Ukrainian Economy in the Shitter… The Truth About Russian Gas Shipments to Novorossiya

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A brief article published by The Financial Times suggested that fresh data published on Wednesday provided a new testimony to the depth of the abyss that the Ukrainian economy was rolling into, noting, “The Ukrainian economy is in tatters. New data out today underscores the extent of the Ukraine’s economic carnage”. Specifically, it said that industrial production collapsed by nearly one-fifth just in January, and was now down 21.3 percent versus the same period of 2014. The FT wrote, “Economists ‘only’ expected a 15 percent month-on-month contraction in industrial production. Disrupted transportation infrastructure, rocketing energy costs, and fuel shortages clobbered industrial production, along with a collapsing currency and outright civil war in the Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartlands (sic). […] This is just the latest grim data point for the Ukrainian economy, which the IMF estimates shrank by about 7.5 percent last year. The last quarter was particularly grim, with GDP contracting a staggering 15.2 percent from a year ago”. FT said that unless the recent cease-fire holds and Kiev receives hefty slugs of western aid soon, 2015 might prove almost as gloomy.

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On Thursday, citing Magyar Minister-President Viktor Orbán, Bloomberg reported that Hungary wouldn’t resell Russian natural gas to the Ukraine. Orbán also said that Hungary wouldn’t support the EU’s initiative to create an energy union, saying, “The plan would require involving the EU in bilateral relationships. For us, this would be abdicating our sovereignty”. Hungary is also going to sign a new gas deal with Gazprom, which would stipulate Russian natural gas supplies for five years, and Gazprom is ready to increase gas storage volumes in Hungary. Currently, Hungary pays 260 USD (16,094 Roubles. 1,625 Renminbi. 16,152 INR. 325 CAD. 332 AUD. 228 Euros. 168 UK Pounds) per 1,000 cubic metres of gas compared with an estimated 270 USD (16,714 Roubles. 1,688 Renminbi. 16,772 INR. 338 CAD. 345 AUD. 237 Euros. 175 UK Pounds) average in Europe. Experts polled by TASS said that Gazprom might agree to Hungary’s proposal to sign a short-term gas deal along with extending a contract on Russian natural gas supplies to Hungary, which expires in 2015. A source close to Gazprom told TASS that the negotiations on extending Gazprom’s gas contract with Hungary are now at an initial stage; they’d take into account the wishes of both parties, as well as the parameters agreed during President V V Putin’s visit to Hungary. During Putin’s visit to Budapest on 17 February, the sides agreed that it was possible to give up the “take or pay” principle in gas supplies and reduce the volume of obligatory gas intake under the contracts.

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On Thursday, Gazprom CEO A B Miller said, “In line with currently-acting sale and purchase agreements between Gazprom and Naftogaz Ukrainy, starting from 16.00 MSK (05.00 PST. 08.00 EST. 13.00 UTC. 23.00 AEST) 19 February 2015 Gazprom will supply 12 million cubic metres of gas a day to the Ukraine, via gas measuring units at Prokhorovka and Platovo”. Earlier, Chairman of the RF Government D A Medvedev gave orders to provide assistance to Debaltsevo and other places in Novorossiya facing a humanitarian crisis. Medvedev said, “There’s still another problem about gas supplies… by decision of the Ukrainian authorities, in any case, by a decision that hasn’t yet been cancelled, and as a result of their actions, gas isn’t supplied to many populated areas [in Novorossiya]. Despite the need for gas supplies, this isn’t taking place. I’d like the Energy Ministry to prepare proposals jointly with Gazprom on providing humanitarian aid gas supplies for the needs of these regions, unless someone takes urgent measures for their provision with gas using the customary scheme”. Meanwhile, Medvedev aide Natalia Timakova said, “Gazprom will supply gas to [Novorossiya] as humanitarian aid on a commercial basis. We’re determining the sources of financing”. A source familiar with the situation said financing would most likely involve a loan.

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On Thursday, I V Plotnitsky, Chairman of the LNR Government, told the media that Russian gas has started flowing to the LNR and DNR, saying, “The gas is flowing, everything’s fine. No problems at the moment”. As Kiev discontinued gas supplies to the region, without emergency supplies, neither the LNR nor the DNR had enough gas to last until Friday morning.

19 February 2015

ITAR-TASS

Sputnik International

http://tass.ru/en/world/778569

http://tass.ru/en/economy/778621

http://tass.ru/en/world/778744

http://sputniknews.com/business/20150219/1018487258.html

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Surrealistic Ceasefire… DNR to Hand Over Dead Bodies of Junta Bandits to Families

V I Churkin, Russian Ambassador to the UN

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On Wednesday, Debaltsevo Mayor Aleksandr Afendikov said that repairs would begin in the town on Thursday. He told reporters, “Repairs in Debaltsevo will begin tomorrow”. Meanwhile, Aleksei Kostrubitsky, the head of the DNR MChS, stated that they’d set up four temporary shelters with electricity and heating in Debaltsevo for local residents. Kostrubitsky added that almost half of the residents have already left the city, saying, “Tomorrow, we’ll evacuate seriously ill people. Those who leave will get shelter in Donetsk, Shakhtyorsk, and Khartsyzsk”.

18 February 2015

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On Thursday, Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said that Kiev’s plans to request the deployment of peacekeepers to Novorossiya cast doubt on the junta’s intention to adhere to the Minsk agreements, saying, “If they propose some other schemes [apart from the Minsk agreements], it raises the question of whether they’re going to adhere to the Minsk agreements or not”.

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On Thursday, Russkaya Sluzhba news agency cited D V Pushilin, the DNR envoy to the Contact Group, as saying that about 3,000 junta troops died during the battle for Debaltsevo. He said, “We emphasised the issue of resolving the ‘Debaltsevo Pocket’ in Minsk, and the DNR/LNR leadership wanted to find a solution to this problem to save the lives of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers, but Kiev did everything possible to brush this off by saying that the situation was under control and they weren’t interested in the lives of so many military personnel”. Pushilin didn’t specify the timeframe of the battle he referenced. He pointed up that the DNR is ready to guarantee the OSCE mission safe passage into Debaltsevo as soon as the VSN mops up junta stay-behind parties, noting, “Over the last three days, the OSCE mission has tried to get a guarantee of safe passage from us to get to Debaltsevo, but we have to consider the fact that they have to leave from Ukrainian-occupied Soledar, so, we couldn’t give them these guarantees because we don’t have that ability, and we don’t believe it’s appropriate to take on the responsibility that the Ukrainian side wouldn’t fire at them”. He said that junta stay-behind parties remain in Debaltsevo, and as soon as the VSN mops them up, then, the DNR would be able to guarantees the OSCE mission’s safety.

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On Thursday, DNR Deputy Defence Minister E А Basurin said that over the last 24 hours fighting in Novorossiya caused junta casualties, saying, “Ukrainian military casualties over the last 24 hours are 40 dead and 50 wounded”. He added that the VSN also destroyed junta matériel, including a tank, 2 MICVs, 3 APCs, and 3 mortars. Both conflicting parties reported sporadic clashes across Novorossiya since they agreed to a ceasefire deal in Belarus last week.

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On Thursday, DNR Deputy Defence Minister E A Basurin said, “In regard to peacekeepers… from the beginning, when this whole conflict began, we suggested to the Russian Federation and to all the other UN Security Council member-countries that they consider the issue of sending peacekeepers. Then, they refused us. If they want to send them, then, we’re not against it, let them send them”. Earlier, D V Pushilin, the DNR envoy to the Contact Group, said that the deployment of UN peacekeeping troops to Novorossiya would violate the Minsk ceasefire deal.

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“A Knife for the Moskali!” “The Ukraine for Ukrainians Only!” Look at this and realise what those slogans mean. By the way, when “Ukrainian Catholics” and “Ukrainian Orthodox” scream, “Slava Ukraina!”… THIS IS WHAT THEY MEAN. They call themselves “Christians”… they lie…

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Pascal Cuttat, the head of the ICRC regional delegation to Russia, Belarus, and Moldova, said that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is ready to mediate prisoner exchanges in Ukraine, but as of today neither of the sides to the conflict has approached them with such a request, saying, “We welcome any agreement between the sides that leads to the release and to the return of those deprived of their liberty in relation to the conflict. We offered our services to both parties of the conflict, and shared procedures on how to do that. We’re ready to serve as a neutral intermediary in the event of any simultaneous release of prisoners”. Cuttat added that no one has made such request yet. He added that the ICRC mission in the Ukraine visited prisoners in both junta and patriot detention camps in Kiev, Zaporozhe, Odessa, Poltava, Mariupol, Donetsk, and Lugansk. An all-for-all prisoner exchange was part of the deal reached during talks in Minsk last week. The deal also calls for a ceasefire, withdrawal of heavy weapons, and constitutional changes. On Wednesday, D V Pushilin, the DNR envoy to the Contact Group, said that the junta and the DNR/LNR are preparing lists for prisoner exchanges.

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On Thursday, A V Zakharchenko, the Chairman of the DNR Government, said that the DNR is ready to hand over the bodies of junta militants killed in Debaltsevo, saying, “We finished cleansing Debaltsevo of illegal armed formations. Unfortunately, the Ukrainian authorities didn’t accept our wise invitation to lay down their weapons. Between 3,000 and 3,500 Ukrainian troops died in the Debaltsevo Pocket. We’ve invited the relatives and mothers of the Ukrainian soldiers to come to Debaltsevo to collect the bodies”.

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On Thursday, Vladislav Deinego, LNR Envoy to the Contact Group, told RIA Novosti over the phone that the parties should discuss the deployment of a peacekeeping mission in Novorossiya only if the ceasefire fails, saying, “We have to analyse the situation, to look for a possible stabilisation without engaging external forces; if there isn’t such a such possibility, then, we might resort to the peacekeeping option”.

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The OSCE monitoring mission can only confirm that the sides are moving equipment along the frontlines in Novorossiya, but not a full pullback of heavy artillery. Last week, the junta and the LNR/DNR agreed to cease fire and pull their artillery back from the zone of contact. They reached the same agreement back in September 2014, but hostilities didn’t stop then.

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On Thursday, P A Klimkin, the junta’s so-called “Foreign Minister”, said that Russia shouldn’t be part of a peacekeeping mission in Novorossiya, saying, “This isn’t just a matter of trust and efficiency, but also an issue of principle, values, and respect for norms of international law”.

Editor:

I’ll bite… then, we should also bar Americans and Canadians, as there are too many organised Galician Uniate nutters in those countries… we should bar Germans for their role in war crimes in the area in the VOV… we should bar all countries taking part in the crackbrained American-fomented “sanctions”. They’re not objective, dontcha know! As usual, the dreamy Uniates don’t know what they’re talking about. They shot themselves in the foot with this one. What a buncha maroons!

BMD

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On Wednesday, DNR Deputy Defence Minister E A Basurin said that the DNR doesn’t rule out provocations on the part of junta militants against members of the OSCE monitoring mission deployed in the DNR, saying, “We noted an Intensification of activity of pro-Kiev subversion groups in all areas and we don’t rule out provocations on their part against the OSCE special monitoring mission working on the territory of our republic”. He said that junta forces continued to shell the remnants of the Donetsk airport from positions in Vidnoye and Opytnoye. Besides this, junta forces were quiescent near ​​Mariupol.

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On Thursday, A V Zakharchenko, the Chairman of the DNR Government, told journalists that the gunshot wound to the leg he received in Debaltsevo on 17 February 17 was the work of a sniper, saying, “it was a gunshot wound to the leg. A sniper tracked me from the area near the city hospital”. When asked about his state of health, Zakharchenko said the wound wouldn’t let him get enough sleep, noting, “In Debaltsevo, I didn’t sleep for three days”. He confirmed his willingness to take part in the upcoming Defender of the Motherland Day celebrations on 23 February. Zakharchenko suffered a flesh wound in the leg; doctors say that the bullet went right through without hitting the bone.

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On Thursday, the Donetsk Gorsoviet stated that junta forces resumed shelling the city, violating the ceasefire agreements, noting, “Shells hit Kievsky Raion”. Authorised registered at least six shelling incidents, giving no details on possible casualties.

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A V Zakharchenko, the Chairman of the DNR Government, told reporters that junta militants abandoned massive quantities of munitions in their panicked retreat from Debaltsevo. He said, “The amount of equipment units the Ukrainians lost here is beyond description. We captured much ammunition, both in Debaltsevo and Uglegorsk”. Zakharchenko added that section of the Debaltsevo-Artyomovsk motorway in the Logvinovo area became “death road” for junta militants who attempted to break through the encirclement, saying, “According to our estimates, we defeated about two Ukrainian battalions in the area, and we buried the soldiers there as well. The Ukraine has lost its best units and a large amount of hardware and ammunition in the Debaltsevo pocket. Once again, the Ukraine shows its inability to fight. It abandons its people… we almost completely destroyed the 128 Mountain Rifle Brigade that Poroshenko claimed broke out of Debaltsevo. He abandoned them in the pocket as expendables. We can say the same about the 8 Spetsnaz Regiment and all the other Ukrainian armed forces and ‘National Guard’ units that fought in Debaltsevo area”. Previously, the VSN reported that a junta force totalling 8,000 effectives opposed them in Debaltsevo when they launched their encirclement operation.

19 February 2015

Sputnik International

ITAR-TASS

http://sputniknews.com/europe/20150218/1018445100.html

http://sputniknews.com/europe/20150218/1018445478.html

http://sputniknews.com/politics/20150219/1018460073.html

http://sputniknews.com/europe/20150219/1018461416.html

http://sputniknews.com/europe/20150219/1018461577.html

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http://sputniknews.com/europe/20150219/1018472084.html

http://sputniknews.com/europe/20150219/1018474629.html

http://tass.ru/en/world/778563

http://tass.ru/en/world/778612

http://tass.ru/en/world/778670

http://tass.ru/en/world/778705