Civil war in Ukraine

[Samar Rathi]

Having been quiet for a few days, comfortable sitting back and watching NATO, Europe, and the US escalate each other's talking points to a frenzy of populist revolt, Russia's Vladimir Putin has come out swinging this morning:

• *PUTIN: NO MATTER WHAT U.S. DOES, IT TURNS OUT LIKE LIBYA, IRAQ
• *PUTIN SAYS UN CAN'T BE FOREIGN POLICY TOOL FOR U.S., ALLIES
• *PUTIN: EUROPEAN LEADERS FAR FROM SHOWING INDEPENDENT THINKING
• *PUTIN SAYS RUSSIA IS COUNTRY THAT DOESN'T FEAR ANYTHING

In addition to discussions of The Bolsheviks, agreeing Stalin was a tyrant, and slamming liberal economic models for creating crises, Putin notes his approval rating is high because "he is confident he's right."

Some more fun soundbites:

• *PUTIN SAYS BOLSHEVIKS BETRAYED NATIONAL INTERESTS IN WWI
• *PUTIN SAYS UNFORTUNATELY SUCH PEOPLE IN RUSSIA TODAY
• *PUTIN SAYS LIBERAL ECONOMIC MODEL LEADS TO BUILDUP OF CRISES
• *PUTIN SAYS NOBODY DENIES STALIN WAS A TYRANT
• *PUTIN SAYS LEADERS WIN SUPPORT BY BEING CONFIDENT THEY'RE RIGHT
• *PUTIN: FIGHTS AT UN SOMETIMES FIERCER THAN DURING COLD WAR
• *PUTIN SAYS UNITED NATIONS NOT ALWAYS EFFECTIVE

And perhaps of most note... just as Obama pronounced yesterday that US would not engage militarily:

• *PUTIN: RUSSIA FAR AWAY FROM BEING SUCKED IN GLOBAL CONFLICT
• But...
• *PUTIN SAYS RUSSIA IS NUCLEAR POWER, STRENGTHENING CAPABILITIES
• *PUTIN: RUSSIA STRENGTHENS ARSENAL TO FEEL SAFE, NOT THREATEN
• *PUTIN: DON'T THINK ANYONE SEEKS LARGE-SCALE CONFLICT W/ RUSSIA

 

[pmaitra]

Request: Let's have a discussion guys. Once in a while, it is OK, but too many one liners and memes add unnecessary noise to the thread.

 

[pmaitra]

Ukr losses

I have a question.

We have seen way too many Ukrainian armour destroyed. Was this just the ordinary artillery strike, or are the militia using amour detecting munitions? Anyone has any idea? From the pictures, it looks like the militia is having a field day with the Kiev regime forces.

 

[jouni]

Having been quiet for a few days, comfortable sitting back and watching NATO, Europe, and the US escalate each other's talking points to a frenzy of populist revolt, Russia's Vladimir Putin has come out swinging this morning:

• *PUTIN: NO MATTER WHAT U.S. DOES, IT TURNS OUT LIKE LIBYA, IRAQ
• *PUTIN SAYS UN CAN'T BE FOREIGN POLICY TOOL FOR U.S., ALLIES
• *PUTIN: EUROPEAN LEADERS FAR FROM SHOWING INDEPENDENT THINKING
• *PUTIN SAYS RUSSIA IS COUNTRY THAT DOESN'T FEAR ANYTHING

In addition to discussions of The Bolsheviks, agreeing Stalin was a tyrant, and slamming liberal economic models for creating crises, Putin notes his approval rating is high because "he is confident he's right."

Some more fun soundbites:

• *PUTIN SAYS BOLSHEVIKS BETRAYED NATIONAL INTERESTS IN WWI
• *PUTIN SAYS UNFORTUNATELY SUCH PEOPLE IN RUSSIA TODAY
• *PUTIN SAYS LIBERAL ECONOMIC MODEL LEADS TO BUILDUP OF CRISES
• *PUTIN SAYS NOBODY DENIES STALIN WAS A TYRANT
• *PUTIN SAYS LEADERS WIN SUPPORT BY BEING CONFIDENT THEY'RE RIGHT
• *PUTIN: FIGHTS AT UN SOMETIMES FIERCER THAN DURING COLD WAR
• *PUTIN SAYS UNITED NATIONS NOT ALWAYS EFFECTIVE

And perhaps of most note... just as Obama pronounced yesterday that US would not engage militarily:

• *PUTIN: RUSSIA FAR AWAY FROM BEING SUCKED IN GLOBAL CONFLICT
• But...
• *PUTIN SAYS RUSSIA IS NUCLEAR POWER, STRENGTHENING CAPABILITIES
• *PUTIN: RUSSIA STRENGTHENS ARSENAL TO FEEL SAFE, NOT THREATEN
• *PUTIN: DON'T THINK ANYONE SEEKS LARGE-SCALE CONFLICT W/ RUSSIA

Source please

 

[ghost]

I have a question.

We have seen way too many Ukrainian armour destroyed. Was this just the ordinary artillery strike, or are the militia using amour detecting munitions? Anyone has any idea? From the pictures, it looks like the militia is having a field day with the Kiev regime forces.

Sir,
I think in this thread ,along with political agenda and updates being discussed.We should also discuss the weapon systems being used,as it is war where the true effectiveness of weapon system is proved.

As you pointed out ,i have also noticed a lot of armor destroyed in the present war.I wonder what is behind it,tank,rpg,or something else.So please discuss the weapon system and military tactics being used.

 

[ghost]

KIEV: Ukraine said on Friday that it would seek the protection of Nato membership after what Kiev and its Western allies say is the open participation of the Russian military in the war in Ukraine's eastern provinces.

Formal Ukrainian membership in the Western military alliance — which would come with the full protection of a mutual defence pact with the US superpower — remains an unlikely prospect, at least in the near future.

But by announcing that it is seeking it, Kiev is taking its most decisive step yet to pursue Western military protection from what it now describes as an invasion by its neighbour.

Nato's secretary general said he respected Ukraine's right to seek membership, and accused Russia of blatantly and illegally intervening in eastern Ukraine.

Moscow denies its forces are fighting to support pro—Russian rebels who have declared independence in eastern Ukraine, but the rebels have all but confirmed it, saying thousands of Russian troops have fought on their behalf while "on leave".

The arrival of what Western governments say are armoured columns of Russian troops on a new front in recent days has tipped the balance towards the rebels after weeks in which Ukrainian forces appeared to be gaining the upper hand.

Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk told a government meeting on Friday the cabinet would "bring before parliament a law to scrap the non—aligned status of the Ukrainian state and establish a course towards membership of Nato."

Were Nato to contemplate extending its mutual defence pact to Ukraine, it would be the biggest change in the security architecture of Europe since the 1990s.

After the Cold War, Nato defied Russian objections and expanded to grant its security guarantees to former Communist countries like Poland, Hungary and Romania. But it largely stopped at the border of the former Soviet Union, admitting only the three tiny Baltic states Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.

Nato denied Ukraine a fast track towards membership in 2008 when a previous pro—European government in Kiev tried to pursue closer ties with the alliance.

Ukraine's pro—Russian president Viktor Yanukovich, who took power in 2010 and was toppled in a revolution earlier this year, had pursued non—aligned status. President Petro Poroshenko, who was elected to succeed him in June, had also said he did not back joining Nato because there was no popular support for it.

But with the conflict in the east escalating since then, Ukrainian officials say public support for joining the alliance is mounting, and they have increasingly spoken about needing the formal protection of the alliance.

Despite Nato's concern over the situation in Ukraine, the 28—nation alliance has said repeatedly it has no intention of intervening militarily to protect the country, which it is not obliged to defend as a non—member.

Speaking in Brussels on Friday, Nato Secretary—General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Russia's direct military operations in Ukraine were in blatant violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"Despite Moscow's hollow denials, it is now clear that Russian troops and equipment have illegally crossed the border into eastern and south—eastern Ukraine," Rasmussen said.

"This is not an isolated action, but part of a dangerous pattern over many months to destabilise Ukraine as a sovereign nation," he added.

He said Nato would fully respect any decision by the Ukrainian parliament to abandon Ukraine's non—aligned status and set out to seek Nato membership.

Yatseniuk said earlier this week that Ukraine hoped for "practical help" from the alliance when it holds a summit in Wales next week which will be dominated by the Ukrainian crisis.

Ukraine seeks Nato membership in response to Russia joining war - The Times of India

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
NATO kisi ki madad ke liye na AATO,NATO kamzor par rob ZAMTO,takatvar ke samne bheegi billi ban JATO.

 

[Damian]

As you pointed out ,i have also noticed a lot of armor destroyed in the present war.I wonder what is behind it,tank,rpg,or something else.So please discuss the weapon system and military tactics being used.

Mostly the fault is design of vehicles made in former USSR. They are not designed to fight in urban combat in any way, neither prepared properly to do so. Another factor is ammunition storage.

During WWII it was discovered that even if armor is perforated, but the internal ammunition storage is not in fire or detonated, not only crew survives, but sometimes vehicles itself have only minor damage and can further stay and efficently fight on the battlefield.

You could seen many T-64 and some T-72 tanks destroyed in this conflict, all have the same problem, ammunition storage vurnable to fire.

On the other hand, in this conflict most of armor is old, for example Ukrainians reported that ERA kits and to be more precise their explosive filler are very old, and exceeded it's usability limits, which means that ERA might not work properly, or even at all.

Ukrainians try to solve this problem in case of T-64 tanks, by modernizing the T-64B1 variants to T-64B1M (a cheaper sollution compared to more advanced T-64B modernization to T-64BM "Bulat") which have additional ERA modules on hull side skirts protecting ammunition storage. These tanks also receive more advanced "Knife" ERA over old "Kontakt-1".

Other vehicles are preatty much soft skinned ones, vurnable even to HMG's fire.

 

[ghost]

Anti tank mines being used by pro Russian rebels AGAINST Ukrainian army

TM-62 -M ANTI TANK MINE
These mines are employed against tanks,self propelled rockets and artillery stands,armored and transportaion vehicles.

CHARACTERISTICS

CHARGE WEIGHT,KG 8.1
MINE WEIGHT,KG 10.8

FUSE MVCH-62 OR MVP-62

ACTIVATING EFFORT,KG

-WITH MVCH-62 180-500

WITH MVP-62 150-700

Dimensions,required for the usage of a mine layer

Diameter,mm 320

Height,mm 70

Corpus metal

Manufacturer DUNARIT

Proof of mines being used,vehicles destroyed by these mines.

Ukrainian IFV Strikes Anti-tank Mine

While on patrol, the lead Ukrainian APC strikes a landmine and is sent into the ditch. Dismounts setup security and evacuate the wounded. A second unexploded mine is discovered and dismantled.

 

[pmaitra]

Those doors at the back of the BMP double up as fuel dumps. I wonder why it was designed that way. Looks like the door survived the blast, although the blast was probably not directly under the doors.

 

[pmaitra]

Poland finally allowed aircraft of Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu enter its airspace

Sumy send tanks from musea to the conflict zone (It is unclear whether they will be sending this Joseph Stalin tank to fight.)

Ukrainian militia soldiers released from captivity in Ilovaiskaya

Militias shot down four Ukrainian Sukhoi-25

The militia captured two "Tochka-U" at Saur's Grave and Ilovaiskaya

Ukrainian military: Of 150 surrounded fighters, 17 survived

 

[pmaitra]

Ukraine Rebels Push Toward Strategic Southeast Seaport

This NYT article was authored by ANDREW E. KRAMER and ANDREW ROTHAUG.

NOVOAZOVSK, Ukraine — Backed by Russian troops and weaponry, hundreds of Ukrainian rebel militiamen mobilized on Friday in this southeastern town, vacated by the Ukrainian military two days ago, and began to push toward the strategic seaport of Mariupol 27 miles away. The leader of the rebels called the advance a broad new effort to wrest control of a wide swath of coastal territory from the central government.

The militiamen flew the flag of "Novorossiya," or New Russia, a reference to Russia's historical claims over the southeastern area of Ukraine that encompasses the rebellious Donetsk and Luhansk regions under siege by the Ukrainian Army, as well as vast territories elsewhere in southern Ukraine.

Their thrust toward Mariupol, a port on the Sea of Azov, was the most prominent evidence that the insurgency in eastern Ukraine bordering Russia has been given a new infusion of vitality by President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.

It came as Mr. Putin directly addressed the insurgents for the first time on Friday in a message posted on his website titled "The President of Russia Vladimir Putin Addresses the Novorossiya Militia," pointedly using the reference to an area broader than the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Source of Map: Ukrainian Council of National Security and Defense; DigitalGlobe

Spoiler

The developments offered new insights into the strategy of Mr. Putin, who has supported the rebels in defiance of the United States and its Western allies as part of a broader effort to keep Ukraine within Russia's sphere of influence.

The rebel advance along the southeast coast suggested that Mr. Putin may be laying the basis for a more independent eastern Ukraine beyond the borders of Luhansk and Donetsk, or for creating an overland route from Russia to Crimea, the southern Ukrainian peninsula that Russia annexed five months ago.

Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of increasingly brazen military aggression, sending troops, tanks and other weapons across the border to support the rebels. The Kremlin has denied the accusations and asserted that any Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine are volunteers on vacation.

A takeover of Mariupol, an industrial city of 450,000, would go a long way toward helping the separatists gain control over land that would connect Russia to Crimea, along a path starting here at this border town.

Along a road littered with felled tree limbs from tank battles, pro-Russian soldiers waved journalists past checkpoints and behind their lines here for the first time on Friday, offering a glimpse at the composition of their weaponry and the insignia on uniforms, which were all the flag of Novorossiya.

The military commandant of the town, who offered only his nickname, Svet, said the soldiers here were with the Army of Novorossiya, rather than either of the main separatist groups, the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics.

The political wing of the armed group that opened the new front here, he said, was the Parliament of Novorossiya, formed in June with representatives from Luhansk and Donetsk but open to any of the eight Ukrainian provinces claimed as Novorossiya.

"Now we are fighting for all of southeastern Ukraine, for Novorossiya, which was historically a Russian province," said Svet, interviewed outside an auto repair shop where he had set up a command post.

While local pro-Russian militiamen manned checkpoints, evidence of a Russian presence was abundant, including unmarked Russian military vehicles with no license plates, and green plastic wrappers from Russian military rations. A soldier on a tank greeting arriving journalists shouted in English: "Back in the U.S.S.R.!"

A woman cashier at a Novoazovsk grocery store said Russian soldiers had purchased sausages and cigarettes on the first day the town was seized, but had since handed over patrol duties to pro-Russian Ukrainian fighters. Asked how she knew they were Russian soldiers, the woman, who identified herself as Olga, snapped: "You think I've only lived one day?"

In his statement addressed to the separatists, Mr. Putin asked the fighters of Novorossiya to open a humanitarian corridor to allow a large grouping of Ukrainian soldiers trapped behind the lines of the new advance to retreat to the west. Aleksandr Zakharchenko, a rebel leader who said on Thursday that more than 3,000 Russians, including active soldiers on leave, had fought among the separatists, quickly agreed to Mr. Putin's proposal. Conditions included the surrender of all heavy armaments and ammunition.

Mr. Putin and his subordinates have sought to frame the Ukraine insurgency as a struggle by the Russian-speaking population in eastern Ukraine against an oppressive central government that is backed by neo-Nazi and other fascist elements. In remarks to students in Russia on Friday, Mr. Putin said the Ukrainian Army's shelling of cities in that country's southeast reminded him of the Nazi siege of Leningrad — one of the darkest and most emotional touchstones of recent Russian history. Mr. Putin said the government in Kiev was trying to destroy the will of the people who resist.

Scrambling to counter Russia and align itself even more with the West, the Ukrainian prime minister, Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk, announced on Friday that a bill had been introduced in Parliament to cancel Ukraine's status as a nonaligned country and to "restore its aspirations to become a NATO member."

"This law also reaffirms the main political goal of Ukraine — to become a member of the European Union," Mr. Yatsenyuk said on his Facebook page.

In a new sign of Russia's economic isolation over the Ukraine crisis, it cost more than 37 rubles to buy a dollar on Friday morning, the weakest exchange rate for the Russian currency since the years of hyperinflation in the 1990s. With NATO and Western governments accusing Russia on Thursday of having well over 1,000 active troops in Ukraine, it seemed unlikely that Mr. Putin's congratulatory statement to the separatists would assuage anger toward him.

On Friday, the secretary general of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, offered the alliance's support for Kiev and condemned what he called a "serious escalation of Russia's military aggression against Ukraine." He was speaking after ambassadors of the 28-nation alliance met at its headquarters in Brussels, first to discuss the Ukraine crisis among themselves and then to hold talks with representatives of the government in Kiev.

"Despite Moscow's hollow denials, it is now clear that Russian troops and equipment have illegally crossed the border into eastern and southeastern Ukraine," Mr. Rasmussen said in a statement. "This is not an isolated action, but part of a dangerous pattern over many months to destabilize Ukraine as a sovereign nation."

NATO leaders are to meet in Wales next week and Mr. Rasmussen said the alliance would assure the Ukrainian president, Petro O. Poroshenko, of NATO's "unwavering support for Ukraine."

Outside Mariupol, yellow construction backhoes dug trenches as the regrouping Ninth Battalion of the Ukrainian Army, recently evicted from Novoazovsk, prepared to defend the city with whatever was at hand. Along with the army soldiers, national guardsmen and volunteers in the Dnepr-1 paramilitary group, who travel in pickup trucks, were at the checkpoints. A few hundred people gathered for a pro-Ukrainian demonstration, holding signs saying "Mariupol is Ukraine." Civilian residents, household belongings piled into their cars, were leaving.

[HR][/HR]

Comments on this article (NYT picks):

Porter
Sarasota, Florida 4 hours ago
It's been obvious from the beginning, when Putin had his naval troops in Crimea take over that peninsula for Russia, that Russia would need a land bridge to connect the Crimea with the rest of Russia. Otherwise, how would it be supplied and be an effective part of Russia?

The Crimea and its Russian bases are Russia's only real outlet to the Black Sea and are essential for Russia to have a military presence on that sea and in the Middle East. With a series of fickle governments in Kiev, it made sense militarily, strategically and economically for Russia to directly control all of Crimea. It's Russia's route to the Black Sea and from there, out to the world.

The only question has been when and how Putin would achieve that land connection. Apparently he's devised what appears to be a very workable plan to gain at least the land bridge to Crimea, and perhaps a larger chunk of Ukraine as well.

Remember that all of Ukraine was historically a part of the Russian and, later, Soviet empires. Going back further, Kiev is where Russia - the land of the Rus - began.

Putin's intentions are clear and his approval ratings in Russia are out the roof. He's not going to stop now, Ukraine can't possibly stop him even with their newly-instituted draft, and Europe isn't going to war. My guess is that he's going to take a lot of land in eastern Ukraine and in the eventual negotiations to end the "war" will settle for the essential land bridge to Crimea - for now.

BSR
Boston 4 hours ago
The reason further sanctions won't change the Russian tactics is that sanctions take years to be effective. Putin knows that he will be able to demand all sanctions be lifted in exchange for "peace" in Ukraine.

The US should consider real sectoral sanctions with bite now, arming Ukraine, and building up real NATO positions in in the Baltics and Poland. If we and the Europeans don't want to do that then we owe it to the Ukrainians to let them know they need to stop fighting and negotiate the best deal they can.

al
boston 3 hours ago
At this point in the game Ukraine faces a limited and very tough choice. It's either to forever remain a Russian serf or to win independence that may come at a high cost.

If Ukranian people opt for independence, the path is clear: hold onto as much territory as you can. Declare Russia an enemy and an occupying power, and align with Europe and NATO. Russia won't have the stomach to occupy all Ukraine.

The next step would be a complete economic, political, and cultural isolation of Russia from the West. That will take some time and determination. The West has time, and Russian disregard for basic international rules will fuel its determination. Yes, Russia has lots of oil, gas, and nuclear weapons. Let them have it all.

PE
Seattle, Wash. 2 hours ago
Obama is willing to concede this land bridge without any military involvement. He may even be willing to concede all of eastern Ukraine, maybe all of Ukraine. Politically, what Obama needs to get out of this is an EU wake-up call. Putin is overtly proclaiming a New Russian, east vs.west, cold war with Europe and America. The goal should be to calm the rhetoric and meet at the table. In the mean time, the EU needs some leverage. Dependent on Russian energy, and with a weak military, the EU has no leverage. Obama should work with EU leaders and motivate them to invest military and their own alternative energy sources.

Mitch Gitman
Seattle 2 hours ago
We in the West have to realize now that Ukraine can no longer be "a little bit European and a little bit Russian." It has to align politically, economically, and militarily either entirely with Europe or entirely with Russia. It is Russia that has forced that hand.

I keep being reminded of Abraham Lincoln's "House Divided" speech: "A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved — I do not expect the house to fall — but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other."

We can only hope now that the Ukrainian state emerges intact on the free side.

Shoshon
Portland, Oregon 1 hour ago
A little decisive support back in December would have limited the damage. We give an inch, and Putin takes a mile. Hopefully, the West, and especially the US, will have learned the painful lesson of appeasement (again) and be willing to defend our sovereign friends with force. As John F. Kennedy said, "We will bear any burden, pay any price, defend any friend and oppose any foe in the cause of freedom." Those words, and backing them with real commitment, are as important today as they were decades ago.
Turning over your school lunch money doesn't deter a bully, they just show up tomorrow and demand your whole knapsack. Letting Crimea slide (and the 'red line' on Syria) has resulted in Russia invading Ukraine, again. It will be a painful, bitter, and expensive process to regain our credibility in the world. Until that happens, we will be inviting more aggression, from the South China Sea and the far East to the Middle East, to Eastern Europe.

 

[pmaitra]

Pardon me for not reading this article (the Tweets in the article were discouraging enough and indicated what to expect), but posting it. Some might find it interesting. I saw the title, and decided this is purely meant to stir the "patriotic pot" aimed at its gullible readership.

Read it if you want: An American Voice on Ukraine's Front Lines Goes Silent

 

[pmaitra]

Ukraine 'slipping out of control', Germany warns

Excerpts and commentary:

The crisis in eastern Ukraine is "slipping out of control" and needs to be reined in to avoid direct military confrontation between Ukraine and Russia, Germany has warned.

Ukraine slipped out of control on February 21, 2014.

The conflict in Ukraine's eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk erupted in April following Russia's annexation of Ukraine's southern Crimea peninsula a month before.

To be precise, the violence erupted after Crimea's referendum on accession to the Russian Federation.

France's Laurent Fabius spoke of "unacceptable" intervention by Russian troops in eastern Ukraine

Was the ouster of a democratically elected President acceptable?

Sweden's Carl Bildt said a clear message had to be sent to Russia: "We have to be aware of what we are facing: we are in the midst of the second Russian invasion of Ukraine within a year"

Carl Bildt, another Twitter troll, and a narcissist of the highest grade, needs to shut up already, after his dehumanizing comments about the victims of the Odessa carnage.

The Netherlands' Frans Timmermans said the presence of Russian soldiers in eastern Ukraine could not "remain unanswered"

Go, get an answer.

Russia could face new restrictions after a summit of the European Union's 28 heads of state in Brussels on Saturday.

Threat of more action.

Russia's energy minister has warned that the Ukrainian crisis could lead to a disruption of gas supplies to European countries this winter.

Threat of reaction.

Rebels are also reported to have surrounded government soldiers in several places further north, near Donetsk city.

BBC, always late. We knew that Kiev's forces were surrounded at many places since last week. What took BBC so long to realize that? Do their reporters not get out of Kiev?

 

[pmaitra]

Dam to be burst to wash away southern Ukraine?

Oligarch Igor Kolmoisky

Rumour has it that Igor Kolmoisky, oligarch, and the unelected and pro-Kiev regional dictator of the Dnepropetrovsk region, might blow up the Dnepr Hydro Electric Dam (ДнепроГЭС/DneproGES), should the pro-Russia militia close in on Zaparozhiya.

Some excerpts from this LifeNews article:

Spoiler

According to our well-informed source, the power of Zaporozhye, controlled by oligarch, preparing to blow up the dam DnieproGES in case of surrender of the city.
​

- He is sponsoring its punitive battalions, other forces he does not. All the government army will remain in the south-east of the country, and under no circumstances Poroshenko now will not help Kolomoiskiy - said military expert Vladimir Timoshenko.
​

According to the source LifeNews in Zaporozhye, the local authorities are appalled by the Kolomoiskiy and his assistants, who do not skimp on the threat. However, the internal tensions within the district does not give officials an opportunity to confront the pressure of the oligarch. Production at the main local factories suspended because of the ban on military-technical cooperation with Russia. In the autumn a few of them can be closed completely.

All this contributes to the growth of discontent and opposition to the authorities. Zaporozhye remains one of the few cities that refused to turn off in order to save gas in the eternal fire. To avoid possible disturbances, in addition to people Kolomoiskiy in Kiev sent battalions that had previously conducted a sweep of Mariupol "unreliable" people.

In this case, political analyst Andrei Suzdaltsev assures that the situation in the region Kolomoysky risks alienating a large part of the population of Mariupol and Zaporozhye.

- As soon as the troops of the militia will be included in a regional center, many residents of Zaporizhia can replenish their ranks. Live there Cossacks. They know how and love to fight. In favor of the resistance fighters and the National Guard battalions Kolomoiskiy says local electorate tired of empty promises and lordly manners Kolomoiskiy - said the expert. - Taxis mood and the economy : housing prices, currency instability, the gas pressure on the issue of people in favor of resistance to power.
​

Hydro Electric Dam on the Dnepr, DneproGES

Those interested, may read about DneproGES in the article entitled "DnieproGES pride and the nightmare of the Union," of Svobodnaya Pressa.

Spoiler

Ninety years ago, December 30, 1922 the first All-Union Congress of Soviets approved the agreement on the formation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The agreement was signed four of the republic - the RSFSR, the Byelorussian SSR, USSR, and much less now known Transcaucasian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic. With this quartet and began the history of the Soviet Union - the same superpower that at the peak of power were "fifteen republics, fifteen sisters," as taught in school the author of these lines.

And all these 90 years, along with the victory in the Great Patriotic War and the legendary conquest of space, one of the main symbols of the country's hydroelectric power remained in the lower reaches of the Dnieper: dam in the form of an arch, a masterpiece of industrial architecture, as decided in the thirties in Paris.

DnieproGES was the first large-scale achievement of the first Five-Year Plan. Giant at the time the station was built the royal engineers, American technical advisors and 36 thousand workers - illiterate, still had no relation to the construction people. Interestingly, in contrast to other Soviet buildings, prison labor on the Dnieper River was not used. But civilian collected from everywhere: farmers, retired military, unemployed at labor exchanges. The works involved the sons of the king's admirals, and even former Countess. Famous newsreels: men happily knead concrete, if performed by the Greek Sirtaki dance .. By the way, the strength of the concrete strikes so far.
​

This operation ... is still full of classified details. Our successfully forced the lower reaches of the Dnieper River in the fall of 1943. But standing on the beachhead for more than two months, and moved forward on the right-bank Ukraine only in the winter of 1944. Why?
Red Army stopped the threat to the very large-scale man-made disaster of the Second World. Its mystery still keeps the legend of the domestic industry - Dniproges dam.

T-34 broke on the left bank of Zaporozhye October 14th. A week later, just three Guards Rifle Division crossed the Dnieper at the dam. Another great springboard appeared just above the river in the village of Kanev. And suddenly the whole group stood up. The only case in the history of the war - the Soviet troops two and a half months did not dare to attack the right bank of Zaporozhye, significantly slowing down the general offensive against the West.

Yes, the Germans provided fierce resistance, the battles were bloody. But when the soldier's blood is prevented Stalin's offensive? Was another reason, because of which the army could not go ahead. The six-volume "History of the Great Patriotic War" only lifts the veil:

"Soviet troops sought in whatever was to prevent the destruction of invaders DnieproGES. For the destruction of the station Nazis drove more than 200 thousand. Kilograms of explosives. Only for the destruction of the dam they are carefully embedded in her body 40 thousand. Kilograms of explosives, laid 100 bombs weighing 500 kg. Fully ... carry out their plans invaders failed. The Red Army shot down the enemy from his position on the right bank of the Dnieper, and liberated the territory of the Dnieper. Immediately after these fights to the plant workers and engineers arrived. Starting recovery, they found the body of the dam of the Soviet soldier. Fallen hero's death in the rescue of hydropower from the Nazis. The name of the soldier-patriot remains unknown. When it does not have any documents. Team working with military honors and buried him at the station. Since then, the workers of the Dnieper as a shrine guard the tomb and the monument in honor of the nameless hero. "
​

 

[pmaitra]

In response to the above post, I would like to add, that:

• Igor Kolmoisky was appointed the governor of Dnepropetrovsk region by the Kiev regime of Arsenic Yatz, which seized power in a Nazi backed coup d'état, that ousted the democratically elected President.
• Arsenic Yatz was instrumental in cutting off military cooperation with Russia, which includes, the hardware for Russia's Strategic Nuclear Forces, which is made in Dnepropetrovsk.
• Considering the fact that Arsenic Yatz is a US installed puppet, it is plausible that the goal of the US is to strike a blow to Russia's Strategic Nuclear Forces, and that Arsenic Yatz is merely acting as the foot soldier for the US.
• It is also reasonable to assume that Russia knows about this, and has plans to advance towards Dnepropetrovsk, once the northern shores of the Sea of Azov is secured and a land bridge to Crimea established.
• The cutting off of military cooperation of Ukraine with Russia by the new regime, has led to closure of factories in Ukraine, that used to rely on imports by Russia. Therefore, there is already an element of resentment among the locals.
• Under such circumstances, it is not impossible that Russia is sowing the seeds of fear in the minds of the already resentful people of the eastern industrial cities, that are still outside the control of the pro-Russia militia.

 

[pmaitra]

Russia-led military bloc ready to send peacekeepers to Ukraine

Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization Nikolai Bordyuzha (RIA Novosti / Alexey Kudenko)

The head of the CSTO says its peacekeepers are ready for any operations, including in Ukraine, but their deployment requires the go-ahead from leaders of all member-countries.

The CSTO is a military bloc uniting six ex-Soviet nations - Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Russia. Currently Russia holds the rotating presidency of the organization.

 

[pmaitra]

Activists seek probe into Ukraine's use of child soldiers in Donbass

"We are writing to Sergey Lavrov because we are convinced international law mandates Ukrainian conscripts aged under-19 must be given the right to leave the war zone. These servicemen and their parents must know about this fact," the deputy head of the Russian Peace Foundation Yelena Sutormina said in an interview with the Izvestia daily.

"One years' difference might seem a purely bureaucratic detail, but not today, when life and death depend on it.In reality Ukrainian mothers have a carte blanche for saving their sons," Sutormina said.

The move was prompted by Kiev authorities confirming on July 28 the death of an 18-year old army conscript who fought against federalist forces in the Donetsk Region.

Russian activists said in their letter they had about 17 and even 16-year old boys taking part in military operations in Ukraine. "It is unthinkable that cynical politicians and instigators are literally hiding behind the backs of young lads," the Public Chamber's letter reads.

Can someone confirm the highlighted part?

 

[bhramos]

Interview with Lieutenant Colonel captives, pilot downed aircraft SU-25 over the marinating. Aug. 19, 2014 by the militia in the suburbs of the Red beam was arrested July 21 pilot shot down near the village of Marinovka aircraft SU-25. The pilot was taken to the headquarters of the Army of the South-East.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whKWUPNsVZc

 

[bhramos]

militia "Kalmius" is shooting from ACS 2C3 "Carnation".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A7B2iTcJl4

 

[pmaitra]

Kiev regime's PoWs at work

Source: «Люба, не волнуйся, я в плену» » Политикус - Politikus.ru