Ukraine Revolt/Civil War News, Reports, Data, etc.

Oct 8, 2016
ifyQSKOQkrE.jpg

kinda Brigadas Internacionales member, Mr. Stimson of Manchester (to the left above), arrested:
TERROR ARREST
First pictures of Brit charged with two terrorism offences linked to the conflict in eastern Ukraine
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and a rally in his support took place in Saint Petersburg yesterday:
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and now noticed through gazeta.ru (
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Oldham man jailed for Ukraine terror offence
14 July 2017
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A British man who travelled to Ukraine to join anti-government fighters has been jailed.

Benjamin Stimson, from Oldham, Greater Manchester, pleaded guilty to an offence under UK terrorism laws.

The 41-year-old, who is the first Briton involved in the Ukrainian conflict to have faced charges, travelled out in 2015 to join pro-Russian rebels.

He was jailed for five years and four months at Manchester Crown Court.

Stimson, who went to the conflict zone in the Donbass region, admitted intending to commit acts of terrorism and engaging in their preparation.

His father Martin said: "We are surprised by the sentence. It is too severe.

"I wish my son never went there. I regret it very much. I thought he just went to work at a farm."

In 2014, Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in Ukraine, leading to a bitter conflict between the countries.

Stimson - who smiled only once in court when he saw his friends and family on the balcony - left his home in August 2015 and travelled to Moscow before illegally entering eastern Ukraine.

He then joined a frontline unit of the Russian-backed militia fighting against Ukrainian government forces.

Driving ambulances
Stimson posted a photograph of himself on Facebook holding an AK-47 and summed up Donbass as "vodka, women and guns".

But Manchester Crown Court heard that he did not actually engage in any fighting during his four months in eastern Ukraine and had intended to perform humanitarian work by driving ambulances.

The judge agreed that Stimson had joined pro-Russian militia not to fight but to change the life he had in the UK.

In November 2015, he returned to the UK where he was arrested on arrival at Manchester Airport.

He was charged in September 2016 and remanded in custody.

Dominic Casciani, BBC Home Affairs Correspondent
Benjamin Stimson's case is unusual - but it's really important because his conviction and jailing illustrates that terrorism legislation is not focused on offenders from one community who turn to violent extremism for one cause.

The fighter pleaded guilty to preparing for acts of terrorism. Prosecutors have turned successfully to this offence time and again to prosecute British men who have gone to fight in Syria and Iraq - or tried to do so.

Stimson's destination was of course different - but the offence was the same because of the British legal definition of terrorism.

Under our law, an act of terrorism, put most briefly, means resorting to violence, or its threat, to influence a government or people for an ideological cause.

Stimson's decision to support a militia attacking a legitimate government therefore fell foul of the law. And that's why he's going to prison with a terrorism legislation criminal record.

Follow Dominic Casciani on Twitter @bbcdomc

Sentencing him, David Stockdale QC said: "You ultimately did no physical harm to anyone but you assisted the militia by your presence and your involvement, and you will have given a lead to others.

"I accept you do not hold extremist views and you have expressed your regret for your actions."

Stimson's presentation as a "fighting man" was largely "an exaggeration or even the product of fantasy", he added.

Det Ch Supt Russ Jackson, head of the North West Counter-Terrorism Unit, said: "The images of him holding a rifle and wearing military clothing are deeply concerning.

"He has been jailed for the role he played in a violent conflict and I hope his conviction will send a message to all those who are even considering joining conflicts."
 

delft

Brigadier
Oct 8, 2016

and now noticed through gazeta.ru (
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Oldham man jailed for Ukraine terror offence
14 July 2017
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Without changing the law UK has gone supporting terrorists in Syria, training their propagandists and their White Helmets, to saying that it prosecutes everyone going there to supports terrorists.
 
Western journalists noticed faster than me (me through Breaking News at gazeta.ru right now
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Ukrainian separatists proclaim a new state
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Separatists in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday proclaimed a new state that aspires to include not only the areas they control but also the rest of Ukraine.

The surprise announcement in the rebel stronghold of Donetsk casts further doubt on the 2015 cease-fire deal that was supposed to stop fighting in Ukraine’s industrial heartland and bring those areas back into Kiev’s fold while granting them wide autonomy.

More than 10,000 people have died in fighting after Russia-backed rebels took control of parts of Ukraine’s east in April 2014 after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula. The rebels originally sought to join Russia but the Kremlin stopped short of annexing the area or publicizing its military support for the rebels.

The separatist Donetsk News Agency on Tuesday quoted local leader Alexander Zakharchenko as saying that the rebels in Donetsk, Luhansk as well as representatives of other Ukrainian regions would form a state called Malorossiya.

Zakharchenko said they are drawing up a constitution that would be put up to a popular vote later.

“We believe that the Ukrainian state as it was cannot be restored,” Zakharchenko said in remarks carried by the Tass news agency. “We, representatives of the regions of the former Ukraine, excluding Crimea, proclaim the creation of a new state which is a successor to Ukraine.”

Although separatists in the east do have sympathizers in other Ukrainian regions, they have not attempted to capture territories there, nor do they have any political representation there.

France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia worked out an agreement in the Belarusian capital Minsk in 2015 which laid out a roadmap for ending the conflict between government troops and separatists. Under the deal, the rebels and the Ukrainian government agreed that the rebels would return the control of the territories they had captured to Kiev while Kiev would allow a local election there and grant wide autonomy to the region. While the deal helped to reduce the intensity of fighting, none of the political components have been implemented.

There was no immediate comment from Russia, which has been supporting the rebels.
so just an imprecise sentence for those who don't know any Slavic language: the name "Malorossiya" would mean like Small Russia, as "Belorussia" meaning White Russia
 
the first time I've heard
Germany says Crimean turbine scandal souring relations with Russia: paper
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Germany has warned Russia that breaches of sanctions including the relocation to Crimea of four gas turbines delivered to Russia by Siemens are straining political relations between the two countries, Bild am Sonntag reported on Sunday.

The newspaper quoted a foreign ministry spokesman as saying the German government had on several occasions brought to Moscow's attention looming breaches of existing sanctions and unlawful behaviors by Russian companies.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had assured Sigmar Gabriel, then German economy minister, at the time of delivery that the turbines were not for Crimea, the spokesman told the mass circulation paper. Gabriel is now Germany's foreign minister.

"The government has reminded Russia of these assurances again and pointed out that such a massive violation of sanctions would place new burdens on German-Russian relations," the spokesman told Bild am Sonntag.

Siemens is trying to distance itself from the scandal, halting deliveries of power equipment to Russian state-controlled customers and reviewing supply deals.

Crimea is subject to EU sanctions on energy equipment after Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula in 2014.
of course
"Russian President Vladimir Putin had assured Sigmar Gabriel, then German economy minister, at the time of delivery that the turbines were not for Crimea ..."
:)
 

delft

Brigadier
My Protestant newspaper has a news item that Saakashvili wants his Ukrainian citizenship back. He has fallen out with his former friend Poroshenko and now leads an anti-corruption party in Ukraine. He know a lot about corruption and has been accused by the Georgian justice system of corruption during his time as president of that country.
 

delft

Brigadier
A curiosity? http:
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Van rebuilt as military escort coach
07 Aug 2017

UKRAINE: A military escort coach which Refrigerator Wagon Co produced by rebuilding a refrigerated van is expected to enter service with Ukrainian Railways this month.

The vehicle is intended to be better suited to the military role than the 102 conventional coaches which Ukrainian Railways currently deploys on such trains. It has bunk beds, a kitchen, toilet, shower, washstand and heating for use in winter, as well as facilities for the secure storage of weapons.

The conversion cost 200 000 hryvna, which was funded by Ukrainian Railways at the behest of the government.
Do I understand correctly that Ukraine uses 102 conventional coaches to protect trains on its railway network, to be replaced by rebuilt refrigerated vans? Against bandits?
 

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
Armored train cars are a rarity these days back in WW1 they were a Strategic asset, but WW2 was there last hurrah, in the modern era they are more relics the last major new type being Russian in the 70's to protect against raids in Siberia and ICBM launchers in the late 80's.
the Rise of the Aircraft, and automobile meant that for most of the world the need for armored tracked transport fell away.
Both sides of this conflict have employed makeshift security couches. some armed. these modified refrigeration cars are more intended to hose the security forces for these trains.
 
Monday at 8:12 PM
found in English what's Breaking News at gazeta.ru right now (
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Putin agrees peacekeepers may be stationed away from engagement line in Donbass

More:
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related (now noticed through gazeta.ru
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State Department Briefing for Foreign Media
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QUESTION: So last week, you made a statement about the UN peacekeeping mission to Ukraine, and thank you for that. And question is: What will be the position of the United States in the current session of the UN General Assembly? Are you going to discuss it with other members of UN Security Council, and are you ready to support the Ukraine – Ukraine’s initiative? Thank you.

MS NAUERT: And Ukraine initiative to do what?

QUESTION: To – about the UN peacekeeping mission in the eastern part.

MS NAUERT: Ah, okay. The Russian proposal for a UN peacekeeping --

QUESTION: And the Ukrainian proposal then.

MS NAUERT: Okay, okay, okay. Got it. So I want to make this clear and I don’t want to jump ahead of anything that would happen at the UN General Assembly. We are still working out our meetings at the United Nations. We don’t have a full set – we don’t have all of our meetings just set. I expect to be able to provide a rundown of the meetings that we have scheduled hopefully tomorrow, and then the White House will issue theirs at some point too.

In terms of peacekeepers and that idea that you bring up, we support the Normandy partners. That has not changed. They have an effort to try to implement the Minsk agreements. That is something that we stand firmly behind. That is indicative in the fact that we brought back Ambassador Kurt Volker to help facilitate that.

The second thing I want to mention: We believe the possibility of a UN peacekeeping force for eastern Ukraine is certainly an idea that is worth exploring. I think that’s something that I touched on last week. We consider that a possible means of protecting Ukrainian citizens regardless of their ethnicity, their nationality. We see it potentially as a pathway to restoring Ukrainian sovereignty and also territorial – excuse me – integrity.

However, I want to be clear about this, and that is any such force should have a broad mandate for peace and security throughout the occupied territory of Ukraine up to and including the border with Russia in order to avoid deepening or institutionalizing the divisions inside Ukraine. Other nations, European nations – Germany is one example – agrees with us on this matter. Our goal is simple. We would like to restore Ukraine’s territorial integrity and also protect Ukrainians no matter what their religion is, no matter what their ethnicity is, or their language.

And if I may, I also want to mention that we believe it’s important to improve the security situation as a first step. We’ve called repeatedly for Russia to ensure a real and durable ceasefire. We would like them to disengage along the line of contact, withdraw heavy weapons, and allow full, unfettered, and safe access to the international monitors, including the international border.

I might also add that we lost an American, who was one of the OSCE monitors, earlier this year in Ukraine, and we want to express our condolences again to his family and make sure that monitors who can provide full, fair information in the field have the ability to operate in a dangerous environment safely. And we think that that is important. Okay.
 
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