'Slaughterhouse': Civilians die in Kiev's ruthless military attacks (GRAPHIC)

[Natural Citizen]

‘I never saw people die before’: Injured girl shares horrors of Kiev shelling (VIDEO)...

Still from Ruptly video

Ukrainian army shelling has forever changed the life of a teenage girl near Donetsk, who is now lying in hospital with a shattered arm and shrapnel wounds. The teen witnessed 15 people, including children killed by falling bombs along the river’s shore.


Government forces first bombed the village of Zugres in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine on August 14. Several shells hit a beach full of people relaxing by the river, with splinters piercing and killing some and severing the limbs of others. A total of fifteen people died in the attack, among them three children. Yana Fenenko was one of the lucky ones who survived that day.

“We were swimming in the river when lots of bombs started falling all at once. We left the water and I threw myself down on the ground. I was lying prone, but I was still hit by a bomb,” 15-year-old Yana told RT’s Ruptly agency from a hospital bed.

“I had never seen how people die before,” she said. “The beach was filled with kids… A man got his hand blown off by one of the bombs. I saw it, he was laying right next to me. Also, one of the kids’ heads was blown off... It was very scary.”

Yana has been in the hospital for about a week and still has another month to go before she can be released. Doctors say her recovery will be very long and painful because of all the shrapnel in her right hand and the right side of her body.

“She has a lot of shrapnel wounds in the right half of the body: the jaw area, all of her right hand, shoulder and forearm, right hip and right thigh,” one of her treating doctors told ANNA News.


A man reacts as he stands in front of a building damaged by, what locals say, was recent shelling by Ukrainian forces, in Donetsk, August 20, 2014. (Reuters/Maxim Shemetov)

“My life definitely changed for the worst [since Kiev’s military offensive began]. A lot of my friends and acquaintances have died,” the girl said.

Yana was planning to study to become a teacher. She had all the documents already submitted to a local college and was just waiting for the exams, but those have been continually postponed due to the Ukrainian army shelling of eastern Ukraine.

Since the initial shelling of Zugres, the girl’s parents have been forced to take cover in a bomb shelter. “They’ve been there for two or three nights already,” Yana said.
Yana’s grandmother is with her at the hospital. She said she is devastated by what is happening to her family and land.

“I can’t understand this government, or Mr. Poroshenko himself. Why should our kids, our mothers, or grandmothers suffer? There is so much pain inside, I can’t even express it,” the woman said.



The Ukrainian military is moving forward with their offensive, carrying out raids in Donetsk and Lugansk as well as the surrounding areas, according to Ukraine’s National Security Council spokesman Andrey Lysenko.

Reports from the ground indicate that the offensive continues to be accompanied by indiscriminate shelling of residential areas, causing daily civilian casualties.

On Wednesday alone, 34 people died and 29 others were injured as Kiev shelled villages and towns in the Donetsk region, local health authorities reported.

Shells also hit a penal colony in the Donetsk region, killing two inmates, local authorities told RIA Novosti.

Another bomb hit the Yasinovskiy coke and chemical plant in the city of Makeyevka, causing fire with a billow of smoke. All of the workers have been evacuated and production at the plant has been halted.


Makeyevka has for days been the target of relentless shelling, with houses, kindergartens and a fuel station reportedly destroyed in several attacks. Six civilians were killed there as a result of Tuesday’s shelling.

Some of the towns targeted by Ukrainian troops’ shelling are left with no water or electricity. On Tuesday, a water purification plant was heavily damaged in the Donetsk Region, cutting water supplies to thousands of people, including those in Zugres. Meanwhile in the city of Donetsk, local maintenance crews have been working to restore the damaged water plant supplying water to a population of 436,000.


local resident stands in front of an apartment block damaged by a recent shelling in the settlement of Makeyevka, on the outskirts of Donetsk, August 19, 2014. (Reuters/Maxim Shemetov)

Meanwhile, Ukrainian customs officials are refusing to inspect the first batch of Russian trucks carrying aid to eastern Ukraine, claiming that the paperwork is not ready.

The UN has estimated that around 2,000 people have lost their lives since the start of the riots in Kiev and the subsequent military campaign in the south-eastern regions of the country.


Continued - ‘I never saw people die before’: Injured girl shares horrors of Kiev shelling (VIDEO)

[Natural Citizen]

Solace for the struggling: E. Ukrainians without water, food crave Russian aid...

As the first 30 trucks in the humanitarian convoy headed for war-torn eastern Ukraine, the residents of Lugansk - struggling daily without regular food supplies, water, electricity and under constant shelling - are looking forward to the aid relief.

First trucks with Russian aid reach Lugansk, E. Ukraine

On Friday, the Russian convoy crossed the Ukrainian border and started moving in the direction of Lugansk, after Moscow had ordered it to proceed, without waiting for further instructions or permission from Kiev.

Due to the electricity black-out and the lack of water, many local enterprises have to a halt in Lugansk. RT traveled to what used to be the area’s biggest bread-baking facilities and spoke with one of the employees, Vasily, who said that he doesn’t know how the locals get by.

“I don’t know why they are doing this, I stopped being afraid and just live my everyday life,” he told RT.

There are make-shift markets in the region, with most of the traders coming from neighboring villages, where the situation is a bit less catastrophic.

Lugansk residents come to the market to buy goods – or for exchange, as no payments have been made in the city over the past few weeks, and the prices are through the roof.

Queues form early in the morning, with people getting their numbers and waiting in long lines. When the food is brought, there isn’t enough, the locals say.
“People have nothing to eat,” Igor, a local elderly man, states miserably.
“Over three weeks – how is that possible? 250,000 people remain in the city – what are we left to do? We don’t have a single liter of water, no electricity, nothing,” Lyubov Ivanova, a Lugansk resident, exclaimed emotionally.

Therefore, the humanitarian aid which is coming from Russia is much needed, they say.

“Our damned fool of a president says that what Russia sends is nothing. How is that – 280 trucks coming to help us – it’s nothing for him!” Lyubov Fedorova, a Lugansk resident, told RT.

On Thursday, the International Red Cross representatives spoke of a very difficult humanitarian situation in Lugansk, after visiting the city to check it before the arrival of the Russian aid.

“There is no water, electricity, food supplies, people are cut off from the vital infrastructure. People are afraid to leave their homes because they can come under fire. Apart from that, the shelling targets residential areas sometimes which represents a danger for the civilian population,” the ICRC head in Europe and Asia Laurent Corbaz said.

The Ukrainian conflict has seen 118,000 internally displaced, according to UN estimates, and another 740,000 have reportedly fled to Russia.
1,300 have been killed since the conflict started, and more than 4,000 have been wounded.

Continued - Solace for the struggling: E. Ukrainians without water, food crave Russian aid

[juleswin]

Ouch, just a few months ago, people were cheering these $#@!s for attacking the police. I always knew they were no freedom fighters, just petty tyrants trying to get on top of the food chain so they could unleash their version of hell on the easterners.

[Natural Citizen]

Ouch, just a few months ago, people were cheering these $#@!s for attacking the police. I always knew they were no freedom fighters, just petty tyrants trying to get on top of the food chain so they could unleash their version of hell on the easterners.

Corporate Interests Behind Ukraine Putsch

WikiLeaks releases draft of highly-secretive multi-national trade deal

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...=1#post5307335

[Natural Citizen]

Mission completed: Moscow confirms delivery of aid to E. Ukraine, trucks return to Russia...

Russia’s Foreign Ministry has confirmed humanitarian aid has been delivered to the besieged city of Lugansk in eastern Ukraine. Meanwhile all trucks that delivered aid had returned to Russia.

“We express our satisfaction that the Russian humanitarian aid for those in need in southeastern Ukraine has been delivered as intended. We were motivated only by the goal of helping civilian citizens in need,” the statement read.

All trucks have returned empty, Ukrainian and Russian border guards confirmed, Russian Deputy Emergency Minister Eduard Chizhikov said.

“There were 227 trucks in the humanitarian operation participating in the operation, and they have all returned. All those vehicles have been searched by the representatives of the customs and border control, both on the Ukrainian and Russian side. No issues have been pointed out. All vehicles were empty upon returning, and the media representatives checked that, too, while they were filming the search,” Chizhikov stated.

The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) also confirmed that all 227 vehicles that entered Ukraine as part of a Russian aid convoy have now returned home.

The Russian Foreign Ministry also said that they were “getting a lot of feedback from the residents of Lugansk, who were thankful for such a good attitude from the Russian part.”

It also underlined that the Russian representatives of the Red Cross were in close cooperation with the leadership and employees of the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC), and the ICRC has proved to be “a responsible partner.”

The Ministry has also reacted to the comment of NATO General Secretary Anders Fogh Rasmussen that the humanitarian convoy entered Ukraine without consent from the authorities in Kiev and ICRC involvement, describing his words as “another lie.”

Russia’s Defense Ministry has denied “another portion of accusations” by representatives of NATO against Russia. The latest claims include allegations that Russia directly involved its military and heavy weaponry in fighting on the Ukrainian territory.

“We’ve stopped paying attention to Mr. Rasmussen’s empty talk and his press secretary. There is no point commenting on them. There is no proof there except Twitter,” official representative of Russia’s Defense Ministry Igor Konashenkov stated.

“I would like to remind you that the official powers of Mr. Rasmussen ended on July 31, and today he’s acting not so much for the alliance, but as the organizer of the September 4 NATO summit in Wales. We understand that his prospects will depend on the promotion of that event,” the statement also said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed “the intention to continue cooperation with the ICRC in the efforts to provide the humanitarian aid for the residents of southeastern Ukraine.”

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has announced it’s planning to expand its operations in eastern Ukraine.

“We are planning to expand our activities in Lugansk and eastern Ukraine as a whole. The ICRC team has begun assessing the needs,” Anastasia Isyuk, the aid organization’s spokeswoman, told Itar-Tass news agency.

Red Cross activities in the war-torn areas will be boosted as soon as the ICRC advance group, working in Lugansk since August 20, concludes its negotiations with the sides involved in the conflict, she said.

“They meet constantly with representatives of the warring sides despite continuous shelling, evaluate performance and assess the regions’ needs,” the spokeswoman explained.

Continued - Mission completed: Moscow confirms delivery of aid to E. Ukraine, trucks return to Russia

[Natural Citizen]

I regret Russian aid convoy issue became highly-politicized’ – UN humanitarian chief...

The UN recognizes the dire situation in east Ukraine, and underlines the importance of avoiding politicizing humanitarian issues, as happened with the Russian aid convoy, UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos told RT.

The situation in east Ukraine, where fighting between the Kiev troops and militia continues, is deteriorating, Valerie Amos, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator said in an interview with RT Saturday.

“We are very concerned that the situation is getting worse because the fighting has not stopped. In the east, where the fighting continues, we still have a lot of people in need of humanitarian aid,” she said.

Baroness Amos is on a trip to Ukraine and has visited several eastern regions, including Slavyansk (Sloviansk in Ukrainian language). The city used to be a militia stronghold until government forces regained control over the area in July following fierce fighting.

“Today, I was able to meet and talk to people in Slavyansk who have fled the fighting, who basically wanted to go home. That is all they wanted. They wanted peace, stability and security and were worried for those they have left behind,” she said.

The UN official’s visit comes a day after Russia came under fire from the West for sending an aid convoy without Kiev's final approval to Lugansk region.

Lugansk and neighboring areas have been repeatedly shelled lately, which resulted in casualties among civilians. Because of damaged infrastructure in Lugansk, there is no water and electricity supply, and phone and internet lines are also down.

According to the Red Cross, there is an “urgent need for essentials like food and medical supplies” in Lugansk.

When asked why Western countries approved sending aid to Syria without agreeing it with the Syrian government, Baroness Amos said there was a big difference.

“What we have is a Security Council resolution that authorizes – through four additional border-crossing points that are not controlled on the Syrian side, by the Syrian government – the United Nations to deliver humanitarian supplies across the border,” she said. “And there is a monitoring mechanism that has been established to confirm that the supplies are of a humanitarian nature. So, it’s very very different. It’s the UN as an independent body delivering humanitarian supplies which are monitored before they cross the border with the authority of the UN Security Council.”

On Thursday, Russia proposed that the UN Security Council issue a decision to support the delivery of the humanitarian aid to Ukraine. However, Moscow’s initiative was blocked by the United States and Lithuania.

“In particular, they proposed to remove from the text calls for a cease-fire and for ensuring the safe delivery of humanitarian aid, as well as the reference to the fact that the humanitarian aid is being sent by the Russian side,” the Russian Ministry said in a statement.

Before entering Ukraine, Russian trucks carrying aid spent a week stuck at the Ukrainian border. The cargo was recognized as humanitarian aid by the ICRC, which inspected the vehicles and was to accompany the convoy but later dropped the plan over security concerns. After days of talks, Kiev also recognized the convoy as humanitarian. But when everything was agreed upon, the Ukrainian side found yet another pretext to postpone giving the aid convoy a green light.

“We all agree that there is a humanitarian crisis and we should do everything that we can to get aid to those people,” Amos told RT, adding that they want that aid to be delivered “as quickly as possible.”

Meanwhile, the UN official said that in case with Syria “it took the Security Council three years to agree on a resolution that enabled cross-border operations for the UN across border-crossings that were not controlled by the Syrian government”.

According to Amos, “only 34” out of 227 Russian trucks were checked and “the agreement with the ICRC was not adhered to, which is why they did not in the end participate,” she said.

Now all the trucks are back in Russia. RT asked the UN official’s opinion on whether it will help to ease the tensions surrounding the aid convoy.

“I think that there are political issues which need to be addressed between Ukraine and the Russian Federation. What I think is important in terms of the humanitarian aspects of this, is that those aspects are not politicized. One of the important things about humanitarian work is that it’s independent, it’s neutral, it’s about bringing aid to people in desperate need. I regret that this whole issue of the convoy became highly-politicized. And I hope that this does not happen again,” Baroness Amos said.

Continued - I regret Russian aid convoy issue became highly-politicized’ – UN humanitarian chief

[Natural Citizen]

US says military motive in Russian aid, empty trucks return home...

The White House has issued a statement saying Russia's humanitarian convoy, which delivered aid to Ukraine, had a military motive, without anything to back its accusation. It also claims that most of the vehicles were inspected in Russia, despite checks by foreign journalists and the International Red Cross. Gayane Chichakyan sums up Washington's reaction.

[Natural Citizen]

Why the Ukraine Crisis Is the West’s Fault

This paper comes from the Council on Foreign Relations. It's an interesting piece because it questions counter-intuitive policy that we see from the western political elite with regard to Russia and Ukraine.

I'll just quote a few of the more interesting paragraphs. Make of them what you wish...

“But most realists opposed expansion, in the belief that a declining great power with an aging population and a one-dimensional economy did not in fact need to be contained. And they feared that enlargement would only give Moscow an incentive to cause trouble in eastern Europe. The U.S. diplomat George Kennan articulated this perspective in a 1998 interview, shortly after the U.S. Senate approved the first round of NATO expansion. ‘I think the Russians will gradually react quite adversely and it will affect their policies,’ he said. ‘I think it is a tragic mistake. There was no reason for this whatsoever. No one was threatening anyone else.’

“Other analysts allege, more plausibly, that Putin regrets the demise of the Soviet Union and is determined to reverse it by expanding Russia’s borders. According to this interpretation, Putin, having taken Crimea, is now testing the waters to see if the time is right to conquer Ukraine, or at least its eastern part, and he will eventually behave aggressively toward other countries in Russia’s neighborhood. For some in this camp, Putin represents a modern-day Adolf Hitler, and striking any kind of deal with him would repeat the mistake of Munich. Thus, NATO must admit Georgia and Ukraine to contain Russia before it dominates its neighbors and threatens western Europe.

“This argument falls apart on close inspection. If Putin were committed to creating a greater Russia, signs of his intentions would almost certainly have arisen before February 22. But there is virtually no evidence that he was bent on taking Crimea, much less any other territory in Ukraine, before that date. Even Western leaders who supported NATO expansion were not doing so out of a fear that Russia was about to use military force. Putin’s actions in Crimea took them by complete surprise and appear to have been a spontaneous reaction to Yanukovych’s ouster. Right afterward, even Putin said he opposed Crimean secession, before quickly changing his mind.”

“There is a solution to the crisis in Ukraine, however — although it would require the West to think about the country in a fundamentally new way. The United States and its allies should abandon their plan to westernize Ukraine and instead aim to make it a neutral buffer between NATO and Russia, akin to Austria’s position during the Cold War. Western leaders should acknowledge that Ukraine matters so much to Putin that they cannot support an anti-Russian regime there. This would not mean that a future Ukrainian government would have to be pro-Russian or anti-NATO. On the contrary, the goal should be a sovereign Ukraine that falls in neither the Russian nor the Western camp.

“To achieve this end, the United States and its allies should publicly rule out NATO’s expansion into both Georgia and Ukraine. The West should also help fashion an economic rescue plan for Ukraine funded jointly by the EU, the International Monetary Fund, Russia, and the United States — a proposal that Moscow should welcome, given its interest in having a prosperous and stable Ukraine on its western flank. And the West should considerably limit its social-engineering efforts inside Ukraine. It is time to put an end to Western support for another Orange Revolution. Nevertheless, U.S. and European leaders should encourage Ukraine to respect minority rights, especially the language rights of its Russian speakers.”

“The United States will also someday need Russia’s help containing a rising China. Current U.S. policy, however, is only driving Moscow and Beijing closer together.

“The United States and its European allies now face a choice on Ukraine. They can continue their current policy, which will exacerbate hostilities with Russia and devastate Ukraine in the process — a scenario in which everyone would come out a loser. Or they can switch gears and work to create a prosperous but neutral Ukraine, one that does not threaten Russia and allows the West to repair its relations with Moscow. With that approach, all sides would win.”

Continued - Why the Ukraine Crisis Is the West’s Fault The Liberal Delusions That Provoked Putin

[Natural Citizen]

The Ukraine remains under constant bombardment and real people are still dying. For nothing. Maybe they happened to be standing in the wrong place in their front yard. Perhaps they chose to go for a walk in the park on the wrong day. But with that said, humanitarian help is beginning to be distributed. I think that more will be on the way for these people.

Russian humanitarian aid distribution begins in E. Ukraine...

With heavy fighting underway in south-eastern Ukraine, the distribution of humanitarian aid from Russia has started in the city of Lugansk, which is besieged by the Kiev forces.

The first 12 points distributing food have already begun working. The minimum offering includes rice, buckwheat and sugar, three canned meats, a packet of tea and 10 liters of water, Novorossiya news agency reports.

Kindergartens, schools and other social facilities were the first to receive the aid.

The city said it was planning to open another 37 aid distribution points in the coming days.

The Russian aid convoy of 227 trucks arrived in the city on Friday, bringing almost 2,000 tons of relief supplies.

However, the humanitarian situation remains “critical” in Lugansk as the people are forced to survive without electricity, water and communications due to ongoing fighting between the Kiev troops and the local self-defense forces, Lugansk City Council said.

“Every day, firefights and shelling lead to new destruction of urban infrastructure and homes as well as combustions and fires,” the local authorities said.

Earlier on Monday, Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, has voiced plans for a second aid convoy to be sent to eastern Ukraine, urging foreign actors and agencies to participate in continuing efforts at relieving the “humanitarian crisis”.

The bread is being baked and is always on sale in Lugansk, but the City Council expressed concern that problems with water supply may result in spread of infectious diseases.

According to Kiev, the Ukrainian forces were able to entrench themselves in the northern part of Lugansk.

The army plans to use the area as foothold to begin its offensive on the rest of the city, Andrey Lysenko, Ukraine’s National Security Council spokesman, said.

However, Lysenko stressed that “most of the Lugansk” remains under control of the self-defense forces of the Lugansk People’s Republic.


Kiev fires ballistic missile at Donetsk

The hostilities continued in Donetsk on Monday, with the mayor’s office speaking of explosions, which are heard “in all districts” of the besieged city.

“The epicenter of the fighting is now Kirovsky and Petrovsky districts [in the south-west of city],” the Donetsk authorities said.

Kiev has started using ballistic missiles against the self-defense forces in Donetsk, a RIA-Novosti news agency’s correspondent reported from the scene.

The Tochka-U missile, which is believed to be the most powerful weapon in the arsenal of the country’s military, hit a miners’ village on the outskirts of the city on the eve of Ukrainian Independence Day on August 24, he stressed.

The rocket’s cluster exploded in the air, damaging several buildings in the Kirovsky district and gravely injuring three people, including a mother of three children, the self-defense forces said.

Tochka-U is a Soviet-era short-range tactical ballistic missile, which was introduced back in 1989.

The missile is designed to make precise strikes on enemy tactical targets and can also carry nuclear, biological or chemical warheads.

Previously, the Ukrainian authorities have denied accusations that they used Tochka-U missiles during their operations in Lugansk, Snezhnoe, Shakhters and several other south-eastern cities.
On Sunday, the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) has released a special report on civilian fatalities and damage following the shelling of a residential area in the north of Donetsk on August 23.

“At the scene, the SMM saw a five-floor apartment block with the ground in front of it littered with debris. Some sixty civilians, mainly elderly and in shock, were standing in the vicinity. Close to a footpath leading to one of the entrances, the SMM observed three bodies covered with blankets, judged by SMM to be two adults and a child, in close proximity to each other,” the report said.

“Local residents told the SMM that the three were a mother, father and their child. They said that another child, five years old and the fourth family member, died on the way to the hospital, as a result of head injuries,” it added.

The monitors also a nearby three-floor building, a garage and a kindergarten damaged by “what appeared to have been shelling.”

“The SMM saw a kindergarten, with the window panes of its second floor shattered and children’s toys scattered around,” the report said.


Anti-Kiev forces enter Elenovka village

The self-defense forces have entered the Elenovka village outside Donetsk, the press-service for the Defense Ministry of the self-proclaimed People’s Republic of Donetsk said.

The advancement came as a result of the “offensive reconnaissance” by the militias, the press-service stressed.

According to the self-defense forces, the Kiev troops were dislodged from two check points, with three Ukrainian soldiers taken prisoner.

The anti-Kiev rebels also seized two Rapira anti-tank guns, MT-LB armored personnel carrier with a mounted anti-aircraft twin-barreled auto-cannon and two transport vehicles, the ministry told Itar-Tass news agency.

However, the agency stressed that the info coming from the rebels isn’t confirmed by any other sources.
Earlier on the day, it was reported that the militias have enveloped a large grouping of Ukrainian military in Elenovka.

The self-defense forces said that around 2,000 Kiev troops, more than a hundred armored vehicles and 60 artillery pieces of various calibers were trapped.

According to People’s Republic of Donetsk staff, Kiev has lost 182 troops (107 killed and 75 injured) in fighting in Donetsk Region during the last 24 hours.

However, Ukraine’s National Security Council spokesman, Andrey Lysenko, said that only 4 Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 31 others injured.

Kiev’s military crackdown on in the south-east of the country started in April after the people in Donetsk and Lugansk Region refused to recognize the new coup-imposed authorities and demanded federalization of the country.

According to UN’s estimates, over 2,000 people have so far been killed and over 5,000 wounded in the fighting.

Continued - Russian humanitarian aid distribution begins in E. Ukraine

[Natural Citizen]

Ukraine's Right Sector 'seizes' Crimea reporter, AFP freelancer...

Two Crimean journalists, including a photographer who works with AFP and RIA news agencies, say they have been detained by enforcers from Ukraine’s Right Sector movement, while covering the conflict in the east of the country.

Reporter Evgeniya Korolyova and photographer Maksim Vasylenko were returning on a bus from the warzone near Donetsk, which is besieged by government forces, when a Right Sector patrol made them disembark, before taking them prisoner.

The information was reported by the Crimean Telegraph newspaper, where both journalists are on the payroll, which says that it received a phone call from the detainees on Sunday night.
“Evgeniya was allowed one phone call, but it seemed that there were people watching her every word as she spoke, so she couldn’t say exactly where she was arrested. Asked if her life was in danger, she denied it, but specified that she was detained as a journalist, not an ordinary citizen,” wrote the Crimean Telegraph.

The newspaper said that the pair were not on an editorial assignment, while Russia's Rossiya Segodnya news agency (formerly RIA Novosti) and AFP’s bureau in Moscow confirmed that Vasylenko had been working for them as a freelance photographer.
Margarita Simonyan, RT’s editor-in-chief and the head of Rossiya Segodnya international news agency, has called for the immediate release of journalists held by Kiev.

“We demand the prompt release of detained Russian journalists, including our freelance photojournalist, who performed his professional duty," Simonyan said. “Up till now the authorities of that country are silent about the fate of our photojournalist Andrey Stenin,” she said, adding that the OSCE and other human rights organization have repeatedly warned and condemned such behavior.

Human Rights Watch has also called for the immediate release of Korolyova and Vasilenko.

“Human Rights Watch is extremely concerned about the welfare and safety of Korolyova and Vasilenko,” Rachel Denber, Deputy Director of the Europe and Central Asia Division of HRW told RIA. “Before there were numerous reports of journalists kidnapped or militias DNR and LC, or the Ukrainian authorities.

Now, according to media reports it is the Right Sector. If this is true, then it can only be regarded as kidnapping, because the Right Sector has no legal authority to detain people. If they are still holding Korolyova and Vasilenko, they should release them immediately.”

The representative of the Crimean field mission on Human Rights, Andrey Krisko, told RIA that the Right Sector has promised to hand over the journalists to the police who will decide their fate, as both are suspected of “espionage activities.”

“According to preliminary data, the journalists were detained by the Right Sector. They are being screened for their alleged involvement in intelligence activities on the territory of Ukraine, but as far as I know, nothing compromising was found on them,” said Krisko, adding that the detained are “alive and well.”

Crimean Telegraph editor in chief Maria Volkonskaya said the newspaper would submit an official query about the whereabouts of the two, while journalists in Crimea capital Simferopol have scheduled a demonstration demanding their release for Tuesday afternoon.

Ultra-nationalist Right Sector, which played a key role in the Maidan protests that deposed former President Viktor Yanukovich, has been operating several units of volunteers to fight against anti-Kiev militants in the east of the country.

The movement was accused of being behind the abduction of RIA photojournalist Andrey Stenin, who has been missing since disappearing in eastern Ukraine three weeks ago. Right Sector has denied responsibility.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has criticized the actions of both sides during the conflict, which has resulted in the abductions and illegal detention of dozens of journalists, and the deaths of at least four.

“Violence against journalists has a chilling effect on the whole society and cannot be tolerated. I call on the Ukrainian authorities to swiftly and thoroughly investigate these attacks and to do their utmost to ensure journalists’ safety,” OSCE Representative for Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatovic said in a statement last week.

There have been a number of attacks on members of the press, including lethal ones in Ukraine.

In the line of fire: Journalists killed and abducted in Eastern Ukraine

Relatives, friends and colleagues still mourn the death of Igor Kornelyuk and Anton Voloshin, Rossiya TV channel employees who were killed on June 17 in a mortar shelling of their position. Later that month a cameraman from Russia’s Channel One television, Anatoly Klyan, was killed by government forces in the eastern city of Donetsk. In May, Kiev's military assault of the East resulted in the tragic loss of life of Italian journalist Andrea Rocchelli, who was hit along with his interpreter, Andrey Mironov, by Kiev mortar fire near the village of Andreevka.

Harassment of journalist in Ukraine has been widely condemned by the international community and Moscow. Yet attacks on the press have continued, many of whom have been abducted, tortured and released after the intercession of international community and social media campaigns.

Continued - Ukraine's Right Sector 'seizes' Crimea reporter, AFP freelancer



Relevant reading...

Journalists killed and abducted in Eastern Ukraine...



As human rights organizations call for an end to repression against the press in Eastern Ukraine, RT recalls the journalists who were abducted, tortured or paid the ultimate price and lost their lives while reporting from the heart of the civil war.

Eastern Ukraine has been dubbed a “trap for journalists”by Human Rights Watch’s representative in Russia as the deepening crisis has already taken the lives of six journalists since the beginning of the year.

Many more journalists have been abducted, interrogated and even tortured while caught in the crossfire in the fighting between the Ukraine Army and the militia forces of southeastern Ukraine.

Some of the deadliest and most brutal incidents...

Igor Kornelyuk, Anton Voloshin (Russia) – killed

Igor Kornelyuk and Anton Voloshin both worked for Rossiya TV channel. On June 17, Kornelyuk, a correspondent for Vesti, and Voloshin, a video engineer, were killed during a mortar shelling of the Metallist and Mirnoye villages near Lugansk.

‘100% aimed action’: Ukraine military shelled refugees, Russian journalists, survivor says

They were the first Russian journalists to have died in the line of duty in Ukraine since the coup in Kiev and the beginning of civil unrest in the eastern regions.


Anatoly Klyan (Russia) – killed

Last word ‘camera’! Russian journalist killed in E. Ukraine working till dying breath

On June 30, a cameraman from Russia’s Channel One television, Anatoly Klyan, was killed by law enforcement agencies in the eastern city of Donetsk. Klyan, along with a few other journalists, boarded a bus full of women – mostly mothers – who were traveling to a military base in Donetsk to demand the disbandment of a military unit where their sons had been recruited to serve. He was wounded in the stomach as the bus was shelled and died on the way to the hospital.


Andrea Rocchelli (Italy) with interpreter Andrey Mironov (Russia) – killed

'Torn to pieces': Ghastly details emerge of Italian reporter and his Russian interpreter’s killing in E. Ukraine

Italian journalist Andrea Rocchelli was hit along with his interpreter, Andrey Mironov, by Kiev’s mortar fire near the village of Andreevka, a couple of kilometers from Slavyansk, on May 25. Rocchelli was covering the ongoing conflict ahead of the snap presidential elections.


Andrey Stenin (Russia) - missing

Missing Russian reporter in E. Ukraine may be arrested – Kiev official

On August 5, Rossiya Segodnya (formerly RIA Novosti) news agency received photo-journalist Andrey Stenin’s last report before he went missing. He reported from the center of the Ukrainian crisis, beginning with Kiev’s Maidan protests in November following onto the horrors of Odessa, then in the Crimea, and most lately, the fierce fighting in parts of east Ukraine.


Graham Phillips (UK) – abducted, interrogated

‘He had a gun to my head’: Released RT contributor tells of 3-day Ukraine captivity

Graham Phillips, a UK national, has been working as a freelance journalist and as an RT contributor in eastern Ukraine. He was detained by Ukrainian security service twice. First he was detained in May at a checkpoint near Mariupol and held captive by the Kiev military for over 36 hours. Then in late July he was captured at the Donetsk international airport, interrogated and allegedly tortured for reporting about the developments in Ukraine. Following his release, Graham was banned from returning to Ukraine for three years.


Simon Ostrovsky (US) – abducted, interrogated

On April 21, Simon Ostrovsky was taken captive in Slavyansk by the local militia while producing "Russian Roulette," a series of video reports for Vice News. He was interrogated on the basis of claims that he had links to the far-right group Right Sector. He was held captive in a basement in the local SBU headquarters for four days and then released.


Anton Skiba (Ukraine) – abducted, interrogated

On July 22, Anton Skiba, a freelance Ukrainian journalist working for US news network CNN, was captured by the local militia in Donetsk. He was questioned on suspicion of having multiple forms of identification with different surnames.


Evgeny Davydov, Nikita Konashenkov (Russia) – abducted, tortured

Zvezda TV crew freed after harsh interrogation, ransom demands by Ukraine radicals

Russian journalists Evgeny Davydov and Nikita Konashenkov, working for working for Zvezda TV channel, were captured by Kiev’s forces on June 14 while on their way to the airport in Dnepropetrovsk, heading back home. They were interrogated and tortured by the Right Sector group, as they described their abductors, for two days. The journalists said that along with constant intimidation, interrogations and beatings, they received several death threats from their captors.


Oleg Sidyakin, Marat Saichenko (Russia) – abducted, tortured

OSCE calls on Kiev to free Russian journalists, ‘stop intimidating media’

On May 18, two journalists from Russia’s LifeNews, Oleg Sidyakin and Marat Saichenko, were detained near Kramatorsk by Kiev’s forces. The Ukrainian authorities accused them of assisting “terrorism” in the east of the country while a video of the two was released showing them with their hands tied, kneeling on the ground. The journalists were released after a week.


Andrey Sushenkov, Anton Malyshev (Russia) - abducted, interrogated

Captive Russian journalists told they’d be ‘cut to bits’ and ‘barbecued’

The Ukrainian National Guard detained Zvezda TV channel’s video operator Andrey Sushenkov and sound engineer Anton Malyshev at a military roadblock near the city of Slavyansk on June 6. According to their driver, they were blindfolded and handcuffed during a routine check, and then taken to an undisclosed location. They were held captive for two days and accused of espionage.

Many more journalists from a range of media outlets have come under fire during the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian troops have also fired at people with cameras, as well as people wearing protective press vests.

Russian journalists being banned entry to Ukraine

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a US-based organization promoting the freedom of the press and protection of journalists from persecution, on Wednesday slammed the conditions of press freedom in Ukraine, especially in the eastern regions engulfed by warfare, calling them volatile and deteriorating.

Continued - In the line of fire: Journalists killed and abducted in Eastern Ukraine




Update on the more recent missing journalist on the list...

Mother of Russian journalist missing in Ukraine addresses Red Cross for help

The mother of Russian photojournalist, Andrey Stenin, missing in war-torn eastern Ukraine, has addressed the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to help find her son.

Vera Stenina told RT that she addressed the ICRC “because they are looking for missing relatives. And I had hopes that I will be helped there.”

“They said that they’ll try to look for him,” the woman told RT, adding that the Red Cross showed “understanding” of her problem.

An experienced war photographer, Stenin, who works for the Rossiya Segodnya news agency (formerly RIA Novosti), disappeared on August 5 as he was covering the Ukrainian army’s campaign against the anti-Kiev rebels in the country’s southeastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions.

Despite over two weeks having passed since his disappearance, the journalist’s whereabouts still remain unknown.

Last week, an adviser to the Ukrainian interior minister, Anton Gerashchenko, said that Stenin had been arrested by the Ukrainian Security Service for “aiding and glorifying terrorism,”but he then backtracked on the statement.

Vera Stenina has urged Kiev to organize a search mission for the journalist, or release him if he is being held.

Her son left for Ukraine on May 15 and she last talked to him on the phone on July 17. During their last conversation, the journalist said “‘It’s close. I’ll be coming home soon.’ And I thought that by August 1 he would already be home,” she remembers.

Stenin’s supervisor at Rossiya Segodnya believes that the missing journalist is alive and is being held by one of the parties involved in the Ukrainian conflict.

“We haven’t received any demands and this is scary. Apparently, there is no single authority in Ukraine. Kiev is unable to answer our requests because it is not them, but the Right Sector [radical movement], who hold him,” Aleksandr Shtol, who heads the photo department at Rossiya Segodnya, told the Izvestia newspaper.

“There is a second possibility, which I don’t like. He cannot be presented as he looks bad. They are waiting until he heals to show him to the public,” he added.

On Wednesday, the Ukrainian interior minister’s advisor, Gerashchenko, repeated that Kiev has no idea of Stenin’s whereabouts.

“We have no information about Andrey Stenin. I addressed this question to the head of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) after this issue gained considerable attention. The SBU does not have this man,” Gerashchenko stated.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said that it’s doing “everything possible” to pinpoint the missing journalist’s location. Ukrainian authorities have assured the Russian side they are also “working on this issue.”

Stenin’s disappearance is “most certainly an attack on freedom of speech. In support of all journalists in conflict zones… we have launched this campaign,” Aleksandr Shtol, head of the photo department at Rossiya Segodnya, explained.

The intimidation and abduction of journalists in Ukraine has become a trend since the military campaign began in the country’s southeast this April.

Staff at such Russian channels as LifeNews TV, Channel One and RT have been detained and at times brutally interrogated by Ukraine security services.

Rossiya channel’s Igor Kornelyuk and Anton Voloshin, as well as Anatoly Klyan, were killed as a result of Kiev troops shelling rebel forces in June.

Relevant reading - Kiev silent on whereabouts of missing Russian journalist 2 weeks after abduction

With over two weeks since his disappearance in eastern Ukraine, the whereabouts of Russian photojournalist Andrey Stenin remain unknown. His colleagues suggest that he may soon be freed as part of a large exchange of captives.

Stenin’s employers at Rossiya Segodnya news agency (formerly RIA Novosti), said that they have so far failed to get any information on their journalist from the Kiev authorities.

“Our attempts to receive any explanation and accurate information about his fate have been in vain,” Aleksandr Shtoll, who heads the photo department at Rossiya Segodnya, said at a press conference in Moscow.

“We’d like to learn of his whereabouts as soon as possible. We’re doing everything possible to achieve this,” he added.

The Russian government is also “doing everything possible” to locate the journalist, Shtoll said, saying that the country’s ambassador to Kiev has already filed two enquiries to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, but so far has received no reply.

"The agency did everything for the criminal investigation to be opened into the disappearance of Andrey [Stenin] in eastern Ukraine – and such a case was opened, but there’s also no answer there. The only thing that we have is a cynical statement by Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian interior minister, who said that for now he doesn’t want to be bothered by questions on Andrey’s fate,” Shtoll said.

“Stenin is on the wanted list [in Ukraine], but I'm not sure that Kiev has full control over the entire territory of Ukraine. I have no confidence that they can organize such a search that can help us in our cause,” he added.

US National Press Club (NPC) has called for Stenin's release in a statement on Monday.

"It is very important that Andrey Stenin be quickly located and freed if he is being held by Ukrainian security services," said NPC President Myron Belkind.

Belkind also said it is “crucial that all sides in this conflict… cease obstructing the ability of the press to cover events in eastern Ukraine, which are of great consequence to the Ukrainian public and to the international community."

Meanwhile, journalist Dmitry Steshin, who covers events in Ukraine for Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, said that Stenin may soon be included in a large exchange of captives.

“I’m sure that Andrey [Stenin] is alive and he’s being held for a reason, as he’s being prepared for an exchange,” he said.

Steshin said he last saw Stenin in Slavyansk, in the Donetsk region, and the Rossiya Segodnya journalist had no plans of returning to Russia despite the events heating up in the eastern Ukrainian city, Steshin said.

“Andrey has lost his sense of reality,” he added.

Rossiya 24 channel’s producer, Oleg Ternovoy, said that situation around Stenin is “unprecedented” as there’s no news about the journalist for more than two weeks.

“Let us stand up together to protect our guys because each of us could be in the same situation,” Ternovoy urged his Russian colleagues.

On Monday, Russia’s permanent mission at UNESCO urged the international community to pay special attention to Stenin’s abduction and support calls for his early release.

“Our common goal is to convey information to the public and the media; to support the person in distress. We rely on your help,” the mission said a statement.

“We strongly encourage you to support the #freeAndrew” hashtag,” the statement added.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian ultranationalist group Right Sector said that it had nothing to do with Stenin’s disappearance.

“This man wasn’t seized by the Right Sector troops. I can’t give you accurate information on that. That’s all the information I have,” Borislav Bereza, Right Sector spokesman, told Latvian Baltkom radio.

Earlier, other organizations promoting media freedoms and human rights, including the International Federation of Journalists, the European Federation of Journalists, Amnesty International and the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists called on Ukraine to investigate Stenin’s disappearance, and release him if he has been arrested.

An experienced war photographer, Stenin went missing on August 5 as he was covering the Ukrainian army’s campaign against the anti-Kiev rebels in the country’s southeastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions.

His recent work included photos of soldiers of the Ukrainian army captured by the armed militia, the horrific results of Ukrainian artillery shelling of militia-held cities and the crash site of the Malaysian Airlines plane that was downed over the Donetsk region in July.

Latest week, Gerashchenko told Latvian Baltkom radio that Stenin had been arrested by the Ukrainian Security Service and stands accused of “aiding and glorifying terrorism.”

The interior minister’s adviser later backtracked on the statement, saying that it was only his assumption and that he had no “documentary proof” of the Russian journalist’s arrest.

Stenin was put on the wanted list in Ukraine after the Russian embassy in Ukraine inquired about his whereabouts to Kiev on August 8 and 11.

The intimidation and abduction of Russian journalists by the Kiev authorities has become a sad trend since the military campaign began in the country’s southeast this April.
Journalist, stringers, cameramen and other staff of LifeNews TV channel, Channel One TV and RT have been detained, interrogated and tortured by the Ukraine security services.

Rossiya channel’s Igor Kornelyuk and Anton Voloshin, as well as Anatoly Klyan, were killed by Kiev’s troops in June.

[HOLLYWOOD]

Victoria Nuland, John Kerry, and the rest of the Neozionists have more blood on their hands...

1. Ukrainian troops in 'full, chaotic retreat' as Putin opens 'third Stealth Front ...
   
   Washington Times ‎- by Douglas Ernst ‎- 49 minutes ago
   
   Ukrainian soldiers ride atop an APC near the village of Sakhanka, eastern Ukraine, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2014. Separatist rebels shelled a ..

.



here's the latest BBC statistics:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28961498

War in eastern Ukraine: The human cost

• At least 2,119 people had been killed and 5,043 wounded since mid-April, a UN report on 7 August said
• 951 civilians have been killed in Donetsk region alone, the official regional authorities said on 20 August
• Official casualty counts only record certified deaths while in some particularly dangerous parts of the war zone, such as Luhansk region, victims are said to have been buried informally, for instance in gardens
• Rebels (and some military sources) accuse the government of concealing the true numbers of soldiers killed
• 155,800 people have fled elsewhere in Ukraine while at least 188,000 have gone to Russia

Look at Liberal-Progressive Washington Post



U.S. should send troops to quell Ukraine crisis - The Washington Post

[klamath]

Looks like putin got what he wanted. I used to think he didn't have a part in the revolution in Ukraine but now I think his fingers were all over it far more than the west. He has done nothing but deception from the start but how could he help it he was the CIAs counterpart in the soviet empire. Yep he is a world class imperialist like the rest.

[HOLLYWOOD]

globaleconomicanalysi

Ukraine is bankrupt. It accepted an $18 Billion IMF Bailout in March, allegedly with strict conditions.

Do those conditions allow war funding? I have to ask because Ukraine’s President Warns of ‘Constant Military Threat’ along with more military spending and a military parade.

Ukraine’s pro-western president announced $3bn in additional defence spending on Sunday as he warned the war-torn country faced a “constant military threat” for the foreseeable future.
Petro Poroshenko flexed his might by holding a military parade during commemorations of the former Soviet republic’s 23rd year of independence.

Things are going so well for Ukraine’s military that it needs to come up with $3 billion when it is flat broke.

Ukraine Conflict Draining Economy, Hampering Reforms

Ukraine’ prime minister Arseny Yatseniuk noted last Wednesday that Ukraine Conflict Draining Economy, Hampering Reforms.

Ukraine’s conflict with separatist rebels is draining the economy by the day and hampering efforts to implement reforms as required by an IMF bailout programme, Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said on Wednesday.
According to the terms of a $17 billion International Monetary Fund loan package, Ukraine must implement set reforms, but the country, which is virtually bankrupt and running wide external deficits, has had to divert substantial funds in its fight to contain the pro-Russia insurgency.
The economy contracted by 4.7 percent in the second quarter compared with the same period last year. With industrial output plummeting 12 percent in July, the economic outlook for the third quarter is not promising.
In June, Yatseniuk asked the IMF, which decides on the disbursement of the second tranche of $1.4 billion on Aug 29., to take into account the extra financial burden of fighting the insurgency.

Military Spending Math

Ukraine wants to spend $3 billion out of a $1.4 billion tranche. How exactly does that work?
While pondering that question, please note that Ukraine’s currency plunged to a fresh new low today.



7,000 Trapped Ukrainian Force

On Sunday, I reported Rebels Launch Counteroffensive: 4,000 Ukrainian Forces Trapped. That may have been an understatement.

Please consider a translation from Komsomolskaia Pravda “Donetsk On the Offensive” by Jacob Dreizin, a US citizen who speaks Russian and reads Ukrainian.

Meanwhile, the intensiveness of the Ukrainian forces’ advance had somewhat diminished. And immediately, the militia went over to a counterattack. Large units of the National Guard got caught. Within the encirclement are 8th Army Corps headquarters, the 28th and 30th Mechanized Brigades, as well as the 95th Airmobile Brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces. And with them, the Aidar, Donbass, and Shakhtersk [Ukrainian volunteer militia] battalions. All in all, around 5000 men and more than 300 pieces of equipment, including tanks, “Grad” and “Uragan” launchers are trapped.
Another roughly 2000 National Guardsmen from Azov and Dnepr (battalions) have found themselves boxed up in the vicinity of Olenovskoe.
Equipment seized during the counterattack [perhaps in reference to the past few weeks of successful operations] includes 2 tank battalions, 3 MLRS batteries, 2 self-propelled howitzer batteries, 3 towed artillery batteries, and 8 mortar batteries.
The militia’s strategic aim is an exit to the Sea of Azov, after which the blockade of the Donetsk Peoples’ Republic will be definitively lifted. The preparation for this “maritime campaign” was going on for a long time. Even when Slaviansk was still holding out, militia recon teams were destroying border posts on the shore.

Which Side is In Trouble?
If these reports are accurate, not only are the western media reports of “rebels on the run” blatantly inaccurate, but rather it is the Ukrainian forces that are in serious trouble.
By the way, you may wish to click on the previous link to see shelling of hospitals and civilian areas by Ukrainian forces.
This is not how you win the hearts and minds of the citizens of Donetsk.

March to the Sea

Finally, please consider a map of the area around the Sea of Azov.


“The Sea of Azov, a northern extension of the Black Sea, is located on the southern coastlines of Russia and Ukraine. Though somewhat difficult to navigate because of its shallowness, significant levels of freight and passenger traffic do flow through the port cities of Berdyans’k, Mariupol, Taganrog and Yeysk.“

If the rebels can capture and maintain a corridor between Donetsk and Mariupol, this war is not ending any time soon.
Let me ask again: Which side is in trouble? If the above reports are even close to being accurate, the answer is Ukraine.

[bolil]

Right now drudge is rereporting that Russian troops are getting involved.

[pcosmar]

Right now drudge is rereporting that Russian troops are getting involved.

US Media has been saying that for months.. They claimed there were tanks with the Aid convoy. (no evidence of such).

If Russia were to commit to a military invasion,, it would be over in days if not hours.
Ukraine,, despite the Nazis Bull$#@! smack talk,, could not even put up more than minimal resistance.

They are attempting to provoke Russia into doing such.. Russia has refused to do so.
Contrary to what US media reports.

[HOLLYWOOD]

Right now drudge is rereporting that Russian troops are getting involved.

So what info I'm getting from eastern Ukrainians, it's Russian military members who are on leave/vacation helping their brethren against the ZioNazis recruited to fight in eastern Ukraine. Quite the clever way to assist without declarations. As usual, it's all proxy fighting, you still never hear about all the CIA, and NATO/US mercenaries fighting for the Kiev junta.

This is the nonsense of some media:

Kiev, Ukraine (CNN) -- A top Ukrainian army officer said a "full-scale invasion" of his country was under way

[Natural Citizen]

UN: Ukraine conflict death toll hits 2,600, civilians ‘trapped inside conflict zones’...

A woman and the body of a person killed in an artillery attack on Lugansk. (RIA Novosti / Valeriy Melnikov)

At least 2,593 people have been killed in eastern Ukraine since the start of the Kiev’s military operation against anti-government forces there started in mid-April, according to a new estimate by the Office of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights.
The death toll includes civilians, members of the Ukrainian troops and also fighters in the anti-government forces.

"The trend is clear and alarming. There is a significant increase in the death toll in the east," Ivan Simonovic, U.N. Assistant Secretary General for Human Rights, told journalists.

"The current number of killed is 2,593 - close to 3,000 if we include the 298 victims of the MH17 (Malaysian airliner) plane crash," he said.

The report, issued on Friday, August 29, 2014, and covering the period July 16 to August 17, condemns the killing and wounding of civilians in urban areas, which have lately turned into battlefields.



UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has called on both sides of the conflict to lay down their arms.

“There is an urgent need to end the fighting and violence in the eastern regions, before more civilians are harmed or forced to flee, or face intolerable hardships trapped inside the conflict zones,” she said.

Pillay has urged all of the military units fighting in eastern Ukraine against “deliberately targeting civilians.”

The report says half the population of the cities of Lugansk and Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, have now left. However, evacuation has not been easy and not all of those wanting to flee were able to do so.

Some civilians lost their lives while trying to escape the violence, as the report says refugees were targeted and killed on their way out of conflict zones.

“Supposedly ‘safe’ corridors established by the Ukrainian forces to enable residents to flee from these cities traversed areas where the fighting was ongoing. Civilians using these corridors were subsequently killed or injured,” the UN HR office statement on the report reads.

The report says half the population of the cities of Lugansk and Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, have now left. However, evacuation has not been easy and not all of those wanting to flee were able to do so.

Some civilians lost their lives while trying to escape the violence, as the report says refugees were targeted and killed on their way out of conflict zones.

“Supposedly ‘safe’ corridors established by the Ukrainian forces to enable residents to flee from these cities traversed areas where the fighting was ongoing. Civilians using these corridors were subsequently killed or injured,” the UN HR office statement on the report reads.

Continued - UN: Ukraine conflict death toll hits 2,600, civilians ‘trapped inside conflict zones’

[Natural Citizen]

Ukraine to pursue NATO membership...

Meanwhile Russian president Vladimir Putin said Kyiv’s operation in the eastern Ukraine region of Donbass is reminiscent of the Nazi siege of Leningrad.
“Unfortunately it reminds me of the events of World War II when German fascist occupiers surrounded our cities, for example Leningrad, and they executed the population of the villages,” said Putin.

Continued - Ukraine to pursue NATO membership

[HOLLYWOOD]

Ukraine to pursue NATO membership...

Continued - Ukraine to pursue NATO membership

Putin stands between the US/EU's banskters obsession with taking over the sovereignty of every country it can find to bring about a New World Order - Yes, again, it's the Marxist ideologues pushing hard in the US as well as the world. Kinda ironic when you think about it, it's been the game plan from the beginning... the NWO has to be pushed before their "counterfeited paper enslavement debt notes/system" collapses.

Ukraine could just hold a peaceful internationally supervised referendum on secession by Crimea and any other Oblasts (state) of the Ukraine. But you know why this won't happen, the international hypocrites in Washington DC and London/Brussels are against any independence in Ukraine, because it's not part of their objectives set by the Marxists and Zionists of the NWO.

Just imagine, holding honest elections for the people of their respective states to decide... the Ukrainian Junta doesn't want a referendum for the people to choose, but if there were any power for the people, if the majority want to go with independence or even as far as pro Russian trade/alliance, then let them do so, if the vote goes the other way, then the ones who wanted a Russian alliance, are free to leave or stay or go to wherever. But people don't have choice, it's all an illusion, it's all western controlled subversion and radicalization in with their puppet dictatorships, who then rule a corrupt criminal hand of force on the people. It's the Illusion of Choice...

Here's an example, the US puppet and dictator, the former president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, well, how's he doing these days? Oh... that's right, he has fled Georgia, where did Saakashvili flee to? Boston, Massachusetts, good old USofA. Well, there's serious charges of; racketeering, election fraud, and corruption against him. SO where is the international outcry and media exposure or how about the International Criminal Court, or Interpol, filing arrest and warrants for Saakashvili and return him to Georgia to stand trial?

Look below at this news capture below on Saaskashvilli... notice the Ukrainian flags? Goooood Puppet.



Georgia Files More Criminal Charges Against Former President

Well let's look at the hypocrisy again... Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange gets tagged in an international manhunt, ICC, Interpol alerts, media nonstop and even prison time in the UK just on the notion of apparently being accused by some wacko chick for not using a condom that she consented approval? Of course that claim came "AFTER" Wikileaks released private Manning's whistleblowing of US War Crimes in Iraq.

Rule of Law? Not for the criminals running governments.

The hypocrisy of the NWO masters is so easily exposed and Fascist corporate media is their propaganda PR firms, you see their work everyday now about Ukraine. The NWO prefers the theft, destruction, and death, for their conquests, which are at the expense of debt, insecurity, and costs to the taxpayers. There's no sovereignty or choice by citizens/people of their countries/states anymore... unless it the stamp of approval of the money masters' plan(s) say hello Serbia/Bosnia/Kosovo/Iraqi/et al.

"To suppose that any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without any virtue in the people, is a chimerical idea"

-- James Madison 1788

[HOLLYWOOD]

More...



7,000 E.U. Kiev Soldiers Surrounded By Eastern Ukrainians: But But But ~ Rothschild Federal Reserve Already Received All Of Ukraine’s Gold!

[Demigod]

I hate conspiracy theories but this is just ridiculous

Poroshenko, the country’s 18th richest man, whose wealth Forbes estimates at $1.3 billion, this month has picked an agent to sell off his significant business assets. His interests will be represented by Rothschild & Cie Investment Company,

[Natural Citizen]

Amnesty Intl: Both sides of Ukrainian conflict committed war crimes...

AFP Photo / Dimitar Dilkoff

Amnesty International has in its most recent report said both the Kiev troops and the anti-government forces could be responsible for war crimes in their “disregard for civilian lives.”

“All sides in this conflict have shown disregard for civilian lives and are blatantly violating their international obligations,” said Salil Shetty, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.

The conclusion was drawn on the basis of multiple interviews conducted on the ground in eastern Ukraine by Amnesty International researchers. They spoke to both people fleeing the conflict zones and to refugees, who have already found shelter in Russia’s Rostov region.

Civilians from these areas told Amnesty International that the Ukrainian government forces subjected their neighborhoods to heavy shelling. Their testimonies suggest that the attacks were indiscriminate and may amount to war crimes,” the watchdog’s statement reads.

Those interviewed also accused both the anti-government fighters and militants in the volunteer battalions, fighting alongside the government troops of abductions and tortures.
The London-based group has called for “a thorough and independent investigation” into the reports of human rights violations.

“Amnesty International is calling on the Ukrainian authorities to conduct an effective investigation into allegations of serious violations of international humanitarian law and bring to justice individuals responsible for war crimes,” says the group’s statement.

Continued - Amnesty Intl: Both sides of Ukrainian conflict committed war crimes


Aside - READ MORE: Minsk ceasefire protocol: Ukraine to be decentralized, special status for Lugansk, Donetsk

[Natural Citizen]

Kiev and Ukraine militias exchange prisoners - report...

Captured Ukrainian soldiers taken out of the encirclement in Ilovaisk, near Donetsk.(RIA Novosti / Gennady Dubovoy)


Defense forces of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic have exchanged a batch of prisoners with the Ukrainian army in a move that was stipulated as one of the key issues of the Minsk ceasefire agreement reached between the two sides last week.

“The exchange has taken place,” a representative of the DPR’s defense ministry told Interfax. “We handed 36 prisoners over to the Kiev side in exchange for 31 our supporters. Five more Kiev promises to hand over tomorrow.”

Earlier on Thursday, the deputy PM of the DPR, Andrey Purgin, told RIA that it was the Kiev side that has been stalling the planned exchange, while Col. Andrey Lysenko, the spokesman for Ukraine's National Security Council, blamed the rebels‘ ”lack of consistency“ for disrupting the swap.

“For the fourth day we are trying to exchange [the captives],” Purgin said, adding that he hopes the swap will finally take place on Thursday night.A special exchange group has been created which compiled a combined list of people subject to exchange, he said, adding that the list could be amended if the need arises.

Under the terms of the ceasefire signed in Minsk on September 5th, both sides of the conflict have agreed to swap prisoners on an “all-for-all” basis as a sign of good will as adversaries look for ways to create permanent peace in the region.

Other key issues that the Minsk contact group on Ukraine agreed on include a ceasefire and withdrawal of military hardware, and opening corridors for humanitarian aid access to the conflict-torn regions.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Wednesday that immediately after the Minsk agreement was signed, Kiev received 700 of its servicemen back and was expecting another 500 to be transferred by the end of the week. At the same time, Kiev claims to hold some 300 members of the anti-government forces. However, at least 1,000 more remain missing, according to self-proclaimed republics, some of whom could also be held captive.


A column of captured Ukrainian servicemen marches along the streets of Donetsk.(RIA Novosti / Maks Vetrov)

Continued - Kiev and Ukraine militias exchange prisoners - report


Aside - Ukraine peace plan: Withdraw military hardware, exchange POWs, open corridors

[Natural Citizen]

All trucks of Russia’s second Ukraine aid convoy cross border as citizens remain under constant shelling from Kiev forces.

A Russian convoy of trucks carrying humanitarian aid for Ukraine is parked at a camp near Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, Rostov Region, September 12, 2014 (Reuters / Alexey Koverznev)

All 200 trucks of Russia’s 2nd convoy carrying long-awaited humanitarian aid for devastated areas of eastern Ukraine have crossed the border after weeks of delays that occurred despite an agreement on relief corridors in the Minsk ceasefire deal.

The trucks started passing through Russia’s ‘Donetsk’ checkpoint into the buffer zone shortly before midnight on Friday. Trucks had to wait for several hours to get clearance for further movement from Russian customs officers supervised by their Ukrainian colleagues.

The 200 white Kamaz trucks were waiting for their turn to undergo customs proceedings, as the first group moved into Ukrainian territory early on Saturday morning.

Along the route of the convoy, the members of the self-proclaimed republic’s defense forces are ensuring its safety, Itar-Tass reports. Besides that, the convoy that moves toward Lugansk at around 60 kilometers per hour is escorted by road police vehicles.

Residents of war-ravaged eastern Ukraine are living for many weeks on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe. The aid delivery is crucial as parts of the country remain blocked by government troops limiting food supplies, while the infrastructure destroyed in shellings left the residents of Lugansk without electricity and drinking water.

This is the second Russian shipment of humanitarian relief for Ukraine, and just like with the first shipment of goods, the Ukrainian authorities are being over-scrupulous in letting the aid in, keeping it at the border. The aid delivery has been delayed because Kiev did not fulfill the preliminary plan coordinated with Russia three weeks ago, Stepanov said. “We've been waiting for Kiev's response,” he said on Thursday.

He described the convoy as carrying about 2,000 tons of foods, medicine, water purification equipment, and power generators and other consignments, all donations from various regions of Russia.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) – which accompanied the first Russian shipment of humanitarian aid to Ukraine – is not attending the second, ICRC spokeswoman Anastasia Isyuk told Itar-Tass. “The ICRC has never been officially notified of the agreement between Russia and Ukraine on the achievement of the technical arrangements for this convoy,” she said. “Consequently, the ICRC is not involved in assisting in the delivery of goods.”

The first convoy delivered aid to Ukraine on August 22. A week later, foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov and Pavel Klimkin, respectively, agreed to send the residents of Donetsk and Lugansk regions a new batch of humanitarian aid.

“We are very grateful to the Russian Federation for providing us with aid,” the prime minister of the LPR self-proclaimed republic, Gennady Tsypkalov, said Friday, adding that residents of the troubled region are currently in a “critical”situation.

Continued - All trucks of Russia’s second Ukraine aid convoy cross border


Aside - Russia to appeal against US, EU sanctions to WTO

Russia considers the latest round of Western sanctions illegal and is ready to appeal against them to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Russian Economy Minister Aleksey Ulyukaev told reporters on Friday.

“The latest round of sanctions provides grounds to appeal to the WTO. And we will appeal,” Ulyukaev said.

Russia’s response to the new EU and US sanctions, besides restricting the import of used cars, may also affect petrochemicals and machinery products, the minister stressed. Ulyukaev added that when Russia introduced the first package of protective measures in the area of food security, it announced the possibility of restrictions in other areas.

“This applies primarily to industrial products, automobiles and other equipment such as compressors and refrigerators. In this case, a large number of machinery and petrochemical products could also be included in the mechanism of protective measures,” Ulyukaev said.

However, the minister stressed that the Russian authorities so far haven’t made the decision to implement the above mentioned restrictions on Western producers.

“It requires further consideration. But our proposals on this issue are ready,” he said, also pledging support to the companies which are hit by the new restrictions from the EU and US.

“There are different forms of support. This includes various custom tariff regimes... possibly direct budget support (and) the possibility of using pension funds or the National Wealth Fund and other mechanisms,” the minister told journalists.

Ulyukaev made the statements in Brussels after talks between Russia, Ukraine and the EU, which saw Kiev agreeing to postpone the enforcement of its Association Agreement with the European Union until the beginning of 2016.

Earlier, Vladimir Putin said that the new sanctions against Russia are “quite odd” in view of the ceasefire and the beginning of peace process in eastern Ukraine. The Russian President has not ruled out responding with tit-for-tat sanctions, but added that if they are to be imposed, “this will be to create better conditions for ourselves.”

The new restrictions targeting Russia’s energy, finance and defense sectors over the events in Ukraine came into force on Friday morning, after their publication in the EU Official Journal.

The EU has restricted three Russian energy companies – Rosneft, Transneft and Gazprom Neft – from raising long-term debt on European capital markets.

Services that Russia needs in order to extract oil and gas in the Arctic, deep sea and shale extraction projects have also appeared on the sanctions list.

The export of any technology considered military “dual-use” to nine Russian companies has been banned, including the manufacturer of Kalashnikov rifles.

Five major Russian state-owned banks – Sberbank, VTB, Gazprombank, Vnesheconombank (VEB) and Rosselkhozbank (Russian Agricultural Bank) – have been banned from receiving any long-term (over 30-day) loans from EU companies.

In addition, 24 individuals, including Russian MPs and businessmen as well as politicians in Crimea and Ukraine’s southeast region have been prohibited from traveling to the EU and any assets there have been frozen.

The US has matched the EU initiative with its own set of sanctions, which also targeted Russia’s biggest lenders – Sberbank, Gazprombank and Rosselkhozbank – as well as the country’s state-owned technology firms and five energy companies.

In the oil sector, there will be new limitations on exploration facilities for Gazprom, Gazprom Neft, Lukoil, Surgutneftegaz and Rosneft.

Washington also said it would prohibit “transactions in, provision of financing for, or other dealings in new debt of greater than 90 days maturity issued by two additional Russian energy companies, Gazprom Neft and Transneft.”

[Natural Citizen]

NATO members start supplying weapons to Kiev – Ukrainian Defense Minister...

NATO member states have started supplying weapons to Ukraine, the country’s Defense Minister said on TV. His comments came a few days after a similar statement by a Ukrainian presidential aide sparked a diplomatic scandal and a rash of denials.

In an interview with Channel 5, Ukrainian Defense Minister Valery Geletey said that he had held verbal consultations with the defense ministers of the “leading countries of the world, those that can help us, and they heard us. We have the supply of arms under way.”

“This process has begun, and I feel that this is exactly the way we need to go,” the minister said.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who attended the Sept. 4-5 NATO summit in Wales, announced that he had negotiated direct modern weapons supplies with a number of NATO member states.

Poroshenko claimed that some of the NATO member states said during bilateral consultations they are ready to supply Ukraine with lethal and non-lethal arms, including “high precision weapons,” as well as with medical equipment.

NATO has had repeatedly said that the alliance is not going to supply any weapons or military equipment to Ukraine. At the same time, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that the alliance would not interfere if member states made decisions of their own regarding arms supply to Ukraine.

When Poroshenko’s aide Yury Lutsenko wrote on his Facebook page that the US, along with France, Italy, Poland and Norway, would supply modern weapons to Ukraine, the news prompted all the countries mentioned in Lutsenko’s post to say they had no information about supplies.

Last Sunday, US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel was the first to deny the arms delivery, saying he was not aware of a secret deal to supply Ukraine with lethal weapons.

Shortly afterward, Norway, Italy, and Poland also denied the report.

Continued - NATO members start supplying weapons to Kiev – Ukrainian Defense Minister


Aside - NATO to give Ukraine 15mn euros, lethal and non-lethal military supplies from members

Relevant reading - Hagel ‘not aware’ of secret deal to supply Kiev with lethal weapons

[HOLLYWOOD]

Excellent information on the struggles of eastern Ukraine Oblasts against the western backed Fascists/Nazis. The people and leaders of the eastern states recognize the pillaging and theft by western powers around the world by overthrowing nations and they don't want any part of it. All pages are translated to English: http://slavyangrad.org/


A “Voentorg” in the Donbass Cauldrons

We Will Not Allow for Russia to be Ripped Asunder and Ruined

Address by Igor Ivanovich Strelkov, September 11, 2014
...But what happened next? Right before our eyes the forces that once almost destroyed the Russian Spring intervened, and thereafter never ceased their attempts to eliminate the People’s Liberation Movement of the Russian people of Novorossiya. There is no villainy, which is beyond these forces that have repeatedly manifested themselves in the modern history of our Fatherland in the most sinister of forms. It was these forces, directed from abroad, that played a decisive role in the destruction of the USSR in 1991, and thereafter throughout the 90’s openly abused the peoples of Russia; organizing an orgy of looting of the enormous Soviet economic and cultural heritage. They staged liberal experiments – monstrous in their consequences – on the remnants of our Motherland; not caring in the slightest about the consequences for the country, which they referred to (and to this day continue to mock) with contemptuous epithets.

Does the Kiev Government have a plan?

The New Round of Sanctions – The Pre-War Period

Surrendered Ukrainian soldier: “Lyuba, don’t worry, I’m in captivity”



DOCUMENTARY: A Slavyansk Farewell – Film by Alexander Kots & Dmitry Steshin

[Natural Citizen]

Looks like coup installed neo-nazis just officially took over by way of lustration...

What is interesting here is that these protestors are actually made of up the Kiev far right neo-nazis. As well, the police who are called in to "manage" them are also a product of the same far right coup installed group. This bill wasn't going to pass until all of this theater started.

Tires on fire: Right Sector rallying in Kiev as govt votes for political purging (VIDEO)


Aside - Protesters dump Ukrainian deputy in rubbish bin (PHOTO, VIDEO)

What is funny here is that they guy that they grabbed and stuffed in the trash is actually the one behind the bill and they just didn't know it. A very dangerous group, this one.

[charrob]

NATO members start supplying weapons to Kiev – Ukrainian Defense Minister...



Continued - NATO members start supplying weapons to Kiev – Ukrainian Defense Minister


Aside - NATO to give Ukraine 15mn euros, lethal and non-lethal military supplies from members

Relevant reading - Hagel ‘not aware’ of secret deal to supply Kiev with lethal weapons

Makes me sick to my stomach. -never EVER trust the U.S. Govt. They are nothing more than snake oil salesman. Their word is not honorable. Like the serpent in the Garden of Eden, the U.S. Government can be counted on to lie and deceive.

U.S. military members told to deliver weapons to the Kiev government should disobey orders: that would be the honorable thing to do. 3,000 innocent Ukrainians already dead. How many thousands more will die at the hands of U.S. made weapons? The deception being done to Putin is unprecedented: they are doing everything they can to start ww3. Here’s just a few of the outrageous, dishonorable lies and deceptions done to the Russians:


1) James Baker’s promise to Gorbachev that if Gorbachev removes Soviet troops from eastern Europe, that NATO will not build bases east of Germany. Gorbachev does as was promised. The U.S. slimy serpent deceives and opens NATO bases right up to Russia’s border.
2) Kerry says last September if Syria would get rid of all its chemical stockpiles, there would be no reason for the U.S. to attack. Putin drove that home, broadcasted it, and coordinated the removal of all Syria’s chemical stockpile. Putin lives up to promise. The U.S. slimy serpent deceives and will now attack anyway—despite the entire chemical stockpile gone.
3) February: power sharing agreement signed between Yanukovich and Nazis. U.S. slimy serpent in the background at the same time coordinating the coup of Yanukovich despite power sharing agreement.
4) And now this...


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Under Cover of Ceasefire, NATO-Armed Kiev Poised to Attack:

Just over ten days ago, as the pro-independence forces in east Ukraine were on the march with significant gains on the battlefield, a ceasefire was signed in Minsk, Belarus. According to the terms of the ceasefire, the pro-independence fighters were to lay down their arms, cease their offensive to regain lost territory in the Donetsk and Lugansk region, and disband.

In exchange for this, the US-backed government in Kiev was to agree to an amnesty for pro-independence fighters, commit to economic development in the east, and agree to enshrine decentralization in law to provide autonomy to the east.

Most importantly, the ceasefire was to stop the Kiev government's shelling of major population centers in the east and stop the slaughter of military forces on both sides.

It turns out to be a grotesque sleight of hand, with Kiev receiving guarantees at the September 5, NATO summit in Wales that NATO members would provide the military equipment to finish the pro-independence forces in the east after the ceasefire gave time to re-group a badly beaten, largely conscript Ukrainian army.

This grand deception came to light yesterday, as Valery Heletey, defense minister of the US-backed regime in Kiev, bragged that, as Reuters put it: NATO countries were delivering weapons to his country to equip it to fight pro-Russian separatists and "stop" Russian President Vladimir Putin.

We are already seeing the result of this bait and switch, as yesterday saw a dramatic resumption of the US-backed government's shelling civilian Donetsk, which is under control of the pro-independence movement.

The ceasefire provided pro-US Kiev forces time to regroup and absorb NATO weapons under the guise of stopping the violence, with the intent of slaughtering rather than negotiating with the pro-independence forces. This is no great surprise, as the February coup itself proceeded with US cooperation just as a compromise power-sharing agreement between the elected president, Yanukovich, and the Maidan rebels was signed.

It remains a great mystery why the pro-independence forces would strike a deal with a Kiev regime which came to power as a result of a US and EU sponsored coup in February, and whose veracity and track record of fair play is rather wanting.

A greater mystery perhaps, is why a Russia that was accused of "invading" Ukraine as the NATO summit kicked off, would agree to the decapitation of a Moscow-friendly independence movement next-door as it consolidated its gains.

Whatever the case, the bloodshed in eastern Ukraine is about to resume. The pro-US regime in Kiev, by deception, is about to claim bloody victory from the jaws of defeat.


http://ronpaulinstitute.org/archives...to-attack.aspx

[HOLLYWOOD]

Facebook page on covering Ukraine

Border Fences for the Ukraine with US taxpayer monies...




Ukraine: What is Really Happening's Photos - Ukraine: What is Really Happening | Facebook

[Natural Citizen]

Obama declines to give Ukraine 'lethal aid' despite Poroshenko's plea...

Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko (C) gestures while addressing a joint meeting of Congress in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, September 18, 2014. (Reuters / Kevin Lamarque)

President Barack Obama has declined to supply Ukraine with “lethal aide” despite the passionate plea for more military equipment that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko made to Congress earlier on Thursday.

During a White House meeting between the two leaders that occurred after Poroshenko’s address to Congress, President Obama said the United States would keep working to mobilize the international community in order for the conflict in Ukraine to be solved diplomatically, Reuters reports.

Following the meeting, Poroshenko said he was pleased with Washington’s help, and expressed hope that the shaky ceasefire in Ukraine would eventually lead to stability and peace.

Earlier in the day, however, Poroshenko suggested that NATO give “special” security status to Ukraine. Addressing the US Congress, he called on Washington to provide Kiev with “more military equipment, lethal and non-lethal” to “keep peace” in the eastern part of his country.

While President Obama has continued to say that only non-lethal assistance will be supplied to Kiev – bullet-proof vests, helmets and the like – Poroshenko said this would not be enough.

"Blankets and night-vision goggles are important, but one cannot win the war with blankets. You cannot keep the peace with a blanket," he told lawmakers, adding that Ukraine urgently needs "more military equipment, both lethal and non-lethal."

As his statement drew applause from the audience, the Ukrainian leader went on to call on NATO for closer ties.

"I strongly encourage the United States to give Ukraine a special security and defense status which reflect the highest level of interaction with a non-NATO ally," he said.

Russia has warned that NATO’s progress towards the east and Ukraine, which the military bloc sees as a potential member, will trigger a strong reaction.

Continued - Obama declines to give Ukraine 'lethal aid' despite Poroshenko's plea


Aside - 'We will react to NATO build-up!' Key Putin quotes from defense policy address