Ukraine | Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion - Part 20
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Posted by Mary Chastain on July 20, 2016 5 Comments
Prominent journalist Pavel Sheremet died in a car bombing in Kiev, Ukraine, today. The Belarusian journalist went to Ukraine from Russia after the Kremlin clamped down on the media and his cameraman was murdered. The authorities do not have any suspects. However, the car belonged to Sheremet's partner Olena Prytula, the founding editor of their publication Ukrainska Pravda, a well respected outlet. Sheremet's colleagues believe the perpetrators targeted Prytula.

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 25, 2016 2 Comments
The Kremlin has officially pardoned Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko after two years of imprisonment and a farce trial in exchange for two Russia Special Forces servicemen. The Ukrainian and Russian governments did not offer any details about the exchange. But journalists in Ukraine "noted that a Ukrainian presidential aircraft had flown to the airport of Rostov-on-Don, a southern Russian city close to the Ukrainian border." It came back at 3PM local time with Savchenko on board.

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 15, 2016 8 Comments
A few Russian officials have demanded a Ukraine boycott after singer Jamala won Eurovision with her song "1944," which is about the USSR deportation of the Crimean Tatars. Well, maybe if Russia did not invade east Ukraine or annex Crimea, people would not hate them so much. Jamala, a Crimean Tatar, drew inspiration for the song from her great-grandmother. USSR dictator Josef Stalin deported over 200,000 Crimean Tatars to central Asia on suspicion of corroborating with Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. The 72nd anniversary of the deportation falls on May 18.

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 02, 2016 5 Comments
Gen. Philip Breedlove, the top military commander of NATO, has warned the organization they need to focus on Russia before he leaves his position at the end of May. “We see that Russia has not accepted the hand of partnership but has chosen a path of belligerence,” he stated. “We need to readdress where we’re heading.” Breedlove leaves his position "this month after three years in the top military job at NATO." His statements come after NATO announced they will send 4,000 troops to the Baltic States - Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia - and Poland. “The Russians have been doing a lot of snap exercises right up against the borders, with a lot of troops,” Robert Work, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense, told The Wall Street Journal. “From our perspective, we could argue this is extraordinarily provocative behavior.”

Posted by Mike LaChance on March 18, 2016 13 Comments
In a move symbolic of the nation's rejection of Communism and the Soviet era, Ukraine has removed one of the last large statues of Vladimir Lenin from public view. The Guardian reported:
Ukraine topples biggest remaining Lenin statue It took two days and a giant crane, but Ukraine has finally managed to lift its biggest remaining statue of the Soviet founder Lenin off its pedestal and consign it to the dustbin of history.

Posted by Amy Miller on February 09, 2015 13 Comments
Since February 2014, the Russian military has been taking steps to secure portions of eastern Ukraine; forces successfully annexed the Crimea, and Russian separatists in Ukraine have continued their attacks. Nations including the United States have advocated for providing Ukrainians with the means to defend themselves---that means tanks, weapons, and training---but Russian officials claim that such a move would constitute a threat to national security. The situation is quickly devolving, but world leaders are still holding out a sliver of hope that a compromise can be reached. At the Munich Security Conference this past weekend, Vice President Joe Biden met with European leaders to address continuing Russian aggression in Ukraine. Via CNN:
Biden met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko earlier Saturday to discuss the situation in Ukraine. "We must judge ... any future agreement with Russia by the actions Russia takes on the ground, not by the paper they sign," Biden said. "Given Russia's recent history, we need to judge it by its deeds, not its words. Don't tell us, show us, President Putin. Too many times President Putin has promised peace and delivered tanks, troops, and weapons." While he's echoing much of what White House press secretary Josh Earnest has been saying during recent daily press briefings, neither Biden nor President Barack Obama has weighed in directly this week since tensions escalated. He would not discuss the possibility of U.S. ground troops in the region, but re-asserted the Ukrainian people's right to defend themselves. "We will continue providing Ukraine with security assistance, not to encourage war, but to allow Ukraine to defend itself," he said. "Let me be clear: We do not believe that there is a military solution in Ukraine. Let me be equally clear: We do not believe Russia has the right to do what they're doing."

Posted by Mike LaChance on August 16, 2014 6 Comments
The recent flood of illegal immigrants across the southern border has caused many Americans to wonder why our country is seemingly incapable of border security. A fence is in place in some areas while others are completely open. With that in mind, many Americans will be surprised to learn that the State Department is now funding the construction of a border fence in Ukraine. Jeryl Bier of The Weekly Standard reported:
Feds Buy Border Fence ... for Ukraine As part of the U.S. Crisis Support Package for Ukraine announced by the White House in April, the State Department awarded a $435,000 contract to B.K. Engineering System in Kyiv for razor wire to help "defend the newly imposed borders between Ukraine's mainland and the Crimean peninsula." The contract was awarded on June 12, but was just posted online this week. An $8 million "non-lethal assistance" package was announced at the same time as a larger $50 million aid package for Ukraine to "help Ukraine pursue political and economic reform and strengthen the partnership between the United States and Ukraine." The razor wire (Concertina) is included under "[e]ngineering equipment, communications equipment, vehicles, and non-lethal individual tactical gear for Ukraine’s Border Guard Service" that was spelled out in the April Fact Sheet.
Meanwhile, back here in America, Mexico is protesting the presence of the Texas National Guard on the border.

Posted by Bruce Carroll on July 30, 2014 9 Comments
In another of his frequent 'announcement drops' before entering Marine One, President Obama yesterday declared that the United States and the European Union had agreed to a new round of sanctions against Russia. These new sanctions come within two weeks of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 being shot from the sky over Ukraine.
From The Wall St. Journal:
The EU targeted the energy, arms and finance sectors, with details due soon. It's not a profile in courage: The EU only blocked future arms business with Russia, not past deals. The U.S. restricted the access of three additional Russian banks to American capital markets and blocked future technology sales to Russian oil companies. The U.S. stopped short of broader sectoral sanctions on Russia's banks. Vladimir Putin himself could be included on a future asset and travel ban list.
The question remains whether these latest moves by the West are enough for Vladimir Putin to give up his support of the pro-Russian separatists still battling the Ukrainian government on the ground in Eastern Ukraine. It is possible that the West still isn't willing to do what it needs to do to maximize the economic pressure on Putin's Russia. Again, from today's Wall St. Journal:

Posted by Bruce Carroll on July 29, 2014 2 Comments
British and American media are reporting that Ukrainian government officials have seen data from the say the downed Malaysia Airlines' black box recorders. According to these officials, the airliner suffered an explosive loss of pressure after it was punctured by multiple pieces of shrapnel from a missile. From the BBC:
They say the information came from the plane's flight data recorders, which are being analysed by British experts. However, it remains unclear who fired a missile, with pro-Russia rebels and Ukraine blaming each other. Many of the 298 people killed on board flight MH17 were from the Netherlands. Dutch investigators leading the inquiry into the crash have refused to comment on the Ukrainian claims.
Meanwhile those same Dutch investigators in charge of finding out what happened have yet to visit the crash site, view the wreckage or see the human remains from the aftermath of the downing of the plane. From CNN:

Posted by Bruce Carroll on July 27, 2014 19 Comments
Ten days after Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 was shot from the skies over Ukraine, the situation on the ground in Ukraine has gotten worse. U.S. officials released satellite images today showing proof that Russian forces have been shelling eastern Ukraine from the Russian side of the border.
The U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which released the civilian-taken satellite images Sunday, said they show visual evidence that Russia has been firing shells across the border at Ukrainian military forces. Officials also said the images show that Russia-backed separatists have used heavy artillery, provided by Russia, in attacks on Ukrainian forces from inside Ukraine.

Posted by Mandy Nagy on July 21, 2014 6 Comments
The remains of nearly 200 passengers from downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH 17 have been removed from the wreckage and placed in refrigerated rail cars in a rebel-controlled area of eastern Ukraine. From ABC News:
It may be some time before the bodies of the victims of Malaysia Airlines flight MH 17 are returned to their families. In an exclusive interview with ABC News today, the leader of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic said they would not be turned over until international inspectors come here to inspect them. "We can and we want to give bodies to the relatives but experts have to examine the bodies here. That is international practice," Alexander Borodai said.

Posted by Bruce Carroll on July 17, 2014 50 Comments
A flurry of media reports are reporting that a Malaysian Airlines passenger jet has been shot down over Ukrainian airspace. The Boeing 777 carried 295 people and was "at altitude" (30,000 feet) according to the Interfax agency. All on board are said to have perished, according to Ukrainian sources. The media reports and video of a fiery crash have exploded on the internet after this initial tweet came from Malaysian Airlines. On FOX News Channel's breaking news coverage -- Jennifer Griffin, FOX News Pentagon correspondent, says the Ukrainian interior minister reports a Russian surface-to-air missile system brought down the flight. Griffin says Ukrainian civilians and government officials had reported seeing the advanced Russian BOOK missile system move into the country from Russia in recent days. From BBC News:

Posted by Bruce Carroll on July 01, 2014 5 Comments
This seems like a broken record, but the last 24 hours have turned the standoff in Eastern Ukraine from a "ceasefire" to a hot war that doesn't appear to be cooling down soon. On Friday, June 20, Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko announced a unilateral one-week cease-fire by his government as a way to deescalate the crisis with pro-Russian rebels in Eastern Ukraine. Poroshenko announced to ceasefire with an ultimatum for the rebels: disarm or leave Ukraine.
Poroshenko called the 7-day cease-fire, which was to begin later on Friday, a first-step in a larger agreement, not only giving separatists a chance to disarm, but also for pro-Russia rebels to leave the country, the Kiev Post reports. He called on separatists to lay down their weapons, or else be "destroyed," the President said. "The forces of the anti-terrorist operation will halt military action starting today and through June 27," Poroshenko was cited as saying by the Interior Ministry on its website.
Probably to no one's surprise, the ceasefire was violated several times in the last 10 days mainly by the pro-Russian forces. So as July dawned in Ukraine, the ceasefire was over and heavy fighting broke out in the separatist eastern regions.

Posted by Mandy Nagy on May 25, 2014 4 Comments
Sunday was election day in Ukraine, and while turnout appeared heavy at polling stations in Kiev, it was a different scene in portions of the east.  Nonetheless, Petro Poroshenko declared victory after preliminary exit polls signaled he'd won the majority of the votes. From CNN:
Billionaire Petro Poroshenko declared victory Sunday in Ukraine's presidential election, following preliminary exit polls that suggested he got 56% of the vote. His closest challenger, former Ukrainian prime minister and leader of the Batkivshchyna party Yulia Tymoshenko, conceded the election after exit polls showed her with 13% of the vote. Poroshenko, a candy tycoon known as the "Chocolate King," is also a seasoned politician. The election took place Sunday despite a recent wave of deadly violence in the east and threats by pro-Russia separatists to prevent citizens from casting their ballots.
In February, Ukraine’s parliament ousted President Viktor Yanukovich from office and named an interim president, which was followed of course by months of continuing unrest, particularly in the country’s eastern region. Many of the polling stations were closed Sunday in the east, according to the Associated Press via ABC News:

Posted by Mandy Nagy on April 29, 2014 9 Comments
The European Union has announced a new round of sanctions that target 15 individuals with a travel ban and assets freeze as the situation in eastern Ukraine has continued to escalate. From CNN:
The European Union has imposed sanctions related to the crisis in Ukraine on another 15 people, bringing the total number targeted to 48. The EU said Monday they are responsible for actions that "undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine." The targets include Dmitry Kozak, Russia's deputy prime minister; Russian military chief Valery Gerasimov; and pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine, including Denis Pushilin, the self-declared leader of the "Donetsk People's Republic." EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said she was alarmed by the worsening security situation in eastern Ukraine, and she called on Russia to take "concrete steps" in support of an international deal signed this month aimed at easing tensions. She warned that if necessary, the European Union "will look at possible additional individual measures" related to the crisis.
The EU’s move comes just on the heels of an announcement from the United States regarding its own expansion of sanctions against Russia. The Department of Treasury indicated Monday it is imposing additional sanctions on “seven Russian government officials, including two members of President Putin's inner circle, who will be subject to an asset freeze and a U.S. visa ban, and 17 companies linked to Putin's inner circle, which will be subject to an asset freeze.” The situation on the ground in eastern Ukraine meanwhile remains tense.

Posted by Mandy Nagy on April 27, 2014 2 Comments
One monitor was freed Sunday after pro-Russian separatists seized a group of eight European monitors with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in eastern Ukraine earlier this weekend. From CNN:
Pro-Russian separatists holding a European military observer team in eastern Ukraine released one of the observers for medical reasons Sunday, shortly after parading them before cameras, officials on both sides of the dispute said. At least seven of the inspectors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe appeared at a news conference staged by the self-declared mayor of Slavyansk, Vyacheslav Ponomarev, who referred to them as "prisoners of war." The freed observer was from Sweden and had been suffering from diabetes, Ponomarev spokeswoman Stella Khorosheva told CNN. And Michael Bociurkiw, an OSCE spokesman in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, called it "a welcome development." Holger Schmuck, one of the German members of the team, said earlier that their captors had ensured the ailing observer had all the water and sugar he needed and were taking particular care of him. The monitors were seized Friday outside Slavyansk, one of the flashpoints in the standoff between Ukraine's interim government and pro-Russian factions challenging its authority in the east. They said that although they have diplomatic status, they went along with Sunday's news conference because the mayor asked them to.
The bus on which the group was traveling earlier was reportedly commandeered and driven to the headquarters of the separatists in Slovyansk, according to a Wall Street Journal report earlier this weekend. Reuters reported Saturday that the separatists suspected the monitors of spying, and offered to release them in exchange for prisoners.

Posted by Mandy Nagy on April 24, 2014 3 Comments
Russia on Thursday announced that it would begin military drills along the border of Ukraine, as the crisis there has continued to escalate in recent days. From CNN:
Following days of simmering unrest, tensions in Ukraine escalated sharply Thursday, with Russia embarking on new military drills near the border after Ukrainian forces said they killed five pro-Russian militants. Ukraine's Interior Ministry said Ukrainian forces killed the five militants during operations to take down pro-Russian activists' roadblocks around the city of Slavyansk. The Russian response was quick to come. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that "if the Kiev regime has started to use the army against the population inside the country, it, beyond any doubt, is a very serious crime." It would "have consequences" for those making the decisions, and for relations between the two governments, Putin said at a media forum Thursday, according to state TV channel Russia 24. Shortly afterward, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russia would conduct military drills in response to the operation in southeastern Ukraine, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti said. "We are forced to react to such a development in the situation," Shoigu is quoted as saying. "Starting today, exercises of battalion tactical groups from the Southern and Western military districts will begin near the borders with Ukraine."
Russia’s announcement comes after Ukraine has resumed a crackdown on pro-Russia separatists who continue to set roadblocks and occupy government buildings in areas of eastern Ukraine, as an earlier truce fell apart.