Russo-Ukrainian War 2014-25

[Razgovory]

Private Raz Pyle.

Apparently a history of psychosis is a problem.

You just have to focus yours in a constructive way.  Like Siegy does.

I think they lowered the standards by the time he got in.

[Martinus]

I like how Poland seems to be the only country that dropped by two levels.

[celedhring]

I wonder what Russia had done to Mexico in 2013.

[Martinus]

We don't know if this attitude only started in 2013. They could still be pissed off about Trotsky.

[celedhring]

Yeah, I presumed that.

But I mean, countries like Turkey and Egypt at least have a story with Russia and the Soviet Union. But Mexico?

[Syt]

I heard yesterday that the anti-corruption person of the government resigned because, in her words, there was no interest in Ukrainian politics to get rid of the rampant corruption.

Also:

http://www.dw.de/putin-and-poroshenko-to-meet-at-minsk-summit/a-17863400

Putin and Poroshenko to meet at Minsk summit

The EU, Russia and Ukraine have confirmed a multilateral summit, to be held in Belarus one week from now. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko will be among the participants.

Officials in Kyiv, Moscow and Brussels on Tuesday confirmed a top-level summit in Minsk on August 26, where Vladimir Putin and Petro Poroshenko will again meet following their brief talks during the D-Day anniversary celebrations in June. Members of the Eurasian Customs Union - Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan - will be joined by a Ukrainian delegation and senior EU officials.

Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said that the leaders "will discuss the relations between Ukraine and the Customs Union and there will be a number of bilateral meetings."

Ukraine's Poroshenko, elected earlier this year, said "stabilizing the situation" in eastern Ukraine would be a key topic of discussion. Ukraine's military and pro-Russian separatists have fought for control of the regions of Luhansk and Donetsk since April.

On Tuesday, the Ukrainian military said that separatists had attacked a convoy of buses and cars carrying refugees displaced by the fighting - a charge the separatists rejected. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso called for the alleged incident to be investigated, after a phone call with Poroshenko.

Barroso also announced that the EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, trade commissioner Karel De Gucht, and energy commissioner Günther Oettinger would attend the August 26 summit in Minsk.

The Eurasian Customs Union is a three-country trade bloc scheduled to be turned into a free-trade zone called the Eurasian Economic Union by 2015. Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's decision last November to break off integration talks with the EU and instead seek membership of this trade zone helped prompt the mass-protests in Kyiv that ultimately led to a change in Ukrainian government and the current tensions with Russia.

[Agelastus]

Big question for me is what have the Russians been up to in East Africa that makes them so well liked. Their stance on same-sex relationships, perhaps?

[Martinus]

Big question for me is what have the Russians been up to in East Africa that makes them so well liked. Their stance on same-sex relationships, perhaps?

I was thinking the same thing (or, more precisely, that's a part of it), namely Putin has consistently been trying to present himself as a global champion of non-Islamic social conservatism. American Republicans and Polish right wingers would probably love him, if he wasn't Russian.

[Jacob]

Belarus has become a maritime nation recently, exporting Belarussian shrimp to Russia: https://twitter.com/narkeviciute/status/502183217185951744

[Razgovory]

Big question for me is what have the Russians been up to in East Africa that makes them so well liked. Their stance on same-sex relationships, perhaps?

I was thinking the same thing (or, more precisely, that's a part of it), namely Putin has consistently been trying to present himself as a global champion of non-Islamic social conservatism. American Republicans and Polish right wingers would probably love him, if he wasn't Russian.

Yeah I know, isn't.  Putin has some fans in the US, but most can't get past his KGB past.  If he worked in the same capacity for Franco or Pinochet it would be fine.

[Sheilbh]

I was thinking the same thing (or, more precisely, that's a part of it), namely Putin has consistently been trying to present himself as a global champion of non-Islamic social conservatism. American Republicans and Polish right wingers would probably love him, if he wasn't Russian.

Yep. 'Traditional values', a corrupt capitalist state and managed democracy is a model that a fair few countries may follow and Putin's their pioneer.

[Tamas]

Big question for me is what have the Russians been up to in East Africa that makes them so well liked. Their stance on same-sex relationships, perhaps?

I was thinking the same thing (or, more precisely, that's a part of it), namely Putin has consistently been trying to present himself as a global champion of non-Islamic social conservatism. American Republicans and Polish right wingers would probably love him, if he wasn't Russian.

Hungarian right-wingers do love him. Of course, they are more like national socialists in terms of the pure meaning of that, not right-wingers economically.

[Martinus]

Big question for me is what have the Russians been up to in East Africa that makes them so well liked. Their stance on same-sex relationships, perhaps?

I was thinking the same thing (or, more precisely, that's a part of it), namely Putin has consistently been trying to present himself as a global champion of non-Islamic social conservatism. American Republicans and Polish right wingers would probably love him, if he wasn't Russian.

Yeah I know, isn't.  Putin has some fans in the US, but most can't get past his KGB past.  If he worked in the same capacity for Franco or Pinochet it would be fine.

Thank God for Russophobia.

[Syt]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28892525

Russia accused of invading Ukraine as aid trucks cross

Lorries from a Russian aid convoy are streaming into Ukraine without permission, after Russia accused Ukraine of unreasonable obstruction.

Russia's foreign ministry said Ukraine had held up the convoy in order to pursue war against rebels in Luhansk, where the aid is destined.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it was "not part of that convoy in any way".

A Ukraine official said responsibility for the convoy rested on the Russians.

Reports suggest the lorries are being escorted by rebel fighters.

"Our humanitarian aid convoy is starting to move towards Luhansk," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement (in Russian).

It warned Ukraine not to take any action against the convoy without specifying the consequences.

Ukraine fears that the aid convoy of at least 260 lorries, which arrived at the border more than a week ago, is part of a broader Russian intervention in eastern Ukraine.

Russia denies accusations that it arms and trains the rebels in the rebellion in Luhansk and the neighbouring region of Donetsk, where four months of fighting have left more than 2,000 people dead and has caused more than 330,000 people to flee their homes.

The rebel-held city of Luhansk has been without running water, power and phone communications for 20 days as government forces hold it under siege.
'Rebel escort'

As many as 70 lorries have entered Ukrainian territory, moving out of the no-man's land between the Russian and Ukrainian border posts.

Reporters at the scene saw rebel fighters in front of the convoy as it passed over the border in a rebel-held sector near the Russian town of Kamensk-Shakhtinsky.

It is normally a drive of about two hours from the lorries' camp to the city of Luhansk.

However, it is unclear if the convoy will be able to use the motorway there because of continuing combat between rebels and government forces.

An ICRC spokesperson in Moscow said it had concluded that it had not "received the necessary security guarantees from the fighting parties to allow us to escort the convoy at this time".

It cited "heavy shelling overnight" in Luhansk.

"We understand that the convoy is now moving, however the ICRC is not part of that convoy in any way," the spokesperson added.

The Russian branch of the ICRC said earlier it was ready to take part in the relief operation and was contacting its international colleagues.
Warning

"We are warning against any attempts to sabotage this purely humanitarian mission, which was prepared a long time ago, in an atmosphere of full transparency and in co-operation with the Ukrainian side and the ICRC," the Russian foreign ministry said.

Delays in Ukrainian clearance for the convoy had "become unbearable", it said.

"All excuses for blocking the delivery of aid to people in the area where this humanitarian catastrophe is happening have been exhausted," it added.

"The Russian side has decided to act. Our convoy carrying humanitarian aid is beginning to move towards Luhansk."

A Ukrainian government official told BBC News in Kiev: "The Red Cross did not take part in all the procedures on the border. Ukrainian border guards cannot take part if the Red Cross is not participating.

"All responsibility lies with the Russian side - not with the terrorists, but specifically the Russian side, because this is their decision."

In a statement on its website (in Russian), Luhansk's official council reported on Friday that the dire situation in the city remained unchanged with no halt in the bombardment.



Analysis: Daniel Sandford, BBC News

The risk of the Russian aid convoy causing a further deterioration in relations with Ukraine is now very high. Because the International Committee of the Red Cross is not part of the convoy, the government in Kiev may choose not to recognise it as a humanitarian mission.

The lorries are currently being accompanied by pro-Russian gunmen. So the convoy is likely to be stopped at the front line near the besieged city of Luhansk. Or if it tries to work its way around the Ukrainian government forces, there is a risk of it being attacked - accidentally or intentionally.

The Russian foreign ministry has already a clear sent warning that if the convoy is attacked, Moscow may take action.

[Warspite]

And, while Russia is basically invading a European state and directly challenging the post-WW2 security order on the continent, Chuck Hagel thinks ISIS is the primary threat to US interests everywhere.