War in Ukraine

It's the 79th airmobile brigade, not the regiment (changed in 2007, someone should update The Other Wiki).

I can only link to Ukrainian sites about them, sadly.

It'll be in the pro-Russia court when the Rada takes up the legislation immediately, I think. Waiting til October would sound like Schmuck Bait to them.

Today's only big demonstration happened in Krivyi Rih.

Video from Krivyi Rih.

The fact that the pro-Russians are not doing any concessions and are making unreasonable demands is not helping them, though.

Interestingly, no pro-Russian demonstrations today at all.

The remaining 4 APCs captured in Kramatorsk will be returned to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

I fear tomorrow's traditional Easter marches. There's a big potential of something going wrong.

Slovyansk pro-Russians will respect the Easter Truce.

According to the Kramatorsk airstrip soldiers - the pro-Russian forced are composed of unhappy locals and Donetsk criminals - no Russian spetsnaz in the town. Both Ukrainian and Russian media have hugely blown the situation out of proportion.

I will try to visit Kramatorsk/Slovyansk on Tuesday. The misinformation coming in is getting very annoying.

Turchynov has predicted that the change of Constitution allowing regions more power will be voted in the last days of May. He has also addressed the Eastern and Southern Ukraine, saying the government is doing everything to give the regions more power.

edited 19th Apr '14 11:30:11 AM by Emuran

Whose flag is red above and black below (see at 15 seconds and again at 23)?

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Intends to Add Hundreds More Monitors to the Region

It's the flag of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. They fought the Soviets and later the Nazis (after offering them an Enemy Mine against Russia). They also did some rather nasty ethnic cleansing to Poles, and their relationships with Ukraine's Jews are still controversial. I imagine its use here is to say "fuck you" to Russia and affirm Ukrainian nationalism. Right Sector use their flag, with writing on it, so it might be one of their fellows flying it.

edited 19th Apr '14 1:13:40 PM by Achaemenid

The flag of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and the Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists (the latter borrowed from the former, but the flags in the video are of the former). One of the flags of Maydan, too.

The Right Sector has begun partially disarming as part of their transition from a paramilitary movement into a political one.

'd.

edited 19th Apr '14 1:19:44 PM by Emuran

Ah, makes sense, thanks.

Pro-Russian Insurgents Balk at Terms of Pact in Ukraine

edited 19th Apr '14 1:20:29 PM by demarquis

Emu

- Thanks. I'd like to look at those links.

Ukraine Prime Minister: Find anti-Jewish 'bastards'.

WOW the comments on that story are...whooooooo...

Russian media have reported shootouts in Slovyansk and the Donetsk airport during the night, with a separatist interviewed in Slovyansk declaring - "the truce has been broken". No shooting in the airport, I can confirm that.

I especially don't like the fact that various reports list different numbers of casualties.

Can't we have at least a nice Easter?

The IA Ministry collegium has called upon the former Berkut and the self-defense "to put their differences behind them in face of an external enemy". Not going to work.

edited 20th Apr '14 1:19:54 AM by Emuran

In the olden days, every village had an idiot and every pub had a bigoted old fucker. Now idiots and bigoted old fuckers from villages and pubs the world over can congregate on the internet and menace the rest of us.

edited 20th Apr '14 1:42:33 AM by Achaemenid

GIFT, right?

Shootout in Slovyansk confirmed. Two cars were riddled with bullets, 1 dead, 3 wounded.

Photos of the cars.

Not good. Unclear who the shootout was between. Pro-Russians obviously say "Right Sector", but I really doubt that.

edited 20th Apr '14 2:05:49 AM by Emuran

It's that particular combination of crazy. Anti-Semites? Check. Tea Party types convinced Obama is to blame for it all? Check. Putin apologists? Check. "Race realists"? Check. Varying combinations of the previous four, all arguing with each other? Check.

One of the leaders of the Kharkiv separatists Konstantin Dolgov has been arrested for 2 months.

The Russian FA Ministry has accused the Right Sector of a terrorist attack on Slovyansk pro-Russian activists.

The local separatists are saying they found explosives in the cars.

edited 20th Apr '14 2:12:45 AM by Emuran

Looking at the pictures again, that's not just bullets. That's fire damage. And given that cars don't blow up in real life as easily as in video games, I suspect Molotovs or some other firebombing technique.

And that's what bothering me - if they found explosives, how did the cars not explode? They are saying they found the bombs after the firefight.

It's Molotovs, by the way. From the way the car has burnt out more than a few have been thrown inside. Doesn't look like arson.

It all smells of some kind of set up. IMHO, it was a confrontation between local criminal groups.

I'll try to scrounge up more information from local sources.

Pro-Russians gathering in Kharkiv.

So much for a peaceful Easter.

The number plates are from Dnepropetrovsk (AE) and Zaporizhya (AP) regions. Twitter wisdom says it's weird the plates are absolutely unscathed by bullets or fire.

Especially as both the front and back of one car is absolutely burnt.

The separatists say the attackers were Right Sector because "they spoke Ukrainian". Facepalm.

Another photo.

Video of bullet casings. Double facepalm (they are saying the RS was armed with A Ks and machine guns, but the casings are from a hunting rifle).

The absolutely unscathed maps and American dollars of the "Right Sector".

So, the cars arrived to the barricades on the outskirts of Slovyansk. Someone began shooting the car from the other side (the back of the cars is far more riddled by bullets and burnt). No shots were fired on the barricades from the cars (no bullet holes in them, and they are pretty high). Then Molotovs burned the hell out of the cars, except for the number plates, the American dollars, the paper maps and the antique Tommy gun.

And I remind you that Right Sector is a paramilitary group experienced in urban warfare. So, unless this was a suicide run, this does not make sense.

Another photo.

And another.

More Twitter wisdom:

Evidence. The machine gun. Is that a WWII machine gun?

Also, Yarosh's visiting cards were allegedly found in the cars.

@Ominae - the governor of Dnipropetrovsk Kolomoyskyy has asked Turchynov to not disband the 25th brigade. Maybe all is not lost.

The Slovyansk separatists have declared a night curfew due to "Right Sector terrorist attacks".

The Slovyansk "people's mayor" has asked Putin to send peacekeeping forces "to save Russians from being cold-bloodedly murdered by Right Sector terrorists". And imperialists! Imperialists are invading Donbass! And Greystone mercenaries!

Here's his speech.

About 200 people in the Kharkiv pro-Russian demonstration.

Right Sector denies any involvement in the Slovyansk incident.

Locals say criminal groups slogged it out, then the winners had the bright idea to blame it on the Right Sector.

The office of the local newspaper was thrashed in Torez tonight.

edited 20th Apr '14 5:05:31 AM by Emuran

Two cars, both burned up. There had to be drivers in those cars, where are the bodies?

Let's see, these guys were supposed to be trying to get a machine gun and some explosives through a pro-Russian paramilitary checkpoint while carrying American money and maps in English. And then some mysterious force ambushed them from behind. Sounds plausible to me.

Don't forget that there's no blood on the road, and no signs of bodies dragged away.

Maps printed from Google Earth, at that!

And the separatists saying they were unarmed.

The attack on the newspaper office in Torez.

The Kharkiv pro-Russian demonstration today.

The Yenakiyevo pro-Russians have seemingly left the city during the night.

edited 20th Apr '14 5:38:45 AM by Emuran

An interesting article on the way Russian propaganda uses accusations of anti-Semetism to further it's goals, while protecting anit-semites. Apparently Russia itself is developing relations with European far-Right groups, and some of the pro-Russian separatist leaders also have ties to neo-Nazi groups, all the while claiming to want to protect themselves from the neo-Nazi's associated with the Maydan.

Remember the "international observers" in Crimea during the referendum?

And Jobbik fully supporting Russia?

Ukrnet has a new meme - #Yarosh's visiting card. As in - Chuck Norris only became awesome after he found #Yarosh's visiting card.

The Ukraine flag has returned to its place on Yenakiyevo's town hall.

The Slovyansk mayor has also said that a "Right Sector medal" had been found in the car. The Right Sector does not issue medals.

In Cold War Echo, Obama Strategy Writes Off Putin. Huh.

For more fun, the Slovyansk pro-Russians "found a Right Sector from Vinnytsia" talking in Russian with a horrible Donbass accent. Guys, you are not even trying, are you?

Yarosh's visiting card has it's own Twitter now.

I think that's about the most straightforward instance of a Card-Carrying Villain ever seen.

The Donetsk minizoo has switched allegiance.

The Yarosh card has also got decent amounts of Cargo Ship already.

Probably the nicest Yarosh Card fanart so far.

And Aleksei Navalny has mentioned Yarosh's card, too.

edited 20th Apr '14 9:10:46 AM by Emuran

And from the editorial pages of today's Mail on Sunday...

WARNING: Contains Peter Hitchens-isms.

Can someone please explain the Yarosh's Card meme to me?

Hitchensisms?

A stack of Dmytro Yarosh's alleged visiting cards was found in two burnt down cars allegedly belonging to the Right Sector, who'd allegedly attacked the pro-Russian barricades in the night.

A meme immediately popped up, which involved Yarosh's visiting card being found in the most improbable places (Putin's pockets, the Kursk submarine, on Mars), and being the most Badass Inanimate Object in existence - charging up Jedi swords, being America's secret superweapon, bringing the End of the World as We Know It, being the source of all Chuck Norris Badass feats and so on.

It's also being actively shipped with Putin, Bandera, Poklonskaya, etc.

As an interesting fact - the Lifenews report on the Slovyansk events was uploaded to Youtube on the 19th of April, although the alleged incident happened on the 20th. Facepalm.

A Maydan activist who tried to visit Slovyansk - Irma Krat - was kidnapped.

edited 20th Apr '14 3:05:57 PM by Emuran

Peter Hitchens likes to editorialise at length about the evils of the west. In a British newspaper.