Dmitry Tymchuk’s Military Blog: Summary – July 17, 2014

Maidan Community Sector, Lviv: Dear friends!

January 6 – 1 Ukrainian military was killed in gunfire in the ATO area, – informed NSDC spokesman Andriy Lysenko.

January 6 – Russian tanks were noticed in Kuibyshev district and near Putyliv road junction in Donetsk. The enemy continues to transfer artillery units and armored vehicles to Donetsk. At least two large units consisting of armored vehicles and artillery were spotted in the area in last 2 days.

January 6 – More than 4700 people have been killed and more than 10 thousand injured as a result of the conflict in the east of Ukraine since April 2014 (UN Twitter account).

January 6 – In 2014 Ukraine imported 14.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Russian Federation – 11.3 billion cubic meters less than during previous year. Thus Ukraine has reduced its import of Russian gas by almost twofold.

January 6 – Starting today in the ATO area tickets will not be sold for the bus routes and passengers will not be transported to bus stops located in the ATO area. Bus transportation in the ATO area has been terminated to avoid life threatening situations due to possible terrorist attacks by Russian terrorists.

January 6 – Mariupol activists say that they have spotted the separatists, who in April and May last year seized a number of administrative buildings in the city. Mariupol residents have identified 5 persons, who actively participated in occupying the city hall, military base, and the Department of Internal Affairs.

January 6 – Security Services of Ukraine received new proof, that Russian Special Services are involved in the financing and organizing of terrorist acts in Ukraine.

Security Services of Ukraine's counter- intelligence apprehended one of the fighters in the gang "Svat", who after special training in an army camp in the city of Sevastopol received an assignment from representatives of the Russian Secret Services to organize and carry out terrorist attacks against peaceful ressidents in Ukrainian cities.

A resident of Mariupol, a citizen of Ukraine with the nickname "Phila", born in 1988, sentenced for stealing in the past, was brought into an illegally formed fighting brigade "Hiurzoya". "Phila" was issued an automatic rifle and sent to stand guard on the blockpost of the fighter "Chekhov". The apprehended one gave the Secret Services of Ukraine staff information about the direct involvement of Russian Special Services in organizing and financing of terrorist activities on the territory of Ukraine. He was a witness of the involvement of contracted soldiers of the RF armed forces in fighting against ATO forces. "Phila" also provided information about the illegal provision by the foreign side through uncontrolled parts of the border of heavy artillery – artillery parts, mine granades, etc.

In the process of the pre-trial research, the fighter provided information that the terrorist attacks using automats with explosions in Ukrainian blogpost in the micro-region "Eastern" in Mariupol and in the region Kominternove of the Donetsk region in the fall of this year were organized all from a mobile telephone and done under the direction of the representatives FSB RF. The radio-controlled automatic explosion was activated by a telephone call from a mobile phone of a member of the Russian Special Services. To get the "salary" for the fighters for doing the sabotages and terrorist activities, the leader of the gang "Svat" personally went to Moscow.

Relations KGB / FSB, GRU, SVR with the French political elite

X PAUCI Eastern Policy Forum

" Transatlantic Сommunity versus Eurasia – Arising Challenges and New Opportunities", December 15, 2014

Bishop Borys Gudzial receives French Legion of Honour

Alexander Motyl

Ukraine's Donbas Is Like America's Deep South

If Ukraine attempts to spread liberal values to the Donbas Deep South, the region's "white" elites and Ku Klux Klan will, once again, rebel. Moscow will claim that their rights are being violated by the Ukrainian racists and fascists in Kiev!

Amanda Taub

How Putin could lose power

The real question for Putin, he explained, is the loyalty of a few key groups keeping him in power – and what might cause those groups to abandon him.

Life in eastern Ukraine (slideshow)

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March 7 – 1541 Ukrainian military have died during the anti-terrorist operation in eastern Ukraine, – said Yuriy Segeyev,Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations.

March 7 – 500 bodies of local residents were found in the basements of apartment buildings in Debaltseve. These people were killed by Russian artillery, used to invade the city. At that point all escape routes were blocked by the Russians, – stated United States Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power.

March 7 – Last night powerful signals intelligence systems were installed along the border with Kharkiv oblast (on the Russian side), said the Ukrainian MP and member of parliamentary committee on National Security and Defence Andriy Levus.

March 7 – The US has suspended its project on providing training to Ukrainian military. The administration in Washington would like to first observe how the parties to the conflict in eastern Ukraine will respect the ceasefire. Under the proposed project, a battalion of American soldiers could train three battalions of Ukrainian military.

March 7 – Chairman of the Committee on International Affairs of Russian State Duma Alexei Pushkov believes that if the key to peace in Donbas could be in the EU influencing the US to refrain from providing Ukraine with weapons. Whereas Russia, of course, will continue to regularly provide weapons to its troops and pro-Russian militants in Donbas. THEN the peace will come. Peace Russian-style.

March 7 – Sooner or later the sanctions against Russia will continue, but at present this issue is not on the agenda, – said Foreign Minister of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius.

March 7 – Another "humanitarian aid convoy" broke into Ukraine – on personal instructions from Putin. More weapons and soldiers were delivered.

March 7 – Construction of new NATO bases in Europe is not being considered at the moment, – said the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Lubomír Zaorálek. Instead, the Baltic States and Poland are insisting to increase the number of NATO exercises due to the escalation of the situation around Ukraine. The US has initiated Atlantic Resolve program, aimed at consolidating its military presence in Europe. According to Internet media DefenceNews, official Washington is considering systematic use of military ranges in Czech Republic, Hungary and Georgia for the abovementioned exercises.

March 6 – Russia thretened USA that it would begin an attack on Kyiv in case there is a supply of arms to Ukraine. This was stated by the people's deputy, a member of the Collegium of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Anton Herashchenko, on the air of the program Shuster Live, reported RBK-Ukraina. "I was in Washington, and met with certain groups of analysts, and posed to them one question: "Why is President Obama so insistently refusing to undertake the decision, already ratified by Congress, on provioding weapons to Ukraine. I was told that Putin warned President Obama and his advisers that if the United States provides arms to Ukraine, then Putin will dare to attack Kyiv from all fronts," stated Herashchenko. Let us remember that on the day before, 8 Congress members appealed to Obama to hurry in providing Ukraine with weapons. In its turn, Russia urged Ukraine and the United Staets to "consider the consequences" of army collaboration. On March 4th, the State Department stated that Obama had until now still not made a decision about providing Ukraine with weapons.

March 6 – No Ukrainian military were killed and 4 were injured in the last 24 hours in the ATO area, informed NSDC spokesman Andriy Lysenko.

March 6 – Pro-Russian militants are withdrawing insignificant numbers of artillery weapons from the boundary line in Donbas, however are accumulating forces in the "near front-line" areas, informed the organiser of "Information resistance" group Dmytro Tymchuk.

March 6 – A group of American congressmen representing both Democratic and Republican parties have once again urged the US President Barack Obama to provide Ukraine with lethal defensive weapons. But Obama is still "contemplating"...

March 6 – Russian gold reserves continue to decrease. The volume of international (gold) reserves of Russia on March 1stamounted to 360.2 billion USD. In February it was at 376.2 billion USD (minimum value since the beginning of 2007). Russia's reserves decreased by 16 billion USD in one month. War is expensive.

March 6 – Official exchange rate of UAH to USD is now less than 23 UAH per 1 USD. On Friday, March 6th, National Bank of Ukraine has established the exchange rate of 22,8970 UAH per 1 USD.

March 6 – Another explosion has happened in Kharkiv – this time a minibus belonging to volunteer battalion commander of "Slobozhanshchyna" Battalion Andriy Yangolenko was blown up. A Russian mine was planted in the car.

March 6 – Donetsk separatist Andrey Purgin, a self-professed speaker of "Donetsk People's Republic" has requested that the Speaker of Ukrainian Parliament Volodymyr Groysman meets with "DPR" delegation to discuss amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine. As it has been reported, 11th provision of implementation plan of Minsk agreements implies "decentralization (while taking into account certain characteristics of identified rayons of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, which have been agreed upon with the representatives of these rayons), as well as adopting a law on special status of the identified rayons of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts."

March 6 – The value of assets of the Armed-Sea Forces of Ukraine (ASFU) captured by Russia in Crimea is estimated at a minimum of 1 billion 495 million Ukrainian hryvni. Until the moment when in June 2014, Russia unilaterally ceased all negotiations about the return of weapons, supplies, and wealth of the ASFU, Russia succeeded in removing from Crimea:

Combat ships – 3 units;

Security vessels – 32 units;

Automobiles, armored tanks,and specialized tanks – 1,438 units;

Flying apparatus (airplanes and helicopters) – 24 units.

Left in Crimea were:

Combat ships and patrol boats – 11 units;

Ships and security patrol boats – 6 units;

Automobiles, armored tanks,and specialized tanks – 2,363 units;

Flying apparatus – 3 units;

Coastal anti-ship complexes – 6 units.

March 5 – 1 Ukrainian military was killed and 1 wounded in Donbas in the last 24 hours, – informed acting spokesman of the General Staff of Ukrainian Armed Forces Vladyslav Seleznyov.

March 5 – In Crimea, Russian authorities are questioning the participants of the II All-Crimean Conference of the Committee on protecting the rights of Crimean Tatar people, – informed on his Facebook page Committee Chairman and Majlis member, Eskender Bariev.

March 5 – "Authorities" of the occupied Crimea have refused to investigate the murder of Crimean Tatar Mr.Ametov. They have killed Crimean Tatars in the past and will continue killing them in the future.

March 5 – Nadiya Savchenko, who was on hunger strike for 83 days, has agreed to stop. "I am learning to change my tactics. Yes, physically I feel lousy, but not bad enough to have to die right now. So for some time I will be drinking broth – if I have to live, I will fly, if I have to die, I will die healthy", – she wrote.

March 5 – Moscow will not support the mission of peacekeeping forces to Ukraine, if such a proposal is submitted to UN Security Council, – said Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov

March 5 – The number of cases of unjustified detention of citizens of Ukraine has increased in Russia, – statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine

March 5 – "Large numbers" of Russian soldiers are dying in eastern Ukraine, where for almost a year pro-Russian separatists have been fighting against the Ukrainian government, – stated NATO Deputy Secretary General of NATO Alexander Vershbow, reports Agence France Presse.

March 5 – In Luhansk oblast Ukrainian Armed Forces have withdrawn its rocket and artillery batteries according to Minsk agreements (including multiple rocket launcher systems BM-21 "Grad").

March 5 – RF President Volodymyr Putin wants to destroy NATO. This was stated by the Commander of U.S. Ground Forces in Europe, General-Lieutenant Ben Hodges, reports The Telegraph. "I am convinced that Putin wants to detroy our alliance, not by attacking it but by splitting it up," he noted. Hodges also commented that Russia may attempt to to destabilize one of the members of NATO by the use of partisans or other forms of 'hybrid war'. He also urged that American tanks be placed in countries along the eastern wing of NATO, in terms of stopping that factor for Putin. Specifically, according to Hodges, he proposed to place tanks in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Rumania, and Bulgaria.

There will be no peace while Putin is squatting in Ukraine's living room

Andriy Kurkov's insights on Maidan (Edmonton, Canada)

Ukr women on the frontline

Why Russia will lose Ukraine

La Fondation Robert Schuman – Russia, Ukraine and International Law

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