The bad news:
1. We are receiving more and more evidence indicating that the DNR [Donetsk People’s Republic] and the LNR [Luhansk People’s Republic], under Moscow’s leadership, are actively preparing for further combat action. They are creating centralized warehouses for weapons, supplies, ammunition, and fuel. They are setting up a repair base for their equipment and weapons. Specialists in a wide variety of fields–from communications equipment repair to radioelectronic warfare–keep coming from Russia.
Meanwhile, Kyiv is still clutching at a straw by the name of “peaceful dialogue.” Whereas in Moscow, Putin is holding a session of Russia’s Security Council to discuss how well Ukraine is observing the peace treaties, while remaining entirely disinterested in the “behavior” of his own troops and insurgents.
2. A number of media reported a resonant message: Oleh Tatarov, who was the head of the Central Investigation Department with the MIA of Ukraine under [the ousted president Viktor] Yanukovych, and held criminal proceedings against Maidan activists, may become the deputy governor of Kherson.
This would not be the first attempt by influential back room players to drag active “players” of the “golden loaf” era to power. Recently, we have observed the emergence of certain gentlemen who belong behind bars, even in such delicate spheres as military counter-intelligence. Plus, we are finding out that these pukes of the dictatorship are being lobbied from the highest level.
By the way, one such henchmen of Yanukovych, who holds the rank of an SBU [Security Service] general, has recently filed a lawsuit against the Information Resistance group. He clearly did not enjoy the public lustration. But we will speak about this story in more detail later.
The good news:
1. The RNBO [National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine] stated that the command of the LNR and DNR terrorist organizations have started to observe the clauses of the peace plan. The confirmation of that is the fact that “our border guards at the defense line have not observed a single drone aircraft over the past twenty-four hours.”
Maybe that is indeed the case – let us hope so, even though I have already mentioned how predisposed the terrorists are to a “peaceful solution.” Over forty instances of insurgent fire at the positions of the Ukrainian military, which we observed over the last twenty-four hours, certainly does not look like peace from where we stand. We will await morning news, but there is very little hope that the situation may change – for example, tonight, the terrorists have been shooting around Donetsk, Shchastya, Mariupol…
2. Infighting inside terrorist groups keeps growing stronger.
In Antratsyt, the post of the LNR’s “commandant” was filled by a former district police officer, who has long been servicing the interests of the local crime world. This greatly displeased the representatives of the pro-Russian Cossack formations. Several shootouts have already taken place between insurgents due to “staffing disagreements.”
A story that happened in Krasnyi Luch is the exact mirror image of the above – here, the Cossacks “appointed” their chieftain as the general director of Donbasantratsyt State Company, in a move that upset a number of local crime bosses. Squabbles for various feeding spots are becoming the latest fashion among the terrorists.
The diagnosis is clear: the spiders in the jar are devouring each other.
3. ATO participants are holding “lessons of courage” in Ukrainian schools. Now, instead of reading heroic stories in books, our country’s children have an opportunity to see the heroes fighting for the Motherland, with their own eyes. It is painful that Ukraine requires such heroism in the enlightened 21st century. But it is beautiful that Ukraine has sons like that, who are many, and all united by endless love for their country and its people.
I wonder, do crippled Russian paratroopers hold similar “lessons of courage” in Russian schools, after returning from Donbas? After all, they should have plenty to tell about how hard it is to be an occupier in the country of the victorious Revolution of Dignity, and how hard it is to fight those who are defending their land. Maybe they should tell Russian kids about their Donbas nightmares. This brings to mind the joke, where a teacher sent a student’s parents a note saying, “Your son soiled himself in the lesson of courage…”
4. Johannes Cornelis (Hans) van Baalen, a member of the European Parliament for the Netherlands, in his interview with Deutsche Welle said that the European Union and NATO have clear proof of the fact that Russian troops have been deployed in Ukraine – even though the Russian government keeps denying that.
“If there are no Russian troops in Ukraine, then why are there bodies of dead Russian soldiers? From where do the wounded come to hospitals in Rostov and St. Petersburg? This is nonsense,” van Baalen asked indignantly. He went on to sum up, “This is sheer lies and propaganda – which, sadly, is believed by many.”
Europe has finally come to grips with the notions that Ukraine has been trying to communicate to the West for a long time now. This is a clear victory for us on the information front against a highly cunning, hypocritical and malicious adversary.
Dmitry Tymchuk, Coordinator, Information Resistance
