New Developments

  • Spot Report by OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM): Four incidents involving the SMM within last 36 hours (Source)

On 1 May, the SMM was not allowed access to its observation post located 4km north-west of Shyrokyne (20km east of Mariupol) where members of the battalion on the ground took position (See SMM Daily Report 2 May, 2015).

On 2 May, at 11:55hrs, en route to Shyrokyne, approximately 1km west of the entrance of the village, the SMM heard a burst of small-arms fire originating from north-west of its position. The SMM armoured vehicle sustained a direct hit to its rear right corner from a single 5.45mm bullet fired in the burst. The SMM patrol did not sustain casualties as a result of the attack.

On 2 May, at 14:45hrs, while monitoring at a Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC) observation post in Pisky (government-controlled, 13km north-west of Donetsk), four 82mm mortar shells impacted 100m from the SMM’s location. The SMM patrol did not sustain casualties. The SMM took shelter and retreated from the area as soon as it was possible.

On 2 May, at 16:05hrs, the same SMM patrol visited the JCCC patrol base in Avdiivka (government-controlled, 15km north-west of Donetsk). Whilst there, the SMM observed what it assessed to be shelling by 152mm artillery. The SMM took cover in a nearby underground shelter and was only able to depart from the location following the implementation of a five-minute local ceasefire. The SMM patrol did not sustain casualties.

The SMM continues to review and revise its security measures in response to events on the ground.

  • OSCE Unable to Confirm Heavy Weaponry Withdrawal in Ukraine (Source)

I have to make it clear: the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission has not yet been able to issue certificates of compliance with this parts [of Minsk accords concerning security provisions], so there is still a way to go,” Alexander Hug told RIA Novosti.

  • OSCE mission’s mandate in Donbas should be expanded — Donetsk republic’s envoy (Source)

The problem is in their limited mandate – they cannot accuse the violators and they provide only general information. We insist on expanding their mandate

  • Leaders of self-proclaimed republics not to attend Minsk meeting of Contact Group (Source)

Minsk is expected to host on May 6 a regular meeting of participants of the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukrainian settlement where the work of thematic subgroups is to be launched.

The exact agenda of tomorrow’s meeting has not been defined yet, adding that it will become known at the site.

“Besides, we were not the initiators of that meeting. We are the invited party. We are going there with our own vision of how problems should be solved, and Ukrainian representatives are going there with their own vision of that,” Purgin said.”Experts in four subgroups will work in their areas, but significant documents will hardly be signed,

  • US Sends Defensive Arms to Kiev Amid Reported Buildup in Donbass (Source)

The United States has equipped Ukraine government forces with defensive weapons to counter independence supporters in eastern Ukraine who the US military alleges are preparing for a fresh offensive, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said during a Congressional hearing on Wednesday.

“It does appear that the Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine are preparing for another round of military action,” Carter said. “We [the United States] are supporting the Ukrainian military, not with offensive arms, but with defensive arms.”

  • US Awards $600 Million for NATO’s Ballistic Missile Defense Kill Vehicle (Source)

The US Missile Defense Agency awarded a $600 million contract for 44 anti-ballistic missiles to be placed in Romania as part of the NATO’s missile defense shield, US defense contractor Raytheon said in a statement on Monday.

The SM-3 Block IB is a kill vehicle that destroys ballistic missiles through high-speed impact; it will be deployed ashore in Romania in 2015.

  • NATO’s large-scale anti-submarine exercises start in Norway (Source)

The maneuvers that will last until May 14 involve a total of 20 warships, aircraft and submarines. These are the third naval drills held since 2012 and invariably hosted by Norway.

This year’s exercises differ from the previous maneuvers and involve the participation of Sweden, which is not a NATO member state.

  • Poland’s president signs law on establishing Polish-Lithuanian-Ukrainian military brigade (Source)

Talks on creating a large Polish-Lithuanian-Ukrainian military contingent had been held since 2007. The defense ministers from the three countries signed the agreement on its establishment in September 2014.

The brigade will be formed as part of the European Union’s combat groups with an aim to participate in operations under the UN, NATO and EU aegis. The manpower and military hardware assigned by the three countries to the military contingent will stay at the places of their permanent location and will be subordinated to the brigade’s command during exercises and the accomplishment of missions.

  • NATO & allies stage thousands-strong drills across Europe (Source)

Three sets of military exercises kicked off in Europe on Monday, involving thousands of servicemen from a variety of NATO nations and their allies, amid a wave of similar action across the area.

  • Pentagon Moves Mechanized Company Across Black Sea to Georgia ( Source)

The first time that the US Army has deployed a mechanized company worth of equipment across the Black Sea.The equipment will support the 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division Soldiers participating in Exercise Noble Partner. The exercise will take place from May 11-25 at Vaziani Training Area. Noble Partner is designed to further relations between the U.S. and Georgian armed forces who contribute to the 2015 NATO Response Force.

  • Right Sector Nationalist Group Likely to Join Ukrainian Army Soon (Source)

Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak said that talks with the radical Ukrainian Right Sector paramilitia, who had been offered to join the country’s armed forces, could conclude in the near future.
Poltorak explained that each individual who carries a weapon should have an official status and claimed that every single armed group in Ukraine should join the armed forces, engaged in the armed conflict against independence supporters of the country’s southeast.

  • Zakharchenko: Expect Terrorist Acts & Provocations on May 8th (Source)
  • Azov Freedom Fighters Rob Gas Station, Murder Two Police Officers

It’s Russia’s fault, of course (Source) (Video)

During a chase, “Azov” fighters robbed a gas station and shot two policemen in Kiev. This was reported toVesti by a source in law enforcement.The police who were killed in the shootout proved to be former members of “Berkut”. According to unconfirmed reports, they took part in the Maidan events.

  • Chaos in Kiev: Ukraine Army Now Fighting Against Its Own Militias (Source)

Rebels in Ukraine have reported a strange incident in Donbass: unknown persons have attacked a position of the extreme right-wing militia. The OSCE observers confirm the incident. The Russians cannot believe their eyes, but they are on the alert as the attack could be a provocation to pin it on the Russians. The bustle is financed by European taxpayers.

  • Kiev Embarrasses US With Claim US Troops Will Train Azov Neo-Nazis (Source)

Ukraine interior minister who is a major sponsor of the Azov battalion has said US troops in Ukraine will train the neo-Nazi outfit

As part of its effort to support Ukraine, the U.S. military is sending 290 troops from the 173rd Airborne Brigade based in Italy to train elements of the Ukrainian National Guard.In taking this step, U.S. President Barack Obama has chosen the middle ground between doing nothing on the one hand or embroiling the U.S. more deeply in the conflict by sending billions of dollars of lethal weaponry to Ukraine.

Unfortunately however, thanks to a Facebook post by Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, the 173rd’s training effort has been overshadowed by another controversy.

In his post, Avakov stated that one of the organizations the U.S. would be training is the infamous Azov battalion — a claim firmly contradicted by a spokesperson for the American Embassy in Kiev. The reason Interior Minister Avakov would want to see the Azov battalion trained by American forces is clear. Avakov has been a prime sponsor of the Azov battalion, and has had a longstanding relationship with Azov’s leadership dating back to his time as governor of the Kharkiv region.

The problem though is that while making this association may be in Avakov’s interest, it is certainly not in the broader interests of either Ukraine or the U.S..When the American military is spending time and resources to train Ukrainian forces, it is unseemly of a leading Ukrainian politician to use this effort to try to embroil the U.S. in internal Ukrainian politics.

  • Supporters of arrested Nazis are threatening Avakov’s son (Source)

Several mental cases self-proclaimed Ukrainian patriots who are outraged about the arrests of the individuals apparently responsible for the killing of Kiev police officers have posted very detailed personal information about the MVD minister Avakov’s son. Not that they are openly calling for retribution, but at the same time they are hinting it might not be a bad thing if something were to happen to him.

  • UAF deserters and draft evaders face severe restrictions (Source)

The sanctions being discussed include banning deserters and evaders from owning land, borrowing money, entering public service of any kind, etc. The inhabitants of the western Ukrainian city of Tarnopol, where the news was published by a local newspaper, could not conceal their joy irritation at the fact that the sons of people with political pull aren’t even likely to get a draft notice in the first place. The Sovetskiy Blogpost notes that the article did not elicit a single comment in praise of mobilization. Evidently Western Ukraine thinks it’s best that maybe other regions ought to be doing the dying.

  • Reportage From the Front Lines of Ukraine’s War (Source) (Photo Essay)

Village of Shirokino in East Ukraine has been the scene of stubborn fighting recently. Western reporter goes there to see the situation first hand and talk with fighters on both sides

  • Is American Military Aid to Ukraine Effective? (Source)

Despite Western military assistance to Kiev, its scope has thus far been insignificant and is most likely an imitation of support rather than real preparedness by Washington to arm Kiev

  • Population of Spartak village in Donbas shrinks from 2,000 to 40 during hostilities (Source)
  • Fights In Donbass 08.05.2015 (Source)

UPDATE 02:00: For Donetsk Residents:  If you see any suspicious activity in Donetsk in the next days report immediately to the Ministry of State Security, Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Internal Affairs of Donetsk People’s Republic — Militia Announce !!!

UPDATE 02:00: Donetsk Militia Intelligence: Ukrainian Forces is preparing provocations in Donetsk on 9th May and in the next days,weeks — Militia Source — Confirmed

Now Moving to the SECTOR which is star performer and shining example of Ukraine: Its The Economy Stupid !!!!!!!

  • Inflation tops 60 percent in conflict-hit Ukraine(Source)

Annual inflation in strife-torn Ukraine soared to some 61 percent in April, the state statistics agency said Wednesday, as the conflict in the east of the country continued to roil the stricken economy.

The year-on-year figure rose from some 53.7 percent in March as the ex-Soviet nation counts the cost of more than a year of bitter fighting with pro-Russian rebels that has ravaged its industrial heartland.Leading the way was an 88 percent hike in utility prices and an increase of some 46 percent in the cost of medical services.

The turmoil in Ukraine has brutalized the country’s already faltering economy and the World Bank has predicted that GDP will plummet by some 7.5 percent this year.The Ukrainian currency, the Hryvnia, has also slumped dramatically and has lost some half of its value in 2014 and has continued to spiral downward this year.

Ukraine is being propped up by a $17.5 billion financial bailout plan from the International Monetary Fund and has received some $5 billion of the aid in March.Kiev has had to commit to a radical reform programme to secure the loan that are set to see hikes to subsidized household utility bills.

  • Russian Ruble “Conquers” East Ukraine (Source)

As a wobbly cease-fire keeps eastern Ukraine’s warring factions apart, Russia’s Ruble is conquering new territory across the breakaway republics

  • Donors Conference on Ukraine – Stretching Out Hand for Miserable Pittance (Source)

The Europe-Ukraine summit was a frustration for the Kiev’s regime. The donors’ conference that followed on April 28 ended up in total failure. Suffice it to say that the very word “donors” lost any meaning, no matter the regime had pinned great hopes on the event as it was seeking ways out of dire economic situation. Few are willing to give a new impetus to the Ukraine’s economy which is in doldrums.No serious creditors appeared.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk said something to cause confusion among participants. Jokingly, he offered a swap. According to him, Jean Claude Juncker could become President of Ukraine in ten years with Poroshenko taking his office as President of the European Commission. Nobody thought it was really funny.

As usually the Prime Minister tried to curry favor with the West. At the same time he felt insulted by lack of reciprocity and even blackmail and dickering.

  • Europe’s Next Ukraine Nightmare: A Massive Financial Default (Source)

Ukraine’s economy is in crisis. Experts warn that the country’s gross domestic product could shrink by 6 to 12 percent and inflation could exceed 40 percent in 2015, although one prominent economist put that figure in triple digits already. The war in eastern Ukraine has throttled the country’s industrial capacity

  • Donetsk Republic Nationalizes Banks, Draws Ire Of NATO and World Banking Cartel (Source)

With the DPR’s recent move, it has no doubt placed itself in the crosshairs of the Anglo-Americans and the war machine set out destroy any signs of independence and the use of government and banking for the benefit of the people. We can only wish the best for the people of the DPR while attempting to stop US involvement in their internal affairs at the same time.

Regardless of the economic decisions of the DPR, a refusal to continue to provoke the DPR’s main supporter would also be a wise idea.

  • Ukraine Slashes Gas Purchases in Europe, Doubles Imports from Russia.

Kiev is all over Russia’s discounted gas (Source)

Starting from May 1, Ukraine suspended imports of natural gas from Hungary and reduced deliveries of gas from Slovakia by 77%, while offsetting the cuts with larger import volumes of Russian gas.

  • A major Ukranian News Channel has published recipes for homade toothpaste..i guess may be because of inflation its turning into a luxury (Source)
  • Warning !!!: Panty Army in town Deploy the Panties! Ukraine Military Stockpiles Some Very Unusual Items (Source)

The warehouses of what President Poroshenko claims to be one of the five strongest armies in Europe are packed with thousands of unnecessary things: female knickers, tons of buttons and old leather volleyballs instead of modern military gear, according to the country’s Presidential Counselor and Assistant Minister of Defense.

  • Ukraine’s Fantastic $16 Billion Claim Against Gazprom (Source)

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk says Ukraine is claiming $16 billion against Gazprom, more than Ukraine pays for gas in any one year. He ignores the fact that Gazprom is merely charging Ukraine the price his former boss Tymoshenko agreed to pay.

  • Ukraine’s tourism has collapsed while Crimea’s prospers (Source)

Even the turbulent 2014 was good for Crimea’s tourism industry. While the number of tourists was only 70% of the 2013 level, tourism revenue was significantly higher (up to a factor of 4) due to the greater affluence of Russian tourists. The trend is likely to continue this year, as the weakened ruble makes domestic Russian tourism more attractive financially (one of the reasons EU members are have objections to sanctions). Conversely, while Ukrainian officials were predicting a boom in internal tourism, the ritual seppuku reforms carried out by the Yatsenyuk government led to such an impoverishment of the Ukraine’s population that the 2015 tourist season is expected to be the worst in recorded history.

  • Russia accuses Ukraine analyst of inciting mass murder ( Source)

Early in April 2015, the Ukrainian political scientist [Yuriy] Romanenko was at a conference at Harvard University … where he said publicly that ‘the Armed Forces of Ukraine should selectively and carefully exterminate Russian journalists who cover the situation in southeastern Ukraine,'” Russian Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin told Interfax on Tuesday.

  • Patrushev: idea of Ukraine’s joining NATO similar to revanchism of Nazi Germany supporters (Source)
  • Whose Victory Will Ukrainians Celebrate on May 9? (Source)

Memory is powerful. It emerges from under the lies and half-truths. And it will return to Ukrainians, no matter how hard the current Western lackeys who now sit in Kyiv try to suppress it. It will re-emerge, like the memory of KGB killings and Soviet deportations of Western Ukrainians in 1939-1948. It will come back because it is rooted in truth, and truth always prevails. It is stronger than time, than propaganda, than denial. And on that day, the Donetsk guys fighting on the “Ukrainian” side will hug the Donetsk guys fighting for the insurgency. And this horrible, fratricidal war will be over.

  • Stories from Oles Buzina: SS Galicia Division against Ukraine (Source)

P.S. The brain behind the establishment of SS Galicia, professor Kubiiovich, did not participate in any battles and died in emigration in Paris in 1985 at the age of 85. Most of those who believed him died in their twenties.

  • Pianist Valentina Lisitsa – Interview From Paris, May 2,2015 (Source)
  • E.Ukraine forces close-up: Meet Margarita Seidler, female voice for Strelkov’question (Source)

In Russia, Margarita Seidler has become known since the summer, when the Russian television aired her first interviews. This young German woman, a native of Lutherstadt-Wittenberg (a prosperous German city, the birth place of Martin Luther) was in the battalion of Igor Strelkov, the former defense minister of the Donetsk People’s Republic. Together with her commanders, she defended the town of Slavyansk and took part in Strelkov’s famous breakthrough from the encircled Slavyansk to Donetsk. At the time, in summer 2014, people all over the world saw her face on television screens: a tired frail woman in military fatigues, she told in a quiet voice (with only a slight German accent) about the suffering of the civilian population in Slavyansk and about the horrible scenes she was a witness to during the Maidan revolution in Kiev

  • Ukraine the Epicenter of Global Geopolitical Transformation – Stephen Cohen(Source)

Prominent American historian Stephen Cohen believes that Ukraine is the epicenter of a global geopolitical transformation, and that the world as it existed before the crisis will never be the same again.

  • Spying: ‘Berlin Intelligence Service created by CIA’ – Engdahl (Source)
  • Will Spying for US Be the End of Merkel? (Source)

Her intelligence services having been caught spying for the US Merkel could see her fortunes fade and be replaced from the ranks of Social Democrats

  • Statistics: the number of homicides in Kiev region up 8 times in March 2015(Source)

Ruslan Sobol

Head of association of small and medium business owners

“Recently I, as the head of the association of owners of small and medium business and a member of the public council at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, filed a request with the Chief Directorate of the MIA of Ukraine in Kiev region and the Chief Directorate of the MIA of Ukraine in the city of Kiev about the data on registered criminal offences in the last two years. Kiev directorate did not answer, but the regional directorate sent an official response with an expanded table.

The data from this table is chilling:

The number of suicides in March of current year is two and a half times higher than in March 2013

The number of homicides in March 2014 – 9; in March 2015 – 74, that is – increased by 8 times!

Robberies in March 2014 – 381, in March 2015 – 1,549, which is an increase of four times!

Car theft: in March 2013 – 17 cases; in March 2014 – already 47, and this year in the respective month – 46 cases

Cases of fraud in the first three months of the current year – two times more than in six months of 2014”

PS: And this is just the official version …

  • Was Nuland Pressuring Yanukovich Into EU Treaty With Threat to Imprison Oligarch Ally?(Source)

Ukraine oligarch Dmitry Firtash argued in Austrian court the initial request by the US for his arrest was tied to a 2013 trip to Kiev by Victoria Nuland in which she sought to prevent Mr. Yanukovych from backing out of a EU deal

  • German foreign minister urges to end Ukraine conflict in face of memory of Stalingrad (Source)

Everyone should think how to peacefully resolve the conflict in Ukraine in the face of memory of the Battle of Stalingrad, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Thursday.

“Because of the crisis in Ukraine, it is particularly important for me to be here to pay tribute to those who died,” Steinmeier told a news conference after talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in the city of Volgograd, which as Stalingrad was scene of the battle that turned the course of World War Two.

  • US Hypocrisy Over Ukraine and Saudi Arabia ( Source)
  • Analysis of Odessa Massacre (Source)

My analysis of the Odessa massacre will be included along with specific sources in my paper prepared for presentation at the upcoming Canadian Association of Slavists conference in Ottawa. This analysis uses various sources, such as a special parliamentary commission report, May 2 group reports, videos and recordings of live broadcasts and calls to firefighters, leaked medical examinations, media reports, and interviews by participants and eyewitnesses from both sides and by the police commanders. The main results of this analysis are as follows:
The Ukrainian and regional government officials planned to use radical Maidan activists to supress the separatist movement in the Odesa region and to disperse the opposition anti-Maidan camp near the Trade Union building before May 9, 2014. The march, led by the Right Sector and football ultras on May 2, 2014, was used to implement this plan, but it is not certain if the mass killing was planned in advance. Odeska druzhyna, a small separatist organization led by an ex-policeman, tried to counter and attack this march. They used red tape labels, and were not Right Sector agent provocateurs, as it was sometime suggested. Use of the same red tape by some of policemen in a police cordon took place later during the clashes, and it was not an organized collusion with the separatists, as the Ukrainian government and the media claimed.

Groups of numerically superior activists of the Right Sector from Odesa and Kharkiv, where this far right organization was led by the neo-Nazi Social National Assembly/Patriot of Ukraine, football ultras with far right political orientations and Maidan Self-Defence units from Odessa and other regions attacked Odeska druzhyna activists. The pro-separatist activists took cover behind the police cordon, and some of them started to shoot at the direction of attackers. A small mobile group of separatists arrived at that time in the area of the clashes to provide reinforcement. One of its members was filmed shooting at the direction of the attackers with an AK-74 type assault rifle or its hunting derivative. The first victim was a Right Sector activist killed about the same time and place in his chest with a 5.45mm caliber bullet. This suggests a strong possibility that he was killed by this mobile group member. But other possibilities cannot be excluded, since the investigation and videos provide no exact time, place, position of the first killing and shooting and no results of bullet, ballistic and weapons expertise are publicly released. Recently leaked medical expert report concludes that the second Maidan victim killed shortly afterwards in the same area during the clashes was shot by a hunting bullet which was deformed as a result of a ricochet or hitting something. He was often misrepresented as been killed by the Kalashnikov shooter. Like in the first case, the investigation and videos provide no exact time, place, position of the second killing and shooting and no results of bullet, ballistic and weapons expertise are made public.

In the clashes that followed nearby, four anti-Maidan activists were killed and many other anti-Maidan protesters and policemen and at least one local journalist were wounded with hunting ammunition. The recently leaked medical expert report concluded that these four victims were shot by pellets and hunting bullets. A Maidan activist was filmed shooting with a hunting rifle at the direction of the anti-Maidan protesters and the police cordon. But the information about these killings and photos and videos of the shooting were deliberately supressed by the Ukrainian officials and the media. A Maidan activist seen in these videos was later identified and arrested and charged with the shooting, but the suspected killed was soon released. The most Odeska druzhyna activists who took part in these clashes took cover in a shopping mall and were later arrested by the police.

Following the calls from the local Maidan leaders, the mob of the Right Sector activists, football ultras and the Maidan Self-defence members attacked and burned a tent camp of various anti-Maidan organizations, whose activists and supporters then escaped to the Trade Union building and tried to barricade the main entrance doors.
Some groups of the attackers threw Molotov cocktails and burning tires into the Main entrance and set the entrance doors and the make-shift barricade there on fire, while other groups blocked other exists. Forty two people perished as a result of fire, smoke and trying to jump from the upper floors. Trade Union victims were unarmed, and included mainly pro-separatist supporters and several employees who were at the building at the time. Six women and one minor were killed during the fire. Police and firefighters were ordered by superiors to stand by and not interfere, and a special plan to deal with mass disturbances launched by the Odesa regional police was not registered at the orders from the top, likely the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Similarly, police officials were ordered to attend a meeting during the start of the clashes.

The official investigation has been deliberately falsified and stonewalled to cover up the involvement of the government officials, the Right Sector, and the Maidan Selfe-defence in the massacre. The highest government officials, including then acting president Turchynov, the new president Poroshenko, prime-minister Yatseniuk, deliberately misrepresented the massacre for the same reasons. These and other government leaders and officials in charge of investigation falsely claimed that the massacre was conducted by Russian agents, that the fire resulted from the Molotov cocktails thrown by separatists from the top of the building and that that the police colluded with the separatists. Before the first anniversary of the massacre, official investigation and May 2 group created by the Odesa governor stated that the deadly fire started at the main entrance when both sides were throwing Molotov cocktails even though there is no evidence of the Molotov cocktails been thrown there by separatists at the time of the start of the fire. In contrast, videos, recorded calls to the firefighters, and admissions posted on the Right Sector, SNA, and another neo-Nazi websites and social media sites, eyewitness reports show that the fire started after the Molotov cocktails and tires were thrown by the attackers. But this evidence is deliberately omitted or the mass murder is justified by the first killing of Right Sector activists or by likely separatist takeover of the Odesa Region. Only anti-Maidan activists are among those currently arrested.

The various evidence indicates involvement of the far right and the Fatherland leaders in the Odesa massacre, but specific nature of involvement of specific leaders remains unclear. The same organizations were involved in the Maidan massacre. The Western governments, media and even many scholars accept each new Ukrainian government account of the massacre for granted. The use of the Ukraine conflict to advance geopolitical interests of the US government and US government backing of Fatherland leaders during and after the Euromaidan can explain otherwise puzzling US policy concerning both the Odesa and Maidan massacres. The same factors can account for the failure of US government to disclose its intelligence and other information concerning both Odesa and Maidan massacres.

  • The Kiev Junta: A study in the Anatomy of Fear and Ignorance (Source)

One has to ask, how many US and European politicians actually believe Russian has invaded Ukraine and how many pretend they do just to use Ukraine for their own interests. It seems to me that the US is happy to fight Russia to the last Ukrainian. Meanwhile ‘patriots’ such as Poroshenko are happy to fulfill their side of the bargain and send their citizens to kill  and be killed. The US, of course, always support democracy except when democracy is exercised by those whose plans do not dovetail with the US’s hegemonic agenda.

  • How the War in Donbass Will End (Source)

The writer Zakhar Prilepin gave his thoughts on the future of Russian–Ukrainian relations in an interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda

  • Canada: State Sponsor of Ukraine’s Neo-Nazis (Source)

With support from the Ukrainian diaspora community, Canada has become the leading state sponsor of far-right volunteer battalions fighting in eastern Ukraine.

  • US-Dominated NATO Preparing for War Against Russia? (Source)

Mounting evidence suggests US-dominated NATO heading for direct confrontation with Russia. If initiated with nuclear weapons, all bets are off.

  • Russia’s Turn to the East More Economic Than Ideological (Source)
  • Kiev May Be Getting Ready to Give up on Donbass (Source)

Western think tank Carnegie sees signs Kiev is getting ready to give up on putting down the rebellion in East Ukraine,says sees signs the public would be willing to accept this and that most ceasefire violations are by now due to local commanders

  • Once again, the West fails to understand Russia (Source)

Each 9 May, Russia does not just celebrate victory over Nazi Germany; it mourns the loss of more than 20 million war dead, and it reconsecrates the idea of Russian suffering to save Europe. In conversation with Russians in recent weeks, I have had to field a stream of injured questions along the lines of “has the West ever understood Russia’s sacrifice?” and: “Will the West ever appreciate it?” The notion that Ukraine is a real stumbling block here is beyond comprehension; the stay-away is rather seen as further proof that Russia will never, ever, be considered  “one of us”.

Countries keep memories alive, often unrealistically flattering ones, for many reasons. Last June, in a recognition of the wartime alliance, Putin was controversially invited to join the Allied commemoration of the Normandy landings, at a time when Russia’s seizure of Crimea was even fresher in the memory than it is now. But this offered an opportunity for Western leaders and for Putin to speak their minds, while preserving dignity on either side. One result was the first formal meeting between Putin and Ukraine’s newly elected president – without which Ukraine’s situation might be even worse than it is today.

To join Putin on the podium for Saturday’s parade would not be politic; but to dine in the Kremlin or take part in a wreath-laying would surely not be out of place. Most Westerners might not fear any resurgence of fascism in Ukraine, but discussion with Putin and others – whose fathers fought on that front and others – could afford an understanding of why many Russians might. In recent years, the West has missed one opportunity after another to understand how Russia’s past influences its present. And here is another gone.

  • The coup in Western elite by Mikhail Khazin (Source)
  • Dollar No More (Infograph) ( Source)
  • Dnipropetrovsk-based air traffic controller directed MH17 under missile fire – self-proclaimed Donetsk republic (Source)
  • A warning from the generals of the former GDR: “Haven’t the recent US/NATO wars brought enough grief ?” ( Source)

We don’t need any missions abroad for the Bundeswehr, and we don’t need any EU Army.

We don’t need more funding for military goals; we need funding for social needs and humanitarian needs.

We don’t need any war fever against Russia; we need more mutual understanding, coexistence and neighborliness.

We don’t need any military dependence on the US; we need our own answerability for peace.

Instead of a “NATO Rapid Reaction Force” on the eastern borders, we need more tourism, youth exchanges, and steps toward peace with our neighbors to the east.

We need a peaceful Germany in a peaceful Europe.

May our children, our grandchildren, our great grandchildren, remember us this way.

Because we know all too well what war means, we raise our voice against the war; we raise our voice for peace.

  • Rostislav Ishchenko: The decision about Kiev junta’s liquidation was made when Crimea was annexed in March of 2014 (Video) (Source)
  • How America and Russia Could Start a Nuclear War (Source)
  • The Ossification of Germany (Source)

How much East is there in the reunified nation?

When the reunified nation celebrates its 25th anniversary on October 3, there will be, no doubt, lots of beer drinking and sausage eating. There will also be some time for introspection. What has become of Germany now that reunification has receded into the past? It should be remembered that Germany arrived late to the club of liberal democracies. It was never as firm an ally of the West as other European powers. The ties were strongest during the Cold War, of course, but they were limited to an entity called West Germany that no longer exists. Reunification wasn’t a takeover, after all. It was a merger.

  • Chaos – not Victory – is the Empire’s “Name of the Game” (Source)

Once again a country “liberated” by the West is sinking deeper and deeper into chaos.” Global Research.

This could be anyone of the countries in conflict, where Washington and its Western and Middle Eastern stooges sow war – eternal chaos, misery, death – and submission.

This is precisely the point: The Washington / NATO strategy is not to ‘win’ a war or conflict, but to create ongoing – endless chaos. That’s the way (i) to control people, nations and their resources; (ii) to assures the west a continuous need for military – troops and equipment – remember more than 50% of the US GDP depends on the military industrial complex, related industries and services; and (iii) finally, a country in disarray or chaos, is broke and needs money – money with hardship conditions, ‘austerity’ money from the notorious IMF, World Bank and other associated nefarious ‘development institutions’ and money lenders; money that equals enslavement, especially with corrupt leaders that do not care for their people.

That’s the name of the game – in Yemen, in Ukraine, in Syria, in Iraq, in Sudan, in Central Africa, in Libya…. you name it. Who fights against whom is unimportant. ISIS / ISIL / IS / DAISH / DAESH / Al-Qaeda and whatever other names for the mercenary killer organizations you want to add to the list – are just tags to confuse. You might as well add Blackwater, Xe, Academi and all its other successive names chosen to escape easy recognition. They are prostitutes for the Zionist-Anglo-Saxon Empire, prostitutes of the lowest level. Then come elite prostitutes, like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and other Gulf States, plus the UK and France, of course.

  • Born Red To Be Russian (Source)

To be Russian… By now, ‘Russian’ is not only a nationality; it is a verb. It means: to stand against oppression, against Western imperialism, to be building bridges between the countries that are resisting Western imperialist terror.

And there are many “new Russians” now. Not those from the Yeltsin era, not the capitalist buffoon characters! No, “New Russians” I am talking about are both patriots and internationalists. And some of them have often not a single drop of Russian blood. But they are proudly defending the world, and they are joining forces with Russia, China and Latin America in their determined struggle for better planet.

These people are working relentlessly, smashing lies that the Empire is spreading throughout the world: lies about Russia, lies about Soviet Union, about the Second World War, and about Western imperialism. These are Russian, real Soviet people!

  • Please give me a Russian passport’: 72yo Dutchman asks Putin for citizenship (Letter) (Source)

Russia is today the only country fighting for the preserving historical Truth and standing against Nazism. This is an alarming fact given that the United Nations and the European Union emerged from the struggle against Nazism, with their principal mission being to prevent its re-emergence. The purpose of history and its study should be to unite people, not to separate them. The existing archival documents, as living testimony to history, are important artifacts of the world’s heritage, on which many generations will rely in their quest for truth. As a rule, we should not depend on governments to tell us the truth. Truth is an eternal doctrine, whereas the interests of governments are fluid in nature and change frequently. History can be manipulated in endless ways to cater to any potential audience, turning history into an instrument of manipulation and enslavement. To live in the world of delusions means to allow the psychopaths-in-power to take control of our destiny.

  • May 9th: Russian Victory, NATO Defeat (Source)

The whole world owes the peoples of the Soviet Union, of the Russian Federation, a debt that can never be repaid for their defeat of fascism in Europe. They suffered the heaviest losses, the most destruction, the heaviest burden of fighting the Nazi war machine.

The refusal of NATO leaders to attend the Moscow ceremonies on May 9th is an insult to history, to the sacrifices of scores of millions of Russians, and is tantamount to a repudiation of the principles of the Atlantic Charter and the Charter of the United Nations. But it is more than that. It is proof, if ever it was needed, that the main objective of the world war in Europe was the crushing of Russia for the benefit of the three powers, the USA, Britain and Germany. While scrapping among themselves to see who would be top dog on the world street, they were united in their desire to subdue Russia to their will. This objective was long held in check by Soviet power. The fall of the Soviet Union and its replacement by a government initially composed of compradors for the west gave the Americans and their allies the impression that they had succeeded in bringing Russia under their complete domination. But the rise of new leaders in Russia, reinvigorating Russian sovereignty and reviving Russian power and prestige in the world has angered these wolves of war who now circle, and harass, waiting for the opportunity tostrike.

  • Russians remember defeat of Nazi Germany (Source)

There is something very wrong, and possibly very evil going on in our world today. Aside from all the conflicts spawned by greed and the desire to control in our world, there is some all too real revisionist history happening. When people, let alone governments, try to recreate history it’s an ominous sign. A sign of hatred. Of deep hatred. That’s what is happening right now in our world when it comes to the Russian (then Soviet) victory over Germany in World War Two.

The Soviet Union suffered 25 million killed in World War Two. By comparison, the other allied countries suffered:

United kingdom           450,900
United States                418,500
India                         2, 087,000
China                       15,000,000
Poland                       5,700,000
Yugoslavia                1,363,500
Dutch East Indies      3,500,000

and there are many more.

The Soviet Red Army suffered the most military deaths of any nation in World War Two at 9,750,000. Almost twice as many as the nearest country, its enemy, Germany. The Soviet people, comprised today of Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, and Belarus bled the German army white. Of all the German military deaths of World War Two, 2,742,909 were caused by the Soviet army on the Eastern Front. By way of comparison, only 534,683 were killed by all other allies put together on all other fronts. In this way it’s clear to see that the vast majority of the German armed forces were wiped out by the Soviets between 1941-1945. For that sacrifice the world owes the old Soviet Union, or Russia, Ukraine, Georgia and Belarus our undying gratitude. No question. To believe otherwise is to disrespect the sacrifice of a generation.

However, that seems to be all the rage these days in the West. And, I’m having a very hard time with that. There are a few reasons. First off, we owe the families, mostly Russian, our eternal respect for the generations of young men and women lost. The families broken to bits. The loves lost. The communities, towns, cities destroyed. They took the steel punch of German Nazism for the rest of us. We set foot back in Normandy when the German army was essentially already defeated. Secondly, to white wash the heroic struggle of the Russian people is to invite a repetition of the same savage crime. We preach this constantly with the Holocaust – rightly so. However, it’s as if the greater sacrifice of Russia is somehow less and open to some sort of political interpretation. Lastly, it speaks to who we are, not who they are. It says we are so superficial, so petulant, that we can allow such a sacrifice to be degraded to suit our present political needs or wants.

That leads me to the Victory Day celebrations and parade in Moscow in about a week from now. Countries like my own (Canada), Britain, the US, etc are boycotting the celebrations and parade marking the 70th anniversary of the Soviet defeat of Germany. As a son of a vet who fought in that war against the Nazis I find this new Western revisionism very hard to swallow. As a retired infantry vet myself I am ashamed by it. The disrespect is unconscionable. It is dark and it is evil. It goes against everything I believe in and hold as dear. The West should hold its head in collective shame. Not just the leadership, but also the people. It’s a disgrace. I’m writing this post just to let the Russian people know that not everyone agrees with this slight. Not everyone sees sacrifice through the lens of political expediency. That the sacrifice of your people is recognized and honoured by anyone with any education and knowledge of history – even though it was just a short while ago. Mostly, I just wanted to say: “I’m sorry Russia”.

  • German press demands more effective tanks for war against Russia (Source)

“History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme,” the great American writer Mark Twain once wrote. One might add: “And often, unfortunately, in an alarming way.” Just days before the 70th anniversary of the capitulation of Nazi Germany in World War II, debate in the German media is raging about how the German army can again wage an effective armoured tank war against Russia.

  • China’s Xi Jinping Invites Putin to WWII Festivities in China September 3 (Source)
  • Burying The Greatest Victory in Spite (Source)

In efforts to demonize Russia, the history of the Western World is being distastefully rewritten. The monumental sacrifices of the Russian people during World War II are not only being marginalized, but flipped upon their heads. Today, reading through the Western media, one will find a multitude of comparisons between Russia and Nazi Germany, with Russian President Vladimir Putin compared with Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.

Beyond distasteful, this propaganda is dangerous to the point where it borders on exonerating the Nazis, even celebrating their acts of aggression and bolstering those monkeying their ideology today, particularly in Ukraine, Poland and other NATO-oriented Eastern European nations where fascism has been resurrected to once again battle thr Russian people

  • Chechnya Sends Humanitarian Aid to Donbass as Part of Victory Day Program (Source)
  • Lukashenko warns Ukraine against withdrawing from CIS (Source)

Georgia is an example of hasty exit from the CIS, Lukashenko said. “I think that our friends in Ukraine realize that this is the first Georgian option – withdrawing while retaining membership in important agreements will cause a number of objections among us,” he added.

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry admitted that membership in CIS allows the country to monitor national interests in different regions, Lukashenko said. “I already said that Ukraine is very important for us, and we need to approach this issue somehow constructively,” he noted

  • American Ignorance of WWII on Full Hilarious Display at Times Square

Surprising how many people don’t know much about a war that ravaged the entire planet just 70 years ago (Video) (Source)

  • 7 Soviet Military Songs in Honor of Victory Day (Source)
  • How Ukraine Commemorates the Holocaust (Source)
  • Great Victory. Height to Be Kept at Any Price! (Source)

The victory in Great Patriotic War was achieved thanks to the glory of Russian arms and spirit. It was a national heroic deed. Marking Victory Day has become a national tradition. The day of May 9, 1945 will forever remain in history as a symbol of Russia’s might and military prowess of Russian soldier.

  • Fights In Donbass 09.05.2015 (Source)

UPDATE 02:00: The situation on the frontline is tense,Fights are in Gorlovka,Spartak ( howitzers and mortars in use ) , Donetsk airport and outskirts,Makiivka and Marinka ( machine guns,mortars,small arms in use ), Near Mariupol in Shyrokyne and Sahanke Ukrainian Army is using heavy artillery ( 80mm and 122mm shells ) — Militia,Resident Source — Confirmed

  • Russia’s Armata T-14 Tank Sends Shivers Down Washington’s Spine (Source)

Washington has plenty to fear from Russia’s new Armata T-14 tank, a Russian-American scholar noted, adding that states seeking to constrain the US’ freedom of action will jump at the opportunity to purchase sophisticated Russian weaponry.

  • Everything you wanted to know about Armata but were afraid to ask (Source)

The vehicle represents a major leap forward over the existing Russian tank designs, and in many cases also the Western designs. It has very high mobility, which was already visible even during the parade rehearsals in the vehicle’s acceleration. It has multi-layered protection, starting with electronic countermeasures, two different sets of active defenses (reputedly also capable of intercepting high-velocity kinetic rounds as well as top-attack missiles like Hellfire and Javelin), advanced reactive armor, and multi-layer conventional armor. Its crew enjoys extremely high degree of protection, and finally its 125mm 2A82 cannon exceeds even the Rheinmetall L-55 120mm gun ballistics. Moreover, the design allows for a future adoption of a larger-caliber weapon, should one become needed. And the whole thing is still considerably lighter than most Western MBTs, which are well in excess of 60 tons, except for the French Leclerc which weighs in at 54 tons or so.

  • Like their Grandfathers (Images) (Source)

Zvezdochett has the right idea when it comes to making the proper historical analogies between the contemporary UAF and its actual historical forebears. More at the link

  • The path of war from Brest to Berlin. Sergey Larenkov’s photo reconstructions (Source)
  • Ukrainian “On to Moscow!” tank commits suicide( Source)

This incident made the blogosphere rounds last year, when a UAF AT-AT T-64BV tank with a boastful “On to Moscow” slogan stenciled on its side ran into an anti-tank barrier at full speed. Since then it has been acquired by the Azov Regiment, but apparently its tank-repairing skills must be wanting because it’s still in a pretty terrible condition:

  • MVD flashmob sings the Victory Song at Poklonnaya Gora War Memorial (Source)

Musical flashmobs seem to be the going thing in Russia these days. Good song, well sung. The unsuspecting visitors’ reactions are priceless.

  • The Dignity Line turned out to be a shallow trench (Source)

The much-advertised Dignity Line which is supposed to be a line of fortifications against possible Novorossia advance turned out to be a mile-deep moat filled with molten lava simple ditch . I mean, the thing won’t survive the next serious rainstorm, let alone anything resembling an artillery bombardment.

  • Unprecedented crowds flock to Saur Grave height in Donbass for V-day anniversary (video)

(Source)

  • Unleashed: The GOP vs. The World (Source)

As Kennan observed at the height of anti-Communist hysteria in 1954, “A foreign policy aimed at the achievement of total security is the one thing I can think of that is entirely capable of bringing this country to a point where it will have no security at all.” Wise words, then as now.