Russian Invasion Of Ukraine (Formerly: Democratic Malaise Draws Ukraine Eastwards)

[Ryan Ruck]

[vector7]

Dead bodies in NATO uniforms, US weapons recovered from under debris of Donetsk airport

DONETSK, January 22. /TASS/. Dead bodies in NATO uniforms and a great number of US-made weapons have been recovered from under the debris of the Donetsk airport, Eduard Basurin, a spokesman for the defense ministry of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) said on Thursday.
“While examining the building of the Donetsk airport, we found a great number of American firearms, assault rifles and hand mortars, equipment and communications devices,” he said. “We also found publications in European languages, including on religious matters.”
Apart from that, “we found dead bodies in NATO uniforms under the debris in the new terminal. Personal belongings indicated that these people were foreign citizens contracted by private military companies who operated under the disguise of Ukrainian subversive groups,” he said. http://itar-tass.com/en/world/772859

[Ryan Ruck]

Those are some mighty finely organized separatists...

[American Patriot]

Second time I've seen this. There's been no confirmation so I think this is bullshit by the Russians. IF it were TRUE they'd be taking it out on some NATO country already and pulling the US into the fray.

They are seriously poking at buttons here. I honestly at this point think the Russians are trying to get a rise out of the US or some of the allies so they can start something bigger.

Putin is about to bite of more than he can chew.

Dead bodies in NATO uniforms, US weapons recovered from under debris of Donetsk airport

DONETSK, January 22. /TASS/. Dead bodies in NATO uniforms and a great number of US-made weapons have been recovered from under the debris of the Donetsk airport, Eduard Basurin, a spokesman for the defense ministry of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) said on Thursday.
“While examining the building of the Donetsk airport, we found a great number of American firearms, assault rifles and hand mortars, equipment and communications devices,” he said. “We also found publications in European languages, including on religious matters.”
Apart from that, “we found dead bodies in NATO uniforms under the debris in the new terminal. Personal belongings indicated that these people were foreign citizens contracted by private military companies who operated under the disguise of Ukrainian subversive groups,” he said. http://itar-tass.com/en/world/772859

[vector7]

UK to lead 'high readiness' Nato force, Michael Fallon says


The UK will deploy four RAF Typhoon jets for "air policing" in the Baltic states

Continue reading the main story
Related Stories

• New Ukraine peace push launched
• Nato boosts Eastern Europe defence
• Nato readjusts as Ukraine crisis looms

The UK will play a lead role in a "high readiness" Nato force that will be established in Eastern Europe, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has announced.
Britain will send up to 1,000 troops and four RAF Typhoon jets for "air policing" in the region, he said.

The multinational force is the biggest reinforcement of Nato's collective defence since the end of the Cold War.

BBC correspondent Jonathan Marcus said the move aimed to deter a perceived Russian threat to the Baltic states.

It comes as French and German leaders headed to the Ukrainian capital Kiev to try to negotiate an end to escalating fighting in the east of the country.

Mr Fallon said Nato's credibility in the face of the security challenges depended on "everyone playing their part" to implement decisions taken to bolster its forces at a summit of member states in Wales last year.

"Strong words must be backed up with firm action," he said.



Defence Secretary Michael Fallon and his German counterpart Ursula von der Leyen have been discussing the new Nato force

Nato defence ministers have gathered in Brussels to discuss the details of the "Very High Readiness Joint Task Force" (VJTF), which will form Nato's first response in the face of aggression.

It is expected to be made up of about 5,000 troops from Nato countries, with its lead units able to deploy at two days' notice.

The UK will be the force's lead nation in 2017 and then on rotation thereafter, Mr Fallon said.

He said the UK would contribute manpower to two regional headquarters in Poland and Romania, and to force integration units in Poland, Romania and Bulgaria.

The UK will also send four RAF Typhoon jets to support the Nato's Baltic air policing mission in 2015, he confirmed.

The Typhoons will operate alongside Norwegian aircraft between May and August 2015, with the aim of securing Nato's airspace over Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, which do not have their own air defence fighters.

They will operate at Nato's request from Amari Airbase in Estonia, he said.

BBC diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus said the move was aimed to reassure Nato countries in eastern Europe and deter what is perceived as a potential Russian threat to the Baltic republics or other Nato members.

He said it was also a signal that the alliance's political leaders and military planners now see Russia's seizure of the Crimea and military forays into eastern Ukraine as much more than just a temporary crisis between Moscow and the West.

Fighting in eastern Ukraine began last April, when separatists seized government buildings after Russia annexed Ukraine's southern Crimea peninsula.
More than 5,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

Nato secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg has said that Russia continues to violate international law as fighting continues in Ukraine.

[Ryan Ruck]

Word is the Russian UVB-76 station is back on the air. You can hear it yourself here: http://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/

Just tune into 4625kHz.

It's the "bzzzz-bzzzz-bzzzz-bzzzz" you hear.

Speculation is its activation is related to the events in Ukraine.

Just saw that UVB-76 has stopped transmitting.

ETA: Scratch that. Report was wrong. Checked on the link above and can hear it, barely.

[vector7]

NATOSource· 44m 44 minutes ago Commander of US Army in Europe Sees Russia Mobilizing for War http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/natosource/commander-of-us-army-in-europe-sees-russia-mobilizing-for-war … #Ukraine NATO EUCOM Gen. Hodges

[American Patriot]

NATOSource@NATOSource · 44m 44 minutes agoCommander of US Army in Europe Sees Russia Mobilizing for War http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/natosource/commander-of-us-army-in-europe-sees-russia-mobilizing-for-war … #Ukraine NATO EUCOM Gen. Hodges

February 09, 2015
Commander of US Army in Europe Sees Russia Mobilizing for War

By Sohrab Ahmari, Wall Street Journal


Lt. Gen. Frederick Ben Hodges, Nov. 13, 2014 (photo: SGT Thomas Mort/US Army)

• Full Text: Wall Street Journal

'I believe the Russians are mobilizing right now for a war that they think is going to happen in five or six years —not that they're going to start a war in five or six years, but I think they are anticipating that things are going to happen, and that they will be in a war of some sort, of some scale, with somebody within the next five or six years."

So says Lt. Gen. Frederick "Ben" Hodges, commander of U.S. Army Europe....

"Strong Europe!" reads a sign on one of the walls. Next to it is the U.S. Army Europe insignia, a burning sword set against a blue shield. The two signs represent the strategic framework the three-star general has introduced—building on America's decades-long role on the Continent—since taking command last year of the 30,000 or so U.S. soldiers stationed in Europe.

The U.S. military presence in Europe is more vital at this moment than it has been in many years. American engagement is essential if the West is to deter a revanchist Russia that has set out to "redraw the boundaries of Europe," Gen. Hodges says with a native Floridian's drawl....

The Russians have "got some forces in Transnistria," he says of the state that broke away from Moldova in the 1990s. "They've got forces in Georgia. And I think they view China as their existential threat, so they've got a lot of capacity out there." The Russian military is thus already somewhat stretched, and Moscow had to carve out from existing units the battalion task groups currently arrayed near eastern Ukraine. Yet "they are clearly on a path to develop, to increase, their capacity," Gen. Hodges says. Add to this expansion that "they've got very good equipment, extremely good communications equipment, their [electronic-warfare] capability, T-80 tanks." How long will it take for Russia to reach its desired military strength? "I think within another two or three years they will have that capacity," he says....

Then there is the Kremlin's sheer aggressiveness, not least on the nuclear front. The Pentagon last year announced that it is removing missiles from 50 of America's underground silos, converting B-52 long-range bombers to conventional use and disabling 56 submarine-based nuclear-launch tubes—all well ahead of the 2018 New Start treaty deadline. Moscow, by contrast, has been simulating nuclear strikes on Western capitals as part of annual exercises.

Gen. Hodges won't comment on the U.S. strategic-force posture in Europe other than to say he is "confident in that process." But he adds that the fact that the Russians rehearse nuclear-strike scenarios "shows that they're not worried about conveying a stark message like that. You know, frankly, you hear this often from many people in the West, 'Oh, we don't want to provoke the Russians.' I think concern about provoking the Russians is probably misplaced. You can't provoke them. They're already on a path to do what they want to do....

"I've never been bashful about telling allies, 'Hey, you have a responsibility here, too. You all agreed to spend 2% of your GDP on defense. Right now only four countries are doing it.'"

Yet the failure of many of European leaders to live up to their defense commitments "doesn't change our interest," Gen. Hodges says. "And the U.S. economic link to Europe, to the EU, dwarfs any other economic link in the world, anywhere in the Pacific, China, India, you name it. So if for no other reason it's in our interest that Europe be stable, that people make money so they can buy U.S. products. . . .

We provide capability assurance here by being present here."

Gen. Hodges says there is also a huge payoff in U.S. security from U.S.-European cooperation. The main lesson of the post-9/11 wars is that "we are not going to do anything by ourselves militarily," he notes. The U.S. "needs the capacity that other countries can bring." These benefits come "from a relatively small investment—I mean, U.S. Army Europe is 2% of the Army's budget and about 5% of the Army's manpower. . . . You can't sit back in Virginia, Texas or Oregon and build relationships with people here." He quotes his predecessor, Lt. Gen. Donald Campbell: "You can't surge trust."

Nor can the U.S. project national power world-wide, as it has since the end of World War II, with an overstretched Army. "There are 10 division headquarters in the Army," he says. "Nine of them are committed right now. I've never seen that. I don't think at the height of Iraq and Afghanistan you had nine out of 10 division headquarters committed against some requirement." That leaves little in reserve if another conflict breaks out.

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Putin Rejects Attempts to Contain Russia After Peace Talks Fail

(Bloomberg) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin struck a defiant tone a day after talks in Moscow with the leaders of Germany and France failed to achieve a breakthrough in resolving the Ukraine crisis.

Russia won’t tolerate the post-Cold War global system dominated by a single leader, Putin said Saturday at a meeting with the Federation of Independent Trade Unions in Sochi.

“That type of world order has never been acceptable for Russia,” Putin said. “Maybe someone likes it and wants to live under a pseudo-occupation, but we won’t put up with it.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande met the Russian leader for more than five hours Friday to discuss spiraling violence in eastern Ukraine between government forces and Russian-backed separatists. A breakdown of the diplomacy may strain trans-Atlantic unity in dealing with Russia, as Europe’s consensus on economic sanctions shows signs of fraying.

Ukraine, the U.S., the European Union and NATO say Russia is supporting the separatists with hardware, cash and troops, accusations the Kremlin denies. Russia says Ukraine is waging war on its own citizens and discriminates against Russian speakers, a majority in Donetsk and Luhansk.

Heavy fighting has forced more than 1.5 million people to flee their homes, with some 600,000 Ukrainians seeking refuge abroad since last February, the United Nations’ refugee agency said in a report. The conflict has killed more than 5,350 people since April, according to the UN.

Arming Ukraine

Some U.S. officials and diplomats in Washington are openly discussing supplying weapons to the Ukrainian army, a position that has been rejected by Germany and is viewed skeptically by President Barack Obama. Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, said in an interview in Munich that the U.S. could provide defensive weapons to Ukraine.

NATO plans to boost its military presence in eastern Europe risk provoking confrontation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg Saturday at a meeting on the sidelines of a security conference in Munich.

NATO is setting up military headquarters and command centers from the Baltic to the Black seas along Russia’s borders and plans to ultimately field a rapid-reaction force of 30,000 troops as relations with the Kremlin have deteriorated.

Merkel, Hollande, Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko plan a conference call Sunday to discuss a potential settlement. Amid the cease-fire bid, Ukraine said rebel forces are readying a new offensive to extend their territorial gains in the east.

[American Patriot]

Merkel said this was Russia's last change with German Diplomacy....

[vector7]

Report: White House Preparing Military Response If Diplomacy With Russia Fails: “Lethal Defensive Weapons” and Other Options Being Examined

Mac Slavo February 9th, 2015

The world is now on the cusp of total war. This is the claim made by former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Paul Craig Roberts in a recent editorial. And though doom predictions are quite popular given what’s going on in the world as of late, to disregard Roberts’ assessment as fear-mongering or hype would be short-sighted and dangerous. No, this time is not different, and if political leaders around the world, especially in the United States, Russia and Europe, don’t come to an agreement on the future of Ukraine then it is only a matter of time before we eventually cross the line into a scenario from which there is no return – for all we know, we may have already crossed it at this point.

While the American media has generally ignored the broader implications of what’s happening in Ukraine, often dismissing it as Europe’s problem and one that has no long-term ramifications for the U.S., the fact is that the United States is directly involved in not only the political machinations behind the scenes of Ukraine’s new government, but military operations as evidenced by recent videos showing armed American-English speaking personnel on the ground during the recent artillery shelling of the city of Mariupol.

This weekend European leaders from France and Germany met with Vladimir Putin to negotiate a peace settlement. President Obama attended as well, but the Nobel Peace Prize winner seems to be there just as a formality because he made no effort to put forth a peace plan of any kind.

In fact, if anything, Obama suggested that he is prepared to take things to the next level if Vladimir Putin doesn’t agree to the West’s demands. According to a report from the BBC President Obama has made it clear that the United States is on a war footing with Russia and we are now exploring all available options to deal with Putin should things in the Ukraine sour.

US President Barack Obama says yes to diplomacy, but then adds: “Now, it is true that if, in fact, diplomacy fails, what I’ve asked my team to do is to look at all options.
“What other means can we put in place to change Mr Putin’s calculus? And the possibility of lethal defensive weapons is one of those options that’s being examined.”

While Europe maintains that they want to find a solution in the Ukraine, it seems that the United States is making demands that Russia refuses to agree to.
But Russia is having none of it. This morning a Kremlin spokesman was quoted by Russian media as saying that “nobody has ever talked to the president in the tone of an ultimatum – and could not do so even if they wanted to,” an obvious response to whatever negotiations were taking place behind closed doors.

Russia and the United States have sparred back and forth for decades, but the situation in the Ukraine seems to be the most serious since the end of the cold war and one that could escalate to widespread conflict should cooler heads not prevail.

President Obama, of course, isn’t the only one leaving military options on the table.

Vladimir Putin himself recently warned that Russia will not put up with the West’s “hostile acts” and suggested nuclear consequences are one possible outcome if a peace deal is not reached:

He accused Barack Obama of adopting a “hostile” approach in naming Russia as a threat to the world in the U.S. president’s speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 24.

“We hope that our partners will realize the futility of attempts to blackmail Russia and remember what consequences discord between major nuclear powers could bring for strategic stability,” Putin told Serbia’s Politika newspaper on the eve of his visit to the Balkan nation today.

Putin said that Obama had identified Russian aggression in Europe as one of the three “major threats facing humanity,” alongside the Ebola virus and Islamic State.

“Together with the sanctions against entire sectors of our economy, this approach can be called nothing but hostile,” Putin said.
Full report

Last month the Russian President ordered strategic nuclear bombers to fly over the English channel into civilian air traffic corridors as a show of force to the West. He’s also reportedly sent bombers along the west coast of the United States from Alaska to California, and it has been suggested that the flybys may have also been responsible for a widespread outage of air traffic control systems in Los Angeles.

What’s happening behind the closed doors of national security meetings in the United States and Russia will remain hidden from the public. Unfortunately, we’ll be the last to know and should these leaders fail to come to an agreement in Europe we may only find out once the missiles start flying.
It’s starting to look like the world really is on the cusp of total war.


Recommended Reading:
Watch: Putin laughs in journalist’s face
The Blueprint for World War III : “This War Will Be Utterly Devastating”
Nukes and Fallout: How to Survive When Others Won’t
Prepare For Any Disaster

http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-new...mined_02092015

[MinutemanCO]

Vladimir Putin himself recently warned that Russia will not put up with the West’s “hostile acts” and suggested nuclear consequences are one possible outcome if a peace deal is not reached:

Interesting. Putin accusing the west of exactly the strategy he's undertaken. Not unlike Russians to employ this tactic. Nukes, though, huh?

[American Patriot]

This Mal, is what I was talking about, not just the over flights at the Arctic.

[vector7]

Making Ukraine a NATO Member Almost Puts USA at War With Russia - McCaul

20:36 12.02.2015(updated 21:08 12.02.2015)
http://sputniknews.com/politics/2015...#ixzz3RYVNFtcW

US congressman Michael McCaul pointed out that further expansion of NATO could lead to war. He also expressed skepticism regarding the new
agreements on Ukraine.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – US House of Representatives Homeland Security
Committee Chairman Michael McCaul remains skeptical about the Minsk
declaration that was agreed upon during the Ukrainian reconciliation
meeting on Thursday, according to McCaul’s speech at the American
Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC. “I’m always hopeful that we can
negotiate, but I have a healthy amount of skepticism,” McCaul said in his
speech on Thursday.

The Congressman commented on the Minsk declaration in response to a
question about the likelihood of the its success, as previous peace deals
have not been effective.

On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Petro
Poroshenko, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President
Francois Hollande met in the Belarusian capital of Minsk for almost 15
hours, and agreed on a declaration that contains practical measures to end
the conflict in eastern Ukraine.



© Flickr/ U.S. Army Europe Images
NATO Wants to Draw France Into War With Russia – Former President of EBRD


In particular, the document calls for a ceasefire starting from February 15
and an “all-for-all” prisoner swap, among other points. McCaul also pointed
out that further expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
could lead to war.

“To try to get into the mindset of Mr. Putin, he sees NATO
expansion as the biggest threat to Russia, and therefore he is
fighting that,” McCaul said. “I tend to agree that, if we make
Ukraine part of NATO, while it’s a noble aspiration, I think it
will be a bit dangerous, because it almost automatically puts
us at war with Russia.”



© AP Photo/ Evgeniy Maloletka
US May Disrupt Peace Efforts in Ukraine With Training Kiev Troops - Experts


The military confrontation between the Kiev government forces and the
Donbas militia have claimed the lives of more than 5,300 people since
April, the UN said. The crisis in Ukraine escalated to an armed
confrontation in April after Kiev sent troops to Ukraine’s southeast to
suppress the pro-independence forces there. Top Ukrainian officials,
including President Petro Poroshenko, have accused Russia of directly
interfering in the conflict, a claim that Moscow has repeatedly denied.

Poroshenko reveals true nature of the ceasefire for Ukraine

Published on Feb 12, 2015

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Obama makes silly video while Merkel and Holland deal with Putin

Why is this man smiling? Vladimir Putin's curious smirk at the Minsk talks

Date: February 14, 2015 - 1:42AM


Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks to the media after the peace talks in Minsk, Belarus. Photo: AP

Explainer: who gets what in Ukraine peace deal
Leaders agree to Ukraine ceasefire

The body language said it all. Petro Poroshenko, grim and exhausted, leaned forward imploringly; Vladimir Putin, benevolent and relaxed, smiled a cryptic smile.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko looks on during a press conference after a summit aimed at ending 10 months of fighting in Ukraine.


Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko looks on during a press conference after a summit aimed at ending 10 months of fighting in Ukraine. Photo: AFP

The photographs the marathon talks between the leaders of Ukraine and Russia demonstrated which of the two enemies has most cause for confidence about the deal that emerged in Minsk.

In fairness, Mr Poroshenko did not go like a defenceless lamb into the conference chamber. The last Minsk agreement was negotiated directly between Russia and Ukraine, causing Mr Poroshenko's youthful and stridently nationalistic prime minister to observe: "They will outplay us: that's what they expect."

This time, Mr Poroshenko avoided the cardinal error of dealing bilaterally with Russia by ensuring that Angela Merkel of Germany and Francois Hollande of France were present to even the scales. None the less the outcome was woefully unbalanced.

Under the agreement which diplomats now call "Minsk Two", all of Ukraine's obligations are detailed and timetabled. Mr Poroshenko has 30 days to begin granting legal autonomy to the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, most of which are now in the hands of pro-Russian insurgents. He must rewrite Ukraine's constitution to formalise the "special status" of this area by the end of this year.

And Russia? What obligations has Mr Putin agreed to shoulder? By Ukraine's estimate, no less than 9000 Russian troops have been deployed inside its territory: five infantry battalions along with tanks and heavy artillery. While not endorsing those numbers, NATO has confirmed the presence of a sizeable Russian force in Ukraine.

One clause of the deal states that "foreign armed formations" and "military equipment" must leave Ukraine - but there is no timetable, no deadline and no means of verification, save for a vague line that withdrawal should happen under the "supervision" of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

Only last month, Mr Poroshenko, flushed with righteous indignation, told an audience in Davos that the path to peace must start with removing "all the foreign troops from my territory". He posed the rhetorical question: "If this is not aggression, what is aggression?"

Yet Mr Poroshenko has walked away from Minsk without a deadline for the departure of the Russian troops. On the contrary, Mr Putin clings to the shameless pretence that his forces are not even present.

In an episode of Fawlty Towers, Basil confronts a dodgy Irish builder who has failed to construct a wall. "When will you do the job, O'Reilly?" he asks "When, when, when?" Mr Poroshenko will have demanded to know when exactly Russia will withdraw those troops that do not exist. After Minsk, he still has no answer.

But the Minsk agreement says that Mr Poroshenko will get his border back only after he has delivered full legal autonomy to Donetsk and Luhansk. Ukraine must fulfil every pledge down to the last comma - only then will Russia concede control of the frontier and, perhaps, withdraw its troops. And that is to make the optimistic assumption that Mr Putin has any intention of keeping this agreement at all.

The only reason, after all, for the existence of "Minsk Two" is that Mr Putin ignored "Minsk One". Yesterday's agreement amounts to Mr Putin promising once again to keep the pledges that he has already made and broken.

Perhaps it will be different this time. One plausible argument suggests that Mr Putin has wrung all he wanted from Ukraine. His friendly rebels, stiffened by Russian troops, now control a swathe of the east, including Ukraine's industrial heartland and the lion's share of its coal reserves.

The question is whether this particular success will satisfy him.

All that we have to go on is Mr Putin's cryptic smile.

Telegraph, London

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zerohedge @zerohedge · 1 min Há 1 minuto
STATE DEPT. CALLS ON RUSSIA, SEPARATISTS TO ‘HALT ALL ATTACKS’. Or else "the costs"...



cbsMcCormick ‏@cbsMcCormick 5m5 minutes ago State Dept: "We are closely monitoring reports of a new column of Russian military equipment moving toward Debaltseve."



Alex Bukovsky @BungeeWedgie · 5m
Just as BBC reporter is lying
about outgoing artillery fire from #NAF airport,
a shell explodes behind him. #Ukraine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVF7U8stRIU






the Lemniscat @theLemniscat · 14m
What #ceasefire?
Journalists visit Donetsk airport
while it's shelled by Ukraine 16/02/15


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMnsXC5lhmE



Poroschenkos family fled from Kiev

According to reports of several Ukrainian and Russian newspapers, the whole family of the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has left the Ukraine. Background should be an ultimatum to the right sector at Poroshenko that it "same fate will befall like Gaddafi"...

Alec Luhn@ASLuhn Follow "The number of attacks on Debaltseve has even increased in comparison to previous days." Monday's Debaltseve dispatch http://gu.com/p/45p3b/stw
2:56 PM - 16 Feb 2015

Steiner ‏@Steiner1776 2 min.
Lifenews reporting #Ukraine regime forces mass surrendering under #Debaltsevo

Chapter DNR arrived at the position of the militia in the city is surrounded by thousands grouping APU.
Source: http://lifenews.ru/news/149998
Debaltseve after returning to civilian life will preserve the role of an important transport hub. This position is shared by the head of the self-proclaimed DNR Alexander Zakharchenko visited militia positions on the outskirts of the city. He stresses that the militias do not violate the ceasefire and act strictly within the Minsk Agreement.




"Liberation" -- "Ghost" brigade enters Debaltsevo and evacuates 135 civilians
Battalion Prizrak under command of Aleksey Mozgovoy on February 15, 135 people were taken from the cellars in occupied Debaltseve:




Chornukhyne


AJSB ‏@A_J_S_B 2h2 hours ago
VIDEO:
Partial translation to English of latest video w/ some of what #Zakharchenko said to #Ukraine POWs.

[American Patriot]

Escalation boys and girls?

[American Patriot]

I'm more worried about this than ISIS. ISIS needs to be wiped off the world. The Russians and US need to cooperate on this.

But this will lead to nukes.

US: 'Proxy War' With Russia Over E. Ukraine Not in World's Interest

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VOA News
Last updated on: February 17, 2015 2:43 PM

The U.S. State Department said Tuesday it was not in the interests of Ukraine or the world to get into a proxy war with Russia over eastern Ukraine, a comment suggesting Washington is hesitant to arm Ukrainian forces.
“Our belief here in the administration, and I would be surprised if others disagree, is that getting into a proxy war with Russia is not anything that's in the interest of Ukraine or in the interest of the international community,” spokeswoman Jen Psaki told Reuters. “And certainly, as we weigh options, we weigh that as one of the factors.”
The U.S. had voiced concerns earlier Tuesday, saying it is "gravely concerned" over the deteriorating situation in and around Debaltseve, where pro-Russian rebels and Ukraine's military are both refusing to pull back their weapons from the strategic eastern Ukrainian town.
Click to enlarge


Although the truce deal that went into effect Sunday has led to decreased hostilities elsewhere in the war zone, fighting has intensified in Debaltseve, which is controlled by Kyiv but surrounded by the separatists.
Senior rebel commander Eduard Basurin said Tuesday separatists had gained control of more than 80 percent of the east Ukrainian railway hub. "A cleanup of the town is underway," he added.
Kyiv's military denied the town, which had a peacetime population of 25,000 but is now a bombed-out wasteland, had fallen but acknowledged losing control of some of it.
It also acknowledged some Ukrainian soldiers had been captured in an ambush, but it denied rebel reports that up to 300 had surrendered or been taken prisoner.
Under the terms of the cease-fire reached last week in Minsk, Belarus, both sides were to begin withdrawing heavy weapons from the flashpoint town on Tuesday. But as the deadline passed, each side insisted they would not be the first to make such a move.
"As soon as the militants cease fire, the Ukrainian side will begin to withdraw heavy weaponry from the frontline," Ukrainian military spokesman Anatoliy Stelmakh said in televised comments.
Rebels: 'Moral' right
Rebel spokesman Denis Pushilin told Reuters the separatists have the "moral" right to defend the city, which he called "internal territory." He also said the rebels were ready for a mutual withdrawal, but will continue to "respond to fire."
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, in a phone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, condemned the rebels' increased attacks to take control of Debaltseve, calling it a “cynical attack” on the cease-fire deal brokered in Minsk last week.
“I appeal to the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council to prevent further violations ... and full-scale military operations in the heart of Europe," he said, according to Reuters.
Poroshenko, in a decree, also set out the timetable for the next rounds of military call-up for the rest of the year for men up to 27 years of age.
The peace deal and weapons withdrawal are expected to be the focus of a phone call later Tuesday between representatives of the rebels, Ukraine, Russia, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, or OSCE.
The OSCE has been tasked with monitoring the cease-fire, but so far has been blocked by the rebels from entering Debaltseve.
Germany on Tuesday said it had agreed with the leaders of Ukraine and Russia to allow the monitors to reach the besieged town.
At least five Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and nine wounded in fighting, mostly near Debaltseve, over the last 24 hours, a Ukrainian military spokesman said Tuesday.
On Monday, separatists offered Ukrainian forces safe-passage out of Debaltseve if they laid down their arms. But Ukraine promptly rejected the idea and said the town lies within its territory under the truce negotiated at the four-nation summit in Minsk, Belarus.
The devastated town has seen major fighting constantly since earlier truce efforts failed last month.
New sanctions
Ukraine and a host of Western governments accuse Russia of stoking the rebellion in Ukraine's Russian-speaking east with arms and fighters, while the Kremlin denies providing direct support.
With those denials flatly rejected by Western governments, the European Union on Monday unveiled a new round of sanctions against Moscow for its widely perceived role in the Ukraine crisis. The new penalties target Russia's deputy defense minister and 18 more individuals with travel bans and asset freezes.
Russia said it would make an "appropriate response" to the sanctions, while condemning them as "inconsistent and illogical" because they were issued within days of the cease-fire that Russian President Vladimir Putin helped negotiate.
Russia also asked the U.N. Security Council to vote Tuesday on a draft resolution endorsing the new cease-fire agreement on Ukraine and calling on all parties involved to fully carry it out.
European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, asked on Tuesday if the peace deal for Ukraine was a failure, said the deal still stands and the EU will insist on its full implementation.
“We knew from the beginning that it was going to be difficult, fragile, probably not black and white,” Mogherini said. “What we need today is to work and insist for the process to get to a positive outcome. ... We would not leave that option, we would not make it fail.”

[American Patriot]

Ukraine rebels claim 5,000 troops ‘trapped’ in Debaltseve

Ceasefire fails as Kiev forces and pro-Russian separatists refuse to pull back heavy guns

• Video
• Images

Rebels shoot at Ukrainian positions on outskirts of Debaltseve as shelling continues around the town encircled by pro-Russian separatists despite a ceasefire. Video: Reuters

• Topics:
• News
• World
• Europe
• Denis Pushilin
• Germany
• Russia
• Ukraine

Tue, Feb 17, 2015, 20:19
First published: Tue, Feb 17, 2015, 07:39

• Tweet

Pro-Russian rebels fought their way into an encircled government stronghold in Ukraine on Tuesday, all but dashing hopes that a new peace deal would end months of conflict.
The agreement reached at all-night talks in the Belarussian capital Minsk last week appears to be unravelling rapidly, with both sides battling street-to-street and refusing to begin pulling back heavy guns as required.
The failed ceasefire has left thousands of Ukrainian troops surrounded, their fate uncertain. The rebels said they had captured hundreds of them and would not let the rest escape unless they surrender. Ukraine said some of its troops had been taken prisoner but denied the number captured was that high.

• Ukraine: Debaltseve escapees fear battle will derail truce
• Battle for flashpoint town shakes Ukrainian ceasefire
• Ukrainian troops dream of peace at Debaltseve flashpoint

The Moscow-backed rebels say the ceasefire does not apply at all to the main battle front at the town of Debaltseve, where a railway hub has seen an all-out assault.
The fighting meant both sides spurned a deadline on Tuesday to being withdrawing heavy guns from the frontline. Kiev says it cannot pull guns back as long as the rebels show no sign of halting their advance.
Reuters journalists near the snowbound frontline said artillery rounds rocked Debaltseve every five seconds and black smoke rose skywards as Grad rockets pounded the town.
“Eighty percent of Debaltseve is already ours,“ said Eduard Basurin, a rebel leader. “A cleanup of the town is under way.“
He later said negotiations were under way for 5,000 Ukrainian troops trapped in the town to surrender. “Hundreds“ had been captured and would eventually be released to their families.
Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko called the rebel assault on the town a cynical attack on the Minsk agreement.
Kiev‘s military denied the town, which had a peacetime population of 25,000 and is now a bombed-out wasteland, had fallen, but acknowledged losing control of some of it. Some Ukrainian soldiers had been captured, it said, but not hundreds.
Nato and Kiev say the rebel military operation to take Debaltseve is being carried out with the assistance of tanks, artillery and soldiers from Russia‘s army.
Moscow denies that it has sent its forces to participate in battle for territory that president Vladimir Putin has referred to as “New Russia“.
Washington said it was “gravely concerned“ by the fighting at Debaltseve and was monitoring reports of a new column of Russian military equipment heading to the area.
The United States has been considering sending weapons to aid Kiev, although the State Department said on Tuesday getting into a proxy war with Russia was not in the interests of Ukraine or the world.
EU foreign policy chief Francesca Mogherini said Tuesday‘s battles were “not encouraging“ but she had not abandoned hope for the ceasefire.
“As long as there is a signed deal to which the parties still refer as something that needs to be implemented, I will not say that there is a failure,” she said.
Hopes that the deal reached last Thursday would end a conflict that has killed more than 5,000 people were always low after a rebel advance in January ended an earlier truce.
But Western countries appear to have been taken by surprise that the rebels refused even to pay lip service to the ceasefire at Debaltseve, adding to concerns the separatists and Mr Putin want to cement rebel gains before allowing any peace to take hold.
Russia has already annexed Ukraine‘s Crimea peninsula, and Western countries believe Mr Putin‘s goal is to establish a “frozen conflict“ in eastern Ukraine, gaining permanent leverage over a country of 45 million people seeking integration with Europe.

[vector7]

Armed Research @ArmedResearch · 4m
IMAGES:
#NAF South Ossetian volunteers
claim to have captured an Azov KRAZ
outside #Mariupol.
https://translate.google.com/transla...500&edit-text=
(Google translate)

Volunteers from South Ossetia
captured rich booty Battalion "Azov"
under Mariupol (photo)

02/17/2015 - 17:31

Volunteer Ossetia announces a daring attack on one of the bases of the
punitive battalion "Azov", the result of which was captured by the new
armored vehicles and a large number of weapons.

"Peace is not. Somewhere and now on the front of Bach. Yesterday barely
crawled. 3:00 head does not raise only "city" did not work for us, but then I
realized the error - my phone, and two more were included. Killed on all
sides, and their own, and others'. Two of my prisoner were miraculously
bounced ...

Day of the absurd was the square of 500 by 500 laid down more than 100
mines and shells, no scratches guys. Further more, began the most fun, but
it does not tell ... .mog to tell, still would not believe ... I could have told
him, too, would not have believed.

It was absurd, absurd, and will remain, but the machine from us! Vaunted
"Azov" ... guys, of course, bagged, and the spirit of many of them have,
but as always betrayed and sold. ... Their government, generals,
commanders. Although they are enemies, but the guys and there are noble
and normal, but that day luck was with us. "

Ruthen ‏@RutheniaRus Feb 7
AZOV received 6 KRAZ 'Spartan' APC
fitted with 'Sarmat' Autonomous Turret.
Go to #Mariupol.
via @tombreadley



The EU has broken its taboo
on referring to Russian forces in east Ukraine,
in its official documents.

By Andrew Rettman
https://euobserver.com/foreign/127667

BRUSSELS, Today, 20:36 The EU has broken its taboo on referring to
Russian forces in east Ukraine in its official documents.

It said in its Official Journal on Monday (16 February) that Russian deputy
defence minister Anatoly Antonov is being added to its blacklist because he
is “involved in supporting the deployment of Russian troops in Ukraine”.

It listed first deputy defence minister Arkady Bakhin for the same reason.

It also listed Andrei Kartapolov, a senior Russian military commander, for
being “involved in shaping and implementing the military campaign of the
Russian forces in Ukraine”.

The text in the legal gazette was signed off by EU foreign relations chief
Federica Mogherini, who has, until now, with the exception of Russia-
annexed Crimea, studiously avoided any reference to Russian armed forces
being active in Ukraine.

The last time EU foreign ministers published a formal statement on the
conflict, on 29 January, they also used circumlocutions, speaking of:
“evidence of continued and growing support given to the separatists by
Russia, which underlines Russia's responsibility”.

They added that “foreign armed groups” should leave Ukrainian territory.

Individual EU officials, such as Council chief Donald Tusk, have been more
hawkish in off-the-cuff remarks.

Ukraine, the US, and Nato have been speaking of Russian forces in Ukraine
since last July. Nato and the US have also declassified and published
satellite pictures to back up their statements.

The US ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt, posted more images online
last weekend, saying they show "Russian military, not separatist, systems”.

But the erstwhile EU taboo went higher than minister level.

When French, German, Russian, and Ukrainian leaders agreed a ceasefire
plan in Minsk last Thursday, they also bowed to Russia’s claim its soldiers
aren’t in Ukraine, by calling for withdrawal of “foreign armed formations”.

When leaders of the G7 wealthy nations the following day published a
statement urging Russia to comply with the Minsk accord, they too spoke of
“Russian-backed separatist militias”.

For her part, Mogherini’s spokeswoman, Maja Kocijancic, told EUobserver
the language in the Official Journal is not an accident.

She noted it reflects “mounting evidence, underlining Russia’s
responsibility” for the conflict, as discussed by foreign ministers on 29
January.

One piece of evidence is a classified report on Russian activity in Ukraine
compiled by Mogherini’s intelligence-sharing branch, IntCen, and circulated
to capitals ahead of the 29 January meeting.

An EU diplomat, who asked not to be named, noted: "This new form of
Russian warfare - using tanks and soldiers without insignia - is something
we haven't seen before. We're still trying to work out how to respond to it".

A second EU diplomat added: “It [the latest Official Journal text] is a clear
and understandable message against Russian propaganda and all the lies
about non-Russian engagement in the military conflict”.

Russia’s claim it isn’t involved in east Ukraine is central to its propaganda
message: that the conflict is a “civil war” between Ukrainian nationalists
and ethnic Russian “separatists”.

But the 16 February Official Journal, which also listed nine entities,
highlighted the manufactured nature of the “separatism”.

Most of the entities are battalions of Russia’s irregular fighters in Ukraine.

But one of them is “Novorossiya”, a Russian “public movement” named
after the Kremlin concept that east and south-east Ukraine, or “New
Russia”, belong to Russia on ancestral grounds.

The Official Journal noted that Novorossiya is run by Igor Strelkov, who is
already on an EU blacklist for organising the initial insurgency in Donetsk,
east Ukraine, last March.

The EU gazette says he is a “Russian officer … identified as a staff member
of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed
Forces of the Russian Federation (GRU)”.

-------


Putin, Merkel Discuss Donbas Situation,
OSCE Mission Role With Poroshenko

01:28 17.02.2015(updated 01:45 17.02.2015)
http://sputniknews.com/politics/2015...018355897.html

Russian President, his Ukrainian counterpart and German Chancellor
held telephone talks discussing the situation in southeastern Ukraine.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The leaders of Russia, Germany and Ukraine have
held telephone talks discussing the situation in southeastern Ukraine
(Donbas) and the role of the Organization for Security and Co-operation
(OSCE) in ensuring that the Minsk ceasefire agreements are fulfilled.

"The issues pertaining to the ceasefire, the withdrawal of heavy weaponry
by the conflicting sides, as well as the situation in the region of the city of
Debaltsevo were touched upon [during the telephone talks]," the Kremlin
press service informed early Tuesday night.

According to the press service, Russian President Vladimir Putin, his
Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko and German Chancellor Angela
Merkel also exchanged their views on the role of the OSCE Special
Monitoring Mission (SMM) in the Ukraine peace process.

Also Putin, his Ukrainian counterpart and Merkel have agreed to maintain
contact in various formats in order for the Minsk agreements on Ukraine to
be implemented.

"It has been agreed to continue to maintain contact with the aim of
contributing to the fulfilment of the Minsk agreements," the Kremlin press
service said.

Last week, the leaders of Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine held
Normandy format talks, which led to a ceasefire agreement between Kiev
forces and independence fighters in southeastern Ukraine.

meanwhile...

Mark Knoller @markknoller · 2h
Ending 3 days of golf,
Pres Obama boards AF-1 leaving PSP where it's 77° for DC where it's 16°.

"Our HQ has fled, we are facing annihilation"
--Junta battalion commander's frantic call on live TV





2/17/2015
http://fortruss.blogspot.ie/2015/02/...re-facing.html

90% of Debaltsevo captured, we can’t communicate with our HQ”
—Ukrainian fighter [video at the link]
Translated from Russian by J.Hawk

Ukrainian troops are holding defense in strongpoints in the vicinity of Debaltsevo.
There is street fighting in the city against Russian soldiers [sic] and Kadyrovites [sic].

This is what “Gross,” the deputy commander of the 25th Kievan Rus battalion, which
is located near Debaltsevo, said during a phone call broadcast live by the TV news
channel 24.

“There is street fighting in Debaltsevo. The enemy is using Russian Federation [sic]
special operations units and Kadyrovites [sic] to storm Debaltsevo. They control 90%
of it. Our forces are defending strongpoints. The sector HQ and the sector commander
have abandoned us, they do not control the situation, they don’t know where are troops
are,” said “Gross.”

He noted that his troops need immediate help. They tried to reach the General Staff
several times, but there has been no reaction.

“Our troops are facing annihilation,” said the deputy battalion commander.

“They are searching for the sector commander. Nobody knows where he is,”
he added.

We note that earlier the General Staff announced there is fighting in the streets of
Debaltsevo, and that the terrorists [sic] are not allowing OSCE observers to reach
the town. Part of the town was captured by the bandits [sic].

The counter-terrorist [sic] operation HQ spokesperson Anatoliy Stelmakh said that
the militants [sic] have captured several buildings in Debaltsevo.

J.Hawk’s Comment: This is a report from Newsdaily.com.ua,
which is a Kiev junta-supporting Ukrainian news outlet.
The magnitude of the Debaltsevo Debacle is becoming more obvious
with every passing minute…


The “sector commander” referred to in the report
is in fact the commander of the entire Debaltsevo grouping,
since that was one of the sectors of the front facing Novorossia,
in other words, a fairly senior officer who is now nowhere to be found.

Putin mocks #Ukraine, says losing always painful, especially to militia of "miners & truck drivers" - @willmauldin pic.twitter.com/7icbFsIMEE



Conflict News ‏@rConflictNews 49mPutin: “To lose is always painful. It’s a hardship especially when you lose to yesterday’s miners and tractor drivers. But life is life."


captured soldiers Chernukhino [link to www.liveleak.com]




BREAKING: Large explosion heard in #Odessa #Ukraine - Witness -

Tomasz Maciejczuk @TomekMaciejczuk · 2 min. 2 minuty temu

Introducing the Martial Law must be accepted by Poroshenko and then by UA parliament.
[link to www.youtube.com (secure)]


"On Wednesday, February 18, at 18:00 Moscow time in Ukraine may
be placed under martial law, said on his page on
Twitter volunteer Alina Mikhailova."

Picture translated with: [link to www.newocr.com]

marqs @MarQs__
Confirmed that IMF agreed on give money to #Ukraine in case of martial law! This is important, a matter of time now i guess!


Ukrainians must be prepared for martial law - MIA



Photo: President's press office

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has warned that, if peace is not brought about in Ukraine, nationwide martial law will be introduced.

«I warned at a meeting of the Ukrainian Cabinet of ministers even before Minsk that, if there is no peace, we would have to make a very hard but necessary decision on imposing martial law. I stress once again: in this case martial law will be imposed not only on Donetsk and Luhansk but also on the entire country,» Poroshenko said at a ceremony of delivering equipment to Ukrainian border guards in Kyiv on Saturday.

The president said that having analyzed the legislation on martial law, he will introduce to the Verkhovna Rada the amendments to the legislation that will allow more efficient defense of the state, in case that the peace is not established.

«First of all, we will rely on ourselves and will coordinate our actions with our partners and friends,» he said.
Source: Interfax-Ukraine

Fights in Chernukhine, todays reportage:




Street gunfight, Debaltsevo:



[link to www.youtube.com (secure)]




johnny peterson @JPexsquaddie 9m

AMAZING REPORTING HEY BBC ONCE UPON-A-TIME U DID THIS STYLE OF REPORTING TRUTH BUT NOW BILLIONS IN ££ LICENSE FEE [link to www.youtube.com (secure)] …