Russia opposition politician Boris Nemtsov shot dead

27 February 2015 (BBC News Europe) A leading Russian opposition politician, former deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov, has been shot dead in Moscow, Russian officials say. An unidentified attacker shot Mr Nemtsov four times in central Moscow, a source in the law enforcement bodies told Russia's Interfax news agency. He was reportedly shot near the Kremlin while walking with a woman. He died just before a march in Moscow against the war in Ukraine which he was actively promoting.

Mr Nemtsov, 55, served as first deputy prime minister under the late President Boris Yeltsin in the 1990s. He had earned a reputation as an economic reformer while governor of one of Russia's biggest cities, Nizhny Novgorod. Falling out of favour with Yeltsin's successor, Vladimir Putin, Mr Nemtsov became an outspoken opposition politician. Mr Putin has been widely accused of fomenting the bloody rebellion in east Ukraine - an accusation he denies.

According to Russian-language news website Meduza, "several people" got out of a car and shot him. He was shot in the back with a pistol from a white car which fled the scene, Interfax's source said. One of the politician's colleagues in his RPR-Parnassus party, Ilya Yashin, confirmed Mr Nemtsov's death. "Unfortunately I can see the corpse of Boris Nemtsov in front of me now," he was quoted as saying by Russia's lenta.ru news website. "At the Bolshoy Zamoskvoretsky Bridge. I see the body and lots of police around it."

In his last tweet, Mr Nemtsov sent out an appeal for Russia's divided opposition to unite at an anti-war march he was planning for Sunday. "If you support stopping Russia's war with Ukraine, if you support stopping Putin's aggression, come to the Spring March in Maryino on 1 March," he wrote.

Russian opposition politician and former deputy PM Boris Nemtsov shot dead on Moscow street

27 February 2015.  I got this terrible news just a few minutes ago. This man had a unique strength to tell the truth about present day Russia and its policy toward Ukraine even when he was on the air in the center of Moscow (see picture). Undoubtedly he was a worthy opponent of an incumbent President of Russia. On my understanding this cynical assassination could be a sign of growing "Putin's intelligence agency dictatorship". Do not be surprised if in a few days Swedish television will broadcast the funeral ceremony for Boris Nemtsov in the presence of President of Russia. The show must go on...

I sincere wish they were parading somewhere in the Eastern Ukraine....

February 24, 2015 (The Washington post) U.S. military combat vehicles paraded Wednesday through an Estonian city that juts into Russia, a symbolic act that highlighted the stakes for both sides amid the worst tensions between the West and Russia since the Cold War. The armored personnel carriers and other U.S. Army vehicles that rolled through the streets of Narva, a border city separated by a narrow frontier from Russia, were a dramatic reminder of the new military confrontation in Eastern Europe. The soldiers from the U.S. Army’s Second Cavalry Regiment were taking part in a military parade to mark Estonia’s Independence Day. Narva is a vulnerable border city separated by a river from Russia. It has often been cited as a potential target for the Kremlin if it wanted to escalate its conflict with the West onto NATO territory.

Russia has long complained bitterly about NATO expansion, saying that the Cold War defense alliance was a major security threat as it drew closer to Russia’s borders. The anger grew especially passionate after the Baltic states joined in 2004, and Russian President Vladimir Putin cited fears that Ukraine would join NATO when he annexed the Crimean Peninsula in March last year.

Read more at

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2015/02/24/u-s-military-vehicles-paraded-300-yards-from-the-russian-border/

Deadly bomb blast hits rally in Kharkiv

February22, 2015 (BBC News Europe) A bomb has killed at least two people, including a police officer, and injured 10 others at a rally in Ukraine's second city Kharkiv located about 150 km. east from Poltava. The march was one of several being held to mark a year since the Kiev uprising that led to the fall of pro-Russia leader Viktor Yanukovych. Kharkiv lies outside the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine, where a ceasefire appears finally to be taking hold.

President and distinguished foreign guests took part in the March of Dignity in Kyiv

February 22, 2015 The March of Dignity attended by President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and distinguished foreign guests who came to Ukraine in order to participate in the events on the occasion of the anniversary of the Revolution of Dignity was held in Kyiv. Together with President Petro Poroshenko, Chairman of Verkhovna Rada Volodymyr Groysman and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, the March was headed by President of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaite, Poland - Bronislaw Komorowski, Germany - Joachim Gauck, Moldova - Nicolae Timofti, Georgia - Giorgi Margvelashvili, Slovakia - Andrej Kiska, as well as President of the European Council Donald Tusk. 

Thousands of Ukrainians, clergy, representatives of Polish, Georgian, German and French communities also participated in the event. Members of the column were holding a large yellow-blue flag. People came with flags of Ukraine, EU, Georgia, Poland, Lithuania. From time to time people shouted "Glory to Ukraine - glory to heroes!", "Ukraine is Europe!", "Ukraine, freedom, dignity, victory!". People were singing the Anthem of Ukraine. Also, the record of the Anthem of Europe, "Ode to Joy" by Beethoven, sounded. The procession ended up with the Prayer for peace on Maidan Nezalezhnosti. The President and the distinguished foreign guests have laid icon-lamps under the Independence Stele.

President Petro Poroshenko and the heads of foreign states and governments who take part in the events on the occasion of the anniversary of the Revolution of Dignity have visited the exhibition "Presence. Proofs of Russian troops' aggression on the territory of Ukraine" opened on Mykhailivska Square in Kyiv.

The Head of State has commented on a few "exhibits", particularly MLRS "Grad" used by militants to shell peaceful cities and villages, remnants of the missile system "Smerch" used for the shelling of Kramatorsk, which ended up with 17 people killed and over 60 people wounded. Petro Poroshenko showed grenade launchers, which are not produced in Ukraine, captured by Ukrainian militaries, armored vehicles, Russian tanks, remnants of civilians' cars destroyed near Mariupol.

The President has also demonstrated Russian drones. The Head of State has drawn attention of the attendees to the fact that the OSCE SMM representatives, which observe the compliance with the ceasefire regime in Donbas, do not have an opportunity to use drones, because militants and Russian servicemen hinder it in every possible way. However, the Ukrainian servicemen have recorded the activity of about 120 enemy drones, as stated by Petro Poroshenko.

Read more at

http://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/32337.html

Russian media admits that regular Russian troops took the vital eastern Ukrainian city of Debaltseve

February 20, 2015 (examiner.com) President of Russia Vladimir Putin arrogantly scoffed at the defeat of the Ukrainian military in Debaltseve, gloating at their “shame” of losing the battle “to yesterday’s coal miners and tractor drivers.” In reality, Ukraine is fighting against Russian military that is hiding behind the fraying veil of local “separatists.” Much like Russia’s “little green men” in Crimea, Ukraine is crawling with regular Russian troops and armaments. Russia is using its most sophisticated weaponry in eastern Ukraine, including the truck-mounted SA-22 surface-to-air missile system (Pantsir-S1). 

Ukraine does not possess these types of weapon systems, which immediately dispels ludicrous claims of separatists about “capturing” weaponry from the Ukrainian armed forces.

The full text of article is available at

http://www.examiner.com/article/russian-media-admits-that-regular-russian-troops-took-debaltseve

Debaltseve falls

February 18, 2015 (UNIAN) Ukrainians woke up on Wednesday to another military defeat at the hands of the Russian-backed militants of the Donbas, as columns of Ukrainian troops pulled out of the strategic town of Debaltseve.

“Debaltseve is no longer ours,” one soldier told UK newspaper the Guardian’s Alec Luhn as tanks, APCs, ambulances and soldiers on foot came into Artemivsk, the next town along the road to the north-west, after escaping near encirclement in Debaltseve. “We can’t stay: the city’s been captured,” another soldier told Luhn, the journalist reported on Twitter.

From early morning on Wednesday photos and reports from the area started to appear on social media, showing the Ukrainian forces apparently in full retreat from Debaltseve. However, other reports spoke of thousands of Ukrainian troops still being trapped in the town. Meanwhile, sources from the militant side spoke of “hundreds” of Ukrainian troops being taken prisoner. Video from Russian media appears to show much of the town now under militant control. Semen Semenchenko, the commander of a pro-government volunteer battalion, said on Facebook that Ukrainian troops were leaving Debaltseve "according to plan and in an organized way," Radio Liberty reported.

Semenchenko also said - confirming reports from other sources in the area - that the Ukrainian troops were being fired on by the Russian-backed militants as they left. The Ukrainian defense ministry said on Wednesday that combat operations were still going on in the town. However, on Tuesday it had become clear that many of the Ukrainian troops in Debaltseve were in a dire situation, with soldiers from several units calling journalists to plead for help, saying they needed reinforcements, artillery cover, or a safe corridor out of the town. Some blamed the Ukrainian General Staff for failing to give them the proper support.

“There is almost no food left. Morale is weakening due to [the command’s] attitude - no reinforcements, no OSCE representatives,” the second-in-command of Ukraine’s 40th Battalion Yuriy Sinkovsky told Ukrainian newspaper LB.ua on Tuesday.

“Attacks and firefights are under way. The guys on the ground are not going to retreat and give up. But the enemy forces are much stronger. We’re getting exhausted.”

Anastasia Bereza, a journalist working for the Ukrainian political weekly magazine Novoe Vremya, reported from near the besieged town on Tuesday that Ukrainian military units were still able to enter and leave Debaltseve, but with great difficulty and with losses."Today the situation is much worse than yesterday,” Bereza said.“Firing from both sides has increased. In addition, there is very heavy shelling, more powerful than Grad multiple launch rocket systems. According to the soldiers who are directly in the area of Debaltseve, it would be possible to change the situation only by using the serious forces of the mechanized brigades." But as Wednesday dawned, it appeared no brigades of tanks were rushing into Debatlseve to rescue Ukrainian troops, but that only exhausted soldiers, many wounded, were coming out of the town, still under fire.

Read more on UNIAN: http://www.unian.info/war/1045478-debaltseve-falls.html