What is happening with Russia and Ukraine now?

Eastern Partnership summit was held in Riga. Ukrainians "have the right to dream" of European membership, but they won't have it in the predictable future:

Quote from Donald Tusk, a president of the European Council, at 0:39:

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The visa free travel has been postponed for the Nth time. EU has been promising that for 20 years now.

 

The Ukrainian Parliament passed a law recently - which is almost totally unreported in the west - suspending membership of the European Convention on Human Rights in the east of the country.

Included in the suspension is the right to trial, rights to 'inviolability of people’s homes' and the right to free movement. The state prosecutor can now pass judgement and sentence without the need for a judge.

[BBC Ukraine] [Interfax Ukraine]

 

Ukraine is going on sale - Ukrainian Prime Minister Yatseniuk is urging the United States companies to "use their investment opportunities" provided by the privatization program in UA.

We've seen this happen before in Yugoslavia.

 

Russia passed a law that makes military casualties during special operations a state secret during peace time.

 

Western media reports that Russia is amassing forces on the border again.

 

Ukraine appoints Georgia ex-president Mikhail Saakashvili to be a governor of Odessa.

He is wanted in Georgia for embezzlement and corruption. He was also involved in a South Ossetia conflict in 2008.

 

Ukrainian Parliament is mad at the chief of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.

He said that Russia has sent 28 humanitarian convoys so far and they found no weapons in any of them.

"Which side are you on, mr General?" - Semechenko asks on his facebook page.

 

Every time Russia is in negotiations with the West, news outlets get flooded with articles about people claiming that Russia will nuke them any minute now.

Like right now.

In the end of this month EU votes on extending sanctions and RF has been working several countries to sway them to a "No" vote. That's really the worst moment for the Federation to escalate, unless someone else wants the situation to escalate. Who could that be? Nudge nudge, wink wink.

TL;DR: The sanctions are about to expire, so expect lots and lots of anti-RF news.

Business as usual!

 

The great wall that was planned by the Ukrainian government to be constructed between Ukraine and Russia will not be built. The money for it ($200 million) "disappeared".

 

Lithuania and Ukraine are pissed. Lithuania has offered Ukraine to transit Norway gas through Belorussia. The Belorussian gas transit system is controlled by Gazprom and they refused to allow it. This is not a surprise, considering Ukrainian gas debt to Gazprom is in the billions.

Lithuania has spent $128 million building their LNG FSRU in Klaipeda to gain "gas independence". Unfortunately it was built in a less than ideal location and the customers are not exactly lining up. Gazprom refusal is not really helping them either.

 

Gay parade in Kiev was over half an hour after it started when Right Sector goons attacked it:

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OSCE taking interviews from people of Telmanovo. Many people including children died after recent shellings of Donetsk and surrounding villages:

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Earlier Poroshenko said Ukraine warned OSCE beforehand about bringing heavy artillery back to the frontlines, so they are not violating Minsk agreements in any way:

 

Thousands of people are protesting in Kiev and demand Poroshenko and his government to resign:

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Most likely nothing will come out of it since they are not being backed by anyone important.

 

Yep.

Roughly a hundred masked people have demolished the tents protesters have set up on the Independence Square and beaten the people who stood in the way.

The Ukrainian media are reporting that this protest was instigated by.... you guessed it, paid Russian shills.

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Meanwhile Ukraine is expecting a discount on gas from Russia.

 

There was an explosion in an oil depot near Kiev that resulted in a fire, several people were injured:

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From what i've seen firefighters have been trying to put out the fire using just water....might as well let it burn until the fuel runs out...

 

Yes, the minister of culture is for some reason in charge of the firefighters.

And that would probably not work. There are military warehouses and a shooting range as well as a second oil plant right next to the area. The fire can go on for months if just left alone.

Russian Emergency service has offered help with the situation. Haven't heard anyone in the EU trying to assist yet.

 

Another image from the 30-minute gay parade in Kiev:



"Sodomy is an acceptable alternative to Russian faschism" (Liberty prime?)

Meanwhile Western media and LGBT communities hail the parade as a major success.

I really fail to see how this kind of "out of spite" demonstration is a success in any way. It doesn't help the slavic LGBT communities in the least and the Right Sector attacks only highlight how much hatred there is for gay people in Eastern Europe.

 

The leader of the failed Maidan 3.0, Rustam Tashbaev, has reported on his facebook page that the police has caught him, interrogated him, beaten him severely and dropped him off in the middle of the forest after the Maidan was demolished by unknown masked men a few days ago.

He says he spent ten hours in the hospital, but he is happy he got the American citizenship earlier this year and left the country.



Publicly he, a US citizen, a military analyst for Strategem and a friend of McCain, is being mocked for being a paid Russian shill by the Ukrainian media.