March 19: A year after Annexation of Crimea

Maidan Community Sector, Lviv: Dear friends!

George Soros

A New Policy to Rescue Ukraine

January 9 – Four Ukrainian military were killed, eight wounded in the last 24 hours, – informed NSDC spokesman Andriy Lysenko. He believes that this is due to arrival of new Russian "humanitarian aid convoy" – weapons, ammunition and terrorists have again arrived from Russia.

January 9 – Russia hasn't provided any positive signs about the conflict in Ukraine, thus there are no reasons to lift EU sanctions, – stated Foreign Minister of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius on Friday ("Interfax-Ukraine"). He made this statement a day after EU Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini said that she can see "limited positive signs on behalf of Russia". Lithuanian Minister has stressed that Russia continues to support armed groups in eastern Ukraine and sends humanitarian convoys, which are not permitted to be inspected by the representatives of Ukraine or the Red Cross.

January 9 – Russia became fifth on the list of countries with a high probability of default, ahead of several countries with speculative rating, including Lebanon, Egypt, Portugal.

January 9 – Lithuania, United Kingdom, Denmark and Estonia have addressed the European Commission regarding an action plan against Russian propaganda campaign (as stated in a letter by foreign ministers of the four countries, addressed to Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, – reports Delfi.lt). The letter was signed by foreign ministers of Lithuania, the United Kingdom, of Denmark and Estonia Linas Linkevičius, Philip Hammond, Martin Lidegaard and Keit Pentus-Rosimannus. They also warned that "Russia is rapidly expanding its campaign of misinformation and propaganda" in support "of political and military goals of the Russian government".

January 9 – Ukrainian officer Nadiya Savchenko has been on a hunger strike for 28 days and has lost 10 kilograms. Her attorney Mark Feigin wrote this on his Twitter. Savchenko was transfered to a solitary cell: "She was put in a solitary cell due to her hunger strike," he said. Savchenko is on a hunger strike since December 13th. In Russia she is accused of beinginvolved in the death of Russian journalists. She denies any of these accusations; her defense claims that Savchenko was kidnapped by Russian terrorists and was forcibly taken beyond the territory of Ukraine. In September Savchenko was already held in a solitary cell. At present she is a deputy of Parliament from "Batkivshchyna" Party and a delegate in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

Putin's Way

FRONTLINE investigates the accusations of criminality and corruption that have surrounded Vladimir Putin's reign in Russia

Andrew Katz, Jerome Sessini, Kira Pollack

Beneath the Front Lines of the War in Eastern Ukraine

A brutal ground war is tearing apart the region's coal-mining community as the long winter settles in

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U.S., UK, Canada, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa

March 22 – The West needs a new transatlantic strategy in response to the challenges posed by Russia, – said the President of Poland Bronislaw Komorowski, speaking at a forum in Brussels (reports PAP). "The West remained delusional for too long, believing that Russia will choose modernization because it is in its interest to do so", – said Komorowski. "We need a strategy that would unite the West in view of new challenges, in order to adhere to core values and interests of Euro-Atlantic community; a strategy, which would unite the efforts put in by the key institutions, both in the EU and NATO", – emphasized Komorowski.

March 22 – Viktor Yanukovych Jr., younger son of former President of Ukraine, has died in Russia. A Volkswagen he was driving with 5 passengers on board fell through the ice on Lake Baikal.

March 22 – Russia tries to pressure all countries that want to participate in a common missile defense system project, said Philip Breedlove, Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO Allied Command Operations (reports Reuters) when commenting on a statement made previously by the Ambassador of Russia in Denmark Mikhail Vanin about Denmark being a target of a possible Russian nuclear attack if it joins NATO missile defense system. "Romania has come under a lot of pressure when it became a part of the shield. Poland is under great pressure, and now everyone who still wants to join this defense project will be under diplomatic and political pressure", – said Breedlove.

March 22 – In St. Petersburg (Russia) a Russian International Conservative Forum was held with the participation of ultra-right parties of the whole Europe. The organizer was the Russian Conservative Party "Rodyna". Its leader is a member of the fraction of the pro-Putin Party of United Russia in the State Duma of the Russian Federation. As the site of the organization informs, the main goal of the Forum is the creation of a plan of action and a general coordinating committee of all nationalist forces in Russia and Ukraine.

Near the hotel where the Forum was held, there was a protest meeting against this gathering of neo-fascists; people banged their drums and called out anti-fascist slogans. However, the Russian police apprehended eight demonstrators who were demonstrating against the holding of the Forum, and not against the neo-fascists.

In Petersburg there are also the so-called "individual" protests against the holding of this Forum.

An "individual" picket is when one person by her/his self has a poster with a protest – in Russia this is the only form of protest which does not require previous governmental approval.

Broken Ukraine

West should consider all tools, including arms

Long Live Minsk2!!

Ukraine's ceasefire deal hurt by deception

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March 3 – 3 Ukrainian military were killed and 9 wounded in the ATO area in the last 24 hours, – said NSDC spokesman Andriy Lysenko.

March 3 – National Regulatory Committee for Energy and Utilities has increased the minimum rate for natural gas used by general public for heating by 3.3 times.

March 3 – President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has urged the EU to refrain from premature optimism and continue to pressure the parties to Minsk agreements in order to implement the latter.

March 3 – Deputy General Prosecutor of Ukraine and Chief Military Prosecutor Anatoliy Matios has announced that 17 thousand deserters from the Armed Forces who evaded military service will be prosecuted.

March 3 – Oblasts of Ukraine where attempts to destabilize the situation are highly possible, remain under control of Security Service of Ukraine (SSU). Russian misinformers are spreading the rumours that Russian terrorist Girkin who started the occupation of Donbas, will soon reappear in Odesa.

March 3 – The price for 1 USD has dropped to 25 UAH.

March 3 – The EU and Russia have agreed to resume a trilateral dialogue on association agreement of Kyiv and Brussels; the date and place of the meeting will soon be agreed upon, – said the Minister for Economic Development Alexei Ulyukayev after a meeting with European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström. I wonder if Ukrainian government officials know about this? Putin has proved his point – both the EU and Ukraine are waiting for his decision.

March 3 – Russia is seriously violating human rights in Crimea and is not adhering to the Minsk agreements which causes a difficult humanitarian situation in Eastern Ukraine. This was stated by the assistant of Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Serhiy Kyslytsia in his appearance at the United Nations 28th Session of the Council of Human Rights, informs U.N. news center. According to him, on the Crimean peninsula, there are arrests and persecution of Crimean Tatars going on. He claims that 10,000 Crimean Tatars were forced to leave Crimea and to escape to

Ukraine's mainland. Kyslytsia appealed to the U.N., and in particular, to the U.N.Council on Human Rights "not to permit Russia to trnsform Crimea into an isolated army camp, and its residents into prisoners."

March 2 – 1 Ukrainian military was killed and 4 injured in the ATO area during the last 24 hours, – informed NDSC spokesman Andriy Lysenko.

March 2 – In the last 24 hours Russian terrorists have fired at ATO position 32 times, – said Head of the Press Center of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Vladyslav Seleznyov. ATO spokesman Anatoliy Stelmakh has also stated that the militants used artillery and mortars 14 times (the weapons that should have been withdrawn).

March 2 – President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has requested that the Parliament of Ukraine increases the number of servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to 250 thousand persons.

March 2 – There will be no court hearings regarding Ukrainian MP detained during the mourning rally in Moscow Oleksiy Goncharenko. Russia's Ministry of Interior has said that there will be no further actions regarding the MP.

March 2 – During the day, Russian troops showcase the withdrawal of their military equipment and at night they return it to previous positions. "Wherever you see militants withdrawing heavy equipment, they are only implementing relocation or plan attacks, or return the equipment to the same site at night", – said NDSC spokesman Andriy Lysenko.

March 2 – Ukrainian citizen Anna Durytska, who was with Boris Nemtsov when he died, is unable to leave Russia.

March 2 – German doctors examined Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko and have identified March 6-8th as a "point of no return", – informed her lawyer Mykola Polozov. What will follow is her death and Putin's congratulations on International Women's Day...

March 2 – Russian soldier Dorzhy Baltomunkuyev from the capital of Buriatiya in Siberia, Ulan Ude, related how Russia "masks" its soldiers as "civil guardsmen": "Here only those who had signed a contract with the Russian Army were sent; and I came to Rostov as a soldier for a limited time. However, being on a contract, I had wonderful results – whether on the rifle or physical ability. They took me into the army in Chyt; there in Chyt, I went through the preparation training and I decided to remain on contract with the army division Ulan-Ude," he related.

Right now Batomunkuyev lies, overall burned, after his tank was shot at by Ukrainian forces near Debaltseve in Lonhvynove village.

According to Batomunkuyev, Russia sends its soldiers from units together with weapons: "We painted the tanks still in Ulan-Ude. Right there, on the railroad depot. We painted over the numbers; some of the tanks had Guard insignia – it was also painted over. Chevrons and stripes -we took off in Ukraine, when we got to the poligon. All are taken off – purposefully to masquerade. We left the passport in the army unit, the army ticket in the poligon," he described.

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Betrayal of Ukraine

Ukrainian fundraiser in Toronto

Photo gallery: January 1 – March 1, 2015

Nemtsov – bravery

Putin: Story of a little man (animated short film)

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