Anti-Terrorist Operation: Liveblog (July 6)

March 11 – Russia continues to arm and train separatists in eastern Ukraine, said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (reports Reuters), while answering questions about the information on Russian tanks arriving in Ukraine over the last few days.

March 11 – Leonid Kuzmin, the organizer of events commemorating the birthday of Taras Shevchenko in Simferopol on March 9, has been threatened with being fired if he doesn't resign "voluntarily". For those of you who are English-speaking and French-speaking – it's like firing someone for being Shakespeare's admirer.

March 11 – Security Service of Ukraine has said that Russian Major General Alexei Zavizion (aka Alagir) is the head of operations of the militants in Donbas. Although there are no Russian troops in Donbas, according to Putin.

March 11 – The US has introduced new sanctions against former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, his Deputy Serhiy Arbuzov, former minister Raisa Bogatyryova, some pro-Russian militants and their Russian supporters, – according to the website of the US Treasury.

March 11 – The threat to Russian oil industry as a result of sanctions and their implications for companies to attract funds are more serious than the risks associated with falling oil prices, – states the review by international rating agency Fitch Ratings "Russian Oil and Gas Under Sanctions: Technology, Funding More of a Threat Than Weak Oil".

March 11 – The US has decided to supply Ukraine with remotely piloted aircraft and armoured military vehicles Humvee, – informed US Vice President Joe Biden in his telephone conversation with President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko.

March 11 – Russian soldiers are participating in the war in Eastern Ukraine beginning with July 14, 2014.

This is stated in the report of the British Kingdom United Institute of Defense Research (https://www.rusi.org/)

According to the document, on that day six reconnaissance detachments, namely: 2nd Brigade of special forces, 10th Brigade of special forces, a group of the 45th Division of Guards special forces of the air assault troops, 173rd Separate Division of Guards Reconnaissance Company, the Reconnaissance Battalion of the 9th Infantry Brigade, the Reconnaissance Battalion of the 18th Infantry Brigade.

Since August 11th, according to the data of the Institute, in the war in Ukraine, there were already ten tactical groups which were fully involved: 17th Infantry Brigade; 18th Infantry Brigade; 21st Infantry Brigade; 33rd a (mountain) Infantry Brigade; 247th Guard Division Landing-Storming Regiment; 104th Guard Division Landing-Storming Regiment; 331st Guard Division of the air assault troops; 137th Guard Division of the air assault troops; 31st Guard Division Landing-Storming Regiment; 2nd Brigade of special forces.

The number of pro-Russian fighters, state the analysts, numbers a half of the number of resource of Russian regular army. The main strategic task of the Russian Army units in the the document is named the support of the self-pronounced "republics" in Eastern Ukraine. Also the researchers supposse that that Russia very soon will undertake a new a new attack on Ukrainian positions. The most probable direction is considered Mariupol.

Anders Aslund: What Putin Can Learn from Stalin's Winter War

Leonid Bershidsky: Russia is hacking your social media news feed

Edward Lucas: Answering the critics of a tough Russia policy

Human Rights Abuses in Russia Occupied Crimea [23 pgs]

by Andrii Klymenko, Atlantic Council (Washington, D.C.), Freedom House (Washington, D.C.)

March 2015

Putin and politics of isolation

Russia-Ukraine (in caricatures-photogallery)

P.S.: Please spread this appeal as much as possible.

February 4 – 4 Ukrainian military were killed and 25 injured in the ATO are in the last 24 hours, – informed the spokesman of NSDC Information Center Andriy Lysenko.

February 4 – Facilitated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the government of Ukraine is preparing a bill to limit "sovereign immunity", which will enable Ukrainian citizens and businesses to sue Russia as a state. Thus MFA of Ukraine is preparing grounds to seize assets as a result of Crimea's annexation.

February 4 – Parliament of Ukraine has stripped the fourth President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych of his presidential title. The initiators of the law, point out that Yanukovych "has encroached power, which led to undermined foundations of national security and defense of Ukraine, as well as wrongful violation of human rights". Law enforcement authorities are currently searching for Yanukovych.

February 4 – Ukrainian Parliament has recognized the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (the Hague Tribunal) regarding the situation that has developed as a result of Russia's military aggression against Ukraine since February 27th 2014 and international crimes that have been committed in Ukraine.

February 4 – Officers of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) have detained Lieutenant Colonel of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who is one of the organizers of a fake attack on the Presidential Administration on February 3rd, – stated SSU Chief Valentyn Nalyvaichenko.

February 4 – Armed Forces of Ukraine have killed 11 Russian military who participated in the shelling of Mariupol on January 24th (Russian officer-terrorist who led the artillery attack and 10 his accomplices). All of them were killed near the village of Bezimenne (Novoazovsk rayon). Russian troops continue to hide the traces of these crimes. Russian soldiers have been transporting the bodies of the terrorists to Russia so that the relatives are able to bury them, – informed SSU Chief Valentyn Nalyvaichenko at a press conference. According to him, SSU has identified everyone who shelled Mariupol but "operation continues to identify terrorists who attacked civilians in Volnovakha and other areas".

February 4 – in the Donbas region the general number of fighters already exceeds 3 thousand people and they are continuing to increse their strength. This is written by the organizer of the group "Informational Opposition" and deputy Dmytro Tymchuk. "Within a 24-hour period we have noted the arrival of live forces on 24 covered trucks as well as 11 units of impenetrable carriers (including one tank)," writes Tymchuk.

February 4 – On Wednesday around 12 noon a hospital was shelled; casualties include wounded and killed.

February 4 – Counter reconnaissance of SBUhave apprehended near Horlivka a 44-year old corrector of artillery fire. "Her building was located at a height from which from her 7th floor there can be seen the armed technical force of ATO within a radius of 5 kilometers," informed a conversationalist. According to him, the woman corrected the fire and traced the track of the firings by the fighters at goals in Debaltsev, Myronivsk, Mayorsk, Vuhlehirsk. "She even had a looking glass and a photo camera. She went to different points and took photographs of what the ammunition hit," he added. "The woman said that she passed on these photographs to the fighters through her daughter who still attends school," he continued. He added that two sons of the woman are fighting on the side of the fighters of "DNR".

Ukraine is bleeding

Wolfgang Ischinger

Pledge weapons for Ukraine or the violence will go on

Taras Kuzio

Arm Ukraine and force Putin back to the negotiating table

Ukraine crisis: Leaders in new diplomatic push for peace

Illegal land grab and expropriation in occupied Crimea

More about occupied Crimea

Putin is dangerous psychopath

Roger Boyes

Arming Ukraine will stop Putin in his tracks

P.S.: Please spread this appeal as much as possible.