Re: En Crimée

[Александр]

La vérité toute crue:

«La Russie étouffe les Tatars de Crimée»


Le sheik Saïd Ismagilov. | JE Hutin

Propos recueillis par Jeanne Emmanuelle Hutin 
   
Cette minorité musulmane est victime de persécutions, dénonce le sheik Saïd Ismagilov. Plus de 20 000 Tatars ont dû fuir. Entretien avec le sheik Saïd Ismagilov, Tatar né en Ukraine, mufti de l'administration religieuse des musulmans d'Ukraine.



Que représente l'annexion de la Crimée par la Russie ?
Pour les musulmans d'Ukraine, c'est comme si on nous avait enlevé notre maison paternelle.

Le gouvernement ukrainien veut le retour de la Crimée en Ukraine. Les Tatars, aussi. Ils résistent, espèrent sa libération.

Depuis l'annexion, quels changements observez-vous ?
La Russie transforme la Crimée en une gigantesque base militaire. Les contingents militaires russes se multiplient, les armes arrivent. Ils réhabilitent les anciens sites nucléaires.

La situation des Tatars s'y est-elle détériorée ?
Radios, télévisions, sites et journaux tatars ont été interdits ; des journalistes tatars, expulsés. Pour faire croire à la liberté d'expression, les autorités ont lancé une radio et une télévision, soi-disant des Tatars de Crimée, qui ne nous représentent pas. Ils étouffent notre communauté

Y a-t-il une politique de terreur ?
Oui. Trente jeunes ont disparu. Certains ont été retrouvés morts avec des traces de torture ! Des leaders ont été arrêtés et des procès organisés contre eux. Nos deux principaux chefs ont été expulsés. Des jeunes sont aussi internés en hôpital psychiatrique. L'un a été libéré grâce à la mobilisation de la presse internationale. Je le connais, il est sain d'esprit ! Que dire des mosquées, des domiciles vandalisés...

Qu'espérez-vous de l'Europe ?
Franchement, nous sommes déçus. Même si l'Europe a condamné l'annexion, nous espérions une attitude beaucoup plus ferme vis-à-vis de la Russie. Notre seule garantie, c'est le mémorandum de Budapest (1), qui engage ceux qui l'ont signé à défendre l'Ukraine.

Et maintenant ?
Nous comptons toujours sur le soutien de l'Europe. Nous souhaitons que ses États membres fassent pression sur la Russie pour qu'elle agisse dans le respect de l'État de droit et du Droit international, sinon les persécutions augmenteront. C'est la première fois en Europe, depuis 1945, qu'un pays annexe une partie d'un autre pays. Ce n'est pas tolérable.

(1) En signant ce mémorandum, en 1994, l'Ukraine se défait de son arsenal nucléaire. En contrepartie, Russie, États-Unis, Royaume-Uni, Chine et France s'engagent à garantir son intégrité territoriale.

[Александр]

Russian occupiers conducting new searches at Crimean Tatar homes (video)

Russian occupation forces are reported to be conducting searches in the houses of the Crimean Tatars in Crimea on October 12, a political scientist Leonora Dyulber wrote on Facebook.


Photo from UNIAN

According to Dyulber, it is known that the searches are carried out in the villages of Kamianka and Strohonivka.





Meanwhile, the head of the Central Election Commission of Kurultay of the Crimean Tatar people Zair Smedlia wrote on Facebook that two Crimean Tatars, Emil Dzhemadenov and Ayder Saledinov, were taken to the FSB for questioning.





The video of searches in Strohonivka emerged on the web.



Обыски в Строгоновке. Крым. 12. 10. 2016 (полное видео)

[Александр]

Russian military capacities in Crimea

[benoit77]

Russie: on parlait de goulag déportation...

A propos de la Crimée, le représentant de l’Ukraine à L’ONU va plus loin. Il rappelle que les discours de haines russes contre les tatars sont du même niveau que les précédents historiques ayant abouti à des génocides.


http://news.liga.net/news/politics/13153460-elchenko_v_krymu_nablyudayutsya_proyavleniya_podgotovki_k_genotsidu.htm

[Александр]

Exactement et ça s'intensifie:

Russia steps up persecution of Crimean Tatars following Mejlis ban – MFA Ukraine

After the ban imposed by the Russian court on the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, the persecution of Crimean Tatar has intensified further, speaker of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Mariana Betsa tweeted Thursday.

”After the ban of the Mejlis, the occupiers extend persecution of the Crimean Tatars. We condemn the illegal actions of the Russian Federation,” she wrote.
”We will be proving in courts the illegality of the actions of the Russian Federation relating to the temporary occupation of Crimea and the violation of the rights of indigenous people of Crimea.”

Earlier, lawyer Nikolai Polozov said via Twitter that on October 13, the so-called court of the annexed Crimea extended the detention of deputy chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people Ahtem Chiygoz, who has been charged with ”organizing and participating in mass disorder outside the Crimean parliament February 26, 2014.”

As UNIAN reported earlier, April 26, 2016, the Russian-controlled ”Supreme Court of Crimea” ruled the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people an extremist organization and banned its activities in the territory of the Russian Federation.

The Russian Justice Ministry also put the Mejlis on the list of extremist organizations.

On September 29, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation upheld the ban of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people in the temporarily occupied Crimea.

”organizing and participating in mass disorder outside the Crimean parliament February 26, 2014.”  Avant l'annexion . . .

[Александр]

Après Marianni et consors, c'est au tour des italiens:

Italian lawmakers arrived in occupied Crimea despite ban by their government

A large delegation of Italy's regional councils members together with business representatives arrived in Russia-occupied Crimea.

This was announced by RIA Novosti, Censor.NET reports.

"The delegation has arrived in Crimea in full," representative of Yalta International Economic Forum's board Nazarov said.

The Italians arrived in Crimea at night. The official visit will last Oct. 14 through 16. The delegation includes 18 representatives of Italian regions of Veneto, Liguria, Lombardy, Toscana, and Emilia Romagna.


^{Italian delegation in Russia-occupied Simferopol. Photo by RIA Novosti}

The delegation also includes representatives of big business companies, Nazarov said.

Read more: Italy's Tuscany adopts resolution to lift anti-Russian sanctions following Lombardy

Regional council lawmaker from the northern Italian region of Veneto Stefano Valdegamberi announced that his country's government earlier banned the delegation's current visit to Crimea.

[Александр]

Italian far-right collaborators openly admit breaking law in Russian-occupied Crimea



A three-day visit to Russian-occupied Crimea by a new foreign `delegation`, this time from Italy, cannot be ignored, reads an article by Halya Konash published by KHPG.org
Such visits serve propaganda purposes, and the Russian state-controlled media goes all out to inflate their importance, as part of ongoing efforts to `prove` that the international community has accepted Russia`s annexation of the peninsula, reads the article.

Besides, ”major businesspeople” are reported to have come on the trip. If these really exist and are planning business deals, then they are in serious breach of international law and their identity should be made known, together with their illegal promises to flout sanctions.

Almost all of the politicians in the delegation appear to be linked with the far-right Lega Nord [Northern League] party which can be relied on to not see (or even deny) grave rights abuses since Russia`s invasion and call for an end to sanctions. 

Members of Lega Nord have been used to try to give legitimacy to the Crimean land-grab since back in March 2014 when one of its members Claudio D`Amico joined a team of specially selected `observers` for Russia`s illegal `referendum` on annexation.  All of them provided the glowing praise required of them.

Actually, Russia`s attempts to justify its invasion of Crimea and aggression in Eastern Ukraine because of so-called `fascists` in Kyiv went hand in hand with its cultivation of close relations with far-right, sometimes neo-Nazi politicians in Europe.

In May this year, a major effort was undertaken to convince more than just a domestic Russian audience that `Venice` or the `Venice Parliament` had recognized Crimea as Russian.   In fact, it was 27 deputies, including many from Lega Nord, from the Veneto region parliament who pushed through a non-binding resolution, calling for recognition and an end to sanctions. 

The initiator of that `resolution` was Stefano Valdegamberi from an organization linked with Lega Nord.  He has been one of the most vocal members of the group visiting Crimea from Oct 14-16. 
He claims that the visit ”is one of the forms of protest by northern regions against the policy of the Renci government”, and asserts that their calls for the sanctions to be removed are not heard ”due to the climate of Russophobia”

It was Valdegamberi who also proved most expansive on the subject of business links. He is reported by the Russian propaganda site Sputnik to have stated that:

”The business leaders and entrepreneurs who have arrived with our delegation do not always go public with this, but a good number of them are already operating in Crimea,” Stefano Valdegamberi told reporters.

Valdegamberi said Italian companies with a foothold in Russia were particularly interested in supplying Crimean wineries with wine-making equipment.

There are also plans to produce goods in Crimea, he added.

”Italian businesses who are working in the Russian market are particularly interested in Crimea and have begun to invest in the region… they don`t just want to sell some stuff in Crimea but produce goods here,” he said.

In a separate report, TASS called the businessmen ”authorized representatives of the business community”.

All of this serves as good propaganda for Russia, but is a direct admission of violation of EU sanctions which are binding on Italy as a member state.

Anton Shekhovtsov has managed * to identify all of the 18 ”politicians and businessmen”.  This makes it clear which businesses warrant particular scrutiny.

All members of this group breached Ukrainian law by not entering Crimea through Ukrainian passport control. 

According to Russian media, the trip was organized by the so-called `Yalta International Economic Forum` and `government of Crimea`.  The `forum` is referred to as a `fund`, and it seems likely that this was an all-expenses paid excursion for the participants. 

They appear to have been marginally less obsequious than the group of French politicians in early August, whose trip was also almost certainly Russian-funded.  In their collaboration with the occupation regime, the French politicians – 10 from Nicolas Sarkozy`s Republican Party and one ex-socialist – even denied well-documented and irrefutable arrests, forced disappearances and killings (see French Collaborators Kiss Monument to Russian Invaders of Crimea). In fact, even silence about such abuses, about the latest wave of arrests and mounting repression against Crimean Tatars is already a craven betrayal. 

The Italian Foreign Ministry earlier called on the group to refrain from their illegal visit.  Since at least one member of the group has publicly admitted to breach of EU sanctions, it would seem appropriate for the Italian prosecutor to start asking questions.

Members of the group, according to KHPG.org:
1. Stefano Albrigi (owner of the company ”Albrigi Srl”).
2. Stefano Bargi (Lega Nord Emilia e Romagna).
3. Gian Angelo Bellati (director of the Chamber of Commerce of the Veneto region).
4. Fabio Bosio (owner of the company ”Brescia”).
5. Marina Buffoni (Fratelli d`Italia).
6. Attilio Carlesso (president of the company ”Cantina di Soave”).
7. Roberto Ciambetti (Liga Veneta–Lega Nord).
8. Jari Colla (Lega Lombarda-Lega Nord).
9. Alessandro Gonzato (journalist).
10. Antonio Nicodemo (a manager of the company ”Veronesi”).
11. Roberto Penazzi (?).
12. Alessandro Piana (Lega Nord Liguria).
13. Luciano Sandon? (Lista Zaia/Liga Veneta–Lega Nord).
14. Fulvio Scandiuzzi (CEO of the Scandiuzzi Steel Constructions Spa).
15. Luciano Solda (?).
16. Tancredi Turco (Alternativa Libera).
17. Stefano Valdegamberi (Lista Zaia/Liga Veneta–Lega Nord).
18. Marcello Veronesi (owner of the company ”Veronesi”).
19. Manuel Vescovi (Lega Nord).

The Italian delegation was accompanied by Robert Stelzl, an Austrian and an employee of Ewald Stadler, the leader of the fringe right-wing populist Reformkonservativen party. Both Stelzl and Stadler were among `observers` of the pseudo `referendum` in March 2014


Canada’s FM Stéphane Dion: Canada will never recognize illegal annexation of Crimea">Canada’s FM Stéphane Dion: Canada will never recognize illegal annexation of Crimea




Canada’s Foreign Minister Stéphane Dion in an interview with Diplomat & International Canada has said that Canada will never recognize the illegal annexation of Crimea and dialogue with Russia can lead to improvements for Ukraine and global security.

“Canada will never recognize the illegal annexation of Crimea. Canada has been explicit in its condemnation of Russia’s past acts of aggression, but also on areas where we think dialogue can lead to improvements for us, for Ukraine and for global security,” he said.

According to the Canadian foreign minister, the fact of talks with the Russian president doesn’t meen they agree with him. “It’s not because I agree with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, or the prime minister agrees with him. It’s precisely because we disagree that we need to have strong dialogue”.

He added that Canada’s approach in relations with Russia will be “a dialog of deterrence”.

"Deterrence and dialogue is our approach as one of the four framework nations, and it is our bilateral approach as well. It is important that allies remain united against Russian aggression towards Ukraine. When we are at the table, we can hold individuals to account, push for action and press for change. Engagement takes many forms and we are going to pursue every avenue in the cause of peace and stability," he said.

According to Stéphane Dion, international society should remain united against Russian aggression in Ukraine.

“It is important that allies remain united against Russian aggression towards Ukraine. When we are at the table, we can hold individuals to account, push for action and press for change. Engagement takes many forms and we are going to pursue every avenue in the cause of peace and stability,” he said.

[Janchik]

Bon ben, cette fois c'est fini! La dernière bouteille de muscat de Massendra a été bue ce week-end! Paix à son âme ! Maintenant, il faudra attendre, attendre...

[Matt]

Oui et tu n'es pas près d'en retrouver ailleurs qu'en Crimée . . . 
J'avais deux bouteilles de Koktebel, même soucis . . . 

[Krispoluk]

Bon ben, cette fois c'est fini! La dernière bouteille de muscat de Massendra a été bue ce week-end! Paix à son âme ! Maintenant, il faudra attendre, attendre...

T'aurais pu nous inviter plutôt que de te la siffler en égoïste !

Ecris en MP à Tarkan. De par sa profession, il avait eu l'occasion de visiter le domaine avec le proprio autrefois, je suis certain qu'il doit encore connaître des combines pour en avoir...

[Александр]

More house searches for the Crimean Tatars

Russia's FSB presents more fake charges for establishing terrorist groups 
       

The Russian Security Service continues searching the homes of Crimean Tatars in Bakhchysarai, according to Zair Smedliayev, head of the Central Election Committee of the Qurultay.

He says Russian FSB raided the homes of Enver Abduveliyev and Asan Serverov. They are being accused of participating in a volunteer battalion at the border of occupied Crimea and Ukraine. Computers have been confiscated from both houses.

Read also Persecution of Crimean Tatars the purposeful policy of occupiers – Ukraine's Foreign Ministry

Today, there are two court hearings scheduled for the Crimean Tatars, both men are being charged with taking part in a terrorist group along with other fictional crimes.

As well today, Ilmi Umerov, Deputy Head of the Mejlis, will be interrogated, he is being accused of encroachment on the territorial integrity of Russia, after his interview where he stated Crimea is not part of Russia.

Read also Crimean Tatar leader shortlisted for 2016 Sakharov prize

Ukraine planning to sue Russia in ECHR over Mejlis ban

The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine intends to lodge a suit against Russia with the European Court of Human Rights before the end of this year regarding the ban earlier imposed by Russian authorities against the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, according to First Deputy Minister Natalia Sevostyanova who spoke with journalists in Kharkiv, and UNIAN correspondent reported.

”We are now preparing a separate lawsuit, which deals specifically with the ban on Mejlis of Parliament. The Russian Federation is a defendant, as a State. We are filing the suit against the State, we file it as Ukraine against Russia. Accordingly, no we have all law enforcement agencies giving us information on who is directly involved. When we accumulate all this information, we will file the suit,” she said.
Sevostyanova has said she believes the lawsuit will be lodged before the end of 2016.

As UNIAN reported earlier, April 26, 2016, the Russian-controlled ”Supreme Court of Crimea” ruled the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people an extremist organization and banned its activities in the territory of the Russian Federation. The Russian Justice Ministry also put the Mejlis on the list of extremist organizations. On September 29, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation upheld the ban of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people in the temporarily occupied Crimea.

During the courtroom debate, the prosecutor was saying that the institution was to be held responsible due to the fact that its leaders had not recognized the annexation of Crimea, insisting on its return under Ukraine`s control.

[Александр]

Intéressante interview de Shoubarov:

Les Tatars de Crimée ont choisi le droit international plutôt que le droit ethnique ou religieux. Entretien avec le président des Tatars de Crimée

Quelques jours avant la rencontre à Berlin entre Poutine, Merkel et Hollande, pour aborder la question ukrainienne, Harold Hyman a rencontré le président des Tatars de Crimée. 

Depuis février-mars 2014, le territoire de la Crimée a été saisi par la force militaire russe, presque sans coup férir. Puis s’ensuivit un référendum de rattachement à la Russie, dans une ambiance de fête nationaliste russe et d’hostilité ouverte aux pro-Ukrainiens. Le résultat fut un oui à la soviétique au rattachement à la Russie. Le sort des Tatars s’est alors dégradé, eux qui ont fortement rallié la nation ukrainienne depuis 25 ans. Un huitième environ de la population, les Tatars, les autochtones musulmans et turciques de la péninsule, se retrouvent aujourd’hui dans une posture de suspects, eux qui rejettent massivement la réincorporation dans la Russie qu’ils assimilent à cette URSS qui les a tant brimés et déportés.

Refat Chubarov – Crédit photo : Harold Hyman

Refat Churabov, le président du Conseil des Tatars de Crimée, qui a été expulsé de son pays nouvellement russifié, tente de défendre sa cause devant l’UNESCO, où la Fédération de Russie tente de reprendre à son compte tous les classements de sites du patrimoine criméen déposés par la République d’Ukraine! Entretien avec Refat Churabov.

 

Quelle est la situation des institutions Tatars de Crimée de la période ukrainienne, qui restent  légitimes puisque l’annexion par la Russie en février-mars 2014 est rejetée par l’immense majorité des États du monde ?

Je n’observe aucune percée sur les dossiers techniques. Le problème est que l’Ouest ne peut pas trouver une solution appropriée au problème russe, la Russie a largement dépassé les limites du droit international, on ne sait comment l’arrêter. Cependant le gouvernement français et François Hollande ne sont pas prêts à céder sur le droit international pour plaire président Poutine. Je suis satisfait par la position de Hollande. Il ne veut pas être membre du fan club de Poutine.

Pourtant, il y a de fortes sympathies dans de nombreux secteurs français envers la position de Vladimir Poutine.

Je comprends que Poutine attire beaucoup de sympathies parmi les Français, et cela ne m’inquiète pas vraiment. Ceci dit, l’ennui  n’est pas  le Français pro-russe, mais le pro-Poutine parce que celui-cil est l’ennemi principal de la Russie. À propos de l’inauguration de la nouvelle Cathédrale et centre culturel orthodoxe à Paris, il est normal d’aller à l’église. Le vrai problème est que l’Église orthodoxe est utilisée comme instrument de l’État.

Qui sont vos amis en France ?

Nos amis se trouvent dans tous les milieux, et nous n’avons pas recherché des groupes musulmans français en tant que tels. Quant au gouvernement de la France, je pense que le ministère des Affaires étrangères de la France est professionnel et soucieux de mettre en place une véritable politique dans les circonstances actuelles. Mais nous voyons que les capacités du gouvernement français sont limitées, vu la perspective des élections françaises.

A propos des élections en France, je sais que le populisme est pas le plus court chemin vers le succès, nous craignons que certains partis utilisent les thèses de Poutine dans la campagne pour obtenir son soutien. Ils pourraient aussi utiliser l’argument d’un marché illimité pour les entreprises françaises en Russie, et cela plaît au milieu des affaires. Ou bien Poutine pourrait utiliser son image macho de pourfendeur de l’extrémisme et du terrorisme. Ce sont les médias qui disent que Marine Le Pen bénéficierait d’aides financières de lui.

Nous sommes déçus qu’un groupe de parlementaires français violent les normes relatives aux droits humains. Thierry Mariani, Jacques Myard, (Chubarov égrène la liste des visiteurs habituels de la Russie qui sont allés en Crimée à l’invitation de la Douma), sont tous des Républicains. Sauf Jérôme Lambert, qui est un socialiste, et ils ont visité la Crimée. Or je ne me cache pas derrière des expressions diplomatiques : nous vivons en Crimée dans une maison commune, mais elle a été saisie par des bandits qui y ont invité ces députés !

En général, les deux chambres (Assemblée nationale, Sénat) ont une position équilibrée. Et grâce à cela la France ne reconnaît pas la souveraineté russe en Crimée.

J’ai été agréablement surpris par la position de Hollande sur la visite planifiée par Poutine en France (pour inaugurer le Centre russe orthodoxe). Hollande a certainement été sous pression, et j’ai été scandalisé par les voix des personnes les plus proches du président Poutine : il était impensable que Vladimir Peskov, le porte-parole du Kremlin, dise « nous allons attendre un meilleur moment pour que Poutine rende visite à M. Hollande ».  Hollande est l’un des seuls dirigeants européens qui essaient d’utiliser tous les moyens du dialogue avec Poutine, et comme vous le savez, nous à la Rada (Chambre des députés) d’Ukraine, nous avons pourtant fustigé Hollande pour sa douceur. Mais après Alep, nous avons été surpris que Hollande fasse un revirement et montre son rejet de la position russe.

Vous encouragez et organisez le blocus terrestre entre la Crimée et le reste de l’Ukraine : est-ce pour cela que la cour suprême de Russie vous accuse de travailler avec des groupes extrémistes ?

Moi et mes collègues n’allons jamais au-delà des décisions internationales et régionales, l’ONU, l’OSCE, etc. Les Ukrainiens appellent les États occidentaux à imposer des sanctions à la Russie, alors que notre propre gouvernement ukrainien ne l’a pas pleinement fait ! Voilà pourquoi en 2015 nous avons bloqué le commerce routier à la frontière. Ensuite, nous avons analysé le transport de l’énergie: Ukrenergo transfère l’énergie au “District fédéral russe de Crimée”! Nous avons été choqués par l’acceptation de ce nom. Ceci est administrativement impossible ! Sans doute, il y a une grande corruption entre les fournisseurs ukrainiens et leurs homologues russes. L’on ne peut fournir qu’à la République autonome de Crimée de l’Ukraine. Poutine a répondu qu’il y avait eu un sondage sur cette question le 31 Décembre 2015 et le 1er Janvier 2016. Or à cette date le pays entier sort des fêtes de Noël et l’on ne fait jamais de sondages à cette date! C’était une moquerie ouverte contre les Ukrainiens.

Une question du sondage était : êtes-vous prêt à recevoir de l’énergie de l’Ukraine, ou pouvez-vous attendre plusieurs mois pour l’énergie russe pour arriver ? Depuis lors, nous ne pouvons plus fournir de l’énergie à la Crimée, mais la Crimée a suffisamment de capacité de production de la population civile, et pas assez pour les besoins militaires.

Enfin, les accusations sur moi et le terrorisme sont sans fondement. Je me sens comme De Gaulle : résister, malgré les difficultés.

Thierry Mariani dit que la Crimée est historiquement russe.

Dans la plupart des cas, les droits historiques et internationaux ne coïncident pas. Je pourrais découper aux  ciseaux tous les pays qui ne devraient pas faire partie de la Russie : l’Ukraine, Kaliningrad, Sakhalin, les Îles Kuriles, la Crimée elle-même et l’ensemble du Caucase du Sud.

Les droits historiques sont donc trop explosifs…

Ils doivent être considérés, mais nous devons examiner les conditions de vie des populations. Regardez le chevauchement des Danois et des Allemands dans le Schleswig-Holstein allemand, et regardez Bolzano qui reste italienne malgré sa population tyrolienne, avec des droits spéciaux de langue pour ces minorités ! Et puis prenez l’Écosse : pour leur referendum, les règles ont été négociées et il y a eu deux ans de campagne électorale. Voilà comment les choses doivent fonctionner en Europe.

 

Propos recueillis par Harold Hyman

[Александр]

Former U.S. Def Sec Gates: EuroMaidan Was “Immediate Cause” of Crimea Annexation



With many in the West clamoring for a deal to resolve ongoing geopolitical disputes with Russia in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, Ukraine has been left to wonder where it will fit in.

According to Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, the United States needs to “balance” against an opportunistic Russian President who is willing to “push wherever he feels that he has the opportunity.”

“We have not reacted strongly enough,” Gates told Hromadske in an interview at the Yalta European Strategy conference in Kyiv.

Gates, who served as CIA Director from 1991 to 1993 before working as Secretary of Defense from 2006 to 2011, added that the U.S. should redouble its support for Ukraine against Russia. 

In 2008, the Caucasus nation of Georgia underwent a war with its neighbor to the north Russia. Some analysts have seen the event as an omen of what was to come with Russia’s later annexation of Crimea. 

“In places like Georgia, the Russians have total escalation control,” Gates said, adding that Russia’s ability to “control the environment short of a major war with the United States is very strong.” 

“I think we have to be realistic about the fact that neither the Europeans and the Americans were prepared to send troops to Georgia,” Gates added.  

The former Secretary of Defense added that Putin’s annexation of Crimea was a response to Ukraine’s westward turn that came with the 2014 EuroMaidan revolution which, in Putin’s mind, placed Russia’s naval assets on the peninsula at risk. 

Hromadske International spoke with Former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on the sidelines of the YES Forum in Kyiv on Sep. 16. 

[Caduce62]

La résistance s'organise 

[Александр]

L'a besoin de se ressourcer?

Putin to visit occupied Crimea Oct 26

Russian President Vladimir Putin is going to visit Crimea again on Wednesday, October 26, spokesman for the Russian president Dmitry Peskov told journalists in Moscow, according to an UNIAN correspondent in the Russian Federation.

”Tomorrow, there will be a discussion in Crimea, Yalta, on the All-Russian People`s Front for Crimean affairs,” Peskov said.

As UNIAN reported earlier, Putin chaired a meeting of the presidium of the State Council of the Russian Federation on the development of the transportation system ”South of Russia” in Kerch on September 15.

As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukraine`s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had repeatedly protested visits of the Ukrainian territory by foreign officials and delegations without consent of the Kyiv authorities.

Non, il veut réaffirmer son annexion.

[Александр]

Unwelcome Visitor: Putin's trip to Crimea and 5 issues he addressed there


Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during the Forum of Actions, held by All-Russia People's Front (ONF) on October, 26, 2016 in Yalta, Crimea

Russian president slams Ukraine's ‘amazing idiots' and ‘crimes against humanity' 
       

On October 26 Russia's President Vladimir Putin travelled to the occupied Crimean peninsula to address a forum by the All-Russia People's Front - a political movement Putin started in 2011 to coexist with the United Russia political party.

Hours after Putin's speech, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry sent Moscow a formal letter of protest, claiming that Putin failed to obtain Kyiv's permission to set foot in "Ukrainian territory occupied by the Russian Federation." This wasn't the first time Ukraine has sent such a letter, and it's not likely to be the last.

After the illegal annexation of the Ukrainian territory in early 2014, Putin has visited Crimea a number of times. The Moscow Times reviewed five major points the Russian president addressed in his speech on Wednesday.

Ukraine's "amazing idiots" and "crimes against humanity"

For the past year, activists in Ukraine, apparently operating without much interference from Ukrainian state officials, have repeatedly sabotaged power bridges that supply electricity to Crimea's population of 2.6 million people. Ukrainian electricity providers have also blamed faulty equipment for disruptions to Crimea's energy supply.

According to President Putin, Ukraine's actions border on "crimes against humanity." "And the human rights organisations don't say a word," he warned. "They clam up and go silent, but in fact we're looking at a serious crime."

"I can tell you my feelings on the matter," Putin said. "I'm simply in awe of the people who live in Crimea and in Sevastopol, and I admire how they've reacted to what's happening. They display real composure, courage, and a willingness to fight for their own interests. The people [in Ukraine] who did all this — it's so stupid…. What were they hoping to achieve? I don't even know — that everyone would fall to their knees and beg for a handout? It's simply amazing. These people are amazing idiots."

A bridge across the Kerch Strait, linking mainland Russia and Crimea, is still coming

In September 2016, the U.S. Treasury Department added several companies and individuals involved with the bridge's construction to Washington's sanctions blacklist against Russia. Despite this and reports that the bridge will be susceptible to mud volcanoes and earthquakes, the project is scheduled to be completed in December 2018.
According to preliminary calculations, thе bridge will accommodate 14 million tourists and somewhere up to 13 million transport vehicles every year, Putin said. There's a train planned, too, that will run parallel in both directions.

"It's entirely possible to imagine further subsidies for the development of the Kerch bridge's road infrastructure," Putin said. "If we come to this, the money would go to concrete projects, so it didn't just dissolve to who knows where."
Crimea is Russia's "jewel"

Putin praised the "large-scale, time-consuming work" that's helped integrate Crimea into Russia's "unified legal, economic, and social space." "The committed, active attitude of the people of Crimea and Sevastopol, their energy, and determination to get results has played an important role in this process," Putin said.

"In terms of cultural heritage," the president said, "Crimea is the jewel of Russia." He went on to say that Russia owes important aspects of its history, "spiritually and mentally," to Crimea.
On support for repressed nations

Putin says Russia is spending 10 billion rubles (USD 159 million) to support and rehabilitate ethnic groups who suffered during the Soviet repressions. "Foremost, this concerns socio-economic support, because the political issues have all been resolved," Putin said, referring to issues of language, culture, and access to education in a native language.

In May 2016, Ukraine unexpectedly defeated Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest, thanks to the performance of Jamala, a Ukrainian musician of Crimean Tatar origin, who sang about the plight of the Tatar minority deported from Crimea under Joseph Stalin.

A month before losing Eurovision, Russia banned the Crimean Tatars' legislature, the Mejlis, labelling it an extremist organisation. Russian police in Crimea have repeatedly detained Tatar leaders, including Ilmi Umerov, the deputy chairman of the Mejlis, who still actively campaigns against Russia's territorial claims on the peninsula, encouraging further international sanctions against Moscow.

On rescuing tourism

The return of cruise ships to Crimea should be a private initiative that everyone should support. Cruise ships, Putin said, are integral to life across Russia's Black Sea region. "In Soviet times," Putin recalled, "I myself used this kind of transportation. Once I went from Abkhazia to some other places, then to Odessa, and finally I took the train to Leningrad. I'm sure there will be lots of people who want to travel like that in the summer."

Read also Effectiveness of maritime sanctions against Russia-occupied Crimea (Full report)

Despite new obstacles to reaching popular foreign destinations like Turkey and Egypt, demand for flights to Simferopol among tourists declined by more than 25 percent in 2016. Analysts have attributed the falling popularity of Crimea among Russian travellers to the lack of service infrastructure on the peninsula.

Reporting by Moscow Times

[benoit77]

Des livraisons très spéciales en Crimée en provenance direct de la Syrie.

http://news.liga.net/news/politics/13354202-volontery_vyyavili_v_okkupirovannom_krymu_sekretnyy_gruz_iz_sirii.htm

[Александр]

A creuser (comme beaucoup de choses).

En parlant de Crimée, un beau traitre:

Ex-Ukrainian colonel appointed Russian National Guard chief in Crimea


Russian National Guard soldiers during a joint counter-terrorist drill (GettyImages Photo)

The relevant order signed by President Putin, media agencies say 
       

Former Ukrainian colonel Stepan Gaidarzhyisky, who switched sides and joined Russia after it annexed Crimea, has been appointed the chief of the Kremlin's recently-formed National Guard on the peninsula.

This is according to Ukrainian news agency Krym.Realii, a branch office of Ukrainian department of RFE/RL.

Read also: Ex-Ukrane's admiral, accused of treason, becomes Russian Baltic fleet chief - media

Prior to the appointment Gaidarzhyisky was promoted to the rank of major general of the internal troops of the Russian Interior Ministry.

In February 2016 Ukrainian prosecutors initiated a criminal investigation against the former colonel, suspecting him of treason. 

Source: krymr.com (in Russian)

[Александр]

Des livraisons très spéciales en Crimée en provenance direct de la Syrie.

http://news.liga.net/news/politics/13354202-volontery_vyyavili_v_okkupirovannom_krymu_sekretnyy_gruz_iz_sirii.htm

InformNapalm en parle justement:

Une mystérieuse cargaison, ou ce que la Nadalina a transporté de la Syrie en Crimée (Première partie)



La communauté internationale d’enquêteurs InformNapalm a découvert grâce aux données obtenues dans le cadre des activités d’ OSINT et HUMINT, une cargaison secrète, qui est arrivé de Syrie en Crimée, dans des circonstances très mystérieuses. Ce sont des militaires russes, qui ont procédé au déchargement, dans le plus grand secret.

Le 20 octobre 2016 à environ 13h00 le navire de charge Nadalina naviguant sous pavillon de la Sierra Leone, est arrivé dans le port de Féodosie (située en Crimée occupée) . Le navire venait de Tartous (en Syrie), avec une escale dans le port roumain de Navodari.

Le déchargement du navire a commencé un peu plus d’ une journée plus tard, et a eu lieu la nuit du 21 au 22 Octobre, et a duré de 22 heures jusqu’à 2 heures du matin . Les mesures de sécurité ont été renforcées.Le déchargement s’est passé au moyen d’ une grue portuaire, manipulée par des militaires. D’éventuels témoins ont été évacués du lieu du déchargement, un cordon d’ escadron de forces  de police, renforcé par des hommes en civil a été instauré. L’éclairage a été détourné de la jetée, ce qui rendait difficile la visibilité du processus du déchargement pour les observateurs. Les pleins feux à bord du navire ont été allumés juste avant le levage de la cargaison et pas tout le temps, comme cela se produit d’habitude pendant le déchargement.

Les habitants locaux parlent, eux aussi, des inhabituelles  conditions du déchargement  sur les réseaux sociaux.



La cargaison déchargée représentait les caisses des dimensions d’au moins de 0,5 m sur 1 m sur 3 mètres, de couleur camouflage, similaires aux conteneurs en matériau composite non inflammable, destinés pour le stockage et le transport des produits pour un usage spécifique.

 Des photos des caisses de ce genre ont été trouvées sur internet.


Sur la vidéo de l’arrivée de la Nadaliny à Féodosia, on observe que le bulbe d’étrave est au dessus de l’ eau, ce qui indique que le navire ne transporte pas beaucoup de chargement.



Le déchargement d’un conteneur durait environ 25 à 30 minutes. Huit à dix caisses ont été ainsi déchargées. Le déchargement durait longtemps, par la mesure de précaution, pour ne pas abîmer les caisses, les manutentionnaires craignant pour leur vie si une des caisses était abîmée.

Après ce déchargement nocturne, le navire est resté au port jusqu’à 25/10 et le soir même a pris la direction de Kertch. Cependant, le matin du 26/10, le navire a fait demi-tour, pour retourner à Féodosia, puis est reparti, probablement, du côté du Bosphore (ci- dessous, la carte de cette manœuvre étrange sur MarineTraffic ).



Quelques détails intéressants concernant le propriétaire du navire Nadalina (IMO: 8215754) et ses liens avec la société offshore Bia Shipping Co Ltd. (Îles Marshall, 2010) ont été découverts au cours des enquêtes OSINT et HUMINT

 Vous pouvez en savoir plus à ce sujet dans la deuxième partie de l’enquête:
La cargaison mystérieuse venue de la Syrie en Crimée, la vente d’armes et les offshores. (partie 2) (en russe).

Le choix du navire Nadalina pour le transport de la cargaison est, très probablement liée aux récentes travaux de réparation, réalisés à Navodari. Ainsi, il existe des indicateurs indirects de l’importance de la cargaison pendant la livraison de laquelle des risques techniques devaient absolument être écartés.

Le temps du déchargement et les précautions lors du déchargement indiquent que c’était un chargement sensible à haut risque, tout comme les tentatives de cacher le fait de la livraison.
L’analyse des spécificités de la livraison pose une série de questions qui déterminent d’éventuelles nouvelles conclusions:

1. La livraison est arrivée depuis Tartous. Il y a une faible probabilité du fret d’un navire civil pour l’exportation d’armes conventionnelles de la Syrie sur le territoire occupé par la Fédération de Russie. Ce genre de munitions serait transféré aux forces gouvernementales syriennes ou entreposé sur le territoire de la base militaire russe en Syrie. Ceci suggère que certains munitions ou composants doivent être mis hors du territoire de la Syrie, parce que leur stockage ne peut pas être effectué selon des normes de sécurité adéquates ou ils ne peuvent pas être utilisés, mais nécessitent des conditions particulières de la destruction ou, encore,  ont une signification politique et pourraient discréditer la Fédération de Russie, ou le régime de Damas dans le cas de leur détection en Syrie. Le petit volume du chargement (8 à 10 conteneurs ) est aussi un détail qui compte ceci indique l’importance du contenu.
   
   

   ---

   
   
   
2. La cargaison est arrivée à Féodosia, et pas à Sébastopol, où la livraison de la cargaison militaire semble plus logique. Le choix du port de déchargement est probablement déterminée par le futur transfert du contenu. Dans la zone du port de Féodosia est situé un objet stratégique : « Feodosia-13 » , qui apparaît comme  potentiel lieu du stockage des cargaisons à haut risque.
   
   

   ---

   
   
   
3. La cargaison a été effectuée par l’ intermédiaire d’une société de location, et non par des navires de la marine russe, qui transitent régulièrement dans les eaux de Tartous. Le choix d’une société privée peut être expliqué par une tentative de cacher le lien du chargement avec la Fédération de Russie, ainsi que de réduire le risque pour l’équipage d’un navire de guerre.
   
   

   ---

   
   
   
4. La livraison a été effectuée par mer plutôt que par la voie aérienne, ce qui est beaucoup plus rapide et plus secret. Le choix de la livraison par la mer peut être associé avec le risque que porte la charge en cas de défaillance technique de l’avion, son accident ou atterrissage d’urgence avec une cargaison endommagée. En outre, si l’objectif était de livrer la marchandise dans Féodosia, l’avion aurait attiré plus d’attention, nécessiterait des efforts supplémentaires pour organiser le transport terrestre du chargement à haut risque.
   
   

   ---

   
   
   

La dimension des caisses déchargées donne des raisons de supposer qu’elles contiennent des munitions du calibre de 200 mm. Malgré l’absence de preuve directe, l’analyse des signes indirects de la cargaison donne des raisons de croire que le contenu de la cargaison ce sont des munitions / composants d’armes de destruction massive, armes chimiques probablement..
Sur la photo qui accompagne l’article dans le journal The le New York Times , publié en 2015, un caisson de taille identique a été utilisé pour stocker les missiles irakiens (Borak-70) armés d’ une ogive chimique.

 Les conclusions :
Malgré l’absence de preuves directes de la livraison des composants ou munitions d’armes de destruction massive depuis la Syrie, l’ analyse de l’information indique:

1. une violation régulière du régime des sanctions décidées suite à l’annexion de la Crimée, par compagnies maritimes appartenant à Hassan Johar.
   
2. Des liens entre les entreprises de Hassan Johar avec la contrebande d’armes et le transport illégal des migrants en provenance de la Syrie et de la Turquie vers l’Europe.
   
3. Les liens de Hassan Johar avec des services secrets syriens (ou les autorités) et des services secrets de la Fédération de Russie.
   
4. Les signes qui pourraient être le transfert des munitions ou des composants d’armes de destruction massive de la Syrie en Crimée occupée.
   
   

L’enquête a été réalisée par Dmitry K , Anatoly Baronin et Katerina Yaresko exclusivement pour le site de la communauté internationale d’enquêtes InformNapalm .

[Александр]

Poroshenko, Erdogan condemn human rights violations in Russian-occupied Crimea

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko late Thursday had a telephone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to the Ukrainian president`s press service.

Petro Poroshenko has congratulated the Turkish people with the upcoming ninety-third anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey.

President Poroshenko informed the Turkish leader on the increase of the period of a visa-free stay for Turkish citizens in Ukraine from 60 to 90 days during the 180-day period. A similar decision with regard to Ukrainian citizens was taken by the Turkish Government earlier. Poroshenko called this an important step in the development of interpersonal relations and economic ties between the two countries.

Also, the sides have condemned the human rights violations in the Russian-occupied Crimea. President Erdogan has once again stressed Turkey does not recognize the results of Russian parliamentary elections in the occupied peninsula.

The parties agreed to step up negotiations on a free trade area and discussed the procedure for further contacts at the highest level.

[Александр]

Finland celebrates the Crimea Day



HELSINKI (QHA) -
The Crimea Day was marked in Helsinki with the assistance of the Embassy of Ukraine in Finland, the Finnish Society of Ukrainians and the Ministry of Information Policy of Ukraine.

On Saturday, Oct. 29, as part of the Crimea's Day, the film "Crimea. The Resistance" about the events of Russian occupation of the peninsula in February 2014 and three short films directed by young Crimean Nariman Aliyev were shown in Helsinki, UNN reports.



As noted, the event was attended by diplomats, representatives of the local community and the Ukrainian community in Finland.



During a Skype conference with the head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people Refat Chubarov, the topics of harassment of Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians on the peninsula, as well as the ways of returning Crimea under the control of Ukraine were discussed at the event.

Photo: Internet

[Matt]

Russian Newspaper Apologizes To Ljubljana's Mayor For False Report On Crimea


Zoran Jankovic, mayor of Ljubljana

One of Russia's major daily newspapers, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, has apologized to Ljubljana's Mayor Zoran Jankovic for a false report it published about Slovenia's position on the status of Crimea, the Ukrainian region that was seized and illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.


In an article on September 29, the state-owned Russian newspaper had quoted Jankovic as saying that "Slovenia was one of the first European nations that recognized" Crimea as part of Russia.


Slovenia's embassy in Moscow protested the article, saying that Ljubljana supports Ukraine's independence and its territorial integrity and stressing that Slovenia does not recognize the illegal annexation of Crimea.


The Slovenian Embassy said the seizure and annexation of Crimea by Russia was a violation of international law.
On October 31, Rossiyskaya Gazeta published what it called a "clarification" of the report.


It said Crimea was never been mentioned by Jankovic at a series of events in Ljubljana during September known as "Days Of Moscow," nor in an interview with Jankovic conducted by a journalist working for the state-owned Russian newspaper.

Juste une petite infographie:





Tout est dit

[Matt]

Le but réel de l'annexion: (un peu long, mais instructif)

Russia hastily revamps Soviet missile and radar bases in Crimea – Reuters (photo)


POWER PROJECTION: Russian helicopters fly over warships in the Black Sea port of Sevastopol in Crimea, during celebrations for Navy Day, July 26, 2015. Since annexing the peninsula in 2014, Russia has increased its military presence there. REUTERS/Pavel R

Reuters published the important investigation titled "Putin's Russia: In Crimea, Russia signals military resolve with new and revamped bases"

SIMFEROPOL, Crimea – The missile bunkers that dot the verdant hills along Crimea's southern coast are known locally as Object 100. Until recently, tourists paid USD 50 to visit the crumbling and abandoned former Soviet sites, which served during the Cold War as a defence against naval attack from the Black Sea.

Now the bunkers are coming back online. After Russia took control of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, signs went up in the woods around the sites warning visitors against entering a "forbidden zone of the Russian Ministry of Defence."  A resident of a nearby village who said he was employed at the base last year said Russian soldiers had re-occupied the sites and blocked roads leading into the area. He was unable to say when the Russian soldiers arrived.

"It is a functioning military base with an anti-ship missile system," the villager told a Reuters reporter who visited the area in July.


ON THE LOOKOUT: A Russian radar installation near an airfield in the village of Novofedorovka, Crimea, July 6, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer

The bunkers are just one small part of a new Russian programme to militarise the Crimean peninsula. Based on recent site observations by Reuters, accounts from locals, media reports and official Russian data, Moscow has reanimated multiple Soviet-built facilities in the region, built new bases and stationed soldiers there.

Crimea sits at the southern end of a line of new and refurbished Russian military facilities that stretches north in an arc through western Russia and ends in the country's Baltic outpost of Kaliningrad.

Read also No-fly zone over Crimea and eastern Ukraine

The military build-up is echoed in NATO countries such as Poland and the Baltic states, where U.S. forces are beefing up patrols and conducting more frequent exercises.

Spurred by years of growing mutual distrust and in particular the conflict in Ukraine, both Russia and NATO are boosting their military capabilities across eastern Europe, prompting officials such as Polish President Andrzej Duda and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to talk of a return to open hostilities.

"We have, in effect, slid into a new Cold War," Medvedev told a security conference in Munich in February.


BUILDUP:  Military vehicles near an airfield in Dzhankoy, Crimea, July 7, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer

To be sure, the scale of the military confrontation is not the same. Disarmament deals in the past three decades have lowered the temperature of the nuclear confrontation. Absent too are the hundreds of thousands of troops who were stationed on either side of the Iron Curtain in eastern Europe during the Cold War. But elements of the conventional military standoff are now returning.

Crimea is one of the starkest examples. In a week touring the region, a Reuters reporter saw 18 sites, including naval bases, radar stations and airfields. Some were entirely new, some were old military sites that had been refurbished, and others were in the process of being refurbished.

Read also ‘Russia not a bear, but ‘black swan' committing crimes' – analyst on Putin's failed blackmail

Moscow has made no secret of its build-up in Crimea. But Reuters' observations, combined with the other information, shed light on its scale.
Britain's Defence Minister Michael Fallon said in September that London was concerned about military build-up in Crimea "and indeed the militarisation of the Black Sea region generally. Both Bulgaria and Romania feel very threatened."


INCREASED PRESENCE: Servicemen at a Russian military base in the village of Perevalne, Crimea, July 4, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer

Crimea is now the closest Russian-controlled territory to NATO member Romania, which since May has hosted part of a U.S.-controlled international missile shield.  The project is scheduled to become operational in late 2018, when work on a radar installation in Poland – the other main land-based component in the shield – is completed.

Washington says the shield is designed as a defence against Iranian missile strikes. But Russian President Vladimir Putin says the system and NATO are both threats to Russia's security, and has promised to retaliate.

Russia's defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment about its activities in Crimea. Nor did the regional government in Crimea.


UNDER CONSTRUCTION: A new building near a Russian military facility in the village of Perevalnoye, Crimea, July 4, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer
RING OF RADARS

One part of Russia's expansion programme appears to be an attempt to re-create a chain of radar stations on rocky hilltops around Crimea. These stations offer an ideal vantage point for monitoring the Black Sea, and nearby NATO members Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania.

One of the stations – a facility with four revolving radars each encased in a large white dome – sits halfway up a mountain near the Crimean seaside town of Feodosiya. Built in Soviet times, the station had been abandoned by the Ukrainian military.

Read also Which EU commercial ships still go to Russian-occupied Crimea?

Now the Russian armed forces have moved in. In July, two green Russian military vehicles with tall antennas were parked beneath the radars. "There is a military base here, air defence system and missiles," said a man who lives in a village about 300 metres from the base. "There are air defence systems on every cape here."

Further around the coast, on the outskirts of the port city of Sevastopol, sits another radar station, called "Dnepr." Built by Soviet engineers, the station was out of order for years before the Russian annexation. A Reuters reporter saw dozens of soldiers in Russian military uniforms inside the base and guarding the perimeter.


TENTS: A Russian military base in Sevastopol, Crimea, July 5, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer

Behind three lines of perimeter fencing were two structures, each around 300 meters long, with sloping sides partially covered by black metal sheets. The structures match archive images showing the Dnepr radar system.  A Russian flag flew from the roof of a building near the two radar structures.

A sentry said that a nearby lighthouse that used to be a tourist attraction was now part of a military base and off limits to the public.

Russian newspaper ‘Izvestiya' quoted a military source in May as saying Moscow will restore the Dnepr station so it can "detect launches of ballistic, cruise and hypersonic missiles from the Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea area."

The Russian defence ministry did not respond to questions about the radar station.

Read also Maritime sanctions for Crimea made huge gap in Russian trading fleet – analyst

NEW SCHOOLS AND SWIMMING POOLS

The Russian military build-up seen by Reuters goes beyond what existed in Crimea when it was under the control of Kiev, according to soldiers in Crimea, local residents and Ukrainian accounts of deployments before the annexation.

At Perevalne, a small village at the foot of a mountain not far from Simferopol in the centre of the peninsula, Russia is transforming an abandoned Ukrainian military facility into two new bases.

Inside the fenced perimeter of one in August, stood two 500-metre-long green hangars into which military vehicles drove. Nearby, trucks rumbled between a huge concrete plant and a construction site that will become a second base.


NEW USE: A Russian airforce plane parked at Belbek airport, formerly a civlian facility, near Sevastopol, Crimea, July 5, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer

According to documents lodged by the defence ministry on the official website for public procurement tenders, one of the two bases will be for coast guards and the other for artillery units.

The ministry documents, which were lodged from October 2014, indicate the combined projects will include dormitories for more than 1,000 soldiers, residential buildings with more than 300 apartments, an ammunition depot, hangars for more than 500 military vehicles, an artillery range and dining facilities.

A new school and a kindergarten with a pool, as well as barracks for a military orchestra, are also planned, the documents show.
The ministry did not respond to questions about the Perevalne base.

Read also Russian military units annexing Crimea revealed

BASES EXPANDING

Before Russia annexed Crimea, Moscow leased facilities from the Ukrainian state to house its Black Sea fleet, which has been based in Crimea for more than two centuries. Those facilities, mainly around Sevastopol, are now being expanded.

In one bay on the outskirts of the city, according to procurement documents, the Russian military is building a training centre for navy divers. There will also be a mooring area and an aircraft runway that has been unused for 20 years will be brought back into service.

From the perimeter fence, a Reuters reporter saw concrete taxiways, large cranes, and work underway to reinforce the shoreline.
The ministry did not reply to questions about the plans for that site.


MONITORING: Radar domes at a Russian military facility near Feodosia, Crimea, July 7, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer

Most of the expansion in Crimea is being carried out by the Russian navy and ground forces. But air capabilities are also being beefed up.
The former Belbek civilian airport has been turned into a military air base, according to a Reuters reporter who went to the base. The terminal building has been shut and the entrance to the base is now guarded by a Russian marine.

An Il-76 heavy military transport plane, with the insignia of the Russian air force, was parked on the airfield when Reuters visited.

Read also Russian policy in Crimea is a colonization (analytics)

Two other military airfields that were abandoned by the Ukrainians are also now in use again by the Russian military. At the Novofedorivka airfield, in a coastal village to the north of Sevastopol, a Reuters reporter saw half a dozen dark-grey SU-30 fighter jets and light-grey SU-24 frontline bombers.

At the other recommissioned air base, in Dzhankoy, 40 km south of the de facto border separating Crimea from Ukrainian-controlled territory, Russian servicemen in blue uniform came and went throughout the day. Seven MI-24 attack helicopters were parked on the airfield.

"There were just two airplanes here when Ukraine ruled. And look at this place now, you can see much more here," a young soldier told Reuters at the checkpoint.

The defence ministry did not respond to questions about the air bases.

Source

[Александр]

Putin’s Anschluss of Crimea saved Ukraine from going back to its old ways, Kazarin says


Putin speaking in occupied Sevastopol on the anniversary of the WW2 Victory Day to celebrate the annexation of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine conducted by his military and special services two months earlier. May 9, 2014 (Image: kremlin.ru) 

Many commentators have pointed out that Stalin was the greatest state builder in Ukrainian history because he added more territory to Ukraine than anyone else and that Vladimir Putin is the greatest nation builder in Ukraine’s history because his aggression that started with the anschluss of Crimea unified Ukrainians into a modern nation like no one else.


Pavlo Kazarin

But RFE/RL commentator Pavlo Kazarin takes this argument to a new level in an essay which argues that Putin’s Anschluss of Crimea was “a good thing” for Ukraine because it created conditions for the development of country and most important convinced everyone that they could not live in the old way.

Until 2010, the commentator says, “Ukraine lived according to the rules of a corrupt corporate state.” That was true under Leonid Kuchma and under Viktor Yushchenko, and Viktor Yanukovych only changed this state by transforming it into a criminal one. He destroyed the old arrangements and that means his presidency was “a state of degradation.”

As a result, Yanukovych provoked the Maidan which ultimately overthrew him. But those who came in immediately after were all part of the old system and would almost certainly have gone back to the old ways of doing business, although perhaps without the criminal overlay of Yanukovych’s regime.

Those who expected otherwise, Kazarin says, were dreaming of something impossible. Those who came in just after the Maidan were all too like those they replaced, and they were prepared to do business in the old way because to do otherwise, to engage in real reforms, was something “outside their comfort zone.”


And consequently, “if it hadn’t been for Crimea, everything would have remained as it was. But the annexation of the peninsula happened, and it turned out that it was no longer possible to live in the old way” because the only way officials could keep within their comfort zone was to “preserve Ukrainian statehood.”


The military were the first to understand that, but they were soon followed by the diplomats who had to deal with Russian representatives. They recognized what they could no longer be. As a result, Kazarin says, “the only choice which stands before Ukraine today is not whether the supporters of the former arrangements or those of the new will win.”


“The old matrix has passed into oblivion,” and now, “the dilemma is only about what will come in its place: populists or pragmatists.” That may not be what the optimists hoped for but it is better than the alternative.


Thus, “the annexation of the peninsula became at one and the same time a curse and a blessing for Ukraine,” a curse because it opened the way to the bloodbath in the Donbas but a blessing because it dispelled the illusions of the Ukrainian political nation” about what they faced in Putin’s Kremlin.


In future Ukrainian history textbooks, Kazarin concludes, Russia’s Anschluss of Crimea “will be on the list of events which defined the establishment of genuine and not imitation Ukrainian sovereignty. Possibly fate has a sense of humor. Possibly, this won’t be to our taste. But one doesn’t get to choose in such things.”

[Александр]

Hier, il y a eu un scandale concernant une conversation téléphonique entre Poroshenko et le président Kirghize.
Ce fait a été retiré de l'actu sur le site de la présidence.

Un mot d'explication:

MFA says provocation with Poroshenko-Atambayev "phone call" aimed at hindering initiative at UN on Crimea (Klimkin)



The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry believes that a Wednesday provocation around President Poroshenko’s telephone conversation with his Kyrgyz counterpart Almazbek Atambayev involving an alleged prank is aimed at disrupting Ukraine’s promotion of a UN resolution on human rights violations in the Russian-occupied Crimea, Press-Secretary of the Foreign Ministry Mariana Betza told in her comments to UNIAN.



Photo from UNIAN


"The president of Ukraine has planned a number of telephone conversations in order to promote the UN draft resolution on human rights violations in the Russian-occupied Crimea, including a conversation with President Atambayev," she said.

"Information about the pre-planned provocation, published in the media, is now being verified by both Ukrainian and Kyrgyz parties. In particular, this was agreed by the ministers of foreign affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic and Ukraine during a recent telephone conversation," said Betza.

"Now we are verifying all circumstances, including the technical ones. At the same time it is already clear that such actions are intended to prevent promotion by Ukraine at the UN of an important initiative on Crimea," said the MFA representative.

As reported earlier, on November 2, information appeared on the official website of the president of Ukraine about the telephone conversation between President Poroshenko and President of the Kyrgyz Republic Almazbek Atambayev.

At the same time, the administration of the Kyrgyz president later denied the fact that such conversation had been held, adding that there might have been some kind of a prank involved.

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