Maidan Community Sector, Lviv: Dear friends!
December 12 – National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) notes gradual and mutual ceasefire in ATO area, said NSDC spokesman, Andriy Lysenko.
December 12 – Russian President Vladimir Putin has held a meeting with permanent members of Russia’s Security Council. The report notes that the meeting “included a detailed discussion about the situation in southern and eastern Ukraine in the context of recent efforts to resolve this situation.”
December 12 – “Vostok” battalion consisting of Northern Osetians (Russia) has decided to leave Donbas.
December 12 – 48-year-old woman who falsely reported that explosives have been planted at Kharkiv Regional State Administration has been detained at the border with Russia.
December 12 – This week ruble’s price has hit its biggest absolute reduction in price since the default of 1998, updating historical lows against oil prices, to its worst value in almost 5.5 years. On Friday the US dollar was worth 57.47 rubles.
December 12 – State Aviation Administration of Ukraine has banned flights to airports in Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhia, – stated the Head of the Administration Denys Antonyuk. He has said that the ban was introduced for security reasons.
December 12 – United States Senate passed the law project, The Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014 (S. 2828). The author of the document is Senator Robert Menendes. “The Act of Support of Freedom in Ukraine” was passed by the Senate passed unanimously. The law project categorizes Ukraine as a military ally beyond the boundaries of NATO, reduces the dependence of Ukraine on Russian gas, and provides assistance to the Ukrainian army and refugees. In addition, the projected law foresees the implementation of new sanctions against RF.
December 12 – Prices for European gas of the firm Brent declined to below 64 dollars. And the American brand WTI for the first time since July 2009 started to cost less than 60 dollars per barrel.
The decrease happened after Saudi Arabia questioned the necessity to decrease its procurement, wrote Bloomberg. “Why do I have to lower my procurement? That is the market, and I sell on the market. Why should I lower it?” stated the Minister of Gas of Saudi Arabia, Ali al-Nayimi in Peru on the market. The analysts forewarn that such a fall will soon leave its mark on other countries, first of all, on Venezuela. By Thursday evening, the WTI futures fell to 59.89 dollars for a barrel. This reduced rate of the price of gas in the whole world, harms first of all, European Russia. On Friday, December 12th, indicative price of Brent crude oil broke the “psychological” mark of 62 USD and was “hovering around” the price of 61.8 USD
National Democratic Institute
From Protest to Politics: Honoring Ukraine’s New Democrats
5th Estate program on Putin/ Putin’s Long Shadow
He casts a long shadow over the globe. Russian leader Vladimir Putin has outlasted three American presidents and is on track to stay in power until 2024. His incursions in Georgia, the Crimea and Ukraine have rattled the West, while his crackdowns inside Russia have riled his democratic opponents.
But a joint investigation by the fifth estate and PBS Frontline reveals an even darker side to one of the most powerful leaders of the globe: allegations of criminal activity dating as far back as his early days as a top official in St. Petersburg; ties to organized crime and money-laundering activities; and a secret personal fortune said to be in the billions.
Putin’s Long Shadow also raises disturbing questions about the role the Russian security services played in four apartment building bombings in Moscow and other cities in 1999 that killed nearly 300 people, a tragedy Putin blamed on terrorists and used to cement his power.
Host Gillian Findlay talks to a senior police officer who tried to arrest Putin on corruption charges; an investigator who was jailed for asking too many questions about the apartment bombings; and Russian businessmen who detail the levels of corruption and collusion.
P.S.: Please spread this appeal as much as possible.
