#OSCE confirmed that #Kominternove village located 10 km from #Mariupol was captured by #DPR
http://www.osce.org/ukraine-smm/212661 …
pic.twitter.com/6c8cTceYbL
Footage
#Basurin bares the @OSCE_SMM from visiting #Kominternove, blames #Ukraine for it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33vAcqFBc3w …
Ukr troops incurred no casualties over the last day, 3 servicemen were wounded in action
http://uacrisis.org/39086-andrij-lisenko-145 …
pic.twitter.com/2q3Ee7l3jO
Reports of fighting in Sectors B & C #Horlivka #Avdiivka #Mariinka #Krasnohorivka #pisky #Optyne #Petrovka
Horlivka 22:01
Stroitel - flashes, incoming and outgoing, loud.
https://twitter.com/tetznka/status/680840964534087680 …
Horlivka 22:03
Mykhailivka - Krasnyi Partizan: battle, mortars, AGL, shooting.
https://twitter.com/062_Region/statu...41446677692417 …
Krasnohorivka can hear explosions from #Mariinka
Maryinka 21:15
Periodically shooting and explosions towards the Sovkhoz.
Krasnohorivka 20:37
Hearing explosions towards #Maryinka.
https://twitter.com/hyeva_maryinka/s...35467407966208 …
Russian MoD published video on YouTube showing Tor-M2U firing while on the move.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhtFNrkMP2M …
Last edited by OUTLAW 09; 12-26-2015 at 09:19 PM.
#OSCE confirmed that #Kominternove village located 10 km from #Mariupol was captured by #DPR
http://www.osce.org/ukraine-smm/212661 …
pic.twitter.com/6c8cTceYbL
A woman was killed due to heavy shelling of #Zaitseve last night. Outgoing fire positions in pro #Russia|n controlled #Horlivka.
Pro #Russia|ns fired at #Ukraine positions near #Talakivka from #Kominternove, using mortars and AA systems - ATO HQ
Russian is in the middle of their non linear war with the Baltics AND the West says not a single word........
Kremlin's millions: How Russia funds NGOs in Baltics.
http://www.delfi.lt/a/68908408
pic.twitter.com/x2cjVLOXcn
YET brands virtually all NGOs as foreign agents inside Russia.
Georgia, Moldova, Latvia and Lithuania initiate memo of condemnation of Russian Constitutional Court's actions. http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/economic/313030.html …
Liberation theology: Tool of the Kremlin
http://po.st/LoW9nT via @worldnetdaily
We are now in the third Russian ground offensive that is slow stepping their ground attacks in order to not attract attention from the West and using Christmas as a screening factor.....
ATO Staff: Dec26 RU-terrorists forces brought fire to UA positions 66 times, mostly in hours of darkness https://www.facebook.com/ato.news/po...16844078326397 …
Update
1 civilian, 1 Ukrainian soldier killed, 3 Ukr. soldiers injured in (pro-)#Russian attacks in eastern #Ukraine on Saturday.
11:15 #Donetsk @olgarjpthju [vk] Battle sounds behind #Lidiivka, AGL, small arms. Some heavy landings are heard
11:06am #Horlivka @xy_gorlov4an In the evening and night #Kurganka has heard the battle. In the morning there were 2 strong salvos
09:32 #Luhansk @Edward_Lugansk UA radio is jammed, RU started to broadcast their radio stations on the same frequencies
Acc. to the Ukr army, Russian mercenaries moved west of #Kominternove to get #Talakivka in range of their mortars.
pic.twitter.com/iEfroHwyjD
News
Russian forces also fired 82 mm mortars from #Kominternove at Ukr-held #Talakovka.
So Ukr army statement of "full control" was wrong.
80 senior officials associated with Russia arrested throughout Serbia in simultaneous raids
http://shipilov.com/aship-news/469-p...iAyEic.twitter … https://twitter.com/mairbek_france/s...18013105291264 …
Fighting in east #Ukraine was supposed to stop for the festive season but it didn't:
pic.twitter.com/OewDaocmek
17:10 #Horlivka @_John__Carter_ It starts bit by bit
17:33 #Horlivka #Stroitel @ahab7822 Something boomed once
17:03 #Donetsk @Salatyk Sounds of war are reaching us from the north
16:22 #DOnetsk @666_mancer [fb] "Some series of salvos, but not Grad ones. By 4 w/interval abt 20 sec"
16:19 #Donetsk @Eastpeace1 in the northwest they shell w/artillery, it's hardly mortars
16:16 #Donetsk @relictDon "Many various booms north-westward. Louder-softer, closer-further. Salvos-explosions?"
15:59 #Donetsk @AkaDON12 RU awoke, fire fr/ the airport w/everything they have, in the morning they used only assault rifles & machine guns
15:51 #Donetsk @666_mancer [fb] "#Kirovsky exec comm: listents to the combat sounds, as if by schedule [=the same time always]"
15:51 #Donetsk @666_mancer [fb] "So it began. North-westward one can hear heavy salvos, like mortars"
15:50 pretty frequent salvos far in the west
16:00 ceased so far, heavy [MG] bursts were heard tow/#Spartak
15:45 #Donetsk @ropogckou Intermittent shooting northwestward
ATO Press Center advise Ukr prevented an attempt to ambush @OSCE_SMM and blame Ukr forces
pic.twitter.com/eZsTX0E5s3
Militants shelled Zolote checkpoint – State Border Guard Service http://en.censor.net.ua/n366955
Lifenews claims that Russian "VGTRK" journalists came under shelling in Kominternove
http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/27-dece...rk-journalists …
1 Ukrainian soldier killed, 3 wounded yesterday
http://liveuamap.com/en/2015/27-dece...nded-yesterday …
http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.de/...-as-means.html
Friday, December 25, 2015
Putin Views Russia Itself Only as a Means to Create a New World Order, Illarionov Says
Paul Goble
Staunton, December 25 – Vladimir Putin views Russia not as an end in itself but rather as a means to create a new world order, a view that means he is quite prepared to sacrifice the well-being of Russians in the pursuit of his vision of a new Yalta, according to Moscow commentator Andrey Illarionov.
For the Kremlin leader, Russia itself ranks no more than second in his hierarchy of values; and thus, “it is not important [to him] what happens inside the country” but only how the country’s resources can be deployed for his geopolitical goals (echo.msk.ru/guests/2160/ and apostrophe.com.ua/news/world/2015-12-25/eks-sovetnik-putina-rasskazal-o-ego-stremlenii-ustanovit-novyiy-miroporyadok/45460).
Unfortunately for Putin and his plans, Illarionov continues, this resource is ever smaller: The Russian economy now ranks eighth or ninth in the world and is getting smaller. Its demographic resources are contracting, and its “scientific-technical resources” are declining as well.
Indeed, the only resource that is growing is Russia’s military, and consequently, that is the one Putin is relying upon, the Moscow economist says.
It is far from clear whether with such limited resources, Putin has any hope of achieving the establishment of a new world order of “the Yalta-2 type,” one in which Moscow would have equal weight with “the largest power of the world today, the United States” in making decisions about all issues.
But Putin believes it is possible, and he is ready to sacrifice “everything else – Russia, the economy, society, and people” – to that end. Indeed, for the Kremlin leader, these are all “petty questions” that he will ignore in pursuit of “a certain parity, a certain appearance of parity” on some issues with the United States.
http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.de/...ropaganda.html
Saturday, December 26, 2015
Top Ten Fakes of Russian Propaganda about Ukraine in 2015
Paul Goble
Staunton, December 26 – With nearly a week left in 2015, it may be too soon to close the book on Moscow’s lies about Ukraine for this year; but Kyiv blogger Aleksey Minakov has provided a useful list of what he describes at the top then fakes of Russian propaganda for 2015 (nv.ua/opinion/minakov/top-10-fejkov-rossijskoj-propagandy-v-2015-godu-88173.html).
The ten in order are:
1. “Drunken Negroes dance on tanks and poke people with automatic weapons in Debaltsevo.” That is what LifeNews, Vladimir Putin’s favorite channel reported. One can only hope that those “journalists” who invented this fabrication are among those who will lose their jobs in the Kremlin’s “optimization” program.
2. “The flood of tourists to Crimea is growing at unprecedented rates.” NTV reported this, saying that visitors were up 70-80 percent over 2014, forgetting to add that few went there last year because of Russian military actions and the annexation.
3. Moscow Media Continued to Say Ukrainians Shot Down the Malaysian Airliner. Russian media outlets continue to claim Ukrainian forces shot down the plane in 2014, but they are also repeating the story that the passengers on board were already dead, an addition that only highlights the falseness of their claims.
4. “Yatsenyuk fought in Chechnya and took part in the torture and shooting of Russian soldiers.” Moscow investigators made this outrageous claim which was later “contradicted even by the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov.”
5. “Saakashvili had sex with an underage transvestite.” NTV reported this gem, something so over the top that Mikheil Saakashvili’s press secretary didn’t even both to respond to it.
6. “A drunken Poroshenko who was rushing to Putin was removed from the Kyiv-Moscow flight.” “Moskovsky komsomolets,” Ren-TV, and other Moscow outlets all reported this. Other more independent media pointed out that this was utter nonsense.
7. Moscow Social Media Offered a Photo from 1980 to Suggest Ukrainians had Beheaded a Motherland Statue Now. The use of photos from the past or even photoshopped has become a regular feature of Russian coverage of Ukrainian events.
8. Ukraine Supposedly Part of ISIS. Another totally made up video clip that made the rounds in Russian media this year.
9. “Thousands of Ukrainians Celebrated Downing of Plane Filled with Russians in Egypt.” Kremlin trolls left this message on various social sites and then the Russian media picked them up as if they were genuine. In fact, Ukrainians brought flowers to the Russian embassy in Kyiv to show their sympathies with the victims.
10. Ukrainian Men Under 45 “Will Be Banned from Leaving Ukraine.” Unfortunately, this Russian invention was picked up by Ukrainian outlets, forcing the Ukrainian general staff to post on Facebook the following warning: “Father Frost won’t visit those who spread rumors and untested information.”
You have to love Russian propaganda.........
Sputnik @SputnikInt ·
Ukrainian snipers reportedly fire on @OSCE team, thwarting inspection
http://sptnkne.ws/au9S
Provocation in #Kominternove: #OSCE patrol confirmed they came under fire from Russian militants. http://en.censor.net.ua/news/366968/...t_kominternove …
ATO Press Center reports: 22 ceasefire violations as of 1800/hrs /w grenade launcher, small arms & heavy machine gun https://www.facebook.com/ato.news/?fref=nf …
Ukrainian military prevents attack on country's largest ammunitions depot
http://uatoday.tv/politics/ukrainian...ot-562247.html …
pic.twitter.com/10OZMfTXFJ
Russians think mocking Ukrainian hum.aid, actually blow cover of RuMOD true actions - Humanitarian-Logistical Center
pic.twitter.com/5Cq9qfgI7o
http://gulfnews.com/opinion/thinkers...yria-1.1643239
US-Russia cooperation crucial in Syria
While Putin must engage more seriously in global efforts to launch a political transition, America should have no illusions about probability of success
By Michael McFaul, Special to Gulf News
Published: 16:49 December 24, 2015
Gulf News
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to intervene in Syria marked a major turning point in Russian foreign policy in 2015. Over the last 15 years, Putin has increasingly relied on the use of military power to achieve his domestic and foreign-policy objectives, starting with the invasion of Chechnya in 1999, then of Georgia in 2008 and then of Ukraine in 2014. Putin’s Syria gambit was the logical, if dramatic, next step in Russia’s increasingly aggressive foreign policy.
Syria, however, is supposed to be different from these previous interventions. While Putin correctly calculated that most of the world would condemn his military actions in Chechnya, Georgia and Ukraine, he hopes for solidarity and support from the international community for his actions in Syria.
Pro-Kremlin commentators point to United States Secretary of State John Kerry’s recent trip to Moscow as proof that military intervention to fight terrorism in Syria has ended Russia’s international isolation and generated new respect for its standing as a responsible global power. Russia is back, so the argument goes, because the world needs Russia.
Such conclusions are premature, though. In the long run, Russia could become a partner in the global fight against terrorism. And, in principle, the US, the European Union and countries around the world should welcome Russian cooperation in this mission. In practice, however, several key short-term issues must be resolved before the long-term goal of cooperation with Russia can be achieved.
First, Russia, which has intervened to defend its long-time client, Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, must stop bombing Syrian opposition forces supported by the US and its coalition, and start fighting Daesh (the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) instead. In the first weeks of the Russian bombing campaign, the strategy was obvious: Eliminate all third parties in the civil war and thereby force the world to choose between the lesser of two evils — Al Assad or Daesh. More recently, Russian bombers have begun to attack a few Daesh targets, but the Kremlin’s air campaign remains focused on other opposition forces. To be a partner with the West, Russia must change its bombing targets dramatically and permanently.
Second, Putin must engage more seriously in the international efforts to launch a political transition process in Syria. Al Assad cannot stay. He could serve in an interim, transitional role, as some dictators have done in other transitions from authoritarian rule. But he cannot remain in power for the simple reason that his presence only drives more volunteers to the Daesh cause. Al Assad’s regime has killed more people in Syria than all other groups combined. He rarely attacks Daesh terrorists, focusing his military efforts instead on other insurgents. He is not, therefore, a useful ally in the fight against terrorism.
Moreover, the vast majority of victims of Syrian government military operations are civilians, not terrorists. According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, Al Assad killed 181,557 civilians between March 2011 and November 2015, while Daesh murdered 1,777 civilians during the same period. If the objective in Syria is to stop the civil war, Al Assad should be no one’s idea of a peacemaker. As a demonstration of Russia’s influence over the regime, Putin should first pressure Al Assad to stop killing civilians. If Putin cannot achieve this objective, there is no reason to believe that he can deliver Al Assad or his generals to the negotiating table.
Third, Russia must change its bombing methods. Too many civilians are dying. These types of attacks by Russia generate more inspiring footage for terrorist channels on YouTube — exactly what Daesh wants.
Fourth, Russian media must stop accusing the US of supporting Daesh. How can the US join forces with a country that makes such false claims and portrays America as the enemy?
Fifth, Putin needs to stop the flow of fighters from Russia into Syria. Even Russian estimates suggest that by September 2015, some 2,400 Russian citizens had joined Daesh.
Finally, to be a useful partner in Syria, Russia must stop expecting concessions from the US on Ukraine. Such linkage will never work.
To enable cooperation with Russia, the US and its allies also must make some adjustments — as well as some commitments. First, moderate opposition groups receiving money and weapons from the US should not be compelled to fight only Daesh. Rather, they should be able to define their own military strategies, including a focus on fighting Al Assad’s forces as a means of pressuring the regime to negotiate. They cannot be expected to fight Daesh when Al Assad is attacking them.
Second, US officials must press the Kremlin to get serious about pushing for a political transition, ultimately including free and fair elections. The US and the rest of the world cannot be tempted into believing in the false promise of autocratic stability. Al Assad’s dictatorship has produced only death, displacement and instability over the last four years. There is no reason to expect that his regime could produce stability in the future.
Third, American leaders must be crystal clear about segregating US support for Ukraine and cooperation with Russia in Syria. Sending ambiguous signals serves no purpose.
Finally, US leaders must remain realistic about the weak prospects for successful cooperation. Russia’s bombing campaign has changed little on the ground, and its pledges to support a political transition are not new. Two previous international peacemaking efforts in which Russia participated (Geneva I and Geneva II) ended in failure.
In the year ahead, the US should seek an alliance with Russia to defeat Daesh; but it should do so with no illusions about the probability of success — and real concerns about the cost of failure.
— Project Syndicate, 2015
Michael McFaul, US ambassador to the Russian Federation from 2012 to 2014, is professor of Political Science, Hoover Institution fellow and director of the Freeman Spogli Institute at Stanford University.
Last edited by OUTLAW 09; 12-27-2015 at 07:54 PM.
Russian FALSE FLAG provocation........
News
#Basurin led @OSCE_SMM observers into a trap near #Kominternove.
"DPR" opened fire.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQ-18urp0G0 …
pic.twitter.com/itajGwQtSu
Col. Lysenko: As reported by UA intelligence, 7 militants were killed & 12 wounded during the clashes near Mayorsk & Marinka on Dec. 25
ATO spox: Yesterday, a flight of enemy UAV was recorded near Mariupol
Col. Andriy Lysenko: Mariupol sector: Militants fired at UA positions near Shyrokyne for about 20 minutes
ATO spokesperson: Military situation near Donetsk airport remained strained; still, no single case of application of heavy weapons
Col. Lysenko: Militants for 30 minutes were attacking UA positions near Novoselivka-II, but were repelled back
ATO spox: Militants violated seize-fire regime by firing with small arms at UA positions near Mayorsk & Novhorodske
Col. Andriy Lysenko: Donetsk sector: militants applied machine guns & rocket launchers at UA positions near Troitske & Luhanske
ATO spokesperson: The enemy was inactive in the Luhansk sector
Col. Lysenko: Militants did not fire with any of heavy weapons
ATO spox: Ukrainian Armed Forces did not incur any casualties; no single UA serviceman was wounded yesterday
Col. Andriy Lysenko: Yesterday, military situation in ATO somehow calmed down
Russia economy will collapse if the oil price hit the 20-25USD ranges....2016 budget was designed on 60USD.
Oil at $15 a barrel next year? Some speculators think so
http://bloom.bg/1QVRehp
pic.twitter.com/NU34Z9PmeP
Bad news for Russians going away for the long New Year holiday period; the ailing rouble hits a low for the year: 72/$ 108/£
2016:Russian economy won't collapse,but will be a battlefield btw pro-autarky & pro-global trends,says A.Movchan(R)
http://ceip.org/1V0IuXB
Iskander-M's in Leningrad Oblast training destruction of radars & control centers under strict EMCON rules.
http://tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/2560606 …
Last edited by OUTLAW 09; 12-28-2015 at 10:54 AM.
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