18:00) militants 54 times violated the ceasefire. Most tense situation was in the Mariupol area - ATO
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1055485381128934&id=820651001279041&refid=17&_ft_=top_level_post_id.1055485381128934&__tn__=%2As …

Russia will not have the financial capability to abolish conscription until at least the 2020s https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/russia-fsu/2015-08-25/russias-conscription-conundrum …

2 Civilians in ATO zone killed by landmines. https://twitter.com/Natalia02077/status/636942578533933056 …

What is with the continued Russian theft of Ukrainian assets—are they that poor???? Must be…….

Russians robbing the Crimea airdrome Bagerovo, quite like trainloads of Ukraine soil were routed to Germany in WW2. https://twitter.com/KrimRt/status/636788050593509376 …

[OUTLAW 09]

The Russian eight phases of their new UW strategic strategy called "new generational warfare or non linear warfare" which we call hybrid warfare.

First Phase: non-military asymmetric warfare (encompassing information, moral, psychological,ideological, diplomatic, and economic measures as part of a plan to establish a favorable political, economic, and military setup).

This phase already kicked in –in 2012 with the beginnings of the Ukrainian internal discussions and civil society discussions on joining the EU. Remember in 2008/2009 Putin stated he had no problems with the Ukraine joining the EU. It went into overdrive with the advent of the Maidan and really overdrive when the former corrupt Ukrainian President was basically thrown out of office. Remember even his own political party—Party of Regions voted overwhelmingly to strip him of his position.

Second Phase: special operations to mislead political and military leaders by coordinated measures carried out by diplomatic channels, media, and top government and military agencies by leaking false data, orders, directives, and instructions.

After the Crimea and Maidan social media began an extensive search of social media sources epseically the Russian FaceBook VK and have identified a number of Russian Spetsnaz who had been in the area of the Maidan and definitely in the Ukraine BEFORE Crimea.

Third Phase: intimidation, deceiving, and bribing government and military officers, with the objective of making them abandon their service duties.

This phase was initiated with the Russian military annexation of Crimea and with the arrival of FSB/GRU officer Girkin and this team from Crimea and their take over of numerous Donbas towns and cities especially Donetsk. They failed to takeover Kharkiv. Mariupol and Odessa –a significant failure tactically speaking.

Fourth Phase: destabilizing propaganda to increase discontent among the population, boosted by the arrival of Russian bands of militants, escalating subversion.

Russian information warfare against the Ukraine began actually in a serious fashion in 2012 and still continues.

Fifth Phase: establishment of no-fly zones over the country to be attacked, imposition of blockades, and extensive use of private military companies in close cooperation with armed opposition units.

A Russian military de facto no fly zone was established with their invasion of August 2014 when they sent in numerous AD weapons systems and with the continuous shot down of Ukrainian military aircraft culminating the in the shot down of the civilian airliner MH17.

Sixth Phase: commencement of military action, immediately preceded by large-scale reconnaissance and subversive missions. All types, forms, methods, and forces, including special operations forces, space, radio, radio engineering, electronic, diplomatic, and secret service intelligence, and industrial espionage.

This phase began in the Ukraine in August 2014 with social media open source analysis indicating that Russian Spetsnaz had been in the Ukraine in 2013. Russian GRU/FSB officers in my opinion have been coming and going from the Ukraine long before 2012 as a part and parcel of the then Ukrainian State Security known as the SBU.

Seventh Phase: combination of targeted information operation, electronic warfare operation, aerospace operation, continuous airforce harassment, combined with the use of high precision weapons launched from various platforms (long-range artillery, and weapons based on new physical principles, including microwaves, radiation, non-lethal biological weapons).

This phase has been ongoing in eastern Ukraine since the Russian military invasion of August 2014 with now over 400 tanks, thousands of APCs and hundreds of artillery and MRLSs sent by Russia to the Ukraine not to mention 9K plus Russian troops and over 2K Russian mercenary advisors and 55K Russian troops on a high state of alert parked directly on the Ukrainian borders.

Eighth Phase: roll over the remaining points of resistance and destroy surviving enemy units by special operations conducted by reconnaissance units to spot which enemy units have survived and transmit their coordinates to the attacker's missile and artillery units; fire barrages to annihilate the defender's resisting army units by effective advanced weapons; airdrop
operations to surround points of resistance; and territory mopping-up operations by ground troops.

Russian troops and her mercenaries have been attempting this since the Russian invasion of August 2014, the Debaltseve pocket and all along the demarcation line drawn in Minsk 2 in February 2015. What has been missing is the use of airdropped troops—Russian airborne troops have though be coupled with armored units as a spearhead type of force—ie their invasion of August 2014 when 50 got killed and 10 were captured after a heavy arty strike and subsequent ground attack on them by the UAF.

There has been virtually no further territorial gains made by Russian troops and her mercenaries since February 2015.

In the last four weeks Russian troops and her mercenaries have been conducting a rather slow stepped ground offensive coupled with intensive artillery and rocket shellings gaining basically nothing.

Slow stepped meaning keeping the fighting just a slight tad under the radar so as to not draw attention to it by mainstream media and Western leaders ie Obama, Hollande and Merkel WHO all seem to think “the ceasefire is largely holding” which flies in the face of over 100 attacks a day and when the Russian mercenaries themselves claim 30 attacks a day are in fact a “ceasefire”.

So again all phases of the Russian “new generational warfare” have been engaged by Russia but nothing as been politically, economically or militarily achieved outside of what is anchored in the Minsk 1 and 2 agreements—with the Ukraine closer and closer to NATO and the EU which Putin claimed he wanted to hinder.

Thus the statement---the so called Russian “new generational warfare” being practiced currently by Russia in the eastern Ukraine has all but failed as a doctrine as it has not achieve the results it was designed for.

Instead of creating a “frozen” situation impacting the Ukraine in fact Russia has been “frozen” in place and the costs are getting severe militarily, politically and economically.

If this is in fact true THEN why the sudden desire for a complete ceasefire????

NSDC Head Turchynov: Rus military command organized the 2 army corps in occupied E Ukr similar to Waffen SS model http://www.rnbo.gov.ua/news/2244.html

Turchynov: troops inside Ukr are org-ed in 2 army corps, their command HQ is located in Novocherkask, Rostov reg Rus http://www.rnbo.gov.ua/news/2244.html

Turchynov: reserve of 9K Rus troops from 21th tactical group are in occupied #Donbas. 50,5K are close to Ukr border http://www.rnbo.gov.ua/news/2244.html

.@NSDC_ua Head Turchynov: #Russia changes modus operandi in E #Ukraine from combined Rus-militant forces to well-structured regular troops

Again if you are supposedly winning why the sudden offer to conduct a full ceasefire???

IF this is in fact correct then the much vaulted Russian non linear warfare has in fact actually failed.

.@NSDC_ua Head Turchynov: #Russia changes modus operandi in E #Ukraine from combined Rus-militant forces to well-structured regular troops

IMO this is a clear indicator that the Russian non linear warfare has fully shifted to a true interstate war--war with a big W with regular troops fighting regular troops- tank on tank- artillery on artillery heck even Spetsnaz is in a purely infantry mode right now from all front reporting.

[OUTLAW 09]

The Russian eight phases of their new UW strategic strategy called "new generational warfare or non linear warfare" which we call hybrid warfare.

Has Putin been forced to abandon non linear warfare???

http://www.rnbo.gov.ua/en/news/2244.html

27.08.2015


Oleksandr Turchynov: In Donbas we confront the military units of the regular army of the Russian Federation, formed by the model of “Waffen-SS”

During the summer of 2015 there were radical changes in the character of Russian engagement in military actions in the East of Ukraine. Now Armed Forces of Ukraine are confronted not by mixed Russian-terrorist groupings, as it was from the beginning of the occupation, but by structured military units of Russian regular army.

At the occupied territory of Donbas the military leadership of Russia has completed the creation of a powerful ground formation, based on two army corps, ready to conduct active offensive operations. Control and supplying of 1st and 2nd army corps are performed by the specially created 12th command of reserve of Southern District of Russia's Armed Forces (headquarters located in town Novocherkassk, Rostov region of Russia). Key command and staff positions in these army corps are occupied by Russian permanent officers. Enlisted personnel of these corps consists up to 40% of residents of the occupied territory of Donetsk and Lugansk regions, as well as contract soldiers and mercenaries from Russia, who have gained combat experience during the hostilities in the East of Ukraine and in flash points of Russia. The authorized strength of these two army corps is up to 35 thousand men. In addition, at the occupied territory there is a military reserve consisting of 21 tactical groups of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (15 battalion, 6 company groups), numbering more than 9 thousand people. On the eastern border of our country another 53 tactical groups of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are concentrated (39 battalion, 14 company groups) numbering 50,5 thousand people.

The features of forming and functioning of the 1st and 2nd army corps indicate that the Russians for their creation have chosen the model, approbated by the leadership of Germany during World War II and known as the "Waffen SS".

"Waffen SS" is the military units of "SS" which participated in the combat actions at the front during the World War II. Due to the limitation of their own mobilization resource the leadership of Germany has decided to enlist volunteers, who were citizens of occupied countries. In accordance with the official policy of that time exclusively German nationals could serve in the Wehrmacht (German Armed Forces).

There were no such restrictions for the "SS", so as a part of it special "Waffen-divisions" were created, which consisted of foreign volunteers and were formed usually on ethnic or religious grounds. German permanent officers of "SS" served as commanders of these "Waffen-divisions" and volunteers from occupied countries were taken to serve as cannon fodder on positions of privates or other lowest military posts. Exactly this experience of forming military units for conducting hostilities in the East of Ukraine was added by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia to its armory. We obtain fundamental data on generals and officers of the Russian army, who are included to the commanding level of Russia's occupation forces. Materials concerning them are being transferred to the Office of Prosecutor General of Ukraine for launching criminal investigations. The command of all the grouping of Russian occupation forces is being carried out by Colonel-General Andrey Serdyukov, Chief of Staff - First Deputy to Commander of the Southern Military District (cover identification document on a surname Sedov).

In particular, the command of the 1st army corps before the beginning of August 2015 was carried out by Major-General of the Russian Army Alexey Zavizyon, seconded from the post of Chief of Staff of the 41st Army of Central Military District of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, who have used cover identification document on a surname Pilevin. The commander of the 2nd army corps is Major-General of Russian Army Evgeniy Nikiforov (cover identification document on a surname Morgun), seconded from the post of Deputy to Commander of 58th Army of Southern Military District of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. A rotation was held here. Down to recent times this army corps was under command of Lieutenant-General Sergey Yudin, who headed the Staff of the 20th Army of Western Military District of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. I would like to stress once again that we are confronted by fully functional military units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

At the occupied territories a large number of heavy armament and military equipment is concentrated, a staggered accumulation of large amounts of fuel and ammunition is being carried out, which are to ensure the conduct of active offensive operations and, according to the plan of Russian General Staff, will be supported by the intrusion of additional units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation to the territory of Ukraine.


Turchynov: On Ukraine's eastern border another 53 tactical groups of Russian Army (39 battalion, 14 company groups) numbering 50,500 troops.

Turchynov: In addition to 2 army corps, a 9,000-men reserve of 21 tactical groups of Russian Armed Forces (15 battalion, 6 company groups)

[OUTLAW 09]

Who would have guessed Russia owes Ukraine $17B from USSR disintegration https://twitter.com/PaulSonne/status/636857068079697920 …

Aug27 #Oleksandrivka @hyeva_maryinka prisoner exchange https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31A0VIvSLJU&feature=youtu.be …

[OUTLAW 09]

Shellings are on again------

Maryinka @hyeva_maryinka [vk]
19:00 2 min lull and booms resumed
19:25 All the time short combats and quiet then

20:48 #Stanytsia_Luhanska @100007182042214 Restless.

20:32 #Starohnativka @Staroignatievca afternoon #OSCE came and it's more or less quiet since then

[OUTLAW 09]

Russia(n) tanks, Grad rocket systems & self-propelled guns near #Horlivka/#Gorlovka http://en.censor.net.ua/photo_news/349428/russian_tanks_grad_rocket_systems_and_selfpropelle d_guns_recorded_near_horlivka_photos …pic.twitter.com/ToQjFxikkR

Video shows a shell exploding near Ukrainian soldier in east #Ukraine http://uatoday.tv/politics/youtube-clip-by-ukrainian-soldier-goes-viral-482809.html … pic.twitter.com/VfR33XO0AD
Video shows #Ukraine army checkpoint under #Russia|n tank fire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc_XKyNzk1M …
Russian armor crossing into Ukraine via Krasnodon non-stop. This time tanks. https://twitter.com/elonline40/status/636449063295152128 …

Ukrainian investigator: We know the names of 6 suspects for shooting down MH17, 3 Ukrainians, 3 Russians
http://bit.ly/1hi0XAt

Russian Merc Vyacheslav Isayev-#Russia supplies weapons & equipment to #Donbas rebels http://zik.ua/en/news/2015/08/27/all_weapons_and_equipment_supplied_to_donbas_rebel s_by_russia__exrebel_says_619446 … pic.twitter.com/FeXjxIQyzJ

[OUTLAW 09]

Shellings are on again------

Maryinka @hyeva_maryinka [vk]
19:00 2 min lull and booms resumed
19:25 All the time short combats and quiet then

20:48 #Stanytsia_Luhanska @100007182042214 Restless.

20:32 #Starohnativka @Staroignatievca afternoon #OSCE came and it's more or less quiet since then

Poroshenko: I don't understand why we have to wait a whole week to a ceasefire http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/27-august-poroshenko-i-dont-understand-why-we-have-to-wait …
Outgoing full load of GRADs from

From the Mariupol DMZ area of the so called Russian US implemented “sign of good faith” which is still getting UAF killed and wounded—so much for the US trusting Putin.

Obama’s inspiring words—“we will judge Putin on his actions—not his words”

According to Butusov, 8 Ukrainian soldiers (2 - 36th Brigade, 6 - 72nd Brigade) were killed in sector M yesterday
https://m.facebook.com/butusov.yuriy/posts/1041845679189061?__mref=message_bubble …

Donetsk, outgoing arty from mine #21 slugheap pic.twitter.com/YqyojeEkwW

Something heavy is shooting from approx. Donetsk, Kievski ave, 87 https://twitter.com/hauzenmynh/status/636978109967810562 …

21:40 #Krasnohorivka @hyeva_maryinka They awoke, boom, booms sound dully

21:46 #Donetsk @AkaDON12 , flashes behind the airport and westward, soft ones

21:46 #Donetsk @AkaDON12 Finally [RUS] delivered 750 tons of textbooks to DNR - volleys on Putilovka, mortars first, now sounds heavier

22:00 #Donetsk @UkraineSuper1 "Landings somewhere in Putilovka, RUS textbooks exlode strongly"

22:09 #Stepne @Darren_Aro Volleys are heard from far away from #Olenivka-#Dokuchaevsk side. They don't go towards Stepne

22:48 #Donetsk @14720Maro [fb] Hardware towards Tekstilschik

The entire front line is active tonight—so much for the so called separatists 1 Sept ceasefire

22:47 #Donetsk @relictDon Approaching hardware roar is heard in #Rutchenkove machinery plant area

talked to a few low ranked DNRs... they're all angry and ready to attack... would be very stupid of them... :(

22:40 #Donetsk @devi1810 Sudden MLRS from Kalinovsky ds

22:39 #Donetsk @ADivinorum MLRS from the east, full load

22:37 #Stanytsia_Luhanska @100007182042214 Power line was damaged by shelling, area left without electricity. Deflagrations again

22:30 Due to shelling power lines damaged near #Stanitsya_Luhanska. Now under fire again. https://twitter.com/100007182042214/status/636985872005599232 …

Donetsk, Grad outgoing

22:15 #Maryinka @hyeva_maryinka [vk] Boarding school and Novomaryinka directions have been loud
22:30 ceased

Krasnohorivka @hyeva_maryinka [vk]
21:55 2 more booms after lull
22:00 Strong boom and silence

23:05 #Krasnohorivka @hyeva_maryinka [vk] machine guns are now heard, smoothly in the town

23:05 #Dokuchaevsk @goky4_ykpauHa "Ruscists started their evening rite" [=shelling started]

23:19 #Avdiivka @JuZolyshkaLia Wow, landings, some strong ones

23:20 #Stakhanov @DNSRRSTRTS It began. RUS artillery works

Peski taking heavy fire.... https://twitter.com/_John__Carter_/status/636993630641762304 …

23:28 #Donetsk @Buzzing_Rook And here come incoming ones, cannot get where

23:21 #Stakhanov @elonline40 Outgoing ones from the same position as yesterday [=field behind #Buhayivka just bear residential houses]

[OUTLAW 09]

VIDEO: Column of APCs. Feodosia/Феодосия (27.08.15)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=M8lV7mckaXo … pic.twitter.com/kf2fbkhKJB

My original article on #Russia's propaganda network in #Ukraine is now reaching a much larger audience
https://twitter.com/RobPulseNews/status/625438363617742849 …

Putin"Donbosses" from armed men to Multi-Millionaires #Girkin paid 15Million Rubles https://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=ru&u=http://www.novayagazeta.ru/politics/69639.html&prev=search … #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/7Rx1RELpXC

Militants continue to waste entire neighborhoods - JCCC
http://www.unian.info/war/1116149-militants-continue-to-waste-entire-neighborhoods-jccc.html … pic.twitter.com/NJPQyKcqpM

[OUTLAW 09]

Poroshenko: I don't understand why we have to wait a whole week to a ceasefire http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/27-august-poroshenko-i-dont-understand-why-we-have-to-wait …
Outgoing full load of GRADs from

From the Mariupol DMZ area of the so called Russian US implemented “sign of good faith” which is still getting UAF killed and wounded—so much for the US trusting Putin.

Obama’s inspiring words—“we will judge Putin on his actions—not his words”

According to Butusov, 8 Ukrainian soldiers (2 - 36th Brigade, 6 - 72nd Brigade) were killed in sector M yesterday
https://m.facebook.com/butusov.yuriy/posts/1041845679189061?__mref=message_bubble …

Donetsk, outgoing arty from mine #21 slugheap pic.twitter.com/YqyojeEkwW

Something heavy is shooting from approx. Donetsk, Kievski ave, 87 https://twitter.com/hauzenmynh/status/636978109967810562 …

21:40 #Krasnohorivka @hyeva_maryinka They awoke, boom, booms sound dully

21:46 #Donetsk @AkaDON12 , flashes behind the airport and westward, soft ones

21:46 #Donetsk @AkaDON12 Finally [RUS] delivered 750 tons of textbooks to DNR - volleys on Putilovka, mortars first, now sounds heavier

22:00 #Donetsk @UkraineSuper1 "Landings somewhere in Putilovka, RUS textbooks exlode strongly"

22:09 #Stepne @Darren_Aro Volleys are heard from far away from #Olenivka-#Dokuchaevsk side. They don't go towards Stepne

22:48 #Donetsk @14720Maro [fb] Hardware towards Tekstilschik

The entire front line is active tonight—so much for the so called separatists 1 Sept ceasefire

22:47 #Donetsk @relictDon Approaching hardware roar is heard in #Rutchenkove machinery plant area

talked to a few low ranked DNRs... they're all angry and ready to attack... would be very stupid of them... :(

22:40 #Donetsk @devi1810 Sudden MLRS from Kalinovsky ds

22:39 #Donetsk @ADivinorum MLRS from the east, full load

22:37 #Stanytsia_Luhanska @100007182042214 Power line was damaged by shelling, area left without electricity. Deflagrations again

22:30 Due to shelling power lines damaged near #Stanitsya_Luhanska. Now under fire again. https://twitter.com/100007182042214/status/636985872005599232 …

Donetsk, Grad outgoing

22:15 #Maryinka @hyeva_maryinka [vk] Boarding school and Novomaryinka directions have been loud
22:30 ceased

Krasnohorivka @hyeva_maryinka [vk]
21:55 2 more booms after lull
22:00 Strong boom and silence

23:05 #Krasnohorivka @hyeva_maryinka [vk] machine guns are now heard, smoothly in the town

23:05 #Dokuchaevsk @goky4_ykpauHa "Ruscists started their evening rite" [=shelling started]

23:19 #Avdiivka @JuZolyshkaLia Wow, landings, some strong ones

Shellings all along the demarcation front line tonight- morning attack numbers will be in the 80-95 range.

AND not a single negative comment against Russian military activities in eastern Ukraine tonight by Obama, Hollande and or Merkel--total silence....

[OUTLAW 09]

With the formal Russian invasion into eastern Ukraine in August 2014 to rescue their failing mercenary movement until August 2015 the Russian hybrid warfare or non linear warfare has effectively been defeated if one takes the eight phases they themselves have stated is the basis of their UW strategy and looks for specific failures.

First failure---after annexing Crimea there was a long delay in the Russian military and Putin’s processing of what to do next---Girkin a so called former and really still active FSB/GRU officer and a wanted war criminal from Kosovo took 13 other potentially GRU members and instituted their takeover of cities and towns in the Donbas (New Russia) eastern Ukraine following the Russian non linear warfare doctrine.

Girkin has in a number of interviews actually criticized Putin for having been to slow in making his decisions on when to enter the Ukraine.

If one looks at the numerous interviews and a number of comments coming out of Moscow the Girkin takeovers failed in cities that they had assumed would go proRussian----Karkiv, Mariupol, and Odessa which would have given the mercenaries a viable nation state capable of economically supporting itself and it would have fulfilled for Putin the ability to leverage their hold over the Ukraine by cutting them off of the coast line and the ports of Mariupol and Odessa thus making the Ukraine a landlocked nation totally dependent on Russia.

This first failure was due to the lack of understanding that the ethnic Ukrainians in these towns while speaking Russian still identified themselves as Ukrainian not Russian AND the various volunteer BNs that were stood up during the Maidan moved quickly to quell the various Russian attempted takeovers—even if rag tag they were able on sheer determination to end the mercenary actions which were successful.

Failure two---the Russian military anticipated that after the weak response by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Crimea they would see the same responses in eastern Ukraine—WHAT they did not anticipate were the volunteer BNs joining forces with the UAF and yes they were a rag tag heap of a military, but they were still able to effectively defeat the mercenaries in fight after fight to the point of a total defeat thus forcing Putin to move militarily into eastern Ukraine.

Something I believe he never did envision in the early stages of Russian non linear warfare as that had not happened in Crimea. THERE is something in the Russian military doctrine that is actually causing a major problem for Putin and his non linear warfare model---the belief in a total defeat of the opposing forces---Putin and his military have been attempting to cause a massive military defeat of the UAF thus forcing the Ukrainian government to negotiate on Russian terms. In the Russian invasion of August 2014 they surrounded a rag tag force of 1K to 1.5K and soundly defeated them—but overall a large group was able to slip away to fight another day.

This defeat forced the UAF to address their shortcomings and rebuild a professional military in a hurry while the fighting was and is still ongoing. In August 2014, there were only 6K personnel available to fight in august 2014 ---now that number is close to 64K along the front lines.

We see the improvement in the UAF in the fighting at Debaltseve a clear and concise violation by Russia of the Minsk 2 agreement. Again surrounded the UAF this time did not listen to their higher command and on their own the ground commanders organized a fighting withdrawal and were able to effectively withdraw 2.5K troops that were surrounded with minimum loses and they brought out all their heavy equipment. Even Putin who voiced in a public interview in Budapest boasted of their defeat and the next day the UAF announced they had successfully withdrawn all fighting units.

Since Debaltseve the tenacity and resilience of the UAF has even surprised the Russian MoD ie sustaining over 150 to 200 tons of munitions being fired at them daily with only on one recent day having just two WIAs. The UAF has beaten back a number of strong ground attacks and has been as well beating back countless Spetsnaz led ground attacks. The UAF has effectively bottled up Russian forces and her mercenaries forcing Putin to either go for a major ground offensive which would trigger harsher sanctions and or lose face and pull back.

Failure three—Russian doctrine clearly sees/states--- the use of economics as a weapons system in non linear warfare and has been hoping through constant fighting to drive the Ukraine into economic collapse as their economy was in bad shape before the August 2014 invasion. While struggling the Ukraine has though passed a number of major economic reforms, received a 27B USD commitment from the IMF and millions/billions in other forms of aid from the EU, the Baltics, Japan, US and Canada and are in the verge of negotiating a debt buy down combined with the current free trade and no import tax regime of the EU. The Ukrainian economy while still struggling has improved vastly in the last six months and is projected to rebound in late 2016 with a moderate growth goal.

Russia on the other hand because of poor economic governance, oligarch controlled enterprises, poor political leadership coupled with the Crimea and eastern Ukraine sanctions, falling oil prices and a Ruble crash is in dire straits while not admitting they are in dire straits. AND having to service the war costs in eastern Ukraine of an estimated 50M USDs per day Russia has a far more serious economic struggle than does the Ukraine.

Failure four----the use of information warfare, fake information, disinformation, outright propaganda and a constant barrage of outright lies is slowly losing it’s effectiveness as social media and a number of Ukrainian and EU organizations are calling out this propaganda faster than the Russians can create new myths.

The use of massive troll nets while new, intensive and very large --- as a major issue--it is also diminishing. While initially effective in shaping the Russian myths of why they annexed Crimea and why they are protecting so called ethnic Russian speakers the effects of these myths are slowly receding in the West—a vast amount of the Russian informational war is being directed towards their own civil society in order to avoid what they view as their worst nightmare---a Moscow Maidan.

We see this diminishing effect in the way they have handled the propaganda pushback with the shot down of MH17. We have now at least six different shot down versions with Russia claiming they are all true while social media has torn them apart as blatant lies.

This does not mean informational warfare should now be ignored—no rather it must be viewed as a critical piece of the Russian non linear warfare and must be fully understood and countered as Russia now views war to be a daily event even in peacetime thus driving their informational warfare in ways to effect the success of this unspoken war by shaping the opinions of entire civil societies and their economic and political leadership.

Failure five---the unintended 3rd order of effects of non linear warfare is time---something that the Russian military and Putin has totally until the last month or so overlooked. Non linear warfare as being practiced by Russia in the eastern Ukraine was designed to be fast paced with results being in the form of a functioning mercenary government and the ability to force the Ukraine to cave to Russian demands in a continuous ongoing and speedy fashion.

We are now a full year into the non linear warfare and actually since August 2014 and outside of the still ongoing informational warfare and cyber warfare non linear warfare elements we are seeing a clear and concise interstate war ongoing. Russia has been forced into a tank on tank approach which is time consuming and costly and their “New Russia” project has since February 2015 not really gone anywhere and time is running out as there has been no additional territory gained since Minsk 2 the demarcation line.

Failure six---if we look at the diplomatic efforts on the part of Russia as being one element in their non linear warfare which it has been so defined then since Minsk 2 they are failing on all fronts. Even the attempts by Putin to “demand” that Obama, Hollande and Merkel apply direct pressure on the Ukraine and to force the Ukraine to do unilateral appeasement moves as defined by Russia which has occurred has led to nothing in the end.

In the end we have to start actually looking at what has and has not worked in the new Russian UW strategy called new generational warfare/non linear warfare and called by the West hybrid warfare.

The failures are starting to out weight the victories.

[OUTLAW 09]

More indicators Russian troops and her mercenaries are actually shelling their own civilians to creat a provocation and blame the UAF---

Witness in #Donetsk city:
http://www.dw.com/en/waiting-for-peace-in-donetsk-eastern-ukraine/a-18669972 … pic.twitter.com/A7naMJtVpg

'Pro Russians' shell own school in #Horlivka call #OSCE . Idiots forgot #OSCE understand physics and math pic.twitter.com/94TF6uhGZU

It appears my eye in the sky may have actually captured the #OSCE inspecting the #Horlivka school pic.twitter.com/WUBr8f3Eis

a bit of Opytne footage... https://twitter.com/Dbnmjr/status/637015621063045120 …
At 22:40 #Optyne was hit with GRADs. Residential areas of #Avdiivka came under under 122-mm artillery fire from 9:30PM-12PM.

Stakhanov: russian artillery positions... https://twitter.com/elonline40/status/637012167900930048 …

Starohnativka was shelled at 9PM from 122-mm artillery. Starohnativka hit also by 120-mm mortars.

AND the Russians make a big deal out of a true ceasefire on 1 Sept—as the Ukrainian President stated yesterday THEN start it today WHY delay—proof they do not want one is below—I had though we were on track last night for 80-90 but instead it was 109. Remember the Russian mercenaries even stated that over 75 is actual combat operations and 30 is a "true ceasefire".

ATO presser reported 109 russian attacks yesterday in #Donbas. Most tense in the evening was #Mariupol area. https://www.facebook.com/ato.news?fref=nf …

Ah......Mariupol--the area that Putin demanded that the UAF--show "a sign of good faith" and Obama and his NSC caved in to the demand and pressured the he Ukraine via an unilateral appeasement move--this is the result of that very poor decision by Obama.

08.10.2014 Outpost 39.06 in front line in 5 km from Ilovaisk. 39 territorial defense battalion and mortar... http://fb.me/22zV4kREQ

#Donetsk 7AM
Proletarskyi ds - distant sporadic volleys https://twitter.com/DoneckiiPatriot/status/637114062573178886 …

#Yasynuvata 6:30AM
Medium intensity battle at traffic police post area https://twitter.com/GirkinGirkin/status/637113709643628544 …

#Donetsk 6:30AM
One could hear distant sporadic volleys https://twitter.com/DoneckiiPatriot/status/637108207530455040 …

[OUTLAW 09]

the first thread on the Ukraine war I posted a large chart indicating what individuals and organization--globally--where in fact tied to and supporting the Russian informational warfare either as propagandists and or pundits.

Here is Ron Paul again---this time with a Russian slanted approach to Syria.

Lack of investigation leads @RonPaulInstitut to assume #Assad regime "rightfully" kills civilians. http://ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/featured-articles/2015/august/27/syria-the-propaganda-ring/ …

It is interesting this combination of American so called expert pundits and the Russian info warfare being played out in the US.

BTW--this extends to US Congressmen paid for by Russian PR money via Us PR firms.

In some aspects even Obama is caught in it with the belief that he needs Putin for his legacy meaning needing Russia for a solution in Syria and with IS when in fact if Russia was so intent in ending this five year old tragedy he could have stopped all weapons shipments and his purchasing of oil in order to directly pressure Assad--WHICH he did not.

Example in the same time frame that the USAF conducted 1400 airstrikes on IS the Assad AF using Russian supplied helicopters and fighters conducted 7000 strikes against civilian targets TO include barrel bombs loaded with chlorine gas. AND Obama had a red line on the use of chemical weapons against civilians---which conveniently disappeared.

At the same time Russian has vetoed every UNSC attempt to resolve the Syrian crisis even stopping humanitarian aid AT the same time claiming the right to send "humanitarian aid" uncontrolled by the Ukraine and Red Cross into eastern Ukraine---now a total of 37 convoys.

Why he needs the Syria naval port and his GRU intel spy centers located in Syria.

IF Putin is so intent in fighting the Is THEN why is he allowing thousands of Islamists to leave Russia--but now they are returning and gunning for him AND now he screams for US assistance.

The irony of the Russian foreign policy was stated yesterday---Russian chiding the EU for their non action on the masses of refugees coming into Europe--THEN offering to help the EU find a solution WHEN in fact Russia is part and parcel of the Assad problem and has done nothing to stop it.

Therein lies the core problem for Obama and yet his legacy is far more important than ending a war that has put 3M refugees onto the road and has 1.2M IDP and over 300K killed not counting the sheer amount of destruction and wounding of civilians.

We get up tight about the heavy Russian weaponization of information war that is ongoing in and around the Ukraine BUT fail to see it in operation inside our own country--how strange is that?????

One really does need to fully understand the true Russian military doctrine on the use of weaponized informational.

Russia views war as continuing even in peacetime and the weaponization of information and cyber warfare are their tow key elements of their permanent
war.

[OUTLAW 09]

In the first thread on the Ukraine war I posted a large chart indicating what individuals and organization--globally--where in fact tied to and supporting the Russian informational warfare either as propagandists and or pundits.

Here is Ron Paul again---this time with a Russian slanted approach to Syria.

Lack of investigation leads @RonPaulInstitut to assume #Assad regime "rightfully" kills civilians. http://ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/featured-articles/2015/august/27/syria-the-propaganda-ring/ …

It is interesting this combination of American so called expert pundits and the Russian info warfare being played out in the US.

BTW--this extends to US Congressmen paid for by Russian PR money via Us PR firms.

In some aspects even Obama is caught in it with the belief that he needs Putin for his legacy meaning needing Russia for a solution in Syria and with IS when in fact if Russia was so intent in ending this five year old tragedy he could have stopped all weapons shipments and his purchasing of oil in order to directly pressure Assad--WHICH he did not.

Example in the same time frame that the USAF conducted 1400 airstrikes on IS the Assad AF using Russian supplied helicopters and fighters conducted 7000 strikes against civilian targets TO include barrel bombs loaded with chlorine gas. AND Obama had a red line on the use of chemical weapons against civilians---which conveniently disappeared.

At the same time Russian has vetoed every UNSC attempt to resolve the Syrian crisis even stopping humanitarian aid AT the same time claiming the right to send "humanitarian aid" uncontrolled by the Ukraine and Red Cross into eastern Ukraine---now a total of 37 convoys.

Why he needs the Syria naval port and his GRU intel spy centers located in Syria.

IF Putin is so intent in fighting the Is THEN why is he allowing thousands of Islamists to leave Russia--but now they are returning and gunning for him AND now he screams for US assistance.

The irony of the Russian foreign policy was stated yesterday---Russian chiding the EU for their non action on the masses of refugees coming into Europe--THEN offering to help the EU find a solution WHEN in fact Russia is part and parcel of the Assad problem and has done nothing to stop it.

Therein lies the core problem for Obama and yet his legacy is far more important than ending a war that has put 3M refugees onto the road and has 1.2M IDP and over 300K killed not counting the sheer amount of destruction and wounding of civilians.

We get up tight about the heavy Russian weaponization of information war that is ongoing in and around the Ukraine BUT fail to see it in operation inside our own country--how strange is that?????

One really does need to fully understand the true Russian military doctrine on the use of weaponized informational.

Russia views war as continuing even in peacetime and the weaponization of information and cyber warfare are their two key elements of their permanent
war.

One really does need to fully understand the true nature of the Russian military doctrine on the use of weaponized information.

Russia views war as continuing even in peacetime and the weaponization of information and cyber warfare are their two key elements of that state of permanent war.

HOW strange is the simple fact that the Russians have repeatedly stated in open source materials in multiple forums their full informational warfare concept/doctrine and YET we in the US just breeze by thinking it is not a "permanent war".

One of the key elements inside the Russian "weaponization of information" is the complete focus on changing the perceptions of an entire civil society.

Organizations like the Ron Paul Insitiute and the multiple US PR firms getting a constant flow of Russian funding and certain proRussian US Congressmen are the keys to changing that civil society and yet we seem to think the US civil society is smart enough to see the game in play--they are not.

[OUTLAW 09]

07:26 #Avdiivka @rechnikato There were landings within the town, we were in the center and it felt like it was landing outside the town.

07:36 #Avdiivka @rechnikato "The party seems to be in #Yasynyvata direction" https://twitter.com/loogunda/status/637150278110871552 …

09:15 #Donetsk @PVB40 "Shevchenko Blvd before the bridge: road 'police' and automatic rifleman. The same at Viktoria hotel"

09:35 #Donetsk @liliya44514215 The same picture closer to Budenovsky at the intersection of Mayska-Svetlogo_Puti St https://twitter.com/loogunda/status/637152435790848000 …

[OUTLAW 09]

More indicators Russian troops and her mercenaries are actually shelling their own civilians to creat a provocation and blame the UAF---

Witness in #Donetsk city:
http://www.dw.com/en/waiting-for-peace-in-donetsk-eastern-ukraine/a-18669972 … pic.twitter.com/A7naMJtVpg

'Pro Russians' shell own school in #Horlivka call #OSCE . Idiots forgot #OSCE understand physics and math pic.twitter.com/94TF6uhGZU

It appears my eye in the sky may have actually captured the #OSCE inspecting the #Horlivka school pic.twitter.com/WUBr8f3Eis

a bit of Opytne footage... https://twitter.com/Dbnmjr/status/637015621063045120 …
At 22:40 #Optyne was hit with GRADs. Residential areas of #Avdiivka came under under 122-mm artillery fire from 9:30PM-12PM.

Stakhanov: russian artillery positions... https://twitter.com/elonline40/status/637012167900930048 …

Starohnativka was shelled at 9PM from 122-mm artillery. Starohnativka hit also by 120-mm mortars.

AND the Russians make a big deal out of a true ceasefire on 1 Sept—as the Ukrainian President stated yesterday THEN start it today WHY delay—proof they do not want one is below—I had though we were on track last night for 80-90 but instead it was 109. Remember the Russian mercenaries even stated that over 75 is actual combat operations and 30 is a "true ceasefire".

ATO presser reported 109 russian attacks yesterday in #Donbas. Most tense in the evening was #Mariupol area. https://www.facebook.com/ato.news?fref=nf …

Ah......Mariupol--the area that Putin demanded that the UAF--show "a sign of good faith" and Obama and his NSC caved in to the demand and pressured the he Ukraine via an unilateral appeasement move--this is the result of that very poor decision by Obama.

08.10.2014 Outpost 39.06 in front line in 5 km from Ilovaisk. 39 territorial defense battalion and mortar... http://fb.me/22zV4kREQ

#Donetsk 7AM
Proletarskyi ds - distant sporadic volleys https://twitter.com/DoneckiiPatriot/status/637114062573178886 …

#Yasynuvata 6:30AM
Medium intensity battle at traffic police post area https://twitter.com/GirkinGirkin/status/637113709643628544 …

#Donetsk 6:30AM
One could hear distant sporadic volleys https://twitter.com/DoneckiiPatriot/status/637108207530455040 …

@finriswolf Stunned. Your footage is from Tuesday.
I guess some people would pay money for such current satellite images...

[OUTLAW 09]

Light humor for the day----


How a Russian opinion poll works: "Do you Igor Petrovich of 51 Ulitsa Oktobrskaya Apt 47 (with wife & 2 kids), DOB 12.4.1963 support Putin?"

[OUTLAW 09]

1 civilian and 1 Ukrainian soldier (commander of 92nd Brigade) was wounded in the Luhansk region yesterday - RSA
http://112.ua/ato/v-luganskoy-obl-v-rezultate-obstrelov-raneny-voennyy-i-mirnyy-zhitel-tuka-254707.html …

According to Sec. M Press officer, 51 militants were wounded after Ukraine forces destroyed an ammo depot in Styla
http://m.0629.com.ua/news/940842

[OUTLAW 09]

Perfect example of just how Russian “weaponization of information” works.

A US Democratic Congressman entered anglen amendment to the DoD Defense Funding Bill indicating that the unit below which he called “a white supremacist neo Nazi group” should receive no US military training and or military equipment—social media immediately discovered that this Congressman had never been in the Ukraine, knew nothing about the Azov volunteer BN and had gotten all his information from a local media source—THEN it was discovered also via social media that a US lobbyist and his firm had close ties to the Congressman and had received PR funds from Moscow.

THEN in the recent Normandy Four meeting Putin demanded a “sign of good faith” from the Ukrainian side and that as a part of that good faith they should pull out the Azov BN which had been fighting and virtually defeating attack after attack on the area they were defending-- the seaside town of Shyrokyne strategically critical to the defense of the Ukrainian city port of Mariupol where they had been in heavy fighting for over six months.

While the Ukrainian military command argues that it was a “normal” rotation it is now well known that the US applied unilateral appeasement pressure to force that pullback on the Ukrainians. Especially from the Russia side who also “accused” Azov of being a” Nazi BN”.

I had posted a number of serious comments on this sudden desire by the Obama administration to conduct a “sign of good faith” deal in hopes that this would appease Putin.

REMEMBER it was Obama in 2014 who publicly stated for all to hear and see—“we will judge Putin on his actions not his words”. Well in front of rolling Russian TV camaeras the Russian troops pulled back all of 1.4kms the Ukrainian side 15km.

AND since the pullback the UAF has taken loses and wounded by constant shelling and ground attacks in the area of the so called DMZ.

So does anyone notice the relationship between Russian money flowing to the US and then a US Congressman suddenly becoming a massive knowledgable expert on Ukrainian internal affairs all gained from a single media source, to Putin demanding a pullback to Obama caving into that demand.

All in the open and clearly recognizable---“weaponized information warfare” at it’s best.

http://dailysignal.com/2015/08/27/as-war-escalates-ukrainian-volunteer-battalion-remains-sidelined/

As War Escalates, Ukrainian Volunteer Battalion Remains Sidelined

Nolan Peterson / @nolanwpeterson / August 27, 2015


URZUF, Ukraine—The vehicle yard at the Ukrainian National Guard Azov Battalion’s base here looks like the set of a Mad Max movie.

There is a semi-truck tractor covered in welded black armor parked next to a fleet of busses, minivans, pickup trucks and hatchback Volkswagens all painted in camouflage patterns—some sporting bullet holes. The up-armored semi-truck tractor was used when the Azov Battalion stormed Mariupol in June 2014 to take the city back from separatist control.

While Azov members or their supporters donated most of these civilian vehicles, the Ukrainian government has also supplied hand-me-downs from the Soviet era, including T-64 tanks and Soviet armored personnel carriers, called BTRs.

Azov’s T-64 tanks, armed with 125-mm guns, were mostly built in the 1980s and have upgraded armor and targeting and communications equipment. One tank has deep gouges in its armor from combined Russian-separatist machine gun fire. All of the armored vehicles are being repainted in Azov’s distinctive camouflage pattern (the soldiers call it “za za style”) and unit symbol.

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The Ukrainian government supplied the armored vehicles as part of the Azov Battalion’s incorporation under the Ministry of the Interior as an official National Guard unit earlier this year. (The unit began as a civilian paramilitary group during the 2014 Maidan revolution.)

“In the first days, the separatists couldn’t even take apart a rifle,” said Azov’s 42-year-old deputy regiment commander at Urzuf who goes by the nom de guerre, Apis.

“Now they have tanks and artillery and anti-aircraft weapons,” he added. “And now we face Russian soldiers. We’ve had to become more professional to fight them.”

Azov’s base in Urzuf used to be the seaside villa of deposed Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. There are about 400 soldiers based here for the defense of Mariupol—an industrial city of 500,000 about 40 kilometers (25 miles) to the northeast.

Yet, as the Ukraine war continues to escalate and as casualties mount, the Azov Battalion remains sidelined from the conflict, highlighting the uneasy relationship between the government in Kyiv and the many volunteer units on which it leaned heavily in the early days of the war.

“We’re not satisfied to be off the front line,” said Vyniy, the commander of Azov’s public affairs unit,.

“Actually,” he added, “we’re mad about it.”

Benched

In August the Ukrainian government pulled all volunteer battalions, including Azov, off the front lines around Mariupol, replacing them with regular military units. The move, according to Kyiv, was a routine rotation of troops that reflected the increased combat readiness of the country’s regular military.

“The task of the Ukrainian armed forces is to deter aggression of the enemy,” Ukrainian General Staff Press Secretary Vladyslav Selezniov said Aug. 11, according to Ukrainska Pravda, a Ukrainian news site.

“The National Guard and the Ministry of Interior have their own tasks, which they perform on the second and third lines of defense,” Selezniov added, according to the report. “At the moment, the Ukrainian armed forces are located along the entire line of defense.”

Three Ukrainian Marine battalions and one artillery division were sent to Mariupol to bolster the city’s defenses as the volunteer units were withdrawn. Ukrainian Marines replaced the volunteer battalions in Shyrokyne. During the transition, Azov troops said they only had two hours to vacate their positions in Shyrokyne, which included a network of trenches from which they had been fighting for more than six months.

“There was no handover at all,” Vyniy said.

Public Pushback

Volunteer units like the Azov Battalion played a key role in spring and summer 2014 when the advance of combined Russian-separatist forces put Ukraine’s regular army on the defensive. And as the war has dragged on, the volunteer units have developed into some of Ukraine’s most battle-hardened and well-trained fighting forces.

Along with government forces, the Azov Battalion successfully fought in June 2014 to take Mariupol back from separatist control. Since then, Azov soldiers have fought in near daily battles on the city’s outskirts, repelling combined Russian-separatist attacks, including a tank battle in September 2014, and have endured a grinding, static trench and urban warfare battle for control of Shyrokyne.

Apis said officials in Kyiv claimed the recent withdrawal from Shyrokyne was due to high casualty rates among volunteer units. “They told us we had too many casualties,” Apis said. “But our casualties have been lower than the regular army’s.”

Fighting has escalated along the front lines near Mariupol in the past several weeks, including an artillery attack on Aug. 26, which killed seven Ukrainian soldiers.

On Aug. 16, when combined Russian-separatist forces shelled the village of Sartana on Mariupol’s periphery with 152-mm artillery, killing three civilians, Azov soldiers went on alert and waited for orders to join the fight.

“We wanted to go to Sartana, but we had no orders,” Vyniy said.

On Aug. 17, the Ukrainian news site UNIAN reported that the Donbas Battalion— another volunteer unit, which had been pulled out of Shyrokyne like the Azov Battalion—had been redeployed near the line of contact outside Mariupol. Yet, despite the recent escalation, the 400 Azov soldiers remain at garrison in Urzuf.

Motives

There is speculation in Ukrainian media reports and on social media that the decision to pull the volunteer units back from the front lines around Mariupol was politically motivated and part of a larger move to neutralize the various volunteer units.

In an April 2015 report for the Swedish Defense Research Agency, Margarete Klein wrote:

“Volunteer battalions represent both an opportunity and a potential risk for Ukraine’s fragile statehood and democratization prospects. Particularly during the first months of ATO (Anti-Terrorist Operation), the volunteer organizations with their high fighting spirit contributed significantly to containing the separatists.”

“However,” Klein added, “there is still a real risk of volunteer formations becoming politicized or turning into private armies.”

There is a growing sense of national frustration with the government in Kyiv due to its prosecution of the war in the Donbas, the country’s flailing economy and the slow pace of pro-democracy and anti-corruption reforms.

According to a Pew Research Center poll published June 10, only about a third (32 percent) of Ukrainian respondents said the Kyiv government was having a positive impact—a 15 percent drop in one year—and 59 percent of respondents said the central government was negatively affecting the country.

“In addition to dissatisfaction with economic conditions, Ukrainians express little faith in some of their country’s major institutions,” the Pew report said.

Ukraine’s volunteer battalions, conversely, enjoy broad public support.

Continued.....

“Everybody in Azov now considers Mariupol their native city,” Vyniy said. “It’s hard to just sit here and do nothing while it’s being attacked.”

Continued...........

[OUTLAW 09]

These are the results of the Obama and his NSC demanded unilateral appeasement moves in the Mariupol zone placed on the Ukraine as a "sign of good faith" towards Putin which BTW he had actually demanded not discussed--but demanded.

Obama urges Russia to fulfill the Minsk 2 agreements.

WTH is the term "urges"??? as a form of diplomatic resolution???--actually just words and nothing more and even a Page in the US Senate could repeat them--"urges" says nothing about "intent".

REMEMBER 2014 when Obama publicly stated- "we will judge Putin on his actions not words"--well it seems Putin really does not care what Obama says as he knows Obama wants his "legacy".

Tymchuk: #Russia sent 150 tanks, 50 AFVs, 50 SPGs, 32 MLRS and 250 trucks + 15 train convoys of ammo to #Ukraine in August alone

ATO Staff Spokesperson: Russia-backed militants violated ceasefire 291 times over the last three days

Zakharchenko says #DPR won't stop offensive until they reach min goal, extending DPR to whole #Donbas including #Sloviansk & #Mariupol

Telmanove local reports: all "local rebels" are sent to front. Telmanove occupied by regular russians, they claim "it's russia here already"

[OUTLAW 09]

Well finally out of the fog of "weaponized information warfare propaganda" the Russian mercenaries clearly state what I have been saying here for over five weeks now--there is in fact a Russian general offensive being slow stepped so as to not wake up Western leaders to the seriousness thus the Russian attempt to avoid further sanctions AND it seems to be working as the entire western mainstream media is still effectively asleep at the wheel.


Zakharchenko says #DPR won't stop offensive until they reach min goal, extending DPR to whole #Donbas including #Sloviansk & #Mariupol


Perfect example of the fog of war--yesterday with blaring trumpets the Russian troops and mercenaries announced with a great propaganda fanfare--they are going to complete ceasefire on 1 Sept 2015.

Well if one is going to a complete ceasefire THEN why the continuing heavy fighting???

THEN WHY are the heavy weapons and munitions by the tons????

Tymchuk: #Russia sent 150 tanks, 50 AFVs, 50 SPGs, 32 MLRS and 250 trucks + 15 train convoys of ammo to #Ukraine in August alone

[OUTLAW 09]

Still think Zakharchenko/Plotnitsky run things in DPR/LPR? Lt-Gen Serdyukov, Cmdr Russian occupation forces in Donbas pic.twitter.com/AhtaAaNL74

Carpathian Sich report last night militants shelled their positions with GRAD. 2 fighters were lightly injured
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1627594764123926&substory_index=0&id=1536808696535867&refid=17&_ft_=top_level_post_id.1627594764123926&__tn__=%2As …

Yesterday militants again fired on Mariinka CP, using mortars + RPGs. 2 enemy drone flights recorded - Border guards
http://dpsu.gov.ua/ua/about/news/news_8394.htm …

Report: Dutch have even names of the RU Buk missile crew that shot down #MH17 http://carabaas.livejournal.com/15241370.html pic.twitter.com/kYZsNysqsh

Source of this remarkable footage of Givi's #Donetsk airport base:@Aero_Dnipro1
https://twitter.com/RobPulseNews/status/637236230506315776 …

[OUTLAW 09]

Ukr troops incurred no casualties over the last day, 5 servicemen were WIA - #ATO daily report

Russia is nearing KIA numbers in denied invasion of Ukraine that US suffered in 14 years of conflict in Afghanistan - http://dailycaller.com/2015/08/26/russia-accidentally-reveals-its-massive-ukraine-body-count

[OUTLAW 09]

And who says that the Russian informational warfare which is built on two concepts—“weaponization of information” and cyber warfare/cyber crime is not the key to the success of UW conflicts in the coming 21st century. Appears Russia, IS, Iran and China all have their own versions of “informational warfare and they are employing them 365 X 24 X 7.

While we still spend massive amounts of time discussing the problem while never finding a solution nor strategy to defeat it—typical western approach.

Hacker Killed by Drone Was Islamic State’s ‘Secret Weapon’
Targeting of Islamic State’s electronics expert shows how digital warfare has upset balance of power on modern battlefield

[OUTLAW 09]

And who says that the Russian informational warfare which is built on two concepts—“weaponization of information” and cyber warfare/cyber crime is not the key to the success of UW conflicts in the coming 21st century. Appears Russia, IS, Iran and China all have their own versions of “informational warfare and they are employing them 365 X 24 X 7.

While we still spend massive amounts of time discussing the problem while never finding a solution nor strategy to defeat it—typical western approach.

Hacker Killed by Drone Was Islamic State’s ‘Secret Weapon’
Targeting of Islamic State’s electronics expert shows how digital warfare has upset balance of power on modern battlefield


EU declares info war on Russia, promises no propaganda
http://www.politico.eu/article/russia-propaganda-ukraine-eu-response-disinformation/ …
Why not just support indie media then? pic.twitter.com/gca3xw0RJF

Social media has been carrying the burden of rebuttal and yet not a single supporting word or funding comes from the EU/NATO/US.

[OUTLAW 09]

Russian use of "weaponization of information" to rebut the leaked article on the number of Russian troops killed and seriously maimed in the Ukraine.

Social media has in fact verified the archived document to be valid and yet Russian Today is attempting to spin it as a faked report.

Who slipped? How fake report on ‘Russian soldier deaths’ in Ukraine set MSM on fire
Published time: 27 Aug, 2015 22:10
Edited time: 28 Aug, 2015 09:05


A Forbes report on alleged Russian army casualties in Ukraine citing a dodgy Russian website has sparked a media and Twitter storm. Some said Russia had “finally slipped” with the leak on its troops in Ukraine; others were baffled by the “fake publication.” RT decided to investigate.

A Forbes contributor, Paul Roderick Gregory, published an article on Wednesday citing a Russian web source called “Delovaya Zhizn” (translated as Business Life), which was said to reveal “official figures on the number of Russian soldiers killed or made invalids in eastern Ukraine.”

The report, dated March 2015 and entitled “Increases in Pay for Military in 2015,” was altered, with the relevant information being removed, after the Forbes publication came out. However, the original copy was webcached by Google.

The cache shows that the website, which has articles on Russian finance, markets and leisure, claimed that the Russian government had paid monetary compensation to Russian soldiers who “took part in military actions in Eastern Ukraine.”

Without citing a source, the article claimed that as of February 1, more than 2,000 families of soldiers killed in Ukraine had received compensation of 3 million rubles (about $50,000) and those crippled during military action – a half million rubles (about $25,000). It added that another 3,200 soldiers wounded in battle had received compensation of 1,800 rubles for every day they were in the conflict zone.

The Forbes contributor accused “Russian censors” for “quickly removing the offending material.”

The Forbes report was picked up by Western media and independent journalists. The International Business Times reported that the Russian article had “accidentally published the leaked figures.”

An article by The Independent on Wednesday called Delovaya Zhizn a “respected news site in Russia,” and cited the head of the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House, James Nixey, who said that the report is a “nail in the coffin” in proving Russia is engaged in military action.

Another media outlet piling on was was Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), which claimed it had received a response from some Anatoly Kravchenko from Delovaya Zhizn, who said the website had “received the casualty figures from relatives of dead servicemen as well as ‘insider information’ from the Russian Defense Ministry.” However, they added that the website’s representative had “declined to identify any specific sources.”

[OUTLAW 09]

TASS ✔ @tassagency_en
Merkel's spokesman says no change in stance on sanctions against Russia http://tass.ru/en/world/817214

YET Merkel and her FM Steinmeier never say anything publicly about the ongoing general offense and the killing of Ukrainian military personnel as well as civilians—not a single word.

Dear @OSCE_SMM, if you don't mind, go there and see Givi's three T-72 (#MinskBreach)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkhjjehKUJc&feature=youtu.be …
#Ukraine pic.twitter.com/UoIyXwtDLZ

Detained Odessa police chief apparently working for the #Russia|n's in Donbas:
http://www.048.ua/news/940812
pic.twitter.com/eoylZhQtC5

[OUTLAW 09]

Russian troops and her mercenary command and control structure--

The command structure of the #Russia|n occupation forces #Donbas
pic.twitter.com/kn0Gajs3if

Both are chart graphics---

The number of militants and #Russia|n troops in #Donbas #Ukraine
pic.twitter.com/Dfsvvy0XRU

Graphics---

Evidence of violations of Minsk agreements by militants and Russian curators http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/28-august-evidence-of-violations-of-the-minsk-agreements … pic.twitter.com/klIdBkt0dV

[OUTLAW 09]

Shellings have not really stopped during the day--attack numbers will be high again---

16:15 #Donetsk @PVB40 [fb] 1 route clearance vehicle, 1 BMP, 2 trucks with troops

Maryinka @mariinka_UA There was no battle, some shots, direct hits https://twitter.com/loogunda/status/637263882512396288 …

14:19 #Maryinka @mariinka_UA [ok.ru] #186-#190, Lenina St - houses on fire

14:40 #Maryinka @666_mancer [vk] Battle's on, shooting is audible, booms sometimes

13:50 #Horlivka @tgorlovka In #Bessarabka settlement one can hear shooting.
13:57 Incoming ones are heard there too

From yesterday's Russian shellings---
Ukraine responded to attack which killed 6 soldiers & wounded 2, wounding 51 #Putin troops https://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&prev=search&rurl=translate.google.co.uk&sl=ru&u=http://www.0629.com.ua/news/940842&usg=ALkJrhi2zi5YpH3UL34jVnQjbhtbl6Ki1Q … pic.twitter.com/41xVEhIV1p

[OUTLAW 09]

So was the Russian “separatist movement” really an ethnic Russian speaking population trying to become rich the real reason behind Russian involvement in the Donbas—they simply got tired of their ethnic Russian oligarchs??

Donbosses”: “rebel” leaders in control of Donetsk’s economy (infographic) http://euromaidanpress.com/2015/08/28/donbosses-rebel-leaders-in-control-of-donetsks-economy-infographic/ …

MAP-----
Basecamps and routes of militants (intelligence data) http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/28-august-basecamps-and-routes-of-militants-intelligence … pic.twitter.com/siP7YRUiSA

[OUTLAW 09]

Perfect example of just how Russian “weaponization of information” works.

A US Democratic Congressman entered anglen amendment to the DoD Defense Funding Bill indicating that the unit below which he called “a white supremacist neo Nazi group” should receive no US military training and or military equipment—social media immediately discovered that this Congressman had never been in the Ukraine, knew nothing about the Azov volunteer BN and had gotten all his information from a local media source—THEN it was discovered also via social media that a US lobbyist and his firm had close ties to the Congressman and had received PR funds from Moscow.

THEN in the recent Normandy Four meeting Putin demanded a “sign of good faith” from the Ukrainian side and that as a part of that good faith they should pull out the Azov BN which had been fighting and virtually defeating attack after attack on the area they were defending-- the seaside town of Shyrokyne strategically critical to the defense of the Ukrainian city port of Mariupol where they had been in heavy fighting for over six months.

While the Ukrainian military command argues that it was a “normal” rotation it is now well known that the US applied unilateral appeasement pressure to force that pullback on the Ukrainians. Especially from the Russia side who also “accused” Azov of being a” Nazi BN”.

I had posted a number of serious comments on this sudden desire by the Obama administration to conduct a “sign of good faith” deal in hopes that this would appease Putin.

REMEMBER it was Obama in 2014 who publicly stated for all to hear and see—“we will judge Putin on his actions not his words”. Well in front of rolling Russian TV camaeras the Russian troops pulled back all of 1.4kms the Ukrainian side 15km.

AND since the pullback the UAF has taken loses and wounded by constant shelling and ground attacks in the area of the so called DMZ.

So does anyone notice the relationship between Russian money flowing to the US and then a US Congressman suddenly becoming a massive knowledgable expert on Ukrainian internal affairs all gained from a single media source, to Putin demanding a pullback to Obama caving into that demand.

All in the open and clearly recognizable---“weaponized information warfare” at it’s best.

http://dailysignal.com/2015/08/27/as-war-escalates-ukrainian-volunteer-battalion-remains-sidelined/

As War Escalates, Ukrainian Volunteer Battalion Remains Sidelined

Nolan Peterson / @nolanwpeterson / August 27, 2015

Another western mainstream media outlet picks up a Russian “weaponized information” report about Azov and runs with it without fact checking.

Unlike @dailymail, @kyivpost actually visited the Azov children's camp and found that it's a normal camp http://www.kyivpost.com/multimedia/photo/azovets-patriotic-camp-for-children-396138.html …

[OUTLAW 09]

Russian troops and her mercenary command and control structure--

The command structure of the #Russia|n occupation forces #Donbas
pic.twitter.com/kn0Gajs3if

Both are chart graphics---

The number of militants and #Russia|n troops in #Donbas #Ukraine
pic.twitter.com/Dfsvvy0XRU

Graphics---

Evidence of violations of Minsk agreements by militants and Russian curators http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/28-august-evidence-of-violations-of-the-minsk-agreements … pic.twitter.com/klIdBkt0dV

Graphics-----
Command at 1st and 2nd Russian Army Corps stationed in militant-controlled eastern #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/Clc5IA8Rva

[OUTLAW 09]

In Russian---
Russian politician says: the only way to make Russians euphoric in face of growing discontent is to annex E. Ukraine
http://www.bbc.com/russian/russia/2015/08/150828_rus_press …

[OUTLAW 09]

VIDEO #Dnipropetrovsk #Ukraine SBU arrested dealers & seized arms cache w RPGs,old rifles etc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kb9EKBsEZw … pic.twitter.com/yJH3Xqm3YS

Russia as 1 of the sides in Ukr conflict may be denied the right to re-vote on tribunal #MH17 in UNSC https://twitter.com/Varfolomeev/status/626822159365722112 …

[OUTLAW 09]

Humor------

Transcript of call between Obama & Merkel.

BO: "We are deeply concerned about Putin".
AM: "So are we".
Repeat for 45 mins.

[OUTLAW 09]

This is the direct results of the Obama unilateral appeasement move demanded by Putin as a "sign of good faith" that he forced the Ukraine to concede to--this area was suppose to be a DMZ with OSCE observation towers.

1. the towers have never been built
2. the Azov BN/REGT which Putin demanded to be pulled out was and it was replaced by UAF Marines
3. the Russian only pulled back 1.3kms the UAF 15kms
4. during the latest round of fighting there not even the OSCE has shown up

And the fighting and shellings have not stopped---this is what one calls in the US--getting suckered by Putin.

20:01 #Bezimenne @huyovyvuyko Smoke cloud over #Shyrokyne, half-day ongoing battle. After wind shift 3 positions of RUS mortars are audible

[OUTLAW 09]

VIDEO: Russian/Militant tank on the move in Donetsk today
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DJiz4v3_t00 … pic.twitter.com/lQuRQ8CdyM

Shame—great media investigative journalism—in Russian.
Novaya Gazeta on enrichment of #Girkin, #Zakharchenko, #Pushilin, #Khodakovsky through looting, fund tapping. In RU http://www.novayagazeta.ru/politics/69639.html …

Unconfirmed info about 1 Ukr servicemen KIA and 1 WIA at #Hranitne. https://twitter.com/pavlushkaserg/status/637299284141064192 …

ATO press center reports situation in Donbas today as stable. Most militant activity came near Donetsk
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1056102414400564&id=820651001279041&refid=17&_ft_=top_level_post_id.1056102414400564&__tn__=%2As …

MRO-A in #Ukraine with an interesting message #Thermobaric pic.twitter.com/SR6HXsJKUj

17:15 #Donetsk @AlfaNubovsky Along Mira tow/center a UAZ car w/emergency lights&flatbed truck for big vehicles moved. To fetch smth downed?

DNR issues it's own vehicle number plates, 4k since May. In Donetsk alone there was 300k cars. It says EVERYTHING about their support.

[OUTLAW 09]

Graphics-----
Command at 1st and 2nd Russian Army Corps stationed in militant-controlled eastern #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/Clc5IA8Rva

http://20committee.com/2015/08/28/russias-secret-army-in-ukraine-2/

Russia’s “Secret” Army in Ukraine

August 28, 2015


Today the office of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko released via Twitter important details about the organization and structure of Russia’s occupying army in Southeastern Ukraine. The order of battle (ORBAT) information is clearly derived from a lot of intelligence, especially SIGINT (I say this as someone who used to do ORBAT intelligence for a living: this is well done).

Since most of my readers know neither Russian or Ukrainian, I’m passing on what Kyiv has released today in English. The translation isn’t great but it works. I’m providing comments below since most normals are not well acquainted with the nuances of Russian military organization.

Russian Military Command, South-East Ukraine (Novocherkask):

Commanding Officer (CO): GenCol A N. Serdyukov [1]

1st Army Corps (“Donetsk People’s Republic” Military), HQ: Donetsk

CO: GenMaj A.V. Zavizyon [2]

CNgU3PPWoAAJrRK

2nd Army Corps (“Luhansk People’s Republic” Military), HQ: Luhansk

CO: GenMaj Y. V. Nikiforov [3]

CNgU3GbWgAAL3oP

The organization of the 1st and 2nd Corps, no surprise, corresponds exactly to the standard tables of organization and equipment (TO&E) of Russian Ground Forces. There are several maneuver brigades (“motor rifle” is the Russian term for mechanized in NATO parlance) supported by independent regiments and battalions. As Kyiv has announced, the 35,000 troops belonging to “DNR” and “LNR” forces are bolstered by 9,000 reservists. While some forty percent of the troops are locals, the rest are Russians plus a few mercenaries and foreign volunteers.

The senior command staff are exclusively Russian officers assigned to the 1st and 2nd Corps — officially they are “not there” of course — while the operation is run, logistically and command-wise, from neighboring Russia.

To anybody with a decent memory, this closely resembles the relationship during the 1992-95 Bosnian War, when the Bosnian Serb Army (VRS), while consisting largely of local rank-and-file troops, had most of its command, and nearly all of its financing and logistics, coming from neighboring Serbia and its military — which, in practice treated the VRS as merely as an extension of itself, as in fact it was.

Needless to add, the “DNR” and “LNR” militaries would not last twenty-four hours without constant command and logistical support from Putin’s military. They are an extension of Russian Ground Forces and should be treated as such by the West. It’s time to end, once and for all, any fiction about “rebels” — these are Russian-controlled forces, led by Russian officers, supplied with Russian guns and ammunition, that are waging war inside Ukraine.

Kudos to Kyiv for putting this important information out there as an aid to understanding what’s really going on in their country.

Comments:

1. AKA Sedov; GenCol is a Russian “three-star” rank.

2. AKA Pilen; GenMaj is a Russian “one-star” rank.

3. AKA Morgun; GenMaj is a Russian “one-star” rank.


LEAST we forget--this is no longer a Russian non linear war--but rather a full blown interstate war being driven by Putin using Russian financing. Russian troops, Russian officers in all command and control positions, Russian mercenaries, Russian heavy weapons and munitions.

[OUTLAW 09]

Russian use of "weaponization of information" to rebut the leaked article on the number of Russian troops killed and seriously maimed in the Ukraine.

Social media has in fact verified the archived document to be valid and yet Russian Today is attempting to spin it as a faked report.

Who slipped? How fake report on ‘Russian soldier deaths’ in Ukraine set MSM on fire
Published time: 27 Aug, 2015 22:10
Edited time: 28 Aug, 2015 09:05

Russia "Delovaya Zhizn" article on compensation for dead & wounded soldiers before & after note on #Ukraine removed pic.twitter.com/x2YhHzL5zQ

Russian totally controlled Russia Today is desperately attempting to get the mainstream media to believe the originally posted article and then redacted is in fact a fake.

AND actually a number of MSM journalists and media outlets are actually running with the lead story that it is a fake having never apparently fact checked it with social media and their analysis.

RT is trying hard to "win" this "weaponized information war" as the KIA/WIA figures are actually high.

Cached #Russia article on compensation for soldiers #Ukraine before & After https://web.archive.org/web/20150822092515/http:/bs-life.ru/rabota/zarplata/voennosluzashchie2015.html … & https://web.archive.org/web/20150824025821/http:/bs-life.ru/rabota/zarplata/voennosluzashchie2015.html …

[OUTLAW 09]

Is Russia in the process of spinning out of control and becoming totally unmanageable in the race to the bottom to be the best food destroyer in the eyes of Putin and his propaganda media?

http://europe.newsweek.com/western-manufacturers-demand-explanation-russia-takes-products-off-shelves-332162

Western Manufacturers Demand Explanation as Russia Takes Products off Shelves

By Damien Sharkov 8/28/15 at 1:00 PM



Russia has asked supermarkets to pull European and U.S. household brands such as Fairy liquid, Persil washing powder and others from their shelves after its government watchdog deemed them unsafe. Manufacturers are now questioning the decision behind for the removal, as experts warn more goods could be seized in the future.

Last Tuesday the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) ordered supermarkets to take a host of cleaning products made by EU and U.S. companies off their shelves such as Henkel, Procter & Gamble, Werner & Mertz GmbH, Colgate-Palmolive and The Clorox Company.

However, unlike previous cases of Russia seizing Western goods deemed "unsafe" by Russian state standards, no direct explanation was given to their manufacturers as to why Rospotrebnadzor asked supermarket chains to halt sales of their products.

Try Newsweek: subscription offers

German-based Henkel, whose Persil washing powder and other detergents were on Rospotrebnadzor's list of unsafe items, said in a statement sent to Newsweek that their products had already passed mandatory government tests. What is more, some of Henkel's goods are produced in the Russian city of Perm and are not imported.

"All laundry and home care products we supply to the Russian market have received State Registration Certificates issued by the relevant authorities. This of course also holds true for all our powder laundry, detergents, which we manufacture in Russia," a spokesperson for the company says. "Therefore we are seeking dialogue with the relevant authorities to understand the background of their measures." The Henkel spokesperson says that Rospotrebnadzor had spoken with trade partners of the company but the manufacturer themselves still had no direct line of contact with the watchdog.

Clorox Company, who also had products removed, said they had not been sent details from the Russian agency's findings which alleged their products violated Russian safety codes and plan to conduct their own assessment on the matter. Meanwhile a spokesperson for Proctor and Gamble, whose Fairy dishwashing liquid was also deemed unsafe, seemed to echo those sentiments. "We believe Fairy Platinum Lime & Lemon is in compliance with the regulations in Russia and are seeking to work with the Rospotrebnadzor to resolve this matter as quickly as possible."

While Russia currently has sanctions on Western food imports such as cheese, meat and produce, in response to EU and U.S. sanctions imposed on Russian state businesses due to the Ukraine conflict, Rospotrebnadzor has sometimes restricted products which are not under sanctions. Most recently the watchdog halted sales of three different California-made wines earlier this month. In both cases, bans were issued on the grounds that products did not clear necessary health restrictions in Russia.

Some Russians took to social media to mock Rospotrebnadzor's decision, tweeting images of messy houses with sarcastic thanks to the watchdog, while others posted mock ups of detergent mascot Mr. Propper being arrested by Russian riot police.

Anna Popova, head of Rospotrebnadzor quickly appeared on national television after the statement was made to quell speculation that the watchdog was completely banning the products and insisted they would only pull batches believed were unsafe.

Lilia Shevtsova, Kremlinologist and Russia expert at the Brookings Institution believes that the seizing of Western products is a political one and more goods under sanctions will likely face similar investigations in future. "This will become practice. I can imagine the lower levels of the state apparatus sitting and racking their brains: 'What else could we check or sanction?' Running ahead of the leader is the test of loyalty and guarantee of survival."

With relations between Russia and the West at an all time low since the Cold War, Shevtsova believes sporadic or partial bans are a way for state bodies to ingratiate themselves to the Kremlin. "Rospotrebnadzor does not think about publicity or plans to respond to Europe, they don't care. They want to be in the Kremlin's mainstream," she adds.

Rospotrebnadzor could not be reached for comment, however they have repeatedly denied claims that their activity is motivated by politics. Shortly after their official statement the watchdog's head Anna Popova appeared on national Russian TV, explaining that the decision to pull detergents from shops was related to the rise in skin conditions in Russia and said the move would not be followed by a wholesale ban on Western detergents.


This is on top of confiscating/destroying 1.5 tons of meat for the German national motor car racing team competing in Russia --a Russian sponsored event.

Putin destroys more good food. Meanwhile, 22% of Russia's population live below the poverty line. https://twitter.com/CSISRussia/status/637323818105569280 …

[OUTLAW 09]

Is Russia in the process of spinning out of control and becoming totally unmanageable in the race to the bottom to be the best food destroyer in the eyes of Putin and his propaganda media?

http://europe.newsweek.com/western-manufacturers-demand-explanation-russia-takes-products-off-shelves-332162

Western Manufacturers Demand Explanation as Russia Takes Products off Shelves

By Damien Sharkov 8/28/15 at 1:00 PM



This is on top of confiscating 1.7 tons of food for the German national motorbike racing team competing in Russia this week--a Russian sponsored event.

ACTUALLY this is a key development and points to something I have posted here a number of times--one of the key reasons Russia has been fighting the Ukraine EU Association Agreement is the simple fact that Russian products would be barred from entering into the EU Free Trade Zone which the Ukraine will be part of SIMPLY because of their poor quality and failures to reach the common set of EU food, health and safety standards demanded of all countries trading in the EU.

Russia fears losing an estimated 500M-700M USDs in lost trade in the Ukraine if they must reach EU food, health and safety standards.

THUS their massive pushback on the EU Association Agreement with the Ukraine.

There some recent complaints coming out of the Russian occupied Ukraine that the products coming in from Russia were way overpriced and of poor quality.

[OUTLAW 09]

21:03 #Makiivka @14720Maro [fb] Engines roar and clatter of tracks along #Donetsk bypass road in Makiivka Krylova St junction area

Belaya Kalitva: "Tanks and other mil. tech in the direction of Ukraine" http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/28-august-belaya-kalitva-russia-tanks-and-other-mil-tech … pic.twitter.com/W0SsXr4e9H via @el_roosevelt

Appears Ukrainian water is not arriving in the Crimea----little wonder the crops this year were a disaster.
Krasnoperekopsk, #Crimea - North Crimean canal @CrimeaUA1 pic.twitter.com/iVgf0DIHdY

Krasnohorivka - The "depth" of the implementation of Minsk-2 by militants
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=530125417144900&id=346164665540977&refid=17&_ft_=top_level_post_id.530125417144900&__tn__=%2As … pic.twitter.com/S3cSR7PGFB

21:22 #Volnovakha @solomazheka Fire engines towards #Buhas checkpoint
@nektonh Turned from route ro #Blyzhne
@lapa545 Quiet in Blyzhne

[OUTLAW 09]

Strangely quiet tonight on the shelling and ground attack front--not sure how to view the silence by the Russian troops and her mercenaries??????


Volnovakha @solomazheka Strange, for it seemed to be quite https://twitter.com/loogunda/status/637334974216171520 …

[OUTLAW 09]

Tank of #DNR Сомали battalion turns up in RU, few km from UA border: https://archive.is/hYcs2 thx @5urpher pic.twitter.com/6qSRFvdj20 With MAP

Tank of DNR Somali battalion appeared in Russia

"Local rebels" invaded Rostov Region?

[OUTLAW 09]

Strangely quiet tonight on the shelling and ground attack front--not sure how to view the silence by the Russian troops and her mercenaries??????


Volnovakha @solomazheka Strange, for it seemed to be quite https://twitter.com/loogunda/status/637334974216171520 …

Absolutely nothing to report--appears as if all Russian troops and her mercenaries are actually taking the evening off, or drunk, or gone home or actually holding to the Minsk 2 ceasefire for the first time since February 2015.

They are trying to put this thread out of business-----

BUT of course this could in fact be the true reason--remember the DNR leader claimed there was a general offense in progress and they were going to capture all of the Donbas region to include Mariupol.

http://www.unian.info/war/1116521-russia-amasses-heavy-weapons-and-troops-for-donbas-offensive-sbu.html

Russia amasses heavy weapons and troops for Donbas offensive - SBU

28.08.2015 | 22:00


The Kremlin has been massing up a massive amount of heavy weaponry and troops in occupied areas of Donbas in eastern Ukraine, preparing for an offensive, according to the SBU chief Vasyl Hrytsak, an UNIAN correspondent reports.

"A large number of heavy weapons and heavy military equipment has been deployed in the occupied territories of Ukraine. There has been an echelon accumulation of significant amounts of fuel and lubricants, ammunition, personnel, to ensure carrying out active offensive operations. According to the plan of the General Staff [of the Russian Federation], the operations imply invasion of Russia’s armed forces," said Hrytsak at a briefing in Kyiv on August 28.

He also said that the resources are being deployed both by railway through uncontrolled segments of the Russian-Ukrainian border, and also via submerged crossings over the Siversky Donets river.

[OUTLAW 09]

Ukrainian officials confirm earlier reports that Russia closed its border with Donbas #Ukraine to men under 50 to stop "DNR" draft dodgers.

Stakhanov @elonline40 "Today guys from #UN in the city, maybe at least this night will be without shelling

[OUTLAW 09]

Absolutely nothing to report--appears as if all Russian troops and her mercenaries are actually taking the evening off, or drunk, or gone home or actually holding to the Minsk 2 ceasefire for the first time since February 2015.

They are trying to put this thread out of business-----

BUT of course this could in fact be the true reason--remember the DNR leader claimed there was a general offense in progress and they were going to capture all of the Donbas region to include Mariupol.

http://www.unian.info/war/1116521-russia-amasses-heavy-weapons-and-troops-for-donbas-offensive-sbu.html

Russia amasses heavy weapons and troops for Donbas offensive - SBU

28.08.2015 | 22:00

Hate to write this--but it appears for some unknown strange reason there is silence along the entire demarcation front line tonight--at least not a single shelling and or ground attack report has drifted in.

Actually nice to see------better yet nice to not hear the shellings.

UAF and Ukrainian civilians need this break even if for one night.

Kind of sums it up----
22:34 #Krasnohorivka @hyeva_maryinka [vk] "We had a quiet day. Evening is calm. Anxiously waiting for quiet night".

[OUTLAW 09]

Seems the Russian troops and her mercenaries have awoken-----

Horlivka 22:19
Mine 6/7 area, #Mayosk - battle started, small arms, mortars https://twitter.com/062_Region/status/637343835778084864 …

22:37 #Horlivka @_John__Carter_ At full moon #Horlivka 'awoke'. Sounds like salvos. Pretty far, unclear

Will pick up any shelling and ground attack reports tomorrow.

[davidbfpo]

An update to Post 1833 from RT of all places.

A reminder first: 2k Russian dead and 3.2k invalids Whoops:
According to Forbes, Russian news site Business Life (Delovaya Zhizn) revealed what seem to be official figures detailing the number of Russian troops killed and injured in "Eastern Ukraine." The site, which generally focuses on coverage of markets, finance and leisure, posted a piece entitled “Increases in Pay for Military in 2015,” that at first glance would be uncontroversial....

Paul Roderick Gregory continues in his translation, "as of 1 February 2015, monetary compensation had been paid to more than 2,000 families of fallen soldiers and to 3,200 military personnel suffering heavy wounds and recognized as invalids.”
RT maintains the story is a fabrication and points the "finger" at Kiev.

Link:http://www.rt.com/news/313653-russia-ukraine-soldiers-fake-forbes/

[OUTLAW 09]

An update to Post 1833 from RT of all places.

A reminder first: 2k Russian dead and 3.2k invalids Whoops:
RT maintains the story is a fabrication and points the "finger" at Kiev.

Link:http://www.rt.com/news/313653-russia-ukraine-soldiers-fake-forbes/

Be careful with this article as it is interesting that the actual document was first released--archived though by social media--then suddenly withdrawn and released in a redacted fashion--all within say a timeframe of 20 minutes.

If in theory I am working disinformation then why would I first place the article then withdraw it and then rerelease a redacted version? Just place it into play and move on. Yes in theory if one wants a quick attention getter then withdraw and redact---but releasing the figures in the first place was a direct violation of the new Russian law on the reporting of military loses even in so called peace time.

The original and redacted versions have been released by social media in order to do a side by side comparison of the changes.

WHAT the FSB did not anticipate as it was their pressure to redact under the new Russian law concerning the non reporting of Russian war loss figures was the speed by which social media caught it in Russian and that social media has learned with their own info war abilities to archive everything and some of the social media has the ability to store terabytes of archived media for later review.

NOW comes the interesting info war game--in some ways the released figures really do parallel a large number of social media reports since August 2014 and if the imagery work done by them is accurate and it usually has been lately --alone in the Rostov an Don region there have been 1200 new grave sites dug and filled in since August 2014 with a large number of those graves being dug in the last six months.

Alone on grave site confirmations ---1.2K have been killed--the problem is are they all Russian mercenaries or is there a mixture???--some sources have been quoted as stating those are just the unidentified that could not be sent back to their own towns for burial there.

That imagery has been geo tagged, dated and released into social media for further verification--western mainstream media response to this reporting--a big fat ZERO.

REMEMBER in the month of late July 2015 through to mid August 2015 the OSCE SMM in the Ukraine reported 21 semi trailer trucks carrying +200 cargo--200 refers to Russian KIAs. Russia has been shipping only the bodies back in body bags to Rostov where they are then placed into coffins and a death certificate is issued. If we take conservative figure of just 20 per truck then that alone is 420 KIAs if as usual we take the normal load of 40-50 in each truck then that conservative figure is say 800-1050--again the problem is what is the mixture of mercenary to regular army dead.

Western mainstream media reporting of this--a big fat ZERO.

NOW the info war game begins---the initial denial and statements that the story was a fake came from TASS--total Russian controlled media and then Russia Today started their drumbeat--remember RT also totally Russian controlled and in over 126 countries has a far larger target audience than does TASS--Russian info warriors had noticed little to no take up with the TASS PR so they moved their efforts on to RT.

NOW it gets interesting after Forbes released they article--I watched this all day and into last night--then a number of somewhat reliable western journalists started to repeat what RT had stated and openly doubted the initial report of the KIA numbers, then a few other western media outlets started carrying the RT report as well. Something to remember is normally social media is quick to state fake or real---noticed that social media stayed on the sidelines after releasing it and still are---they are accepting as real and feel no further need to jump in--Ukrainian media is also quiet as they are assuming the figures are real as well.

THEN last night a Russia troll under guise as a reliable commenter stated at he had compared the document and found similar wording of the first report on an old archived document from a few years ago alluding that the first report was a blatant fake.

NOTICE that in all of this info war fight not a single western journalist and or western mainstream media has picked up the OSCE +200 movement reporting and or the verified and geo tagged imagery of the 1200 graves-that cannot be replicated and faked.

INTERESTING question--just why does all and I mean all of the so called independent western media ignor anything coming out of the Ukraine and why are they so lax in their fact checking????

I can count at least six major articles released by western media since the Russian invasion that have been based on Russian faked information and yet when called out by social media requesting retractions--silence is their response.

[OUTLAW 09]

Informational warfare and cyber warfare/cyber crime are the two key elements in the so called Russian non linear warfare or what many are calling hybrid warfare but really it is nothing more than a strategic UW strategy designed to win without a massive conventional confrontation. BTW it fits the IS, Iran and China as well.

One will notice that even from Russian governmental and military sourced materials on information warfare—Russia is in clear violation of their own doctrine towards the Ukraine—again the timeframe of 2008-2011 is in fact interesting since Russian non linear warfare and or the term New Generational Warfare ---is basically a Russian strategic UW strategy-- was also evolving during the same timeframe.

And if coupled with

National Defence Academy of Latvia
Center for Security and Strategic Research
RUSSIA’S NEW GENERATION WARFARE IN UKRAINE:
IMPLICATIONS FOR LATVIAN DEFENSE POLICY
FOI-R--4065--SE

Russian Information Warfare----taken from page 14----


The conceptual views also offer a number of important definitions, some of which are worth quoting in extenso (Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, 2011) (all from § 1):
Military conflict in the information space [voennyi konflikt v informatsionnom prostranstve] is a way to resolve conflicts between or within states by the use of information weapons. An information weapon is information technology, means and methods that are used in order to wage information war.

Information war [informatsionnaia voina] is a struggle between two or more states in the information space with the goal to damage information systems, processes or resources, critical or other infrastructure, to undermine political, economic and social systems, to destabilize a society and a state by massive psychological influence on the population, and also putting pressure on a state to make decisions that are in the interest of the opponent.

The information space [informatsionnoe prostranstvo] is the sphere of activity related to forming, creating, converting, transmitting, using and storing information to influence both individuals and society, information infrastructure, and information itself.

Both designed to support but not only-----deception on the operational level [operativnaia maskirovka].

Concerning the influence aspects of information war, it is thus worth looking at some wordings in the “Concept for the security of the society of the Russian Federation”, published in 2013 (Government of Russia, 2013):
One of the main sources of threats to the security of society is the extremist activities of nationalist, religious, ethnic and other organizations and structures aiming to ruin the unity and territorial integrity of the Russian Federation, and to destabilize the domestic political and social situation in the country. The spread of extremist sentiments among the youth is of particular concern. Members of extremist organizations actively employ modern technologies, including the information and telecommunications network the Internet, to spread extremist material, to attract new members into their ranks, and to coordinate illegal activity (§ 11).

It is noteworthy that these wordings appeared after the events of the Russian 2011–2012 election cycle, with its large-scale popular protests against the rigging of elections and the corruption of those in power, and the corresponding government crackdown against the opposition after Putin was reinstated as president. For a further analysis of these events, see Franke and Vendil Pallin (2012).
Taken from page 19—


Since 1998, Russia has sponsored a series of resolutions in the United Nations General Assembly, called “Developments in the field of information and telecommunications in the context of international
security” (UN GA, 2014). The fact that Russia has chosen the United Nations General Assembly First Committee, which deals with disarmament, as the forum in which to push these questions is interesting.

As part of this work, a draft “Convention on international information security”, intended for widespread adoption by the countries of the world, is being promoted by the Russian Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, a). The Russian-language version is available on the website of the Russian Federation National Security Council (Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, b). This draft convention was originally made public in Yekaterinburg in September 2011.

In the context of information operations, it is instructive to consider “the main threats in the information space that could damage international peace and stability” enumerated in the draft convention (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, a) (all from article 4):

1) the use of information technology and means of storing and transferring
information to engage in hostile activity and acts of aggression;

2) purposefully destructive behaviour in the information space aimed against critically important structures of the government of another State;

3) the illegal use of the information resources of another government without the permission of that government, in the information space where those resources are located;

4) actions in the information space aimed at undermining the political, economic, and social system of another government, and psychological campaigns carried out against the population of a State with the intent of destabilizing society;

5) the use of the international information space by governmental and non-governmental structures, organizations, groups, and individuals for terrorist, extremist, or other criminal purposes;

6) the dissemination of information across national borders, in a manner opposed to the principles and norms of international law, as well as the national legislation of the government involved;

7) the use of an information infrastructure to disseminate information intended to inflame national, ethnic, or religious conflict, racist and xenophobic written materials, images or any other type of presenting ideas or theories that promote, enable, or incite hatred, discrimination, or violence against any individual or group, if the supporting reasons are based on race, skin colour, national or ethnic origin, or religion;

8) the manipulation of the flow of information in the information space of other governments, disinformation or the concealment of information with the goal of adversely affecting the psychological or spiritual state of society, or eroding traditional cultural, moral, ethical, and aesthetic values;

9) the use, carried out in the information space, of information and communication technology and means to the detriment of fundamental human rights and freedoms;

10) the denial of access to new information and communication technologies, the creation of a state of technological dependence in the sphere of informatization [informatizatsiia], to the detriment of another State;

11) information expansion, gaining control over the national information resources of another State.Eve Hunter with Piret Pernik
April 2015
The Challenges of Hybrid Warfare
ISSN 2228-2076

Taken from page 4:

Tactical Convergence: Information Warfare


Information Warfare takes on a different meaning in the Russian Federation. While in the West there is an emphasis on information “operations” as distinct from concrete acts of war, Russian doctrine specifically talks about war. Information war is defined as follows:

[I]“Confrontation between two or more states in the information space to damage the information systems, processes and resources, which are of critical importance, and other structures, to undermine the political, economic and social system, and effect massive brainwashing of the population for destabilizing the society and the state, and also forcing the state to make decisions in the interests of the confronting party.”
Interestingly enough, Russian infiltration of Ukrainian social media and networks would, under this definition, constitute information warfare.
BLUF----if one really intensively studies the Russian open sources Russia is actually following now the concept of a "permanent war" even in peace time --thus if there is a "permanent war one needs a permanent enemy".

This is a major difference from the Soviet Union foreign policies of the Cold War.

That enemy in the eyes of Russia as seen through the lens of Putin is the US and it blames literally ALL the ails of the world front and center on the US with it's evil driving force "neo-liberalism".

Neo-liberalism as Russian translated means rule of law, good governance and transparency---and Putin is correct--these three things are the death of the current Putin regime and he fears them as a vampire fears the sunlight.

Translated this means he is in total fear of a Maidan occurring in Moscow.

The massive series of security law changes, the total control now placed over the media and internet are strictly designed to shut down the flow of information to the Russian civil society in order to prevent a Maidan--ALL done not before the Ukrainian Maidan events but started one month after Crimea.

[OUTLAW 09]

All I can say is amen.....to this article--I have been stating over and over that Obama has absolutely no strategic strategy for dealing with Putin other than he being worried about his legacy and legacies do not make strategy.

Obama has in some ways shifted his foreign policy to that US form of isolationism of the 1920s just after WW1 and it cost the US dearly when it had to come out of that isolationist phase and rejoined the rest of the world.

Really well worth the reading of this article as it sums up a number of areas that I have been commenting on since the Crimea annexation.

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/europe/obama-and-europe

Obama and Europe
Missed Signals, Renewed Commitments

By Anne Applebaum


Even now, gazing back through the jaundiced lens of subsequent experience, Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign speech in Berlin still seems an extraordinary occasion. Tens of thousands of mostly young Germans gathered in the center of the city to listen to the American presidential candidate, in an atmosphere The Guardian described as “a pop festival, a summer gathering of peace, love—and loathing of George Bush.” Streets were closed for the occasion. Bands played to warm up the crowd.

When he spoke, Obama said just what the Germans, and so many other Europeans, wanted to hear. He reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to Europe, evoking the Berlin airlift and the fall of the Berlin Wall. He praised the virtues of “allies who will listen to each other, learn from each other and, most of all, trust each other.” He listed a series of global problems and declared that “no one nation, no matter how large or how powerful, can defeat such challenges alone.” That one phrase—again, according to The Guardian’s gushing account—prompted long and hearty cheers.

Germany was not alone in its rapture. Soon after he was elected president, Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize—simply, it seems, for the fact that he was not George W. Bush. With those kinds of absurd expectations surrounding his presidency, it was clearly impossible for Obama to avoid disappointing the Europeans. What is only surprising, in retrospect, is the speed with which he did so—and with which the Europeans disappointed him.

A TELLING 2009

Three early incidents illustrate the nature of the problem. The first was the so-called reset with Russia. In March 2009, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with her Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, and presented him with a gift: a giant red “reset button,” made especially for the occasion. Despite an unfortunate mistranslation (the Russian word printed on the gift actually meant “overcharge,” not “reset”), they smiled and pressed the button together for the cameras. The implication of the stunt was clear: U.S.-Russian relations, inexplicably damaged by the Bush administration, could now begin afresh. Surely, there were no fundamental differences or important divides that could not be bridged with dialogue.

The second important event was the NATO summit of April 2009, which also happened to mark the 60th anniversary of the alliance. Like so many NATO events, this one seemed designed to bore. Each of the members had sent its head of state, and all of them felt they had the right to make a long speech, with the usual words about commitment, significance, and so on. Nothing important was said or decided at the event. An American request for more troops in Afghanistan met with almost no response.

The third was the Obama administration’s decision, in September 2009, to cancel the eastern European missile defense program, which had been proposed by Bush and which would have required the placement of hardware in the Czech Republic and Poland. The decision was not altogether surprising: Obama had expressed perfectly reasonable doubts about the value and feasibility of the expensive program earlier. But the manner of the announcement caused some distress. Apparently reacting to what they thought was a leak, White House officials roused the Czech prime minister in the middle of the night to tell him about the decision; the Polish prime minister refused to take a similar call. Both governments had invested a large amount of political capital in the program, not for its own sake but because both wanted a U.S. military presence on their soil for their security. Both were unprepared for the decision and embarrassed by it.

Looking back at 2009, in other words, the patterns that would determine the shape of relations among the United States, Europe, and Russia over the next five years were already visible. At least until nearly the second half of Obama’s second term, neither the president nor anyone on his foreign policy team took European security seriously. The continent was considered safe and dull, a place for photo opportunities rather than real debate. NATO, which even then was desperately in need of radical institutional change, was thought too uninteresting to bother reforming. Europe’s refusal to contribute more troops to Afghanistan created not concern but a kind of disgust. The security fears of central Europe and the Baltic states were an afterthought, not even worth any extra diplomatic effort. Although the EU was slowly developing a deeper relationship with Kiev, Ukraine scarcely figured in U.S. thinking at that time. Despite the support that Europeans had given him during his election campaign, the president seems to have quickly concluded that his real efforts should lie elsewhere.

The patterns that would determine the shape of relations among the United States, Europe, and Russia over the next five years were already visible in 2009.

As for Russia, the analysis was straightforward: all the problems in U.S.-Russian relations were the fault of the previous president, with his bellicose rhetoric and his missile defense shield. Russia’s 2008 war with Georgia was quietly blamed on Mikheil Saakashvili, Georgia’s president. The profound differences in psychology, philosophy, and policy that had actually been the central sources of friction between the U.S. and Russian governments for the previous decade were dismissed or downplayed.

Yet even in early 2009, those differences were growing sharper. Given what came later, it is worth looking at remarks that Lavrov made at the German Marshall Fund’s March 2009 forum in Brussels. Speaking to past and present policymakers—several of whom had helped dismember the Warsaw Pact and expand NATO in the 1990s—Lavrov suggested that the West had lied to Russia, that NATO remained a threat to Russia, that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe should replace NATO as the primary Western security organization, and that Russia would have plenty of potential clients for its gas in East Asia should its Western customers ever become problematic.

MISSED SIGNALS

None of that sounded like the rhetoric of a country ready for a reset, and Russia’s evolving military strategy wasn’t any more comforting. During Zapad 2009, major military exercises that Russia held in 2009, the Russian army practiced a particularly aggressive scenario: the defense of a Baltic invasion of Belarus and a war with NATO-like forces, culminating in a first-use nuclear attack on Warsaw. Alarmed by this, Poland and the Baltic states stepped up their lobbying for a greater NATO presence in the region. In private, many officials worried that Russia would, sooner or later, do what its military had exercised. That was certainly what had happened in Georgia. But neither NATO nor the Obama administration was yet inclined to take such extreme scenarios seriously. The idea that Russia might again pose a real military threat to Europe still seemed absurd.

Continued......

Moscow used the good relations of the reset era to rebuild Russia’s military and strengthen its internal repression.

Continued.....

Russian efforts to undermine Ukraine continue; financial catastrophe, as well as more fighting, may follow. In the current atmosphere, Russia doesn’t need to invent Europe’s problems; it just needs to exacerbate them.
Continued.........

[OUTLAW 09]

More and more evidence the so called Russian “humanitarian aid convoys” now at 37 are nothing more that blatant military resupply missions—and in full violation of Ukrainian law and international law by not allowing Red Cross inspections and Ukrainian border controls YET Obama and his NSC absolutely say nothing.

EXCEPT he urges Russia to adhere to Minsk---just what the heck in diplomatic terms does the word “urges” even means?????????

Russian army in DPR receives new range-finder instruments (VIDEO) 27 Aug https://vk.com/svdonbass?w=wall-76371964_1686 … pic.twitter.com/0HZlDx8HmT

Funny this humanitarian aid sent to Donbass from Russia. https://twitter.com/GorseFires/status/637390226810380288 … pic.twitter.com/m95PomUPQa

Russian Spetsnaz attempted another breakthrough and was pushed back.
Militant subversive group of 10 w/ IFV tried to outflank Ukr positions in Bohdanivka near #Mariupol, were repelled https://www.facebook.com/ato.news/posts/1056386381038834 …

[OUTLAW 09]

Russia's proxies decreased the number of attacks, fired 74 times upon Ukrainian forces on 28 Aug https://www.facebook.com/ato.news/posts/1056386381038834 …

In Krymske, #Luhansk region 2 servicemen got wounded having tripped a mine. Are natives of Volyn region, #Crimea http://loga.gov.ua/oda/press/news/2015/08/29/news_67709.html …

UAV video evidence for "the Hague Tribunal"
GIVI's #Donetsk base. Surrounding airport area.
->https://youtu.be/WkhjjehKUJc pic.twitter.com/waaaPxsWcM

During the past day, 2 Ukrainian soldiers were wounded after hitting a mine near Krymske - Tuka
http://112.ua/ato/v-krymskom-dvoe-ukrainskih-voennyh-podorvalis-na-rastyazhke-254909.html …

WHY do we hear this from Biden and the US Ambassador to the Ukraine BUT not from Obama, Hollande and Merkel?????? What the heck—we did have a President named Obama the last time I checked Google.

Geoffrey Pyatt ✔ @GeoffPyatt
.@VP strongly criticized stmt by separatist leaders planning to take additional territory & hold local elections outside Ukr legal framework

Rebels in Ukraine's Donetsk plan referendum on joining Russia: media - Xinhua | http://English.news.cn http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-08/19/c_134535215.htm …

[OUTLAW 09]

Professional Russian Army in Ukraine. Database and Visualisation via @en_informnapalm pic.twitter.com/tz1CERIZpu http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/28-august-professional-russian-army-in-ukraine-database-and

[OUTLAW 09]

This individual is a close friend of Putin who he used to get him into the EU as he was under travel sanctions and then he demands this...........

Sanctioned MP #Kobzon, allowed into Germany for cancer treatment, calls for suspension of diplomatic relations w/ US.
http://www.newsru.com/russia/29aug2015/kobzonsays.html …

So he wants the benefits of western medical treatment vs that great Russian cancer treatment that he could get cheaper and yet he still complains....typical Russian Orwellian doublespeak ---I want the best but I do not want the best BUT I want it cheap better yet free.

Ukrainians Filed To ECHR Over 600 Lawsuits Due To Russian Aggression - Petrenko http://ukraineunderattack.org/en/32441-ukrainians-filed-to-echr-over-600-lawsuits-due-to-russian-aggression-petrenko.html …

[OUTLAW 09]

This individual is a close friend of Putin who he used to get him into the EU as he was under travel sanctions and then he demands this...........

Sanctioned MP #Kobzon, allowed into Germany for cancer treatment, calls for suspension of diplomatic relations w/ US.
http://www.newsru.com/russia/29aug2015/kobzonsays.html …

So he wants the benefits of western medical treatment vs that great Russian cancer treatment that he could get cheaper and yet he still complains....typical Russian Orwellian doublespeak ---I want the best but I do not want the best BUT I want it cheap better yet free.

Ukrainians Filed To ECHR Over 600 Lawsuits Due To Russian Aggression - Petrenko http://ukraineunderattack.org/en/32441-ukrainians-filed-to-echr-over-600-lawsuits-due-to-russian-aggression-petrenko.html …

West! Why impose personal sanctions on Putin's mafia if per Putin's request they can be lifted??? https://twitter.com/christogrozev/status/637537181544939520 …

[OUTLAW 09]

Be careful with this article as it is interesting that the actual document was first released--archived though by social media--then suddenly withdrawn and released in a redacted fashion--all within say a timeframe of 20 minutes.

If in theory I am working disinformation then why would I first place the article then withdraw it and then rerelease a redacted version? Just place it into play and move on. Yes in theory if one wants a quick attention getter then withdraw and redact---but releasing the figures in the first place was a direct violation of the new Russian law on the reporting of military loses even in so called peace time.

The original and redacted versions have been released by social media in order to do a side by side comparison of the changes.

WHAT the FSB did not anticipate as it was their pressure to redact under the new Russian law concerning the non reporting of Russian war loss figures was the speed by which social media caught it in Russian and that social media has learned with their own info war abilities to archive everything and some of the social media has the ability to store terabytes of archived media for later review.

NOW comes the interesting info war game--in some ways the released figures really do parallel a large number of social media reports since August 2014 and if the imagery work done by them is accurate and it usually has been lately --alone in the Rostov an Don region there have been 1200 new grave sites dug and filled in since August 2014 with a large number of those graves being dug in the last six months.

Alone on grave site confirmations ---1.2K have been killed--the problem is are they all Russian mercenaries or is there a mixture???--some sources have been quoted as stating those are just the unidentified that could not be sent back to their own towns for burial there.

That imagery has been geo tagged, dated and released into social media for further verification--western mainstream media response to this reporting--a big fat ZERO.

REMEMBER in the month of late July 2015 through to mid August 2015 the OSCE SMM in the Ukraine reported 21 semi trailer trucks carrying +200 cargo--200 refers to Russian KIAs. Russia has been shipping only the bodies back in body bags to Rostov where they are then placed into coffins and a death certificate is issued. If we take conservative figure of just 20 per truck then that alone is 420 KIAs if as usual we take the normal load of 40-50 in each truck then that conservative figure is say 800-1050--again the problem is what is the mixture of mercenary to regular army dead.

Western mainstream media reporting of this--a big fat ZERO.

NOW the info war game begins---the initial denial and statements that the story was a fake came from TASS--total Russian controlled media and then Russia Today started their drumbeat--remember RT also totally Russian controlled and in over 126 countries has a far larger target audience than does TASS--Russian info warriors had noticed little to no take up with the TASS PR so they moved their efforts on to RT.

NOW it gets interesting after Forbes released they article--I watched this all day and into last night--then a number of somewhat reliable western journalists started to repeat what RT had stated and openly doubted the initial report of the KIA numbers, then a few other western media outlets started carrying the RT report as well. Something to remember is normally social media is quick to state fake or real---noticed that social media stayed on the sidelines after releasing it and still are---they are accepting as real and feel no further need to jump in--Ukrainian media is also quiet as they are assuming the figures are real as well.

THEN last night a Russia troll under guise as a reliable commenter stated at he had compared the document and found similar wording of the first report on an old archived document from a few years ago alluding that the first report was a blatant fake.

NOTICE that in all of this info war fight not a single western journalist and or western mainstream media has picked up the OSCE +200 movement reporting and or the verified and geo tagged imagery of the 1200 graves-that cannot be replicated and faked.

INTERESTING question--just why does all and I mean all of the so called independent western media ignor anything coming out of the Ukraine and why are they so lax in their fact checking????

I can count at least six major articles released by western media since the Russian invasion that have been based on Russian faked information and yet when called out by social media requesting retractions--silence is their response.

A massive amount of Ukrainian intelligence on the order of battle of the Russian military inside the Ukraine was released yesterday all day long in English by the Ukrainian President. Down to names and locations.

So let's see exactly how long it takes to get into if at all western mainstream media???

Rus Gen-s commanding Rus contingent in E Ukr: @TheBankova Prez Admin releases more ENG proof https://www.dropbox.com/s/vval5hz0dun6wf6/proof-eng.pdf?dl=0 … pic.twitter.com/kMIVzQZEoJ

Professional Russian Army in Ukraine. Database and Visualisation via @en_informnapalm pic.twitter.com/tz1CERIZpu http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/28-augu...e-database-and

So we can start counting from 28 August and see just how it takes before MSM wakes up if at all. We are in day two and still nothing from the major media outlets.

[OUTLAW 09]

Obama should have paid more attention to his own words—“we will judge Putin by his actions and not his words”—on this day in the Ukraine in 2014—Russian forces killed approximately 1100 UAF after Putin agreed via his generals for a safe conduct withdrawal—the UAF believed him but forgot about Grozny.

29 Aug 2014 Ukr troops started moving out of #Ilovaysk along preagreed green corridor. Hundreds killed by Rus troops pic.twitter.com/8xQs28m1Bm

Maybe this is the reason the Ukrainians absolutely do not believe anything Putin says---BUT is it not interesting that Obama does and when Putin demanded from the Ukraine a "sign of good faith" the US pressured via a unilateral appeasement move the Ukraine to meet Putin's demands.

BTW --the Russians have never actually stopped fighting in their own proposed DMZ that Obama helped in creating.
Why is that????

[OUTLAW 09]

HERE is the massive US disconnect and yet they seem to not be able to understand it----

WHEN the US talks about supporting Ukrainian decentralization---is it the version that the Ukrainians within their own good governance they formulate in their Parliament via the rule of law OR is it the Bosnian “federalization model” that Putin is pushing for that gives him complete control of Ukrainian foreign policy decisions??????

NOTICE Biden is not specific is he??????

USA backs Ukraine's decentralization efforts - Biden
http://www.unian.info/politics/1116627-usa-backs-ukraines-decentralization-efforts-biden.html … pic.twitter.com/qHdqfQoHpy

NOW notice the average Ukrainian blogger response----
We've lost the plot about Ukraine's constitutional decentralization. But IF it leads to ANY power for DPR/LPR scum, there WILL be trouble.

The US appears to not understand that the current government is only accepted by the Ukrainian civil society if they continue to move toward the Maidan demands of rule of law and good governance and elimination of the systemic corruption.

[OUTLAW 09]

Even more evidence that those so called Russian "humanitarian aid convoys" are just hidden military resupply runs-----

Russian 'hybrid' aid - Same boxes!
Top: "humanitarian aid" in Rostov-on-Don 24 Aug
Bot: military equipt in DPR 26 Aug pic.twitter.com/KG5PHnACAc

White #Russian truck convoys named "humanitarian" are double twisted weapon, fuel & ammunition supplies for #Putin' #war against #Ukraine.

Has anyone taken notice that out of the 37 convoys there has never really been solid photos or videos of them unloading all that food, and clothing they claim to be needed by the Donbass????

[OUTLAW 09]

When there are two key elements in a success 21st century UW strategy---one is informational warfare the other cyber warfare/cyber crime-- then we should be paying close attention to comments like this---as we are being run in circles by the Russians and Chinese on the cyber warfare front.

Rio Rancho Hackers

By Glenn Norman

http://hackerhighschool.org/


We’ve got a hacker problem in the United States, and right here in my home town of Albuquerque, New Mexico. But it’s not the problem that you’re thinking.

Recently, three adolescent boys lived up to their hormonal destiny in neighboring Rio Rancho, trolling the Enfamil online community with the kind of juvenile shock-posting you can expect, I’m afraid, from my gender at that age.

Like most of us when we use the Internet, they thought they were cleverly anonymous online. They learned the hard way that they were wrong.

The Enfamil techs quickly identified their IP address and blocked it, a highly appropriate response. They also notified the FBI, which got the U.S. Secret Service involved, and things went downhill from there.

The teenagers, who were of course immortal and possessed godlike powers, visited a so-called “hacker site” and posted a “Raid Time” call. This actually did the trick: the kiddies brought down the Enfamil site.

Nice job, right? High fives all around. Except that they also broadcast highly visible incriminating evidence, which produced very different feelings in short order.

The FBI immediately deployed the nuclear option, informing the entire school district that “RRPS [Rio Rancho Public Schools] computer access to the world wide web would effectively be shut down if the suspects were not identified.”

That’s when I said, “Wait a minute.” Why shut down the entire district? They knew exactly which school the attack came from, so what’s the agenda? Preventive action, or something more like floggings for all?

In any case, the three boys were identified by their logins, according to the school district. This was a smart response, and one any network security pro would expect. They now face felony charges that could effectively wreck their lives. And they’re being called hackers.

So yes, we’ve got a hacker problem. But no, it’s not that we’ve got them. Exactly the opposite.

These three boys are anything but hackers. When they trolled the Enfamil site, they were trolls. When they visited the “hacker” website they were essentially tourists. There wasn’t one line of code, one drop of solder or one creative solution to anything in what they did.

Calling these boneheads hackers is an insult to hackers. And that’s one source of our real problem: we don’t have enough of them. Real hackers, that is. They’ve been given a bad name at the same time our young people have been steered away from technical careers.

This isn’t solely the fault of the media, because the tech industry has practiced bad public relations for decades by, among other insanities, forcing American workers to train their H-1B replacements. Regardless, the consequence is that we don’t have enough creative technical solution-finders here in central New Mexico, which is a problem for local companies.

I don’t say this from observation, but as a direct participant in the struggle. As an indie consultant my biggest problem isn’t finding gigs, its finding people to work with me. I know plenty of great ones, but they’re all as deeply booked as me.

As faculty at the University of New Mexico, I have to personally scramble to fill my classes because there are so few students. Then the recruiters descend on them and many get jobs even before completing their programs.

It’s a thin, thin trickle: three to seven students per semester lately, in a state where an incentive program is trying to hire 350 tech people in the next year. The disproportion between supply and demand just shocks me.

One of our success stories is restaurant software builder Lavu, which recently received a massive cash infusion. What’s their biggest problem? They struggle find the software engineers they need, either locally or nationally.

They need clever techies who can hack code. They’d do a lot better if they could find more technical talent, but as I’ve said it’s awfully thin on the ground in this low-income rural state. You’d think we’d be cultivating that talent, but in practice we send a very different message.

America needs hackers, say the NSA, FBI, Homeland Security and more. They visit conferences looking for creative hackers, but rather than finding love, their own practices have made them the unloved targets of Spot the Fed games.

In this particular case, felony charges, if they stick, are going to wreck these boys’ lives. No voting, no firearms, likely no jobs. These boys, and this experience, could be put to much better use. They’ve learned several extremely valuable lessons: you are not invisible, your actions are not untraceable, and the consequences are grim and far too likely.

Do they want to be real hackers? Then hand them over to me, or an educator like me (and there are more than a few). Make them document every minute of their experiences, build an active website with an online community, build training materials for their peers, and conduct those trainings around the city or the state. Work their tails off.

This is the kind of thinking we should be engaging: make their experience useful. And make these boys useful too, because experienced hackers and coders and teachers and trainers are in very big demand. They are adolescent boys, and thus by definition idiots.

Let’s not destroy them for life with heavy-handed tactics. Let’s make them valuable instead.

So which is it? Do we desperately need creative real hackers, or do we vilify the name? Do we recruit our young techies, or charge them with felonies when they behave like the children they are?

Is massive intimidation really our best tactic? Or should we try something different, like harnessing that youthful energy to build the creative adults we so badly need? I’m watching this case to see.

[OUTLAW 09]

Really worth reading--long but worth it.....

https://www.lawfareblog.com/russias-invasion-ukraine-what-does-international-law-have-say

Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine: What does International Law Have to Say?

By Thomas Grant
Tuesday, August 25, 2015, 7:45 AM 


Apart from Iraq, no member State of the United Nations has done anything quite like it. First, in 2008 against Georgia, then on an ever widening stage since February 2014 against Ukraine, the Russian Federation has invaded a fellow member State and forcibly separated territory belonging to that country. No other state, not even Russia before the invasions, had made any claim to that territory.

Even Iraq had made known its rejection of Kuwait’s statehood from the start. To that extent, we had warning of what was to come. Not that a warning about an impending act of aggression cures the act. A centerpiece of modern international law is that territory changes hands only by consent, never by force. The rule of territorial stability is more than just another rule of international law. It is the indispensable rule of our system of law between States, and to let it lapse will send us back to an age of disorder. However you look at it, it is evident that relations among states—and the system of law that states have built since 1945—will change fundamentally, if we dispense with that rule.

Russia’s assault on that rule, and thus that system, is the subject of my new book Aggression Against Ukraine: Territory, Responsibility, and International Law. Let us assume, even as the system of international law is in—and needs—constant evolution, that we should seek to preserve the basic stability of law that results from settled expectations. And let us assume that settled expectations about which states have responsibility for which territories are particularly important. What are we to do about a state that breaches the rule of territorial stability?

Iraq’s invasion and annexation of Kuwait met with a robust international response. The Security Council acted; and states joined Kuwait in an exercise of collective self-defense. The annexation failed; Iraq was expelled.

The difficulty is that the Russian Federation is not Iraq. The Russian Federation is a Permanent Member of the Security Council. So the Security Council has not acted. And the Russian Federation, as its leaders since February 2014 have reminded us repeatedly, has a massive arsenal of nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them. So the military response to aggression has been muted.

Faced with this situation, unprecedented in the United Nations era, governments since the start of 2014 have found themselves confused about the proper response. True, some have adopted sanctions, some adopting more stringent sanctions than others. The United States has sent a modicum of military assistance to Ukraine and has reaffirmed its NATO commitment to the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

Russia has worked to deter a more vigorous response. Sabre-rattling is a mainstay of Russia’s deterrence strategy, but there is more to Russia’s strategy than that. To a considerable extent, Russia, in working to keep us from responding to its aggression, exploits our failure to understand and to apply international law.

We need to clear the air about international law if we are to respond appropriately. At least five points of international law in particular need to be clarified.

First, as I have written elsewhere with historian Rory Finnin, it confuses things to refer to the conflict in Ukraine as a civil war. Western media, the BBC for example, routinely refer to it as such, identifying the forces holding Donetsk and Luhansk as “rebels,” and failing to note the presence—acknowledged by a range of credible observers—of Russian personnel or the dependence of the putative “rebels” on Russia’s armed intervention. The salient fact of the situation is that Russia has invaded Ukraine, not that an indigenous force has risen up spontaneously against the central government; it hasn’t.

The legal conclusion to be drawn from this fact is that Ukraine has an inherent right of self-defense against Russia’s aggression—including the right to organize its self-defense collectively. By no means does international law impede other States from assisting Ukraine. To the contrary, international law envisages it.

Second, the territory of Ukraine is the territory within the borders of Ukraine that every state in the world—including Russia—has recognized. Russia tries to cloud this point, when it threatens that the defence of Ukraine will trigger a regional or global war. We see this tactic at work for example when a retired Russian general, speaking to the BBC earlier this month, says that any attempt by Ukraine to recover control of Donetsk and Luhansk in the east will be to cross a “red line.” Presumably, the general means that if Ukraine attempts to defend against Russia’s forcible separation of Ukrainian territory, Russia will seize even more Ukrainian territory. The general’s threat is legal nonsense. It rehashes the position that Russia used in 2008 when it invaded Georgia: Georgia had attempted to restore its effective control in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and Russia invaded. Ukraine holds sovereignty over all the territory of Ukraine. Russia’s illegal presence in parts of Ukraine does not displace Ukraine’s legal rights.

Russia’s illegal presence does however attract legal responsibility to Russia for conduct in that territory, a result supported by the European Court of Human Rights’ judgments concerning the northern part of Cyprus and the Russian-occupied parts of Moldova. This leads to a further point, to which I will turn below.

Third, clothing aggression in the language of self-determination does not change what it is. Aggressors have alleged before that indigenous movements have sought freedom under the barrel of a gun, and international law sees through the ruse. Nobody talks about a “State” of Manchukuo without noting that Japan created that entity by invading China. Nobody should talk about Crimea as if it engaged in a valid act of self-determination; or about Donetsk and Luhansk as if these places sua sponte broke away from Ukraine. The situation in all three places is the direct result of Russia’s armed intervention. As to Ukraine’s domestic politics, whatever its complexities, the people of Ukraine support unity, a position disclosed by polls and suggested by the absence of any effective separatist movement prior to the invasion. The supposed self-determination acts have been dismissed as void and without effect by the UN General Assembly, the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President. There is no valid reason to prefer Russia’s characterizations over those of the pre-eminent available global and regional organizations.

Fourth, there is the omnibus rejection of international law as relevant to the conflict. This is part and parcel of John Mearsheimer’s view, as expressed in Why the Ukraine Crisis is the West’s Fault, a piece arguing that “liberal delusions” led the West to adopt “provocative policies” and that these “precipitated the crisis in the first place.” It exceeds the scope of a post on international law and the war against Ukraine to address in detail Professor Mearsheimer’s thesis, but some general observations may be made.

Continued.....

Mearsheimer’s thesis rests on the assumption that “strategic interests” trump vested rights. But rights are the mainstay of law. To say that one thing trumps another without considering the force and effect of that other thing is, at best, sloppy thinking. Russia has no right cognizable under law against the territorial integrity of its neighbors. In truth, Russia does not even have a claim against its neighbors—none, at least, was articulated before 2014, and the exact opposite was articulated repeatedly. Russia repeatedly, by treaty and by practice, almost continuously since 1991, and without reservation or exception, acknowledged the sovereignty of its neighbors within the borders that they inherited upon independence.

Continued.......


MAYBE this article should be mandatory reading for Obama, Kerry and the entire 700 person NSC --concerning Russian violation of actual international law--NOT what Russia defines as international law which are really only propaganda words.

[OUTLAW 09]

News
Strong decrease in Russian attacks across #Donbas yesterday (like 30%).
No artillery or MLRS used.
Still 74 ceasefire violations.

Which General said "The danger is in not seeing the obvious"? There are 55,500, no, now 57,000 Russian troops on Ukraine's eastern border.

Luhansk: Yesterday's #Plotnitsky show near @ICRC_ua office, "Ukraine kills", "ICRC idles" pic.twitter.com/BE4gJFQMAX @LUGANSK_TODAY

BUT yet all these 37 Russian humanitarian aid convoys were never allowed to be inspected by the ICRC nor where they allowed to be near them when unloaded.

Typical Russian doublespeak again at work--blame someone else.

Russia's eye on Kharkiv – SBU
http://www.unian.info/society/1116633-russias-eye-on-kharkiv-sbu.html … pic.twitter.com/BDRtGtalpl

Russia's eye on Kharkiv – SBU
29.08.2015 | 13:30


Kharkiv regional office of Ukraine’s Security Service sees new attempts to destabilize the political situation in the area as Russia’s new stage of aggression – a so-called “Russian autumn” plan.

In recent days, the media and the Internet have been distributing information intended to discredit the government and law enforcement agencies, incite the popular discontent with the authorities ahead of local elections, create bias against the current head of the region and future candidates," says Vladyslav Abdul, head of the press center of the SBU in the Kharkiv region.

Russia has chosen Kharkiv for its next attack, "because the region is one of the key outposts of preserving the country’s unity,” says Abdul.

"For almost a year and a half, despite all attempts to undermine stability in the region, public authorities, local governments and law enforcement agencies, with the support of all concerned citizens, have managed to maintain peace and tranquility in their native Kharkiv region. Obviously, this is not what the Kremlin "puppeteers" and their minions want to see. According to operational data, Russia’s special services stand behind informational operations. They manipulate public opinion, using social networks under their control, online resources and media," according to Abdul.

The SBU encourages residents of Kharkiv region not to succumb to provocations, and only use information from trustworthy sources, to avoid the spread of false rumors.

As UNIAN reported earlier, the SBU reported on deployment of a large number of Russian heavy weapons and troops in the occupied areas of Donbas, preparing for an offensive.


11:35 #Stakhanov @DNSRRSTRTS Passing the central market 1 Ural moved towards #Kirovsk, w/machine gun on cabit and troops in the body

[OUTLAW 09]

Reference the so called Russian summer general offensive---

Yes. But I still can't tell u why.
So much "looming offensive" talk over the last 6 months, but nothing solid of more than 1 day.

Here is where I differ from a number of the bloggers--there has been in fact a Russian general offense underway for over four weeks.

One needs to understand the front line is approximately 600km long and a majority of the fighting is going on inside a 30km wide zone following that front line laid out by Minsk2.

The Russia military command is doing a great job at "masking" the operation by what I call the slow step method--meaning at no time does the mainstream media and especially western leaders get to concerned that there is in fact a true offense--a so called steady state of fighting lulls both the media and western leaders into believing it is just standard skirmishes nothing more nothing less. Even the Germans have fallen for it with their FMs recent statement---the "ceasefire" is largely holding--why--no major ground attacks were being seen by him.

the Russian military does not fire an average of 150-200 tons of munitions every night for four weeks just for the fun of it and then they have to hustle more munitions to backfill--makes no sense logistically speaking unless you are firing that amount in support of "something" not for the heck of it or just as harassment and interdiction.

BUT here is the catch there have been an increasing numbers of breakthrough attempts led usually by Spetsnaz in the lead to include one attempt yesterday.

ALL these attempts have basically failed. Why--- I have posted here--the Russians are so tied to their doctrine of the deep fight and they cannot get the edge they need to make a solid breakthrough.

The UAF knowing the Russian deep fight doctrine have been countering it effectively by denying them that much needed breakthrough but basically blocking the attack prongs as they develop similar to the Spetsnaz attack last night as they attempted to out flank the UAF and create one of the two needed attack prongs for a envelopment maneuver.

The Russians could actually breakthrough with the 400 tanks anytime they wanted to BUT then you wake everyone up and then the sanctions will come down like rain.

The slow step process has run it's course and gotten them nowhere--will be interesting to see what they attempt next.

[OUTLAW 09]

MAP of current Ukraine military situation:
2 #Ukrainian servicemen were killed in action in the last day, 3 were wounded in action
http://mediarnbo.org/2015/08/29/zvedeni-dani-shhodo-situatsiyi-u-zoni-ato-29-serpnya/ … |EMPR pic.twitter.com/hUY3rj0eBi

MAP---
Pro-#Russian insurgents violated cease-fire 74 times in #Donetsk and #Lugansk Regions. Read at http://lugansk-news.com/pro-russian-insurgents-violated-cease-fire-agreement-74-times-in-donetsk-and-lugansk-regions/ … pic.twitter.com/So5Y4WrJmD

Russia trains militants in 195 camps in Russia, Crimea, occupied Donbas, - says SSU.
http://espreso.tv/uploads/article/203732/images/im-F10.jpg … pic.twitter.com/WUI873A1Gq

One thing we know but deny is: NATO is sitting on a pile of sat imagery of Rostov, Voronezh, Belgorod regions' deployment.

[OUTLAW 09]

All I can say is amen.....to this article--I have been stating over and over that Obama has absolutely no strategic strategy for dealing with Putin other than he being worried about his legacy and legacies do not make strategy.

Obama has in some ways shifted his foreign policy to that US form of isolationism of the 1920s just after WW1 and it cost the US dearly when it had to come out of that isolationist phase and rejoined the rest of the world.

Really well worth the reading of this article as it sums up a number of areas that I have been commenting on since the Crimea annexation.

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/europe/obama-and-europe

Obama and Europe
Missed Signals, Renewed Commitments

By Anne Applebaum

THIS is exactly just how bad the current Obama and his NSC foreign policy is--really there is no foreign policy to be seen anywhere.

During a recent Normandy Four meeting Putin literally demanded the Western leaders pressure the Ukraine into a "sign of good faith" by pulling out the Azov REGT from a strategic seaside town protecting a major flank to the city port of Mariupol.

The Russians convinced the OSCE of the necessity of a DMZ and the US evidently willingly applied unilateral appeasement pressure on the Ukrainian President who then in the face of any military tactical reasons simply pulled out the Azov REGT who had been defending the town against all and I mean all attacks over a six month period virtually defeating every attack on them.

Their own DoS statements after the UAF pullout was "see the Ukraine is implementing Minsk 2---what world are they residing in as Russia has never fulfilled a single point of Minsk????

The Ukrainian President then declared the willingness to create a 30km wide DMZ and pulled his main forces back 15kms--the Russians only 1.4km and at the same time started an attempt to pull back all weapons of 100mm or less from the front lines--which was actually proposed first by Russia and then ignored by her troops and the Russian mercenaries.

NOW this today----

Once again fears for safety of #Mariupol as OSCE confirms more Russian proxy weapons threaten city; 2 days after #Russia "aid" convoy

OSCE says RUssians concentrate armory near Mariupol. Video https://twitter.com/5channel/status/637591755341193216 …

BTW-there was to be no fighting in this town due to the so called Russian DMZ proposal THEN why this???? Obama got suckered again by Putin.

17:06 @AMykhailova Truce in #Shyrokyne since yesterday evening...

Why is there a need truce when Russian troops are not suppose to be there in the first place????

Obama caves to Putin and makes the UAF cave to his unilateral appeasement demands and then the Russians shift from looking like peaceniks straight to full combat operations in and around their own proposed DMZ and "sign of good faith".

WHEN will Obama and his very own 700 person NSC believe at least his own words of--"we will judge Putin by his actions not his words".

Appears Obama has a rather short memory.

Obama has turned a UAF strategic advantage in defending Mariupol into a massive military disadvantage but then again Obama was never in the military and has never fought in combat.

[OUTLAW 09]

Obama's most famous statement of 2014 will haut the history books forever---

QUOTE "we will judge Putin on his actions not his words" UNQUOTE

Aug.29, 2014 Putin made a midnight stmt calling on safe passage for surrounded UA soldiers after >500 were murdered pic.twitter.com/f9neXp1L68

On August 29, 2014 an agreement was reached to allow surrounded & weaponless UA soldiers free passage, more than 500 were murdered while marching

Was Obama just stating words for the press or did he really mean them???? Bad when no one fully understands what a US President means in his statements.

[OUTLAW 09]

https://www.overtaction.org/2015/08/wake-up-west-the-era-of-hybrid-warfare-is-upon-us/

Wake up, West! The Era of Hybrid Warfare Is Upon Us

Aapo Cederberg and Pasi Eronen

August 25 2015


Times have changed. We in the West—especially in Europe—should know by now that we’ve left behind us an era when wars took place in some remote foreign location, waged by professionals with American accents utilizing high-tech weapons systems in an apparently surgical manner with a limited number of casualties.

This kind of war allowed Western civilians to be seduced by an idea of perpetual peace, briefly disturbed by occasional acts of terrorism. We could stay detached from the complexities of power struggles taking place in the international arena. Similarly, this state allowed many Western militaries to resemble more of an international policing force than a solid fighting machine prepared for national and alliance defense.

Europe has now entered an era of hybrid warfare that will force us all, civilians and military alike, to participate. The events in Ukraine—first in Crimea and then in the eastern part of the country—are still currently unfolding. It’s important for the West to understand hybrid warfare is not limited to Ukraine. Russia is already waging hybrid warfare throughout the West.

We have been challenged on several fronts, which means that the time of perpetual peace is over. It’s time to wake up to the way the world is.

What is Hybrid Warfare?

These instruments, such as cyber attacks, economic blackmail, information warfare, and exploitation of ethnic divisions, target various parts of society. Targets reside wherever there are major societal vulnerabilities and greatest asymmetry between target’s weaknesses and own strengths are found.

The use of violence is by no means necessary—or even desired. The political end state should be preferably reached without reaching the threshold of war, which would allow an opponent to legally use force. This would make the conflict much more expensive, as well as draw unwanted international attention.

This is why hybrid warfare presents a great challenge to Western countries. The whole-of-society targeting makes the hybrid threat even more difficult to fight, as our siloed defense mechanisms do not work particularly well when the adversary strikes at soft targets throughout society.

Russia Is Already in the Game

Our old adversary is already mastering this new type of warfare. The Russian toolkit contains a wide variety of instruments that can be applied against a target. The recent uses of those instruments indicate the extent of the challenge the West now faces.

Russians already see themselves being in conflict with us, which is why they have deployed various instruments from their toolkit against the West. All these serve Moscow’s political goals.

As we have witnessed, Russia conducts information warfare activities in an industrial manner. Ethnic Russians residing outside ‘Mother Russia’ are taken advantage of in justifying diplomatic bullying, and military forces are used to intimidate and threaten both neighboring countries and NATO members farther away. Furthermore, Russia exploits energy issues—both as a tool for blackmail and to build new dependencies for later use.

Despite Russia’s WTO membership, trade is applied as a weapon for example by limiting imports from the West and by threatening to deny exports critical to trade partner’s industries. Other economic links are taken advantage of, such as using sovereign debt as pressurizing means. Financial means are used not only to lobby, but given out as loans to buy political influence, financing NGOs and popular movements that can help reaching Kremlin’s goals. Moreover, Russian individuals and companies are buying stakes in Western critical infrastructure and key resources, investing in land plots located next to critical military installations.

Russia has also engaged in lawfare, utilizing legal agreements and frameworks, to serve its goals. Kremlin is also a major cyberpower, as the Pentagon recently noted. Members of German parliament, and hundreds of private sector companies have been subjected to sophisticated cyber attacks. Most worrisome, nuclear threats have been brought back to the table to test NATO’s unity and determination.

This all leads to an unsettling conclusion that Russia has already mobilized and deployed its hybrid instruments against the West.

What Can The West Do To Defend Against Hybrid Warfare?

While we might not be fully aware of Moscow’s intentions behind the use of its hybrid capabilities, we are not powerless to face this challenge. The West can build defensive mechanisms to shield our societies and alliances while establishing deterrence to ensure any aggressor will pay a high price.

Furthermore, updating and strengthening our policies can help us deny Russia’s access to its hybrid warfare instruments by both limiting the number of the instruments available and supportive allies. Lastly, certain steps can be taken to erode Russia’s current ability to field its existing hybrid capabilities.

There have already been a number of individual and collective actions that have some success in countering Russia’s efforts. Regarding information warfare, in addition to wide recognition of Russian information warfare activities throughout the Western media, NATO established in 2014 a Center of Excellence in Strategic Communications to Riga, Latvia. There are also other geographically well-targeted initiatives, such as offering grants for training journalists in countering the Russian narrative in Baltics.

In the area of energy security, the EU has taken concrete steps to blunt the efficacy of Russian energy blackmail against European countries. These steps have been supported by US diplomatic efforts.

In addition to defensive actions, there has been several military exercises conducted with allies and partners, and forward deployment of equipment shows support deterrence and resolve. The most proactive instruments the West has taken into use are the economic sanctions that deny certain actors Western capital and technology, thus eroding the long-term outlook both for the Russian economy and the unity of the ruling clique.

What More Can Be Done?

While the existing actions serve as a good start, there are further steps to counter Russia’s hybrid warfare activities:

In the short-term:

Continued...........

[OUTLAW 09]

Russian troops and her mercenaries are busy preparing for their proposed 1 Sept 2015 total ceasefire that was trumpeted by their media with great fanfare BUT then the DNR leader stated he was now in a general offensive and will take more Ukrainian territory--SO one is not exactly sure about this so called ceasefire?????

Typical Russian Orwellian doublespeak----

OSCE: concentration of miltants' tanks, APCs, and SPG around #Mariupol http://novosti.dn.ua/details/258559/


NOT a single western leaders comments concerning this grave warning by the OSCE--wonder why????

[OUTLAW 09]

VIDEO How Terrorussians bring (military) aid into Ukraine... https://twitter.com/etkmkao/status/637600436292317184 …

Militants intensify shelling near Trokhizbenka, destroy resident areas - watch on - http://uatoday.tv http://uatoday.tv/society/trokhizbenka-483871.html …

SBU - In Dnipropetrovsk soldier was trying to sell 20 kilos of TNT pic.twitter.com/L2IhuX8ryA http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/29-august-sbu--in-dnipropetrovsk-soldier-was-trying-to-sell …

Video shows DNR leader Zakharchenko as Pro-Ukrainian activist pic.twitter.com/9QI12nHqMr http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/29-august-video-shows-dnr-leader-zakharchenko-as-proukrainian …

[OUTLAW 09]

Download and read---especially for those that do not believe there is in fact a Russian Army sitting in the Ukraine and do not believe they want to go over to a general offensive.

This is no longer non linear and or hybrid warfare BUT a pure interstate war in the heart of Central Europe in the 21st century.

MUST READ 'Russia's Military Aggression Against Ukraine...' 18 pages pdf https://www.dropbox.com/s/vval5hz0dun6wf6/proof-eng.pdf?dl=0 … via @TheBankova pic.twitter.com/MjmVbnVHNN

[OUTLAW 09]

What the heck of a Russian Orwellian doublespeak press release—could they have not directly stated we Russia are winning the info war???? Serbia more creditable than Russia—hardly.

Kremlin says Serbia says Russia winning media war with United States. http://sputniknews.com/world/20150829/1026336126/russia-us-information-warfare.html …
The route of the terrorists' helpers from the border
Source: https://youtu.be/5HZugrmKEZw
HD: http://img.ly/CtRH pic.twitter.com/FLVVtloi4B

Russian souvenir" - remains of a GRAD rocket recently fired at Ukr positions near Donetsk
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1627925874090815&substory_index=0&id=1536808696535867&refid=17&_ft_=top_level_post_id.1627925874090815&__tn__=%2As … pic.twitter.com/Clyhf5PLOR

Slavic brotherhood, defend #Ukraine - defend #Europe! Together against neo-Bolshevik plague of Moscowian horde! pic.twitter.com/rMr3xzsRBd

Russian (hybrid) forces on University Street, Donetsk city, Ukraine 28 Aug (via @JuMistress) pic.twitter.com/sZU5ZdNLIQ

[OUTLAW 09]

Obama's most famous statement of 2014 will haut the history books forever---

QUOTE "we will judge Putin on his actions not his words" UNQUOTE

Aug.29, 2014 Putin made a midnight stmt calling on safe passage for surrounded UA soldiers after >500 were murdered pic.twitter.com/f9neXp1L68

On August 29, 2014 an agreement was reached to allow surrounded & weaponless UA soldiers free passage, more than 500 were murdered while marching

Was Obama just stating words for the press or did he really mean them???? Bad when no one fully understands what a US President means in his statements.

To understand that particular battle which was the actual Russian invasion into the Ukraine--which the US called an "incursion".

http://www.globalpost.com/article/6638347/2015/08/28/ukraine-battle-ilovaisk-year-later

Ukraine is still at war, and its bloodiest battle isn't over

Dan Peleschuk
on Aug 29, 2015 @ 3:00 PM


KYIV, Ukraine — Former platoon commander Vitaly Yatsyk remains impressively calm when he remembers the day he says Russian tanks killed scores of his comrades outside a sleepy railway hub in eastern Ukraine.

The ambush was the deadliest of surprises: As far as the battered and encircled Ukrainian troops understood, they were to be granted safe passage by the Russians — a so-called “green corridor” — back to friendly territory after days of fierce fighting.

But it didn’t turn out that way.

Instead, tanks, artillery and machine gun fire blew apart their convoy as it sped away in panic, leaving bodies scattered and machinery burning across desolate fields and dirt roads.

“It ended up as a corridor of death,” Yatsyk says.

He was one of about 1,200 Ukrainian volunteer and professional troops who fought in the Battle of Ilovaisk, which ended on Aug. 29, 2014 in a disastrous Ukrainian defeat that forced Kyiv to the negotiating table in Minsk.

It’s still the bloodiest battle of the year-long war, which continues to grip Ukraine despite two ceasefires and other diplomatic efforts to end the violence that’s killed nearly 7,000 people.

First, there was the ill-prepared assault on the strategic city. Then came the resulting encirclement by Russian and separatist forces. Finally, the most tragic episode: several hundred Ukrainian troops were massacred as they tried to leave.

The battle marked what Ukrainian officials claim was Russia’s open invasion of eastern Ukraine. But it also sparked widespread public anger and raised questions over the military chiefs’ mismanagement — and, possibly, their outright betrayal.

Now, on the first anniversary of the Battle of Ilovaisk, critics are decrying the slow pace of an official investigation into the affair. They say those responsible for giving bad orders, or none at all, remain untouched.

Continued……

A deadly scramble

With few other options, the Ukrainians were eventually forced to negotiate on Aug. 28, 2014 for safe passage back to Ukraine-controlled territory.

Muzhenko, the general staff chief, says he held talks with his counterpart in the Russian high command to discuss the plan — a claim others dispute. But talks between lower-ranking commanders on both sides did take place that day, continuing into the morning of Aug. 29. The Russians reportedly delayed several hours, changing the conditions for the exit.

Hearing of the negotiations, the Ukrainian troops expected orders for a swift and orderly withdrawal after days of encirclement.

But as his column of around 400 Ukrainians waited to leave through the corridor from a suburb just south of Ilovaisk, Yatsyk claims an infamous rebel commander, nicknamed “Motorola,” broke through their communication lines.

The rebel commander trolled Yatsyk and his men over the radio, warning of their imminent demise. “But through profanity,” Yatsyk adds.

Shortly after, he says, the mortar fire began.

To escape, Yatsyk’s convoy of armored vehicles and buses hightailed it a couple of miles farther south through open fields. There, Russian tanks and artillery were dug into prime positions — thanks to the delays in negotiations, officials say — and the turkey shoot began.

The Russians fired at will on the Ukrainians from both sides, decimating the convoy.

“The first vehicles to burst into flames were ones with the wounded inside, with red crosses painted on them, flying white flags,” Yatsyk said.


(This video purports to show a first-hand account of Ukrainian soldiers fleeing Ilovaisk under fire. GlobalPost could not independently verify the content.)

Parts of the battered convoy stopped in the next village, where regular Russian forces were concentrated. Incredibly, the Ukrainians fought back, destroying two Russian tanks and taking around seven prisoners. But when Yatsyk and others attempted to trade the prisoners in exchange for a safe exit from the Russians, talks broke down.

“We told them we have their prisoners,” the Ukrainian ex-platoon commander says, “and they said it didn’t matter.” Then the Russians fired some more, Yatsyk claims, killing several more Ukrainian troops.

Burdened by their own wounded, the Ukrainians wound up in Russian custody and passed over to the rebels two days later, despite promises to the contrary. Yatsyk was released in late December, four months later.

Russia still denies any direct involvement in the conflict. As for the captured paratroopers, Russian officials claimed they had crossed the border by accident.

In terms of losses in the so-called green corridor, Yatsyk estimates around 100 men in his column alone were killed that day.

According to figures released this month by Ukraine’s military prosecutor, 366 troops were killed in the Battle of Ilovaisk, and nearly 450 wounded. More than 150 of the dead remain unidentified.

Those are conservative figures, some believe: On Wednesday, the head of the parliamentary investigation into the affair claimed the total number of Ukrainian casualties for the entire operation may actually reach 1,000.

Many of the volunteer fighters were ordinary men from a broad range of backgrounds and professions, from IT workers to street activists who participated in Kyiv’s street revolution. Though Yatsyk, an avid poker enthusiast, served a stint in the armed forces years ago, many of his comrades-in-arms had little training and received meager monthly salaries of a couple hundred dollars.

Tough lessons

The massacre outraged the public. It exposed nearly every Ukrainian military weakness at the time: a lack of resources, poor coordination, and the apparent inaction of top brass.

To this day, a high-profile blame game continues to muddy the picture of events.

Continued........

[OUTLAW 09]

There are active right now a series of major cyber attacks against the Us underway from China using a number of different attack methods.

Secondary attacks originating also out of Africa.

[OUTLAW 09]

President of Russia ✔ @KremlinRussia_E
Telephone conversation with Angela Merkel, Francois Hollande: situation in Ukraine, Minsk agreements implementation http://bit.ly/1PEOC4F

Telephone conversation with Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande

Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with Federal Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel and President of France Francois Hollande.

August 29, 2015

16:40


The three leaders discussed the crisis in the southeast of Ukraine and the implementation of the Minsk agreements, in view of the meeting of the Contact group and its subgroups in Minsk on August 27, 2015.

Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande spoke of the outcome of their recent meeting in Berlin with the President of Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin expressed concern over the continuing shelling by Ukrainian security forces of urban areas in Donbass and the build-up of Ukraine’s military forces along the demarcation line. He stressed the need to establish direct dialogue between Kiev and representatives of Donetsk and Lugansk and to lift the financial and economic siege of Donbass. The Russian President said that there is no alternative to a political settlement of the conflict on the basis of full implementation of the Minsk agreements, stressing the importance of holding a constitutional reform in Ukraine that would be coordinated with Donetsk and Lugansk.

In the course of their conversation, the parties exchanged views on matters pertaining to regional elections to be held in Ukraine in autumn of 2015. They also discussed the main aspects of further work in the Normandy format, including talks between foreign ministers and preparations for the next summit.


1. NOTICE--Putin I still holding to his proposed "federalization" of the Ukraine which is the Bosnian model thus effectively controlling anything the Ukraine does in the area of foreign policy.

2. NOTICE Putin blames all shellings, ground attacks, and troop buildups on the Ukrainians--NOT a single mention that even the OSCE has stated Russians shelled their own towns--NOTHING about Russian led ground attacks etc.

3. NOTICE neither Putin, Hollande and or Merkel mentioned and or critiqued the statements coming from the DNR leader that he is in a general ground offensive and will retake large amounts of the Donbas NOR did they discuss the pending elections the Russian mercenaries want to hold outside of the Minsk 2 agreement.

So outside of blah....blah......blah......what was really accomplished?????

What a waste of time as the Russians have not implemented a single point of Minsk 2 and are always demanding that the Ukraine is not implementing which they have been.

THIS was after European reporting that Hollande and Merkel wanted to reengage in the Minsk 2 process---where have they been lately anyway--sleep walking and hoping it would go away????

[OUTLAW 09]

Ukraine just published detailed intelligence of #Russia|n troop movements & equipment:http://read.bi/1hKRzWL pic.twitter.com/q3Dkq77zn8

[OUTLAW 09]

A great blogsite for the visualization of the Russian troll networks--pdfs for those interested----

See the PDFs linked attached to
1/3 http://kremlintrolls.com/t/20150616-ri3m.html …

2/3 http://kremlintrolls.com/t/20150712-skank_net.html …

3/3 http://kremlintrolls.com/t/20150806-snalobin_in_troll_context.html …

[OUTLAW 09]

Not many overnight attack reports and have not had any reports on shelling since his morning, just some hardware movements and that is about it—wonder what the Russian military and her mercenaries are up to??---know they have not become peaceniks overnight.

This Russian “sudden outbreak of peace” is going to put me out of business.


There is an old military saying--when it is this quiet then the enemy is up to something and it is not good.

[OUTLAW 09]

Download and read---especially for those that do not believe there is in fact a Russian Army sitting in the Ukraine and do not believe they want to go over to a general offensive.

This is no longer non linear and or hybrid warfare BUT a pure interstate war in the heart of Central Europe in the 21st century.

MUST READ 'Russia's Military Aggression Against Ukraine...' 18 pages pdf https://www.dropbox.com/s/vval5hz0dun6wf6/proof-eng.pdf?dl=0 … via @TheBankova pic.twitter.com/MjmVbnVHNN

Well worth downloading the Ukrainian intelligence report--go to slide/page 13.

I have been commenting here for a number of weeks that we have been seeing the Russian general offensive in action BUT it has been a slow stepped offensive--building in a "masking way" that appears to be shellings and ground attacks as usual ---meaning anyone watching it would after awhile say ho hum what is new today---in order to not wake up Europe and the entire western leadership especially Obama, Hollande and Merkel to the fact there is a general offensive in motion now.

Heck even the leader of the DNR stated yesterday they are in a general offensive--straight from the mules mouth so to speak.

[OUTLAW 09]

Not many overnight attack reports and have not had any reports on shelling since his morning, just some hardware movements and that is about it—wonder what the Russian military and her mercenaries are up to??---know they have not become peaceniks overnight.

This Russian “sudden outbreak of peace” is going to put me out of business.

There is an old military saying--when it is this quiet then the enemy is up to something and it is not good.

WOW--this is a totally new report from the ATO press center----

Today, from midnight to 18:00, militants generally adhered to the ceasefire - ATO press center
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1056614971015975&id=820651001279041&refid=17&_ft_=top_level_post_id.1056614971015975&__tn__=%2As …

Mark this one in your historical Russian invasion calendar--

[OUTLAW 09]

A massive amount of Ukrainian intelligence on the order of battle of the Russian military inside the Ukraine was released yesterday all day long in English by the Ukrainian President. Down to names and locations.

So let's see exactly how long it takes to get into if at all western mainstream media???

Rus Gen-s commanding Rus contingent in E Ukr: @TheBankova Prez Admin releases more ENG proof https://www.dropbox.com/s/vval5hz0dun6wf6/proof-eng.pdf?dl=0 … pic.twitter.com/kMIVzQZEoJ

Professional Russian Army in Ukraine. Database and Visualisation via @en_informnapalm pic.twitter.com/tz1CERIZpu http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/28-augu...e-database-and

So we can start counting from 28 August and see just how it takes before MSM wakes up if at all. We are in day two and still nothing from the major media outlets.

My prediction is coming true--outside of a massive take up by social media the MSM is just simply ignoring the released intelligence data by the Ukrainian government--NOW a truly interesting question to all SWJ readers--why is that???

Two full days into this and still not a single major western MSM is interested in this.

Yesterday @InformNapalm @APUkraine @TheBankova @20committee revealed facts about significant Russian military in Ukraine. Today MSM silent!?

This is the complete in English released document---

MUST READ 'Russia's Military Aggression Against Ukraine...' 18 pages pdf https://www.dropbox.com/s/vval5hz0du...f-eng.pdf?dl=0 … via @TheBankova pic.twitter.com/MjmVbnVHNN

[OUTLAW 09]

http://euromaidanpress.com/2015/08/29/assimilation-of-ethnic-russians-in-ukraine-should-worry-moscow-nevzorov-says/

Assimilation of ethnic Russians in Ukraine should worry Moscow, Nevzorov says


An increasing number of ethnic Russians in Ukraine not only are identifying themselves as part of a civic nation in Ukraine but also are taking the next step and assimilating to the Ukrainian ethnic nation, a trend that Vyacheslav Nevzorov says Moscow should be worried about and that should be the focus of study by Russian scholars.

Nevzorov, who writes for the Topwar.ru portal, earlier sounded the alarm that ethnic Russians in Ukraine are quite attracted to the Ukrainian civic nation. Now, he is expressing concern about complete assimilation.

The Moscow commentator says that “the Russian super-ethnos,” which according to him included Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians, is splitting up and that many “Russian-language people with classical Russian family names have fallen in love with ‘Ukraine’ as a project” and have added to the number of “Russian-language Ukrainians.”


According to Nevzorov, he has “lost many close relatives who were themselves born in Russia and came to Ukraine in the 1980s,” as well as many “fellow students… whose parents were sent from the RSFSR to the UkSSR.” And he says he wants to know why they are shifting their identities from Russian to Ukrainian.

Specifically, he says, he wants to know what lies behind the phenomenon in which his “relative at the door of [his] home told me: ‘Go back to your Russia!’” to the same city from which his relative had come originally.

“Today,” he continues, “it is fashionable to say that we have lost Russians in Ukraine only because” of Ukrainian propaganda and censorship that he says emerged after the Maidan. But in fact, the roots of what he calls the problem of the re-identification and assimilation of ethnic Russians in Ukraine have deeper roots.

Among the most important, Nevzorov says, were the de-industrialization of Ukraine and the collapse of Russian media between 1995 and 2003 “before the mass appearance of the Internet and cable television where Russians of Ukraine could form their own playlists” and maintain contact with their native culture.

Another cause is to be found in the Ukrainian educational system. Even where there are Russian-language schools, he says, these “do not give information about the history of Russia and Russian literature” but rather declare “in Russian” that “Bandera is a hero.” That helps create “Russian-language Russophobes.”

At present, he continues, this phenomenon has become large enough that Russian institutions must investigate it and provide answers to nine questions:
•“Why in a country where there hasn’t appeared a single children’s film and only a couple of adult ones over the last 24 years are Russian-language young people drawn not to Russia but have been enthusiastic about the ethno-culture of Halychyna?” [Note: By using the term “Halychyna,” which was a small medieval princedom with territory straddling western Ukraine, Poland and Slovakia, Nevzorov shows his geographic incompetence and his desire to diminish the ethnic culture in the rest of Ukraine, which had survived despite centuries of forced Russification policies by Russian tzars and communists. – Ed.]
•“How has the rejection of the Soviet project influenced the assimilation of ethnic Russians in a fraternal Slavic culture on a fragment of Soviet Russia?”
•“How has consumerism led to the formation of a Ukrainian political nation” and “why have glamorous Russian-language girls and guys begun to wear in night clubs vyshyvankas [traditional Ukrainian clothes] rather than Versace and Gucci?”
•“What is Halychyna” not only generally but for Russians in Ukraine? Why have the village and the village worldview won over Russian-language cities like Kharkiv, Odesa, Dniprpetrovsk and even Zaporizhzhya?”
•“Is the absorption and assimilation of Russians in more radically different non-Slavic cultures possible?”
•Why does Ukrainian education have such an influence on Russians?
•What is the proper role of the Black Sea Fleet in maintaining Russian identity in Crimea?
•How did Russia’s problems in the 1990s affect how Russians in Ukraine saw Russia and their own futures?
•Can this process of assimilation be stopped and reversed or have things gone beyond the point of no return?

For all his emotionalism, Nevzorov raises three points which many in Russia and the West have been unwilling to address:
•First, it is not just Russian-speaking Ukrainians who have joined Ukrainian-speaking Ukrainians to form a civic nation in Ukraine over the last two decades; it included Russian-speaking Russians who have done so as well.
•Second, this pattern reverses what was typical in Soviet times and one that Russians and many others have assumed is the only one available – that Russians assimilate other peoples, not the other way around. But today, Russians are being assimilated not just politically but ethnically in many places and in the first instance Ukraine.
•And third, that highlights something that even fewer people have been willing to consider up to now: Russian national identity, despite Moscow’s bombast and the assumption that assimilation only goes in the Russian direction is fact often far weaker than the national identities of other peoples on the post-Soviet space — even when these nations continue to use Russian.

For many ethnic Russians, as Nevzorov’s words suggest, those three things constitute an existential threat; but for many non-Russians, and especially now for Ukrainians, they provide a basis for hope in the future, something all too many of their ancestors had despaired of ever having.

[OUTLAW 09]

Either the Russian artillery troops and her mercenaries have completely run out of ammunition---highly doubt that with the tons that were shipped in and still is being shipped into eastern Ukraine.

Still not a single report of any shellings anywhere along the front line--maybe this will hold and the Ukrainian UAF and civilians can get a reasonable quiet night tonight--they have earned it through the last five weeks of constant non stop shellings and ground attacks.

Though from the lack of actions, comments, press releases by Hollande, Merkel and Obama one could have the point of view--that there is absolutely no war ongoing in Central Europe in the 21st century and that there is no Russian hybrid army with two verified Russian combat Corps sitting in eastern Ukraine--a ten hour car drive to Berlin.

Signing off for the evening----weather is great--tad on the cool side but clear--grill awaits me and a great French wine.

Stay safe-----especially for those Ukrainian civilians and military personnel along the Ukrainian eastern front line.

Will pick it back up tomorrow---

[OUTLAW 09]

Be careful with this article as it is interesting that the actual document was first released--archived though by social media--then suddenly withdrawn and released in a redacted fashion--all within say a timeframe of 20 minutes.

If in theory I am working disinformation then why would I first place the article then withdraw it and then rerelease a redacted version? Just place it into play and move on. Yes in theory if one wants a quick attention getter then withdraw and redact---but releasing the figures in the first place was a direct violation of the new Russian law on the reporting of military loses even in so called peace time.

The original and redacted versions have been released by social media in order to do a side by side comparison of the changes.

WHAT the FSB did not anticipate as it was their pressure to redact under the new Russian law concerning the non reporting of Russian war loss figures was the speed by which social media caught it in Russian and that social media has learned with their own info war abilities to archive everything and some of the social media has the ability to store terabytes of archived media for later review.

NOW comes the interesting info war game--in some ways the released figures really do parallel a large number of social media reports since August 2014 and if the imagery work done by them is accurate and it usually has been lately --alone in the Rostov an Don region there have been 1200 new grave sites dug and filled in since August 2014 with a large number of those graves being dug in the last six months.

Alone on grave site confirmations ---1.2K have been killed--the problem is are they all Russian mercenaries or is there a mixture???--some sources have been quoted as stating those are just the unidentified that could not be sent back to their own towns for burial there.

That imagery has been geo tagged, dated and released into social media for further verification--western mainstream media response to this reporting--a big fat ZERO.

REMEMBER in the month of late July 2015 through to mid August 2015 the OSCE SMM in the Ukraine reported 21 semi trailer trucks carrying +200 cargo--200 refers to Russian KIAs. Russia has been shipping only the bodies back in body bags to Rostov where they are then placed into coffins and a death certificate is issued. If we take conservative figure of just 20 per truck then that alone is 420 KIAs if as usual we take the normal load of 40-50 in each truck then that conservative figure is say 800-1050--again the problem is what is the mixture of mercenary to regular army dead.

Western mainstream media reporting of this--a big fat ZERO.

NOW the info war game begins---the initial denial and statements that the story was a fake came from TASS--total Russian controlled media and then Russia Today started their drumbeat--remember RT also totally Russian controlled and in over 126 countries has a far larger target audience than does TASS--Russian info warriors had noticed little to no take up with the TASS PR so they moved their efforts on to RT.

NOW it gets interesting after Forbes released they article--I watched this all day and into last night--then a number of somewhat reliable western journalists started to repeat what RT had stated and openly doubted the initial report of the KIA numbers, then a few other western media outlets started carrying the RT report as well. Something to remember is normally social media is quick to state fake or real---noticed that social media stayed on the sidelines after releasing it and still are---they are accepting as real and feel no further need to jump in--Ukrainian media is also quiet as they are assuming the figures are real as well.

THEN last night a Russia troll under guise as a reliable commenter stated at he had compared the document and found similar wording of the first report on an old archived document from a few years ago alluding that the first report was a blatant fake.

NOTICE that in all of this info war fight not a single western journalist and or western mainstream media has picked up the OSCE +200 movement reporting and or the verified and geo tagged imagery of the 1200 graves-that cannot be replicated and faked.

INTERESTING question--just why does all and I mean all of the so called independent western media ignor anything coming out of the Ukraine and why are they so lax in their fact checking????

I can count at least six major articles released by western media since the Russian invasion that have been based on Russian faked information and yet when called out by social media requesting retractions--silence is their response.

This just popped up on social media and goes to the heart of the Russian claim of a faked Russian loses article.

Snizhne @HuSnizhne Lots of new and previous mass graves at Ovsyanne cemetery in Snizhne.

Snizhne @HuSnizhne One of them is a long 50m ditch w/tablets 'Makiivka', 'Unknown Novorossiya wariors'.

Snizhne @HuSnizhne The most interesting are 3 mass graves with flags 'Tomsk', 'Yakut-Sakha' and Russian one.


Russia has taken for a rotating every three months tour of duty inside the eastern Ukraine with a steady state of 9K Russian troops--actually percentage wise heavy loses and they keep piling up.

Let's see if the western MSM picks up this social media report---

Noticed today the UK Independent picked up the original reporting and carried the loses as factual--fairly sure their own journalists stationed in the Ukraine signed off on the article..

[OUTLAW 09]

Time for all SWJ readers and their friends to ditch this AV software company products.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus founder #Putin pal,quote #Putin words in interview http://uk.businessinsider.com/r-exclusive-russias-kaspersky-threatened-to-rub-out-rival-email-shows-2015-8?r=US&IR=T … pic.twitter.com/Ar7Pq8vtsd

1. There has been some serious behind the hand comments recently that the Kaspersky CEO denied--that he was allowing the FSB to funnel off customer data down to CCs.

2. Then this week there were accusations that Kaspersky deliberately leaked info about a particular malware that surprise surprise only they had the ability to detect driving a ton of customers away from their competitors.

BTW--a side note--in the massive hack of the Italian software company The Hacking Team--buried in a tons of emails was mentioned that they had developed a backdoor into the Kaspersky AV software to be used to actively monitor PCs thus sidestepping any AV detection---and by the way the FSB also purchased a number of their products.

If one knows the historical development of Kaspersky--they were always the first to provide AV defense against Russian developed cyber crime malware long before they were being detected by other AV companies and they often knew about them long before they released a detection ability thus allowing the malware to exist causing damage before they stopped it--so working for Russian cyber crime and the FSB is a BIG yes or no question that has never been cleanly answered.

IMHO several of the Israeli AV products do a far better job than Kaspersky does and are cheaper.

JMO----from someone who is AV issues daily.

[OUTLAW 09]

Another Russian fake debunked. This is not #Donbas, #Ukraine - it's Israel, 2014.

http://www.RussiaLies.com/ pic.twitter.com/sKN1gOGAEt

[OUTLAW 09]

President of Russia ✔ @KremlinRussia_E
Telephone conversation with Angela Merkel, Francois Hollande: situation in Ukraine, Minsk agreements implementation http://bit.ly/1PEOC4F

Telephone conversation with Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande

Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with Federal Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel and President of France Francois Hollande.

August 29, 2015

16:40



1. NOTICE--Putin I still holding to his proposed "federalization" of the Ukraine which is the Bosnian model thus effectively controlling anything the Ukraine does in the area of foreign policy.

2. NOTICE Putin blames all shellings, ground attacks, and troop buildups on the Ukrainians--NOT a single mention that even the OSCE has stated Russians shelled their own towns--NOTHING about Russian led ground attacks etc.

3. NOTICE neither Putin, Hollande and or Merkel mentioned and or critiqued the statements coming from the DNR leader that he is in a general ground offensive and will retake large amounts of the Donbas NOR did they discuss the pending elections the Russian mercenaries want to hold outside of the Minsk 2 agreement.

So outside of blah....blah......blah......what was really accomplished?????

What a waste of time as the Russians have not implemented a single point of Minsk 2 and are always demanding that the Ukraine is not implementing which they have been.

THIS was after European reporting that Hollande and Merkel wanted to reengage in the Minsk 2 process---where have they been lately anyway--sleep walking and hoping it would go away????



Rather surprising if you ask me----

Merkel WARNS #Putin East #Ukraine Vote Must Conform to (the country`s) Law http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-29/merkel-warns-putin-that-east-ukraine-vote-must-conform-to-law …

That`s a first!! pic.twitter.com/Y46iWd6fcf

[OUTLAW 09]

Catching up with the last few days before I get to the really great news----the Russian troops and her mercenaries are either in the mode for a coming offense which I think has actually been underway and stymied with no progress OR the really BIG OR---Russian non linear warfare in the eastern Ukraine and the then resulting interstate war is over.


http://maidantranslations.com/2015/08/30/dmitry-tymchuk-military-update-8-28-freesavchenko/

Dmitry Tymchuk: Military update 8.28

Posted on August 30, 2015 by tilamuse

Translated and edited by Voices of Ukraine



Operational data from Information Resistance:

Russian-terrorist troops in Donbas continue to actively fire at the positions of Ukrainian troops and civilian objects, using 120 mm mortars, 122 mm and 152 mm artillery, BM-21 “Grad” MLRS, and armored vehicles.

Terrorists are no longer camouflaging the movement of armaments to their positions. The militants’ artillery units and armored vehicles march openly in the daytime, take their firing positions, and fire directly from “the first line [of the front].” During the last 24 hours, Russian-terrorist forces were especially active in the area of Donetsk and south of the city, as well as in the coastal areas.

In particular, militants carried out artillery and mortar fire on landmarks and targets near Avdiivka (specifically, precision fire was conducted in the northern outskirts of the town and at the Avdiivka Coke [plant]) over the last 24 hours. Fire strikes from 120 mm mortars and BM-21 “Grad” MLRS were made on the positions of the ATO forces and civilian targets in the area of Opytne. In addition, attacks were carried out on the positions of Ukrainian troops between Kamyanka and Vesele, [settlements] north of Avdiivka. A short fire raid from 122 mm artillery was carried out on the northern outskirt of Novhorodske.

Continuous terrorist fire attacks from small arms were observed in the area of Mar’inka – Krasnohorivka; in this area, the enemy also used 82 mm mortarts and AGS-17 automatic grenade launchers.

In the vicinity of Starohnativka, Novohryhorivka, and Hranitne, terrorists carried out active artillery shelling during the past 24 hours, making repeated fire strikes on the advanced positions of Ukrainian troops using 122 mm and 152 mm cannon artillery. Two militant artillery groups are operating in this area, each group three batteries in strength; the IR group earlier reported about their concentration in the vicinity of Starolaspa and Krasnopillya (north of Telmanove).

North of this area – towards Petrovske – Bohdanivka, terrorists have made three consecutive volleys from 152 mm artillery on the advanced positions of the ATO forces located in tactical depth. Two enemy artillery batteries were observed (overall, 10 weapons, half of them were ACS 2S3 “Akatsiya,” transferred earlier from Starobesheve).

In the area of Mykolaivka, Chermalyk, and south of it, militants have actively employed several mortar units (both 82 mm and 120 mm mortars). 122 mm artillery was used to carry out fire strikes on the ATO forces’ positions in the vicinity of Orlivske, Lebedynske, and Pavlopil.


Terrorists have actively used armored vehicles in several sections [of the front] (mostly armored fighting vehicles (AFV), predominantly BMP-1 and BMP-2). In particular, in the area of Pisky, two BMP-2 fired at the advanced positions of the ATO forces using their on-board weapons (30 mm automatic cannons) from camouflaged positions.

North of Chermalyk and in the vicinity of Bila Kamyanka, fire strikes were made on the advanced positions of the ATO forces from BTR-80 and BMP-2; attempts to destroy Ukrainian troop outposts were also made using precision fire of 125 mm on-board tank canons.

In the Artemivsk area, near the settlement of Luhanske, enemy tanks actively maneuvered in the first line under cover of 120 mm mortars, but only fired several single shots.

Militants used two BMP-2 and 120 mm mortars on the stretch between Dacha and Zaitseve.

In the area east of Stanytsia Luhanska (behind the settlement of Syze), militants shelled the advanced positions of Ukrainian troops from 152 mm artillery, and 120 mm and 82 mm mortars. Mortar fire was also carried out on targets near Staryi Aidar and Trokhizbenka.

Militants heavily used AGS-17, RPGs [rocket-propelled grenades] and ZU-23-2 [howitzers] to fire on the positions of Ukrainian troops in the area of Orikhove – Krymske (including Novotoshkivka).

Militants continue active implementation of the “a set of measures” aimed at “repelling” a mythical “offensive by Ukrainian troops.” The IR group has observed the arrival of two new terrorist battalion tactical groups “in the first line” [of the front]; [these groups] comprise mechanized infantry battalions reinforced with tanks and artillery. According to our data, another four battalion tactical groups are currently at various stages of preparation (one of them is being formed around a tank battalion).

In addition, a motorized infantry company of militants (about 90 personnel) has been transferred to the area of Debaltseve for reinforcement; it is accompanied by 4 tanks and 11 ACVs [armored combat vehicles]. In addition, the company includes two 2B9 “Vasilek” mortars, a significant number of anti-tank weapons (RPGs and several anti-tank guided missile systems). This unit has an extremely low level of discipline and mismatched uniforms.

Using the Bakhmut highway, the enemy transferred a four-cannon battery of 2A29 (MT-12) “Rapira” anti-tank guns, accompanied by a BRDM-2 and two BMP-2 armored vehicles, towards the settlement of Zholobok.

[OUTLAW 09]

Humor-----
In Church praying that god saves Russia from EU, gays, wikipedia, cheese, wine, lingerie, profanity, high heels & @Kasparov63's blog.

Not humor—actual statement----
In church we found an old lady praying to Christ. 'Would you kneel to the Russian leader'. She answered 'If he was crucified'.

[OUTLAW 09]

Horlivka, Aug 30
Russian tank (v @GirkinGirkin) pic.twitter.com/IRHfPYdUAL

FSB tried to recruit three Ukrainians who were fishing near the Ukrainian-Russian border in the Sumy region - SBU
http://112.ua/kriminal/fsb-rf-pytalas-zaverbovat-treh-ukrainskih-rybakov-vblizi-granicy-v-sumskoy-oblasti-255047.html …

VIDEO: Destruction in Krasnohorivka, #Ukraine
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=J5mfIUtT5MQ … pic.twitter.com/8QQMVMlMtk

Aug30 #Rozdolne, technical school #150 @GirkinGirkin pic.twitter.com/00aGLoeMjC

Yesterday militants twice opened fire in the Mariupol sector. Both times in Shyrokyne - Sector M spokesperson
http://m.0629.com.ua/news/942808

ICRC supplies to the Russian military and her mercenaries—massive corruption issue for the ICRC—they are not controlling the release of supplies they provide to local civilians that need them.

Donbas, "ICRC aid for Russian guests" @666_mancer pic.twitter.com/yPzvfYm2I9 @ICRC_ua

[OUTLAW 09]

THIS is the really great news----

Considerable decrease of militant attacks registered on 29 Aug: 19 times, weapons > 100mm caliber were not used https://www.facebook.com/ato.news/posts/1056888377655301 …

[OUTLAW 09]

THIS is the really great news----

Considerable decrease of militant attacks registered on 29 Aug: 19 times, weapons > 100mm caliber were not used https://www.facebook.com/ato.news/posts/1056888377655301 …

NOW begins the guessing game of what Putin is up to--the lull before the actual large scale assault to capture all of Donbas region OR has in fact the Russian UW strategy of non linear warfare actually failed--which would be a great surprise to many in the US military and DC world.

I have my thoughts that the actual financial costs of the Russian eastern Ukraine adventure and high loses of manpower both Russian military and Russian mercenary has reached a tipping point.

It is a known fact that Russia financially cannot support the mini Ukrainian state that they recreated as well as the Crimea which is dragging on them as well. They have been literally begging the Ukrainians to stop their economic blockade and resume financial support to the Donbas.

Politically speaking Putin has not stopped the Ukrainian march to the West in fact he is virtually driving them westward with each day of further fighting.

He is losing via the EU Association Agreement with the Ukraine a 500-700M USD market because he failed to fully engage with the EU and the Ukraine in securing their market chances by his total opposition to any settlement.

His economy is in tatters and failing with now over 100 regional governments totally bankrupt and the Central Bank is kicking in an additional 20B USDs to recapitalize selected banks with an anticipated 300 further bank failures.

AND he cannot sustain the estimated 50M USDs per day that is needed to maintain the war effort in the Ukraine, conscripts are now leaving service and he has a massive contract unit rotation problem in trying to keep quality contract troops in the Ukraine and at the same time keep their loses low.

BUT if we see a true major offensive with the 400 tanks in the lead then we can be assured Putin has far more in mind for Europe than even Europeans believe possible.

My personal bet is what a Finnish military analyst recently stated in a study he did on the Russian non linear warfare--Russia had exactly one year to make it work and we are now at the end of that year--Putin's time simply ran out.

[OUTLAW 09]

If this keeps up I will be out of business which would actually be great.

Looking forward to a very quiet day.

[OUTLAW 09]

My prediction is coming true--outside of a massive take up by social media the MSM is just simply ignoring the released intelligence data by the Ukrainian government--NOW a truly interesting question to all SWJ readers--why is that???

Two full days into this and still not a single major western MSM is interested in this.

Yesterday @InformNapalm @APUkraine @TheBankova @20committee revealed facts about significant Russian military in Ukraine. Today MSM silent!?

This is the complete in English released document---

MUST READ 'Russia's Military Aggression Against Ukraine...' 18 pages pdf https://www.dropbox.com/s/vval5hz0du...f-eng.pdf?dl=0 … via @TheBankova pic.twitter.com/MjmVbnVHNN

Let's see --where to start--one must truly ask the question--is the western mainstream media so corporate controlled that selected topics ie anything about the Ukraine, Russian military loses, even if the Russian army is inside the Ukraine, and a major Ukrainian intelligence dump on the Russian Army can be effectively stopped by them and depriving US readers of information.

Appears so---the article concerning the high Russian militay and mercenary loses has not been picked up with the exception of a few MSM journalists attempting to ride the Russian info war propaganda statements.

Three days and counting and nothing on this story anywhere to be seen in MSM.

The massive Ukrainian intelligence data dump on the Russian Army in the Ukraine complete with names, locations, organization and structure..

Two days and counting--it is almost as if corporate media owners do not want US readers to fully comprehend the extent of the Russian military adventure inside the Ukraine.

And we the US often talk about freedom of the press and free speech--this lack of reporting verified news kind of negates those principles.

[OUTLAW 09]

For some inherent reasoning on the part of Obama and his NSC he feels he needs Putin's help in finding a solution for Syria and thus add to his legacy.

Assad would not be in power if not for Russian military weapons shipments, Russian aircraft and now this.

Important - #Moscow hasn't only sent new armoured vehicles to #Syria, also military personnel: http://spioenkop.blogspot.de/2015/08/new-evidence-proves-russian-military.html … pic.twitter.com/00zePCEoh1

This new evidence proves Russian military directly engaging in Syrian Civil War.

Russia will argue "we are just helping Assad in fighting IS" but in reality they are traveling dual tracked--further support to Assad their proxy and to fight IS which is now becoming a direct threat to Russia in their southern regions. Has Obama forgotten the sheer number of reports concerning the close working relationship between Assad and the IS to defeat other Islamist and moderate groups fighting him???? Has Obama forgotten the large number of reports that Russia has allowed over 1000 plus Russian Islamists to leave Russia and fight for IS??????? Was Obama hoping for the new Iranian deal Iranian moderation in their support for Hezbollah which is fighting along side Assad--has not happened and will not happen.

BUT does Obama not remember that the Russian Navy has a major port basing agreement and that Russian has maintained GRU troops and supported major intel centers in Syria AND Russia has constantly vetoed any humanitarian aid for Syria ALL the while sending 37 so called "humanitarian aid convoys" fully against international into the Ukraine which really were hidden military supply runs.

Somehow Obama has totally forgotten his own public statement--"we will judge Putin by his actions not his words".

Well he have seen his actions in the Ukraine and in Syria---and what has Obamas reaction been--total and utter silence--absolutely nothing.

Well it is all about his legacy stupid..............

[OUTLAW 09]

This summarizes the current Obama policy towards supporting the Ukraine in its direct military confrontation with an invading Russian army—all words nothing more and nothing less and one cannot even buy a cup of expresso with them.

Instead of defensive ATMs the UAF gets words, blankets and food—that has never stopped a Russian tank. More night vision and better counter battery radars a must are ignored by the US as it would “provoke Putin” to supposedly escalate which he already done four times in one year without US defensive aid ever being sent in.

U.S. continues to stand with #Ukraine as it fights corruption, pursues reform, and strengthens rule of law. pic.twitter.com/KaTOVsYthS

[OUTLAW 09]

NOW begins the guessing game of what Putin is up to--the lull before the actual large scale assault to capture all of Donbas region OR has in fact the Russian UW strategy of non linear warfare actually failed--which would be a great surprise to many in the US military and DC world.

I have my thoughts that the actual financial costs of the Russian eastern Ukraine adventure and high loses of manpower both Russian military and Russian mercenary has reached a tipping point.

It is a known fact that Russia financially cannot support the mini Ukrainian state that they recreated as well as the Crimea which is dragging on them as well. They have been literally begging the Ukrainians to stop their economic blockade and resume financial support to the Donbas.

Politically speaking Putin has not stopped the Ukrainian march to the West in fact he is virtually driving them westward with each day of further fighting.

He is losing via the EU Association Agreement with the Ukraine a 500-700M USD market because he failed to fully engage with the EU and the Ukraine in securing their market chances by his total opposition to any settlement.

His economy is in tatters and failing with now over 100 regional governments totally bankrupt and the Central Bank is kicking in an additional 20B USDs to recapitalize selected banks with an anticipated 300 further bank failures.

AND he cannot sustain the estimated 50M USDs per day that is needed to maintain the war effort in the Ukraine, conscripts are now leaving service and he has a massive contract unit rotation problem in trying to keep quality contract troops in the Ukraine and at the same time keep their loses low.

BUT if we see a true major offensive with the 400 tanks in the lead then we can be assured Putin has far more in mind for Europe than even Europeans believe possible.

My personal bet is what a Finnish military analyst recently stated in a study he did on the Russian non linear warfare--Russia had exactly one year to make it work and we are now at the end of that year--Putin's time simply ran out.

In my former military life we were trained to look for and find “indicators”—yes there is a strange lull right now—but is it before the massive Russian assault that has been building or is it towards peace—these indicators seem to point to the first thought--- further intense war.

Let’s see if more come the next few days—it might be a Russian “masking operation” to lull the UAF into standing down a tad before the attack comes.

In Avdiivka there is a threat of the militants offensive – Muzhenko pic.twitter.com/JntYSQgKF5 http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/30-august-in-avdiivka-there-is-a-threat-of-the-militants …

Further indicators are popping up via social media---
Russian "hybrid" forces war games in occupied Luhansk pic.twitter.com/xU78cJ6rtc http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/30-august-russian-hybrid-forces-war-games-in-occupied-luhansk …

NOTE: while the weapons are strangely quiet--there is a distinct lack of talking on both sides, the Russians and her mercenaries are strangley quiet and IMO the UAF is just happy for any respite.

Even the UAF has no explanation for the lull in fighting--ANOTHER indicator--follow the bread crumbs.............

Reason for intensity decrease of militant attacks is unknown, Ukr troops are ready to all scenarios - Col. Lysenko, presser

THIS statement alone tells me the UAF is expecting a serious attack at any moment--not the slow stepped masking offensive that has been underway now for over five weeks,

THERE is an inherent danger with Putin currently being in a corner--that danger is that he and his inner circle believe they have only one option and that it to mount a major assault and then ride out the western reaction--he might just go for it.

All his internal actions over the last six months points to preparing his civil society for just such a rough ride.

In some aspects--we are far closer to sliding into a 1914 war in Europe than at any time since 1914--the US and the EU have been literally asleep at the wheel and have not been tracking closely Putin's every move since 2008.

OR if they saw the moves they did not believe or want to believe what they were seeing.

[OUTLAW 09]

Putin intervened with the EU to get his personal friend an EU travel visa for alleged cancer medical treatment reasons since he was on the EU travel sanctions list---he seems to be perfectly fit to travel to the Donetsk and Lugansk to give a number of performances—appears that the cancer treatment request was a total fraud to avoid EU travel sanctions does it not???? EU/US are constantly getting suckered by Putin in the last several weeks.

Russian MP Kobzon sang in Lugansk yesterday, in Donetsk today pic.twitter.com/8TK7F0vQlH http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/30-august-russian-mp-kobzon-sang-in-lugansk-yesterday-in …

Yesterday in the Luhansk region, 1 Ukrainian soldier was wounded from sniper fire - ATO spokesperson
http://112.ua/ato/v-luganskoy-obl-na-blokpostu-snayper-ranil-ukrainskogo-voennosluzhashhego-atc-255052.html …

How demographic problems are plaguing #Russia's armed forces: http://ow.ly/RvKVL @ForeignAffairs pic.twitter.com/38vT2VScST

Igor Plotnitsky's official column car has a Russian registration plate from Belgorod Oblast. pic.twitter.com/cRkelBV1IG http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/30-august-igor-plotnitskys-official-column-car-has-a-russian …

[OUTLAW 09]

Putin intervened with the EU to get his personal friend an EU travel visa for alleged cancer medical treatment reasons since he was on the EU travel sanctions list---he seems to be perfectly fit to travel to the Donetsk and Lugansk to give a number of performances—appears that the cancer treatment request was a total fraud to avoid EU travel sanctions does it not???? EU/US are constantly getting suckered by Putin in the last several weeks.

Russian MP Kobzon sang in Lugansk yesterday, in Donetsk today pic.twitter.com/8TK7F0vQlH http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/30-august-russian-mp-kobzon-sang-in-lugansk-yesterday-in …

Yesterday in the Luhansk region, 1 Ukrainian soldier was wounded from sniper fire - ATO spokesperson
http://112.ua/ato/v-luganskoy-obl-na-blokpostu-snayper-ranil-ukrainskogo-voennosluzhashhego-atc-255052.html …

How demographic problems are plaguing #Russia's armed forces: http://ow.ly/RvKVL @ForeignAffairs pic.twitter.com/38vT2VScST

Igor Plotnitsky's official column car has a Russian registration plate from Belgorod Oblast. pic.twitter.com/cRkelBV1IG http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/30-august-igor-plotnitskys-official-column-car-has-a-russian …

After---social media picked up on this license plate from a VK Youtube video--FSB removed it--that is just how intense the social media info war is with Russia and not a single assist from MSM.

It was removed from YouTube----within ten minutes of posting the first comment.

Julian Röpcke @JulianRoepcke
After I found, terrorist leader Plotnitsky drove around in #Luhansk with a Russian-licensed car: pic.twitter.com/IEBQyl88RD

It's so 'funny' to see them uploading all kinds of stuff, and then delete it when they realise it's exactly not so smart

Julian Röpcke @JulianRoepcke
Seems we caught a big fish!
They re-uploaded the video and cut out the #Russian vehicle!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMH0YvnrCKM … pic.twitter.com/Jky9cgvACe

[OUTLAW 09]

Currently massive cyber attack from Nanjing against the St. Louis area. Has now shifted from China to the Netherlands against the same targets.

Now massive again from China targeting the Kirkville using the MS-SQ-S attack mode now shifting the attack from China now via Andorra Telecom using Telnet attack method.

Currently we are at 1300 attacks----and climbing---have not se this style via Andorra Telecom----normally a telco should be seeing this and stopping it

[OUTLAW 09]

NOW the UAF High Command is playing offensive info warfare---openly and publicly stated the UAF is prepared to go over to offensive operations to take back the Donbas--that should freeze any Russian offense if planned as they then cannot calculate if in fact an attack comes in the middle of their attack.

This negates the Russian doctrine of deep combat/deep fight by injecting the possibility that as they attempt to encircle UAF forces they are seriously exposed to a counter envelopment and a break through to the Ukrainian border as the border is not that far from the front lines.

[OUTLAW 09]

Professional Russian Army in Ukraine. Database and Visualisation http://toinformistoinfluence.com/2015/08/28/professional-russian-army-in-ukraine-database-and-visualisation … pic.twitter.com/qP4I0YkE5T

[OUTLAW 09]

Reference-----Transnistria/Moldavia

Transnistria receives modernized armored vehicles
http://deschide.md/ro/news/social/18608/FOTO--%C8%98evciuk-%C3%AEnt%C4%83re%C8%99te-armata-transnistrean%C4%83-cu-blindate-modernizate.htm … pic.twitter.com/LvNkSzLyGh

THE QUESTION IS: HOW ARE THEY ARRIVING IN TRANSNISTRIA???????????????????????????

[OUTLAW 09]

This just popped up on social media and goes to the heart of the Russian claim of a faked Russian loses article.

Snizhne @HuSnizhne Lots of new and previous mass graves at Ovsyanne cemetery in Snizhne.

Snizhne @HuSnizhne One of them is a long 50m ditch w/tablets 'Makiivka', 'Unknown Novorossiya wariors'.

Snizhne @HuSnizhne The most interesting are 3 mass graves with flags 'Tomsk', 'Yakut-Sakha' and Russian one.


Russia has taken for a rotating every three months tour of duty inside the eastern Ukraine with a steady state of 9K Russian troops--actually percentage wise heavy loses and they keep piling up.

Let's see if the western MSM picks up this social media report---

Noticed today the UK Independent picked up the original reporting and carried the loses as factual--fairly sure their own journalists stationed in the Ukraine signed off on the article..

The following is the exact reason that the original story of the large Russian loses is in fact true.

HERE is another perfect example of the info war game played between social media and the Russian FSB--it is the exact play book that the Russian used to attempt to turn a true story into an alleged fake story to cover the truth.

Igor Plotnitsky's official column car has a Russian registration plate from Belgorod Oblast. pic.twitter.com/cRkelBV1IG http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/30-august-igor-plotnitskys-official-column-car-has-a-russian …[/QUOTE]

After---social media picked up on this license plate from a VK Youtube video--FSB removed it--that is just how intense the social media info war is with Russia and not a single assist from MSM.

It was removed from YouTube----within ten minutes of posting the first comment.

Julian Röpcke @JulianRoepcke
After I found, terrorist leader Plotnitsky drove around in #Luhansk with a Russian-licensed car: pic.twitter.com/IEBQyl88RD

It's so 'funny' to see them uploading all kinds of stuff, and then delete it when they realise it's exactly not so smart

Julian Röpcke @JulianRoepcke
Seems we caught a big fish!
They re-uploaded the video and cut out the #Russian vehicle!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMH0YvnrCKM … pic.twitter.com/Jky9cgvACe

While the social media is carrying the brunt of the info war fight--not a single assist for any EU/NATO/US agency and or western mainstream media.

Exactly how strange is that when everyone states the Russian info war operation needs to be countered??????

SO who was the Russian in the Russian plated vehicle that Russia does not want the West to know was in fact in the Ukraine????????

[OUTLAW 09]

NOW the UAF High Command is playing offensive info warfare---openly and publicly stated the UAF is prepared to go over to offensive operations to take back the Donbas--that should freeze any Russian offense if planned as they then cannot calculate if in fact an attack comes in the middle of their attack.

This negates the Russian doctrine of deep combat/deep fight by injecting the possibility that as they attempt to encircle UAF forces they are seriously exposed to a counter envelopment and a break through to the Ukrainian border as the border is not that far from the front lines.

This is an elegant counter info war move by the Ukrainians--for the last ten or so days the Russian troops and her mercenaries have been releasing propaganda that was designed to show the UAF was planning an attack on them thus their violating Minsk by moving their heavy weapons and troops to the front line, then they released alleged plans their intelligence had received showing the UAF plans to attack them and divide the Donbas into two regions with slides and maps---multiple such info war fake stories were released which led some in the Ukraine to state the Russians are seeking a reason for their own offensive by blaming an alleged UAF invasion.

NOW by actually supporting those fake stories and so called UAF invasion plans with the above single statement the UAF High Command is playing on the mercenary paranoia and virtually freezing anything they were planning out of fear the UAF will in fact truly attack which their offensive deep fight strategy is not designed to hinder. If the Russians attacked one way and the UAF went the other way--it would be like two ships passing in the night militarily speaking.

A very effective single info war comment with serious implications for both the Russian troops and her mercenaries even if fake.

[OUTLAW 09]

The following is the exact reason that the original story of the large Russian loses is in fact true.

HERE is another perfect example of the info war game played between social media and the Russian FSB--it is the exact play book that the Russian used to attempt to turn a true story into an alleged fake story to cover the truth.

Igor Plotnitsky's official column car has a Russian registration plate from Belgorod Oblast. pic.twitter.com/cRkelBV1IG http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/30-august-igor-plotnitskys-official-column-car-has-a-russian …

After---social media picked up on this license plate from a VK Youtube video--FSB removed it--that is just how intense the social media info war is with Russia and not a single assist from MSM.

It was removed from YouTube----within ten minutes of posting the first comment.

Julian Röpcke @JulianRoepcke
After I found, terrorist leader Plotnitsky drove around in #Luhansk with a Russian-licensed car: pic.twitter.com/IEBQyl88RD

It's so 'funny' to see them uploading all kinds of stuff, and then delete it when they realise it's exactly not so smart

Julian Röpcke @JulianRoepcke
Seems we caught a big fish!
They re-uploaded the video and cut out the #Russian vehicle!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMH0YvnrCKM … pic.twitter.com/Jky9cgvACe

While the social media is carrying the brunt of the info war fight--not a single assist for any EU/NATO/US agency and or western mainstream media.

Exactly how strange is that when everyone states the Russian info war operation needs to be countered??????

SO who was the Russian in the Russian plated vehicle that Russia does not want the West to know was in fact in the Ukraine????????[/QUOTE]

Original video the Russian redacted and reposted----

LOL - Another Russian #PropagandaFail.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOlqhrVE7Rw&feature=youtu.be&t=81 …
pic.twitter.com/LiMUGibNAC

[OUTLAW 09]

This may in fact be the provocation the Russians have been seeking to bring in their 57K peacekeepers currently parked on the Ukrainian borders. 1 Sept is the start of school so children will there in large numbers and the Russian have been caught by OSCE shelling their own schools and towns just in the last week.

Russian forces planning to bombard #Donbas schools it controls Sept 1st so #Russia can send in "peacemaker" troops https://twitter.com/interfaxua/status/637942487689109504 …

REMEMBER under Russian military doctrine concerning peacekeeping operations out of the six reasons for sending in their troops only one is the UN--the other five are dictated by the Russian constitution/laws, the CIS/CSTO--especially one which states Russia can send in their troops IF only ONE side asks for them.

[OUTLAW 09]

Russian terrorists shelling positions of Ukrainian troops from yard of civil house pic.twitter.com/zT5iEWpRwV http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/30-august-russian-terrorists-shelling-positions-of-ukrainian …

teens film train-full of Russian army armored vehicles arriving at the occupied Lugansk city https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58V73HY61FU&feature=youtu.be&list=PLKcrtC0fsVC12-otLN4kHX83v4YVCjrrA&t=4m47s … pic.twitter.com/i1ku2qees1

Very interesting video from the Kreosan guys showing battle damage around Luhansk. https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&list=PLKcrtC0fsVC12-otLN4kHX83v4YVCjrrA&v=58V73HY61FU …

Many left homeless from militant shelling of Stanytsia Luhanska, Aug 26/27 - JCCC
http://www.mil.gov.ua/news/2015/08/30/vnaslidok-obstriliv-teroristami-staniczi-luganskoi-mirni-zhiteli-lishilisya-domivok--/ … pic.twitter.com/O1SR5zt3PB

CSIS ✔ @CSIS
Russia’s race to the Arctic: http://cs.is/1LydE4w pic.twitter.com/QOMtyqPQw1

In #Horlivka today exhibition of humanitarian aid from #Russia. pic.twitter.com/HmrnQjCrKO

[OUTLAW 09]

One of the most serious problems of the UAF has been their High Command Staff—all old school trained Soviet officers and having practically little to no combat experience—who did not even participate in Iraq or AFG or any of the 10 UN missions the UAF supports vs the COL/LTCs and MAJs actively fighting in the front lines.

This statement below reveals 300% the problem---the town he is talking about controls a series of strategic high points from which if Russian occupied could rain down shells and rockets on Mariupol with ease—that he does not see that is simply bad—he was also one of the planners behind the first major UAF defeat in August 2014 because they never did give the UAF orders to withdraw out of the pocket even when ground commanders were telling them they were surrounded—they all must at some point be replaced if the UAF is to develop into a modern military force.

This town also cuts off a seacoast tank line of advance on Mariupol which is an easy stroll for Russian tanks if there is no defenders of the seaside town.

Valid question—who exactly does he work for the UAF and or the FSB?????

Muzhenko: "#Shyrokyno has no strategic value for the defense of #Mariupol."
And this guy is Ukr Gen Staff's chief... https://twitter.com/Mariupol_TV/status/637951424341667840 …

In the six months that the Azov REGT held this town the Russians attempted five major tank led attacks--all defeated by Azov.

[OUTLAW 09]

http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.de/2015/08/removing-putin-by-itself-wont-solve.html

Sunday, August 30, 2015

Removing Putin by Itself Won’t Solve Russia’s Underlying Problems, Yakovenko Says

Paul Goble


Staunton, August 30 – According to the Global Wealth Report, Russia leads the world in terms of inequality of wealth with the top one percent having 71 percent of the wealth of the country, a far higher figure than in other countries, including the United States, according to Moscow commentator Igor Yakovenko.

But what is worse about this is that those at the top of the wealth pyramid in Russia generally go there not by their own efforts as is the case in the West but rather by raiding state assets and selling them off and have not displayed the inclination to philanthropy that Western billionaires typically do (kasparov.ru/material.php?id=55E1D63C9A0CE).

Tragically, Yakovenko says, the situation in Russia reflects not some short term conjunction of events as many think but rather deeper problems that did not arise with Vladimir Putin and will not end with his ouster, however desirable that may be. And he points to “two historic sources” of “’the Russian world.’”

On the one hand is the Mongol horde, whose heritage to Russia was the denial of any notion of justice. “The victor gets everything.” The vanquished nothing, and “any good thing comes only from the powers that be,” a view shared by Catherine the Great, Joseph Stalin and now Putin.

On the other hand as a source of Russian values, he points out, is Russian Orthodoxy, which “in contrast to Western Christendom orients the individual to life after death and not to success in present-day life.” That is why, Yakovenko continues, “there aren’t any successful Orthodox countries in the world.”

“Culture can stimulate progress or it can be a brake. Russian culture in all its greatness … has become a brake on the progress of the country. It is capable of developing geniuses who escaping abroad can become Nobel laureates and make a contribution to the development of other countries” but not to their own.

“The current sense that once Putin is removed, the country will quickly move toward progress and flourishing is thus an illusion,” the commentator continues. “It is a very dangerous minimization of the size of the task ahead. Putin undoubtedly is the chief part of visible evil” and his removal and trial are “an obvious tactical task.”

But even if that happens, Yakovenko says, it “will not create the conditions for progress of the country and will not guarantee a revanchist return of Putinism in another packaging.” Other countries have succeeded in overcoming this kind of challenge, but Russia hasn’t – and if it fails this time, he concludes, it may not get another chance.

[OUTLAW 09]

This shows just how slow it is today-----

Grant seems to have hit the Ukrainian Maidan events on the head with this.

“The right of revolution is an inherent one. When people are oppressed by their government, it is a natural right they enjoy to relieve themselves of the oppression, if they are strong enough, either by withdrawal from it, or by overthrowing it and substituting a government more acceptable.”
Ulysses S. Grant
Memoirs (1885)

“I believe that force, mitigated so far as it may be by good manners, is the ultima ratio, and between two groups of people who want to make inconsistent kinds of worlds, I see no remedy but force.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

“Military science rests upon principles which can never be safely violated in the presence of an active and skillful enemy.”
Antoine Henri de Jomini

“Retreat is a concept which fully enters into that of the attack. I retreat over 100 to 200 kilometers so as to go over to the attack on a certain line at a certain moment decided by myself…Retreat is one of the movements in the general course of offensive operations. Retreat is not flight.”
Mikhail Frunze, 1922

“The importance of the victory is chiefly determined by the vigor with which the immediate pursuit is carried out. In other words, pursuit makes up the second act of victory and in many cases is more important than the first. Strategy at this point draws near to tactics in order to receive the completed assignment from it; and its first exercise of authority is to demand that the victory should really be complete.”
Carl von Clausewitz, On War

“There has never been a protracted war from which a country
has benefited.”
Sun Tzu (attributed)

“A prompt and vigorous pursuit is the only means of ensuring
complete success.”
General Phillip Sheridan (attributed)

[OUTLAW 09]

Taken from a Ukrainian slide presentation I posted several months ago-----

Information on the 2nd BN of the 3rd Guards Separate Spetsnaz Brigade---provided by two Spetsnaz POWs captured in May 2015 while on a combat recon/mine laying mission—taken from a Ukrainian State Security PowerPoint briefing.

3rd Guards Separate 'Warsaw-Berlin Red Banner Order of Suvorov 3rd degree' Spetsnaz Brigade
Military unit №21208, 2a Voroshilov St., Samara region, Tolyatti, Avtozavodskyi District

Commander of Brigade, Colonel
SHCHEPIN Sergiy

3rd Brigade’s participation in armed conflicts
•Tajikistan
From September 28, 1992 to November 24, 1992
•First Chechen War
January 17, 1995 to May 31, 1995
•Kosovo
From July 1999 to October 2001
•Second Chechen War
From April 2002 to January 2007
•Afghanistan
from 21 July 2001 to November 2004(protection of diplomatic mission in Kabul)
•Ukraine
Since March 2014

Documented facts of deployment of 3rd Separate Brigade of Spetsnaz units in Ukraine
•February 18, 2015 in the city Molodogvardiyskof Luhanskregion
•From October 15 to November 19, 2014 in Luhanskregion
•From December 19, 2014 to January 19, 2015 -Luhanskregion

Established Facts of last rotation of battalion group of 3rd Separate Brigade of Spetsnaz in Ukraine
•On March 19, 2015 the battalion group arrived at the airport Millyerovoin Rostov region, deployment period until June 2015.
•On March 20 units started to move to the territory of Ukraine from the field camp in Dolotynkatown of Millyerovskyidistrict.
•On May 17, Battalion units in cities Luhanskand Bryankawere alarmed and immediately redeployed to the territory of Russian Federation.
•On May 18, military transport aircraft of the Armed Forces "IL-76" landed at the airfield "Millyerovo" and urgently evacuated to the unit to Samara city

The Structure of 2ndBattalion of 3rd Separate Brigade of Spetsnaz in Ukraine
About 220 people of military personnel
3 recon squad sections, totally 12 recon groups
Signal Company
Support Company
Engineer Company

2nd BN conducted a total of 18 rear area attacks against Ukrainian Armed Forces positions in the period March 19 to their extraction on 18 May 2015—a two month rotation.

Mission sets of this particular Spetsnaz team numbered 15;
Field Order For Yerofeev’s Group 15
•Setting ambushes, conducting attack on ATO forces
•Detection and destruction of Ukrainian Armed Forces’ personnel and equipment
•Terrain mining, settling land mines near localities and along the ATO forces’ lines of march
•Ultimate goal –preparation of armed seizure of Shchastia

Identified weapons of GRU special units
VSS Vintorez
AS Val
AK-74M with GP-34 UBGR
A distinctive difference between GP-34 and GP-25 (which is in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine) is the location of an aiming device on the right side (GP-25 has it on the left side)

Ammunition for VSS Vintorez and AS Val
SP-5 and SP-6 9×39 mm rifle cartridges
SP-5(7N8)-isa16-gram lead core FMJ high-accuracy sniper bullet developed in1 980s.
SP-6(7N9) -has a hardened metal armor piercing core. It can penetrate 2 mm of steel at 500 meters or 6 mm of steel, 2.8mm of titanium or 30 layers of Kevlar at 200 meters. At 100 meters it penetrates 8mm of steel, while retaining enough power to neutralize a soft target behind it.

The rounds seized from GRU Spetsnaz CAPT the team leader for team 15---
did not have any identification markings on the rounds.

Not mentioned in the Ukrainian SBU PowerPoint presentation of a mine laying GPS application on the team leaders cell phone—meaning the once the mine was laid and armed the Spetsnaz team would take photos of the process and the GPS app would record the actual GPS position which then was relayed back to the BN headquarters for inclusion into a mine location map. No photos of the cell nor exact information of the mine laying app were mentioned at all—only social media carried a photo and a short tweet on it.

Spetsnaz personnel are also being used to command and control Russian artillery/rocket units.
An extract from the award protocol of Major ZverevD.E.
•... During the combat mission in Ukraine during the period from September 14 to September 17, 2014 the special task scout group under command of Guards Major ZverevD.E. escorted a missile battery, provided its safety during the deployment of the battery and return to the temporary base. The skills of ZverevD.E. enabled the battery to organize a timely deployment, shooting and return to the temporary base. All the above mentioned was achieved thanks to courage, determination and skillful command actions of Guards Major ZverevD.E.

From the same honor citation----
An extract from the award protocol of Major DzhanizbaevT.D.
... During the combat mission in Ukraine during the period from September 12 to September 26, 2014 the special task scout group under command of Guards Major DzhanizbaevT.D. escorted a missile battery during the crossing of the state border of Russian Federation, deployment of the battery to attack enemy forcesand return to the temporary base [Major DzhanizbaevT.D. -Ed.] personally led special task scout group to the rear area of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and evacuated it on the completion of the mission...


Other facts of subversive and terrorist operations of the GRU of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the territory of Ukraine
Russian citizen KulyginaOlga Ivanovna(born 14.09.1972, resides in Moscow) was detained during an attempt of smuggling arms from Russia to Donbas by the order of GRU of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation

A total of 43 pieces of armament was seized (27 AK submachine guns, 4 PK machine guns, 5 SVD sniper rifles, 5 RPG-26, 2 Makarov pistols), 197 hand grenades (102 F-1, 95 RGD-5) and 74 packages of ammunition
It was found out, that KulyginaO.I. between May and September of 2012 performed GRU secret missions in Syria

On March 12, 2014GRU officer FilatovRoman Borisovich(born 19.08.1981), who entered Kherson region as a part of a subversive group to collect classified intelligence data and relay it to the leadership of Russia's Armed Forces, was detained.

During the investigation Luhanskresident A. Kovalenko confirmed an immediate implication of GRU official Kostiantin Martynovin preparation of a terrorist attack in December 2014 in Kiev by providing her with an explosive device.

Russian citizen Larisa Chubarova, call sign «Tereza», was detained in Kharkivand is under investigation now. Personally interrogated, tortured and killed captured Ukrainian soldiers. Created informant nets and supplied the terrorists in eastern Ukraine with arms.

[OUTLAW 09]

Crimea Tartar abductions on the rise again….

Two Crimean Tatars Memet Selimov & Osman Ibragimov abducted by #Russia|n death squad found murdered in Simferopol
http://pravda.com.ua/news/2015/08/2 …

[OUTLAW 09]

You know the Ukrainian eastern front is extremely quiet and this is the only thing on social media at the moment----

Not nearly as good as dancing Givi video, but probably still worth look at Ukrainians cutting the rug https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Te52tdJXsQ …

[OUTLAW 09]

One of the most serious problems of the UAF has been their High Command Staff—all old school trained Soviet officers and having practically little to no combat experience—who did not even participate in Iraq or AFG or any of the 10 UN missions the UAF supports vs the COL/LTCs and MAJs actively fighting in the front lines.

This statement below reveals 300% the problem---the town he is talking about controls a series of strategic high points from which if Russian occupied could rain down shells and rockets on Mariupol with ease—that he does not see that is simply bad—he was also one of the planners behind the first major UAF defeat in August 2014 because they never did give the UAF orders to withdraw out of the pocket even when ground commanders were telling them they were surrounded—they all must at some point be replaced if the UAF is to develop into a modern military force.

This town also cuts off a seacoast tank line of advance on Mariupol which is an easy stroll for Russian tanks if there is no defenders of the seaside town.

Valid question—who exactly does he work for the UAF and or the FSB?????

Muzhenko: "#Shyrokyno has no strategic value for the defense of #Mariupol."
And this guy is Ukr Gen Staff's chief... https://twitter.com/Mariupol_TV/status/637951424341667840 …

In the six months that the Azov REGT held this town the Russians attempted five major tank led attacks--all defeated by Azov.

Another perfect example of the UAF General Staff still holding to the old Soviet top down command structure instead of allowing the field commanders to decide and act.

Taken from UK Independent: Ukraine's forces held up by red tape

Fighters stuck in a bureaucratic bottleneck as commanders delay permission for soldiers to defend themselves


Red tape is stifling Ukraine's war effort, they say, as military commanders allegedly delay and even ban soldiers from responding to artillery attacks from pro-Russian rebels.

When bombarded from enemy positions, government units regularly have to seek permission for a counterstrike from superiors removed from the action. But they complain of an inefficient chain of command and say the fight is lost in a bureaucratic bottleneck. Heavy weapons are ready to use, but often high command must first give the green light. "That comes too late," one officer told The Independent on Sunday. "Sometimes we wait an hour, even more. It's not effective. It's no way to win a war."

[OUTLAW 09]

Reference my comment yesterday concerning the Russian Anti Virus Company--Kaspersky.



In 2009, Eugene Kaspersky, co-founder of one of the world's top security companies, told some of his lieutenants that they should attack rival antivirus software maker AVG Technologies N.V. by "rubbing them out in the outhouse," one of several previously undisclosed emails shows.

He was quoting from Vladimir Putin's famous threat a decade earlier to pursue Chechen rebels wherever they were: "If we catch them in the toilet, then we will rub them out in the outhouse."

Former employees say that the reprisal Kaspersky was pushing for was to trick AVG's antivirus software into producing false positives — that is, misclassifying clean computer files as infected.

As previously reported by Reuters, the plan involved creating fake virus samples and malware identifications to fool competitors into disabling or deleting important files, thereby creating problems for their customers.

"More and more I get the desire to smack them with their falses," Kaspersky wrote in Russian in one email seen by Reuters, dated July 23, 2009. He accused AVG of poaching staff from his company. "AVG is carrying out an HR attack on the company, mostly the managers."

The emails shed fresh light on the allegations of two former Kaspersky Lab employees that the Moscow-based company had sought to sabotage rivals to gain market share and retaliate against competitors it believed were mimicking its malware detections instead of relying on their own research.

Kaspersky Lab has strongly denied the allegations. On Friday, it said the emails "may not be legitimate and were obtained from anonymous sources that have a hidden agenda."

"Kaspersky Lab has never conducted any secret campaign to trick competitors into generating false positives to damage their market standing. Such actions are unethical, dishonest and illegal," the company said in a statement.

The ex-employees told Reuters that AVG, Microsoft Corp and Avast Software were among the companies targeted by Kaspersky Lab in campaigns between 2009 and 2013 to spread false positives through threat information-sharing programs.

"To be honest, I'll feel pretty bad when AVG goes public and earns a billion. They won't say thanks to you or me — don't even hope," Kaspersky wrote in another email seen by Reuters, dated Oct. 8, 2009.

"'Rubbing out' — is one of the methods, which we will definitely use in combination with other methods."

A day earlier, Kaspersky had urged his team in another email to consider "rubbing them out in the outhouse," noting that his European chief was "very positive about falses." The emails do not confirm that an attack was launched against AVG or say how effective it might have been.

AVG's former chief technology officer, Yuval Ben-Itzhak, previously told Reuters the company was hit with waves of doctored virus samples from 2009 to 2013.

AVG, Microsoft and Avast have all declined comment on who might have been behind the sophisticated assaults. AVG did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the emails.

China Campaign

In the emails, Eugene Kaspersky did not give specifics on the "rubbing out" method that he envisioned using against AVG. But he said it was a trick that the company had used against a competitor in China years ago. He did not identify the company in the email.

"We've already had an experience 'rubbing out' — in China. In years 2002-2003. And we did end up moving one of then-market leaders," Kaspersky wrote.

A former Kaspersky Lab employee said the Chinese target was Beijing Jiangmin New Science & Technology Co, one of the biggest antivirus companies in the country at the time. Jiangmin General Manager Guo Changsheng declined to comment.

In 2002, Kaspersky Lab had been struggling to gain traction in the massive Chinese market, where piracy was rampant in the software industry, according to former employees.

Jiangmin did well in part because it copied Kaspersky Lab's identifications of malicious software files, said two former software engineers at Jiangmin, and a Chinese expert who had worked with both companies. The three sources spoke on condition of anonymity.

After repeated threats and attempts to reach a licensing deal with Jiangmin failed, the Chinese expert said, Kaspersky Lab began to fake some of its malware detections in China in order to cause problems on Jiangmin's customer machines when the Chinese company copied them.

Kaspersky Lab did this to protect itself from more piracy, the Chinese expert said, adding that the campaign worked. "All of a sudden, customers came to Kaspersky."

Jiangmin's general manager declined to comment on the allegations that the company copied Kaspersky Lab's detections. He also declined to comment on whether Jiangmin had suffered from false detections during the period in question.

Kaspersky Lab has previously said that it too had been hit with fake virus samples. It declined to provide copies of the samples or give other details.

It is not known how much business Kaspersky Lab may have gained in China or elsewhere as a result of these alleged attacks.

In one of the emails, Eugene Kaspersky said the China attack, which he called a "rubber bomb," was a success. The term "rubber bomb" comes from a Russian joke about an explosive that keeps bouncing and inflicting more damage.

"Something tells me that without that 'rubber bomb,' things wouldn't be so rosy for us in China," Kaspersky wrote in the Oct. 8, 2009 email.

[OUTLAW 09]

If the Russians keep this up will have to slowly wind down this thread for the lack of shellings and ground attacks-----and simply declare the Russian military and its much vaulted non linear warfare has now turned into a bunch of peaceniks.

According to #Ukraine military the Donbas front was at its calmest yesterday since April 19. http://uacrisis.org/32445-andriy-lysenko-14 …

Today militants generally adhered to the ceasefire. 6am-6pm there was 3 violations, all in Artemivsk direction - ATO
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1057079417636197&id=820651001279041&refid=17&_ft_=top_level_post_id.1057079417636197&__tn__=%2As …

[OUTLAW 09]

VIDEO #Russia(n) forces position being shelled by #Ukraine mortars #Mariinka/#Marinka https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf2HQFdGlCI … pic.twitter.com/rqtadujtp1

The Russian tank and 400 infantry ground assault on Mariinka stated this latest round of a slow stepped offensive.

This is what new massive escalation in East Ukraine looks like, people
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NubYRghok8&list=PLPnX89fQLdsnTsiDOpYtxvMJZobCjqBC-&index=5 …
#Mariupol pic.twitter.com/n6RlRZN3Ty

[OUTLAW 09]

Breaking:


There is a full and apparently holding for right now ceasefire all along the Minsk 2 demarcation front line.

The UAF never shelled unless shelled upon--the Russians though have been shelling for over a year now--at times 150 to 200 tons of munitions per day--strange that they suddenly ceasefire without even a propaganda whimper.

Absolutely not a single bombastic propaganda piece other than the one from two days ago stating they would ceasefire on 1 Sept 2015 but nothing in that press release talking about 29 August 2015.

Awaiting the other shoe to drop --cannot believe Putin "has seen the light" and converted to a peacenik.

All the while Putin is pumping iron with his PM and grilling in Sochi--just maybe "he has seen the light and converted to a peacenik"????

NOW the ceasefire is getting weirder by the hour----rather large open air gathering for something, someone or some announcement?????

Big gathering in Park Shcherbakova in Donetsk http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/30-august-big-gathering-in-park-shcherbakova-in-donetsk … pic.twitter.com/1NmnXGqINi via @LifeInDonetsk

[OUTLAW 09]

Breaking:


There is a full and apparently holding for right now ceasefire all along the Minsk 2 demarcation front line.

The UAF never shelled unless shelled upon--the Russians though have been shelling for over a year now--at times 150 to 200 tons of munitions per day--strange that they suddenly ceasefire without even a propaganda whimper.

Absolutely not a single bombastic propaganda piece other than the one from two days ago stating they would ceasefire on 1 Sept 2015 but nothing in that press release talking about 29 August 2015.

Awaiting the other shoe to drop --cannot believe Putin "has seen the light" and converted to a peacenik.

All the while Putin is pumping iron with his PM and grilling in Sochi--just maybe "he has seen the light and converted to a peacenik"????

The nagging question though is for how long----

5 Russian jets over Ukraine-Russia border near Izvarine http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/30-august-5-russian-jets-over-ukrainerussia-border-near-izvarine … pic.twitter.com/MrlHRetP4y

Still flying over the border from South to North and then back https://twitter.com/BuTaJIu4eK/status/638032300974997504 …

flying south-north (patrolling), according to @BuTaJIu4eK. Same incident few days ago

[OUTLAW 09]

Carnegie Moscow still working for the Russian info war front--

Carnegie Moscow's Dmitry Trenin says MH17 downing served US interests; calls separatist responsibility a "lie": http://youtu.be/f10pFuV_WRo

VIDEO #Dnepropetrovsk #Ukraine SBU arrested man trying to sell 20 kg of TNT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNn2TsNvZ4o … pic.twitter.com/ttX3FnCDgz

[OUTLAW 09]

VIDEO #Russia(n) T-72 tank with Dozer Blade in #Donetsk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJiz4v3_t00 … #Ukraine #Putin pic.twitter.com/RhazHlkXJv

Ukraine SBU discovered 2 large weapons cache near the village of Bahmutivka,#Luhansk https://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=uk&u=http://www.sbu.gov.ua/&prev=search … #Russia pic.twitter.com/t8GRaNF8SQ

Putin in 2013, on question on Crimea, we care about our citizens in Baltics. We will fight for their right https://twitter.com/Liveuamap/status/638055982514466816 …

VIDEO #Putin "DNR" #Zakharchenko with new heavy #Russia(n) security detail https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ObG47xClcI … pic.twitter.com/JUtuefDku5

Footage of the aircraft near the Ukrainian-Russian border (v @BuTaJIu4eK)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=wm6CLPHvVo8 … pic.twitter.com/kBN3cb7JJ7

[OUTLAW 09]

Breaking:


There is a full and apparently holding for right now ceasefire all along the Minsk 2 demarcation front line.

The UAF never shelled unless shelled upon--the Russians though have been shelling for over a year now--at times 150 to 200 tons of munitions per day--strange that they suddenly ceasefire without even a propaganda whimper.

Absolutely not a single bombastic propaganda piece other than the one from two days ago stating they would ceasefire on 1 Sept 2015 but nothing in that press release talking about 29 August 2015.

Awaiting the other shoe to drop --cannot believe Putin "has seen the light" and converted to a peacenik.

All the while Putin is pumping iron with his PM and grilling in Sochi--just maybe "he has seen the light and converted to a peacenik"????

NOW the ceasefire is getting weirder by the hour----rather large open air gathering for something, someone or some announcement?????

Big gathering in Park Shcherbakova in Donetsk http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/30-august-big-gathering-in-park-shcherbakova-in-donetsk … pic.twitter.com/1NmnXGqINi via @LifeInDonetsk

Currently attack number is at 10--mostly Russian SAF and HMG fire--no artillery, mortars or MRLSs.

[OUTLAW 09]

Light humor to end the evening by----

US gets its first taste of migrant crisis as 10 asylum seekers from Russia paddle over Bering Strait pic.twitter.com/h0Pmo77Ij7

NATO is trying to destroy Russia's Republic of Buryatia with wildfires pic.twitter.com/0OHAr80i5I

After seeing Anastasia Volochkova's pic, Alexander Zaldostanov from Night Wolves posed for paparazzi in Crimea pic.twitter.com/zgWOKHV5wx

[OUTLAW 09]

Signing off tonight early as there is really an non normal quietness in the eastern Ukraine tonight.

Supermoon is over Berlin tonight---one can easily read a book by the moonlight that is how bright it is.

[OUTLAW 09]

Just 16 russian attacks in #Donbas yesterday, mostly provocative, with small arms and grenade launchers, no artillery http://www.ukrinform.ua/ukr/news/doba_v_ato_16_obstriliv_perevagno_provokatsiynih_2 089541?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed …

Today #Ukraine parliament has decentralization debate, tomorrow new ceasefire starts and reports of provocation planned for tomorrow.

So we have two interesting days ahead which will decide if frozen conflict or fresh hostilities.

NOTE---even though there were only 16 attacks that is five times more than reported during the entire day of three and six more than the previous day.

Sounds like the Russian troops and mercenaries are getting frustrated at not being able to fire artillery, mortars and rockets.

[OUTLAW 09]

I started a day counter on just how long would it take the entire western mainstream media to pick up on the massive intelligence data dump done by the Ukrainian SBU and provided even in English.

We are now through DAY 4 and not a single major media outlet has picked it up.

NOW a very provocative question--WHO is controlling that media and FOR what reasons???? AS now the control is clearly apparent.

This intel dump was probably the most detailed information released on the Russian direct military involvement in eastern Ukraine together with the clearly identified Russian Generals who are driving that invasion in the name of Russia/Putin.

YET the western mainstream media is totally ignoring it.

Since when has the MSM ever worried itself about agitating decision makers before.

THIS is just how bad corporate media has become and they wonder why the new media is growing by leaps and bounds--they are actually driving that development by they total lack of interest in anything that does not immediately sell or is the voice of a particular backer.

WHAT has happened to the US concept of freedom of the press and the freedom of expression??---both definitely right now not found in the MSM.

Dear International Media, NOW DO YOUR WORK! NOW!!
*) Article https://en.informnapalm.org/professional-russian-army-in-ukraine-database-and-visualisation/ … *) DB http://bit.ly/RussianPresenceEN … pic.twitter.com/CmHE0bHO2E

[OUTLAW 09]

I started a day counter on just how long would it take the entire western mainstream media to pick up on the massive intelligence data dump done by the Ukrainian SBU and provided even in English.

We are now through DAY 4 and not a single major media outlet has picked it up.

NOW a very provocative question--WHO is controlling that media and FOR what reasons???? AS now the control is clearly apparent.

This intel dump was probably the most detailed information released on the Russian direct military involvement in eastern Ukraine together with the clearly identified Russian Generals who are driving that invasion in the name of Russia/Putin.

YET the western mainstream media is totally ignoring it.

Since when has the MSM ever worried itself about agitating decision makers before.

THIS is just how bad corporate media has become and they wonder why the new media is growing by leaps and bounds--they are actually driving that development by they total lack of interest in anything that does not immediately sell or is the voice of a particular backer.

WHAT has happened to the US concept of freedom of the press and the freedom of expression??---both definitely right now not found in the MSM.

Dear International Media, NOW DO YOUR WORK! NOW!!
*) Article https://en.informnapalm.org/professional-russian-army-in-ukraine-database-and-visualisation/ … *) DB http://bit.ly/RussianPresenceEN … pic.twitter.com/CmHE0bHO2E

I can find tons of articles, comments, quotes in the MSM on the Russian informational warfare currently being conducted on a global scale.

BUT who is actually carrying the fight back to the Russian informational warriors?????

Social media and their merry band of brothers and they are doing it for free and they are fast--sometimes even surprising the Russians with their turn around times.

Example--the Russians have released at least six different versions on who shot down MH17--everyone of the versions was totally and completely torn apart in minutes by social media forcing Russia to constantly counter their comments--AND where was MSM???

In this last year there have been leaps and bounds made in the technical abilities to fact check and verify photos and video and their locations that basically have disproven a large number of the Russian fakes stories, disinformation and or just right out propaganda.

In some aspects social media open source analysis is providing the military OSINT side a wealth of information that they have been gleaning from Russian social media almost daily over the last year.

AND the so called western MSM--totally missing in action and one really does have to ask the question are they working into the hands of the Russian informational warriors by their total lack of interest on anything coming out of the Ukraine and OR worse anything that pinpoints direct Russian military activities inside the Ukraine.

AN MSM wonders why they are a dying breed of media --social media is growing largely because of the MSM failures.

[OUTLAW 09]

Ukraine : Another Russian forward deployment base at #Rozdolne http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=47.612297&lon=38.010635&z=13&m=b&v=1 … How many AFVs can you spot? :) pic.twitter.com/ktWGF7H3E7

Covering events that didn't happen, fake weather forecasts, agents-provocateurs - the bizarre world of RU propaganda http://toinformistoinfluence.com/2015/08/30/how-russian-tv-propaganda-is-made/ …

Interestling----why are they running all night????
06:23 #Rovenki @ZlbRvnk Trains have been running all night through till morning.

[OUTLAW 09]

Ukraine : Another Russian forward deployment base at #Rozdolne http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=47.612297&lon=38.010635&z=13&m=b&v=1 … How many AFVs can you spot? :) pic.twitter.com/ktWGF7H3E7

Covering events that didn't happen, fake weather forecasts, agents-provocateurs - the bizarre world of RU propaganda http://toinformistoinfluence.com/2015/08/30/how-russian-tv-propaganda-is-made/ …

Interestling----why are they running all night????
06:23 #Rovenki @ZlbRvnk Trains have been running all night through till morning.
This is an interesting site for information on the Russian informational warfare.

Covering events that didn't happen, fake weather forecasts, agents-provocateurs - the bizarre world of RU propaganda http://toinformistoinfluence.com/201...ganda-is-made/ …

US is immoral, unspiritual and racist country according to Russians. Yep. http://www.rbc.ru/rbcfreenews/55e3eeda9a79471997b130ac#xtor=AL-%5Binternal_traffic%5D--%5Brss.rbc.ru%5D-%5Btop_stories_brief_news%5D …

Kremlin-controlled media much more effective than Communist agitprop: "horror" perception of US created in last years pic.twitter.com/Whee8nGDvy

[OUTLAW 09]

I started a day counter on just how long would it take the entire western mainstream media to pick up on the massive intelligence data dump done by the Ukrainian SBU and provided even in English.

We are now through DAY 4 and not a single major media outlet has picked it up.

NOW a very provocative question--WHO is controlling that media and FOR what reasons???? AS now the control is clearly apparent.

This intel dump was probably the most detailed information released on the Russian direct military involvement in eastern Ukraine together with the clearly identified Russian Generals who are driving that invasion in the name of Russia/Putin.

YET the western mainstream media is totally ignoring it.

Since when has the MSM ever worried itself about agitating decision makers before.

THIS is just how bad corporate media has become and they wonder why the new media is growing by leaps and bounds--they are actually driving that development by they total lack of interest in anything that does not immediately sell or is the voice of a particular backer.

WHAT has happened to the US concept of freedom of the press and the freedom of expression??---both definitely right now not found in the MSM.

Dear International Media, NOW DO YOUR WORK! NOW!!
*) Article https://en.informnapalm.org/professional-russian-army-in-ukraine-database-and-visualisation/ … *) DB http://bit.ly/RussianPresenceEN … pic.twitter.com/CmHE0bHO2E

FINALLY after DAY Four an online MSM outlet in the UK picked it up----still nothing from US media outlets.

For those who still believe it isn't war:#Ukraine published detailed intelligence of RU troop movements&equipment http://uk.businessinsider.com/ukraine-just-published-detailed-intelligence-of-russian-troop-movements-and-equipment-2015-8 …

You will notice in the leading sentence--"The Ukraine just published"--alludes to now but they fully published everything four days ago.

[OUTLAW 09]

IF true and verified via other reporting THEN the US/EU/NATO needs to really pay close attention to this.

This missile is definitely tactical nuclear capable and has been exercised as such in a large number of recent 2015 Russian large scale exercises.

Russia's Iskander missile complexes spotted in Donbass http://ua.112.ua/ato/u-raioni-donetska-zafiksovani-raketni-kompleksy-iskander-viiskovyi-ekspert-255175.html …

There had been social media comments on their being in the Ukraine--but nothing more definitive.

[OUTLAW 09]

RFE/RL ✔ @RFERL
There are more Russian generals fighting in Ukraine -- here is the complete list http://bit.ly/1PWPQZy pic.twitter.com/MrUkTiXihM

Russia has been sending to Ukraine its "peacekeeping" troops without insignia ready to deploy. https://twitter.com/ukrainik/status/638247047318016000 …

Since we are in polls, support for Crimean annexation among russians has gone from 70% to 59% acc to Levada Center http://www.bbc.com/russian/russia/2015/08/150831_rus_press …

Contribute this decline to buyers remorse----

[OUTLAW 09]

http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.de/2015/08/tatarstan-has-never-disavowed-1990.html

Sunday, August 30, 2015

Tatarstan has Never Disavowed 1990 Declaration of Sovereignty, Akhmetov Says

Paul Goble


Staunton, August 30 – Twenty-five years ago today, the Supreme Soviet of the Tatar Soviet Socialist Republic – it had already dispensed with the hated word “autonomous” – voted unanimously with only one abstention for a Declaration of State Sovereignty of Tatarstan, a declaration that it has never disavowed, Ra#### Akhmetov says.

And thus despite all the moves against the republic taken by Boris Yeltsin and even more by Vladimir Putin, that declaration, the editor of Zvezda Povolzhya argues, continues to provide the basis of hope for the future (“25 let,” Zvezda Povolzhya, no. 31 (759), August 27-September 2, 2015, p. 1).

What is perhaps more intriguing, even some who oppose the Tatarstan project are saying on this anniversary that what Tatarstan did a generation ago and what is leaders and people continue to do may become the basis for the transformation not just of that Middle Volga republic but of the Russian Federation as a whole.

In his lead article, Akhmetov says that the adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty was “a turning point in the history of the republic” because it asserted both Tatarstan’s ownership of its natural resources and the supremacy of Tatarstan laws over Moscow’s.

He acknowledges that Tatarstan was able to do this because it successfully exploited the tensions between Boris Yeltsin who wanted to take the RSFSR out from under Soviet control and Mikhail Gorbachev who wanted to weaken Yeltsin by promoting the so-called “parade of sovereignties” within the Russian republic.

Twenty-five years later, many even in Tatarstan treat this event as of only historical interest. After all, they say, Russia’s Constitutional Court has declared it null and void, and Moscow especially under Putin has gutted most of its key provisions. But that is a mistake, Akhmetov says, because the Declaration laid the groundwork for Tatarstan’s special status.

Not only did the Russian Constitutional Court not exist when Tatarstan adopted the declaration, something that makes its ruling problematic, the Kazan editor says; but “Tatarstan did not sign the Federative Treaty with Russia,” as did all other republics except Chechnya, but only an agreement on the delimitation of powers and responsibilities.

Moreover, in 1992, the people of Tatarstan in a referendum “confirmed the status of the declaration,” and most important, “the Parliament of Tatarstan up do now has no disavowed the Declaration of Sovereignty,” even though it has removed the word from the republic’s constitution under pressure from Moscow.

As long as Yeltsin was Russian president, the leaders of Tatarstan as a result of their pragmatic approach were able to maintain most of the provisions of the 1990 Declaration. But then Putin came to power and “Tatarstan sovereignty ended,” with the republic reduced from what had been virtually “confederal” relations with Moscow to those of “an autonomy.”

The Kremlin leader continues to chip away at what the Tatars have done, most recently by launching a campaign suggesting that the Tatarstan leadership is fundamentally corrupt, a charge Moscow can make only by distorting the facts, claiming for instance that the number of slot machines in Tatarstan is greater than the total number in the Russian Federation.

According to Akhmetov, Tatars can see through this and recognize that what is going on is the setting of the stage for a raider attack on Tatneft by Putin’s Rosneft like the one Moscow carried out in Bashkortostan. And they can give “an effective rebuff” to this by voting overwhelmingly for the current president of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov.

That the Tatar editor should consider the 1990 Declaration important is no surprise, but what is striking is that some who can hardly be called friends of that Middle Volga republic see Tatarstan’s continuing ability to take a position at odds with the center as a possible trigger of a new round of “perestroika’ in the Russian Federation.

In a commentary on Forum-MSK.org, left-wing commentator Sergey Gupalo suggests it would be a mistake to ignore what stands behind Tatar celebrations of this anniversary because despite everything Putin has done, Tatarstan alone retains the office of president, something even Chechnya hasn’t been able to do (forum-msk.org/material/region/10969431.html).

Tatarstan’s ability to maintain itself in this way reflects Kazan’s development of economic and political ties to foreign countries; and those ties, the communist commentator says, help to explain why one feels “more than anywhere else the breathe of an approaching new perestroika,” one that may be liberal or otherwise depending on events.

Among the intelligentsia in Tatarstan, he says, one feels the same spirit that one felt at the end of Soviet times, the view that “’one can’t continue to live this way anymore.’” Gupalo writes that he experienced that in the years before 1991 in Ukraine; now, he feels the same thing in Tatarstan.

And he says that on the basis of those experiences, he “sees direct parallels between the crisis of the late USSR and the crisis of present-day Russian Federation,” even though no specific actions have yet been taken in Tatarstan. But the shift in attitudes there like the shift in attitudes in Ukraine 25 years ago suggests that they will be forthcoming.

[OUTLAW 09]

https://euobserver.com/opinion/130040

Opinion

EU needs to step up its game in Ukraine

By Fredrik Wesslau

BRUSSELS, Today, 09:28


The situation in Ukraine looks increasingly grim. The war in Donbas has intensified. And Moscow shows no sign of ending its support for its proxy rebels or withdrawing troops and heavy weapons from eastern Ukraine.

The EU's relations with Russia and its eastern neighbours are on the agenda when EU foreign ministers and the high representative gather in Luxembourg on 4-5 September for their post-summer Gymnich.

This discussion comes not a day too soon. The EU needs to urgently step up its game in Ukraine - or risk losing it. Here's what it needs to do.

Increase support for Ukraine reform

The most pressing challenge for Ukraine is not on the battlefield but in carrying out its massive reform agenda. The EU has provided substantial support to political and economic reform in Ukraine since the crisis began. Yet more is needed, especially in the area of macro-financial assistance.

Ukraine avoided imminent default thanks to the agreement reached last week with private creditors to write off 20 percent of $18 billion of debt. But Ukraine still needs significantly more financing to stabilise the hryvnia and replenish its foreign reserves.

Since the Maidan protests, only three member states have given bilateral loans. The European Commission has provided € 2.2 billion in loans to Ukraine.

This is not enough.

If the EU is serious about wanting Ukraine’s reform to succeed, the commission and member states must provide further loans to shore up Ukraine’s economy. Default would be devastating for Ukraine’s reform efforts and could lead to political instability.

Robust security arrangements

The ceasefire provisions in the Minsk agreement have proven inadequate to contain the fighting.

The OSCE mission reports daily shelling and clashes. The recent flare-up is the most serious since the Minsk agreement was signed in February. Almost 7,000 people have been killed since fighting began; some 1.4 million people have fled their homes.

The EU should press for more robust security arrangements.

The EU should also take another look at the possibility of a UN peacekeeping force for Ukraine. The OSCE monitoring mission plays an important role in reporting on ceasefire violations and as a deterrent on the warring parties. But this deterrence is weak especially since the separatists regularly deny the mission access to Donetsk and Luhansk.

A UN peacekeeping force mandated with traditional separation-of-forces tasks, such as supervising the buffer zone on both sides of the line of contact, would provide greater deterrence and stabilisation.

Russia has blocked previous attempts to obtain a UN Security Council mandate for a peacekeeping operation. But this is no reason to not try again.

If Moscow, as it says, wants peace then it should have to explain why a peacekeeping force would not contribute to this. Using peacekeepers from Belarus might be an acceptable option for Moscow.

Implementation of Minsk agreement

It is not only the ceasefire that is regularly being violated. The Minsk agreement’s political provisions also risk not being implemented. The EU should increase overall support for implementation and take a clear position on the agreement's various elements.

One of the main challenges over the next few weeks will be dealing with local elections in Donbas.

The agreement stipulates that local elections should be held under Ukrainian law, in accordance with relevant OSCE standards, and monitored by OSCE/ODIHR. The Moscow-controlled separatists, however, have declared that they will hold parallel elections outside Ukraine’s constitutional and legal framework.

This would clearly be a violation of the Minsk agreement. It is also highly unlikely that elections organised by the separatists would be held in accordance with OSCE standards.

These standards require a conducive atmosphere in which political parties and candidates can freely campaign and present their views. Freedom of media is a basic condition. It also requires an up-to-date electoral register; in the case of Donbas, eligible voters who have been forced to flee their homes should be included in the register.

The EU needs to send a clear message to Russia and its proxies that local elections in Donbas must abide by the Minsk agreement.

Anything else would be a violation of Minsk and risks undermining the already fragile peace process.

Ready to extend sanctions

The prospects for a complete implementation of the Minsk agreement by the agreed end-of-year deadline look increasingly poor.

Discussions in the EU on whether Minsk has been implemented will intensify as the end of the year approaches. The EU should be ready for a scenario in which Russia and its proxy rebels have not lived up to their part of the bargain. This means preparing to extend the sectoral sanctions that are conditioned on Minsk implementation.

Extending sanctions in case of non-implementation is not only about the EU's credibility as a peacemaker but also about the credibility of the Minsk agreement.

This time around, the EU should consider open-ended sanctions conditioned on Minsk implementation rather than sanctions that have to be regularly renewed.

This would send a powerful signal to Russia about the EU’s willingness to stay the course on Minsk. It would also deny Moscow the opportunity to split the Union every time sanctions are up for renewal.

Keep Crimea on the agenda

The annexation of Crimea has largely fallen off the agenda. There is a sense in many capitals that this issue is “too hard to handle” given the unlikelihood of a reversal any time soon. But not talking about it is not a solution.

The annexation is too serious an issue to be left aside. The violation of fundamental principles, as set out in the UN Charter, Helsinki Final Act, and a host of other international treaties, deserves continued attention.

It should be on the EU’s agenda with Russia, as well as with other states, in particular Brazil, China, and India. The EU should also review the sanctions linked to Crimea to plug any loopholes.

Prepare for a fraught relationship with Russia for the long term

The EU has still to figure out how to deal with its “Russia problem”.

This is not a problem that has come about by the EU’s policy towards Ukraine or the rest of the eastern Neighbourhood.

It is a problem that originates in Moscow and in the decision to use force to annex territory and destabilise a country because it exercised its sovereign right to determine its political orientation. This amounts to a substantial challenge to core principles underpinning the European security order.

The EU should not expect Russia to change its posture for the foreseeable future. A confrontational relationship with the EU and US suits the Kremlin and fits its narrative about how the West is pushing for regime change in Moscow. It also provides a convenient excuse for the failure to modernise Russia’s economy and be a relevant part of globalisation.

Considerable staying power will be needed to deal with Russia’s revisionism.

Continued........................

[OUTLAW 09]

In network appeared pics of Russian army on day of tragedy in Ilovaysk.
August 29, 2014. More http://inforesist.org/aktivist-vylozhil-foto-rossijskix-voennyx-u-ilovajska-2014/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter … pic.twitter.com/fDXGcOYMJO

No KIAs, 5 Ukrainian servicemen wounded over last 24 hours – ATO Spokesperson http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/31-august-no-kias-5-ukrainian-servicemen-wounded-over-last …

Col. Lysenko: Ukrainian Border Guards observed five militant UAVs on aerial reconnaissance missions yesterday

ATO spokesperson: Only hotspot near Donetsk – Avdiivka-Pisky line. Militants instigated attacks during nighttime.

ATO spokesperson: Ceasefire was holding between Horlivka and Yasynuvata in Donetsk sector

ATO spokesperson: Donetsk sector: 7 armed incidents registered near Ukrainian positions in Lozove & Luhanske

[OUTLAW 09]

ATOspox: Luhansk sector: Hotspot:Bakhmutska road. Militants attacked from grenade launcher. Brief attack near Krymske

Col. Lysenko: Militants don’t use heavy weapons for the second day in a row, only 82 mm mortars & armored vehicles

Col. Lysenko: Ceasefire holds in Stanytsia Luhanska, Shchastya, Zolote, Popasna, Maryinka & entire Mariupol sector

Mariupol sector: not a single militant attack y/day. Intelligence: militants conduct rotation - sector M spox http://www.0629.com.ua/news/943510

Map. Situation in eastern #Ukraine, August 31, 2015, 00:00 EET pic.twitter.com/xPEwynJX1T

[OUTLAW 09]

Rovenky is on key railway corridor from Russia to occupied territories of Donbas, Ukraine https://www.google.ie/maps/place/Roven'ky,+Luhans'ka+oblast,+Ukraine/@48.067793,39.342685,10z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x40e1c44a1839b3d9:0x12d2b45f0b406 f6e … https://twitter.com/ZlbRvnk/status/638190327149543426 …

Rovenky - Reports (via @ZibRvnk @loogunda) of train movements throughout the night to/from Russia (30/31 Aug) Resupply? Armour movements?

[OUTLAW 09]

Here we go with another Russian altered stated of reality and Orwellian doublespeak.

In state Duma of RF joint drills of Ukraine and U.S. were equated to providing lethal weapons http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/31-august-in-the-state-duma-of-rf-joint-drills-of-ukraine … pic.twitter.com/PvEAcPY8iC

BUT notice the State Duma does not equally equate the Russian supplies of mercenaries, active army military personnel, GRU Spetsnaz, UAVs, EW/jammers, AD systems, heavy weapons and literally thousands of tons of munitions to be “LETHAL AID”.

THIS is just how far the Russian mindset has literally separated itself from the reality that is staring them in their faces.

Orwell would love seeing this---

[OUTLAW 09]

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/russia-fsu/2015-08-25/russias-conscription-conundrum

Russia's Conscription Conundrum

The Obstacles to Modernizing the Country's Armed Forces

By Elisabeth Braw


Russia is in the middle of an extraordinarily ambitious military modernization project. By 2020, the country plans to upgrade a significant percentage of its weaponry. Among the new equipment Russia’s armed forces will acquire: 600 aircraft; 1,100 helicopters; some 100 ships (including 24 submarines); 2,300 tanks; and 2,000 artillery pieces. The modernization will cost taxpayers an estimated 19 trillion rubles, or $283 billion. Russia’s military largesse, which accounted for 4.5 percent of Russian GDP last year, puts the country in third place in global defense expenditures, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (the United States and China rank first and second, respectively.)

The modernization project is impressive, but the Russian military has more to worry about than upgrading its equipment. Whereas the Soviet Union boasted an armed force of more than five million soldiers, Russia is now having trouble filling the ranks of an army one-fifth as big. It is not that Russia doesn’t have soldiers and officers: According to the latest data from the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, it has 771,000 on active duty. But that is 150,000 soldiers—16 percent—short of the number the Russian armed forces need to operate efficiently, according to military experts. Russia is attempting to decrease its reliance on conscripted soldiers by increasing the number of professional soldiers, but making that switch is expensive. Given that slumping oil prices have caused the ruble to drop to its lowest level since February, many experts predict that Russia will not have the financial capability to abolish conscription until at least the 2020s.

[OUTLAW 09]

It appears that proRussians inside the existing Ukrainian energy companies and via systemic corruption/FSB back channels were actually paying Russia for power deliveries to the Russian occupied zones and the Crimea in full violation of Ukrainian laws forbidding those exact payments.

Russia had been demanding payment for months, the Ukrainian government has been stating they will not pay the bills for months, THEN Russia went silent--NOW we know why.

http://www.unian.info/economics/1116552-ukraines-financial-watchdog-reveals-illegal-payments-for-russian-gas-delivered-to-occupied-areas.html

Ukraine’s financial watchdog reveals illegal payments for Russian gas delivered to occupied areas

28.08.2015 | 22:30


The State Financial Inspection of Ukraine has found that Ukrinterenergo, state-owned foreign trade company, paid Russia’s Inter RAO ES JSC for gas that had been delivered to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, in violation of the Ukrainian legislation, according to the Inspection's website.

During the government-approved inspection of Ukrinterenergo regarding its financial activities in the period from January 1, 2014 to May 31, 2015, the monitors have also found that the company signed contract with a legal entity created for economic activity in the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea under the Russian law on the annexation of the Crimea, which is not recognized by Ukraine. Amendments to the text of the said contract after its signing were revealed, suggesting its forgery.

The Inspection forwarded the results of the revision to the Main Directorate of the Interior Ministry of Ukraine in Kyiv for further assessment of evidence of probable criminal offenses.

The monitors also informed the Cabinet, submitting relevant proposals.

[OUTLAW 09]

During a right wing nationalist demo being held outside of the Ukrainian Parliament Building someone threw a grenade into the National Guard security force protecting the building wounding at least 50.

Rada was voting on the new decentralization laws as per Minsk 2 and the right views giving anything to the Russian mercenaries as an act of treason on the part of the Ukrainian government and their caving to US and Russian demands for Russian stealing Ukrainian territory.

Not known if this was from a demo individual or a true terrorist attack using the demo as an effective covering shield.

National Guard reporting of 50 wounded http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/31-august-national-guard-reporting-of-50-wounded- … #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/N3zXg65FF8

[OUTLAW 09]

During a right wing nationalist demo being held outside of the Ukrainian Parliament Building someone threw a grenade into the National Guard security force protecting the building wounding at least 50.

Rada was voting on the new decentralization laws as per Minsk 2 and the right views giving anything to the Russian mercenaries as an act of treason on the part of the Ukrainian government and their caving to US and Russian demands for Russian stealing Ukrainian territory.

Not known if this was from a demo individual or a true terrorist attack using the demo as an effective covering shield.

National Guard reporting of 50 wounded http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/31-august-national-guard-reporting-of-50-wounded- … #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/N3zXg65FF8

Will be interesting to see where this individual sits in the Ukrainian political spectrum and what potential group he belongs to or is he potentially a proRussian supporter.

He was initially identified out of a video photo and in the middle of the crowd--potentially shielding himself after throwing the grenade.

Video----youtube.com/watch?v=DinAxLyR7II&feature=youtu …

The guy who threw the grenade. pic.twitter.com/pc5SzzZW9U

HAS been arrested.

Attacker on the police near Rada was detained http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/31-august-information-that-attackers-were-detained …

One dead policemen after an explosion & clashes near #Ukraine's parliament in Kyiv, the mayor confirms to us.
Roughly 100 injured.

Avakov: already 30 people detained. "Grenade launcher" is also captured. Police found one more F-1 hand grenade pic.twitter.com/eU2FWn6Ek9

LIVE VIDEO outside #Ukraine Parliament building https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Siy69o-rKU4 … #Kiev #Kyiv pic.twitter.com/X0rSOowlUw

LOOKS LIKE the Ukrainian Far Right---they seem to have forgotten just how video footage is used these days.

Far right Svoboda party top brass photographed at attack on police at Ukraine rada. 100injured http://nv.ua/ukr/ukraine/events/vishche-kerivnitstvo-vo-svoboda-sfotografuvali-pid-chas-ataki-na-natsgvardejtsev-66449.html … pic.twitter.com/3cCaR9Kobi

Here's a video with the live grenade coming in from the protesters' crowd. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DinAxLyR7II …

[OUTLAW 09]

Even informational warfare is being used by the IS as part and parcel of their own UW strategy.

Ron Paul takes helm of the Islamic State and challenge's the US's fiat monetary system with a gold standard: https://twitter.com/M_Seloom/status/637767801491587072 …

ISIS becoming goldbugs is perfection. Next time some Paulista starts ranting about the Fed, just send them Da'ish's latest presentation

[OUTLAW 09]

There are two critical elements of the Russian, Iranian, IS and Chinese UW strategies.

1. informational warfare
2. cyber warfare and cyber crime

WITH the OPM hack which by the way the Obama WH has remained extremely silent on --many active and former US CI/Espionage types have pointed out set the US back at least 40 years in the CI and spy worlds.

YET that is not being acknowledged by the WH. AND the US mainstream media has largely ignored this story for some odd reason????

MAYBE this will them.....THIS now is a massive US counterintelligence problem--AND that is not an understatement!!!

China and Russia are cross-indexing hacked data to target U.S. spies, officials say http://fw.to/UCsVRVT

[OUTLAW 09]

Russian info war now busy in Syria in support of the re building of the image of Assad and his military as the greatest IS fighters needing Russian and US support---all the while Assad just keeps on bombing his own civilian population.

Footage
#Russia not just sent weapons but also its best propaganda piece to #Syria it seems.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHP-2ZcEKwQ … pic.twitter.com/9HkCdz4uMu

[OUTLAW 09]

Will be interesting to see where this individual sits in the Ukrainian political spectrum and what potential group he belongs to or is he potentially a proRussian supporter.

He was initially identified out of a video photo and in the middle of the crowd--potentially shielding himself after throwing the grenade.

Video----youtube.com/watch?v=DinAxLyR7II&feature=youtu …

The guy who threw the grenade. pic.twitter.com/pc5SzzZW9U

HAS been arrested.

Attacker on the police near Rada was detained http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/31-august-information-that-attackers-were-detained …

One dead policemen after an explosion & clashes near #Ukraine's parliament in Kyiv, the mayor confirms to us.
Roughly 100 injured.

Avakov: already 30 people detained. "Grenade launcher" is also captured. Police found one more F-1 hand grenade pic.twitter.com/eU2FWn6Ek9

LIVE VIDEO outside #Ukraine Parliament building https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Siy69o-rKU4 … #Kiev #Kyiv pic.twitter.com/X0rSOowlUw

WHILE Russian media will be spinning this as proof of the fascist takeover in Kyiv--it was just the opposite---many of those demonstrating actually helped capture some of those involved in the attack and the Kyiv police were extremely quick in capturing 30 identified as being involved in the attack.

Sad point is that out of the killed and wounded National Guards 15 were eastern front veterans.

When all is said and done--check Ukrainian politics in the 90s timeframe--you will see a similar grenade attack used by the then RED and BROWN side of politics.

Had a professor in my Masters program back in the 70s who had an interesting terrorism theory--if one takes a circle and the radical left goes left on the circle and radical right goes right on the circle at some point on that circle they will met--why because at that point they share the common same enemy--in many cases it is the state.

[OUTLAW 09]

Will be interesting to see where this individual sits in the Ukrainian political spectrum and what potential group he belongs to or is he potentially a proRussian supporter.

He was initially identified out of a video photo and in the middle of the crowd--potentially shielding himself after throwing the grenade.

Video----youtube.com/watch?v=DinAxLyR7II&feature=youtu …

The guy who threw the grenade. pic.twitter.com/pc5SzzZW9U

HAS been arrested.

Attacker on the police near Rada was detained http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/31-august-information-that-attackers-were-detained …

One dead policemen after an explosion & clashes near #Ukraine's parliament in Kyiv, the mayor confirms to us.
Roughly 100 injured.

Avakov: already 30 people detained. "Grenade launcher" is also captured. Police found one more F-1 hand grenade pic.twitter.com/eU2FWn6Ek9

LIVE VIDEO outside #Ukraine Parliament building https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Siy69o-rKU4 … #Kiev #Kyiv pic.twitter.com/X0rSOowlUw

We had something important to say about Shyrokyne... But it will have to wait - because of far right? (FSB/SVR?) grenade at Rada :(