News from Ukraine / Novorussia

Donetsk PM Zakharchenko : " Minsk agreements are torn apart, Kiev will attack us soon"

Kiev Gathers Huge 65,000-Strong Army on Frontline Near Donetsk

With the Minsk ceasefire agreements formally still in force, the situation in eastern Ukraine's Donbass region remains extremely tense amid reports about Kiev's mass troop deployments in the area.

Sputnik News,
19 August, 2015

In violation of the Minsk ceasefire agreements, the Armed Forces of Ukraine has deployed heavy weapons and a large number of troops to the frontline in eastern Ukraine's Donbass region, Russian media outlets said.

The reports came amid intensified artillery shelling exchanges between the warring sides in the area, including near the city of Mariupol.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine has deployed a considerable number of men along the entire frontline, estimated to comprise of about 65,000 soldiers and officers of different subordination, level of training and motivation.

This number includes between 68 and 70 battalions, comprised of 26 battalion groups plus separate company units.

The Ukrainian army's General Staff finally shifted to the battalion group tactics, reshuffling various kinds of troops after defeat in Debaltsevo.

Given this development, the army's recent shelling of the village of Sartana on the outskirts of Mariupol can be seen as nothing more than an attempt to drill the interaction of these battalion groups.

Right now, several army brigades remain on the frontline, including the 24th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade and the 92nd Motorized Infantry Brigade, armed with eighteen Grad multiple launch rocket systems and self-propelled artillery platforms, as well as six tanks, ten armored personnel carriers, six howitzers, anti-aircraft guns, plus lots of small arms and anti-tank weapons.

The army's air assault troops are represented by the elite 80th brigade, which suffered heavy losses during fighting near Lugansk airport last year.

These troops also comprise the 122nd separate battalion and the 95th separate airmobile brigade and the 25th brigade, which is equipped with mothballed armored personnel carriers, including the BTR-70.

The battalion groups include a whole array of company units related to tank, artillery, marine and National Guard troops as well as special units of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry.

All of these brigades form a 65,000-strong army, which includes more than 400 tanks, about 2,400 armored vehicles, 132 Grad multiple launch rocket systems and over 800 guns and mortars.

The current situation is reminiscent of autumn 2014, which also saw heavy shelling between the conflicting parties and the massive deployment of troops near the frontline.

Compared to last year, however, the situation on the current frontline remains more stable despite a spate of hot spots in the area and the increasing accumulation of troops and heavy weapons there

East Ukraine's Donetsk Republic Will Hold Referendum To Join Russia

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-08-19/east-ukraines-donetsk-republic-will-hold-referendum-join-russia

Following the 2014 Crimean referendum which saw the Black Sea peninsula join Russia shortly after the Ukraine presidential coup and ensuing territorial conflict between pro-Kiev and pro-Moscow regions, many speculated it is only a matter of time before the Donetsk region, subsequently elevated into People's Republic status, which has been engaged in constant warfare with the Kiev army (which is in such bad shape it recently drafted a disabled man without arms) would follow suit.

We now have the answer.

Having waited for over a year for the Ukraine civil war/conflict to be relegated to back page status, if that, Putin has finally given the green light, and as Xinhua reports, leaders of the self-proclaimed "Donetsk People's Republic" are planning to hold a referendum on seceding from Ukraine and joining Russia, the Donetsk-based Ostrov news agency reported Wednesday.

The referendum is scheduled to take place some in early to mid November, or specifically two to four weeks after the Oct. 18 local elections, said the news agency.

The ballot papers for the referendum designed in the colors of the Russian flag have already been printed, it said.

And while neither the rebel leadership nor the Ukrainian authorities have commented on the report yet, the modus operandi is strikingly familiar to what happened in Crimea.

Should Donetsk indeed proceed with a popular secession vote, the result is virtually assured but the bigger question is just how would Europe react considering this would result in another territorial expansion of Russia which would be accused of annexing a region that Kiev has largely given up even pretending it has control over.

In July, leaders of pro-independence insurgents in Donetsk region said they would hold local elections on Oct. 18 without Kiev's supervision as they believed that the Ukrainian government has not fulfilled its obligations under the Minsk peace agreement.

Last week, violence in eastern Ukraine has sharply escalated after several weeks of relative calmness. On Sunday night, at least 11 people, including nine civilians, were reportedly killed in Donetsk region, marking the worst casualties in the conflict since early June.

Then again, after the recent referendum farce in Greece in which a substantial majority of the population voted for one thing just to get the opposite, maybe history is about to rhyme a few hundred kilometers northeast of Athens

Donbass citizens to become Russians

''Ukrainian structures closed everything long ago. There is nothing there. And the new Republics are recognized only by some states. That is why any Republican documents even notarized and certified with LPR or DPR seals will not pass in Russia. I believe Ukraine faces collapse and a parade of sovereignties in the near future. Then these new entities will be recognized by other states.

Donetsk and Lugansk regions are historical territories of the Russian Federation. They even used to be part of the Rostov region. So, we'll have to carry out a referendum once again. Then it will be not only possible to enter Russia, but to adhere to the Rostov region.

Donbass may also enter the Russian Federation as a single entity. It is evident that about 95 per cent will vote for at the referendum, as it was shown in the Crimea. Present Ukraine demonstrated that it can only annihilate people.

Those living in Donbass are very hard-working people, hard labour in metallurgy, coal and chemical industries have been present there for generations. Donbass will boost Russian economy, as it used to be a fount of minerals and ore minerals in the former Soviet Union. Ukraine just did not have money and technologies, as well as any desire to develop Donbass. In Russia it is possible.

From the very beginning people were sure 300 per cent that they would go after the Crimea, but it did not happen, the Americans hindered them. Nevertheless, people still believe that the militants will liberate Donbass from the Nazis, then the referendum will take place, and they will return back home to their Motherland. And their Motherland is Russia, this territory just was passed to Ukraine, and people living there were not asked of their opinion.

At the beginning of the XX century, when there was famine in Russia, Lugansk people called for collecting and sending aid. There are even appropriate posters of those times in the Russian museums. Donbass rescued poor, starving and struggling regions. It was in 1915, just 100 years ago. We have always been a part of Russia and lived for Russia.''

Is Ukraine On The Cusp Of A Real Uprising?

It’s been discussed since the civil war first began last spring, but Ukraine might finally be on the verge of a legitimate people’s uprising against the government. The Color Revolutions in 2004 and 2014 were organized from abroad (despite the misleading mass media representation that they were popular movements) and aimed to achieve concrete geopolitical objectives on behalf of the West, thereby discrediting them as real grassroots actions and exposing their ulterior nature. Although Ukraine has thus far not experienced a single genuine (as in organized by Ukrainians and for Ukrainians) revolution to date, it doesn’t mean that one couldn’t be forthcoming, as all the proper ‘ingredients’ are currently in effect. Three recent developments indicate that the country is a lot closer to a real revolution than most observers might believe, and if the people take the initiative in seizing the opportunity in front of them, they might have a chance at reversing some of the regime’s most disastrous policies before it’s ultimately too late.

America delivers military aid to Ukrainian ultra-nationalists, while China delivers medical aid to Donbass refugees in Crimea

The Anna Tuv Story - Warcrimes in
Gorlovka (Trailer)

A young Australian amateur filmmaker named Chris Nolan who has been posting excellent short films to Youtube for over a year now, describing the Kiev revolution (Maidan), and the ensuing war.

Nolan is a musician in a rock band in Brisbane who makes the films in his free time using footage he finds on the internet.

In his latest film, he tells the story of Anna Tuv who has become a hero in the global anti-Kiev community and in Russia. Tuv lost her husband, two children, and her arm when her house was shelled. She is just one of thousands who suffered similar horrors. Her personal story has become a symbol of the insane criminality being pushed by Kiev, and indirectly by Obama, Merkel and Cameron.