The living exhibit of the Poltava Battle Museum

November 30, 2016 This likable and fluffy cat by nickname Vaska (full name is Vasiliy) could be regarded as a warden of the Poltava Battle Museum. Besides he strikes terror into a few mice that haven’t caught yet in the building of the museum that is about 100 years old. As you can see, even such a fierce weapon from the times of the Great Northern war like this bronze three-pound gun doesn’t make any impression on him. He even allows to pat him but that can't be guaranteed. As about me, he vouchsafed to let me take a pictire of him sitting on the top of the gun.

Today we celebrate the International Domestic Animal's Day, so I am delighted to congratulate Mr. Vasiliy on this holiday and wish all the best to him and to the museum he takes care.

Norway welcomes US Marines amid Russian tensions

November 30, 2016 Washington (CNN) US Marines are coming to Norway -- a move that could send a chill down Russian President Vladimir Putin's spine.

Beginning in January 2016, a limited rotational force of approximately 330 Marines will be located in Vaernes, Norway, according to a statement to CNN from the Norwegian Defense Ministry.

"The US initiative to augment their training and exercises in Norway by locating a Marine Corps Rotational Force in Norway is highly welcome and will have positive implications for our already strong bilateral relationship," Norwegian Defense Minister Ine Eriksen Soreide said in a statement.

"We enjoy a very close relationship with the Norwegian Armed Forces and a limited rotational presence in Norway would certainly enhance this relationship and our ability to operate together," Maj. Gen. Niel E. Nelson, commander of US Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa, said in a statement last week to CNN while the request was being considered by Norway.

The statement noted that a Marine presence in Norway -- which shares a 122-mile border with Russia -- "will increase NATO's ability to rapidly aggregate and employ forces in northern Europe."

US Marine Corps amphibious assault vehicles before a public demonstration in the Trondheim Fjord in Norway in January.

Tensions about Russia's posture in Europe have increased following the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, following Putin's intervention in eastern Ukraine.The US and its NATO allies have since increased their presence, as well as assistance to Poland and the countries on the Baltic Sea. Earlier this year, members of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade trained in Norway alongside troops from other NATO countries in Exercise Cold. 

Read the full story at http://edition.cnn.com/2016/10/18/politics/marines-norway-russia/

Kyiv court reschedules Yanukovych's skype-questioning for Nov 28

November 25, 2016 (Interfax-Ukraine New Agency) A judge of Kyiv's Sviatoshynsky district court has rescheduled hearings with the questioning via skype conferencing of former president Viktor Yanukovych as a witness in a Maidan killing case. "Having consulted on the issue, the court has decided to declare the hearing held in pursuance of a request for international assistance as rescheduled for 13:00 Kyiv time (14:00 Moscow time) on November 28, 2016," the judge said during a court session in Kyiv on Friday.

Before the announcement of this decision in Kyiv, a judge from a court in Rostov, where Yanukovych came to witness, confirmed via video conferencing that the former Ukrainian president's video questioning could take place on November 28. Yanukovych is a witness on the case of former five Berkut riot policemen who are charged with killings of Euromaidan activists.

Sweden is fed up with Russia...

November 22, 2016 (Ukraine Today Weely Digest) Sweden steps up its defense capabilities by bringing to Gotland island the Saab Robotsystem 15 (RBS-15) anti-ship missiles. Sweden returns to service the old Cold War era anti-ship defense system, reports The Local. It plans to install RBS-15 anti-ship missiles at Gotland island in the Baltic sea, located halfway between Sweden and Latvia in the middle of the Baltic sea and could become a crucial part of defense in the event of a possible conflict in the region.

To bring back the RBS-15 missiles, Sweden had to pull back Scania launch trucks out of museums. They were upgraded with components from existing missile boats and warships. The Local cites Rear Admiral Thomas Engevall's interview to Dagens Nyheter newspaper, where he said: "This decision is national, but it is also a contribution by Sweden to the international defense capability in the Baltic Sea after Russia's annexation of Crimea and the invasion of Ukraine.....If you group together these kinds of systems on Gotland, you can control quite a lot of territory in the mid-Baltic. I do not think Sweden is a primary goal for Russia," he added. "But we would still be involved in any conflict in the Baltic Sea area related to EU countries." The restored system is now being tested on Sweden's east coast.

The full article is available at http://uatoday.tv/politics/from-museum-to-army-sweden-brings-back-cold-war-era-weapons-810963.html

November 21, 2016 (UNIAN) Ukraine OSINT experts present at NATO PA evidence of Russia’s military involvement in Donbas conflict Ukrainian parliamentary delegation on Saturday, November 19, presented two InformNapalm’s videos with the evidence of Russian military aggression against Ukraine before members of NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Istanbul, Turkey.

InformNapam volunteer intelligence community has been gathering evidence of Russian aggression in Ukraine for over two years, the organization’s website reports. Read also Putin awards medals to active Russian military after their return from Donbas war – media Proving the participation of Russian professional military in the war in Donbas is the most important part of their work, the experts say. While Russian soldiers have been cautious and carefully cover up their combat involvement, they still leave traces, according to InformNapalm statement. The analysts sift through different sources – websites, videos, social media posts – to find these traces and present investigations to public. "So far we have identified servicemen from 75 Russian military units sent to Ukraine on the orders of their command," the report says. Lawmakers from NATO Parliamentary Assembly adopted reports urging NATO member-states "to stand firm in supporting Ukraine and maintain a strong stance against Russian belligerence". The following video presents InformNapalm’s major findings.

Read more on UNIAN: http://www.unian.info/war/1633197-ukraine-osint-experts-present-at-nato-pa-evidence-of-russias-military-involvement-in-donbas-conflict.html

Trump names pro-Ukraine CIA Director

November 21, 2016 (UNAIN) U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has moved to fill some of the top positions in his government by selecting a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director, a national security adviser, and an attorney general, RFE/RL reports.

Trump said in a statement he had chosen Representative Mike Pompeo (Republican-Kansas) to be CIA director, retired General Michael Flynn for the post of national security adviser, and Senator Jeff Sessions (Republican-Alabama) as the country's top prosecutor, according to RFE/RL. The publication notes that Pompeo, who is currently a member of the House Intelligence Committee is known in particular for his statements in support of Ukraine in its resistance to Russian aggression. In April 2014, Mike Pompeo visited Ukraine and then stated that the aim of Russian President Vladimir Putin was to take control over Ukraine. He stressed: "To the degree that we can demonstrate support for the Ukrainian government, we can change Putin's calculus and increase the risk to him and to Russia for moving combat forces closer to Kyiv." Pompeo and Sessions require confirmation by a majority vote in the Senate; Flynn does not.

Pompeo is a member of the Republican Party's conservative wing, the Tea Party, having been elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010. He graduated top of his class from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and graduated from Harvard Law School before spending five years in the army. Trump said he was happy to have Flynn by his side to "defeat radical Islamic terrorism."

Flynn, 57, served as the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency from 2012 to 2014, a position he was nominated for by President Barack Obama. He served in the military from 1981 to 2014, including tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, before retiring with the rank of lieutenant general. Flynn graduated from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College as well as the Naval War College. He says he considers radical Islam the greatest threat to global stability and has been critical of the Obama administration's policies in fighting IS. Flynn has said Washington could work with Russia to fight IS and other Islamic extremists. His appearance at a dinner in Moscow -- sitting next to President Vladimir Putin -- honoring the state television station RT alarmed many who noted his previous accommodating views of Russia's role in Ukraine. The full article is available at: http://www.unian.info/world/1632557-trump-names-pro-ukraine-cia-director.html

President Poroshenko visited State Archive of Sweden where Latin version of Pylyp Orlyk’s Constitution is stored

November 17, 2016 (www.president.gov.ua) On November 14, 2016, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko paid his first official visit to the Kingdom of Sweden. The agenda included meetings with Prime Minister of Sweden Stefan Löfven, Speaker of the Riksdag Urban Ahlin and leader of the Moderate Party Anna Kinberg Batra.

In the course of the meeting with the President of Ukraine, Prime Minister of Sweden S.Löfven recalled that the EU has agreed on a firm response to Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, and its aggression in Eastern Ukraine.

In the framework of the official visit to Sweden, President Petro Poroshenko visited the State Archive of Sweden. The Head of State examined the Latin version of the Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk and other documents of Ukrainian Cossacks stored in the State Archive of Sweden. The document dated after 1710, and consists of 13 pages. “This is one of the first Constitutions on the European continent and a symbol of the Cossack state and democracy. It is very important for Ukrainians,” Petro Poroshenko said. The State Archive of Sweden pays special attention to this historic document, which is securely stored in a separate vault with steady moisture, temperature and other conditions necessary for its preservation.