Ukraine War Update - 15 May 2015

Friday, May 15, 2015  7:57 AM PDT

Civilian injured by militants’ mortar strike on Krymske - Governor of Luhansk region

   (Censor.NET) --- The militants, who ensconced in Sokilnyky, have shelled Krymske village from mortars today, May 15, just after 3 p.m. A close engagement broke out on the outskirts of the village near the sanatorium for consumptives later, which is still underway at the moment (as of 15.30).

   Censor.NET reports citing the press service of Luhansk regional military-civilian administration head Hennadii Moskal.

   One of the mortar shells exploded in the courtyard of a private house and the shrapnel wounded its owner, a man of about 40 years of age. The wounded person is currently receiving medical assistance. According to preliminary data, his condition is not critical.

   One of the international organizations brought humanitarian aid in Krymske in the afternoon but the shelling has started as soon as the first batch of goods was already in the village.

   The delivery of aid through the only road that leads to Krymske was immediately suspended. It will be restored by the efforts of the servicemen and local residents as soon as the military situation allows.

Friday, May 15, 2015  7:21 AM PDT

Russia’s NATO ambassador sees nothing preventing Moscow basing nuclear weapons in Ukraine

   (UNIAN) --- Russia sees nothing to prevent it deploying nuclear weapons in the occupied Ukrainian territory of Crimea, the Permanent Representative of Russia to NATO Alexander Grushko has said during a video conference between Moscow and Brussels, an UNIAN correspondent in Russia has reported.

   "Everything that we do in Crimea fully complies with all obligations of the Russian Federation under international treaties. We do not violate anything, there are no prohibitions on us deploying certain weapons systems," Grushko said when asked whether Russia is planning to deploy nuclear weapons in the Ukrainian territory of Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in March 2014.

   Grushko did not answer a further question from UNIAN’s correspondent on whether nuclear weapons have already been deployed in the peninsula.

Grushko said that the Russian fleet has been in the Crimea for 200 years, having in its structure not only sea components, but also powerful air and ground components.

   Russia intends to strengthen its forces in the Crimea in view of the fact that NATO countries have recently increased their military activities near the Russian borders, Grusko added. He also said that Russia plans to modernize the fleet, which he said had always been prevented by Ukraine in the past.

   Recently, the director of department on non-proliferation and arms control of the Russian Foreign Ministry Mikhail Ulianov stated that Russia is considering the deployment of nuclear weapons in Crimea.

   On May 13, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance has been concerned about the possible deployment of Russian nuclear weapons on the peninsula.

   He also stressed that NATO condemned the extensive deployment by Russia of its troops in the occupied Ukrainian territory of Crimea.

Friday, May 15, 2015  7:11 AM PDT

Two Ukrainian soldiers wounded, no one killed over the past day - ATO speaker

   (Censor.NET) --- Over the past day, two Ukrainian soldiers were wounded in the course of the anti-terrorist operation.

   As reported by Censor.NET, this was announced by the speaker of the Presidential Administration on ATO matters, Colonel Andrii Lysenko at a traditional briefing.

   "Over the past day, no one was killed in combat activities. Two Ukrainian soldiers were wounded at firing line near Avdiivka," Lysenko said.

Friday, May 15, 2015  6:30 AM PDT

Russia to increase its military presence in Crimea – Grushko

   (Interfax) --- Russia intends to strengthen its military group in Crimea, Russian permanent envoy to NATO Alexander Grushko said on Friday.

   "Naturally, we will be partially increasing our [military] presence in Crimea, bearing in mind that the NATO countries have recently increased their activities near our national borders," he said during a Brussels-Moscow televised linkup.

   The Russian diplomat said all actions taken by Russia in Crimea are fully in line with its international obligations.

   "We are not breaching anything, there are no bans on the placement of specific weapons systems there," Grushko said.

Thursday, May 14, 2015  22:45 PDT
Donbas rebels continue to shell Ukraine army positions using heavy artillery

   (Zik) --- The shelling by the rebels of Ukraine army positions continued on May 14 for the whole day, Ukraine army spokesman writes in Facebook.

   The enemy fired heavy artillery guns, mortars and large-caliber machine guns banned by the Minsk agreements on positions near Opytne, Avdijyvka, Pisky, Dutovka, Karlivka and Starohnativka.
   Avdiyivka came under intense fire from enemy tanks, artillery mortars and automatic grenade throwers, the official writes.
   Shyrokine received enemy fire from small arms, grenade throwers and sniper guns.
   Kirove and Leninske near Artemivske were fired upon from large-caliber machine guns.

   The enemy launched drones near Mangush, Shyrokine, Yalta, the Ukraine army official writes.

Thursday, May 14, 2015  22:30 PDT
Businesses Torched Amid Deepening Crackdown On Crimean Tatars

   (RFE/RL) --- For almost 20 years, Enver Osmanov ran a grocery shop in Rybache, a small seaside resort in Crimea.

   The shop burned to the ground in late April, one of several Crimean Tatar businesses in Rybache that residents say have been torched since Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine in March 2014. Activists say the attacks are part of a campaign to punish the indigenous Muslim minority for its opposition to the Russian takeover.

   "It burned down entirely, along with all the equipment," Osmanov says. "The grill machines, the fridges -- everything was destroyed."

   Even before the fire, the shop -- once a thriving family enterprise -- had fallen on hard times after the annexation, as the crowds of vacationers that flocked to the picturesque resort abruptly vanished.

   Last year, as Osmanov was nursing the blow to his business from the disappearing tourist trade, Crimean Tatars across the peninsula faced what rights groups say has been a persistent crackdown at the hands of the Russian authorities now in control.

   Having endured persecution and exile under Soviet rule, many Crimean Tatars cried foul when Russia moved to annex the region, boycotting the referendum the Kremlin and its local allies used to justify the takeover.

   As the Moscow-backed government consolidates its power, Crimean Tatars say they are being punished for their defiance.

   "We expected the crackdown on Crimean Tatars to deepen after the so-called elections on September 14 that formally legitimized this government, which is not recognized internationally," said Eskender Bariyev, a member of the Mejlis, the Tatars' governing body. "Raids began after the elections, arrests and disappearances multiplied."

   A number of Crimean Tatars have been arrested for protesting the annexation or for publicly supporting their figurehead, Soviet-era dissident and former Mejlis chief Mustafa Djemilev.

   Russia has banned Djemilev and the current Mejlis chairman, Refat Chubarov, from entering Crimea. Other Mejlis members, including Bariyev, have also been barred from the peninsula.

   Bariyev, too, has been prevented from re-entering Crimea after attending a conference in Istanbul in January. He now lives in mainland Ukraine and says authorities in Crimea want him tried for alleged crimes against Russia.

   In September the Russian authorities raided the Mejlis, forcing it from its premises in the regional capital Simferopol.

   Crimean Tatar media outlets have been shut down, and young Tatar men known for their anti-Russian views have been kidnapped off the streets. Two have been found dead, their bodies bearing what Tatars and Western rights groups say are horrific signs of torture. A dozen others are still missing.

   With their most vocal representatives banished or in jail, Crimean Tatars say it is their businesses that are now being targeted.

   This week, authorities closed a popular Crimean Tatar cafe in the city of Bakhchysaray on an administrative technicality. The venue belongs to relatives of Djemilev.

   Bariyev sounded the alarm in an April 28 post on Facebook. "Businesses of Crimean Tatar entrepreneurs are being torched in Crimea," he wrote, citing what he said were seven incidents in Rybache including an arson attack that wrecked a hotel.

   "This is due to the stance of the Crimean Tatar people, who don't recognize and will not accept the processes that started a year ago," said Bariyev. "These acts are aimed at intimidating people."

   Osmanov said that in addition to his shop, three cafes have been torched this year in Rybache, which Tatars call Tuak, including one in April and one in January. He said the hotel, shops, and at least two cars belonging to Crimean Tatars were torched last year.

Turning Back The Clock

   Turkic-speaking Crimean Tatars ruled the peninsula for 300 years before the region was swallowed up by the Russian Empire under Catherine the Great.

   In 1944, they were deported en masse to Central Asia under Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, who accused them of collabourating with Nazi Germany.

   Many died on the way or in exile, and they were only allowed to return in the late 1980s. They did so in large numbers, but now make up about 12 percent of the population in a region where the majority is ethnic Russian.

   After spending two decades rebuilding their lives in Crimea and reasserting their culture, Bariyev says, they have been watching helplessly as Moscow turns back the clock on their hard-earned freedoms. "Tragedy has struck again," he says. 

   This year, the Russian authorities have barred Crimean Tatars from holding a memorial to mark the anniversary of their World War II deportation on May 18.

   Some Crimean Tatars say that the deadly conflict between Russian-backed rebels and government forces in eastern Ukraine has eclipsed their plight in the eyes of the world.

   "Today, Crimean Tatars are a repressed people, everything is done to force them out of Crimea and prevent them from developing their culture and traditions," Bariyev says. "If the international community fails to react to this trend, then we can say that international law is simply not working."

   For entrepreneurs like Osmanov, the crackdown is doubly crippling. His only source of income has gone up in smoke, and he fears any new business venture will meet the same fate.

   The grocery shop had employed and fed his entire extended family of 11 -- himself, his wife and three children, his parents, and his two brothers and their families.

   Although Osmanov reported the case to law enforcement authorities, he says he has no hope of seeing justice served. "We're all furious but there's nothing we can do," he says, adding that the authorities "are not looking for those who did this."

   Osmanov believes that locals burned his shop and the other businesses in Rybache, suggesting that the annexation has awakened ethnic tensions and emboldened those who want Tatars out to act with "impunity."

   "I've lived here since 1989 and there've never been any conflicts," he says. "I don't know what to do now."

   One thing he will not do is leave Crimea. "This is my homeland," he says. "I'm not going anywhere."

Thursday, May 14, 2015  20:08 PDT
McCain Turns Down Ukraine Post

   (RFE/RL) --- U.S. Senator John McCain has said, 'Thanks, but no thanks,' to a job offer from Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

   The Ukrainian leader had asked McCain, among other leading officials, to join an advisory council to help Ukraine craft reforms and secure global support.

   But in a statement on his website, McCain said constitutional constraints prohibited from accepting the offer. 

   In declining the offer, McCain said he will "continue to do everything" he can to stop what he called Russian President Vladimir Putin's "unabated aggression" against Ukraine.  

   McCain has been one of the most vocal backers for sending U.S. arms to Ukraine.

   The Advisory International Council of Reforms is to be headed by Mikheil Saakashvili, the former president of Georgia, and will also include Elmar Brok, a member of the European Parliament, and economist Anders Aslund.