Ukraine War Update - 30 April 2015

Thursday, Apr. 30 2015, 9:17 AM PDT

Donbas separatists violated ceasefire 26 times in 6 hours Apr. 29

   (Zik) --- The Russian troops and Donbas separatists kept attacking Ukraine army positions in the night of Apr. 29, opening fire 26 times as of 18.00 through the midnight, the army spokesman said.

   In the Donetsk oblast, the enemy opened fire 5 times using 120-mm mortars near Pisky. Near Avdijyvka, Zajtseve and Shyrokine, the enemy shelled our positions using 120-mm and 82-mm mortars. 

   The separatists also opened fire on Ukraine army positions using 122-mm mortars near Avdijyvka and Opytne, the official said.

   Close to midnight, Ukraine outpost near Zajtseve was attacked by a group of 10 militants. Ukraine servicemen repulsed the attack successfully.

   In the Luhansk oblast, the enemy shelled our positions near Shchastya using 82-mm mortars, the spokesman said.

Thursday, Apr. 30 2015, 9:16 AM PDT

Ukraine minister dismisses Russian concerns, praises Canada’s military

   (Canadian Press) --- Ukraine’s visiting foreign minister says it’s a joke that Russia is characterizing Canadian military trainers in his country as “deplorable.”

   Foreign Affairs Minister Pavlo Klimkin says the Canadian Forces trainers will bring his country’s military forces and national guard up to a higher standard so they can better repel Russian aggressors.

   The Russian Embassy has called it both counterproductive and deplorable for Canada to deploy 200 soldiers to improve the combat skills of troops in the Ukraine.

   Klimkin says the move can hardly be considered provocative, given that Russia has already compromised Ukraine’s border by sending in mercenaries and heavy weaponry.

   Defence Minister Jason Kenney has said the Canadian troops will be 1,300 kilometres away from Ukraine’s restive eastern regions.

   Klimkin is in Ottawa for a meeting with Foreign Affairs Minister Rob Nicholson, who announced seven new projects worth $14-million to strengthen human rights, improve access to justice and give support to civil society in Ukraine.

Thursday, Apr. 30 2015, 7:38 AM PDT

Terrorists refuse to comply with silence mode actively using banned heavy weapons - NSDC

   (Censor.NET) --- The terrorists continue shelling with the use of prohibited weapons.

   The situation was steadily tense over the past day in the ATO area. The enemy refuses to respect the silence mode and actively uses banned heavy weapons. In particular, yesterday militants used 120 mm mortars 17 times, and 122 mm guns twice.

   This was stated at a briefing of Presidential Administration's speaker on ATO matters Colonel Andrii Lysenko, Censor.NET reports.

   "At the Mariupol direction shootouts resumed near Shyrokyne, where the enemy is most active at night. It was quiet in other areas of this sector yesterday.

   "At the Donetsk direction shelling of our positions continues in the area of the Donetsk airport: The most tense situation is in the village of Pisky, where illegal armed groups are actively using prohibited weapons the most, forcing our military to open fire. [The situation] is uneasy in the northern suburbs of Horlivka: yesterday our fighters engaged with a sabotage and reconnaissance group of the enemy in the area of Zaitseve. As a result of precision fire of the ATO forces the enemy retreated.

   "At the Luhansk direction the militants were active in Shchastia, opening massive fire on our positions from different types of small arms. The silence mode is also not respected in the area of Bakhmutivka highway. In particular, snipers of the militants are operating in the area of Sokolnyky.

   "As a result of fighting in the Donetsk region, 31 towns and villages along the demarcation line have been cut off from electricity supply. The cities of Donetsk, Avdiivka, Mariinka, Horlivka, Vuhlehirsk, and Debaltseve have been partially cut off," Lysenko stated.

Thursday, Apr. 30 2015, 6:34 AM PDT

Poland, Romania support visa abolition for Ukrainians

   KIEV, April 30(Ukrinform). --- Poland and Romania support the abolition of visas for Ukrainians and Georgians. Both countries will make such statements during the Eastern Partnership Summit that will take place in Riga soon.

   The ministers of Poland and Romania stated this after the meeting in Warsaw, Polish Radio reported.

   Polish Foreign Minister Grzegorz Schetyna notes that Ukraine and Georgia are moving in the right direction, implementing measures to cancel visas. He says that Poland will support both countries on their way to abolition of the visa regime.

   In turn, Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu supports his colleague. He reminds that both Poland and Romania have already gained good experience with Ukraine in the framework of the so-called local border traffic.

Thursday, Apr. 30 2015, 5:43 AM PDT

One Ukrainian soldier killed, four wounded in Donbas conflict zone in last day

   (UNIAN) --- One Ukrainian soldier was killed and another four injured in the Donbas conflict zone over the last 24 hours, National Security and Defense Council spokesman Andriy Lysenko said at a briefing in Kiev on Thursday, according to an UNIAN correspondent.

   "Over the last day, we have lost one Ukrainian soldier, and another four were injured as a result of military clashes," Lysenko said.

   As UNIAN reported earlier, on April 29 no Ukrainian soldiers were killed, but three were wounded in the Donbas conflict zone.

Thursday, Apr. 30 2015, 4:53 AM PDT

20 Odessa separatists who were preparing Bessarabia proclamation by order of Russian curators were detained - SBU

   (Censor.NET) --- SBU in a special operation revealed and neutralized a group of separatists, whose activity was aimed at proclamation of an illegal entity in the Odessa region.

   This was announced by the SBU adviser Markiian Lubkivskyi, Censor.NET reports citing Interfax-Ukraine.

   "A special operation was carried out April 29 ... A group of individuals has been revealed and localized, which group had a clear organizational structure, acted in the Odessa region, and coordinated its activities with the Russian Federation. Almost 20 people were detained, 17 raids conducted ... It was found that the ultimate goal of those persons had been to proclaim an entity titled "Bessarabia," Lubkivskyi said at a briefing in Kiev on Thursday. 

Thursday, Apr. 30 2015, 12:12 AM PDT

Russia's Anti-Swastika Crusade Hits Toy Stores, Bookstores, And Museums

   (RFE/RL) --- Russian authorities are conducting a nationwide campaign to rid the country of Nazi insignia in the run-up to Victory Day on May 9.
   The celebration of Nazi Germany's surrender in World War II, one of the most important holidays in Russia, has taken on a new meaning as Moscow presses on with its efforts to portray Ukraine's new pro-European leadership as Nazi sympathizers.
   In November 2014, Russia introduced a new law prohibiting the "public demonstration or propaganda" of Nazi symbolism.
   The unfolding crackdown, however, is raising eyebrows in Russia and beyond.
   Authorities have raided toy stores and antique shops selling World War II paraphernalia, fined the use of historical photos, and prompted stores to remove an award-winning book denouncing the Holocaust.
Toy Soldiers
   Russia's most famous toy store is in hot water for selling figurines representing World War II Nazi officers, including of the feared Waffen SS.  

​   Investigators opened a criminal case against the Central Children's Store in downtown Moscow, previously known as Children's World, in early April on charges of "inciting hatred and hostility" and "abasing the dignity" of Soviet war veterans.
   The premises were searched, vendors were questioned, and the owner received a warning about violating the Russian law on extremism.
   The Central Children's Store, located across from Moscow's KGB headquarters, triumphantly reopened in late March after seven years of renovations.

   An online poll showed that 65 percent of Russians disapproved of the case against the store. 

Holocaust Graphic Novel 

   Moscow's biggest bookstores, eager to comply with the official guidelines, have pulled an award-winning graphic novel about the Holocaust from their shelves.

   It won a Pulitzer Prize in 1992 and is inspired by the story of Spiegelman's father, a Polish Jew who moved to the United States after surviving the Holocaust.
   The book cover shows a Nazi swastika.
Historic World War II Photo
   A journalist in Smolensk was prosecuted for posting a historic photo of a courtyard under Nazi occupation on VKontakte, Russia's biggest social networking site.
   The historic picture shows Nazi soldiers standing at attention and a flag with a swastika.
   Smolensk was under Nazi occupation between 1941 and 1943. 

   Polina Petruseva, who writes under the pen name Polina Danilevich, was detained by armed police officers at the office of her newspaper.
   She was found guilty in March of violating the Russian law banning Nazi symbolism and fined 1,000 rubles ($16).
   She could have faced a prison sentence. 

   She told RFE/RL that her great-grandparents were resistance fighters and her grandfather survived Nazi concentration camps as a child.
   She said she had taken the pen name Danilevich, her great-grandparents' surname, in their honor.

Soviet-Era Posters
   The newly opened U.S.S.R. Museum in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, on the Kamchatka peninsula in Russia's Far East, is following the government's directive to the letter.  

   Museum employees have placed stickers on all the swastikas featured in the museum's new exhibition of Soviet World War II posters, many of which portray the swastika being crushed or in the form of animals such as wolves and snakes. 

   Employees told local journalists they had consulted prosecutors and Roskomnadzor, Russia's mass media regular, before proceeding.
   The exhibition is dedicated to Victory Day.

Thursday, Apr. 30 2015, 12:05 AM PDT

Klimkin strongly reacts to rumors of UN general secretary’s likely visit to Moscow

   (Zik) --- Russia is ruining the UN charter with its actions. Therefore, the likely visit of UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon to attend Victory Day celebrations would give a wrong signal, Pavlo Klimkin said in New York, Gordon reports Apr. 30.

   Recall that on Wednesday some Russian media reported that Russia awaits the arrival of Ban Ki-moon to attend the May 9 Victory Day celebrations and military parade in Moscow. The invitations to the UN general secretary have been sent, they said.

   Meanwhile, there has been no official confirmation of Ban Ki-moon’s visit to Russia.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015  18:14 PDT

International Rescue Committee forced out of East Ukraine

   (BBC) --- The offices of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in eastern Ukraine have been closed down by pro-Russian rebels who accused it of spying.

   Staff working for the aid organisation were briefly detained as their office in the rebel held city of Donetsk was raided and searched by masked gunmen.

   Several employees were then put on a coach to the capital Kiev.

   The IRC - led by former British Foreign Minister David Miliband - has not so far commented on the expulsions.

   A spokeswoman said the group was concentrating on ensuring its staff - expats and Ukrainians - were "safe and sound".

France's Dassault poised to ink fighter jet deal with Qatar

French group Dassault Aviation is poised to sign a 

lucrative deal with Qatar for 36 of its Rafale fighter jets, 

sources close to the negotiations said Thursday, the third

 foreign order this year (PHOTO / ADEK BERRY (AFP 

Photo/Adek Berry)

   Paris (AFP) --- French group Dassault Aviation is poised to sign a 6.3-billion-euro ($7-billion) deal with Qatar for 36 of its Rafale fighter jets, the presidency and sources said Thursday, in the third foreign order this year.

   Having struggled for years to sell any of its Rafale jets abroad, Dassault has recently scored several lucrative, high-profile contracts with Egypt, India, and now Qatar.

   The agreement, which will be signed on May 4 in Doha in the presence of French President Francois Hollande, includes a firm order for 24 jets with an option on 12 other planes, sources close to the negotiations told AFP earlier.

   According to the French government, the contract is worth 6.3 billion euros.

   Earlier this year, Egypt bought 24 Rafales in a 5.2-billion-euro ($5.8-billion) deal negotiated in just three months, prompting hopes in Paris that the agreement would act as a catalyst to unblock hoped-for sales to other countries.

   India then followed suit this month by announcing the order of 36 Rafale jets during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to France.

   The two sides had already been engaged in years of tortuous, exclusive negotiations for the sale of 126 Rafales, but these had been bogged down over cost and New Delhi's insistence on assembling a portion of the high-tech planes in India.

   So India, whose air force is in dire need of new jets to update its ageing fleet, made a quick order for 36 planes while negotiations continue on finalising the initial 126-jet agreement.

   Dassault is also involved in talks with the United Arab Emirates, and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has recently hinted that these are evolving "in the right direction."

   The French presidency said Thursday the new deal with Qatar was a source of "great satisfaction."

China-Russia navies to hold first Mediterranean joint drills

   BEIJING (AP) — "The purpose of the exercise is to strengthen the friendly exchanges between the two sides ... and to improve the capability of the two navies to deal with maritime threats," Geng said. He said the drills did not target any third parties and were not a response to fighting and instability in places such as Libya and Syria, he said.

   China and Russia frequently align on major international issues and Beijing has refused to join in the condemnations and economic sanctions leveled against Moscow for its backing of the Ukrainian rebels.

   In a further show of support, Chinese President Xi Jinping plans to attend commemorations of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Moscow on May 9. Most Western leaders are staying away from the event featuring a massive military parade, in which a 112-strong honor guard from the Chinese army, navy and air force will also take part.

   The two nation's militaries have increased their joint training operations in recent years, sometimes under the aegis of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a regional grouping formed partly to counter U.S. influence in Central Asia.

   China has also looked to Russia for support in its perpetual feud with archrival Japan over World War II history and the shifting balance of power in Asia.

   In other remarks Thursday, Geng harshly questioned a revision of the U.S.-Japan defense guidelines that will allow Japan's military to play a bigger role in global military operations and work more closely with U.S. forces.

   "A military alliance is an outdated product that goes against the trend of the times characterized by peace, development, cooperation and win-win," Geng said.

   "What kind of impact will it have on world and regional peace and stability to beef up the U.S.-Japan military alliance and expand their defense cooperation to the whole world? This is a question that needs to be asked by all sides," he said.

   The latest drills with Russia are a further extension of China's drive to build a true "blue water navy" able to operate for long periods and at vast distances from home ports.

   China's navy began expanding its reach toward the Mediterranean in 2008, when it first sent ships to join in the anti-piracy patrols.

   In 2011, it took the unprecedented step of sending one of its most sophisticated warships together with military transport aircraft to help in the evacuation of about 35,000 Chinese citizens from Libya. Early this April, China detached three navy ships from the anti-piracy patrols to rescue Chinese citizens and other foreign nationals from fighting in Yemen.

North Korea's Kim Jong Un Cancels Trip To Moscow

   MOSCOW, April 30 (Reuters) --- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will not attend events in Moscow next week commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two in Europe, the Kremlin said on Thursday.

   "He has decided to stay in Pyongyang," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call. "This decision is related to (North) Korea's internal affairs."

   The trip would have been Kim's first overseas since he took power in 2011 after the death of his father.

   Shin Kyung-min, a member of South Korean parliament's intelligence committee, had said on Wednesday that South Korea's spy agency expected Kim to go to Moscow although there was no independent confirmation of the plan.

   Yang Moo-jin, an expert at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said Kim could have boosted his image by going to Moscow and it was not clear why he had decided not to go.

   "He was at the stage in his leadership where he should have been seen working on external affairs and trying to overcome international isolation, especially in light of the negative publicity he's got in recent months," he said.

   "By visiting Russia, he would have been able to exert pressure on China and also on South Korea, and he would have been able to improve his own image by going over there with his attractive wife and speak in English, which he surely must be able to do."

   But some analysts had questioned whether Kim, believed to be in his early 30s, would choose for his first overseas visit an event where he would share the stage with several leaders and have less control over proceedings than in a two-way summit.

   Peskov said about 30 foreign leaders would attend anniversary events but not all would attend a military parade on Red Square on May 9. These include German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is expected to be in Moscow only on May 10.

   Many Western leaders are shunning the anniversary events in a show of displeasure over Russia's actions during the crisis in Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists are fighting Ukrainian government forces. 

Ukraine War Update - 29 April 2015

Wednesday, April 29, 2015  8:44 AM PDT

Poroshenko: There is information that illegal armed groups in the East are planning offensive in late May

   (Censor.NET) --- President Petro Poroshenko has held a meeting with Heads of District State Administration. The Head of State has called the increase of the efficiency of the Armed Forces the top priority for the government.

   According to the president, there have been numerous attempts to destabilize Ukraine from both outside and inside the country recently.

   At such time, it is especially important to have a strong power, the president noted.

   The president stated that there is an information that the illegal armed groups in the East are planning an offensive in the second half of May. Censor.NET reports citing the press service of the head of state.

   "The country is able to defend itself. The fourth wave of mobilization demonstrates the highest morale and the best level of preparation. I was convinced of that during the first powerful military exercise of brigade level in the last twenty years. The military exercise involved all our paratroopers' brigades that already operate in an environment maximally close to the battlefield," the head of state noted.

   Poroshenko noted that he is generally content with the results of the fourth wave of mobilization. In certain districts, the level of mobilization even exceeded 100%. "Truly powerful interaction between the local government and population has been demonstrated in these districts," the head of state emphasized.

The president called mobilization the most important task for DSA Heads. "On April 27, the fifth wave of mobilization started. Each DSA head will be personally responsible for its successful holding," Poroshenko said.

   The head of state set a task to accelerate and ensure strict adherence to the schedule in the issue of building fortifications. "Today, it has become a nationwide issue," the president noted.

   As for the internal threats, the Security Service informed the president on the detainment of 18 persons in Odesa region that were planning acts of sabotage in Odesa at the beginning of May. "We will not allow to destabilize the situation. We have already learned how to counter such attempts," Poroshenko said.

   The president informed that 18,500 law enforcemet employees and 1,200 guardsmen will be involved in the protection of civil order during May holidays. It will be the first time of volunteers' participation in this process. According to the president, May holidays will be a test for compliance with the current requirements for our special services and law enforcement agencies.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015  7:50 AM PDT

US police to train Ukrainian colleagues

   (Zik) --- As part of the cooperation project, police officers from California will run a 4-week training course for their Ukrainian colleagues, TCH reports Apr. 29.

   The training will be done in Kiev by four US cops. They will train our policemen how to patrol the streets, carry out initial forensic examination, how to pull up vehicles, put hand-cuffs and defend against attacks.   

   Ukraine has begun its reform of the police force, with 11,000 candidates, about 30% of them women, having registered for the force. The candidates will be carefully screened, including a polygraph check.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015  6:13 AM PDT

Shyrokyne quiet for first time in days – Kiev

   (Interfax) --- All was quiet near the Ukrainian army positions in the Shyrokyne area in the Donetsk region on Tuesday, Ukrainian Presidential Administration spokesman Oleksandr Motuzianyk said.

   "We did not observe a single attack on our positions in the Shyrokyne area yesterday. In spite of the Minsk agreements, the militants had been bombarding the town daily and purposefully destroying its infrastructure and residential buildings recently," he said at a press briefing in Kiev on Wednesday.

   Shyrokyne's streets are stuffed with explosive devices, rounds and pull-action mines, Motuzianyk said.

   "The village still has a population of approximately 40, mostly, senior citizens who are unable to leave their homes," he said.

   OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine Deputy Chief Monitor Alexander Hug said on April 24 that Ukrainian and Russian representatives to the Joint Control and Coordination Center had agreed on the need to demilitarize Shyrokyne.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015  6:06 AM PDT

Terrorist mop up operation is underway in Odesa: 12 people arrested - SBU

   (Censor.NET) --- In Odesa, the Security Service has detained 12 people suspected of separatism.

   SBU press secretary Olena Hitlianska said at a briefing, Censor.NET reports citing Ukrainski Novyny.

   "The operation to mop up the city from the terrorists is underway in Odesa... 12 people have been detained in the last couple of hours," she said.

   The detainees are suspected of active separatist activities.

   Printed anti-Ukrainian propaganda materials were confiscated from them.

   Earlier, the SBU said that the pro-Russian forces intend to destabilize the situation in Odesa and create the "Odesa People's Republic" on May 2.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015  3:50 AM PDT

No death casualties, three soldiers wounded over past day - ATO speaker

   (Censor.NET) --- Three Ukrainian soldiers were injured in the ATO area on April 28.

   Administration of the President of Ukraine representative on ATO matters Colonel Oleksandr Motuzianyk announced today at the traditional daily briefing, Censor.NET reports.

   "Yesterday's battles inflicted no losses to the Ukrainian servicemen, three soldiers were injured," he said.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015  3:12 AM PDT

Int’l New York Times: Ukraine separatists rewrite history of 1930s famine

The Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine are not only attacking Ukrainian government forces, they also have found time to rewrite Ukrainian history to suit Moscow’s version. The new line is that the Holodomor was a universal problem and Stalin was blameless. However, even some of the pro-Moscow rebels are having trouble swallowing that line.

   DONETSK, Ukraine — Yevdokiya was still a young girl, her nephew recalled, when the neighbours invited her over for a social occasion of some sort. This was during the great famine of 1933, he said, and her family became alarmed when she failed to return.

   She never did come home, said the nephew, Aleksandr S. Khodakovsky, now a senior official in the Russian-backed separatist government of the Donetsk People’s Republic. To their horror, her parents discovered that she had been cannibalized by the desperate neighbours, not an uncommon occurrence in a famine that killed 3.3 million people, by most estimates.

   Traditionally, Ukrainian historians have characterized the famine as a genocide, the direct result of Stalin’s forced collectivization and the Soviet government’s requisitioning of grain for export abroad, leaving Ukraine short — and its borders sealed shut. Since Ukraine gained independence, that is what its students have been taught.

   But that is not what students in southeastern Ukraine are learning this year. Instead, under orders from the newly installed separatist governments, they are getting the sanitized Russian version, in which the famine was an unavoidable tragedy that befell the entire Soviet Union.

   Even Mr. Khodakovsky, whose aunt’s remains were later found in a well, has trouble accepting that line in its entirety. “It was terrible,” he said of the famine, and not at all unavoidable. Rather, he said, it was the result of Stalinist policies, particularly the sale of grain to finance industrialization.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015  1:30 AM PDT

Russia moves infantry and tank units to Donbas

   (Zik) --- An infantry and a tank units have been moved from Russia to Amvrosiyivka and Starobesheve in Donbas, Ukraine military expert Dmytro Tymchuk writes in Facebook Apr. 29.

   The units consist of 16 APCs, 8 tanks, 6 trucks and smaller vehicles.

   The units’ column was escorted by 2 AA Strela-10M missile systems, Tymchuk reported. 

   Near Novoazovsk, the Russian/rebel troops numbering 350-400 soldiers have been moved closer to the frontline.

   The group includes 6 tanks, 14 APCs, 30 trucks and smaller vehicles, Dmytro Tymchuk reported.

Ukraine War Update - 28 April 2015

Tuesday, April 28, 2015  6:07 AM PDT

OSCE reports most intense shelling of Shyrokyne since beginning of hostilities

   KIEV, April 28 (Ukrinform). --- On Sunday, the OSCE monitors have observed the most intense shelling of Shyrokyne since the beginning of hostilities.

   This is stated in the latest report of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission.

   "Throughout the day, from two adjacent observation posts, located 1.5 km west and 4.5 km north-west of Shyrokyne, the SMM observed 69 outgoing tank shots, originating from 600 meters south-east and 800 meters north of its position, 191 outgoing mortar rounds (82mm) and 153 outgoing mortar rounds (120mm), originating from 600 meters south-east, 300 and 1,500 meters north-west and 800 meters north of the its position," the report reads.

   Observers note that in the afternoon the shelling was heard all the way to Mariupol.

   The SMM UAV observed 11 tanks and four armoured personnel carriers (APCs) moving through Kulykove ("DPR"-controlled), 15 km north of Shyrokyne.

   Additionally, over the last three days, the UAV has sighted seventeen tanks, three self-propelled howitzers and 60 APCs in a "DPR"-controlled area 50 km north of Shyrokyne.

Tuesday, April 28, 2015  6:05 AM PDT

Savchenko transferred to Moscow hospital

   (Interfax) --- Ukrainian citizen Nadia Savchenko, arrested in Russia on charges of complicity in the killing of Russian journalists, has been transferred to Moscow Hospital No.20. She is accepting food again, Federal Penitentiary Service spokesperson Kristina Belousova has announced.

   "Suspect Savchenko has been transferred to City Hospital No.20 today, where she will be further observed and where therapy tactics will be selected for her," Belousova told Interfax on Tuesday.

   Savchenko's condition is satisfactory. "She started accepting food again yesterday," she said.

Tuesday, April 28, 2015  5:13 AM PDT

Moldova offers to share its experience in implementing EU visa free regime with Ukraine

   KIEV, April 28 (Ukrinform). --- The Republic of Moldova has offered to share with Ukraine its experience in the liberalization of a visa regime with the European Union.

   This was stated by Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Moldova on the occasion of the first anniversary of the visa regime liberalization with the EU that is marked on April 28, Ukrinform's own correspondent in Moldova reported.

   "The Republic of Moldova became the first state from the Eastern Partnership that achieved the liberalization of a visa regime with the EU. At the same time, being a responsible partner, our country is ready to share its accumulated experience in this field with Ukraine and Georgia," the minister state.

   According to her, only within the first year of a visa-free regime between Moldova and the EU, almost half a million of Moldova's citizens were able to visit the Schengen countries without obtaining a visa.

   A visa-free regime between Moldova and the European Union became effective on April 28, 2014.

Tuesday, April 28, 2015  3:06 AM PDT

One Ukrainian soldier killed, 14 wounded - ATO speaker

   (Censor.NET) --- One Ukrainian soldier was killed, 14 were wounded in the course of the anti-terrorist operation on April 27.

   This was announced by the representative of Presidential Administration on ATO matters Oleksandr Motuzianyk, Censor.NET reports.

   "Yesterday, one Ukrainian soldier was killed and 14 were wounded in combat activities. Most of these incidents happened at Ukrainian positions near Avdiivka," he said.

Tuesday, April 28, 2015  2:34 AM PDT

Poroshenko: War in Ukraine may break out at any moment

   (Censor.NET) --- Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko fears that fighting may soon escalate again in Ukraine's south-eastern regions.

   He told at an international conference in support of Ukraine in Kiev on Tuesday, Censor.NET reports citing Interfax-Ukraine.

   "The threat of war is still hanging over us. It is our reality. War may erupt at any moment, but we are prepared to do everything we can to erase any possibility of doubt or retreat," the president said.

   "A solution to the situation in Donbas will be found with your assistance and with your solidarity with us," the president said to the participants of the conference.

   The peace agreements for Ukraine, reached at talks in the Belarusian capital Minsk in February, should be implemented in full via coordination with Ukraine's partners, he said.

   "We will not let anyone grow tired of Ukraine," he added. 

Finnish military fires depth charges at suspected submarine

   HELSINKI (Reuters) --- The Finnish military fired on Tuesday handheld underwater depth charges as a warning against a suspected submarine in waters near Helsinki, an incident that comes amid growing military tensions with neighboring Russia.

   The navy said it noticed an underwater target on Monday and again on Tuesday morning and fired some warning charges - the size of grenades.

   Finland, which shares an 833 mile (1,340 km) border with Russia, has been increasingly worried about its powerful neighbor after a year of Russian air force sorties and military border exercises.

   Defense minister Carl Haglund did not say whether Russia was involved. He told Finnish media that the target could have been a submarine, and that it has likely left the area, adding that Finland has rarely used such warning charges.

   "We strongly suspect that there has been underwater activity that does not belong there. Of course it is always serious if our territorial waters have been violated," Haglund told Finnish news agency STT.

   "The bombs are not intended to damage the target, the purpose is to let the target know that it has been noticed," Commodore Olavi Jantunen told Helsingin Sanomat newspaper.

   Reports of a submarine spotted off Stockholm last year led to Sweden's biggest mobilization since the Cold War.

   Regional tensions were reflected earlier in April after an unprecedented hawkish joint statement by Nordic countries - Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Iceland - that directly cited the Russian "challenge" as grounds to increase defense cooperation.

   Moscow retorted immediately, saying moves by Finland and Sweden towards closer ties with NATO were of "special concern".

EU president promises Moldova closer cooperation

   CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) — The EU president has promised Moldova closer cooperation with the European Union, while urging it to reform its justice system and banking sector and fight corruption.

   Donald Tusk called Moldova, which neighbours Ukraine and Romania, "a key ... partner of the European Union."

   He later said it was the most promising of the EU's eastern partnership countries which also include former Soviet republics Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia and Ukraine.

   Moldova signed an association agreement with the EU in June. Russia responded by placing an embargo on fruit and some vegetables.

   "Right now Moldova is facing hardship both for domestic reasons and for reasons of regional instability and uncertainty," Tusk said Tuesday in Chisinau.

   Moldova, a country of 4 million, hopes to join the EU in 2019. Tusk said these EU aspirations would have "a happy end."

   Moldovan officials have recently investigated the disappearance of $1.5 billion from state-owned and private banks before November's elections. Moldova's currency has lost 20 percent value this year.

   The current government is backed by communists, who favour a slower approach to reforms.

Countries on Russia's southern flank ready for war

The Nagorno-Karabakh region has been contested since 1993.

   (UPI) --- An increase in violence since the start of the year centers on Nagorno-Karabakh, a de facto independent republic with an Armenian majority but recognized internationally as part of Azerbaijan. An upcoming election there could trigger an increase in violence, a Royal Bank of Scotland report indicated.    There have been 31 confirmed deaths along trench-style warfare lines in the area, the Azerbaijani Caspian defense Studies Institute reported.

   The election May 3 "could further escalate the tensions, increasing the risks of a wider confrontation over the disputed territory," Anna Tokar, a Royal Bank of Scotland analyst wrote on April 16, "putting the oil and gas pipelines in the South Caucasus in danger."

   The disputed region, near Turkey and Georgia, is torn by religious and national alliances, and an outbreak of conflict could disturb the route of pipelines that provide the only westward passage of crude oil delivery lines which bypass Russia.

   Azerbaijan has used its oil wealth to buy weapons and arrange alliances with the United States and Israel. Its military spending increased 27 percent in 2014, and it has been Europe's second-largest importer of weapons, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute reported. Armenia is dependent on a Russian-led military defense pact.

   Both countries achieved independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. In 1993 Armenia took over the Nagorno-Karabakh region in a war in which 30,000 died and 1.1 million were displaced. United Nations demands for withdrawal were defied. Tensions simmered until they became a battleground again, with escalating use of weaponry. In August 2014 Azerbaijan introduced 120-millimeter mortar fire, Arman Kirakossian, Armenian envoy to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said.

   "There is nowhere to escalate to. It will only take one miscalculation. It was small arms for 20 years. Then it became about using artillery, drones, aircraft," Lawrence Sheets, political analyst in neighboring Georgia, told Bloomberg News.

   Azerbaijan has demanded full control of the region, which comprises one-fifth of its territory. Armenia, a tiny country by local standards, has no oil to sell, seeks territorial advantage and a return of the Armenian-majority population. Each side has significantly reduced its stockpile of military equipment since the 1993 war, and Armenia has been silent on whether it has received short-range ballistic missiles from Russia, state-of-the-art war material which could neutralize Azerbaijan's air superiority. 

Putin Signs Military Pact With Argentina: Falklands Dispute May Get Ugly

   With Argentina seeking Russia's military cooperation, the Falklands dispute with the U.K is set to get more complex. Recently, Argentina’s president Cristina Fernandez and Russian president Valdimir Putin met in Moscow and signed 20 bilateral cooperation agreements related to different fields, including defence, while calling the bilateral ties as “strategic.”

   Throwing an indirect challenge to the U.K, Russian president Putin announced that the two countries would be increasing “military collaboration.” The newly signed agreement on military cooperation and data protection speaks about expanding “practical cooperation."

Russia’s Support Hailed

   Ms Fernandez, on her part, thanked Russian president for his support to her country’s dispute with the U.K. over Falkland islands, in which both sides have been adamant on their respective claims. The Argentinian president said: “We thank Russia for the support it has historically provided in Malvinas question, in having resolutions of the United Nations observed so the United Kingdom resolves to sit in the table to dialogue."

   The Russian president said, “Russia supports Argentina's striving for direct talks with Britain to achieve prompt resolution to the Malvinas Islands dispute.” However, Britain’s Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has asserted its intent to safeguard the security of the island’s residents.

Common Interest

   Besides Falklands, Argentina and Russia have a broader agenda to work on, argued ex Russian diplomat Evgeny Astakhov. He added that a strong cooperation between Russia and Argentina can pursue other major goals such as changing the global financial situation and reducing the dominance of U.S. dollar, by doing their bilateral trade in the local currencies--Peso and Rouble.

   According to the diplomat, the new cooperation agreements between Argentina and Russia could be the former’s response to the situation in Falkland Islands. He told the Sputnik News that the West has traditionally supported the United Kingdom in the dispute. At the same time, the former ambassador cautioned that a conflict with the United States will not be in the interests of Argentina. He said, Argentina as an independent and economically self-sufficient country with abundant reserves of oil and gas is of interest to Russia.

Poland denies entry to pro-Putin biker gang; Russia demands explanation

   MOSCOW (Reuters) --- Russia on Monday demanded an explanation from Poland as to why it denied entry to a group of Russian bikers commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two. The bikers are attempting to ride from Moscow to Berlin as a publicity stunt.

   Poland had said on Friday it would not allow the bikers club “Night Wolves”, which has ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, to cross into its territory.

   Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement it "decisively condemned" Poland's decision to bar entry for the bikers and said the move could be considered sacrilegious, given the heroism shown by Soviet soldiers who fought against the Nazis during World War Two.

   Since it’s the sovereign right of any country to allow or not allow foreign nationals on to their soil lets hope the Polish Government keeps out this biker gang.

Ukraine War Update - 27 April 2015

Monday, April 27, 2015  6:41 AM PDT

Poroshenko signs law to increase number of border patrol guards

   KIEV, April 27 (Ukrinform). --- President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko signed the law that increases the maximum number of State Border Service personnel by three thousand servicemen, according to the President's press service.

   "President of Ukraine signed the law on amendments to Article 6 of the law of Ukraine on State Border Guard Service of Ukraine which increases the maximum number of State Border Guard Service of Ukraine personnel by three thousand soldiers - up to 53,000 border patrol guards," the statement said.

   The law adopted by the Verkhovna Rada on April 9 sets conditions for a more successful implementation of the tasks by State Border Service in the ATO zone and along the administrative border with temporarily occupied territories.

Monday, April 27, 2015  6:19 AM PDT

Savchenko to be sent to city hospital

   (UNIAN) --- Ukrainian pilot, MP and member of the Ukrainian delegation to PACE Nadia Savchenko, who was abducted from Ukraine and is now detained in a Moscow jail, will be sent to Moscow’s 20th city hospital on Tuesday, Mark Feygin, her lawyer, wrote on Twitter on Monday.

   "I have just come from Nadia. Tomorrow she will be sent to Moscow’s 20th city hospital," Feygin tweeted.

   As UNIAN reported earlier, Savchenko was abducted by Russian-backed militants in the Donbas in the summer of 2014, and then taken to Russia, where she was charged with being involved in the death of Russian journalists. She was also charged with illegally crossing into Russia.

   On October 26, during the early parliamentary elections in Ukraine, Savchenko was elected as an MP from the Batkivshyna Party. The Verkhovna Rada made Savchenko a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

   The Rada has called on international organizations and inter-parliamentary assemblies to make efforts to free Savchenko.

   Savchenko went on hunger strike on December 15 in protest at being denied medicines she required. She is now demanding that she be released from jail and placed in another form of detention pending her trial. In early March, her state of health deteriorated.

   On April 24 the Russian Investigative Committee brought final charges against Savchenko.

   In addition to the charges of being involved in the murder of two Russian journalists in eastern Ukraine last June, Savchenko was accused of illegally crossing the Russian border.

   According to Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service, Savchenko has tightened her hunger strike.

   "For the last three days Nadia Savchenko has refused to eat. Therefore, a medical consultation will be held today," said Kristina Belousova, a representative of the service.

   As reported earlier, Chairman of the Russian Human Rights Council Mikhail Fedotov told reporters that Savchenko had resumed her hunger strike and could be sent to hospital due to her deteriorating health: Savchenko has lost more than eight kilos in weight in the last week.

Monday, April 27, 2015  6:07 AM PDT

One Ukrainian soldier killed and three wounded yesterday - ATO speaker

   (Censor.NET) --- One soldier was killed and three more were wounded in the ATO area April 26.

   ATO press secretary Oleksandr Motuzianyk said at a traditional briefing on Monday, Censor.NET reports citing Ukrainski Novyny.

   "One Ukrainian serviceman was killed and three other our fellow soldiers were wounded in battles during the past 24 hours," he said.

Monday, April 27, 2015  6:07 AM PDT

Ukraine holds large scale military exercises in southern region of Mykolaiv

   (UNIAN) --- Ukraine has been conducting a range of military exercises in the southern region of Mykolaiv, some involving attack helicopters, officials in Kiev say.

   Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who observed the drills, said that “the Ukrainian Armed Forces will not be the ones who start an offensive” and stressed that the OSCE mission had confirmed Ukraine’s strict implementation of Minsk ceasefire agreements, Ukraine Today reports. 

   Since the signing of a ceasefire deal in February, numerous violations of the ceasefire by Russia-backed militants have been reported. Earlier, a BBC journalist personally witnessed the shelling of Ukrainian positions with heavy weapons near the strategic port city of Mariupol.

   Meanwhile, Russia has been holding aggressive military drills in close proximity to the Ukrainian border.

Monday, April 27, 2015  5:55 AM PDT

Ukraine reports more ceasefire violations ahead of conference call between OSCE and militants

   (UNIAN) --- There were 46 attacks on Ukrainian positions in the Donbas in the last 24 hours, with some of them involving heavy artillery that militants should have withdrawn under the Minsk agreements, government forces said on Sunday. 

   While Russia has been continuously denying military involvement in the Donbas conflict and its support of militants, European leaders are to continue enforcing sanctions against Russia over its obvious role in the escalation in Ukraine’s east until the truce is fully implemented, Ukraine Today reports.

   International efforts to achieve peace in the region are being made. A video conference is to be held on April 29th between representatives of Russia, Ukraine and the OSCE on the one side and representatives from the so-called Luhansk and Donetsk Peoples' Republics on the other. Discussion of all points of the Minsk peace deal is on the agenda.

Monday, April 27, 2015  3:45 AM PDT

Russian/rebel troops ready to attack – Yury Lutsenko says

   (Zik) --- The probability of the Donbas war escalation is high, Petro Poroshenko Block faction leader warned, speaking late Apr. 26 on the Inter TV, Interfax-Ukrayina reports.

   “There is an 80% probability that the war will be escalated,” Lutsenko warned.

   The Russian/rebel troops in Donbas have been put on the highest level of combat readiness so far, Lutsenko said.

   The number of Russian troops across the border has reached it maximum – about 55,000. According to intelligence, the Donbas rebels are preparing to attack.

Monday, April 27, 2015  3:05 AM PDT

Only half of protesters in Kiev were miners – interior minister says

   (Zik) --- Only half of those who had protested last week in Kiev demanding increased payments to miners and dismissal of the coal minister were miners, the rest were hired goons. Some of them have been detained and will be prosecuted, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said on national TV Apr. 27.

   “Half of the protesters [about 1,000] were miners. The other half was goons hired by protests organizers. They violated the public order and resisted the police, the minister said.

   The 3-day protests had been held near the presidential administration, government building and legislature. Protesters blocked Kiev streets several times. 

Slovak prime minister to skip military parade on Moscow trip

   BRATISLAVA (Reuters) --- Slovakia's prime minister said on Monday he would attend World War Two events in Russia that are being boycotted by many EU countries over Moscow's role in the Ukraine crisis, but would skip a military parade.

   Robert Fico's announcement underlined the delicate diplomatic balance facing countries in the region between standing with European allies and not offending Russia, a strong trade partner and for several, their former Soviet ruler.

   Fico did not say why he had made the decision, but it echoed a statement earlier this month from the president of neighbouring Czech Republic.

   U.S. ambassador to Prague Andrew Schapiro had said it would be "awkward" and "unfortunate" for Czech President Milos Zeman to attend the parade at a time when Russian troops were destabilizing a neighbour.

   Zeman's spokesman later said the president had made a "sovereign and independent" decision to visit Moscow on May 9 to commemorate World War Two victims but to skip the parade.

   Moscow denies Western accusations that it provides rebels in eastern Ukraine with money, arms and troops.

   Fico said he would meet Zeman during the trip on May 9 and the two would lay a wreath to honor the war dead during events marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two.

   The territories of the Czech Republic and Slovakia were occupied in 1968 by Soviet and Warsaw pact troops sent to crush a movement calling for liberal reforms in then-communist Czechoslovakia.

US troops in Europe request bigger weapons for Strykers.

March 24, 2015: People gather around an U.S. Army 2nd 

Cavalry Regiment "Stryker" armoured fighting vehicle in 

Bialystok, Poland. (Reuters)

   (Fox) --- One of the last American combat units stationed in Europe is asking the government for bigger guns amid rising tensions over Russia’s involvement in the Ukraine conflict.

   The 2nd Cavalry Regiment is requesting that 81 of its 8-wheel-drive Stryker infantry carrier vehicles be equipped with 30-mm. automatic cannons -- double the caliber of the 12.7-mm. guns they already carry, the military news website Breaking Defense reports.

   The House Armed Services committee is already setting aside money for the upgrade, which the Army approved Wednesday, according to a memo obtained by the website.

   The upgraded cannons would give the Strykers added firepower against other light-armoured vehicles.

   The 2nd Cavalry Regiment, based in Vilseck, Germany, had been deployed to the Baltic States to deter aggression following Russia’s seizure of Ukraine’s Crimea region, Breaking Defense reports.

   NATO's chief on Thursday reported a sizeable Russian military buildup on the border with Ukraine that he said would enable pro-Moscow separatists to launch a new offensive with little warning.

   NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Russia has substantially stepped up supplies to the rebels, as well as providing them with advanced training and equipment like drones, despite a cease-fire.

   Making an accusation of their own, Russian officials said U.S. military instructors were training Ukrainian national guardsmen in urban fighting techniques in the same eastern regions where Ukrainian forces and separatists have been fighting for the past year.

   In Washington, the U.S. State Department rejected the Russian claim of U.S. trainers in eastern Ukraine, saying all the activity was in western Ukraine near the border with Poland.

   "We've been doing this for about 20 years now," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters, calling the Russian statement "ridiculous."

   Stoltenberg said the reported Russian moves undermine the cease-fire declared in eastern Ukraine and violate the Minsk agreements entered into by Moscow. He said more than 1,000 pieces of Russian military equipment have been moved over the past month, including tanks, artillery and air defense units.

   Stoltenberg said this "gives reason for great concern" and would enable the separatists to go on the offensive again with little warning.

   He said the U.S.-led defense alliance is not certain about the intentions of Moscow and the pro-Russian rebels, "but we are certain about the capabilities."

   The claim from Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Gen.-Maj. Igor Konashenkov that U.S. trainers are active in disputed areas of eastern Ukraine came one day after the U.S. State Department accused Russia of deploying air-defense systems in eastern Ukraine and combined Russia-separatist forces of maintaining artillery and rocket launchers in violation of the shaky cease-fire deal.

   Konashenkov denied those claims, and said U.S. military instructors are working in the vicinity of the cities of Mariupol, Artemivsk and Volnovakha.

   U.S. paratroopers last week arrived in western Ukraine to train national guard units.

Philippines accuses China of challenging military plane

Subi Reef is part of the Spratly islands, a chain of outcroppings
in South China Sea claimed by the Philippines [EPA]

Aircraft allegedly ordered to leave as official says China is poised to take "de facto control" of the South China Sea.

    (Al Jazeera) --- Chinese vessels have challenged a Philippine military plane on patrol over disputed waters in the South China Sea, according to the Philippine military.

   The Islander aircraft was flying over Subi Reef on April 19 when a Chinese vessel radioed a warning, Brigadier-General Joselito Kakilala, a Philippine military spokesperson, said on Sunday.

   The Chinese told the plane it was in Chinese territory and ordered it to leave, Kakilala said.

   "But our pilots ignored the challenge because of the DOC despite [the plane being] within our territory and they reported the incident to our superiors," he said in a statement to AFP news agency.

   The DOC, or Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea - signed by China, the Philippines and other Southeast Asian nations in 2002 - binds the signatories not to resort to violence to settle their disputes over the South China Sea.

   Subi Reef is part of the Spratly islands, a chain of outcroppings in the South China Sea, parts of which are claimed by China, the Philippines as well as Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan.

   In recent years, the Philippines has become more vocal in accusing China of aggressiveness in pressing its claims to the South China Sea, a vital sea lane and fishing ground that is believed to hold vast mineral resources.

   In recent weeks, Philippine officials have accused the Chinese of using water cannon and even stealing the catch and fishing gear of Philippine fishermen.

Benigno Aquino, president of the Philippines, is expected to bring up these concerns at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Kuala Lumpur on Monday.

   Albert del Rosario, Philippine foreign minister, has already warned that China is poised to take "de facto control" of the South China Sea.