Napetost v Ukrajini - Krimu

Citat:
The launch of Ukraine's new police patrol force last year sparked an internet craze of citizens posting selfies with newly recruited officers.

Their popularity stemmed not from their uniforms, body cameras and tablets, but the fact they did not demand bribes.

The most visibly successful reform to have emerged from the pro-European Maidan protests in 2014 is now under threat, serving and former law enforcement officials say, accusing vested interests of seeking to obstruct and discredit the force.

Vladyslav Vlasiuk, a lawyer by training who rose through patrol police ranks to become Chief of Staff of the National Police, quit in March, "exhausted" by the pushback against change, he told Reuters in his first media interview since.

...

In Ukraine, prosecutors have the power to launch investigations into public servants suspected of wrongdoing -- a power which police officers say is being abused.

"When you are working within any public service in Ukraine you have to be ready to deal with a lot of inspections, a lot of bullshit, a lot of irrelevant regulations," Vlasiuk said.

"And the prosecution is a controlling organ which can punish you for, in their opinion, improper actions," he said.

...

Several high-profile reformers have been sacked from the government and prosecution service or resigned in frustration.

First Deputy Interior Minister Eka Zguladze has also quit, to take on an advisory role in the ministry. Her resignation statement on Wednesday gave no reason but contained a warning over the fate of reforms.

"I want to emphasize that these islands of success will drown in the ocean of corruption, nihilism, the bureaucracy, if we do not build bridges between them, creating a continent," she said. "And if in Ukraine we do not have the strength to go forward, the door, that we just opened, may close forever."

...

His former boss, a Georgian technocrat called Khatia Dekanoidze in charge of the National Police, described in a separate interview cases of vested interests undermining change.

An initiative to fire corrupt or incompetent officers by vetting them in a "reattestation" process has led to hundreds of lawsuits by sacked officers, some of whom got their jobs back.

Dekanoidze said judges were deliberately reinstating discredited officers for fear the judiciary could be next.

"This is a revenge of the old system, because the judiciary system, especially courts, they are part of the old system," Dekanoidze said.

...

An incident that has grown into a cause celebre for the police occurred on the night of Feb 7. A police car chased a speeding BMW through the streets of Kiev, recorded on a black and white police camera in footage later broadcast on TV.

Starting with warning shots, three police officers fired a total of 34 bullets at the car during the course of a 40 minute chase, according to an interior ministry spokesman. Eventually, one of the bullets killed a 17-year-old passenger inside.

Prosecutors accused the officer of wilful murder and abuse of authority; he is under house arrest while they investigate.

Police said the officer was trying to protect the public from a driver who was drunk. Their supporters protested in Kiev holding banners saying "Keep Calm and Support Patrol Police" and the hashtag #savepolice appeared on Twitter.

...

She added there were other cases when police had gone after illegal gambling rackets -- only for prosecutors to open criminal cases against the officers.

A Western diplomat, who did not want to be identified by name, said the fight back by prosecutors showed reforms were starting to have a real impact.

"Prosecutors here are millionaires," the diplomat said. "They are powerful people who will fight to the very end to protect the resources vertical they created."

Much will hinge on the performance of the new General Prosecutor, Yuriy Lutsenko, a former interior minister whose appointment on Thursday raised eyebrows because he had no legal background.

Dekanoidze said she hopes prosecutors under Lutsenko will cooperate with the police. "Because ... without a good and fair prosecution, police can't do anything."

Klikni za razširitev

Citat:
MIL.IN.UA, a Facebook page dedicated to the Ukrainian military and arms industry, has posted several photos that show a Russian T-90 tank, with fighters wearing irregular uniforms, one of them adorned with the St George's ribbon associated with separatist forces, purportedly near Lugansk airport.





The man in the middle of both the photos above, with the St George's ribbon, can be seen standing on the road in front of the demolished terminal of Lugansk Airport in the photo below:



Compare with this AFP photo:



While the tank is not photographed in any geolocatable location, all of the photos do appear to have been taken in the same area and time, based on the foliage, lighting and clothing.

Klikni za razširitev

Citat:
Call me paranoid.... bridge over Kam'yanka river taken out delaying potential reinforcements to #avdiivka

Klikni za razširitev

Citat:
Avdiivka under severe Russian fire, private houses bombed, destroyed. Ukraine forces do not respond.- local accunts report.

Klikni za razširitev

Citat:
01:51 #Avdiivka @LuftGanza I think, they were firing with tube artillery, probably MSTA #Donetsk @Ukr_Che No, Giatsynts

01:42 #Avdiivka @LuftGanza I can remember many things, but so many landings in such short period I didn't hear #donbasreports

01:33 #Avdiivka @fingerw80 Frequency is 60 pcs per minute, not less [=a landing each second]

01:33 #Avdiivka @tiamat007 It lands already uninterruptedly in the same direction. Wall vibrate like strings. How many landed there?100?200?

01:31 #Avdiivka @JuZolyshkaLia So far car alarms go off, damn, landings are heard one after another #donbasreports

01:25 #Avdiivka @fingerw80 Just hell here, incomings, it feels like at town's old part [=south], 120mm,very many of them, no such for a year

01:18 #Avdiivka @666_mancer [vk] Mom on the phone, at #3 & #5, #Levaneskoho, panes broke

23:20 #Avdiivka @patriot_petya [vk] "town's old part: f*ck-up, loudly, just over my head" "Damn, I can see a house burning"

23:04 #Avdiivka @owl_ok From #Promka direction, explosions reach us #donbasreports

22:45 #Avdiivka @LuftGanza 4 shells [landed] at #Promka, orcs' mortar detachment is at #Spartak #donbasreports

Klikni za razširitev

Citat:
Head of the Republic of Crimea Sergey Aksenov participated in the work of the Council of Commanders of volunteer units of Donbass with the participation of the Russian President's aide Vladislav Surkov.

During the event, a ceremonial presentation of awards of the Republic of Crimea and the characters "Volunteer of Donbass" persons who took part in the Crimean spring, the protection of civilians in the Donbas and humanitarian assistance. In particular, Vladislav Surkov, presented state awards of the Republic of Crimea "For fidelity to duty." "Reliable team member of the President, who is always ready to be at the right time in the right place", - said the head of the republic awarded.

...

"I believe that the existence of such non-governmental organization that brings together volunteers who have the desire to prove himself at the service of the Fatherland, you need to maintain. What makes Alexander Yu - a lot of work. He is trying to understand the problems of each veteran, volunteer, find the approach to everyone. We agreed that we will support our colleagues, "- said the head of the Crimea.

Klikni za razširitev

Citat:
Several countries currently use and store the self-propelled mortar Tyulpan. Among them Russia with 120 mortars in storage and 8 active, North Korea (no quantity data available) and Syria with 24 mortars in active service. Currently, experts in Donbass region spotted four batteries of 240-mm Tyulpan mortars. Supposedly, they were introduced by two tactical groups from Russia, as soon as Ukraine army never possessed the 2S4 mortars. Mass media mentioned the use of Tyupans in the assaults of Lugansk and Donetsk airports. However, many people challenged that. But furhther pictures and videos shared by number of bloggers later on were supporting this version. You can find one of the mine types for Tulips (53-F-864) on the picture below.

Klikni za razširitev

Citat:
Communists are under threat of expulsion in Donetsk

They had already been expelled from the People’s Soviet in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) and were not admitted to a rally.

Although it may seem strange, Donetsk has undertaken the process of decommunisation almost simultaneously with Ukraine. No, Lenin’s monument in the centre of the city still stands, but the local communists have been kicked from practically everywhere.

All that there is to learn about the present-day Donetsk communists fits in a small paragraph: their leader has been excused from all positions in the DNR a long time ago, they were refused from registering their own electoral lists at the last elections, their national deputies were dismissed from the People’s Soviet of DNR on May 6.

...

On May 6, the communist deputies were thrown out of the same People’s Soviet with the reason being “loss of confidence”. On May 11, the local law-enforcement attempted to impede a block of KP DNR, carrying red flags, from taking part in a rally. This day, for those who don’t know it, is now a holiday – Day of the Republic.

...

“Everything is very simple, there will be two public organisations in the Republic: Doneckaya Respublika (Donetsk Republic) and Svobodnyy Donbass (Free Donbass)”, was reported by a source in the DNR government. “Everyone else will just have to play along! Last year, we had already denied the communists in registering their list, what they did was get their people on Donetsk Republic’s list, but had not ceased their political activities. Hence, they were removed by a decision of the Political Soviet. Here, everything will be as we say, not otherwise!”

“Allowed” public organisations are tied to Aleksandr Zaharchenko and Pavel Gubarev accordingly. Whereas, the DNR communists held their plenum during the weekend with the goal of figuring out what they should now do.

Klikni za razširitev

Citat:
Ukraine has come up with a stinging rebuttal to Russia’s insistence that it repay a $3bn loan that was due last year: if you wanted your money back you should not have invaded our country.

That is the essence of what could become lengthy arbitration in London’s High Court this year as the neighbouring countries condense years of conflict into a financial dispute.

...

In recent years, campaigners have put forward numerous proposals for countries to be forgiven debts incurred by previous regimes, including reducing South Africa’s apartheid-era debt and writing off the money borrowed by Iraq under Saddam Hussein, but none has prevailed.

In 2008, Ecuador managed to slash the debt it owed by claiming that the offences of the previous regime invalidated legal protection for the creditors — but it remains a rare exception.

Ukraine has focused its defence against repaying a $3bn, three-year bond to Russia on the country’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and involvement in a two-year separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine.

This, the government argues, is proof of the economic, political and military strategy that Russia has employed to destabilise Ukraine, effectively rendering it unable to repay the debt.

Klikni za razširitev

Citat:
Few Ukrainian citizens have endured as much as the helicopter pilot, and recently released POW, Nadiya Savchenko. Captured by Donbass separatists in the early days of the war and delivered into Russian custody, Savchenko was imprisoned for 708 days, subjected to a Kafkaesque show-trial and sentenced to 22 years in prison.

...

Now she is no longer just a symbol, but a political actor with unrivalled popular support and moral authority, with the potential to become the most consequential political leader in Ukraine’s history.

...

If and when Savchenko does reach for the brass ring, her biggest opponent will not be any individual politician, but the structure of Ukrainian politics itself. Despite the high hopes of the Euromaidan revolutionaries, Ukraine’s sistema—the corrupt patterns of governance and business that have blighted the state since independence—has proven to be highly resilient. Following the collapse of the Yatsenyuk government in April, reformists were purged from positions of influence, seemingly with President Poroshenko’s blessing, signaling a return to business as usual .

...

The contrast with the existing political elite could not appear starker. It also demonstrates she possesses the strength of character, and sheer stubbornness, to resist being co-opted by them.

That doesn’t mean that they won’t try. Poroshenko and Fatherland party leader Yuliya Tymoshenko competed to see who could hug Savchenko tighter—to the pilot’s visible discomfort—on her release.

...

This is assuming Savchenko and her supporters remain committed to constitutional politics.

...

A “colonels’ putsch” led by Savchenko could even have some initial success in establishing the rule of law and fighting corruption. However, the more likely outcome of a military coup is even greater political and economic turmoil, pushing Ukraine towards state failure. Alternately a ‘third Maidan’ supported by Savchenko would have a strong chance of toppling Poroshenko, but would do little to further a legal and constitutional political culture.

The politics of sistema are those of conspiracy and intrigue among political insiders. In an irony of fate, Ukraine’s best chance for breaking this pattern now lies in the hands of a 35-year-old, previously avowedly apolitical, helicopter pilot. The term game changer is a political cliché, but Savchenko’s release is the rare occurrence that merits the description. Assuming Savchenko brings the physical and moral courage, not to mention stubbornness, she showed in prison to her political career, a conflict with the sistema is inevitable sometime in the future. The question is whether Savchenko can beat the sistema and if so, what replaces it. The answer will define Ukraine’s political and economic prospects for a generation or more.

Klikni za razširitev