Author Archives: RomanInUkraine

Nikolai Ieromenko, a refugee from Luhansk living in Truskavets (Lviv Oblast) posted these anti-Ukrainian pictures on social media

А ось Ніколай Єрьоменко, бєженец з Луганська, він наразі живе в Трускавці, в дитячому санаторії “Джерело”. Прощу хлопців з Трускавця терміново вжити виховних заходів. (сторінка вконтакті http://vk.com/xfiles.nikolay)

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Protestant pastors in Donetsk have been abducted and tortured.

Serhiy Kosyak, Pastor of the “Assembly of God” Protestant Church reports about the kidnapping of two Protestant pastors, Valery Yakubenko and Oleksandr Khomchenko, by terrorists of the DNR [Donetsk People’s Republic]. Yakubenko was released 24 hours later, but Khomchenko continues to be held by terrorists and tortured.

“Sasha Khomchenko is still in captivity. I recall yesterday after evening prayers in Donetsk, representatives of the DNR took Valery together with Roksolana. According to available information, all three [of them] were interrogated and then Roksolana was released, and Oleksandr and Valery were taken in the car trunk to one of the bases in Makiivka. The charges that they trumped up against Oleksandr–are that he is the pastor of a Protestant Church, and for the DNR, Protestants are enemies and spies. Valery was accused of not working for the benefit of the DNR and supporting “enemy” sects. Valery was recently released, but Sasha Khomchenko was severely beaten and given 5 days of forced labor,” –he wrote.

Kosyak later added another record where he said more about the fate of Khomchenko:

“A little bit about Oleksandr Khomchenko, who is now in captivity. What happened to him–this is a common procedure for punitive intimidation, which is very typical for the occupied territories. In order to achieve control over society, it is necessary to keep people in fear.

Yesterday, after Oleksandr’s prayer, Valery and Roksolana were taken by the insurgents into the SBU [Security Service of Ukraine] building. After interrogation, Roksolana was released, and Oleksandr and Valery were packed in the trunk of a car and taken to the military enlistment office building in Makiivka. Prior to this, all of their personal belongings went through a thorough visual inspection. Amongst Oleksandr’s belongings they found his church pastor ID, which was already incriminated him, and a few photos on the [android] tablet which the NKVD [the ironic name of the DNR’s “security services”] considered compromising. In the back of the car were also found bundles of receipts for gas, which verified that Oleksandr spent no less than 500 Hryvnias [USD $40] on his vehicle a day, which of course immediately became an “indictment” document that Sasha was none other than “an [intelligence] scout.” Explaining to the executioners that Oleksandr drives daily from bomb shelters, fire zones and other dangerous places, that he pulls out women, children and the disabled, and then drives hundreds of kilometers, so as to find a safe way to evacuate between shelled roads and checkpoints, was useless. In their eyes, he was already guilty. They beat him following all [imaginable] rules of torture, and then read out a sentence of five days in jail and forced labor for an illegal religious meeting in a public place. We pray that he comes out from prison in good health and earlier than his allocated sentence.

http://maidantranslations.com/2014/08/10/protestant-pastors-in-donetsk-have-been-abducted-and-tortured/

Many Americans Renounce Citizenship, Hitting New Record

It may seem like a drop in the bucket, especially when droves want to immigrate to America. Still, the newly published names of individuals who renounced their U.S. citizenship or terminated long-term U.S. residency is up, with 576 for the quarter and 1,577 so far this year. The growing trend is a sad one, with record numbers of Americans renouncing their U.S. citizenship.

For all the immigrant arrivals, the trickle the other direction is becoming more pronounced. The tally was 2,999 for all of 2013, a 221% increase over the 932 who left in 2012. The Treasury Department is required to publish a quarterly list, a kind of public outing putting Americans on notice of who relinquished their rights.

Friend of mine: “#firstworldproblems 3000 Americans renouncing their citizenship a year vs 3000 Ukrainians applying for a chance to apply for an American green card every 48 hours”

Saur Mohyla Pictures

Saur Mohyla is a WWII monument built on a strategic hill where a lot of intense fighting happened between the Red Army and the Nazi Army. Today, control of this hill separates the Donetsk People’s Republic from the Luhansk People’s Republic (and the Russian border). It has changed hands several times.

Photos of the monument, which has been destroyed by artillery fire:
http://censor.net.ua/photo_news/297402/25ya_vozdushnodesantnaya_brigada_na_otbitoyi_u_rossiyiskogo_spetsnaza_saurmogile_fotoreportaj

Photos of the rallies the Yanukovych government used to hold there:
http://www.62.ua/news/376353

The Chaos of War — logistical incompetence re the surrounded 72nd Brigade

MY EXPERIENCE WITH WAR tells me you don’t have to be competent. Just less incompetent than the other guy. It’s always a huge struggle against chaos. There are too many people, too many moving parts. Nothing is working. It’d be comical if the stakes weren’t so high.

But even for such a chaotic endeavor, this story about Ukraine’s mechanized 72nd Brigade, which recently escaped from a deadly encirclement is pretty bad. Thanks to Andriy Drozda for forwarding it to me.

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when 72 brigade had been surrounded in a “kettle” near Russian border they run out of ammunition (to artillery). so, they asked for helicopter to deliver them some more. and when helicopter had arrived it dropped ammunition. BUT – caliber was wrong! guys from 72 brigade made a call and informed about a mistake. they asked to send helicopter once more. it arrived and delivered ammunition of different caliber (comparing to the first case). BUT – it was wrong caliber again! curtain falls

Why should libertarians support Ukraine? Isn’t it just one state against another state?

I’ll respond with an analogous example.

If a province of N Korea revolted and tried to join S Korea, how should libertarians react? Should we be uncompromising Rothbardian purists and say it’s just one state against another state (as the above questions suggests)? Should we criticize the revolutionaries as American/NATO/globalists puppets because S Korea is home to American military bases, and then praise Kim Jong Un for courageously resisting aggressive military expansion (as much of the libertarian press has done)?

Obviously, the revolutionaries in that situation would be fighting for more self-ownership, better property rights, and more universal rule of law. This is EXACTLY what Ukrainians were fighting for on maidan. They were joined by Jews, Georgians, Armenians, ethnic Russians and many others.