Showing posts with label civil war.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label civil war.. Show all posts

Tuesday, 3 November 2020

Mitch Feierstein on corruption and media suppression

 The Biden Family: Corruption and media suppression that will fuel a civil war


the Duran,

2 November, 2020

Submitted by Mitchell Feierstein…

The majority of Americans believe in the US Constitution, family values, and the rule of law. Unfortunately, forty years of neoliberal politics and academic indoctrination have spawned a movement of entitled, spoiled, social justice warriors (SJWs) claiming to be diverse, tolerant, accepting and inclusive. Once someone disagrees with these SJWs’ ideological viewpoints, the SJWs become violent, intolerant fascists.

In the epic 2020 presidential election, expect the unexpected. Expect Herculean internet content manipulation by Google, Facebook and Twitter to censor and suppress information in order to shape a favourable opinion of a heavily compromised Joe Biden. The Democratic Party, the media, rogue intelligence operatives, Wall Street, Hollywood, Ivy League neoliberal academics and the Silicon Valley aristocracy all loathe Trump. They will stop at nothing to ensure a Biden victory.

MEDIA LIES AND MALPRACTICE: DEMOCRACY DIES IN DARKNESS

The US Senate has verified that the Biden corruption scandal is not Russian disinformation; it is real. Biden insider-turned-whistleblower, Tony Bobulinski, submitted thousands of pages into evidence that included direct testimony, financial records, text messages, emails, documents and audio recordings. The Senate has confirmed Bobulinski’s evidence as genuine. Bobulinski’s evidence makes it crystal clear that Joe Biden had direct knowledge of the Biden family’s ongoing, decades-long, worldwide influence-peddling scheme, which Biden lied to America about.

Washington Post columnist Thomas Rid published a heads-up for all media: “We must treat the Hunter Biden leaks as if they were a foreign intelligence operation—even if they probably aren’t.” Rid shows how the liberal media have irreparably breached public trust. The ongoing media cover-up of the Biden scandal and their failure to report evidence-based disclosures confirmed by the US Senate is unbelievable. Not a single liberal media outlet has covered the biggest political scandal during our lifetime. Journalistic objectivity has become politically motivated, biased and deceitful propaganda churned out by political activists.

Many of the documents and emails entered into evidence, with metadata, were written by Hunter and Jim Biden and prove how and where the Biden family was selling influence to many countries. Twitter, Facebook and Google have also censored the news pertaining to the Bidens. In recent testimony before Congress, Twitter boss Jack Dorsey supported news censorship by mob-rule. He stated, “We rely on people calling it out.” These companies are censoring news and lying to the American people to protect a compromised presidential candidate. Can the public ever trust the media or government agencies again? No.

These media “activists” are involved in the corruption rather than reporting on it or presenting facts that allow the people to draw their own conclusions. These political activists and social media companies are deciding what the people can see, what will be censored and finally, under the guidance of intelligence operatives, what they can think. Stanford communications professor emeritus Ted Glasser even advocates journalists embrace “social justice” activism over objectivity. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, et al, have become nothing more than “woke” censors and wholesale merchants in propaganda that perfectly replicate China’s social credit system.

PROGRESSIVE THOUGHT: SOCIAL JUSTICE WARRIORS

The majority of Americans believe in the US Constitution, family values, and the rule of law. Unfortunately, forty years of neoliberal politics and academic indoctrination have spawned a movement of entitled, spoiled, social justice warriors (SJWs) claiming to be diverse, tolerant, accepting and inclusive.

Once someone disagrees with these SJWs’ ideological viewpoints, the SJWs become violent, intolerant fascists. These historically ignorant, entitled, indoctrinated children are demanding, by violence if necessary, a “regressive” and discriminatory new world order that prioritizes the characteristics of race, gender and class above a life history of achievement, merit and excellence.

Joe Biden-supporting, Black Lives Matter (BLM) and Anti-Fascists (ANTIFA) members have sparked a violent crime wave across America for the past eight months. These thugs murdered innocent people; looted and destroyed businesses; and burnt buildings, vehicles and police stations to the ground—anarchy that was hidden from the public view and covered up by a complicit media. As the CNN film rolled and buildings burned in the background, the CNN talking head described the ongoing murders, arson and looting as “peaceful protests”.

DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM AND NEW WORLD ORDER

For the first time in history, presidential candidates have refused to disclose the platform they are running to lead America.

Here are the main points of the Joe Biden/Kamala Harris platform:

  • End the filibuster rule in the US Senate.
  • Grant DC and Puerto Rico statehood in order to appoint four liberal US Senators.
  • Abolish the Electoral College.
  • Pack the Supreme Court and the federal courts with “radicals in robes”.
  • Allow minors and illegal aliens the right to vote.

The five bullet points above will destroy the balance of power the US founders created within the US Constitution. The US Constitution was designed to limit government powers to protect the people from partisan politics when the government is controlled by one political party. As outlined in the US Constitution, the federal government has a mechanism of checks and balances that includes three branches of government: the Judiciary, the Legislature and the Executive.

The Democratic Party’s platform will destroy this balance and install a permanent oligarchy. The Democratic Party wants to delegitimize all existing systems, customs and norms. They believe that the US Constitution needs to be shredded because old white men wrote it. In the past year, well-funded movements, such as BLM, have sprung up to help realize this goal. BLM is run by Marxists demanding an end to the nuclear family and that the police be defunded or entirely abolished. Kamala Harris, Joe Biden and the radical Democrats continuously repeat the mantra that America’s police and law enforcement need to be “re-imagined”, but they refuse to elaborate on what this actually means.

Mob-rule demands acceptance, submission and obedience to BLM. If total compliance is not immediate, you are deemed a racist and preyed upon by the mob. Mob-rule, intimidation, violence and fear are tools Biden-supporting ANTIFA members deploy to pressure and coerce the public into submission.

RED VS BLUE: PARLOUR ROOM POLARIZATION

Amy Coney Barrett, one of the most qualified jurists for a seat on the Supreme Court in decades, was formally sworn in as the Supreme Court’s ninth justice this week after the Senate confirmed her appointment by a vote of 48-52. The Democratic Party was apoplectic over Justice Barrett’s appointment even though Justice Barrett’s extensive vetting by the US Senate was 100% compliant with the privileges and rights guaranteed a sitting US President under the US Constitution.

Although Barrett was qualified for the vacant seat, every Democratic Party member voted against Barrett. Why? The Democratic Party places politics and power over the interests of the people and democracy.

Democratic Senator Cory Booker decried the process as delegitimate and a sham. Booker is an example of the contempt the Democrats in the US Senate have for the US Constitution. The Democrats’ lies, propaganda and material misrepresentations are intended to build a foundation for delegitimizing the US Constitution should Biden be elected. Democratic Senator Ed Markey called the “judicial originalism” espoused by Barrett “racist, sexist, homophobic and a fancy word for discrimination”. In other words, Markey is inferring the US Constitution is racist. Markey should be censured and forced to apologise for his repugnant comments.

Markey, Booker, and the Democrats believe the courts should be a super-legislature that rubber stamp their “social justice” ideological framework into flexible laws. This is pure demagoguery. The Democratic Party wants to tear up the US Constitution, do away with any system of checks and balances, tear down all historical statues, end traditional family values and norms, and burn down the judicial system. If Biden and the Bolshevik left seize power, the protections provided under the US Constitution and the rule of law will fade away, and the Bolsheviks will rule “Biden’s banana republic”.

This ideological war has fomented a genuine and irreparable distrust of our government agencies’ ability to protect, serve and represent the people who elected them. Never has the western media colluded to perpetrate an endless series of lies on this magnitude to cover up rampant political corruption; it is the most significant political corruption scandal and cover-up ever. These are crimes against democracy.

If you are not frightened by all of this, you should be.

ELECTION 2020 PREDICTIONS

On election day, Trump will melt the snowflakes on his way to 270+ Electoral College votes; I predict that Trump wins enough of the following states: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, to provide him enough of a boost, 125 votes, to launch him above 270 votes and a victory. Bear in mind, a Washington DC coup d’état cabal has been conducting, with impunity, a seditious conspiracy to overthrow the United States government for the past four years. It’s a safe bet this same cabal will invent ballots, lie, cheat, steal and do “whatever it takes” to dispute or overturn a legitimate Trump victory.


Mitchell Feierstein is CEO Glacier Environmental Fund.

Tuesday, 12 July 2016

Is Kiev planning a new offensive in Donbass?

Will Ukraine Launch a New Donbass Offensive This Summer?
Russia is warning that Kiev may launch a new offensive against supporters of the self-proclaimed republics in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine. Moscow is urging Paris and Berlin to put pressure on the Ukrainian authorities to prevent a potential renewal of violence

Alexey Timofeychev, Nikolai Shevchenko

11 July, 2016

Originally appeared at Russia Beyond the Headlines

As hostilities threaten to break out again in eastern Ukraine, Moscow is warning that Kiev may be on the verge of launching a new offensive against the self-proclaimed rebel republics in the region.
At a meeting with the German and French ambassadors on July 6, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin told them that heightened tensions in the Donbass indicate that the Ukrainian troops are preparing for action to try and take back territory occupied by Russian-backed rebels as part of a two-year-old conflict with the central government in Kiev.
Karasin urged the two ambassadors, who represent the two countries whose leaders – alongside the presidents of Russia and Ukraine – form the four-party negotiating group for resolving the Donbass crisis, “to exercise their influence to put pressure on Kiev in order to prevent a military scenario…”
On the following day, the situation in eastern Ukraine was discussed in a telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama.
This time, a similar appeal was made to the Russian leader in relation to the rebel regimes in Donetsk and Lugansk, which enjoy Moscow’s patronage. Obama asked Putin to “take measures to end the significant uptick in fighting in eastern Ukraine.”
Fears regarding a dramatic increase in hostilities in the Donbass were voiced not only in Russia but in Ukraine too. Kiev linked this eventuality to the Kremlin’s desire to destabilize the situation in Ukraine as a whole and in the Donbass in particular. Ukrainian parliamentary speaker Andrei Parubiy said that Moscow may be tempted to do it against the backdrop of “the U.S. election and the crisis in the EU.”
Rise in ceasefire violations
There is no doubt in any quarters that tensions along the contact line in the Donbass have risen recently. According to media reports, over the past several weeks, reports of shelling in the region have risen by a third, while the OSCE is also reporting more frequent ceasefire violations.
At the same time, Russian experts do not believe there are grounds to say that the Ukrainian military are preparing a large-scale offensive on the rebel-held areas of the Donbass.
According to Vladimir Yevseyev, deputy head of the CIS Institute, “one should not be saying that Kiev is deploying a large number of troops.” Rather, he said, one could talk of acts of provocation staged by radicals (there are many fighters from volunteer detachments at the contact line known for their radical views) who are keen to see relations between Russia and the West deteriorate.
Viktor Murakhovsky, a military expert and editor-in-chief of the Arsenal Otechestva (Arsenal of the Fatherland) magazine, told RBTH that he had no data to confirm that the Ukrainian side is preparing “a large-scale military action.”
Meanwhile, Alexander Khramchikhin, deputy head of the Moscow-based Institute of Political and Military Analysis, pointed out that despite the lack of reports that Kiev is preparing an offensive, hostilities in Donbass have never really stopped and a real war “could flare up once again at any moment.”
Khramchikhin attributes this to the fact that neither of the parties is satisfied with the status quo – both Kiev and the rebel regions would like to have more.
‘Pointless outcome’
Russia continued its attempts to appeal to Germany and France on July 8, this time at a more senior level.
In a telephone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande, Vladimir Putin urged them to put pressure on Kiev to get the Ukrainian military to end “actions of provocative nature.”
Murakhovsky pointed out that “the Ukrainian side from time to time uses local operations to train its units, including with the use of heavy weaponry.”
This is particularly relevant for the volunteer battalions, he added, citing recent clashes near the key railway junction of Debaltseve, previously held by Ukrainian forces but controlled by the rebels since February 2015.
In the action, two companies of Ukrainian government troops tried to occupy the neutral zone but were repelled and had to retreat, Murakhovsky explained.
“From the military point of view, the outcome [of that operation] was absolutely pointless,” he said.


Thursday, 9 October 2014

Ukraine update - 10/08/2014

Ukraine SITREP October 8th, 16:00 UTC/Zulu: The calm before the storm?


8 October, 2014


Military situation 
The situation in the Ukraine and Novorussia is a very tense and could lead to a major resumption of hostilities.

The Junta Repression Forces (JRF) have used the ceasefire to lick their wounds, get reorganized, concentrate their forces, bring in much needed reinforcements, prepare defensive fortifications and bring in new units.  The Novorussian Armed Forces (NAF) have done the same but, unlike the JRF, the NAF suffer from a lack of equipment, possibly made worse by a reduction of the flow of weapons, in particular heavy ones, from Russia (the so-called voentorg).  In terms of personnel, the influx of volunteers to the NDF has remained steady and strong.

Why did Moscow turn down the air-spigot to Novorussia?

There could be a number of reasons, but the three main one are probably:

1. A way to put pressure on the Novorussian leadership to abide by the ceasefire and to remind them that they cannot ignore the Kremlin's position.
2. To deny the AngloZionists any possibility to find some proof of the voentorg.
3. To show the Europeans that "see - we are upholding our end of the deal while the Junta does not"

The latter is absolutely true, by the way.

Even though the Donetsk airport has finally been taken (I define "taken" not as "every Ukie killed" but as "every Ukie artillery system destroyed" because this is what matters for Donetsk), the JRF is still shelling the city the north, the west and southwest.  Furthermore, there are some very ominous signs that the JRF is preparing to try to encircle Gorlovka.
October 7th combat map

In the meanwhile the NAF has pulled back the units which had gone as far as the north and even west of Mariupol and the "southern front" has now acquired a much more defensible shape as shown by the latest map (click here for a high-resolution version).

The frontline has not moved much during the ceasefire.  The NAF has made some local advances, the JRF has retreated in certain locations, but by and large the line of contact has remained unchanged and it being used as a basis for the development of a disengagement plan prepared by Ukrainian, OSCE, Novorussian and Russian experts.  Indeed, there are 
officially 80 Russian General Staff officers currently in the Donbass (invited by Kiev) who are participating in the development of the planned "buffer zone" between both sides.  This fact is, in itself, rather interesting as it now shows that the US, EU, OSCE and the Junta had to give up on their long-standing claim that the Russians had no say or status in an "internal and sovereign Ukrainian process".

Another very interesting development has been the offer of President Lukashenko of Belarus to send in peacekeepers which the Novorussian authorities immediately accepted.  So far, this is not officially on the table, but the offer is interesting for the following reasons:

1. The Belarussians have an extremely powerful military, well-trained and well-equipped and they would be a very robust and tough peacekeeping force.

2. The Belarussians armed forces are extremely close to the Russian armed forces and, for all practical purposes, they are one entity.  Thus both the Novorussians and Russians could trust the Belarussians.

3. While Lukashenko is somewhat of a goofball who regularly makes bizarre and contradictory statements, he is also a smart man who knows the score and who will remain loyal to Russia and the CSTO.

In other words, bringing in the Belarussians - even as peacekeepers - could well mean the end of any Ukie hopes to re-conquer the Donbass.  This, however, also could mean the end of any Novorussian hopes of liberating the Junta-occupied Novorussia.
Will the ceasefire hold?

I don't know, but I am confident that the Novorussians will not break it first.  Most of them absolutely hate this ceasefire, but they also understand that there are bigger political issues involved and that they cannot simply defy Moscow.  As for the Kremlin, its position appears to be that "Plan A" is to make the most of the ceasefire and "Plan B" is to make sure that the Ukies carry the full political responsibility for a resumption of full-scale hostilities.

Parsing the Russian media (corporate and social) I would say that:

1. There is a very large consensus in Russia that the Novorussians have earned the right to be free from Kiev.  Of course, many (most?) Russians do understand that Novorussia might have to remain formally part of a unitary Ukraine, but 
only formally, not in any meaningful way, and only temporarily.  A good example of his understanding is this blogger's analysis (see here machine translated by Google).

2. Nobody in Russia trusts the junta or Poroshenko.  There is a consensus that the only way to keep Novorussia safe is to have it militarily strong enough to beat back any possible Ukrainian attack.

3. The Dugin-Limonov camp has lost the PR war and very few people still make the case for an overt Russian military intervention.  However, 
this might very rapidly change of the JRF break the ceasefire and attack.

4. The CIA-backed "liberal" (in the Russian sense) camp is in total disarray.  Except for the TV channel Dozhd or the Ekho Moskvy Radio station, nobody takes them seriously and when one of their representatives shows up on a TV show they get eviscerated in minutes by all the other guests and even the show host.

From all this I conclude that Russia is "ready to pounce": if the Ukies break the ceasefire and massively attack, the "
voentorg-spigot" will reopen immediately and freely flow, if the Ukies are successful and if the NAF proves unable to withstand the assault, Russia will directly intervene again like she did in August.  If Novorussia is truly threatened, Putin will openly send in the Russian military (though he would do that only if given no other options at all).Political situation: Banderastan

The situation in Junta-occupied Ukraine (aka "Banderastan") is one of complete chaos.  Violence (political and criminal) is everywhere and the state has more or less ceased to function.  Take for example the numerous destructions of the statue of Lenin.  First, the fact that they are being destroyed to begin with is a telling example of the Ukie ignorance of history since it was Lenin which created the Ukraine as a state, Stalin which added the western Ukraine, and Krushchev which gave the Ukies Crimea.  So they can continue to go on repeating their slogan "Комуняку на гілляку" ("commies on branches" meaning that Communists should be hanged), but the modern Ukraine is a 100% commie-made entity (besides, Lenin was a 
vicious russophobe who hated everything Russian with a passion).  But the main point is that the destruction of these statues shows that law and order are gone and the mob rule is really the only "authority left".

Second, while there are clans who fight each other inside the junta (Poroshenko vs Kolomoiski vs Liashko vs Iarosh vs Tymoshenko etc.) there is no real opposition left.  Well, I guess you could say that there is 
almost no real opposition left.
Elena Bondarenko

Following the brutal assault on Rada Deputy Nestor Shufrich (who is now in the hospital), the last two more or less well-known opposition figures are Elena Bondarenko and Nikolai Levchenko, both, like Shufrich, from the Party of Regions.  Bondarenko was openly threatened by the Minister of Internal Affairs who actually said on Ukie TV the following: "when I hear speak my hand goes to my gun".  These are the words of the top law enforcement official in Bandestan!

To be honest, I am very concerned for her personal safety and since she has refused to participate in the upcoming farce of the Ukie elections, she should probably find refuge in Russia or Crimea as her life is most definitely at risk.
Nikolai Levchenko

The other high profile opposition figure is Nikolai Levchenko, also a Party of Regions Deputy who is often associated with the oligarch Rinat Akhmetov.  Levchenko, who was elected in the Donbass, is particularly hated by many Novorussian field commanders because he opposes both the JRF and the NAF and because he often compares the two sides.  Whether Levchenko truly believes that armed resistance only makes things worse or whether he speaks for the financial interests of Rinat Akhmetov is anybody's guess.  All I can say is that he did openly oppose the neo-Nazi junta in the Rada and that he was assaulted and beaten up for it.  Bondakeno also dared to openly challenge the Ukies junta during her speeches in the Rada and was forcibly removed from the podium but not beaten up (yet?).

It is important to stress here that both Bondarenko and Levchenko are loyal Ukrainians - they not only put some of the blame for the violence on the Novorussians, they also reject the return of Crimea to Russia which they blame on the crazy policies of Kiev.  If the West had had any decency (or brains for that matter), these are the people it should have supported, but now it is way too late and people like Bondarenko and Levchenko have simply lost their constituency which not only rejects their "moderate" stance but which now considers itself as having left the Ukraine and thus not concerned by elections to the Rada.

As far as I know, neither Levchenko nor Bondarenko are running in the next "election" since they both consider it a total farce (and, besides, since the Donbass won't participate in this election anyway, what would be the point?).  As for the Ukrainian Communist Party, it has basically gone underground, with many of its members assaulted, murdered and threatened.  The sad but undeniable reality is that there is no opposition in Banderstan, only various clans and various flavors combining neo-Nazi and oligarchic interests.

Banderastan thus has no political future to speak of.  But then, neither does it have an economic, cultural, social or any other kind of future.  The only question now is whether it will resemble more Haiti, Somalia or Iraq.  The only certain thing about the future now is that coming winter will be terrible and violent.

Political situation: Novorussia

The infighting of Novorussian political leaders and field commanders continues.  At best, some of them simply ignore everybody else (Khodakovski or Cossack leaders) at worst, they openly fight each other (Bezler and Zakharchenko).  In fact, Zakharchenko apparently resigned, then this resignation was pulled back.  

Why is this infighting continuing?

There are several reasons for that:

1) The ceasefire agreement is extremely controversial and while nobody likes it in Novorussia, the degree of opposition to it differs from person to person.

2) Even though Strelkov tried really hard to turn an insurgency of volunteer militiamen into a regular army he was not given enough time and while the purely military coordination has improved (reportedly with Russian General Staff specialists), the political unity is still lacking.

3) There are also upcoming elections in Novorussia and some politicians (Zakharchenko, Gubarev) feel that they must take a politically correct stance.

4) The fact that Russian and Novorussians objective interests are not one and the same also exacerbates the issue of who will get Russian help.

5) Some Novorussian military field commanders (Mozgovoi?) feel that this entire political circus is useless and that Novorussia should be run by those who liberated it: the military.  Obviously, civilian politicians don't care for this kind of vision.

6) The Russian infighting between the "Atlantic Integrationists" and "Eurasian Sovereignists" is having a spillover effect into Novorussia.


As a result of all this, I would say that Novorussia is solid in military terms and weak in political terms.  Furthermore, contrary to what I had expected, Strelkov has not had much of an impact on the Russian political scene and, at least so far, has been relatively recluse.  I have no explanation for that.

Conclusion:

On one hand, the ceasefire is being constantly and increasingly violated.  A major Ukie attack is definitely possible.  On the the other hand, the work on the creation of a buffer zone, possibly involving foreign troops, is actively being pursued and the conflict could temporarily be frozen along the current line of contact.  Both Banderastan and Novorussia are politically weak and neither is truly under the authority of one single person or group of people.  The following months will be catastrophic for the Nazi-occupied Ukraine and quite literally anything is possible there including a 3rd Maidan, a coup, local insurrections, false flag operations, assassinations and, of course, war.  In a way, the stupid trench-to-become-wall the Ukies are building along the borders with Novorussia, Russia and Transnistria might end up protecting Banderastan's neighbors from the effects of the explosion to come.


The Saker


Wednesday, 1 October 2014

Iraq civil war upadate - 09/30/2014

Short Analysis by Mindfriedo: Struggle for Iraq: Saqlawiyah says it all!


30 September, 2014


Following is a chronology of events that took place in mid to end September at the Iraqi Army base of Saqlawiyah (Saqlawiyah is located to the north of Fallujah)

-Daash and allied Sunni fighters take over a few villages to the north of Fallujah

-One of the towns taken over is Sijir, close to Saqlawiyah Military Base

-The Iraqi Army sends in 400 men from the 3rd Brigade, an elite SWAT unit, and members from the Ashaib Ahl Al Haq (League of the Righteous) to take back Sijir.

-Stiff resistance by Daash forces the fighters back to Saqlawiyah base; there are now 800 to a 1000 men at the base and they are running short of supplies, food and ammunition.

-Daash captures areas around the base and blocks the only road connecting Saqlawiyah and starts to encircle the base. They now state that the attack on the village was a trap prepared for the Iraqi army and the "Safavid filth."

-Daash starts using loudspeakers telling the troops to surrender

-A tank unit from Ramadi advances north and tries to break the siege. The tanks advance on a stretch of road that is strewn with improvised explosives but make it to 500 yards of the base

-Entrapped troops try to break through to the tanks but are beaten back by Daash that carries out suicide attacks and heavy assaults. The troops are forced back to the base and the tank columns retreat over bodies of dead soldiers

-Entrapped soldiers make desperate calls to military commanders who promise relief and air support but nothing arrives. Senior commanders refer to repeated requests being made by soldiers as unnecessary "whining" in the face of attacks

-Daash fighters dressed in Iraqi Army Uniform send in Humvees in a suicide attack. The soldiers guarding the base are reported to have opened the gates assuming the Humvees to be relief supplies. Huge suicide attacks are followed on by a heavy ambush. Daash overruns the base and only a pocket of soldiers are reported to be holding out.

-Conflicting reports suggest that between 50 (unreliable government) to 600 casualties with 200 soldiers managing to escape. Escaped soldiers were starving after 4 days of hunger and were drinking salt water to survive, they were finding it hard to run

-Daash parades 30 men dressed in Iraqi Army Uniform in Fallujah and releases the following statement:

"After placing trust in Allah, and taking into consideration the means and available capabilities, and by the order of the Ministry of War, al-Fallujah Province mobilized all its military detachments, air defense, support, and raiding detachments, and after making the plan and setting its goals, the detachments launched towards their desired objective, which is liberating the area of al-Sijir from the filth of the Safavids [a derogatory term for Shiites], as a first step to besiege the headquarters of Brigade 30, which is located between the area of al-Sijir and the al-Saqlawiyah sub-district."

-Daash claims to have killed 300 Iraqi Soldiers, captured two M1A1 Abrams tanks and a Russian tank in addition to other supplies that it looted from the base

-Abadi orders an enquiry and Iraqi Army and Air Force Commanders are reportedly suspended but MPs are demanding prosecution and calling Saqlawiyah Iraq's second Spyker

-The government is claiming that Daash used chlorine gas and is using this as an excuse for the base having fallen

Here are some questions that the above events raise:

1) Why was Air Support not provided or supplies not air dropped?

Throughout the conflict Iraqi commanders are reported to have ignored calls for resupply and air support and, shockingly, to have given false hope by suggesting that the base was actually resupplied, when it was not. Sour relations between Maliki's Commanders and Abadi's desire to replace them is being suggested as another excuse for the fiasco.

2) Where are the US air strikes falling?

If Daash was sending such a large number of fighters north why did US airstrikes not target them? Or target the Daash fighters laying siege to the base?
Yazidi fighters have similarly complained of the US not attacking Daash heavy armour in Sinjar while the Yazidis were fighting them, even after the Yazidis pointed (painted) targets for the Americans. The Yazidis were forced to withdraw when they ran out of ammunition from a fight that would otherwise have been easily won.

The behaviour of Turkish troops, preventing Syrian Kurds from crossing the border and help their fellow Kurds fight Daash in Kobani, is also very telling. Also, US strikes outside Kobani were unable to halt Daash's advance.

It all stinks of "Boots on the ground."

3) Where are the Sunni tribes in all this?

So far, those Sunni tribes not on the side of Daash are still undecided in backing the government. The reasons they put forward are continuing indiscriminate artillery strikes on Sunni populated areas (Fallujah, Ramadi) and the detention of a large number of Sunni men. Another reason could be that they still have doubts of the government side winning or holding on to territory taken.

4) Effectiveness of the militias?

The militias have helped prevent the fall of Baghdad and have halted the advance of Daash. But they still have a long way to go and may be an ineffective tool in Sunni dominated areas.


The higher ups in the Ashab Ahl al Haq will be furious that their men at the base were stranded and will want answers if not blood from Iraq's Political/Military leadership. The military leadership of Iraq, politically selected, has shown little or scant regard for its troops and men, and are perhaps more dangerous than Daash.

Tuesday, 26 August 2014

Ukraine update - 08/25/2014

Ukraine President dissolves parliament, paves way for early election
Ukrainian president, Petro Poroshenko, has made the decision to dismiss the country’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, a message on his official Twitter account says


RT,
25 August, 2014
.
The decision comes because “the majority of the MPs voted for dictator-style laws,” which cost the lives of Maidan activists, RIA Novosti news agency reports citing Poroshenko's spokesman.
Dear compatriots, Today I have taken a decision to early dissolve the Parliament.
595 RETWEETS 150 FAVORITES

The election of the new parliament will be held on October 26, the spokesman Svyatoslav Tsegolko wrote on his Facebook page.

Poroshenko has called on “democratic forces” in Ukraine to enter the elections as a united “pro-Ukrainian, pro-European team,” Tsegolko’s Facebook post states adding that the Rada was dismissed “because it is the only right and responsible decision.”

“The Fifth Column in the parliament consists of dozens of so-called people’s deputies. But they don’t represent the interests of the people, who elected them, but the interests of some other people,” the statement said.

Neither Poroshenko's nor the Verkhovna Rada's official websites contain any messages giving details. However, the official Twitter account of the President's Administration also states the one-chamber parliament is dismissed.
View image on Twitter
Президент достроково припинив повноваження ВР України VII скликання. Вибори нового парламенту - 26.10.2014
Poroshenko, who came to power in Ukraine on June 7, declared his intention to hold early parliamentary elections in his inauguration speech before the Rada.

In late July, following the resignation of the government, Ukraine’s ruling coalition of nationalist Svoboda (Freedom) party and the Udar (Strike) party dissolved itself enhancing the prospects for an early vote.

On August 2, Poroshenko again spoke of a snap parliamentary election after the Rada refused to recognize the self-proclaimed Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics as terrorist groups.

Back then he also labeled the deputies as a “
Fifth Column,” saying that he doesn’t know how to work with such a parliament.

The term
“Fifth Column” originates from the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39 where Franco’s fascists literally sent a “fifth column” of spies and provocateurs to try to capture capital Madrid from inside the city.


Lavrov on Donetsk POWs: Didn’t see anything which would remind me of humiliation



Several dozen captured Kiev soldiers were paraded through the streets of Donetsk, Sunday, where they were heckled by a large crowd. 'I saw the parade pictures in question, and didn’t see anything which would remind me of humiliation of captured soldiers', said Russian FM Sergey Lavrov on news conference Monday.





Ruthenians stand in favor of the union of Great, Little, White and Red Rus 



On August 23, in Lugansk People's Republic was created the first national militia - Ruthenian Battalion of Ivan Georgievich Kundri (Archimandrite Iov of Ugol) - known Carpathian Orthodox missionary and a veteran of World War II. In the battalion entered Ruthenian volunteers from Carpathian Rus Pryashev (Slovakia), Lemkovina (Poland) and Hungary. Military personnel of the battalion formed by 387 people. Commander of the batallion is Y.A Yantso.

Ruthenians - are a fourth slavic people, in whose veins flows the undivided "Russia". Rusyns (Ruthenians) are living witnesses of the one and undivided of ancient people. Rusyns live in the Red Rus - Transcarpathia, Eastern Slovakia, in Serbian Vojvodina, southeastern Poland, Hungary and the north-western Romania. In some countries, they are recognized as an ethnic minority. Even under Yanukovych Ukraine has recognized them. Themselves Rusyns consider themselves an integral part of the Russian ethnos. Before the revolution, we considered and called a Ruthenians simply Russians, and the word Rusyns was coined by the Poles, a latinized designation of Russians.

Rusyn dialect resembles more Great-Russian dialect of Russian than Ukrainian. In the borders of Ukraine enters only part of Red Rus, taken from Czechoslovakia. While themselves, Ruthenians wanted to become the 17th republic of USSR (there was 16 republics, as there was one Karelo-Fisk SSR ), but then Transcarpathia was considered too small for the scale of a Union Republic. The Ukrainian authorities have begun already to plant in Transcarpathia the Small-Russian dialect, referred to at the official level as the Ukrainian language. Ruthenians in favor of the union of Great, Little, White and Red Rus into a single state. Ruthenians stand in favor of the union of Great, Little, White and Red Rus into a single state.

Pryashevsky areas of Red Rus' now belongs to Slovakia and Carpathians region is a part of Poland, where Rusyns as in the days of Pilsudski and PPR were exposed in times of outright genocide. 

As a literary language Ruthenians have long been used Church Slavonic (even in the XIX century), which greatly influenced the spoken language. Fundamentals of Rusyn literary language was laid by Alexander Dukhnovych, he published a primer and grammar, for which he was arrested and persecuted by the Hungarian government.

Source: 
http://anaga.ru/rusinskij-batallion.html



I would just add to this excellent piece from the Moon of Alabama about the plunging collapse of the Ukrainian economy one further little known fact. This is that at the end of September $1.6 billion payment on a eurobond taken out by Naftogaz falls due. $1.6 billion is equivalent to 1 % of the Ukraine's GDP at the current rate of exchange. It is not far off the amount of the next tranche of the IMF loan the Ukraine is desperately trying to get brought forward. Naftogaz already owes billions to the Russians. Where is the money to pay this eurobond going to come from? We could be looking at a default this September.


--- Alexander Mercouris


Ukraine: Economy Declines, 


Merkel Sues For Peace






5 August, 2014

Recent statistics show that the already decaying Ukrainian economy is further turning towards depression. New money from IMF loans, if granted, will solely go into military costs. The European Union will not bail out Ukraine and Germany, hurt by Russian counter-sanctions, is suing for peace with Russia.

Nulandistan's wheels are falling off and no one one will help to repair it.
According to the Ukrainian government statistics production in July 2014 decrease compared to July 2013 (both ex-Crimea). Mining of coal and lignite was only 71% of its former numbers. Manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products was 84% of its 2013 value. Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products 77% and natural gas production and distribution was 78% of its 2013 number. As the government's fight  against the people in Ukraine's industrial heartland continues these numbers will continue to go down.

Ukraine's standard of living did not, unlike in Russia, significantly increase over the last 20 years. Since the beginning of the year inflation increased to 19% and the Ukrainian central bank had to raise interest rates from 6.5% at the beginning of 2014 to 17.5% now. This to support the value of the Ukrainian currency as the hryvnya has fallen 40% since early 2014. The banking system is coming apart:
The ratio of banks’ non-performing loans will reach 30 percent this year as credit costs rise, Moody’s Investors Service predicted in a May report.
...
Ukraine’s lenders are already in a precarious position, according to the IMF, which estimates that the nation’s biggest 22 banks would require fresh capital of as much as 5 percent of gross domestic product if the hryvnia averages 12.5 per dollar this year.

The Ukraine is now requesting a third and fourth tranche of an IMF loan but the $2.2 billion it expects to receive is about as much as it plans to additionally spend for military operations. Under the conditions of the new IMF loans Ukraine's standard of living will decrease further and poverty will rise.

Some delusional minds in Kiev may hope that the EU will hand them some money. That is not going to happen. EU economies ex Germany are in serious trouble and Germany is not eager to help either:
There is precious little enthusiasm among the German public for bailout of other Eurozone members. The idea that Germany will consent to spending tens of billions of dollars rebuilding Eastern Ukraine is completely and totally divorced from political reality. Can anyone seriously imagine Angela Merkel, whose country recently had its 2014 growth estimate downgraded to a mere 1.5%, going in front of the German public to demand a substantial outlay for Ukrainian infrastructure? It would be political suicide, and Merkel is clearly a clever enough politician to understand this.

The German government had to cut is GDP forecast because of the insecurity the sanction back and forth with Russia introduced into businesses. The issue will clearly hurt her in the polls. That is likely why she is sending peace signals to Russia:
[Merkel] mentioned Ukrainian “decentralisation”, a deal on gas prices, and Ukraine’s “trade relations” with Russia as elements that could bring about an accord [between Ukraine and Russia].
...
"I want to find a way, as many others do, 
which does not damage Russia. We [Germany] want to have good trade relations with Russia as well. We want reasonable relations with Russia. We are depending on one another and there are so many other conflicts in the world where we should work together, so I hope we can make progress”.

This also from an interview Merkel gave to public German TV yesterday:
A solution must be found to the Ukraine crisis that does not hurt Russia and which the Ukrainian people must choose for themselves, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday.
...
"There must be dialogue. There can only be a political solution. There won't be a military solution to this conflict," she said.
...

On Saturday, her vice chancellor Sigmar Gabriel had suggested that establishing a federal Ukraine was the only viable solution to the crisis pitting Kiev against pro-Russian separatists.
Merkel said that if Ukraine opted to rejoin the Eurasian Union with Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia, then Europe would not make "a huge conflict" out of it.

Especially the last point is clearly a big step back from the earlier all out "Ukraine is EU" position.

Additionally to the economic side, pressure on Merkel also grows because there is more and more doubt, even in German mainstream media, about the veracity of the Ukrainian propaganda and about the destruction of flight MH17. Why is there is no news about it? Is there a coverup (in German)?

The wheels are coming off in Victoria "Fuck the EU" Nuland's new Ukraine. Her project of capturing Ukraine from Russia while letting the EU pay for it is not going as planned. The likely result of Nuland's coup in Kiev will be a destroyed Ukrainian economy and no winner at all.



Poland, Baltics Urge NATO to 


Target Russia with Europe’s 


Ballistic Missile ‘Shield’




MOSCOW, August 24 (RIA Novosti) - Several NATO member states have reportedly thrown their weight behind an agenda of targeting Russia with the US-controlled ballistic missile “shield,” which is being built in Europe to allegedly guard the European Union against Iran, Germany’s Der Spiegel said Sunday.
According to the German daily, the push comes from Poland and the Baltic trio of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia who claim they “feel threatened by Russia’s intervention into Ukraine.”

Ahead of the NATO summit at the end of next week, the four countries have urged the military bloc to mention Moscow as a potential aggressor in its summit communique and have safeguards against Russia hardwired into the document, as they did with Iran.

“The majority, especially Germany, have opposed [this proposal] to avoid provoking Moscow unnecessarily, because NATO had spent years trying to assure the Russians that its missile shield wouldn’t target them,” Der Spiegel said.

The German paper said further debates had been put off till after the summit, which is scheduled for 4-5 September in Newport, South Wales.

The move came after NATO hit out at Russia for allegedly ordering its humanitarian aid convoy across the border with Ukraine, which it said was a flagrant violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty.

Russia’s ambassador to UN, Vitaly Churkin, retorted that Kiev’s permission was granted to Moscow back on August 12, while the Red Cross bowed out of escorting the convoy after leaving the 227 trucks stranded at the border for a week. The vehicles were confirmed by Ukrainian customs officials to be carrying food, water and generators to the besieged city of Luhansk in Ukraine’s east.


NATO has repeatedly blamed Russia for the escalation of tensions in Ukraine and building up arms and troops on the country’s border. The alliance has used the crisis to justify an expansion of its military forces near Russian borders, bumping up the number of air patrol missions in Eastern Europe. Today, the United States has missile defense bases in Turkey, Bulgaria, Poland and the Czech Republic.

Donetsk fighters encircle third Ukrainian army grouping

About 2,000 Ukrainian troops, over 100 pieces of the armor and about 60 artillery guns of various caliber have been encircled by Donetsk fighters


25 August, 2014

DONETSK, August 25. /ITAR-TASS/. Self-defense militias of the Donetsk People’s Republic have encircled a third attack force of the Ukrainian army by Monday morning, the local news agency Novorossiya reported.

The third Ukrainian army grouping was encircled near the settlements of Stepanovka, Amvrosiyevka and Stepano-Krynka, Novorossiya reported, referring to the militia headquarters.

“All throughout the night, the militia’s forces were concentrated on narrowing the encirclement rings around two Ukrainian army groupings blocked near the settlements of Voikovsky, Kuteinikovo, Blagodatnoye, Alekseyevskoye, Uspenka and Ulyanovskoye and in the area of the settlement of Olenovskoye,” the news agency reported.

The militia headquarters have reported that “over 40 tanks, about 100 infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers and airborne combat vehicles, about 50 Grad and Uragan multiple launch rocket systems and over 60 field artillery guns and mortars have been encircled.”

Several hundred captive Ukrainian military convoyed down streets of Donetsk
Surprise attacks by Donetsk militias have also encircled a Ukrainian army grouping near the settlement of Yelenovka, Novorossiya reported.

About 2,000 Ukrainian troops, over 100 pieces of the armor and about 60 artillery guns of various caliber have been encircled by Donetsk fighters who have also liberated the populated areas of Novodvornoye, Agronomicheskoye, Novokaterinovka, Osykovo, Klyonovka, Stroitel and Leninskoye, the militia said.

Donetsk self-defense fighters are also cutting off Ukrainian troops from Ilovaisk along the line of the populated areas of Agronomicheskoye, Kuteinikovo, Voikovo and Osykovo, the militia headquarters said.

A militia reconnaissance has carried out a successful attack on the Ukrainian army in the Starobeshevsky district of the Donetsk Republic, the headquarters said.

Donetsk fighters have also attacked a patrol of the Ukrainian Azov battalion near the settlement of Novy Svet some 30 km (19 miles) from the border with Russia, killing and wounding Ukrainian troops, Novorossiya said, citing combat reports of the Donetsk People’s Republic.

A battle is continuing for control over the Novoazovsk checkpoint, Novorossiya reported. The pro-Kiev Dnepr-1 battalion sent in support of the Ukrainian troops was stopped by fire from a group of guerilla snipers. Several Ukrainian servicemen were wounded, Novorossiya reported.

Militia's tactic

The political crisis in Ukraine led to the formation of many armed groups on its territory. Infographics by ITAR-TASS

The latest military successes by Donetsk self-defense fighters have become possible as the militia headquarters have switched from military action by small units to full-scale operations by full-fledged formations and army units, the militia said.

“The army headquarters of the Donetsk People’s Republic have decided to give up action by small units and shift to military action by full-fledged formations and army units which are provided with full fire support,” the republican army headquarters said.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian army’s headquarters claimed destroying the militia’s eight tanks, 10 combat vehicles and 250 self-defense fighters during the night.
Units of the Ukrainian National Guard are hurriedly leaving Mariupol, Novorossiya reported, citing local residents.

Trucks full of armed people have been leaving Mariupol since Monday morning and heading for the town of Mangush and the Zaporozhye Region, eyewitnesses said.

Five civilians injured in overnight fighting in eastern Ukraine

Military experts of the Donetsk People’s Republic have said the hurried retreat of the Ukrainian troops from Mariupol can be explained by self-defense fighters’ successes on the southern front.

Donetsk militia earlier said that subversive and reconnaissance groups of the eastern Ukraine self-defense army had burst into Mariupol on Sunday night.

The militias’ subversive and reconnaissance groups also started battles back on Saturday near the town of Novoazovsk 47 km (29 miles) from Mariupol. Donetsk fighters have liberated several populated areas by Monday morning, including Telmanovo, a local administrative center close to Mariupol.

At the same time, Ukrainian army units and a part of the National Guard are still staying in Mariupol, the Donetsk People’s Republic said.

ITAR-TASS has no confirmation of this information from other sources.

Ukrainian army achievements

The Ukrainian military established control of Mariupol in mid-June, after which the pro-Kiev Donetsk regional administration moved to the city.

Pro-Kiev troops and local militias in the eastern Ukrainian Donetsk and Luhansk regions are involved in fierce clashes as the Ukrainian armed forces are conducting a military operation to regain control over the breakaway regions, which on May 11 proclaimed their independence at local referendums.

During the military operation, Kiev has used armored vehicles, heavy artillery and attack aviation. Many buildings have been destroyed and tens of thousands of people have had to flee Ukraine’s embattled east.


From Mark Sleboda ---


For most of the last night, I could not help but having Mariupol as a fixed idea of my dreams, which I foresaw happening already yesterday, but, for obvious reasons, I did not want to advertise it too early. When I, however, look at the military map of the war with the neo-Nazi junta today, I then see the following:



Amvrosiyevka appears to have been liberated and Southern Cauldron 2.0 has not only dramatically shrunken, it has also been split in two. The counter-offensive of the army of Novorossiya is so powerful that it is hard to keep up with it just by watching from a distance

---Vladimir Suchan

Russian humanitarian aid distribution begins in E. Ukraine
With heavy fighting underway in south-eastern Ukraine, the distribution of humanitarian aid from Russia has started in the city of Lugansk, which is besieged by the Kiev forces.


RT,
25 August, 2014
.


The first 12 points distributing food have already begun working. The minimum offering includes rice, buckwheat and sugar, three canned meats, a packet of tea and 10 liters of water, Novorossiya news agency reports.


Kindergartens, schools and other social facilities were the first to receive the aid.


The city said it was planning to open another 37 aid distribution points in the coming days.


The Russian aid convoy of 227 trucks arrived in the city on Friday, bringing almost 2,000 tons of relief supplies.


However, the humanitarian situation remains “critical” in Lugansk as the people are forced to survive without electricity, water and communications due to ongoing fighting between the Kiev troops and the local self-defense forces, Lugansk City Council said.

“Every day, firefights and shelling lead to new destruction of urban infrastructure and homes as well as combustions and fires,”
 the local authorities said.

Earlier on Monday, Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, has voiced plans for a second aid convoy to be sent to eastern Ukraine, urging foreign actors and agencies to participate in continuing efforts at relieving the “humanitarian crisis”.

The bread is being baked and is always on sale in Lugansk, but the City Council expressed concern that problems with water supply may result in spread of infectious diseases.

According to Kiev, the Ukrainian forces were able to entrench themselves in the northern part of Lugansk.

The army plans to use the area as foothold to begin its offensive on the rest of the city, Andrey Lysenko, Ukraine’s National Security Council spokesman, said.

However, Lysenko stressed that “most of the Lugansk” remains under control of the self-defense forces of the Lugansk People’s Republic.

Kiev fires ballistic missile at Donetsk

The hostilities continued in Donetsk on Monday, with the mayor’s office speaking of explosions, which are heard “in all districts” of the besieged city. “The epicenter of the fighting is now Kirovsky and Petrovsky districts [in the south-west of city],” the Donetsk authorities said.

Kiev has started using ballistic missiles against the self-defense forces in Donetsk, a RIA-Novosti news agency’s correspondent reported from the scene.

The Tochka-U missile, which is believed to be the most powerful weapon in the arsenal of the country’s military, hit a miners’ village on the outskirts of the city on the eve of Ukrainian Independence Day on August 24, he stressed.

The rocket’s cluster exploded in the air, damaging several buildings in the Kirovsky district and gravely injuring three people, including a mother of three children, the self-defense forces said.

Tochka-U is a Soviet-era short-range tactical ballistic missile, which was introduced back in 1989.

The missile is designed to make precise strikes on enemy tactical targets and can also carry nuclear, biological or chemical warheads.

Previously, the Ukrainian authorities have denied accusations that they used Tochka-U missiles during their operations in Lugansk, Snezhnoe, Shakhters and several other south-eastern cities.

A Ukrainian serviceman stands guard at a Ukrainian National Guard position on the border checkpoint near Novoazovsk.(AFP Photo / Alexander Khudoteply )

On Sunday, the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) has released a special report on civilian fatalities and damage following the shelling of a residential area in the north of Donetsk on August 23. “At the scene, the SMM saw a five-floor apartment block with the ground in front of it littered with debris. Some sixty civilians, mainly elderly and in shock, were standing in the vicinity. Close to a footpath leading to one of the entrances, the SMM observed three bodies covered with blankets, judged by SMM to be two adults and a child, in close proximity to each other,” the report said. “Local residents told the SMM that the three were a mother, father and their child. They said that another child, five years old and the fourth family member, died on the way to the hospital, as a result of head injuries,” it added.

The monitors also a nearby three-floor building, a garage and a kindergarten damaged by 
“what appeared to have been shelling.”

“The SMM saw a kindergarten, with the window panes of its second floor shattered and children’s toys scattered around,” the report said.

Anti-Kiev forces enter Elenovka village

The self-defense forces have entered the Elenovka village outside Donetsk, the press-service for the Defense Ministry of the self-proclaimed People’s Republic of Donetsk said.

The advancement came as a result of the 
“offensive reconnaissance” by the militias, the press-service stressed.

According to the self-defense forces, the Kiev troops were dislodged from two check points, with three Ukrainian soldiers taken prisoner.

The anti-Kiev rebels also seized two Rapira anti-tank guns, MT-LB armored personnel carrier with a mounted anti-aircraft twin-barreled auto-cannon and two transport vehicles, the ministry told Itar-Tass news agency.

However, the agency stressed that the info coming from the rebels isn’t confirmed by any other sources.
Ukrainian troops stand beside a tank with the inscription "victory", as they guard a checkpoint near the small eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiyvka, north of Donetsk.(AFP Photo / Oleksandr Ratushniak )

Earlier on the day, it was reported that the militias have enveloped a large grouping of Ukrainian military in Elenovka. 

The self-defense forces said that around 2,000 Kiev troops, more than a hundred armored vehicles and 60 artillery pieces of various calibers were trapped. 

According to People’s Republic of Donetsk staff, Kiev has lost 182 troops (107 killed and 75 injured) in fighting in Donetsk Region during the last 24 hours. 

However, Ukraine’s National Security Council spokesman, Andrey Lysenko, said that only 4 Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 31 others injured. 

Kiev’s military crackdown on in the south-east of the country started in April after the people in Donetsk and Lugansk Region refused to recognize the new coup-imposed authorities and demanded federalization of the country. 

According to UN’s estimates, over 2,000 people have so far been killed and over 5,000 wounded in the fighting.


Captured Kiev soldiers, military hardware on display in Donetsk




According to the Kiev regime, the supposed POWs in the DNR parade yesterday were actually just Russian actors. Well, if they say so... I guess its supporters and the Western media (as if there is a difference) can stop their absurdly hypocritical whining about violations of the Geneva Conventions then, eh?

Киев не признал в колонне пленных собственных солдат



According to the Ministry of internal Affairs of Ukraine, the column of prisoners of war, held on the streets of Donetsk, could consist of actors, extras. Power DND tried to give the procession captured Ukrainian soldiers similarity with the famous "parade" of the Nazis in Moscow in 1944, according to Euronews.

---Mark Sleboda