March 11 – Russia continues to arm and train separatists in eastern Ukraine, said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (reports Reuters), while answering questions about the information on Russian tanks arriving in Ukraine over the last few days.
March 11 – Leonid Kuzmin, the organizer of events commemorating the birthday of Taras Shevchenko in Simferopol on March 9, has been threatened with being fired if he doesn’t resign “voluntarily”. For those of you who are English-speaking and French-speaking – it’s like firing someone for being Shakespeare’s admirer.
March 11 – Security Service of Ukraine has said that Russian Major General Alexei Zavizion (aka Alagir) is the head of operations of the militants in Donbas. Although there are no Russian troops in Donbas, according to Putin.
March 11 – The US has introduced new sanctions against former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, his Deputy Serhiy Arbuzov, former minister Raisa Bogatyryova, some pro-Russian militants and their Russian supporters, – according to the website of the US Treasury.
March 11 – The threat to Russian oil industry as a result of sanctions and their implications for companies to attract funds are more serious than the risks associated with falling oil prices, – states the review by international rating agency Fitch Ratings “Russian Oil and Gas Under Sanctions: Technology, Funding More of a Threat Than Weak Oil”.
March 11 – The US has decided to supply Ukraine with remotely piloted aircraft and armoured military vehicles Humvee, – informed US Vice President Joe Biden in his telephone conversation with President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko.
March 11 – Russian soldiers are participating in the war in Eastern Ukraine beginning with July 14, 2014.
This is stated in the report of the British Kingdom United Institute of Defense Research (https://www.rusi.org/)
According to the document, on that day six reconnaissance detachments, namely: 2nd Brigade of special forces, 10th Brigade of special forces, a group of the 45th Division of Guards special forces of the air assault troops, 173rd Separate Division of Guards Reconnaissance Company, the Reconnaissance Battalion of the 9th Infantry Brigade, the Reconnaissance Battalion of the 18th Infantry Brigade.
Since August 11th, according to the data of the Institute, in the war in Ukraine, there were already ten tactical groups which were fully involved: 17th Infantry Brigade; 18th Infantry Brigade; 21st Infantry Brigade; 33rd a (mountain) Infantry Brigade; 247th Guard Division Landing-Storming Regiment; 104th Guard Division Landing-Storming Regiment; 331st Guard Division of the air assault troops; 137th Guard Division of the air assault troops; 31st Guard Division Landing-Storming Regiment; 2nd Brigade of special forces.
The number of pro-Russian fighters, state the analysts, numbers a half of the number of resource of Russian regular army. The main strategic task of the Russian Army units in the the document is named the support of the self-pronounced “republics” in Eastern Ukraine. Also the researchers supposse that that Russia very soon will undertake a new a new attack on Ukrainian positions. The most probable direction is considered Mariupol.
Anders Aslund: What Putin Can Learn from Stalin’s Winter War
Leonid Bershidsky: Russia is hacking your social media news feed
Edward Lucas: Answering the critics of a tough Russia policy
Human Rights Abuses in Russia Occupied Crimea [23 pgs]
by Andrii Klymenko, Atlantic Council (Washington, D.C.), Freedom House (Washington, D.C.)
March 2015
Putin and politics of isolation
Russia-Ukraine (in caricatures-photogallery)
P.S.: Please spread this appeal as much as possible.
