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May 30, 2014

Seven children injured in barrage by Kiev's troops.

At least seven children have been injured and a children's clinic damaged by artillery barrages Ukrainian troops launched against residential areas of Slavyansk, Donetsk Republic. This and Kiev's earlier attacks on nearby schools and housing areas have caused authorities in Slavyansk to begin evacuating young children from the city:

7 children injured in Slavyansk as Ukrainian army shells residential area

Seven children were hurt as the Ukrainian military shelled the city of Slavyansk, a stronghold of the protesters, in the country’s South East on Friday night, Pavel Astakhov, Russia’s ombudsman for children’s rights, said. “According to the public health department of the Donetsk regional administration, seven children were injured by bullets and shrapnel during the bombardment by the Ukrainian army,” Astakhov wrote on Twitter.

Self-defense forces in Slavyansk say the Ukrainian military shelled the town’s residential area during the night, with one of the shells hitting a children’s hospital. A children’s clinic was also damaged by artillery fire, the ITAR-TASS news agency reports.

On Wednesday, a school in the Artema residential district of Slavyansk was bombarded and one of the shells blasted through the roof of the assembly hall. Fatalities were only avoided because teachers and pupils managed to find shelter in the basement of the school building. In his interview with the Rossiya 24 channel, Astakhov said that an online action called ‘Save Donbass Children’ (#savedonbasschildren) has been initiated via social networks.

“I want to appeal to the leaders of all states around the globe to urge [Ukraine’s president-elect], Petro Poroshenko, to save the children of Donbass,” the ombudsman stressed.

(snip)

Read more at: http://rt.com/news/162604-chidren-injured-east-ukraine/

May 29, 2014

Kiev troops surrender to pro-independence forces near Lugansk.

Scores of Kiev's troops have surrendered and handed over their weapons to local self-defense forces at a military base near the east Ukrainian city of Lugansk. Local Ukrainian army recruits apparently called on their families to help them defect from a unit based there by Kiev's government:

80 Ukrainian soldiers surrender to self-defense forces in Lugansk.

All of the 80 Ukrainian troops holed up at a Lugansk military base have surrendered to self-defense forces who stormed the military installation hosting the Ukrainian National Guard. The initial assault lasted for 10-15 minutes with almost unceasing gunfire, witnesses say. A video reportedly filmed near the attacked facility has appeared on YouTube.

There are conflicting reports on casualties and the outcome of the attack, which took place on the territory of an Air Force academy. Earlier, at least one Ukrainian soldier was reported to be seriously injured. According to RT’s Paula Slier, one anti-government protester was killed in the gunfight and there have been several injures on both sides.

All of the 80 Ukrainian soldiers holed up at the base surrendered, reported RIA Novosti. The servicemen were escorted out of the building as the other side applauded. Self-defense commander Gennady Tsepkalo also confirmed to journalists that all troops have surrendered. He promised that all soldiers will be sent home shortly.

It had earlier been reported that only ten troops surrendered and others barricaded themselves inside the base, with some of the soldiers saying that their captain had forbidden them from surrendering.

(snip)

A poignant, but graphic, video leads this article: http://rt.com/news/162136-ukrainian-soldiers-surrender-lugansk/

May 28, 2014

Kiev's artillery hits gradeschool and kindergarten in Slavyansk.

The newly-installed, Western-backed President of Ukraine appears well on his way to achieving war criminal status during his very first week in office. Today the forces he commands have been so wild with their attacks on the civilian population of east Ukraine that they have actually hit school buildings with their artillery fire:

Shells hit school, kindergarten in Slavyansk amid Ukraine military operation.

A school and a kindergarten have been shelled in Slavyansk as the city becomes increasingly unsafe in the intensified Kiev military campaign. At least 9 civilians were injured in Wednesday’s shelling incidents, including a child. Ukrainian mortar shells have for weeks been raining down on the checkpoints and positions of the Slavyansk self-defense, but much of the shelling occurred outside the city. Italian journalist Andrea Rocchelli and his Russian interpreter, veteran human rights activist Andrey Mironov, were almost “torn to pieces” in one such shelling. However, this week the battleground apparently moved right into civilian quarters of Slavyansk, as shells started hitting residential blocks and nearby buildings, killing three people on Monday.

On Wednesday, there was a shocking reminder of how the situation might unfold if the new president-elect Petro Poroshenko pushes on with the military operation in the region, as shells struck the city’s streets, yards, a school and a kindergarten. RT talked to a male schoolteacher from Slavyansk school number 13, who asked not to be named.

“Around midday there was a loud explosion in the school, and I fell to the floor, taking cover,” the teacher told RT over the phone. The man said that he rushed to the corridor to assemble all the teachers and children in the school and take them to a safe place. Clouds of dust were billowing on one side of the building. According to the teacher, it turned out that the shell exploded right above the school hall, where children are usually gathered for festive events, and part of the roof “was simply blown away.” Luckily, no children were in the hall at the time. All the pupils and teachers were quickly evacuated to the basement.

It was not immediately clear, if there were any casualties in the kindergarten or other places shelled in Slavyansk, but the Rossiya-24 channel reported that 9 people were injured in total, including a 4-year-old boy. The channel’s crew narrowly escaped a direct hit by a mortar shell, as it fell “literally next to our car.”

(snip)

Read more and see video at: http://rt.com/news/162008-ukraine-shelling-slavyansk-school/

May 24, 2014

Ukrainian forces kill two journalists near Slavyansk.

Eyewitnesses report mortar fire from pro-Kiev forces killed two foreign journalists and wounded a third near the east Ukrainian city of Slavyansk. They are two more innocent victims of Kiev's so-called "Anti-Terror Operation." The United States continues to publicly support this coup-installed government which orders its soldiers to fire indiscriminately on civilian targets. One has to admit that either the Ukrainian troops knew they were firing on civilian journalists, or they didn't know who they were dropping mortar rounds on. Either way they were in violation of international law, and their leaders should be punished for ordering such actions:

Three foreign journalists caught in violence near Slavyansk, two possibly dead

An Italian reporter and his interpreter have reportedly been shot dead and a French photographer has been wounded near the city of Slavyansk, in eastern Ukraine, as their car came under mortar fire. The injured French journalist identified as William Roguelon has been taken to a local hospital where he received treatment and managed to leave the facility on his own.

Roguelon, from the hospital reached out to Agence France Presse (AFP) and described how out of nowhere their vehicle was bombarded with mortar shells. "Before that we heard Kalashnikov shots,” Roguelon was quoted by the Italian tgcom24. “Then the mortar shells rained down all around," he said claiming to have heard up 60 explosions as they tried to hide in the “middle of a ditch."

The man, who works as a freelance photographer, has told Russian media that after the shooting he saw his Italian colleagues lying on the ground not moving, Rossiya 24 channel reported. “In the village of Andreyevka, not far from Slavyansk, an Italian journalist and his interpreter have been shot dead and a French correspondent wounded. Their car came under fire,” a source from the self-defense forces has told RIA Novosti.

The Italian journalist has been identified as Andrea Rocchelli, while the interpreter is believed to be Russian national Andrey Mironov, who was holding an Italian passport. The Italian Foreign Ministry has not yet confirmed the identities, saying it was still in the process of verifying the information on the incident, according to repubblica.it. According to Roguelon the mortar fire was coming from the side of Ukrainian forces.

(snip)

May 23, 2014

Ukrainian friendly fire incident, deadly helicopter attack on own checkpoint.

Bad communications is blamed for a misdirected helicopter attack by Ukrainian military helicopters against a checkpoint their own troops were manning. The aftermath and follow-up machine gun attacks on the checkpoint's burning remains were caught on film by one of the Ukrainian soldiers who managed to escape:

Donetsk bloodbath: Insider video shows Ukraine helicopters firing at own checkpoint.

Ukrainian helicopter gunships shot at a Ukrainian military checkpoint in Donetsk Region in the aftermath of a night battle, a video presumably shot by one of the soldiers indicates. Apparently, Kiev’s troops suffer from gross lack of communications.

The eight-minute video on YouTube was shot near the town of Volnovakha in Ukraine’s Donetsk Region, according to the description. It shows a group of armed uniformed men with Ukrainian army insignia and at least two others in civilian clothes taking cover behind a military truck. The vehicle is at a field and the men are observing from a distance a woodland belt separating on the field border At least two vans are seen and fire burns among the trees. Sporadic gunfire can be heard, possibly from ammunition detonating in the fire, and then a massive explosion erupts at the camp. The soldiers discuss whether they should fall back. Then two Mil Mi-24 helicopter gunships start barraging at low altitude over the area. After several passes the aircraft start barraging the burning camp from their cannons.

“What are their doing?” one of the soldiers exclaims in surprise. “Are they ours?” “Who the f*** else?” another replies. The group hastily flees the scene, but the cameraman continues shooting the footage, cursing and praying as he runs. A couple of minutes later he gets to another woodland belt. He approaches another Ukrainian military man, who is speaking on a mobile phone.

“Who are they shooting at?” the man says. “There are civilians and our soldiers there. Do you have a line to the army aviation, what the f*** is happening? Two [Mi-]24s and one [Mi-]8 arrived. They are flying over our checkpoint and shooting at our checkpoint,” the report continues. “There are lots of corpses there. We were dousing the burning BMP [infantry combat vehicle], we thought the Mi-8 was going to pick up the bodies. Now they are shooting.”

(snip)

See graphic video of the attacks aftermath at: http://rt.com/news/161044-ukraine-helicopter-checkpoint-attack/

May 23, 2014

Ukrainian commander fires on his own troops, as they try to desert.

Despite a vote by Ukraine's "Rada" to end offensive actions in eastern regions of the country and return troops sent on the current "anti-terrorism" assault to their bases, Kiev's interim government appears determined to continue with the bloodshed and destruction they have brought to eastern towns and cities. Perhaps they have more powerful masters to answer to than merely their own Parliament?

Kiev troops reportedly shoot at deserting conscripts as eastern military op escalates.

Kiev forces have killed at least seven militiamen and injured dozens of people, including civilians, in clashes in the Lugansk Region. Some Kiev troop conscripts reportedly tried to desert and flee to the militia, and were shot at by their commander. Both sides suffered losses during the battle near the village of Rubezhnoye, close to the city of Lisichansk in the Lugansk region. At least seven self-defense members were killed and 16 others injured, according to the militia. A spokesperson for Kiev’s troops reported two fatalities and seven wounded among their ranks. The shooting followed botched negotiations between forces of the self-proclaimed People's Republic of Lugansk and pro-Kiev troops, Ostap Cherniy, a spokesman for the militias, said at a press conference on Thursday night.

“When the Ukrainian military with a column of armored vehicles approached Lisichansk, militias tried to negotiate with them,” Cherniy said. “Shooting erupted during the negotiations.” He added that local residents, including children, were among those who went to talk to the Kiev loyalists. The civilians were trying to block military vehicles of the National Guard and asking “not to kill them,” he said.

There are claims that at least some of the casualties among Kiev loyalists were not due to the militias. Some 30 of the conscripts wanted to defect, Cherniy said. The militias fed the prisoners and wanted to relocate them, but the other troops opened fire at the entire group, he added. “After they boarded a bus and drove to the college, the military opened fire at the bus with a heavy machine gun,” said the self-defense force representative.

A militia member told RIA Novosti that it was the commander of the unit which was preparing to desert who opened fire at his own men. The information was confirmed by one of the defectors, who said he and his fellow conscripts decided to defect no to follow an order to fire at the militias and civilians. “The commander ordered us to open indiscriminate fire,” the soldier said during the same press conference, adding that locals “saved him” from Kiev-controlled soldiers.

(snip)

Read more at: http://rt.com/news/160908-ukraine-lugansk-fire-soldiers/

May 21, 2014

Human Rights Watch demands Russian Journalists' immediate release.

All journalists are endangered if this situation is allowed to go on. As members of the international press, these men must be released at once. Otherwise all reporters, all cameramen and all who act as sources for news stories important to us will be at risk of being silenced:

Human Rights Watch demands Kiev ‘immediately’ release detained journalist.

RT contributor Graham Philips and two Russian LifeNews journalists must be immediately set free by the Ukrainian authorities, Rachel Denber from Human Rights Watch told RT, adding that if there are any actual charges against them – they must be pressed.

Russian LifeNews journalists, Oleg Sidyakin and Marat Saichenko, were detained on Sunday soon after they released a scandalous video, which showed a UN-marked helicopter being used by the Ukrainian army in a military operation in the eastern regions. Two days later, RT’s contributing journalist, Graham Phillips, was arrested at a checkpoint in the city of Mariupol.

The British citizen was reportedly interrogated by the Ukrainian Security Service (the SBU) for “filming facilities, which are forbidden from being filmed.”

HWR’s Rachel Denber says the fate of the detainees is raising serious concerns as they’re being deprived of the means of communication and the SBU is refusing to make any comments. Journalists from various Russian media outlets were also recently denied from entering Ukraine, including Zvezda, NTV, Channel One and TVC channels as well as RT Arabic’s news crew.

(snip)

May 20, 2014

Ukraine's Parliament votes to end "Anti-Terror" campaign in country's east.

Two hundred fifty-two members of Ukraine's Rada Parliament (a twenty-six vote majority) voted today to end the interim government's anti-terrorism campaign in the country's eastern regions and return military units to their regular barracks. It remains to be seen if the US/EU appointed, puppet leadership will agree to follow the Rada's will, or, given that, if the newly created "Right Sector" para-military combat groups will obey stand-down orders they receive from anyone.

Ukrainian MPs call for immediate troop withdrawal from country’s east.

Ukrainian troops deployed in the country’s east should immediately return to their bases, the country’s parliament said in a memorandum. The freshly-adopted document also urges constitutional reforms based on the decentralization of Kiev’s power. With 226 votes required to pass the law, the Ukrainian parliament finally adopted the so-called ‘Memorandum of Peace and Consent’, 252 MPs voting in favor. In particular, the document calls "to restore law, order and public safety in the state by stopping bloodshed and bringing to justice those responsible for the killings of civilians during mass protests; to stop the anti-terrorist operation in Ukraine’s southeast and return the soldiers involved in anti-terrorist operations to their places of permanent deployment.”

Kiev launched a military crackdown in the country’s south-east regions in April in response to mass protests against the coup-appointed government calling for the federalization of the region. The adopted document also urges for immediate constitutional reform that will grant more autonomy to regions – a key demand of the protesters in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk. As hopes for federalization grew thin, eastern regions created self-defense forces and seized government buildings. On May 11 referendums were held in Donetsk and Lugansk regions and independence was proclaimed.

The Verkhovna Rada voted after a debate concerning the wording of the article on the status of the Russian language. An agreement was reached after the “constitutional status of the Ukrainian language as the language of state” was confirmed. The document said that the state “must ensure the rights of minority languages.” The document made a point "to grant the status to the Russian language," but stopped short from giving it the constitutional status.

(snip)

The provision to grant amnesty to self-defense forces in the east was dropped from the final draft of the memorandum. This was harshly criticized by the Communist Party, who abstained from the vote. MPs from the nationalist Svoboda Party abstained from voting on Tuesday as well, saying they believe the reform will be ineffective.

(snip)

Read more at: http://rt.com/news/160224-ukraine-troops-withdrawal-constitution/

May 18, 2014

Ukrainian Presidential candidate calls for murder of pro-federalist leaders.

Leader of the radical "Right Sector Party," Dmitry Yarosh, is running for the Presidency of Ukraine in elections scheduled for next weekend. He recently attended a televised candidates' debate during which he discussed some of his ideas on how to bring the hostilities in eastern Ukraine to an end. Those "ideas" included fielding two additional brigades of armed "Right Sector" fighters, to join the brigade already active as part of Ukraine's "anti-terror" operations against pro-federalists. Yarosh also suggested plans should be made for the murder of federalist leaders living in eastern Ukraine:

Ukrainian ultranationalist leader calls for guerilla war against pro-federalists.

Television debates with three nationalist presidential candidates ended up in calls to pursue a guerilla war against pro-federalist Ukrainian citizens and conduct targeted assassinations of their leaders. The leader of the radical Right Sector movement, Dmitry Yarosh, and his no less nationalist opponents, former chief of foreign intelligence service, Nikolay Malomuzh, and chairman of People’s Rukh nationalist party, Vasily Skubiyda, presented their vision of Ukraine on Saturday after the presidential election set for May 25.

Because their positions are really close, they represent the far-right body of electors. The extremist views of Dmitry Yarosh stood out against a background of total antagonism towards everything non-Ukrainian, in the first place the Russian-speaking citizens of the country’s southeast who are demanding federalization. The leader of the militants, who now make up the backbone of the newly created National Guards, currently conducting military operations against federalization activists in eastern Ukraine, has called for “extensive guerilla war” against the protesting federalist forces in Donetsk and Lugansk.

The Right Sector, which last month formed a special detachment, Donbass-1, for waging war against the federalists in eastern Ukraine, is now busy forming the Donbass-2 unit and plans to recruit militants for a third one, said Yarosh. The ultranationalist leader categorically denied that the autonomous republic of Crimea had the right to disengage with Ukraine through a popular referendum and reunite with Russia. Crimea “has always been, and remains” a Ukrainian territory, stated Yarosh and called to start a guerilla war in the peninsula get the region back.

The Right Sector leader also shared new tactics to be used against federalists in the East, saying that there should be no more attempts to storm the rebel cities, but rather “knock out” the activist leaders. It means that they should be physically eliminated, he specified.

(snip)

Read more, and view video, at: http://rt.com/news/159712-guerilla-war-ukraine-yarosh/

May 15, 2014

Separatist leader gives Kiev's troops an ultimatum.

The troubled story of Ukraine's breakaway eastern regions took another unexpected turn yesterday. The separatist commander of pro-autonomy militia of Donbass, Sergey Zdrilyuk, has issued an ultimatum to Kiev's troops in Donetsk in which he warns them to leave the region in twenty four hours or risk being attacked and destroyed.

Donetsk self-defense forces give Kiev troops 24 hours to withdraw

Donetsk self-defense forces set an ultimatum for the Kiev military, warning that if troops do not withdraw from block posts in the Donetsk region within 24 hours, they will be taken by force, RIA Novosti reported. The pro-autonomy militia of Donbass region in eastern Ukraine made the statement on Wednesday.

"If the armored vehicles are not pulled back, the roadblocks of the so-called legitimate authorities are not removed, I will have enough power and means – the commander supported me today – to destroy and burn everything. Reconnaissance and sabotage groups are ready to move and some are steady,” deputy commander of the pro-autonomy militia of Donbass, Sergey Zdrilyuk, told RIA Novosti. “I give 24 hours for them to withdraw all troops, all forces,” he added.

The statement follows referendums in Donetsk and Lugansk regions, which showed that the majority of voters support self-rule amid an intensified military operation by Kiev. Almost 90 percent of voters in Donetsk region have endorsed political independence from Kiev, the head of the Central Election Commission of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, Roman Lyagin, previously announced.

(snip)

Read more at: http://rt.com/news/159048-donetsk-ultimatum-troops-withdraw/

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About another_liberal

"It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have." James A. Baldwin

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