UN: More than one million people now displaced due to Ukraine conflict

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Source: Reuters

More than one million people have been displaced by the conflict in Ukraine, including 814,000 Ukrainians now in Russia with various forms of status, the UNHCR United Nations refugee agency said on Tuesday.

Numbers displaced inside Ukraine by the fighting have nearly doubled in the past there weeks to at least 260,000 and more are fleeing, it earlier told a Geneva news briefing.

"It's safe to say you have over a million people now displaced as a result of the conflict, internally and externally together," Vincent Cochetel, director of the UNHCR's bureau for Europe, later told reporters. "I mean 260,000 in Ukraine, it's a low estimate, 814,000 in Russia, then you add the rest ... Belarus, Moldova, European Union."

Read more: http://www.haaretz.com/news/world/1.613668

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1. Leaked Putin remark on Ukraine enrages Russia

MOSCOW -- A Kremlin aide on Tuesday sharply criticized EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso for breaching confidentiality when he quoted President Vladimir Putin as saying Moscow could take over Kiev in two weeks, if it wished.

Yuri Ushakov, the Russian leader's foreign policy adviser, told reporters that Putin's statement was "taken out of context and carried a completely different meaning."

Ushakov lashed out at Barroso, saying it was a breach of diplomatic practices and "unworthy of a serious politician" to speak publicly about a private conversation.

Putin's private remarks were revealed as a Ukrainian official said Russian forces had been spotted in both of the major rebel-held cities in eastern Ukraine.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/leaked-putin-remarks-on-ukraine-enrage-russia/

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12. Putin Brags About How Fast He Could Take Ukraine

Vladimir Putin has said Russian forces could conquer the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, in two weeks if he so ordered, the Kremlin has confirmed.

Moscow declined to deny that the president had spoken of taking Kiev in a phone conversation on Friday with José Manuel Barroso, the outgoing president of the European commission....Barroso asked Putin about the presence of Russian troops in eastern Ukraine. Nato says there are at least 1,000 Russian forces on the wrong side of the border. The Ukrainians put the figure at 1,600.

"The problem is not this, but that if I want I'll take Kiev in two weeks," Putin said, according to La Repubblica.

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2014/09/putin-brags-about-how-fast-he-could-take-ukraine

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2. Ukraine video dispatch: abandoned weaponry shows speed of army's retreat

The Telegraph's Roland Oliphant discovers the remains of an abandoned army convoy in eastern Ukraine, where battles are raging between the country's military and pro-Russian insurgents

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/11069683/Ukraine-video-dispatch-abandoned-weaponry-shows-speed-of-armys-retreat.html

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3. Russia Funnels More Billions Into its Sovereign Wealth Funds

Russia's two oil revenue-funded sovereign wealth funds swelled by 353.3 billion rubles ($9.4 billion) last month to reach combined reserves of 6.54 trillion rubles ($177 billion), boosting the state's financial firepower as the West applies the economic screws on Russia over the Ukraine crisis.

Russia's Reserve Fund, which hoards U.S. dollars, euros and pounds sterling to insulate Russia against falling oil and gas prices, had assets worth 3.4 trillion ($91.7 billion) on Sept. 1, up 292 billion rubles, or 9.4 percent, from the start of August, according to the Finance Ministry.

The National Welfare Fund, which is designed to backstop Russia's pensions system and has a freer reign to invest in infrastructure and business, grew by 61 billion rubles, or 2 percent, over August to reach 3.15 billion rubles ($85.3 billion) on Sept. 1.

Both funds are financed from taxes on sales of oil and gas, and are meant to safeguard the long-term stability of an economy currently mired in difficulties. Though oil prices — the lynchpin of Russia's commodity-driven economy — remain high, Western sanctions on Russia over its policies in Ukraine have exacerbated a slowdown and pushed the country to the brink of recession in recent months.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/russia-funnels-more-billions-into-its-sovereign-wealth-funds/506303.html

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4. UK gas prices at four-month high on tight supply, Ukraine concerns

(Reuters) - British wholesale natural gas and power prices rose to their highest in months on Tuesday, buoyed by tight supply and coming closer to prices for winter delivery on concerns of a Russian supply cut as a result of the Ukraine crisis.

The day-ahead contract opened at 51 pence/therm, its highest since April, before slipping back below 49.65 pence by 1155 GMT, reflecting an improved balance in the system.

Day-ahead baseload electricity prices in Britain rose to a near six-month high on Tuesday, gaining 45 pence to 45.25 pounds per megawatt-hour.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/09/02/uk-britain-gas-prices-idUKKBN0GX1B720140902?rpc=401&feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews&rpc=401

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5. Slovakia opens reverse-flow pipeline to carry gas to Ukraine

Slovakia has opened a pipeline that is able to deliver gas from the EU to Ukraine as Kyiv grapples with Russian supply cuts ahead of the winter. The EU said a reverse-flow mechanism had been put into place.

http://www.dw.de/slovakia-opens-reverse-flow-pipeline-to-carry-gas-to-ukraine/a-17895333?maca=en-rss-en-bus-2091-rdf

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6. How Europe’s Economic Slump Could Doom Ukraine

As the full impact of sanctions against Russia hit the European Union and as the EU attempts to recover from the sovereign debt crisis that nearly destroyed it, the European economy is once again in contraction, threatening to derail the country's unified response to the Ukraine crisis.

European leaders met in Brussels over the weekend after Russian troops and pro-Russia separatists opened a third front in the fight for eastern Ukraine. However, despite strong talk, the group could not reach agreement on how to increase punishments against Moscow. Some European leaders urged restraint in the face of stagnation across the eurozone.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101963237

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7. Misery in Ukraine as deadly conflict drives civilians from homes

Donetsk, Ukraine (CNN) -- In the city of Donetsk, the devastation wrought by weeks of fighting between pro-Russia rebels and Ukrainian forces is all too apparent.

And as the civilians caught in the crossfire sweep up the debris of their homes and livelihoods, they are hardened against a president they say is killing his own people.

Alexander Omelyavenko, a Donetsk resident, told CNN, "We are Ukrainian but they kill us so we probably need our own country. Because these people in Kiev, they are not brothers for us."

Another Donetsk resident, Victoria Khrushova, wiped away tears as she told how her family had been forced to hide from the shelling in cellars.

"We live underground. It was so hard for two weeks -- especially 27th, 28th, 29th -- but only today is quiet," she said.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/09/02/world/europe/ukraine-crisis/index.html

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8. Ukraine may need bigger bailout if conflict continues in 2015 -IMF

(Reuters) - Ukraine will not be able to meet all of its targets under a $17 billion IMF loan program due to the ongoing fighting in the country's eastern region and a gas dispute with Russia, the IMF said on Tuesday.

But the money under the program is largely sufficient for now, as long as the fighting between Kiev and separatist rebels subsides in the 'coming months,' the International Monetary Fund said in its detailed review of Ukraine's progress so far.

The IMF warned that if the fighting continued into next year, Ukraine may need as much as $19 billion in additional financing from donors.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/09/02/ukraine-crisis-imf-idUKW1N0PM01M20140902?rpc=401&feedType=RSS&feedName=asianCurrencyNews&rpc=401

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9. Scenes of war and destruction in Ukraine's Ilovaysk

Rockets, destroyed buildings and burned cars are among the signs of a fierce battle between the pro-Russian rebels and Ukrainian forces clearly visible on the streets of the eastern Ukraine's town of Ilovaysk, ITV News' Senior Foreign Editor John Angier reports.

http://www.itv.com/news/update/2014-09-02/scenes-of-war-and-destruction-in-ukraines-donetsk/

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11. . nt

[former9thward]

13. The numbers are very suspect.

Are we to believe over 800,000 Ukrainians have crossed over the border into Russia and Russia allowed that? Where are they?

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14. If you have better ones, let's see them. nt

[former9thward]

16. I am not over there, are you?

Is the reporter who wrote the story there? No. Where are the pictures of almost a million displaced people in Russia?

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17. That's why I believe the UN, and not you. nt

[former9thward]

19. Not a single picture.

Not one. Of 814,000 people. People will believe anything.

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20. Yep, you have produced squat. nt

[former9thward]

22. Didn't do too well in Logic class?

It is impossible to prove a negative.

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23. I have a BA in math and logic was one of my specialties. nt

[former9thward]

24. Sad.

I don't know how you get a BA in Math. My school had no such animal.

[Billy Budd]

15. Ruthless Pacification

"the West must be willing to fight a new Cold War in order to achieve the "ruthless pacification of Russians living in Eastern Ukraine." .........., given the recent rout of Ukraine's army by Eastern Ukrainian separatists, that is unlikely to happen."

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18. AP Analysis: Putin digs in for long Ukraine fight

MOSCOW (AP) -- Riding a wave of military gains by pro-Russia rebels, Russian President Vladimir Putin has made it exceedingly clear that he wants a peace deal for Ukraine on his terms and will not be stopped by economic costs.

The four-month conflict has now reached a breaking point, where Russia and Ukraine could either negotiate a political settlement or plunge deeper into hostilities.

Prospects for a political settlement looked dim just a few weeks ago while the Ukrainian troops were methodically tightening their noose around pro-Russia rebel strongholds in the east, but Kiev's hopes for a quick victory were short-lived. A rebel counter-offensive has quickly turned the tide against the Kiev government, inflicting huge losses and raising the threat of Ukraine losing access to the energy-rich Sea of Azov.

The West has accused Russia of sharply escalating the conflict by sending regular army units into Ukraine after months of covert assistance to the rebellion and has threatened more sanctions.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_PUTINS_TACTICS_ANALYSIS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-09-02-12-01-44

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21. Ukraine conflict: UN says million people have fled

In the past three weeks alone, the number of people displaced inside Ukraine itself has doubled to at least 260,000, according to the UN's Vincent Cochetel in Geneva.

Another 814,000 people have crossed the border into Russia this year, he says.

Pro-Russian rebels have been fighting Ukrainian forces since April.

Separatists in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk declared independence after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-29029060