Those who believe that the Wolfsangel is a #NAZI symbol, please read this:Originally Posted by OUTLAW 09
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfsangel
@repjohnconyers pic.twitter.com/Tscrr0blhP
Reference MH17----
Eliot Higgins @EliotHiggins
New July 17th Satellite Imagery Confirms Russia Produced Fake MH17 Evidence via @bellingcat https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-a...od-comparison/
#Bellingcat says #Russia used FALSE satellite images 21 July press conference on Flight MH17 https://goo.gl/lyd5tT pic.twitter.com/qxRr4gifpG
Those who believe that the Wolfsangel is a #NAZI symbol, please read this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfsangel
@repjohnconyers pic.twitter.com/Tscrr0blhP
Maybe the US Congressman who was quick to state Nazi White Supremacists fighting for the Ukraine should not be trained by the US should spend some time today and tonight in the Ukrainian military positions being shelled and ground attacked by Russian troops and her mercenaries.
Amazing what three months of constant shellings and ground attacks does to clear up one's mind about the important things in life but that takes getting out of DC.
OSCE UAV recorded military buildup in “DPR” –controlled areas north-east of Mariupol
http://www.osce.org/ukraine-smm/164126 … pic.twitter.com/tSmfBav7JV
BTW--this is the area that the Azov BN has been defending for months now.
#Donetsk 9:26PM
Kyivsky ds - Somewh very close to Partyzanski ave. ruscists pound with heavy (guns) fr time to time https://twitter.com/UrriKara4en/stat...26675500220416 …
OSCE: ceasefire near Donetsk airport agreed on Friday ends in less than 10 minutes
http://www.unian.info/war/1088892-os...0-minutes.html … pic.twitter.com/MijAGwffFl
Donetsk
All evening rumble from #Spartak-#Yasinuvataya area
#Donetsk @DN__UA A radioelectronic warfare vehicle spotted in Universytetska/Mira near circle pic.twitter.com/fe5dRMkvrh http://vk.com/wall-63030591_631598 …
#Donetsk 21:48
Kyivsky ds - From Tochmash occasionally heavy outgoing, going down somewheare far away to north https://twitter.com/UrriKara4en/stat...32532124323841 …
Donetsk, Ekonomicheskaya st, airport, Putilovski ex-bus station... combat goes on... heavy artillery... https://twitter.com/HuAdvokatos/stat...35883171921920 …
#Donetsk
The ruscists are hunting drones or UFO's again, shooting heard in the city
And the #Russia(n) trolls come out again tweeting #Ukraine BS as usual on Twitter pic.twitter.com/2ZOqP8eAhI
16:48 #Luhansk @100007182042214 ATO guys! Shell here please 48°35'13"N 39°14'50"E, it's #Oleksndrivsk range, every day Buryat exercise site
DPR is warning people on soc networks about truce breakup; saying war actions will continue. https://twitter.com/Ss_donetchina/st...29674897371136 …
more warnings from DPR about truce breakup, same text, different community... https://vk.com/wall-86736815_17098 …
#Donetsk 21:55
Ambulances rushing towards Putilovka https://twitter.com/jackson_villi/st...33756840148992 …
#Horlivka 21:55
Stroitel - hearing assault rifles https://twitter.com/ahab7822/status/609433833797255168 …
#Horlivka
Evening ceases to be boring... everything precisely on schedule at 22:00...
Heavy already. https://twitter.com/062_Region/statu...34613069520896 …
#Horlivka 21:58
Holma - tank shooting https://twitter.com/pvinogradov90f/s...34870943760384 …
15:25 #Donetsk @UkraineSuper1 Outgoing from Butovka, Scheglovka, Hryhorivka
VIDEO #Russia(n) tanks & artillery at #Donetsk Airport (remains) as battle rages https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9-E_mA_rAY … pic.twitter.com/eoOmJCjuAL
#Olenivka
15:16 @StopTerror2015 Tell coordinated of Nord plant garages?
@IAargh 47°49′43.2″N 37°42′33.6″E SPGs are there
15:15 #Donetsk @98760333 2 smoke pillars on the horizon, first in #Opytne/airport dir'n & 1 more in few sec in Putilovka area
Last edited by OUTLAW 09; 06-12-2015 at 07:37 PM.
Response to the Congressman from the Azov BN--seems they reminded him of the US signature on the 1994 Budapest Memorandum.
Полк Азов @Polk_Azov
STATEMENT OF THE "AZOV" REGIMENT ON DECISION OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE USA.
#Azov_Regiment pic.twitter.com/1kPfGUsLyr
Azov regiment "surprised & outraged" over US House amendments, says regiment stood on positions of "patriotism"
https://www.facebook.com/euromaidanp...08323212684820 …
100% agree of Azov statement. The US is so afraid to help Ukraine it makes completely lousy excuses. https://twitter.com/Polk_Azov/status/609443518629683202 …
STATEMENT OF THE "AZOV" REGIMENT ON DECISION OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE USA
On June 10 the US House of Representatives on the initiative of senators John Conyers and Ted Yoho approved an amendment to the law "On defense spending in 2015": "Azov" will not be provided with training preparation and Ukraine will not get the MANPADS. The decision on the "Azov" regiment became possible after the senators accused the regiment of neo-Nazism, fascism and compared Ukrainian patriots with Islamic fundamentalists.
We are extremely surprised and outraged by such statements. Our regiment has always stood on the positions of patriotism and has never appealed to any other global ideological currents.
Ukraine, which is much older than the United States, since the Middle Ages had a professional army. Any military operations have always been intended to protect, not occupy. So, in our land have never existed even the grounds for the emergence of phenomena which were voiced by the senators. To demonstrate genuine solidarity with Ukraine, we recommend the parliamentarians to pay attention to the French pro-Russian party which soon may become the ruling.
Appeals of the senators to the experience of Afghanistan are really surprising, since comparing Ukraine and Afghanistan even within a civilizational dimension is extremely incorrect. Instead, we would like to remind that the United States has assumed under the Budapest memorandum to guarantee the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. Please note that the level of implementation of these safeguards taken by the US is in an extremely poor condition.
We see in such statements only a political order and call upon all Ukrainian patriots to support the "Azov" regiment.
21:13 #Donetsk @Buzzing_Rook Oktyabrsky-Putilovka: arty volleys and distant battle sounds
#donbasreports
20:49 #Horlivka @DobryShubin at 19:10 1 T-72 tank tow/#Holma, 1hr after other downed T-72 fr/#Holma to the city
20:46 #Donetsk Kyivsky ds @UrriKara4en About 1hr intense firing heard fr/airport area.Small arms, SPG, tank
VIDEO #Russia(n) UNMARKED military vehicles on the move by rail near #Ukraine border https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82jCP0hA8x0 … #Putin pic.twitter.com/sKhcQqoUEu
The truce from #Pisky, with the 93rd brigade http://www.radiosvoboda.org/media/video/27069072.html …
Interesting article in Slon about Donbas' economy. Russia gives DNR RUR4bn/month in cash for social - no banks left. https://slon.ru/special/donbass-economics …
#Starohnativka #Staroignatievka 10:57PM
(The bombing) has subsided, waiting for the night. https://twitter.com/Staroignatievca/...49480384061440 …
22:36 #Luhansk @Edward_Lugansk Shots fr/#Oleksandrivsk dir'n like AA-gun
22:36 @esorrrose I can hear bursts in the SE/E
22:55 #Luhansk @esorrrose again - singles and bursts, like an AA-gun
22:57 #Starohnativka @Staroignatievca They ceased for now
22:48 #Donetsk Ekonomichna St/airport @HuAdvokatos Impact, loud and massive
#Horlivka 10:54PM
It has stopped. Hearing from time to time small arms fire from mine 6/7. https://twitter.com/062_Region/statu...48708107837441 …
Ukr military rescued dog beaten by terrorists in Donetsk: now she's Alisa, washed, nourished, serving in Ukr army :-) pic.twitter.com/Ve4kZTUbHJ
22:35 #Luhansk @esorrrose Single heavier [shots] in the same direction [SE/E].Additionally SA bursts further south
22:53 #Horlivka @0624comua Quiet, 'mayor' and 'commandant' were arrested. It's a holiday! Just small arms in the outskirts
23:21 #Donetsk airport/Zastantsyonny settlement @HuAdvokatos Loudly-hard, outgoing-incoming
23:19 #Donetsk Putilovka @Donetsk_Live Multiple incomings
@brigida_ta "It was like outgoing ones"
#Donetsk 11:21PM
Airport - loud and heavy, incoming and outgoing https://twitter.com/HuAdvokatos/stat...55411515756546 …
VIDEO #Ukraine troops in night battle with #Russia(n) forces #Pisky near #Donetsk Airport https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnldM7XzE6U … pic.twitter.com/GHEGmkPKxk
23:11 #Shyrokyne @sex_Dombas [shelling started]
22:36 #Shakhtarsk @Helgi__UA The 3nd train per hour
23:10 The 4th one, went westwards
Yesterday there was showdown between ruscists, one group has shelled w mortars another's position at Vesela Hora. https://twitter.com/Karbatovsky/stat...57385560768513 …
Chechen fighter from Sheikh Mansour batt fires SPG-9 on russian positions in #Shyrokyne https://youtu.be/zZTBaqU2F7g via @YouTube
VIDEO In #Luhansk #Russia(n) forces shelled railway track going from Popasna https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_qpHnCC0-s … pic.twitter.com/qgdDNzdSgG
VIDEO #Putin created "DNR"&"LNR" uniforms being made in the Urals #Russia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zc1ipAbKpfY … pic.twitter.com/mnZTxuS8EF
Last edited by OUTLAW 09; 06-12-2015 at 09:01 PM.
If the Congressman had fully understood Russian propaganda --this is the core Ukrainian volunteer BN that the Russians also call "Nazi's"
Also fighting for the Ukraine and being shelled and attacked daily--
VIDEO #Ukraine Right Sector in evening battle with #Russia(n) forces #Shyrokyne https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhhKBrjhfFE … pic.twitter.com/RR99XaN7mi
Last edited by OUTLAW 09; 06-12-2015 at 08:47 PM.
Strelkov" isn't very good at keeping secrets http://on.ft.com/1cxMMVa pic.twitter.com/6Cna32CE2l
Major fight is on again---third time since 3 Jun
#Maryinka @666_mancer
[vk]
23:10 "battle at roadpolice checkpoint - small arms,MG&a mortar"
23:25 "Various battle intensity"
US could impose "comprehensive ban on nearly all financial & commercial dealings" w/ Russia, aka "country" sanctions http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs...ion-in-ukraine …
Stronger sanctions could include more Russian "energy, finance, or defense firms or target new industrial sectors" http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs...ion-in-ukraine …
Canada at NATO ✔ @CanadaNATO
Is #Russia's confrontation with the West destined to be a "long war"? http://www.rferl.org/content/podcast.../27069060.html … pic.twitter.com/4fDiwt5x4q
Militants shell Ukrainian troops’ positions at all directions. The most difficult situation is near Donetsk http://en.censor.net.ua/n339890
Here is a perfect example of a US/EU misstep in dealing with Russia--they threatened new sanctions if Russia uses ground forces SO Russian troops and her mercenaries shift instead to constant and intensive shelling attacks also against critical infrastructure THUS not rising to the level of new sanctions.
Just how unsmart is the EU and the US these days that they simply did not state--stop all shelling and ground attacks period OR new sanctions go into effect--in effect they gave Russia a PASS and Russia is using it and the Ukrainian military and civilians are paying the price for poor prior planning.
Intensive shellings went on all night and well into this morning.
1 civilian died in hospital after being wounded during shelling of Horlivka this morning
http://www.0624.com.ua/home/people/1...a-komsomolskij …
05:10 #Horlivka @mihailovith 'Like orcs go on the offensive. Serious battle in #Dzerzhynsk dir'n, arty and tanks'
04:57 #Stakhanov @samotniyvovk So atrillery duel continues, closer & further
04:59 Not here of course, but heavy & long time
04:53 #Horlivka Kalinovka @Xykalinovka SPG or tank works, very far landings are hardly heard
04:48 #Stakhanov @samotniyvovk Last summer such sounds were heard fr/#Pervomaysk, now like other direction, constantly
Paint was thrown at the Russian Consulate in Kharkiv a day ago and then this happens yesterday—and no coincidence that Russian TV was there before the Russian police—typical Russian propaganda move.
About 50 youngsters attacked UA consulate in Rostov last night. Bats and stones used to break almost all windows, computers and doors.
@1tvru_news, @lifenews_ru were quick to arrive 5 min after the attack on consulate began. Police arrived after propaganda machines
http://en.censor.net.ua/p339671Source: http://en.censor.net.ua/p339671
12.06.15 16:38
The price of the "Russian world": there are more than a thousand graves of fallen militants at just one cemetery near Donetsk.
Since summer of 2014, fragmentary data and bloggers’comments appeared in the Internet about insurgents who spontaneously bury their comrades either in fields, or in trenches without proper ceremonies, and even without installation of name plates. The mass graves have no names or call signs of buried men. As of now, there is not even approximate or statistical data of killed insurgents and Russian troops who were fighting in the Donbas.
Moreover, these data are under strict secrecy and carefully concealed by Russian curators of the militants.
As reported by Censor.NET, volunteers of InformNapalm attempted a little investigation based on data from both public sources and private satellite images, to which access has been obtained on condition of anonymity of sources. Combined data reveal more on the subject of "the realm of the dead of Novorossia."
But first things first. Statistics, of course, is an exact science, but in the absence of solid baseline data it is necessary to go to assumptions based on observation and OSINT-studies.
It is obvious that a certain percentage of the separatists and mercenaries are buried in local cemeteries of the nearby cities and villages in which they were killed for certain amount of money or for "ideals of Novorossia."
Corps of Russian citizens are transported with convoys known as "Cargo 200" first to Russian border and then across the country to the place of burial on Russian territory. Or, in order to cover their tracks, they are turned into dust in mobile crematories that were mentioned several times in the media. At the same time, there is a certain percentage of the corps that has not been identified.
These types of fighters are buried in ditches and in unmarked mass graves.
We turn to a burial place located near town of Mospino as a research subject, which burial is known as "Walk of Fame" among the militants. New photos and video of the graves were uploaded to 'DPR and LPR Uncensored' group in social media.
However, it is impossible to assess the full scale of burials from these photos and video only. Therefore, we resort to maps. It's when the fun begins. The very size of the cemetery will not tell us much. It is necessary to analyze changes over time. For this purpose we are using the tools of Google Earth, namely, the "Show changes over time."
The first pictures available are dated 2002. From 2002 until 2012 the area was a farmland, and the first available satellite snapshot made on April 17, 2012 shows existing burials.
This is the purpose this land is used for in the coming years. According to satellite imagery of the cemetery, the area of burials increased from 0 to 4,337 square meters in about two years.
In May 2014 active hostilities began around the city of Donetsk. We will consider this the 2nd phase of burials. It will be distinguished from and compared with the 1st phase.
According to satellite imagery for the period of April 2014 - April 2015, the burial area increased by 7,100 square meters, i.e. by 164%! The date of April 2015 is approximate; there is no way to establish a more precise date. Nevertheless, it is enough to evaluate trends.
According to sanitary standards, one burial site should be at least 5 square meters.
So, one may have a reasonable question - perhaps, we are talking about different causes of death, including civilian casualties.
Yes, indeed, it is logical and very likely that part of the graves belong to the civilian victims of the conflict.
But this is the place that had been repeatedly referred to by journalists, bloggers and militants themselves as the burial place of their comrades. The very name of "Walk of Fame" indirectly indicates that it is not just a place of burial but a place of burial of fallen in combat. This burial site can be considered the main cemetery for militants near the city of Donetsk.
Now, let's turn to calculations.
The total estimated number of graves in the 2nd phase is 1,420 people.
Even if we assume that 20% of them are civilians (although it is very bold assumption based on the dynamics of growth of the graveyard), the number of fighters will be 1,136.
Recent satellite images of the area have also confirmed our assumptions, pointing to the full scale of the burials.
It should be noted that more than 1,136 dead are only rough estimates for the period in question, and on one particular cemetery. It is unknown how many these cemeteries and mass graves are, but if you take this figure as an example and assume that the number of such cemeteries is at least five to seven for all "DPR", the number of fighters killed in the war, with a lot of them being Russian citizens, jumps to seven or eight thousand people.
Thousands of lives lost just in the area of one city, and that does not include the Luhansk region.
Tens of thousands physically and mentally crippled people - this is the price of imperial invasion and undeclared covert war. Price is only paid by one party of the conflict, party that is proud of "Russian Spring" and of "CrimeaIsOurs."
What happen to all those "serious new sanctions threats" made at the G7 by the US and Europe if the fighting became serious especially in he last five days.
Well it has become serious to the tune of 60 plus attacks day now and the following in personnel losses and yet the US and Europe say absolutely nothing after a major series or shellings and ground attacks.
The daily number of Ukrainian loses are massively climbing and YET this is apparently not serious enough for those "new sanctions".
#BREAKINGNEWS
6 #Ukraine soldiers killed, 14 wounded by #Russia|n forces in the last 24 hours
In the last day, hard fighting near Krymske. Intense shelling near Troitske and Rodyne – Moskal
Fierce fighting erupts near ruins of #Donetsk airport http://uatoday.tv/politics/battle-fo...rt-438469.html … pic.twitter.com/BFLIIH78w4
http://moskal.in.ua/index.php?catego...s&news_id=1820 …
13:15 #Starohnativka @Staroignatievca This night hell was here, several servicemen wounded
12:45 #Donetsk Kalinovka @arenadon Single outgoing [gunshots], very close. "From Kalinin mine?"
09:10 from Donetsk Tochmash, 120 shells in 20 min. OSCE is sleeping. https://twitter.com/UkraineSuper1/st...27475316994048 …
10:55 #Alchevsk @protiv_voiny about 10:00 3 tanks on low loaders were transported from ATP-666 tow/#Debaltseve
VIDEO: Direct hit from a tank on Ukr positions of the 93rd Brigade
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ig82yN0tSg&sns=tw … pic.twitter.com/86Yt76ICjx
#Donetsk @s_garmash #rumours: "1 RUS are confined to barracks. 2 Givi's gang is discontinued"
05:25 #Shakhtarsk @Helgi__UA 10 Urals w/troops, generator trailers, field kitchens,2BTR,13BMP,1MT-LB tow/#Donetsk
14:28 #Krasniy_Luch @falconua "Crowd of separatists w/packs at the bus station"
@Buga_di_Bu "they are relocated to #Horlivka
Last edited by OUTLAW 09; 06-13-2015 at 01:12 PM.
Appears that the Congressman made his amendment to the Defense Spending Bill without checking at least with the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry instead of "just taking the word of the US news media"--the very same US news media that has made repeated mistakes over the last year in their Ukrainian reporting and or carried Russian agitprop articles without even fact checking them.
Typical for Congress one might say. so the interesting question would be ---who paid this Congressman for doing this HR amendment since he basically knew nothing about the Ukraine or the Azov Regiment?
The decision of HR REPS US on Azov regiment was prepared secretly, without any consultations with Ukraine MIA, MFA. pic.twitter.com/rOvzwj2Gzf
To help the Congressman grasp the complexity of the fighting in the Ukraine as he seems to have gotten a one sided presentation.
June 13, 2014 the #Azov conducted a successful operation of liberating #Mariupol from the terrorists. https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=20&v=0YbCLMXGH8U …
This is the "so called Nazi BN" the Congressman seems to have wanted to penalize--notice they are fighting and dying for the Ukraine and not Hitler.
Today Rus forces so far have attacked Shyrokyne 4 times. Including once with 152mm SPGs - Sector M spox
http://www.mariupol.tv/news/war/mari...tilleriyu.html …
NOTE: Azov Regiment has been defending this town for over four months now and have not been able to return fire with heavy artillery as that would be a Minsk 2 violation--BUT the good Congressman should have been critiquing the Russians for firing 152mm SPGs--a direct violation of Minsk 2.
In the Trenches of #Ukraine: Waiting to die. RUS militants use mortars; UKR army able to respond only with small arms http://www.rferl.org/media/video/ukr.../27062116.html …
The Congressman also needs some assistance in understanding Russian propaganda.
Did you know that #Russian media present #NY insurance coordinator as geopolitical analyst? pic.twitter.com/69lCz6TnpE @deynychenko
Re-up - breaking down Russian foreign propaganda outlets. pic.twitter.com/0pR7lGXXX0
Last edited by OUTLAW 09; 06-13-2015 at 04:47 PM.
Fighting is heavy today as are the shellings and Yet not a single word out of Obama, Hollande, Merkel after their so called G7 sanctions statements.
18:05 #Luhansk rgn gov #Moskal: RUS have been pounding #Rodina w/heavy artillery since 17:30
http://moskal.in.ua/?categoty=news&news_id=1821 …
News
Ukr army confirms what Graham & Patrick filmed yesterday. Ongoing heavy Russian attacks on Avdeevka,Opytne & Vodyane w/ tanks,apc,arty
And here's Graham, showing us the Russian tanks firing from #Donetsk airport yesterday.
https://youtu.be/aU40JRi2iy8 pic.twitter.com/8a30epTv0Z
ATO Press Center on RU forces attacks Avdiivka Jun.12 https://www.facebook.com/ato.news/po...12953432048796 …
17:30 militants bombarded UKR positions near Rodyna with heavy artillery. As of 18:00 shelling continues - Moskal
http://moskal.in.ua/index.php?catego...s&news_id=1821 …
"#LPR" officials claim 2 Ukrainian soldiers captured near #Pervomaisk yesterday http://lug-info.com/news/one/narodna...chikh-vsu-3939 …
'61% of Russians agree with the statement that parts of neighboring countries really belong to Russia.' http://www.pewglobal.org/2015/06/10/...d-west-panned/ …
Russian-led forces at Donetsk airport deleted video showing their tanks violating #Minsk.
Here it is.v/ @666_mancer
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=415_1434203226 …
Removed video near Donetsk airport. Tanks, ammo, equipment. @OSCE @OSCE_RFoM @OSCE_SMM http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=415_1434203226 … pic.twitter.com/jZTaMri3Gm
Russian TV did not realize it had been archived. CLEAR violation of Minsk 2 agreement on the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the contact line.
SBU detained terrorist informant in Avdeevka.
http://www.sbu.gov.ua/sbu/control/uk...7&cat_id=39574 … pic.twitter.com/mK9ygWScdg
June 13, 2014 the #Azov conducted a successful operation of liberating #Mariupol from the terrorists. https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=20&v=0YbCLMXGH8U …
Today Rus forces so far have attacked Shyrokyne 4 times. Including once with 152mm SPGs - Sector M spoxhttp://www.mariupol.tv/news/war/mari...tilleriyu.html …
In the Trenches of #Ukraine: Waiting to die. RUS militants use mortars; UKR army able to respond only with small arms http://www.rferl.org/media/video/ukr.../27062116.html …
Awards for RU-led irregulars in Ukraine:
"The medals that were prepared for you have finally arrived from #Russia"
https://youtu.be/Bxdkl4VAgU4
Reference the 6M USD Russian drone hat got shot down by the UA.
bellingcat @bellingcat
Exclusive Access to the Russian Forpost Drone Shot Down in Ukraine https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-a...wn-in-ukraine/ … pic.twitter.com/wY0EqmrpKs
Bellingcat gains exclusive access to a downed Russian drone in Ukraine, and the soldiers who shot it down https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vW5Mem7278o …
http://euromaidanpress.com/2015/06/1...ortnikov-says/
Putin’s misreading of situation behind hardening of West’s position on Ukraine, Portnikov says
2015/06/13
The toughening of the West’s position on Ukraine, very much in evidence at the G7 meeting, reflects the fact that Vladimir Putin has fundamentally misread the situation and not taken advantage of the face-saving measures which the West had been offering him, according to Vitaly Portnikov.
The Kremlin leader “sincerely believed that the fact that Merkel and Hollande came to him and that negotiations in Minsk followed were connected with the West’s fear of further destabilization.” But in fact, the Ukrainian commentator says, “Merkel like all other Western leaders was concerned above all with the need to give Putin the chance to save face.”
Minsk was “a magnificent opportunity” for that, he continues. The “’peoples republics’” could continue to function but with Putin “looking not like a traitor but a peacekeeper and defender of the interests of ‘the Russian world’… And talks about Crimea in such a paradigm could continue forever.”
Everyone “must understand that there is no good outcome for Putin here, although in the case of the second, [Ukrainians] may pay for a new outburst of aggression with the lives of [Ukrainian] soldiers and civilians, with destruction, and with economic losses.”
“But all this was the case only if you viewed the situation realistically,” Portnikov says. But “if on the other hand, you are Putin, then you are certain that the West is “tired’ of Ukraine… and you are the one giving the West the opportunity to save face” by allowing talks to happen even as you solidify your control over a neighboring country.
In his vision, “Ukraine of course will remain independent, but it must feed the territories you control and adopt a constitution which will preserve for the heads of these ‘peoples’ republics’ and that means for you, a veto. Thus, you have not moved an iota from the position which you took on the day when you decided that the place of Yanukovich and Crimea is inside Russia.” And if you are Putin, Portnikov says, “you think this is a compromise.”
“But the West doesn’t think so, he continues, and it is gradually and quietly coming to the conclusion that “Putin doesn’t need to save face.” In that situation, “the only thing that the West can demand is the fulfillment to the letter of the Minsk agreements, these agreements and not what [Putin] thinks up instead of them.”
That is, the West demands that Putin pull his forces out of the Donbas, agree to honest elections with OSCE observers, and “return to Ukraine control over the borders.” In short, Putin must “do everything which [he] from the start did not intend to do.” Putin by his custom thought he had “deceived everyone.” But in the event, he deceived only himself.
Had Putin been willing to negotiate and fulfill the Minsk agreements, the hardening of the West’s position might not have happened, Portnikov suggests. But he wasn’t, and now “we are again at a fork in the road which will lead us either to peacemaking… or toward a new escalation, attempts at seizing new territories, the worsening of Russia’s relations with the West, and a new packet of sanctions much harsher than the previous ones.”
Everyone “must understand that there is no good outcome for Putin here, although in the case of the second, [Ukrainians] may pay for a new outburst of aggression with the lives of [Ukrainian] soldiers and civilians, with destruction, and with economic losses,” the Ukrainian analyst says.
It cannot be excluded that “Putin will not want to choose and will try to remain at the fork in the road as long as possible,” thus retaining his freedom of action and hoping that something will turn up. But he can’t do so for as long as he may think: he would have to continue to support the “DNR” and “LNR” and the Russian economy is not up to that at present.
i've just r/t'd 3rd report of presumably independent sources, DPR is preparing its terrorists for wide scale attack.
Ukraine to demand compensation from Russia after consulate attack in Rostov-on-Don http://24today.net/open/441321 pic.twitter.com/GnOJ6kmdK0
AFP: Maimed in war, Ukraine rebels recover in Russia http://24today.net/open/441292 pic.twitter.com/8gZ6PRloks
Fifty-Eight Percent of Russians Oppose Russian Nationalist Groups inside Russia after Ukrainian Events http://www.interpretermag.com/fifty-...ainian-events/ …
#Mariupol earlier today @sashkof2 pic.twitter.com/U1uu2YOJCa
Russia is now at full war status with the Ukraine--for the last three days the average number of attacks is hitting 60-65 per day--- levels that were seen before Minsk 2 and YET the Ukraine is trying to refrain from going into full scale combat operations.
AND attempting to refrain from returning fire with heavy weapons.
Latest #map of #Ukraine shows intense fighting north-west of #Donetsk & south #Luhansk pic.twitter.com/2MWpWZYqhG
Militants shelled Ukrainian positions 65 times today http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/13-june...65-times-today … #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/tJnQuGHSxB via @666_mancer
Kyiv accuses militants of mass ceasefire violations http://24today.net/open/441274 pic.twitter.com/bsd7gatUUA
AND the West--WHERE is their response????
US could impose "comprehensive ban on nearly all financial & commercial dealings" w/ Russia, aka "country" sanctions http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs...ion-in-ukraine …
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