Deadly shootout in Sloviansk kills three persons, breaks uneasy truce on Easter (UPDATE)

[Valin]

Kyiv Post:

Christopher J. Miller, Olga Rudenko

April 20, 2014

 

 

BYLBASOVKA, Ukraine -- The promise of a peaceful Easter Sunday was shattered early on April 20, after at least three persons were killed in a gun battle in eastern Ukraine.

 

The shootout began around 3 a.m. in Bylbasovka, a suburb of the city of Sloviansk in Donetsk Oblast.

 

Local witnesses said four cars drove up to the checkpoint with headlights on and opened fire at the pro-Russian militiamen guarding it, killing Serhiy Rudenko, a local school bus driver, and two others. Some of the locals told the Russian media the gun battle outside Sloviansk killed three and wounded one.

 

Ukraine's Interior Ministry confirmed that three men were shot dead and said three others were injured during the incident, adding that it believed the event to be fabricated.

 

In a statement on its website, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) called the incident a "cynical provocation" and said it, too, believed the whole thing was staged.

 

(Snip)

 

 

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Blah Blah Blah....

 

http://youtu.be/a24tZbUxx34

 

 

[Valin]

Pro-Russian, anti-Roma, anti-Semitic and hunting out Ukrainian speakers
Halya Coynash
4/20/14

The Ukrainian authorities may have suspended anti-terrorist operations over Easter, but there is no let-up in violence and aggression from the pro-Russian militants in east Ukraine. In Slovyansk there have been reports of attacks on Roma and threats against Ukrainian-speakers. It’s not safe there for journalists either, while the prominent stand in countering the so-called separatists by Ihor Kolomoisky, now Governor of Dnipropetrovsk has also aroused anti-Semitic diatribes from Russia’s fans.

Anti-Roma

 

Donbass News reported on Saturday that attacks were being carried out against Roma. The website cited witnesses as saying that armed men with rifles have burst into and robbed the homes of Roma people. They are reported to have beaten people, including women and children and claim to be acting on the instructions of the self-styled “people’s mayor”, Viacheslav Ponomorev. The witnesses said that the plundered property was then taken away in trucks.

 

 

(Snip)

 

Anti-Semitism

 

If the Kremlin wanted their claim to be defending Russian speakers against the “anti-Semites” from Maidan to be convincing, they should have tried a bit harder with their own protégés, As well as a fair contingent of primitive thugs using Russian rifles to carry out attacks and robberies, there are also many activists from parties with neo-Nazi leanings and pronounced anti-Semitic views.

 

Cursor reports that “Slavonic Shield”, a group in favour of Donbas and other regions joining the Russian Federation has come out with anti-Semitic attacks against Boris Filatov, an aide to the new Dnipropetrovsk Governor and billionaire Ihor Kolomoisky, as well as against the latter. The text, posted on Facebook, is too primitive to be worth repeating, but clearly anti-Semitic. It was prompted by the announcement of a reward (provided by Kolomoisky) to people who hand in their weapons, as well as one for “each “little green man” [armed soldier in camouflage, assumed to be Russian] handed over, this is a mercenary on our shared land and trying to push us into a fratricidal war”.

 

(Snip)

 

H/T Kyiv Post

[Valin]

The Ukrainian army has some SERIOUS Command and Control problems!
I also question if they know what the hell they are doing.

[Valin]

Can Kiev Regain Control of Eastern Ukraine, And Its Own Military?
Andrew Bowen
April 21, 2014

When professional and well trained “little green men” invaded Crimea, they displayed the vast disparity in capabilities between Ukraine’s underfunded, poorly maintained and improperly led military, with Russia’s new-found confidence, the result of its modernizatsiia efforts. The Russian troops were well equipped, well trained and most importantly, well led–Putin in fact finally admitted that the “little green men” were in fact Russian troops, though he continued to deny that there were Russian forces supervising the chaos in eastern Ukraine (not to speak of the 80,000 just on the other side of the border). The Russian forces in Crimea had a clear understanding of not only their individual missions, but also of how to interact with the media and the surrounded Ukrainian troops. There were clear lines and limits imposed on them, and they knew exactly how far to go.

 

 

Meanwhile, the surrounded Ukrainian troops were left without even knowing their orders. Were they to vacate their bases? Violently resist? In the end they were left to fend for themselves with little direction until finally notified that Kiev had assented to their removal. Yet, even with this fact finally formalized, their retreat was hasty and uncoordinated, and most of them were left on their own to sort the specifics.

 

(Snip)

 

The operation resulted in the embarrassment of the military as many Ukrainian troops were surrounded by a few armed men and large group of civilians who taunted them and made them look like the aggressors. Many units were forced to unceremoniously remove their firing pins and return to their bases. Apparently some members from a unit from the (relatively) elite 25^th airborne brigade based in Dnipropetrovsk allegedly even surrendered and switched sides.

 

“The army has been poorly managed and neglected for years and the quality of overall leadership is questionable,” one U.S. administration official told The Daily Beast, “We are sending them into a highly charged and complex situation which is being cleverly manipulated by Moscow.”

 

(Snip)

 

What has been lost on many commentators is that despite the underfunding, the demoralization, and the poor leadership, most troops remain committed to the new government and are following what few orders they receive. It is far more impressive that there is any coherent force at all. The question remains though, for how long will their loyalty last?

 

(Snip)

[Valin]

Have No Fear Plugs Is On the Job!

 

http://youtu.be/a1TyX5e-2bs