Ukraine Rebels Say Government Forces Pushed Back Near Donetsk

[Purveyor]

Source: REUTERS

By Alessandra Prentice and Maria Tsvetkova
KIEV/MOSCOW Tue Jan 27, 2015 3:07pm EST

(Reuters) - Pro-Russian separatist forces said on Tuesday they had pushed Ukrainian government troops out of two districts on the outskirts of their main stronghold Donetsk, and their aim was to expand their control to the entire region.

A rebel advance launched last week has dashed a five-month truce, reignited a war that has killed more than 5,000 people and brought threats of new sanctions on Moscow, which NATO accuses of backing the separatists with money, arms and troops.

The separatists say their initial objective is to drive back government forces to push artillery out of range of their cities and improve their grip on their main strongholds.

Eduard Basurin, deputy commander of the rebels in Donetsk, said fighters had repelled government troops from the suburb of Maryinka and the center of the town of Pesky near Donetsk's airport, a constant battlefield.


Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/27/us-ukraine-crisis-military-idUSKBN0L00LD20150127

[snooper2]

1. pro Rus-Si-A assholes need to be disarmed...

[bemildred]

2. Greece objects to EU call for more Russia sanctions

Greece's new government has raised a formal objection to an EU statement released on Tuesday condemning Russia's alleged involvement in the Ukraine crisis and calling for broader sanctions.

The radical, left-wing Syriza party of Alexis Tsipras, the new prime minister, has shown itself to be staunchly pro-Russian in the past and has criticised the sanctions imposed on Moscow for its alleged role in supporting rebels in eastern Ukraine.

Mr Tsipras, 40, who was sworn in on Monday following a resounding victory in Sunday's general election, said Brussels had not secured his agreement to the EU declaration before releasing it.

In one of his first acts as prime minister, he made a formal complaint to Federica Mogherini, the EU foreign policy chief.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/greece/11373136/Greece-objects-to-EU-call-for-more-Russia-sanctions.html

[geek tragedy]

5. Greece figures to be a staunch ally of Russia going forward. Wager on how long before they leave

NATO? I say October, or about 4 months after they leave the Euro.

[bemildred]

7. I dunno really.

I know the connections are deep and long between Greece and Russia, but I've never made a study of either.

Turkey too, might find it more comfortable outside NATO, I'd say.

Maybe a smaller NATO would be a better NATO. Maybe a NATO that had some clear idea what it was for would be a better NATO.

Same with the new government, Mr. Tsipras is 40 years old and seems pretty sharp, I expect he will indeed give the pampered and spoiled servants of the rich a run for their money, but I've not read much, and as with Russia and many other issues these days the bullshit is deep and coming from all sides. Everybody has their PR department, now if they just had something worth hearing to say.

They still seem a little stunned, the Eurocrats.

[geek tragedy]

8. Then again, it's never been clear why Greece and Turkey are in NATO in the first place.

POSAK was supposed to remove Greece from NATO back in the days of Breshnev. If they're generally on board with what Russia is doing in Eastern Europe, why are they in a defense alliance with Poland and the Baltics?

But I guess appearances must be kept up, and it's more problematic to deal with reality than to part with a charade.

Greece may be a case where there is so much desperation that they're actually going to tax the rich.

I doubt Germany and the EC give a flying franc about Greece remaining in the Eurozone, probably more concerned about Spain and Italy seeking similar favors if Greece gets debt relief while staying in the EU.

[bemildred]

9. Ha ha ha ha ha. There you go.

Weren't they bitter enemies once? Still are over Cyprus? What happens if two NATO countries go to war with each other? Do we occupy them both?

Yeah, they hate haircuts. It's ideological, like, a moral issue, bankers not getting paid back, or being taxed on the proceeds.

[bemildred]

3. Top American Diplomat Decries “Lies” of Russian Media

Victoria Nuland rebuts Russia Today's coverage of the Ukraine crisis and belittles the network's "tiny, tiny" audience in America.

America’s top diplomat for Europe denounced Russian state-media coverage of the Ukraine crisis on Tuesday and belittled the Kremlin’s propaganda efforts in the United States as fallacious and ineffective.

“All you have to do is look at RT’s tiny, tiny audience in the United States to understand what happens when you broadcast untruths in a media space that is full of dynamic, truthful opinion,” said Victoria Nuland, the assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, referring to the Kremlin-backed global media company. “State-owned Russian media spews lies about who’s responsible for the violence [in Ukraine].”

Speaking at a Brookings Institution event in Washington, D.C., where advertisements promoting RT programming appear on numerous bus stops and public placards, Nuland rejected a journalist’s proposal to ban RT from broadcasting in the United States, saying, “We believe in freedom of speech, freedom of media in this country.“

http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/01/27/top-american-diplomat-decries-lies-of-russian-media/

[Purveyor]

4. I've never seen the ratings for RT in the US. I wonder if MSNBC is on par? eom

[bemildred]

6. No idea. I don't watch TV.

I had cable for a couple years with the premium channels and everything and still couldn't find anything interesting. It's all marketing crap at this point.

[Purveyor]

11. I couldn't exist without my Roku and the foreign news channels, other than

that I haven't time to watch much else.

[bemildred]

12. There you go.

My wife has Dish, for PBS (which I can't watch any more). I've been thinking about switching her to Roku or one of those options. She already uses YouTube and watches stuff on-line.

[bemildred]

10. Ukraine: E.U. Sends Aid to East

The European Union delivered three planeloads of aid to eastern Ukraine on Tuesday, including blankets, tents, heaters and warm clothing, as part of a stepped-up effort to help the nearly one million people who have fled their homes in the war-torn region. The planes landed in Dnipropetrovsk, outside the area where pro-Russian separatists are battling the Ukrainian military. The assistance is being delivered by a coalition including Unicef, Save the Children, the World Food Program and People in Need, and is part of more than $53 million in aid pledged by European Union countries. The effort contrasted sharply with Russia’s unilateral dispatch of convoys to eastern Ukraine in recent months, which drew criticism from the Ukrainian government and the Red Cross over a lack of inspections and participation of international groups. “We have not forgotten the population of Ukraine,” said Christos Stylianides, the European commissioner for humanitarian assistance, who oversaw the planes’ arrival. “We’re in there big time,” he added. “It is our job to minimize the pain.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/28/world/europe/ukraine-eu-sends-aid-to-east.html?partner=rss&emc=rss