Donbass – praag.org

American diplomats receive Russian ‘gifts’

American diplomats, US Embassy consul for political affairs, Andrea Brouillet-Rodriguez and second secretary of the US Embassy, Christopher Grossman were presented with Russian “gifts”.

One of the presented photos, “Gorlovka Madonna,” is considered one of the symbols of war in Donbass. A young mother with a ten-month baby in her arms from Gorlovka was killed by the Ukrainian punishers.

The guests were also presented with the photo of brutally murdered Vadim Papura who died on May 2, 2014 in Odessa.

Andrea Brouillet-Rodriguez hastened to turn away when receiving the photos, her eyes barely had caught the sight of the images.

“The purpose of our present is ‘let’s be friends’. Let us recall the experience of our grandfathers, who together forged victory. A certain contribution to our victory over the Nazis was made by the Americans. It is better to combine our efforts today to win over the worst evil on the planet,” the Russian communist deputy, Bair Tsyrenov said.

He also reminded the American visitors about the approaching 70th anniversary of the Soviet Victory in the Great Patriotic war.

The communists expressed hope that the two countries entered into another confrontation can find common ground in the struggle for world peace, just as they did 70 years ago.

Ukrainian army leaves fracking equipment behind

On the outskirts of the village of Shishkovo under the snow and rain rusts the expensive equipment: four residential trailers for employees, diesel substation and equipment for conducting seismic surveys. Judging by the labels this equipment was certified in the U.S., and now it is in possession of the people of Donbass.

Local residents recall that this was a temporary base of geologists from Ukrgazdobicha. The residents of the Shishkovo witnessed the beginning of the work.

“This equipment was brought at a time when in June the Ukrainian tanks came from Metallist and started shelling the city. As we suppose, Kiev authorities planned a quick capture of South-East, Donbass in particular, for further extraction of shale gas,” explains a local resident Vladimir.

“They were from Western Ukraine. Geo-research. They were saying something about gas, said there is shale gas here. First there were two vehicles, then 10 -12. There was a lot,” says a resident.

Earlier the field was divided into squares, here the expert gasman conducted seismic studies and measurements and were preparing to install a rig.

Local mechanics and welders were not hired, because many of the them spoke out against the extraction of shale gas.

The residents of Shishkovo were not notified of the purpose of the camp. The camp was staffed mainly with residents of Western Ukraine, which is revealed by the documents left behind : “Ivano-Frankovsk, Cherkassy, Poltava region, Zhitomir region.” The documents also mention both gas and oil research.

According to the paperwork for 2013 found onsite, similar bases were also located in villages Shevchenko, Raigorodka and Gerasimovka.

As the local residents say, the research continued until the Ukrainian national guard had left. Along with tanks and howitzers the Ukrainian soldiers also took part of the seismic equipment, but in the rush they did not have the time to gather everything.

This abandoned base can be observed well from the Ukrainian side of the frontline. Just over this field, a mile from the abandoned base is the town of Schastye, which is under the complete control of the Ukrainian army. Even now, in the midst of a ceasefire it is not safe to be here. Locals say that during evening hours the Ukrainian Armed forces and volunteer battalions begin to fire at each other.

Translated from Russian LifeNews

Kiev, militia agree on ceasefire

Kiev officials and representatives of the two self-proclaimed republics in southeastern Ukraine have agreed to a ceasefire, as the contact group met behind closed doors in Belarus.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has confirmed the ceasefire agreement on his Twitter account.

The truce agreement comes into force starting 6 pm local time (15:00 GMT).

The president has ordered to cease fire starting at the time stated in the protocol.

“I give the order to the chief of the General staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to cease fire, starting from 18.00 [local time] on September 5,” Poroshenko’s statement says.

Poroshenko then called on both the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry and the OSCE to provide international monitoring of compliance with the bilateral ceasefire.

“We must do everything possible and impossible to stop bloodshed and put an end to people’s suffering,” the president said in a statement posted on his official website.

Poroshenko expressed hope that both sides would comply with the ceasefire agreement.

The self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic earlier confirmed the ceasefire agreement on its official Twitter account.

Both Donetsk and Lugansk have said they are ready to lay down arms starting from 15:00GMT.

Representatives of the rebel forces have said they will obey the ceasefire if Kiev follows suit.

“Most of the points of the protocol correspond with our demands,” Lugansk’s leader Igor Plotnitsky said.

“However, the ceasefire does not mean a shift from our course of breaking away from Ukraine. This is a compulsory measure,” he said.

The OSCE’s Heidi Tagliavini has welcomed the agreement saying “it is good news.”

She has revealed that the protocol consists of 12 points, and “the ceasefire is the chief one.”

The participants in the talks will prepare another document – a memorandum on settling the situation in Ukraine, a Donetsk representative said.

The two sides accompanied by representatives of Russia and the OSCE were meeting in the Belorussian capital, Minsk, in an attempt to end the bloodshed in eastern Ukraine.

In their recent phone call on September 3, the presidents of Russia and Ukraine, Vladimir Putin and Petro Poroshenko, showed a willingness to find an agreement to resolve the months-long conflict in the southeastern Ukraine.

Following the conversation with his counterpart, President Putin laid out a seven-point plan that could help find a solution.

Source: RT

Putin urges ‘humanitarian corridor’ for besieged Kiev troops

Russian President Vladimir Putin called on self-defence forces in Ukraine to open a “humanitarian corridor” to allow besieged Ukrainian troops to retreat.

“I call on the self-defence forces to open a humanitarian corridor for the Ukrainian troops who are surrounded, so as to avoid unnecessary casualties and to give them the opportunity to withdraw from the zone of operations,” Putin said in a statement issued after midnight Thursday.

Encircled Ukrainian fighters have been engaged in a desperate fight for survival in the town Ilovaysk for over a week as self-defence forces, which had been on the retreat, staged a swift counter-offensive.

Putin praised defenders of “Novorossiya”, or New Russia, for achieving considerable successes in cutting off Kiev’s military operation which posed a deadly threat to the population of the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine where most of the fighting has occurred.

The defenders seized swathes of territory from Ukrainian government forces in a lightning counter-offensive, dramatically turning the tide in the four-month conflict.

Putin called on Kiev to “immediately halt military action, cease fire, sit down at the negotiating table and speak with representatives of the Donbass, and solve all of the problems which have built up exclusively by peaceful means”.

The Russian president called on the self-defence forces to provide wounded Ukrainian soldiers with medical help and said Russia is “ready and will provide humanitarian aid to the people of the Donbass who are suffering from this humanitarian catastrophe”.

Russia last week sent into eastern Ukraine a convoy of more than 200 lorries which it said was carrying over 1,800 tonnes of aid without the permission of Kiev and without Red Cross monitors.