Colonel Cassad (in English) - War crimes of the junta: torture and abuse

War crimes of the armed forces and security forces of Ukraine: torture and inhumane treatment. Second report

The second report about the war crimes of the armed forces and security forces of Ukraine by The Foundation for the Study of Democracy (the director – M. S. Grigoryev), in which the data is given about large-scale and systematic violation of the European convention of human rights by the representatives of the Ukrainian armed forces, the National Guard, and other units of the Ministry of the Internal Affairs, and also of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). We give some quotes from the report that we obtained.

Cover photo: Ukrainian citizen Alexander Agafonov, tortured to death by SBU officers in Izyum on 14 November 2014.  (Below)

Yana, victim’s wife on SBU officials:
They have beaten him to death simply. When they came — they took him away to torture him. When they brought his body back — the heels were blue, the feet were blue. He’s got some traces of punctures on his hands... I don’t know... what they did to him, punctured him or drove the needles under his nails — there were holes on his hands. Each bone has a hole in it. They tortured him like... when there was a real war no one has tortured people the way they tortured him.

The data that has been accumulated since the first report by the Foundation for Democracy Studies provides ground to conclude that torture and inhumane treatment inflicted by the Security Forces of Ukraine (SBU), by the Ukrainian armed forces, the National Guard and other formations within the Interior Ministry of Ukraine, as well as by illegal armed groups, such as Right Sector, have not only continued but are gaining in scale and are becoming systematic.

Complete story at - Colonel Cassad (in English) - War crimes of the junta: torture and abuse

Six Live Cremations the West Wants You to Ignore - Washington's Blog

Six Live Cremations the West Wants You to Ignore - Washington's Blog

Western selective outrage has always included burning people alive. Acting exactly as any sane criminal would, Western criminals want you to let them get away with their crimes while they broadcast the often lesser atrocities of others as pretexts for continuing and escalating their own.

Taking heart, this is exactly what ISIS has just done.

ISIS today released a video of themselves burning a captured Jordanian soldier alive in an enclosure, saying the act was intended as retaliation for US bombings, which also burn people alive, making the execution an “eye for an eye” punishment, according to ISIS. The US, in turn, will now purport to be disgusted by and retaliate against this crime, furthering the downward spiral it put into overdrive with the 2003 illegal invasion of Iraq, which led to and allowed for the creation and empowerment of ISIS and other such groups.

US and Western selective outrage say this latest crime is another illustration of ISIS’s viciousness, which of course it is. However, that is less than half of the story. The limited focus is intended to have us ignore or, better, support and defend, examples of much worse US and Western viciousness, including innumerable cases of burning people to death.

First of all, it is correct that explosives cremate, dismember, and torture people to death in a cruel and unusual manner. Here is an example of what US explosives do to people. But let’s leave aside plain old explosives and take a brief look at six live mass cremations the West would like us to forget.

1) Odessa massacre

2) Israel’s burning of children and other civilians with white phosphorus

3) US use of white phosphorus and napalm against human targets in Iraq

4) US also doused people with napalm in Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and elsewhere

5) US firebombing of Tokyo

6) The foundation of the United States

Complete story at - Six Live Cremations the West Wants You to Ignore Washington's Blog

Ukrainian Militias Are Beheading Hostages ... Just Like ISIS - Washington's Blog

In researching war crimes in Ukraine, I came across this disturbing report from Newsweek:

Groups of right-wing Ukrainian nationalists are committing war crimes in the rebel-held territories of Eastern Ukraine, according to a report from Amnesty International, as evidence emerged in local media of the volunteer militias beheading their victims.

Armed volunteers who refer to themselves as the Aidar battalion “have been involved in widespread abuses, including abductions, unlawful detention, ill-treatment, theft, extortion, and possible executions”, Amnesty said.

The organisation has also published a report detailing similar alleged atrocities committed by pro-Russian militants, highlighting the brutality of the conflict which has claimed over 3,000 lives.

Amnesty’s statement came before images of what appeared to be the severed heads of two civilians’ started circulating on social media today, identified by Russian news channel NTV as the heads of rebel hostages.

Shortly after, Kiev-based news network Pravilnoe TV reported that it had spoken with one of the mothers of the victims who confirmed her son was a rebel, captured during fighting in Donetsk.

She said she had received her son’s head in a wooden box in the post, blaming nationalist volunteers for her son’s death. Newsweek has not been able to verify the report independently.

There are over 30 pro-nationalist, volunteer battalions similar to Aidar, such as Ukraina, DND Metinvest and Kiev 1, all funded by private investors.

Complete story at - Ukrainian Militias Are Beheading Hostages ... Just Like ISIS Washington's Blog

Mariupol Attack- Motive, Method and Madness- Demand Justice for Kiev's War Crimes - Washington's Blog

The UN is calling the attack on Mariupol a War Crime. Now that the evidence is pointing to Kiev will the UN show enough conscience to pursue it?

Motive, method, and opportunity are the key facts needed to establish guilt in any criminal trial. In a shooting murder when you add in ballistics that locates the weapon to the shooter, its called a slam dunk, case closed. When known criminals with heavy weapons are willing to brag publicly on prime-time news that they are about to murder someone, and after the fact go on record about how much joy this event brought them- its time to call SWAT (Special Weapons And Tactics group).

The attack in Mariupol came after Ukraine failed twice in one week to get a UN and Western government declaration that DNR (Donetsk People’s Republic) and LNR (Lugansk People’s Republic) are terrorist entities. Is the third time the charm? Ukraine thinks so.

Before delving into the evidence, look at who doesn’t benefit. Benefit is a key factor in determining motive.

The militia near Mariupol is comprised of local city residents. Like soldiers in Donetsk and Lugansk, the city is their home town. Its where there family and friends live. Its where they grew up, went to school, and work. Their own children go to school there. Is there a benefit to firing rockets at your own neighbors and family?

Opportunity

The base problem with using Grad rockets to provoke outrage is that locating the source of the attack isn’t rocket science. Unguided rockets have a straight flight path. The rocket is a contact explosive which means it explodes when it lands. The crater points in the direction of the origin usually with a part of the nose cone left from the rocket itself inside inside the crater.

The OSCE gave their direction of origin north-north-east based on the sampling of rocket impacts they inspected.

Evidence also shows rockets striking from the north-west. The impacts were captured on cameras facing due west which showed the direction as the strike occurred on video as north-north-west.

Complete story at - Mariupol Attack- Motive, Method and Madness- Demand Justice for Kiev's War Crimes - Washington's Blog

The 4th Media » Mariupol-Donetsk-Frunza! Can Poroshenko Escape Crimes Against Humanity Trial?

A little over a week ago Petro Poroshenko ordered an all out assault on Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. Faced with massive losses during the first few days the Poroshenko regime has resorted unsuccessfully to get both republic’s listed as terrorist organizations by the EU and United Nations.

It started with the Volonavaha bus attack after which the bus driver states in an interview with theKorrespondent that a mine exploded and killed his passengers in Ukrainian controlled territory.

Images from the scene taken by the Ukrainian army shows a soldier carrying what appears to be a claymore mine. Claymore mines are directional explosives that are set off remotely or by a trip wire.

Kiev is engaging in a game of escalating crimes against humanity. Each attack on civilian populations has been followed by an all out media blitz trying to place blame on the fledgling republics.

Frunza- The Example not the Exception

When Poroshenko’s nationalist government ordered the new escalation Frunza was attacked again. Caught on video made by the Ukrainian army unit shelling the town, the world can no longer deny that Peter Poroshenko and the Ukrainian Rada are attacking civilian populations. The Ukrainian government and military are guilty of crimes against humanity.



The soldiers in this video are laughing and swearing “At Frunza! Fuck Frunza!” “This is war? This is too much fun to be war” as they fire on the civilian population. Soldiers don’t attack targets without orders. These same orders are being carried out across the Donbass region.

In October I spent 3 days embedded with Commander Alexey Moskovoy’s Prezrak “Ghost Battalion.” I am one of the few western journalists to do invasive passport and weapon checks on soldiers and interview foreign volunteers with more than baseline questions.

During the time I was with Ghost Battalion we stopped in Frunza. It was a typical town with a vibrant market place. We stopped so I could pick up a few things. There was no military targets or presence inside the city limits. Pictured below is the entry to Frunza market place.

A few days after I left, Frunza was attacked by Ukrainian artillery and the market pictured below was destroyed.

Complete story at - The 4th Media » Mariupol-Donetsk-Frunza! Can Poroshenko Escape Crimes Against Humanity Trial?

Red Cross files report on Kiev war crimes with International Criminal Court | Ukraina.ru

The Moscow office of the Red Cross has filed a report with the International Criminal Court in The Hague on crimes committed by the Ukrainian forces in Donbas, Red Cross representative and lawyer Igor Trunov said

"We have received a response from the public prosecutor of the ICC in The Hague that our petition for an investigation into the facts of crimes against humanity committed by Ukrainian officials has been accepted for consideration," Trunov said.

He said that a special commission of the Moscow Red Cross presented evidence of war crimes committed in Ukraine's southeast.

"We have raised a question regarding the murder, massacre, enslavement, bombing of residential areas and pressure by starvation, committed by Ukrainian officials against civilians," Trunov said.

Ukrainian authorities have also been accused of "persecution on political, racial or religious grounds, the torture of prisoners and other crimes within the jurisdiction of the ICC tribunal."

Complete story at - Red Cross files report on Kiev war crimes with International Criminal Court | Ukraina.ru

EU accuses Kiev of torture | Ukraina.ru

Kiev should "carry out a prompt, independent, thorough and comprehensive inquiry from the central level into how Colonies Nos. 25 and 100 [in Kharkiv] function," the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) said in a report

The report follows a visit by a CPT delegation to Ukraine on September 9-16, 2014.

"The delegation urges the Ukrainian authorities to take appropriate measures to ensure that prisoners in the two aforementioned Colonies are not subjected to any retaliation for having spoken with the delegation," the document said.

The delegation noted that "the situation has not improved at all in Colonies Nos. 25 and 100 since the previous visits to the establishments (in 2012 to Colony No. 25 and in 2005 to Colony No. 100)."

"Although instances of torture did not appear to be widespread, the delegation gained the distinct impression that the two establishments were managed through a system of intimidation and violence and that physical ill-treatment was used as a tool to maintain internal order. There was a widespread perception among prisoners that any disobedient behavior would be immediately sanctioned with severe corporal punishment," the report said.

Complete story at - EU accuses Kiev of torture | Ukraina.ru

Ukrainians name Donbass deaths ‘event of the year,’ ignore EU deal – poll — RT News

Nearly half of the Ukrainians who took part in a media poll listed thousands of deaths in the country’s east as the “event of the year.” The signing of the Association Agreement with the EU was deemed important by less than 10 percent of respondents.

Only 8.3 percent of Ukrainians named the ratification of the free trade deal with the European Union on September 16 the most significant event of the year, a countrywide opinion poll carried out by Kiev International Institute of Sociology and organized by ZN.UA media outlet has revealed.

Thousands of casualties in the conflict in southeastern Ukraine were highlighted by 46.6 percent of the respondents, who considered it the “most important” among the list of 18 events suggested by the poll.

The results of the comprehensive survey are said to be based on more than 3,000 interviews taken in 179 Ukrainian cities and villages. Although the project’s organizers say their survey represents the views of Ukrainian people in all regions, it also mentions that “for obvious reasons” the poll was conducted only on Kiev-controlled territories in the Lugansk region, and “primarily” on such territories in the Donetsk region.

While setting aside the deal that is seen as one of the main causes of the ongoing crisis, 40 percent of the respondents also said they “fully agree” that Ukraine should enter the EU, with 15 percent “completely disagreeing” with the move.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s election as the country's new leader and the downed Malaysia Airlines plane (which the poll directly blames on “terrorists”) turned out to be among the least important events for the country, according to the poll.

Meanwhile, “the occupation of Crimea by Russia” scored third place on the list, with the option being most popular in central Ukraine (43.7 percent) but least popular in Donbass (19.7 percent).

Complete story at - Ukrainians name Donbass deaths ‘event of the year,’ ignore EU deal – poll — RT News

Foreign Bankers Rape Ukraine | New Eastern Outlook

William Engdahl

Rape of an entire country, just as rape of a small child, is murder. It is a form of murder of the soul and ultimately of the child. Forty five million Ukrainians do not deserve such treatment any more than an innocent four-year-old child does.

If it were not for the fact that the lives of some 45 million people are at stake, Ukrainian national politics could be laughed off as a very sick joke. Any pretenses that the October national elections would bring a semblance of genuine democracy of the sort thousands of ordinary Ukrainians demonstrated for on Maidan Square just one year ago vanished with the announcement by Victoria Nuland’s darling Prime Minister, “Yat” Yatsenyuk, of his new cabinet.

The US-picked Ukraine President, billionaire oligarch Petro Poroshenko called “snap” elections at the end of August for October 26. He did so to make sure genuine opposition to his regime of murderers, gangsters and in some cases outright Nazis would be able to push an unprepared genuine opposition out of the Verkhovna Rada or Parliament. Because the parliament had significant opposition parties to the US-engineered February 22 coup d’etat, they had blocked many key pieces of legislation that the Western vultures were demanding, from changing key land ownership laws to privatization of precious state assets. By law, the old parliament would have sat until its five year term ended in October, 2017. That was clearly too long for State Department neo-con Ukraine puppet-mistress Victoria Nuland and her backers in Washington.

Now, with a new parliament that is controlled by the Petro Poroshenko bloc as largest party and the boyish-looking former Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who is also new Prime Minister as head of the second largest party, the way was clear to get on with the rape of Ukraine. What shocked some is the blatant foreign takeover that followed, like a Wall Street vulture fund raid on a distressed debtor country of the Third World.

The ridiculous charade

Yatsenyuk, former finance minister in a previous criminal regime, and a suspected senior member of the US-intelligence-friendly “Church of Scientology,” has named three complete foreigners as cabinet ministers in key economic posts. And in an extraordinary act, the three have been made instant Ukrainian citizens by Poroshenko in a ridiculous ceremony. Ukraine is looking more and more like the US-occupied Philippines after the Spanish-American War of 1898 when General Arthur MacArthur, father of the mentally-dis-ordered Douglas, was Washington’s dictator on the spot.

The new Ukrainian Finance Minister, the one who will control the money and decides where it goes, is one Natalia A. Jaresko. She speaks fluent Ukrainian. Only problem—she is an American citizen, a US State Department veteran who is also a US investment banker. Now, the Ukrainian Constitution, prudently enough, stipulates that government ministers be Ukrainian. How then does our sweet Natalia come in?

The President of Ukraine, another Victoria Nuland favorite, the “Chocolate King” corrupt oligarch billionaire, Petro Poroshenko, made her a Ukrainian citizen in a bizarre ceremony the same day just hours before the parliament declared her Finance Minister.

Complete story at - Foreign Bankers Rape Ukraine | New Eastern Outlook

Malaysia Airlines jet hit by ‘Ukrainian missile’ | Ukraina.ru

In a video posted on the Internet, a former Ukrainian army sergeant says the controversial Buk surface-to-air missile (SAM) system that purportedly downed Malaysia Airlines Flight MN17 belonged to the Ukrainian Armed Forces

The sergeant was interviewed by Ukrainian reporter Anatoly Sharyi.

According to the serviceman, when the Malaysian Boeing crashed, Ukraine tried to attribute the system to the self-defense forces or the Russian army.

"We were deployed in the field. First, in Kramatorsk (…). This is definitely a Ukrainian Buk. I personally know this machine. The Buk picture that I sent from Luhansk shows the Yubileinaya coalmine in the background. The military unit is in the town of Metallist. It was ridiculous when Kiev said the Buk belonged to the Russians or the self-defense forces," the sergeant said.

He also deciphered the digits in the self-propelled system’s ID number: "3" is the number of the Ukrainian army subdivision (Luhansk), "1" is the battery number, and "2" is the crew ID number.

"It is totally incomprehensible why a SAM system is necessary in the anti-terrorist operation zone," the soldier concluded.

Complete story at - Malaysia Airlines jet hit by ‘Ukrainian missile’ | Ukraina.ru

"Death is roaming Ukraine" | Ukraina.ru

LIVA magazine publishes a German reader’s letter written under her impressions of the news and reports of the civil war in Ukraine

Ukraine, where death has settled down, is quite close to us. Death gained a firm foothold there: machine guns are firing and bombs are falling, tanks are driving around and cannons are shelling.

Death lives there, people are bleeding there and get crippled. They are killed by shrapnel, they die in the streets, burn inside buses and cars. At the bus stops, on a football pitch, under debris of destroyed houses – death awaits them everywhere.

Death is following you, stalking you – you have to constantly hide behind walls, in the bunkers and cellars. Death has set his foothold here – here in Ukraine – the black demon of death is in the air. He stares at you ever and ever again – at night and in the daytime. It makes no difference – whether workers go to work or schoolchildren go to school. He does not care. He comes for you – he is looking for you every day. He doesn’t care if you want to see him or not, if you feel it or not. It makes no difference to him.

He doesn’t care about your age. He doesn’t care what you are doing now. He doesn’t care about your wishes.

He is always near here – he is waiting for you while the shells explode around. You do not know where, when and how he is going to grasp you.

You are given to him for slaughter.

Death is ruthless, merciless and cold-blooded. Blood is freezing in the veins – here children and adults scream of pain and fear.

The terror is overwhelming their hearts.

Complete story at - "Death is roaming Ukraine" | Ukraina.ru

HARDLY ZEN: Top 5 Obama War Crimes Since His Nobel Peace Prize

21st Century Wire says…

In the aftermath of the US Senate Intelligence Committee’s bombshell Torture Report, both Democrats and Republicans are now jockeying for position to occupy the moral high ground. On one side you have apologists for CIA torture, and on the other are half-hearted partisan Democrats desperate to protect their own administration’s sins overseas – and in the middle is a small minority who still believe in doing what’s right in trying to preserve America’s waning integrity internationally.

It’s times like this which really separates the wheat from the chaff…


ABU-GRAIB: US military engaged in sick games with detainees in Iraq.

A bevvy of so-called ‘military experts’ are cued-up on all the major TV networks to give their assessment as to ‘What constitutes torture?’, as well as arguing over what passes for ‘intelligence’ these days. The conversation is as banal as it is Orwellian. The pro-torture crowd, including CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, seems like the Pentagon’s embedded anchor and torture advocate, are all currently rallying around GW Bush’s inner circle, while the CIA stooges continue to sound a lot like Dr. Josef Mengele’s assistants testifying at Nuremberg.

They are all keen to tout their successes in their expensive ‘War on Terror’, although they’ve still yet to present anything besides anecdotes, opinion and hyperbole. Even proponents of the ‘Afghan Surge’ are being wheeled out of the Pentagon’s basement, as military buffoons continue to claim credit for it’s’success’, but who seem to be getting their military strategies from the film Starship Troopers. In other words: throw as much men as you can at the problem until the insects are killed off. They apply the exact same illogic to the torture argument, which is to dole out as much physical and psychological punishment to their ‘high value detainees’ until the subject tells them what they want to hear. This is what pretty much what passes for ‘military genius’ in the post-Bush world of ethical vacuums and moral black holes.

Even Senator John McCain sobered up from his usual mode of NATO-jihad just long enough to admit to the US, and the world this week – that torture aka ‘enhanced interrogation’ doesn’t actually work at all when it comes to gathering meaningful intelligence, and moreover, that it paints the US in a bad light internationally. 21WIRE will add to that and say: the same goes for Washington obsession with domestic spying starting with the whole NSA surveillance (see 21WIRE NSA Files) and data harvesting operation – a monolithic, 21st century digital monstrosity that’s literally wasting billions per month in scarce US taxpayer funds.

Although the Senate report was spearheaded by Democrats, that’s not to say that this White House should be given a free pass on its own outsourcing of violence. The Obama Revolution in foreign policy terms, has been all about making US militarism, especially in places like Africa, seem acceptable and almost fashionable to his young left supporters. But tell us what is really fashionable about sanctioned 2,400 murders through JSCOC and CIA covert drone programs.

The bottom line is that killing and torture has become political. If they were not, the Obama would have already closed his own government’s Guantanamo Bay torture facility a long time ago

Complete story at - HARDLY ZEN: Top 5 Obama War Crimes Since His Nobel Peace Prize

Ukraine Punisher Commanders in DC Now to Ask Warren and McCain for More Guns | OpEdNews

The money they appropriate will go directly into the murder of innocent people, torture, and rape.



Within a few days the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is going to meet with Ukraine's best and brightest. They are coming to ask for money, weapons, and start lobbying for direct intervention. The thought that the halls of the US Congress can be sullied with this kind of people treading on its floors is beyond my imagination. You don't need to care about Ukraine on this issue. American moral authority and the well being (electability) of some good Congressmen that only hear the propaganda might be at stake. Please take the time to read through and if this is not acceptable tell your Senator why.

A few days ago Vadim Troyan, a Battalion Azov deputy commander was appointed Kiev Oblast(Region) Police Chief. Azov Battalion is one of the punisher battalions responsible for rape, kidnapping, and murder of civilians across Donbass. Vadim Troyan has earned some of Ukraine's highest medals in the process.

At their base city of Mariupol just during the month of October 2014 the police department had to report over 200 rapes committed by Azov and the Ukrainian National Guard in a public meeting held at the city police department. According to local residents in Mariupol which is a city of over 500,000; people are constantly going missing.

Young girls are being dragged away in broad daylight and some are never seen again. Azov battalion is taking men off the street that are never returned. In the last week of October twenty people were reported missing.

What is Azov Battalion

Interviewed Azov soldier admits torture on video english subs



Interviewed by Foreign Policy Magazine, Azov Battalion describe themselves as "people with a European identity fighting with Sovietness. But the 'European identity' to which Oleg Odnorozhenko (Azov ideologist) aspires is one estranged from mainstream European and American liberalism. The Azov Battalion, whose emblem also includes the 'Black Sun' occult symbol used by the Nazi SS, was founded by Andriy Biletsky, head of the neo-Nazi groups Social-National Assembly and Patriots of Ukraine."

Complete story at - Article: Ukraine Punisher Commanders in DC Now to Ask Warren and McCain for More Guns | OpEdNews

A modest proposal to future mass murderers: Learn from Ukraine | Vera Graziadei

This article is by Vladimir Golstein, an Associate Professor of Slavic studies at Brown University. He was born in Moscow and emigrated to the United States in 1979.

If you intend to kill your opponents on a massive scale, don’t just arm your people with machetes, iron rods or AK47s and start killing. With photos of atrocities flooding the Internet, the world community might eventually stop and even punish you.

This old-fashion method of mass killing is hard to sell in today’s world of freedoms and individual rights. A much better way to succeed in mass violence is to connect your victims to Russia, by denouncing them as the enemies of freedom and democracy and by calling them Russian terrorists and puppets in the hands of the current leader of Russia, whom you should call Stalin incarnate. Hitler incarnate works as well, but since Hitler was the leader of Germany – the country that is currently at the forefront of democracy – that might confuse the issue. The new Stalin is a more effective label.

Once your enemies are associated with Russia and its evil leaders, you can explain to the West that your killings are necessary not because of your burning hatred for your victims, but because you want to embrace liberal values and join the EU, while it is those whom you kill who are the proponents of tyranny. Never forget to suggest that all your killings were provoked by Russia. Your western backers will surely add their authority to the blame. You can also imply that the territory vacated after your attacks can be used for a NATO base. To facilitate your efforts, it is important to enlist the help of some old Cold War warriors and neocons, such as Senator John McCain or Victoria Nuland, by explaining to them that the failures of your economy is the result of Russian sabotage. It is the remnants of their socialism that is destroying your country, and not your looting.

I also encourage you to find a Jewish person among your population, preferably someone with close ties to your regime; you can also export an adviser whose ancestors ran away from the Tsarist pogroms. This person should testify to The New York Times that your regime is very friendly to Jews, as opposed to your victims who still live by some primitive nationalistic values. That will score plenty of points with your neocon audience, who will in turn secure American supporting your fight against anti-Semitism. Calling your enemies“sexist”or“homophobic”can also boost your cause, but frankly, it would be overkill. Since your goal is to accomplish overkill on the streets of your towns, don’t waste all your energy on propaganda wars.

But make sure you enlist the help of some former dissidentsor political leaders from Eastern Europe. Their memories of being abused by the Evil Empire are so strong, that it would be easy to convince them that those who are laying on the streets, burned, shot, or chopped to death, were Russian agents, intent on perpetuating Soviet-style tyranny. The hard-worn moral authority of these allies will surely silence your critics.

Complete story at - A modest proposal to future mass murderers: Learn from Ukraine | Vera Graziadei

Fort Russ: Patriarch Kirill: "Fifty churches of Moscow Patriarchate destroyed in Ukraine"

Anastasia Novikova for Komsomolskaya Pravda

Kirill, the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia expressed his concern about Russian churches destroyed in Ukraine.

"Our church is subject to physical pressure: three priests were murdered, over a dozen were arrested, imprisoned, tortured, many expelled from the country. About fifty of our churches are either completely destroyed or severely damaged," - posted Kirill on the website of Russian Orthodox Church.

The Patriarch also said that the Church continues to urge both sides to dialogue and peace. By the way, recently militants of the "Right Sector" captured a church in a village of Butin in Ternopil region in Western part of Ukraine. The radicals refused to let the parishioners into the church, as a result they were prevented from performing a liturgy.

A local priest told me that when he came to the congregation at the church, it was already occupied by representatives of Kievan Patriarchate. The entrance was guarded by the "Right Sector". The police just watched quietly.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate was outraged by such actions of the militants.

Complete story at - Fort Russ: Patriarch Kirill: "Fifty churches of Moscow Patriarchate destroyed in Ukraine"

War Crimes as Path to Winning War? | Vera Graziadei

Last week in a candid address to Ukrainian nationalists in the Odessa Opera House, president Petro Poroshenko outlined how he is planning to win the war in East Ukraine:

“We (Ukraine) will have our jobs – they (Donbas) will not. We will have our pensions – they will not. We will have care for children, for people and retirees – they will not. Our children will go to schools and kindergartens… theirs will hole up in the basements. Because they are not able to do a thing. This is exactly how we will win this war!”

The chocolate oligarch, backed by Brussels and Washington, is not afraid anymore to openly admit that the Ukrainian Army is targeting civilian buildings on purpose and forcing Donbass people and children into basements, in order to intimidate the population into leaving the area or surrender. Last week there’s even been a direct attack on a maternity ward and the week before a mortar attack on school killed two school children.

While Kiev is always quick to blame ‘rebels’ for all such incidents (an absurd suggestion that Donbass self-defence forces, comprised largely from the local population, would try to kill their own children), Poroshenko’s speech confirms that these attacks are the deliberate war plan of the Ukrainian forces. The fact that indiscriminate shelling of civilian and public buildings is a war crime doesn’t seem to deter Poroshenko, who’s confident that with the EU and the US backing he can carry out this strategy with impunity.

Starting from the 15th November all dissenting eastern areas will not be protected by the European Convention on Human Rights anymore, as Poroshenko announced its suspension, citing a provision which allows some of the Convention’s articles to be derogated by a signatory “in time of war or other public emergency threatening the life of the nation.” Officially only the right to life, the prohibition of torture and slavery, and the right not to be subjected to unlawful punishment will be respected (though shelling of civilians is a violation of these rights), while all the other rights including the right to liberty and security, the right to fair trial, right to respect for private and family life, will not be respected any more.

Article 15 was cited to justify the Ukrainian National Security and Defence Council issuing a decree, which ordered the closure of all state services, including schools, kindergartens, hospitals, emergency services and pensions, and withdrawal of all banking services for businesses and individuals over the next months. This is effectively an economic blockade, which will threaten life of the local population during the difficult cold winter months. Local government called it an ‘act of genocide’. Poroshenko calls it ‘fighting for European values‘.

Complete story at - War Crimes as Path to Winning War? | Vera Graziadei

Eyewitness: Murder, Robbery and Rape in Mariupol | SLAVYANGRAD.org

REPORTER: This is the Voice of Novorossiya, the programme “In Reality”. We are going to talk about what is going on in Novorossiya. First we will speak about the Donetsk and the Lugansk Peoples’s Republics. First we take a look at the Donetsk Republic, an area that is occupied by the “glorious” and “fine” Ukrainian Army. We are connected with the City of Mariupol. Our interlocutor, Olga, comes from this wonderful city. Hello, Olga!

OLGA: Hello!

Olga, tell me, what’s going on there, because one only gets sporadic and inconsistent information from Mariupol. Usually someone has blown up something or killed someone. After that they say: “That’s not true, here all is quiet and well..” Some say that the officials have fled the city and that the “PrivatBank” has shifted its assets and branches. Tell us, what do things look like in Mariupol in reality?

The mood in the city is, of course, far from the best. There are actually people here who describe themselves as Ukrainian patriots. They are in favour of the Ukrainian authorities. But the vast majority of people are hiding their true views on the People’s Republic of Donetsk. After the referendum on May 11, everyone saw how many people came and stood for four hours in line to cast their votes for an independent People’s Republic of Donetsk.

As for the “PrivatBank”—yes, there are rumours that Kolomoisky withdrew his assets. But the branches are still open.

Regarding the killings and abductions of people—it is all true. This is very carefully concealed. There is no one talking about it. The Police work very closely with the criminal battalions, Azov, Dnepr, Shakhtarsk and Holy Mary. That name is, of course, a terrible one—if you ask me—for people who murder their fellow citizens. It is also somehow very stupid, if one can say so.

Recently an incident occurred not far from my home. It was at a bus stop in broad daylight, in the presence of fifteen people. A car full of Nazis pulled up. They chose two girls who looked the youngest, they just threw them in the car and disappeared. We have heard nothing from the girls for four days. One can only guess what has happened to them and whether or not they will ever come back home and in what condition.

Very often one hears about girls, mostly young, fourteen- to sixteen-year-olds, being brought to hospitals, girls who’ve been raped in a bestial manner. In a very cruel manner. I won’t describe it. Their physical condition—mental, at any rate—is terrible. It looks really bad for them. Everything on them has been torn apart. Sometimes to one big pulp. I shudder when I talk about it.

Complete story at - Eyewitness: Murder, Robbery and Rape in Mariupol | SLAVYANGRAD.org

Nazi NATO, but No War Crimes Tribunal? Why? Washington's Blog

A friend who lives in Ukraine sent me this message a few hours ago:

I got a call from Donestsk the other day asking me if I knew anything about a bomb that sucks the air out of a room or building and tears people up in the process. Granted it was only part of what happened. A fireball followed.

The survivors had left the room and had two structural walls between them and the detonation site. It was probably a small bomb/missile, but the only type I know of as a possible explanation is a thermobaric or vacuum bomb. Have you heard of any other weapon that can do this?

Also, there is a rumor about SCUD missiles, which Ukraine was supposed to have demolished 20 years ago. People say that they are being deployed to Donbass. Do you know anything about this?

A genocide is going on, but it’s supported by the West, and so Americans and Europeans aren’t learning much about it from the standpoint of its victims (the residents of Ukraine’s southeast). Perhaps that’s why there aren’t calls for war-crimes trials about the genocide.

Here’s the background (for those who don’t already know it):

Southeastern Ukraine had voted overwhelmingly in 2010 for the President who was overthrown by a violent coup on 22 February 2014, and so the coup-imposed Government is trying to kill them, to clear the land from them but keep their territory; it calls those people “terrorists” for their rejecting this coup-imposed Government, but the reason they reject it isn’t only because it was imposed in a violent coup against the man for whom they had overwhelmingly voted, but also because this new Government is trying to get rid of the people who live there, to clear the land from them, to get them off of Ukraine’s voter-rolls. This new coup-imposed Government wants to remain in power, through future ‘democratic’ ‘elections,’ without needing to worry about these voters, enough of whom will then be gone so that this Government can stay, no matter whom its personnel are.

Complete story at - Nazi NATO, but No War Crimes Tribunal? Why? Washington's Blog

Svoboda nazi apologist quits party to become head of Security Service propaganda | Solidarity with the Antifascist Resistance in Ukraine

One of the most notorious Ukrainian members of parliament for the far-right party ‘Svoboda,’ Yuri Michalchyshyn, quits the party so that he can become head of the propaganda and analysis of the Ukraine Security Service, SBU. Mikhalchyshyn is an open nazi apologist holding an honorary medal of the SS Division Galychna.

The reason cited for him leaving the party, after having spent some time as part of a volunteer battalion in the “anti terrorist operation” against the Donbas, is because party membership would not be compatible with his new job in the Security Service. Mikhalchyshyn himself had suggested in July 2014 the need to establish a Ministry of Propaganda, as part of the offensive against the Donbas.

Unlike other Svoboda leaders who have at least attempted to tone down the most extreme edges of their far right ideology, Mykhalchyshyn does not hide his “radical” views and Nazi sympathies.

In May this year he advocated the use of air strikes against Sloviansk to turn the city “into a lunar landscape” in order to deal with the rebels. Civilians should be given a 48 hour ultimatum to evacuate the city, he added, but “after this, all those who remain there should not be considered civilians, but supporters of terrorists or terrorists themselves. Then you need to close the area and eliminate all gangsters.”

Complete story at - Svoboda nazi apologist quits party to become head of Security Service propaganda | Solidarity with the Antifascist Resistance in Ukraine

Ukraine: Widespread Use of Cluster Munitions | Human Rights Watch

(Berlin) – Ukrainian government forces used cluster munitions in populated areas in Donetsk city in early October 2014, Human Rights Watch said today. The use of cluster munitions in populated areas violates the laws of war due to the indiscriminate nature of the weapon and may amount to war crimes.

During a week-long investigation in eastern Ukraine, Human Rights Watch documented widespread use of cluster munitions in fighting between government forces and pro-Russian rebels in more than a dozen urban and rural locations. While it was not possible to conclusively determine responsibility for many of the attacks, the evidence points to Ukrainian government forces’ responsibility for several cluster munition attacks on Donetsk. An employee of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was killed on October 2 in an attack on Donetsk that included use of cluster munition rockets.

“It is shocking to see a weapon that most countries have banned used so extensively in eastern Ukraine,” said Mark Hiznay, senior arms researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Ukrainian authorities should make an immediate commitment not to use cluster munitions and join the treaty to ban them.”

Cluster munitions contain dozens or hundreds of smaller munitions, called submunitions, in a container such as a rocket or a bomb. After launch, the container opens up dispersing the submunitions which are designed to explode when they hit the ground. The submunitions are spread indiscriminately over a wide area, often the size of a football field, putting anyone in the area at the time of attack, whether combatants or civilians, at risk of death or injury. In addition, many of the submunitions do not explode on contact, but remain armed, becoming de facto landmines. Any location contaminated with dud submunitions remains hazardous until cleared by deminers.

To date, 114 countries have joined the treaty that comprehensively bans cluster munitions because of the danger they pose to civilians. Ukraine has not joined the treaty.

Complete story at - Ukraine: Widespread Use of Cluster Munitions | Human Rights Watch