Author Archives: RomanInUkraine

Fear of an escalation in the war with Russia

Russian-backed militants hold 107 Ukrainians hostage, including 64 troops

UN mission representatives were allowed to see prisoners last week, for the first time in two years – Ukrainian President’s envoy

Russia-backed militants hold 107 Ukrainians prisoner, including 64 Ukrainian military.

This was reported by Iryna Herashchenko – Ukrainian President’s envoy on a peaceful settlement of the situation in Donetsk and Luhansk regions (Trilateral Contact Group) and first deputy speaker of the Ukrainian parliament.

“Currently, 107 Ukrainians, including 64 soldiers, are held hostage in the militant-controlled areas of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. During the recent Minsk meeting, we managed to get a confirmation (from militants) that 45 Ukrainians are detained – not 20, as militants claimed earlier. It is a big and difficult job to find a man. 10 Ukrainian prisoners are held in Russian prisons, we are working in various formats, we are looking for tools to get them released. We had better not reveal all details at meetings, if we want to achieve results,” said Herashchenko.

She stated that she considers it important and positive that the UN mission representatives were allowed to see the Ukrainian hostages last week – for the first time in two years.

http://24today.net/open/687879

Nova Poshta rolls out forwarding service for shopping from US online stores

Meest Express has been doing this too, but they are a poorly run, backward company with rude, incompetent customer support and no vision or drive.

Called NP Shopping, the service helps users purchase goods from U.S. internet-based retailers by bypassing the requirement that сustomers have a U.S. postal address.

A mail-forwarding service works by providing an intermediary U.S. address for customers. Purchased goods are mailed to the intermediary address on the customer’s behalf, and then shipped on to their final destination. As a result, users from outside the United States are able to buy goods online from e-shops that only ship to U.S. postal addresses.

Nova Poshta’s NP Shopping offers just like that. Well, almost.

It buys goods from various U.S. shops like Amazon, eBay, Walmart by itself, charging an additional 7 percent of the cost, and delivers them to Ukraine. While ordering and paying for a delivery, users have to copy the URL address of the product and paste it into a box on Nova Poshta’s website. There isn’t even a requirement to sign in.

As soon as the company receives the customer’s shipment at its U.S. warehouse, it forwards it either to one of its Ukrainian outlets, or to the customer’s own home address by courier. Deliveries are supposed to take five working days or less. Parcels are limited in size to 122 centimeters in length, 102 centimeters in width, and 110 centimeters in height

If the parcel is lost, Nova Poshta promises to refund all costs.

In order to get, say, a gadget from Amazon that costs $100 and weighs 1 kilogram, customers will pay Nova Poshta $113 in total. However, if a product costs more than $165, customs clearance will cost an additional 35 percent of the excess sum. So, for example, an order for an item priced $1,000 and weighing 1 kilogram will cost $1,367.

http://www.kyivpost.com/article/content/technology/nova-poshta-rolls-out-forwarding-service-for-shopping-from-us-online-stores-420397.html

UN records highest casualties in eastern Ukraine in a year

Fighting between Russia-backed separatists and government troops has killed over 9,500 people since it began in 2014 and left much of Ukraine’s industrial heartland in ruins.

The U.N. Human Rights Office said in a statement on Wednesday that it documented 69 civilian casualties in eastern Ukraine in June, including 12 dead. This was nearly the double the number a month ago and the highest figure since August 2015.

International monitors have recently raised the alarm about both sides violating peace accords by using heavy weaponry that was supposed to have been withdrawn.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/un-records-highest-casualties-in-eastern-ukraine-in-a-year/2016/08/03/c4a54f8a-5961-11e6-8b48-0cb344221131_story.html

Left-Wing Media Ignores Hillary Clinton’s Campaign Chairman Bagging $35 Million from Putin

The Wall Street Journal, New York Post, and the Daily Mail, among other news outlets, published stories based on research from Breitbart News Senior Editor-at-Large and Government Accountability Institute (GAI) President Peter Schweizer revealing that Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman John Podesta’s firm Joule Unlimited received millions from a Putin-connected Russian government fund.

And despite the GAI report’s wide-ranging news coverage, missing from the pack were left-wing press shops. Among the New York Times, CNN, NBC, CBS, Washington Post, LA Times, POLITICO — not a single one has covered the bombshell revelation or reported asking Podesta for a comment on his involvement in Joule Unlimited.

This media blackout persists, oddly, after “John Podesta” catapulted to the top of Facebook North America’s treading topics list on Monday, thanks to Schweizer’s new Russia revelations.

It’s obvious that these mainstream media firms — namely, CNN, NYT, and POLITICO — have no problem covering Trump-Putin stories. They’ve done so, repeatedly, over several news cycles.

Do these alarming facts detailed in the 56-page GAI report not warrant a question from Hillary Clinton, a candidate seeking America’s highest office? Or course they do.

That John Podesta’s name was trending among America’s most popular news items on the world’s largest social media platform is evidence of immense interest from the public and, presumably, journalists.

http://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2016/08/02/left-wing-media-ignores-hillary-clintons-campaign-chairman-bagging-35-million-putin/

Hillary and Russia

Hillary and Russia

From a friend of mine:

1.She said in a 2010 interview that her goal is to make Russia stronger.
“One of the fears I hear from Russians is that somehow the U.S. wants Russia to be weak. That could not be farther from the truth. Our goal is to help strengthen Russia.” Not even Trump said something so idiotic.

2.She claimed in 2014 that “the reset worked,” even after the occupation of Crimea and Donbas !!!

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/with-russia-on-the-rise-hillary-clinton-still-thinks-the-reset-worked/article/2551262

She also called the reset “a brilliant stroke” in another interview that year.

http://www.truthrevolt.org/news/hillary-clinton-russian-reset-was-brilliant-success

3.She organized a transfer of secret and sensitive American technology as part of the Skolkovo “Silicon Valley project” between 2009 and 2012 that helped her raise funds for her political warchest (oh, I mean “charity”) from key Putin insiders. She also raised money from Americans in order for Russians to develop military technology at Skolkovo, some of which might be used against Ukrainians themselves.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/with-russia-on-the-rise-hillary-clinton-still-thinks-the-reset-worked/article/2551262

4.She preferred to expose her classified e-mails to America’s enemies, including the Russians, on an unsecured server rather than risk them being exposed to the very American people that she was supposed to serve, which is the epitome of treason because she cares more about her political prospects than the security of her nation.

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/rudy-giuliani-clinton-emails-russia-226367

5.A Russian investment bank paid BIll Clinton personally a half-million dollar speaker’s fee to grease the skids for a Canadian company to get State Department approval for a uranium deal involving Russia. The Clintons essentially prostituted the State Department during the time Hillary was Secretary of State.

http://www.newyorker.com/news/amy-davidson/five-questions-about-the-clintons-and-a-uranium-company

A new beginning for Central- and Eastern Europe

A commonwealth that would stretch within the Central- and Eastern Europe is nothing new and have existed since the 1300 century in several different shapes, one example of this is the Polish–Lithuanian union and before the Intermarium was created as an political idea the Polish–Lithuanian–Ruthenian Commonwealth was raised as an possible union, this idea never made it passed the proposal stage but the idea resurfaced several times up until World War I.

The idea of an federation between Central- and Eastern European countries was born after the World War I and led by Józef Piłsudski a polish politician, this federation would be better known as the Intermarium and was supposed to stretch between the Baltic- and Black Sea. The federation would work together on an economical- and military level to secure it member nation from the Russian Empire and ensure the newly won freedom for their member states. This idea never gained any momentum due to distrust from several of the countries that recently gained their freedom and therefor became dormant until the 1930’s when yet another try was made, but it failed this time as well.

It wasn’t until the after the fall of the Warsaw pact that the idea for an Intermarium would start to gain momentum but it would take another 20 years before the idea grew into real cooperations between countries, one of these cooperation would be the Visegrád Group consisting of Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/new-beginning-central-eastern-europe-mikael-skillt

Russians are on BOTH sides of most European problems

Russians are on BOTH sides of most of European problems — for example they sponsor both European nationalist groups and Islamic terror groups. Why?

I think they either know or sense that Russian civilization cannot compete with European high trust. It is only under miasma of chaos and struggle that Russia’s vertically structured low-trust institutions can compete with the horizontally structured, high-trust, high initiative institutions of the West.

Ted Kennedy Secretly Asked The Soviets To Intervene In The 1984 Elections

Kennedy’s message was simple. He proposed an unabashed quid pro quo. Kennedy would lend Andropov a hand in dealing with President Reagan. In return, the Soviet leader would lend the Democratic Party a hand in challenging Reagan in the 1984 presidential election. “The only real potential threats to Reagan are problems of war and peace and Soviet-American relations,” the memorandum stated. “These issues, according to the senator, will without a doubt become the most important of the election campaign.”

Kennedy made Andropov a couple of specific offers.

First he offered to visit Moscow. “The main purpose of the meeting, according to the senator, would be to arm Soviet officials with explanations regarding problems of nuclear disarmament so they may be better prepared and more convincing during appearances in the USA.” Kennedy would help the Soviets deal with Reagan by telling them how to brush up their propaganda.

Then he offered to make it possible for Andropov to sit down for a few interviews on American television. “A direct appeal … to the American people will, without a doubt, attract a great deal of attention and interest in the country. … If the proposal is recognized as worthy, then Kennedy and his friends will bring about suitable steps to have representatives of the largest television companies in the USA contact Y.V. Andropov for an invitation to Moscow for the interviews. … The senator underlined the importance that this initiative should be seen as coming from the American side.”

Kennedy would make certain the networks gave Andropov air time–and that they rigged the arrangement to look like honest journalism.

http://thefederalist.com/2015/03/10/ted-kennedy-secretly-asked-the-soviets-to-intervene-in-the-1984-elections/

Trump to look at recognizing Crimea as Russian territory, lifting sanctions

Donald Trump said Wednesday he would consider recognizing Crimea as Russian territory and lifting the sanctions against the country if he’s elected president.

At a wide-ranging news conference, Trump said he “would be looking into that” when asked about his stance on Crimea and Russia. The Crimean Peninsula has been part of Ukraine for decades, but Russian President Vladimir Putin annexed the territory in March 2014 after a popular revolt toppled Kiev’s pro-Russian government.

http://www.politico.eu/article/donald-trump-to-look-at-recognizing-crimea-as-russian-territory-lifting-sanctions-putin/amp/

Cash Flowed to Clinton Foundation Amid Russian Uranium Deal

Amid the hysteria that Trump is pro-Putin, we should remember this:

Cash Flowed to Clinton Foundation Amid Russian Uranium Deal

The headline on the website Pravda trumpeted President Vladimir V. Putin’s latest coup, its nationalistic fervor recalling an era when its precursor served as the official mouthpiece of the Kremlin: “Russian Nuclear Energy Conquers the World.”

The article, in January 2013, detailed how the Russian atomic energy agency, Rosatom, had taken over a Canadian company with uranium-mining stakes stretching from Central Asia to the American West. The deal made Rosatom one of the world’s largest uranium producers and brought Mr. Putin closer to his goal of controlling much of the global uranium supply chain.

But the untold story behind that story is one that involves not just the Russian president, but also a former American president and a woman who would like to be the next one.

At the heart of the tale are several men, leaders of the Canadian mining industry, who have been major donors to the charitable endeavors of former President Bill Clinton and his family. Members of that group built, financed and eventually sold off to the Russians a company that would become known as Uranium One.

Beyond mines in Kazakhstan that are among the most lucrative in the world, the sale gave the Russians control of one-fifth of all uranium production capacity in the United States. Since uranium is considered a strategic asset, with implications for national security, the deal had to be approved by a committee composed of representatives from a number of United States government agencies. Among the agencies that eventually signed off was the State Department, then headed by Mr. Clinton’s wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

As the Russians gradually assumed control of Uranium One in three separate transactions from 2009 to 2013, Canadian records show, a flow of cash made its way to the Clinton Foundation. Uranium One’s chairman used his family foundation to make four donations totaling $2.35 million. Those contributions were not publicly disclosed by the Clintons, despite an agreement Mrs. Clinton had struck with the Obama White House to publicly identify all donors. Other people with ties to the company made donations as well.

And shortly after the Russians announced their intention to acquire a majority stake in Uranium One, Mr. Clinton received $500,000 for a Moscow speech from a Russian investment bank with links to the Kremlin that was promoting Uranium One stock.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/24/us/cash-flowed-to-clinton-foundation-as-russians-pressed-for-control-of-uranium-company.html

In Celebration of Orest Subtelny May 17, 1941–July 24, 2016

Passed away peacefully on July 24, 2016, after succumbing to cancer and dementia. Born in Krakow, occupied Poland, on May 17, 1941, Orest came to the United States with his parents as a refugee in 1949. In his new hometown of Philadelphia he attended the renowned Central High School and was active in Plast, the Ukrainian Scouting organization, where he made many lifelong friendships, especially in his fraternity “Burlaky.” After graduating from Temple University with a BA in 1965 and from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill with an MA in 1967, he completed his PhD at Harvard University in 1973 in History and Middle Eastern Studies. His thesis, entitled “Unwilling Allies: The Relations of Hetman Pylyp Orlyk with the Ottoman Porte and the Crimean Khanate,” was the first doctorate in the newly-formed Ukrainian Studies Program at Harvard. While at Harvard he met his wife, Maria, and after several memorable years as Assistant and then Associate Professor at Hamilton College in Clinton, NY, in 1982 he moved to York University in Toronto where he was Professor of History and Political Science until his retirement in 2015. An avid soccer fan, he played for the All-American Team in college and later with the Norwood Kickers in Boston.

During his academic career he authored six books on East European and Ukrainian history, including The Mazepists: Ukrainian Separatism in the 18th Century and Domination of Eastern Europe: Native Nobilities and Foreign Absolutism, and a total of 55 articles and book chapters. During the last years of his career he was working on a history of the Plast Ukrainian Scouting movement. He was editor of the journal Nationalities Papers and an organizer of many international scholarly conferences. From 1998 to 2012 he was a director of Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) projects in Ukraine.

His most important scholarly contribution was his book, Ukraine: A History, which was published by the University of Toronto Press in 1988, shortly before Ukraine’s independence. The book gave the country an authoritative history during its formative years. It has been published in four editions and translated into numerous languages. It will remain his lasting legacy to Ukraine and Ukrainians.

For his scholarly and professional contributions, he was presented with the Order of Merit by the Government of Ukraine in 2001. He was named a Foreign Member of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences and awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine. He was also awarded the Shevchenko Medal by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress for his outstanding contributions to the development of the Ukrainian Canadian community in the category of Education.

He is survived by his wife, Prof. Maria Subtelny; son, Dr. Alexander Subtelny of Cambridge, MA; sister, Dr. Oksana Isajiw (Irenaeus) of Newton, NJ; and by many other family members in Canada, the US, and Ukraine. Heartfelt thanks are extended to those stalwart friends who were a support during trying times; to his brother-in-law, Dr. George Luczkiw, who stepped in at crucial moments; to his physicians, Drs. Zenon Pahuta, Martin Chepesiuk, Sandra Black, and David Bitonti; and to the caring staff of Toronto Western Hospital, Humber River Hospital, and the Ukrainian Canadian Care Centre.

Visitation at Turner & Porter, Yorke Chapel, 2357 Bloor St. W., Toronto, on Thursday, July 28, 2–4 pm and 6–9 pm. Panakhyda at 7:30 pm. Funeral mass on Friday, July 29 at 10 am at St. Demetrius Ukrainian Catholic Church, 135 La Rose Ave., followed by interment at Park Lawn Cemetery. Friends are invited to join the family at a Celebration of Life reception at the Old Mill Restaurant, 21 Old Mill Rd., immediately thereafter.

Deteriorating situation in Russian Far East becoming a disaster for Moscow

1 Because of the continuing decline in population in the region as a result of the dying out of the ethnic Russian population, officials in the Far East have taken the unusual step of simply shutting down more than hundred villages and ordering the remaining residents to relocate to larger towns or face the prospect that they will not have any services from the state, even though the government has no money to pay for what it has ordered.

2 Moscow’s “Novaya gazeta” reports that over the last 25 years, Russia has given over to China” via rental agreements “as much land as Beijing couldn’t take over the preceding 150 years,” an example, the Moscow paper says, which shows that “friendship is continuing.” Many Russians are unlikely to see it that way.

3 Already upset at Moscow’s willingness to allow China to ship pure water from Lake Baikal and other Russian waters, residents of the Russian Far East and not only they are certain to be infuriated by reports that Beijing is shifting its most polluting factories out of China into Russian areas where Russia and not China will bear the costs for their impact on the environment and the health of the population.

4 Despite the fact that the economy in the Russian Far East is near collapse with numerous firms now listed as “potential bankruptcies,” rents for apartments in Vladivostok have risen to be in third place among all Russian cities, yet another indication of the growing gap between the incomes of the Russian rich and the rest of the population.

5 Moscow’s acknowledgement today that only ten percent of Russia’s federal highways meet government standards is likely to further anger people in the Russian Far East. Not only are highways there in even worse shape than in most of the rest of the country, but the collapse of air routes in the region mean that residents there are increasingly dependent on and thus blocked from moving about by the road network.

http://euromaidanpress.com/2016/07/08/deteriorating-situation-in-russian-far-east-becoming-a-disaster-for-moscow/