The Ukraine

[SPman]

The Ukrainian revolution has been very bad for business in the country. But for Igor Kolomoisky’s Privatbank there has been compensation of almost a billion dollars in state funds: publicly, rival Ukrainian commercial banks call that favouritism; privately, Ukrainian business as usual.

Privatbank is Ukraine’s largest commercial bank. Since the replacement of the Ukrainian Government in February, and the start of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) financial aid programme in April, Privatbank has been the largest beneficiary of what the IMF and the Ukrainian Ministry of Finance are calling Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) to the country’s banks. Published measurements of Privatbank’s share of ELA range from 36% to more than 40% of the additional financing which has flowed out of Ukrainian state funds into the commercial banks. Just how much Kolomoisky benefits, along with related companies to which Privatbank lends much of its loan book, is one of the control operations being performed this week, as the IMF’s Ukraine mission starts its first inspection since the IMF transferred $3.2 billion to the National Bank of Ukraine on May 7.

This is the first tranche of the $17.1 billion committed to Kiev by the IMF. The next tranche of $1.4 billion, according to the IMF’s published schedule, is due to be paid on July 25. The complete inspection and payment schedule looks like this:..........
http://johnhelmer.net/?p=11035
.

The IMF - Looting Helping countries financially since.......forever.

[mark247]

Although yes Poroshenko has a history with Yanukovych I think there will be change. His style is nothing like Yanukovych. The AA agreement is signed now, If you haven't yet I suggest having a read. The government has some solid things it must deliver on now and assistance it desperately needs which Russia could never give regarding reform. At the end of the day I hope Ukraine has some improvement, its a country full of great people and potential.

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[Akzle]

i think 'murica should go and give them some freedom.

[mark247]

i think 'murica should go and give them some freedom.

Don't worry, the separatists are fighting for freedom, from what I'm not sure, but freedom.

[angle]

They shouldn't. But they shouldn't sign a gas deal with Ukraine where by Ukraine gets a discount on gas in return to letting the Black Sea Fleet sit in Crimea, and then invade Crimea opportunitistically later. This isn't the 19th century.

Again, when and how Russia invaded Crimea? Russia was allowed to have 25,000 troops to be present in Crimea under international regulations. There were only 18,000 Russian troops in Crimea during the above mentioned events. I'm not even mentioning that the majority of Ukrainian military in Crimea chose to go over to the Russian side, starting with the Chief of the Ukrainian Navy.

All those little green men with Russian military equipment were Russian military bro.

"We had to take unavoidable steps so that events did not develop as they are currently developing in southeast Ukraine," Putin said in a televised call-in with the nation. "Of course our troops stood behind Crimea's self-defence forces."

Putin admitted that Russian forces helped the Crimean self defence forces to ensure that what happened in Odessa would not happen in Crimea. How is that a military take over?

Russia gave it to Ukraine? It's been Ukraine almost half a century? Every country on the planet (including Russia) accepted this and even signed agreements on this.

Ukraine has only existed for 23 years, where did you get half a century from? Crimea was given to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist republic as an administrative state and this was done by Khruschev against the Soviet constitution (there was no referendum which was required). People who signed the documents that dissolved the USSR did not have the authority to do so, they have also done so against the will of the Soviet population who voted in a referendum. The break up of USSR was itself illegitimate and this problem will continue to break the surface in one form or another for many years to come.

There are reports literally bus loads of "angry Ukrainians" turned up from Transnistria in Odessa. I'm sure locals were involved too, I'm not denying that.

There are also reports that it was all caused by aliens, and? In Mariupol an official service of the Ukrainian military - the National Guard willingly and on purpose, under authorisation of the current Ukranian goverment (under the direction of MP Lyashko to be precise) shot civilians dead.

Of course it's grammar. But I have heard it myself in person when Russians have intentionally used the wrong one infront of Ukrainians. They don't have an excuse like most westerns do when we say "The Ukraine." Urrrrgh.

I'm sorry, but the Russians can speak their language however they like.

Many people were scared to even vote in it.

Proof please.

There are stories bouncing around the net about reporters being told what to report, literally someone turns up and says "You must write a report about how Germany's economy is dying" etc. The thing that pisses me off the most is when they do a report on some recent event, lets say an American ship sailing into the Black Sea, and there "guest expert" is always some random american blogger with no credentials other than he bought a domain name and can type, and the videos they show beside it are videos not related at all of jet fighters landing on air craft carriers. It's pure sensationalized crap to appeal to the ignorant.

Are you saying that "some random american blogger" does not have the right to voice his opinion on TV, or because you don't like his credentials he is wrong? Everything else you described is common to media everywhere.

Yes you are right about the referendum. My point was: in 2013 Crimeans were increasing becoming more supportive of staying as they were as part of Ukraine, and then bam, it all changes instantly. That doesn't fly with me.

Crimeans always wanted to be part of Russia. This is Crimea in 2010:

[mark247]

Again, when and how Russia invaded Crimea? Russia was allowed to have 25,000 troops to be present in Crimea under international regulations. There were only 18,000 Russian troops in Crimea during the above mentioned events. I'm not even mentioning that the majority of Ukrainian military in Crimea chose to go over to the Russian side, starting with the Chief of the Ukrainian Navy.

Okay lets not call it a invasion, but the Russian military very much assisted with its annexation. The Ukrainian military (the ones that didnt change over to Russia) were not given orders to resist, which ultimately led to peace being kept in the region. But I don't deny it, if there is any region in Ukraine which is Pro-Russian, it's Crimea.

Ukraine has only existed for 23 years, where did you get half a century from? Crimea was given to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist republic as an administrative state and this was done by Khruschev against the Soviet constitution (there was no referendum which was required). People who signed the documents that dissolved the USSR did not have the authority to do so, they have also done so against the will of the Soviet population who voted in a referendum. The break up of USSR was itself illegitimate and this problem will continue to break the surface in one form or another for many years to come.

I was referring to the 1954 transfer.

Sounds like you want to bring back the USSR.

There are also reports that it was all caused by aliens, and? In Mariupol an official service of the Ukrainian military - the National Guard willingly and on purpose, under authorisation of the current Ukranian goverment (under the direction of MP Lyashko to be precise) shot civilians dead.

Where is that reported? (genuinely interested)

I'm sorry, but the Russians can speak their language however they like.

Of course they can, still doesn't mean it's disrespectful. I'm not trying to say this is a big thing, but it happens.

Proof please.

Are you saying that "some random american blogger" does not have the right to voice his opinion on TV, or because you don't like his credentials he is wrong? Everything else you described is common to media everywhere.

Good on him for getting air time. Still doesn't mean he was carefully chosen by RT because his opinion aligned nicely with the Russian government's.

Yes I agree all of the media can be blamed for doing this, but RT really is the worst man.. it's like Fox but worse. It doesn't even try to be objective reporting

Crimeans always wanted to be part of Russia. This is Crimea in 2010:

Cool bike video, but that doesn't look like a fair sample of Crimeans. I was in Crimea in 2010 for a while and visited Sevastopol, Yalta, Alushta and I saw Ukrainian flags flying just like Russian flags.. everyone seemed reasonably content. I wouldn't mind betting most of those bikies are Russian holiday makers

When I was in Dnipropetrovsk (Great city, do visit) one time I saw a reasonably big Communist Party rally... and they're nt very popular..

I think we could argue all day It's nice to see other NZers having an interest in the region though, it's just a shame many people only show interest now that it's in turmoil (I mean Westerns in general).

[angle]

Okay lets not call it a invasion, but the Russian military very much assisted with its annexation. The Ukrainian military (the ones that didnt change over to Russia) were not given orders to resist, which ultimately led to peace being kept in the region. But I don't deny it, if there is any region in Ukraine which is Pro-Russian, it's Crimea.

Annexation or reunification? That is the question

Where is that reported? (genuinely interested)

For example:http://my.firedoglake.com/greydog/20...y-in-mariupol/

Yes I agree all of the media can be blamed for doing this, but RT really is the worst man.. it's like Fox but worse. It doesn't even try to be objective reporting

To me RT seems to be the most objective world news network. But that's just my opinion.

[SPman]

A repeat - cluster bomb attacks on civilian targets in Lugansk (illegal) - but of course, these office workers are all "terrorists" and "subhuman" according to Kiev leaders!

On 2 June 2014 an air strike of the Ukrainian Air force on city of Lugansk resulted in 8 deaths and 28 wounded. Inna Vladimirovna Kukurudza (Кукурудза Инна Владимировна), an employee credit union was one the number of the innocent civilian victims murdered that day. She died in the ambulance after the horrific injuries that we see at the end of this video. This video was made as a tribute to her memory.

[SPman]

According to Kiev's own figures, the average Ukraine monthly net wage is now a paltry €173 a month. This is almost four times less than in neighboring Poland and nine times lower than in Moscow. Ukraine has overtaken Moldova as Europe's poorest state when measured in average monthly incomes.
Meanwhile, the richest Ukrainian, Rinat Akhmetov has a personal fortune of $12.6 billion according to Forbes and the new President Petro Poroshenko sits on $1.3 billion. Is it any wonder a large section of the public have had enough?

This is probably the central reason that inspired the violent overthrow of the previous Ukrainian government at Maidan earlier this year. It wasn't about the EU, the USA, Russia or NATO, it was prompted by frustration at 20 years of misrule by successive Ukrainian governments and by the Ukrainian people themselves who allowed it to happen....

[mark247]

Ukraine's average wage is certainly low. Even worse, similar to Russia, is the disparity between small towns and large centres in terms of wealth. People living in cities such as Dnipropetrovsk or Kiev do alright where as in the small rural areas, particularly the west, things are very desperate. In some cases this can lead to some thinking they'd be better off under Russia. I don't think this the case. Small rural areas in Russia are very poor compared to built up areas also.

Yanukovych made things even worse by further crippling the economy by offering expensive yet easy wins (putting a lot towards increased pensions) instead if investing the little bit of money the government had wisely.

This leads me to another thought. People who predict a similar thing could happen in Estonia's east, ie Russian annexation or referendum, should remember that living in a city like Narva is far better than living over the boarder in Ivangorod. I'd confidently say the Russian population, no matter how patriotic, realise they have things pretty good compared to Russians in Russia, and they aren't going to protest to have a downgrade.

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[mashman]

According to Kiev's own figures, the average Ukraine monthly net wage is now a paltry €173 a month. This is almost four times less than in neighboring Poland and nine times lower than in Moscow. Ukraine has overtaken Moldova as Europe's poorest state when measured in average monthly incomes.
Meanwhile, the richest Ukrainian, Rinat Akhmetov has a personal fortune of $12.6 billion according to Forbes and the new President Petro Poroshenko sits on $1.3 billion. Is it any wonder a large section of the public have had enough?

This is probably the central reason that inspired the violent overthrow of the previous Ukrainian government at Maidan earlier this year. It wasn't about the EU, the USA, Russia or NATO, it was prompted by frustration at 20 years of misrule by successive Ukrainian governments and by the Ukrainian people themselves who allowed it to happen....

I was seeing, a week or two ago, the state of the supermarket shelves, virtually bare.

[SPman]

I was seeing, a week or two ago, the state of the supermarket shelves, virtually bare.

http://rt.com/op-edge/170484-no-one-...about-ukraine/

[mark247]

To me RT seems to be the most objective world news network. But that's just my opinion.

Found the article I read, take from it what you want but buzzfeed hasn't seemed too loopy in the past.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/rosiegray/ho...t-russia-today

[Brian d marge]

Found the article I read, take from it what you want but buzzfeed hasn't seemed too loopy in the past.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/rosiegray/ho...t-russia-today

Rt has great tits

I like tits
Stephen

[SPman]

Mike Whitney is on to it (as usual)

In Ukraine, the US is using a divide and conquer strategy to pit the EU against trading partner Moscow. The State Department and CIA helped to topple Ukraine’s elected President Viktor Yanukovych and install a US stooge in Kiev who was ordered to cut off the flow of Russian gas to the EU and lure Putin into a protracted guerilla war in Ukraine. The bigwigs in Washington figured that, with some provocation, Putin would react the same way he did when Georgia invaded South Ossetia in 2006. But, so far, Putin has resisted the temptation to get involved which is why new puppet president Petro Poroshenko has gone all “Jackie Chan” and stepped up the provocations by pummeling east Ukraine mercilessly. It’s just a way of goading Putin into sending in the tanks.
But here’s the odd part: Washington doesn’t have a back-up plan. It’s obvious by the way Poroshenko keeps doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. That demonstrates that there’s no Plan B. Either Poroshenko lures Putin across the border and into the conflict, or the neocon plan falls apart, which it will if they can’t demonize Putin as a “dangerous aggressor” who can’t be trusted as a business partner.
So all Putin has to do is sit-tight and he wins, mainly because the EU needs Moscow’s gas. If energy supplies are terminated or drastically reduced, prices will rise, the EU will slide back into recession, and Washington will take the blame. So Washington has a very small window to draw Putin into the fray, which is why we should expect another false flag incident on a much larger scale than the fire in Odessa. Washington is going to have to do something really big and make it look like it was Moscow’s doing. Otherwise, their pivot plan is going to hit a brick wall.

Here’s a tidbit readers might have missed in the Sofia News Agency’s novinite site:

“Ukraine’s Parliament adopted .. a bill under which up to 49% of the country’s gas pipeline network could be sold to foreign investors. This could pave the way for US or EU companies, which have eyed Ukrainian gas transportation system over the last months.
…Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk was earlier quoted as saying that the bill would allow Kiev to “attract European and American partners to the exploitation and modernization of Ukraine’s gas transportation,” in a situation on Ukraine’s energy market he described as “super-critical”. Critics of the bill have repeatedly pointed the West has long been interest in Ukraine’s pipelines, with some seeing in the Ukrainian revolution a means to get access to the system. (Ukraine allowed to sell up to 49% of gas pipeline system, novinite.com)

Boy, you got to hand it to the Obama throng. They really know how to pick their coup-leaders, don’t they? These puppets have only been in office for a couple months and they’re already giving away the farm.
And, such a deal! US corporations will be able to buy up nearly half of a pipeline that moves 60 percent of the gas that flows from Russia to Europe. That’s what you call a tollbooth, my friend; and US companies will be in just the right spot to gouge Moscow for every drop of natural gas that transits those pipelines. And gouge they will too, you can bet on it.
....This also explains why the Obama crowd is trying to torpedo Russia’s other big pipeline project called Southstream. Southstream is a good deal for Europe and Russia. On the one hand, it would greatly enhance the EU’s energy security, and on the other, it will provide needed revenues for Russia so they can continue to modernize, upgrade their dilapidated infrastructure, and improve standards of living.

http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/07/...-to-the-brink/