Civil war in Ukraine
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Aquilla non capat muskas is stolen from the first Russian warship built by Peter the GreatNew Logo of their intelligence agency, Ukraine.
And owl was stolen from Soviet animation film where that owl was a servant of evil killed by Russian knight
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These Soldiers On Ukraine’s Front Lines Are Starting To Doubt The War’s Value
MARINKA, Ukraine ― A long and jarring mud road, riddled with shell craters, winds from the edge of Marinka to shrapnel-riddled low-rise apartment blocks that now demarcate the end of Ukrainian government-held territory. Four hundred meters away, across a heavily mined field of rough grass, shrubs and tall trees sit the Russian-backed separatists. It’s like many areas across this war-torn section of Eastern Ukraine now ― one minute you’re in a rather normal yet slightly impoverished town, but the next you’re directly in the middle of a war zone.
This war has dragged on so long that many people living in front line towns are now more annoyed by it than anything else. Their initial sadness and despair morphed into anger because they can’t spend just one night without the sound of gunfire, or the threat of a rogue shell destroying their homes.
Though they share their towns with soldiers now, no one bats an eye at their presence anymore. This cohabitation is simply a fact of life, and has been for longer than anyone could’ve imagined.
This war has dragged on so long that many people living in front line towns are now more annoyed by it than anything else.
“I left everything and came to fight,” said one of those soldiers, a Jewish man named Avram who fights amongst the volunteers of a nationalist right-wing battalion called the Ukrainian volunteer army, or UDA. Avram and his fellow soldiers declined to give their full names for security reasons. Instead they are referred to by their first name, or a nickname assigned to them in the unit.
These men, the majority of whom have nationalist leanings, are still flooding onto the front lines, despite the belief that Ukrainian volunteer battalions had been removed from the fighting. It’s not known how many unofficial volunteers like these are still fighting, but they all seem to feel that they need to be there, despite Ukraine’s now large and quite capable military.
Ukraine’s potential problem with these men of the far right isn’t entirely the same as the rest of Europe’s. In countries like Hungary, France, Poland and the U.K., the far right gained traction by deriding immigrants and the European Union. Those messages were strong enough to lead U.K. citizens to vote in favor of exiting the EU. But in poverty-stricken Ukraine, in the midst of war, there’s no debate about immigration because migrants are not clamoring to get in. And the EU isn’t a problem for the country because Ukraine isn’t in the union. So there’s no danger that Ukraine’s far right will destabilize it that way.
Right now, it seems the nationalists and the government only agree on one thing: the importance of protecting Ukraine’s sovereignty. It keeps them bound together, in a sort of uneasy relationship. In the future, when the war ends, Ukraine’s government will have to figure out how to ensure that all these angry and armed nationalists don’t become the new enemy. And that could prove to be a thorn in the side of any long-term stability.
This war has weaponized and trained untold numbers of these bitter men. They found prominence during Maidan, the country’s revolution in early 2014, by painting themselves as the spearhead force against corruption, and fighting hard against the government forces beatinginnocent Ukrainian protesters. While corruption has always been the Ukrainian people’s greatest enemy, it came to a head during Maidan. Not much has changed since then however. While the average Ukrainian earns a paltry $150 per month, public officials earning around $1,130 monthly according to a report done by VoxUkraine, still roam around the capital of Kiev in expensive cars. Just last week, the full scale of their extravagance was laid bare when Ukrainian public officials were forced to declare their assets as part of a transparency initiative. Ukrainian society can now view an online database which lists the piles of cash, cars, property, watches and other luxuries that their leaders possess. The enormity of their wealth has shocked the public.
The men of this battalion said it’s hypocrisy such as this that enrages them ― their post-revolutionary government has failed to achieve the more equal, corruption-free Ukraine that they’d dreamed about as they stood in the bitter cold of winter during Maidan.
But despite their claimed desire to fight corruption, support for the far right is still very low across the country, according to Ukrainian media outlets. Though many of these groups were lauded as heroes for their fighting, few in Ukraine want far-right nationalists leading the country.
Avram stands barely 5 feet 6 inches tall, with short black hair and a thin frame, he hardly fits the Hollywood image of a battle-hardened veteran. But he’s fought in this war since it began in the spring of 2014, making him the longest serving member of his unit. Barely ever without a cigarette, or his Kalashnikov rifle, he’s steadfast in his commitment to battle.
“I did this for my kids, to protect them before the war came to our home,” he told The WorldPost. “But that was almost three years ago.”
He serves in a rare unit made up of Jewish fighters, all self-proclaimed nationalists, whose presence flies in the face of Russian state media. From early on in the war, Kremlin-sponsored outlets relentlessly declared Ukraine a country full of Nazis and fascists. But Jews have been integral in Ukraine’s struggle since Maidan. If Russia’s media push had any truth to it, Avram said that Jewish soldiers on the ground simply wouldn’t be fighting on the front line for a country that won’t accept them. When asked if he’s ever experienced anti-Semitism in Ukraine, Avram simply laughed.
“I have four synagogues in my small town. I’ve never had it happen in my whole life.”
This conflict is now in its 31st month, and despite a plethora of cease-fire attempts, the front line remains lethal. Close to 9,600 people have now been killed and some 22,231 wounded, and although the rate of newly wounded and killed has dropped substantially since 2014, it’s because around 1.7 million civilians chose to flee their homes rather than remain in the crossfire. Entire towns in the Donbas region of Eastern Ukraine now sit empty and destroyed. Here, only the poorest and most immobile civilians have remained to endure the relentless nightly fighting that takes place between Ukrainian government troops and Russian-backed separatists.
The fighting has had a sort of predictable routine to it since the Minsk II peace agreement was struck some 20 months ago. Although it largely eliminated full-scale military offensives and land grabs, the Ukrainian Army has still lost an average of two soldiers per day, which is higher than the United States Army’s mortality rate during the Iraq War.
The last large push of the war took place here in the town of Marinka, on the outskirts of the separatist stronghold of Donetsk, during the summer of 2015. It was thwarted by Ukrainian troops. Since then, the two sides have resorted to battling it out from their heavily entrenched positions using a cocktail of snipers, machine guns, artillery and occasionally even tanks. Although small operations still take place, both sides are now so aware of each other’s positions and movements that it’s difficult to justify risking soldiers lives for marginal gains. The pointlessness of the fighting hasn’t gone unnoticed by the broader Ukrainian public. With nothing left to gain, it’s hard to understand why anyone still bothers to shoot. Many now seemed to have simply tuned out the war.
But in this part of Marinka, the war drags on for the volunteer soldiers of the UDA.
It’s unclear how many of these volunteers exist in the country now, said Tetiana Bezruk, a Ukrainian journalist who has extensively studied the far right, which includes many nationalist battalions such as UDA.
‘I did this for my kids, to protect them before the war came to our home. But that was almost three years ago.’Avram
“There just aren’t any reliable sources to verify their numbers,” she told The WorldPost.
However, what is known in the area, is that most of them are both combat-hardened, andextremely unhappy with their country’s progress after the Maidan revolution of 2014.
“All we see is the same stealing we saw before the revolution, nothing has changed, and it’s even the same guys in power,” said a soldier known as “The Macedonian,” a nickname he said he’s had since high school. Standing around 6 feet 3 inches tall with a large gut and shaved head, he’s a firmly middle class farmland owner from a large city in southwestern Ukraine.
“The only people who win in this war are our politicians. We sit here to die, but they make money.”
Many of these men, living in this decrepit apartment block are angrier with the government in Kiev than with the Russians. While bullet holes, tank shells and the shrapnel from heavy artillery have ripped apart the building they now call home, they feel that their own leaders have done more damage on the whole.
Yet curiously, they remain here on their own volition, free to come and go as they please. They operate in a sort of shadow relationship with the official Ukrainian troops stationed side by side. They are unofficial and have no status as combatants, but, nonetheless, these volunteers are allowed to continue their fight on the front lines. Many are former Ukrainian Army soldiers, and in fact the youngest member of this unit, nicknamed “Little One,” is currently a contract soldier of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. He was assigned to the unit from a neighboring building occupied by his unit. Despite his official status, he seems to be the most inexperienced, poorly trained and overzealous.
MARINKA, Ukraine ― A long and jarring mud road, riddled with shell craters, winds from the edge of Marinka to shrapnel-riddled low-rise apartment blocks that now demarcate the end of Ukrainian government-held territory. Four hundred meters away, across a heavily mined field of rough grass, shrubs and tall trees sit the Russian-backed separatists. It’s like many areas across this war-torn section of Eastern Ukraine now ― one minute you’re in a rather normal yet slightly impoverished town, but the next you’re directly in the middle of a war zone.
This war has dragged on so long that many people living in front line towns are now more annoyed by it than anything else. Their initial sadness and despair morphed into anger because they can’t spend just one night without the sound of gunfire, or the threat of a rogue shell destroying their homes.
Though they share their towns with soldiers now, no one bats an eye at their presence anymore. This cohabitation is simply a fact of life, and has been for longer than anyone could’ve imagined.
This war has dragged on so long that many people living in front line towns are now more annoyed by it than anything else.
“I left everything and came to fight,” said one of those soldiers, a Jewish man named Avram who fights amongst the volunteers of a nationalist right-wing battalion called the Ukrainian volunteer army, or UDA. Avram and his fellow soldiers declined to give their full names for security reasons. Instead they are referred to by their first name, or a nickname assigned to them in the unit.
These men, the majority of whom have nationalist leanings, are still flooding onto the front lines, despite the belief that Ukrainian volunteer battalions had been removed from the fighting. It’s not known how many unofficial volunteers like these are still fighting, but they all seem to feel that they need to be there, despite Ukraine’s now large and quite capable military.
Ukraine’s potential problem with these men of the far right isn’t entirely the same as the rest of Europe’s. In countries like Hungary, France, Poland and the U.K., the far right gained traction by deriding immigrants and the European Union. Those messages were strong enough to lead U.K. citizens to vote in favor of exiting the EU. But in poverty-stricken Ukraine, in the midst of war, there’s no debate about immigration because migrants are not clamoring to get in. And the EU isn’t a problem for the country because Ukraine isn’t in the union. So there’s no danger that Ukraine’s far right will destabilize it that way.
Right now, it seems the nationalists and the government only agree on one thing: the importance of protecting Ukraine’s sovereignty. It keeps them bound together, in a sort of uneasy relationship. In the future, when the war ends, Ukraine’s government will have to figure out how to ensure that all these angry and armed nationalists don’t become the new enemy. And that could prove to be a thorn in the side of any long-term stability.
This war has weaponized and trained untold numbers of these bitter men. They found prominence during Maidan, the country’s revolution in early 2014, by painting themselves as the spearhead force against corruption, and fighting hard against the government forces beatinginnocent Ukrainian protesters. While corruption has always been the Ukrainian people’s greatest enemy, it came to a head during Maidan. Not much has changed since then however. While the average Ukrainian earns a paltry $150 per month, public officials earning around $1,130 monthly according to a report done by VoxUkraine, still roam around the capital of Kiev in expensive cars. Just last week, the full scale of their extravagance was laid bare when Ukrainian public officials were forced to declare their assets as part of a transparency initiative. Ukrainian society can now view an online database which lists the piles of cash, cars, property, watches and other luxuries that their leaders possess. The enormity of their wealth has shocked the public.
The men of this battalion said it’s hypocrisy such as this that enrages them ― their post-revolutionary government has failed to achieve the more equal, corruption-free Ukraine that they’d dreamed about as they stood in the bitter cold of winter during Maidan.
But despite their claimed desire to fight corruption, support for the far right is still very low across the country, according to Ukrainian media outlets. Though many of these groups were lauded as heroes for their fighting, few in Ukraine want far-right nationalists leading the country.
Avram stands barely 5 feet 6 inches tall, with short black hair and a thin frame, he hardly fits the Hollywood image of a battle-hardened veteran. But he’s fought in this war since it began in the spring of 2014, making him the longest serving member of his unit. Barely ever without a cigarette, or his Kalashnikov rifle, he’s steadfast in his commitment to battle.
“I did this for my kids, to protect them before the war came to our home,” he told The WorldPost. “But that was almost three years ago.”
He serves in a rare unit made up of Jewish fighters, all self-proclaimed nationalists, whose presence flies in the face of Russian state media. From early on in the war, Kremlin-sponsored outlets relentlessly declared Ukraine a country full of Nazis and fascists. But Jews have been integral in Ukraine’s struggle since Maidan. If Russia’s media push had any truth to it, Avram said that Jewish soldiers on the ground simply wouldn’t be fighting on the front line for a country that won’t accept them. When asked if he’s ever experienced anti-Semitism in Ukraine, Avram simply laughed.
“I have four synagogues in my small town. I’ve never had it happen in my whole life.”
This conflict is now in its 31st month, and despite a plethora of cease-fire attempts, the front line remains lethal. Close to 9,600 people have now been killed and some 22,231 wounded, and although the rate of newly wounded and killed has dropped substantially since 2014, it’s because around 1.7 million civilians chose to flee their homes rather than remain in the crossfire. Entire towns in the Donbas region of Eastern Ukraine now sit empty and destroyed. Here, only the poorest and most immobile civilians have remained to endure the relentless nightly fighting that takes place between Ukrainian government troops and Russian-backed separatists.
The fighting has had a sort of predictable routine to it since the Minsk II peace agreement was struck some 20 months ago. Although it largely eliminated full-scale military offensives and land grabs, the Ukrainian Army has still lost an average of two soldiers per day, which is higher than the United States Army’s mortality rate during the Iraq War.
The last large push of the war took place here in the town of Marinka, on the outskirts of the separatist stronghold of Donetsk, during the summer of 2015. It was thwarted by Ukrainian troops. Since then, the two sides have resorted to battling it out from their heavily entrenched positions using a cocktail of snipers, machine guns, artillery and occasionally even tanks. Although small operations still take place, both sides are now so aware of each other’s positions and movements that it’s difficult to justify risking soldiers lives for marginal gains. The pointlessness of the fighting hasn’t gone unnoticed by the broader Ukrainian public. With nothing left to gain, it’s hard to understand why anyone still bothers to shoot. Many now seemed to have simply tuned out the war.
But in this part of Marinka, the war drags on for the volunteer soldiers of the UDA.
It’s unclear how many of these volunteers exist in the country now, said Tetiana Bezruk, a Ukrainian journalist who has extensively studied the far right, which includes many nationalist battalions such as UDA.
‘I did this for my kids, to protect them before the war came to our home. But that was almost three years ago.’Avram
“There just aren’t any reliable sources to verify their numbers,” she told The WorldPost.
However, what is known in the area, is that most of them are both combat-hardened, andextremely unhappy with their country’s progress after the Maidan revolution of 2014.
“All we see is the same stealing we saw before the revolution, nothing has changed, and it’s even the same guys in power,” said a soldier known as “The Macedonian,” a nickname he said he’s had since high school. Standing around 6 feet 3 inches tall with a large gut and shaved head, he’s a firmly middle class farmland owner from a large city in southwestern Ukraine.
“The only people who win in this war are our politicians. We sit here to die, but they make money.”
Many of these men, living in this decrepit apartment block are angrier with the government in Kiev than with the Russians. While bullet holes, tank shells and the shrapnel from heavy artillery have ripped apart the building they now call home, they feel that their own leaders have done more damage on the whole.
Yet curiously, they remain here on their own volition, free to come and go as they please. They operate in a sort of shadow relationship with the official Ukrainian troops stationed side by side. They are unofficial and have no status as combatants, but, nonetheless, these volunteers are allowed to continue their fight on the front lines. Many are former Ukrainian Army soldiers, and in fact the youngest member of this unit, nicknamed “Little One,” is currently a contract soldier of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. He was assigned to the unit from a neighboring building occupied by his unit. Despite his official status, he seems to be the most inexperienced, poorly trained and overzealous.
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continued
During one battle, he begs the unit commander to let him fire off a rocket-propelled grenade, or RPG, at the separatists’ position. His wish is reluctantly granted before he scurries to the roof for a shot that inevitably misses the target. He sullenly re-enters the building and is immediately chastised by the others. His standing as an official government soldier gives him no weight amongst these more battle-hardened troops. Days later, “Little One” would be shot during a firefight. Although the bullet missed his major organs, he’ll spend the next two months in the hospital.
When asked why anyone still opens fire, one of the soldiers, a bulky 24-year-old former wrestling champion nicknamed “Prince,” shrugs his shoulders.
“We’re all bored during the day,” he said, “then they start drinking at night, and so they start shooting at us. Eventually, when it gets bad enough, we shoot back. It’s the same story every night.”
While it’s impossible to say who is to blame, without fail someone fires and the nightly “disco” erupts. Since the signing of Minsk II in February of 2015, this “low intensity” conflict, as it’s been dubbed by diplomats, has killed nearly as many people as the “full scale war” that preceded it.
‘Eventually, when it gets bad enough, we shoot back. It’s the same story every night.’Prince
“The only way to end this is with another revolution,” said “The Macedonian.” In his opinion, the Maidan revolution was just a surface level success.
“We need a full cleansing of the leaders, and only then will the revolution be complete.”
Alexander Clarkson, a lecturer in German and European studies at King’s College in London, said that this sort of talk isn’t unique.
“Even in the U.S. Army, soldiers say these types of things, but it’s not taken as seriously, and isn’t as problematic because the U.S. has robust institutions,” he said.
And although Ukraine’s institutions leave much to be desired, he does not believe these nationalists, despite their rhetoric, will become a big problem in Ukraine.
“There’s no benefit to their leaders to make this kind of push,” said Clarkson. “They used their ideology to get into some measure of power, and they seem comfortable there now.”
But further exacerbating this situation is the proliferation of weapons across the nation. The country’s secret service, the SSU, has reportedly found stockpiles of weapons in many areas of Ukraine. The belief is that many early volunteers held onto their weapons as trophies of war. Controls on weapons were low at the beginning of the conflict, as resources were diverted towards the war effort, so inevitably these trophies made their way back with the volunteers.
Compared to the others, “Leshiy” whose nickname means “forest boogeyman,” is heavily trained. The nickname he’s been given is in reference to the ghillie suit he wore as a sniper in the Ukrainian Army. Prior to enlisting in Ukraine’s military, he spent 11 years as a manager at Nestle. Although he was demobilized from service in the regular forces over a year ago, he joined the volunteer ranks to stay in the fight. He said he never joined because of any “fanatical patriotic beliefs,” but rather because he felt that it was his duty to his nation in a time of war.
But now, after two years on the front, “Leshiy” is angrier than ever with the decision-making of Ukraine’s leaders during the war than anything else. “They accepted this cease-fire, but it doesn’t work at all, so now we sit here getting shot at every night,” he told The WorldPost.
One night, as he listened to a Russian version of the Bible on his iPod, he slammed his fist at the sound of a machine gun burst from the building next door.
‘No! I’m not fighting tonight. I want to listen to the word of the Lord.’Leshiy
“No! I’m not fighting tonight,” he screamed out. “I want to listen to the word of the Lord.”
Like many Ukrainian soldiers serving across the front lines around the separatist-held stronghold of Donetsk, he’s become distrustful of his government’s intentions.
“We could launch an offensive to take back that territory,” he said, furious at his government’s decision not to launch any offensives to recapture the territory. “We’re just waiting for the order, but instead they play these political games so we’re unable to do anything.”
When the Ukrainian government signed the Minsk II peace agreement, it made the decision that military action would not win back the regions under Russian-backed separatist control. At that point, however, thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians had already been killed. Many soldiers here say they still want to fight for those territories, and dream of a grand offensive. The problem is that any such effort would mean untold bloodshed and render Ukraine a pariah on the world stage. Diplomatic efforts to end the war have been rather ineffective so far, and any full-scale conflict with Russia, the world’s second most powerful military, would likely end in disaster, like it did during the battles of Ilovaisk and Debaltseve.
Soldiers like “Leshiy” are not only angry, but also just confused.
“Now I wonder, why did I come here, and what did my friends give their lives for?” he asked.
Further complicating the problem is that the soldiers of this unit, and many others who’ve experienced the trauma of war, have few options to heal post-traumatic stress disorder. They’re angry, they’re frustrated, they’ve given up a significant portion of their lives to fight a war that has been a let down for them, but whenever this ends, there’s no cushion to help them land back into society. Ukraine is poor, and good jobs are not readily available. Many veterans who come out of the war find it tough, and although there has been progress on this front, it’s largely been due to the efforts of volunteers. This combination of anger, the distrust, the proliferation of weapons and the lack of psychological aid is a potentially destabilizing cocktail for Ukraine in the future.
So whenever this war ends, Ukraine will have to shift its few resources towards ensuring that the soldiers who fought to defend it do not turn on their leade
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ukraine-front-lines-fight_us_58129002e4b064e1b4b18642
During one battle, he begs the unit commander to let him fire off a rocket-propelled grenade, or RPG, at the separatists’ position. His wish is reluctantly granted before he scurries to the roof for a shot that inevitably misses the target. He sullenly re-enters the building and is immediately chastised by the others. His standing as an official government soldier gives him no weight amongst these more battle-hardened troops. Days later, “Little One” would be shot during a firefight. Although the bullet missed his major organs, he’ll spend the next two months in the hospital.
When asked why anyone still opens fire, one of the soldiers, a bulky 24-year-old former wrestling champion nicknamed “Prince,” shrugs his shoulders.
“We’re all bored during the day,” he said, “then they start drinking at night, and so they start shooting at us. Eventually, when it gets bad enough, we shoot back. It’s the same story every night.”
While it’s impossible to say who is to blame, without fail someone fires and the nightly “disco” erupts. Since the signing of Minsk II in February of 2015, this “low intensity” conflict, as it’s been dubbed by diplomats, has killed nearly as many people as the “full scale war” that preceded it.
‘Eventually, when it gets bad enough, we shoot back. It’s the same story every night.’Prince
“The only way to end this is with another revolution,” said “The Macedonian.” In his opinion, the Maidan revolution was just a surface level success.
“We need a full cleansing of the leaders, and only then will the revolution be complete.”
Alexander Clarkson, a lecturer in German and European studies at King’s College in London, said that this sort of talk isn’t unique.
“Even in the U.S. Army, soldiers say these types of things, but it’s not taken as seriously, and isn’t as problematic because the U.S. has robust institutions,” he said.
And although Ukraine’s institutions leave much to be desired, he does not believe these nationalists, despite their rhetoric, will become a big problem in Ukraine.
“There’s no benefit to their leaders to make this kind of push,” said Clarkson. “They used their ideology to get into some measure of power, and they seem comfortable there now.”
But further exacerbating this situation is the proliferation of weapons across the nation. The country’s secret service, the SSU, has reportedly found stockpiles of weapons in many areas of Ukraine. The belief is that many early volunteers held onto their weapons as trophies of war. Controls on weapons were low at the beginning of the conflict, as resources were diverted towards the war effort, so inevitably these trophies made their way back with the volunteers.
Compared to the others, “Leshiy” whose nickname means “forest boogeyman,” is heavily trained. The nickname he’s been given is in reference to the ghillie suit he wore as a sniper in the Ukrainian Army. Prior to enlisting in Ukraine’s military, he spent 11 years as a manager at Nestle. Although he was demobilized from service in the regular forces over a year ago, he joined the volunteer ranks to stay in the fight. He said he never joined because of any “fanatical patriotic beliefs,” but rather because he felt that it was his duty to his nation in a time of war.
But now, after two years on the front, “Leshiy” is angrier than ever with the decision-making of Ukraine’s leaders during the war than anything else. “They accepted this cease-fire, but it doesn’t work at all, so now we sit here getting shot at every night,” he told The WorldPost.
One night, as he listened to a Russian version of the Bible on his iPod, he slammed his fist at the sound of a machine gun burst from the building next door.
‘No! I’m not fighting tonight. I want to listen to the word of the Lord.’Leshiy
“No! I’m not fighting tonight,” he screamed out. “I want to listen to the word of the Lord.”
Like many Ukrainian soldiers serving across the front lines around the separatist-held stronghold of Donetsk, he’s become distrustful of his government’s intentions.
“We could launch an offensive to take back that territory,” he said, furious at his government’s decision not to launch any offensives to recapture the territory. “We’re just waiting for the order, but instead they play these political games so we’re unable to do anything.”
When the Ukrainian government signed the Minsk II peace agreement, it made the decision that military action would not win back the regions under Russian-backed separatist control. At that point, however, thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians had already been killed. Many soldiers here say they still want to fight for those territories, and dream of a grand offensive. The problem is that any such effort would mean untold bloodshed and render Ukraine a pariah on the world stage. Diplomatic efforts to end the war have been rather ineffective so far, and any full-scale conflict with Russia, the world’s second most powerful military, would likely end in disaster, like it did during the battles of Ilovaisk and Debaltseve.
Soldiers like “Leshiy” are not only angry, but also just confused.
“Now I wonder, why did I come here, and what did my friends give their lives for?” he asked.
Further complicating the problem is that the soldiers of this unit, and many others who’ve experienced the trauma of war, have few options to heal post-traumatic stress disorder. They’re angry, they’re frustrated, they’ve given up a significant portion of their lives to fight a war that has been a let down for them, but whenever this ends, there’s no cushion to help them land back into society. Ukraine is poor, and good jobs are not readily available. Many veterans who come out of the war find it tough, and although there has been progress on this front, it’s largely been due to the efforts of volunteers. This combination of anger, the distrust, the proliferation of weapons and the lack of psychological aid is a potentially destabilizing cocktail for Ukraine in the future.
So whenever this war ends, Ukraine will have to shift its few resources towards ensuring that the soldiers who fought to defend it do not turn on their leade
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ukraine-front-lines-fight_us_58129002e4b064e1b4b18642
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Cash, fur coats, Fabergé eggs: Ukraine officials reveal extravagant hidden wealth
Ukraine is a poor country, but its politicians are rich beyond your wildest dreams.
Ukrainian government officials were forced to report their wealth and holdings in a searchable database designed to promote transparency and root out corruption.
The resulting list of luxury is overwhelming. Alligator coats, expensive watches, millions in cash, Fabergé eggs and a yachtare just some of the items that officials have reported.
The extravagance stands in stark contrast to the earnings of the general population. The average wage in Ukraine barely clears $2,000 per year, and soldiers defending the country against pro-Russian forces are working for measly salaries.
The disclosures provoked outrage among Ukrainians on social media.
The head of the tax office, Roman Nasirov, declared he had more than $2 million in cash and owned fur coats, luxury watches, a wine collection and apartments, among other things.
Nasirov heads an anti-corruption campaign to sniff out abuse in a goverment that ranks as one of the most corrupt in the world -- just above Nigeria and Tajikistan, according to an annual ranking by Transparency International.
Ukrainian government officials reported owning items like Fabergé eggs, Hermes bags and alligator coats.
Other opulent, or downright strange, items reported by Ukrainian officials include:
Related: What are the super rich buying? Cars, cars, cars
Ukraine, a country of about 44 million people, is working to improve its economy and cut out corruption after coming to the brink of financial collapse in 2014. Russia's seizure of the Ukrainian region of Crimea in March 2014 accelerated Ukraine's downfall.
In early 2015, Ukraine negotiated a $40 billion international bailout, which included $17.5 billion from the International Monetary Fund.
The money came with strict conditions for how Ukraine would reform its economy. The IMF said the country has made strides in some areas, including rebooting the banking industry. But it said tackling corruption has been much slower than expected.
http://money.cnn.com/2016/11/01/news/politics-ukraine-rich-luxury-government/index.html?source=zacks
Ukraine is a poor country, but its politicians are rich beyond your wildest dreams.
Ukrainian government officials were forced to report their wealth and holdings in a searchable database designed to promote transparency and root out corruption.
The resulting list of luxury is overwhelming. Alligator coats, expensive watches, millions in cash, Fabergé eggs and a yachtare just some of the items that officials have reported.
The extravagance stands in stark contrast to the earnings of the general population. The average wage in Ukraine barely clears $2,000 per year, and soldiers defending the country against pro-Russian forces are working for measly salaries.
The disclosures provoked outrage among Ukrainians on social media.
The head of the tax office, Roman Nasirov, declared he had more than $2 million in cash and owned fur coats, luxury watches, a wine collection and apartments, among other things.
Nasirov heads an anti-corruption campaign to sniff out abuse in a goverment that ranks as one of the most corrupt in the world -- just above Nigeria and Tajikistan, according to an annual ranking by Transparency International.
Ukrainian government officials reported owning items like Fabergé eggs, Hermes bags and alligator coats.
Other opulent, or downright strange, items reported by Ukrainian officials include:
- Holy relics of an Orthodox Christian saint. (The member of parliament who declared the item immediately said he would donate it to a church.)
- A ticket to space on a commercial spaceship. (Held by a city mayor.)
- A private church. (Owned by a member of parliament.)
Related: What are the super rich buying? Cars, cars, cars
Ukraine, a country of about 44 million people, is working to improve its economy and cut out corruption after coming to the brink of financial collapse in 2014. Russia's seizure of the Ukrainian region of Crimea in March 2014 accelerated Ukraine's downfall.
In early 2015, Ukraine negotiated a $40 billion international bailout, which included $17.5 billion from the International Monetary Fund.
The money came with strict conditions for how Ukraine would reform its economy. The IMF said the country has made strides in some areas, including rebooting the banking industry. But it said tackling corruption has been much slower than expected.
http://money.cnn.com/2016/11/01/news/politics-ukraine-rich-luxury-government/index.html?source=zacks
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- VAST WEALTH DECLARED BY UKRAINE POLITICIANS CAUSES SHOCK AND ANGER
There has been an angry reaction in Ukraine to revelations that many politicians are even more staggeringly wealthy than had been suspected.
They are among tens of thousands of officials and public servants who have been obliged to declare their incomes and assets in a public database for the first time. The deadline was late on Sunday.
The results show that some politicians have millions of dollars in cash; others own luxury cars, Swiss watches, diamond jewellery, fur coats, and large amounts of land.
“We did not expect that this would be such a widespread phenomenon among state officials. I can’t imagine there is a European politician who invests money in a wine collection where one bottle costs over 10,000 dollars,” said Vitaliy Shabunin, the head of the non-governmental Anti-Corruption Action Centre.
Many senior politicians filed their forms close to the weekend deadline, resulting in an unleashing of surprise and anger on social media.
The obligation to declare assets online comes under a drive – backed by the International Monetary Fund – to boost transparency, prevent officials from amassing vast amounts of wealth through corruption, and modernise the country’s economy.
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Adam Nathan @eubetterThrilled to see Ukraine’s e-declaration system is working – a welcome demonstration of #Ukraine’s commitment to tackle #corruption @yarko
10:57 AM - 31 Oct 2016
Olexandra Ustinova of the anti-corruption centre explained what the changes meant, compared to the situation beforehand.
“They did not have to declare cash, they did not to declare expensive watches, expensive cars, expensive property and now they have to declare all of this,” she said. “So far what I can see is already a kind of new revolution for Ukraine, because when we see our MPs declaring 35 million (hryvnias – about 1,400 dollars) in cash in presents, you already realise that this is the bribes, or that this can be a bribe or illegal money and this has to be checked.”
“Basically, we had hundreds of people die on Maidan for the new people to be elected and to come to power,” she went on. “And basically looking now on the new declarations you realise that these people are not new. The majority of these people are still there to make money.”
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Center for Insights @IRI_Polls#Ukraine Poll: Frustration w/ government on issues such as corruption & economy benefits populist political parties http://www.iri.org/resource/ukraine-poll-continued-dissatisfaction-government-and-economic-situation …
The Prime Minister Voldymyr Groysman revealed that he and his wife had a total of 1.2 million dollars and 460,000 euros in cash, and a collection of luxury watches.
President Petro Poroshenko filed his declaration close to the deadline, revealing 26.3 million dollars in bank accounts, and holding ownership of 104 companies and charity funds. The business fortune of the former “chocolate king” has been estimated at many times that figure.
The database shows that many top earners prefer to keep much of their money out of Ukraine’s banking system.
Some politicians complained of technical problems which prevented them from logging on to the system, or said that data they entered then got lost.
“I spat, I swore, I nearly smashed the computer,” one said.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) says the declarations are a first step to reform.
“Ukraine has decided to take these very important steps and sometimes that can lead indeed to questions being asked, court cases to be done. But of course it is the Ukrainian authorities who will decide what are those next steps. I believe the international community including UN will be behind Ukraine in these next steps,” said Jan Thomas Hiemstra, Country Director of UNDPUkraine.
In a country where the average salary is around 200 euros per month, the revelations exposing a huge difference in their earnings compared to the fortunes of others, may further dent public confidence in politicians.
http://www.euronews.com/2016/10/31/...by-ukraine-politicians-causes-shock-and-anger
Akim
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You think this is all they have appeared in the last 2 years? They stole all the years of independence. Majdan just replaced some other bourgeois who came to the crest of a wave of popular anger. I am not a fan of neither Maidan 2004 nor the Maidan 2014. However, there is the factor of external aggression.
Bahamut
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No it made the situation worse, also it was not a completely grass root movement send had significant foreign backing, you cannot complain about foreign aggressive when Maiden got money from foreign country for the expensive . Look at Singapore , it was worse then any European country but people there are mature enough to wait for change and work slowly . Do not kill the egg laying hen. Unfortunately the angry people turned out to useful idiot , replace one team of bloodsuckers with another. I would like to say , If u are sick of rules then follow then and then u are at the top change them.
bhramos
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Anti-Ural trucks Kalmius Brigade
We visited today in the artillery brigade "Kalmius" where they could take pictures of the "Ural", which will allow it to run for a long time finally heading dedicated to the announced jihad-mobile. Heading the way is not figurative, as trucks owned by anti-tank units armed with anti-tank - which makes these machines among the most heavily armed of its kind.
http://eastdiary.livejournal.com/210176.html
We visited today in the artillery brigade "Kalmius" where they could take pictures of the "Ural", which will allow it to run for a long time finally heading dedicated to the announced jihad-mobile. Heading the way is not figurative, as trucks owned by anti-tank units armed with anti-tank - which makes these machines among the most heavily armed of its kind.
http://eastdiary.livejournal.com/210176.html
Akim
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Worse than what? In 2001, I received a salary of $ 100. My 2 room apartment in Donetsk was worth $ 5,000. Before the war it had cost 40 000. Everything is relative. Of course it became worse after 2014, but there is the annexation of the Crimea and the war in the East of the country. People have very short memories.
Bahamut
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That why they commit the same mistake again and again
How much was the increase in salary and inflation for food and real estate?
Akim
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The decrease in the purchasing power of citizens leads to a decrease in prices. 2500 UAH, in 2016, you can buy more than 800 UAH. in 2013. This situation not only in Ukraine but also in Russia, Kazakhstan, etc., where the dollar is the no main currency. Of course, this applies to domestic goods. Example: a liter of beer in 2013 was worth UAH 4 (50 cents), now it costs 10 UAH (40 cents).
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