Ukrainian Ambassador in Minsk on upcoming Russia-Belarus military exercises: 'I don`t trust the Russians'.

Ukrainian Ambassador in Minsk on upcoming Russia-Belarus military exercises: 'I don`t trust the Russians'. (uaposition).

Ambassador of Ukraine to Belarus Ihor Kizima said that he had attended the meeting between Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko, where the latter assured that there would not be any military aggression against Ukraine from the territory of Belarus.

”We believe in what Alexander Lukashenko said. He clearly voiced his position clearly that Belarusian land will never become a springboard for aggression against Ukraine,” Kizima said in an interview with RFE/RL. According to the Ambassador, the problem lays with the actions of another participant to the large-scale West-2017 exercises, which is Russia.

”As an expert who witnessed the initial events related to Russia`s aggression against Ukraine, I am convinced that the main question here is how much Russia can adhere to what it says,” Kizima said.

”If Russia now says that it will bring its troops here and then withdraw them, I will say with Stanislavsky`s words that ”I don`t believe it.”

”It`s rather a question to Russia. If the Belarusian side has such vision that Russia will behave correctly in this case, (deploy troops to Belarus and then withdraw them), I believe President Lukashenko`s words, but I don`t trust the Russians, because from the very beginning of the aggression against Ukraine there have been total lies and misinformation on their part. What we have now is a situation developed because Russia behaved wrongfully and politically incorrect.”

As a security expert, Ambassador Kizima says that, looking at the situation from a purely military perspective, Russia doesn`t even have to form a bridgehead in Belarus, as powerful military groups have already been deployed on the Russian side at the Ukrainian border.

Therefore, this is more a question of the security of Belarus itself, the Ukrainian ambassador to Minsk said. He added that Kyiv had received assurances from the Belarusian side that the Ukrainian military, including the military attache of the Ukrainian Embassy in Minsk, could observe the West-2017 exercise.

Hmmm......He's right i don't trust this 'exercise either' too much military material being brought in, and airborne exercises in the past in Belarus.

New Canadian movie sheds light on horror of Stalinist Holodomor famine.

New Canadian movie sheds light on horror of Stalinist Holodomor famine. (Kievpost).

“Bitter Harvest,” the first major movie about the genocidal artificial famine engineered by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in the 1930s, comes to cinemas in Ukraine and the U.S. in February 2017.

“Bitter Harvest” tells the story of two villagers, Yuri and Natalka – lovers, whose peaceful life is destroyed by the Soviet authorities, and who battle to survive the artificial famine, known in Ukraine as the Holodomor.


In times when a person could go to jail just for stealing a single ear of corn, Yuri becomes a key figure in the resistance against the Soviet oppressors.

The film shows how Ukrainian villagers were forced to give their whole harvest to the Soviet authorities, being left with no food at all. Those who kept any food were imprisoned or exiled to Siberia. People were also banned from leaving the rural areas so they couldn’t escape the famine.

The estimated number of people in Ukraine who starved to death in 1932-1933 varies from 2 million to 10 million.

Most Ukrainian historians believe that the Holodomor was Stalin’s attempt to strangle Ukraine’s nationalist movement and anti-Soviet protests by villagers.

Despite taking the lives of millions of people, the famine was kept secret by the Soviet authorities and only came to light after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

“This would mean the death of millions,” a Soviet official says in the movie trailer, planning the starvation.“Who in the world will know?” Stalin replies.

The Ukrainian parliament declared the Holodomor an act of genocide in 2003. The same year, the United Nations issued a declaration that the Holodomor was a Ukrainian national tragedy caused by the totalitarian regime of the Soviet Union. Read the full story here.

CHANGE - Crimean Tatars call on Turkey to reconsider position on peninsula's Russian status.

CHANGE - Crimean Tatars call on Turkey to reconsider position on peninsula's Russian status. (RBTH).

The Crimean Tatars have called on Turkey to reconsider its position on Crimea and recognize the peninsula's Russian status, says Remzi Ilyasov, head of the Qirim movement, considered the largest association of Crimean Tatars in Crimea today.

"We call on the Turkish government to approach issues dealing with Crimea and the Kiev regime in general, in a very balanced manner,” says Ilyasov in RIA Novosti. “The choice of the Crimeans must be respected. Turkey should reconsider its position on Crimea and recognize the Crimean peninsula's Russian status.”

Ilyasov believes that the recognition of Crimea as part of Russia will help strengthen security in the Black Sea region.


Moreover, according to Vzglyad the Crimean Tatars are calling on the Turkish government not to be influenced by the speculations of the Kiev government and former Crimean politicians that they say distort the situation in Crimea.

Ilyasov suggests that the Crimean Tatars are ready to become "the bridge of friendship" between Russia and Turkey.


"We Crimean Tatars hope that the friendship and goodwill between Russia and Turkey will only get stronger," says Ilyasov. Read the full story here.

Ukrainian Nationalists Promise 'Bloody Mess' As Kiev's LGBTs Prepare To March.

             A video experiment in which a gay couple strolled around Kiev hand-in-hand.

Ukrainian Nationalists Promise 'Bloody Mess' As Kiev's LGBTs Prepare To March. (Rferl).

The battle lines are being drawn in the Ukrainian capital.

Activists supporting the country's lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community are determined to hold a March of Equality on June 12. Many of Ukraine's nationalists and cultural conservatives seem equally determined to stop them -- even if that means violence and bloodshed.
Artem Skoropadskiy, a spokesman for the far-right Right Sector movement, predicted on Facebook on May 29 that "on June 12 in Kyiv there will be a bloody mess."

Mykola Kokhanivskyy, chairman of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), told RFE/RL that his organization feels justified in using violence to prevent "perverts" from marching.

"The majority is categorically opposed to letting these perverts publicly demonstrate their perversion," Kokhanivskyy said. "Since the majority opposes this, they shouldn't do it. We can go through the courts or use other means to ban it. But if this doesn't happen, then upset citizens have the right to use force against this illegal manifestation of perversion."

These are not idle threats.

Moreover, discrimination and violence are a daily reality for LGBT people in Ukraine.
"I have a lot of friends and acquaintances in the LGBT community, and I see how they are discriminated against on a daily basis," says Ian Gubskiy, who is gay and transgender.

"Some people can't even appear on the streets because they might be beaten at any moment. Literally yesterday, they tried to attack a friend of mine and we had to defend him."

This year, the story is shaping up similarly. About 600 people have registered to participate in the event, while some 13,000 people have endorsed a petition calling on the city government to ban the march.

Organizers said 20 members of the parliament and an array of Western diplomats have pledged to join the march.

Police have promised to deploy 6,500 officers to prevent clashes. Read the full story here.

Chairman of the State Duma’s int affairs CMTE, Pushkov: EU gives cold shoulder to Ukraine’s 'Big Parasite Doctrine'.

Chairman of the State Duma’s int affairs CMTE, Pushkov: EU gives cold shoulder to Ukraine’s 'Big Parasite Doctrine'. (Tass).

European Commission President Jean-Claud Juncker’s statement Ukraine will have no chances of joining the European Union and NATO over the next 20-25 years is a sure sign the doctrine of "Europe’s Big Parasite," which Kiev has pressed for all along is doomed to receive no support, the chairman of the State Duma’s international affairs committee, Alexey Pushkov, has told TASS.

In his speech entitled European Union: a Source of Stability in a Time of Crisis Juncker reaffirmed the idea he had put forward when he took office as the EU leader: the European Union will need a long pause before admitting new member-states. This does not apply to the Balkan countries with which the European Union is already in talks over membership. As for Ukraine, it will certainly have no chance of joining the EU over 20-25 years and the same is true of NATO membership, Juncker said.

"Ukraine has dreamed of becoming the largest parasite on the body of the European Union of all newcomers admitted over the past 10-15 years. This doctrine of the largest parasite has met with no support from the European Union at all," Pushkov said.

Pushkov believes that the Juncker expressed the EU’s prevailing point of view: Ukraine is unprepared for joining the European Union and it should not be admitted to NATO.

Pushkov suspects that the European Union is already experiencing what he has described as "expansion fatigue."

"The EU has already accommodated a number of states that have not benefited it at all. In reality, some countries, for instance, Bulgaria and Romania, make life harder for the EU," he explained.

"These are countries with weak economies that pull the EU back, and not forward. They had been admitted precisely for geopolitical reasons, for the sake of adding the economic component to their military-political integration with NATO," Pushkov said. "As far as I understand, that was done under certain pressures from the United States, but now it is the Europeans who have to pay for the admission of states that have added nothing to the EU’s potential." Read the full story here.

'Thank You Suckers' - Ukraine Triples Price for Transiting Russian Gas to Europe.

'Thank You Suckers' - Ukraine Triples Price for Transiting Russian Gas to Europe. (Novinite).

Ukraine has more than trebled the price of transiting Russian natural gas to Europe via its territory since the start of 2016, according to Ukrainian media outlet energy.apostrophe.com.ua.

The change means that Russia’s Gazprom now must pay Ukraine USD 7.9 to carry 1,000 cubic meters of gas along a distance of 100 km of Ukrainian pipelines. The price was USD 2.5 until the end of last year.  

Ukraine’s energy regulator decided in December to increase the price of gas transit to Europe and change the formula for its setting. Until the end of 2015 the price of transit was pegged to the price of Russian gas according to an agreement between Ukraine’s Naftogaz and Russia’s Gazprom signed in 2009. Since the start of 2016 the price of transit is being set by Ukraine’s state –run energy regulator on the basis of expenditures incurred by Ukrainian gas transmission company Ukrtransgaz, with the impact of gas price on the price of transit being considerably reduced.

Ukraine is expected to send to Gazprom the first invoice calculated under the new rules next month – for the transit volumes shipped across the country’s territory in January, the Ukrainian media outlet said citing government sources.

Naftogaz CEO Andriy Kobolev has said that the new system of pricing in gas transportation introduced by Ukraine is in line with the rules of the European Union.

"Ukraine has introduced a new system of gas transportation relations. It applies not only to Gazprom but any company that wants to transport gas through Ukrainian territory. It will be transported according to the European rules," Kobolev told Ukrinform on Tuesday in Brussels. 

According to Kobolev, the new system eliminates the concept of "transit", which is being replaced by the definition "export through input-output system." Hmmm.....Do they have to thank  VP Biden's son personally for this?

Dutch 'no' to Kiev-EU accord could trip EU crisis: Juncker.

Dutch 'no' to Kiev-EU accord could trip EU crisis: Juncker. (DS).

THE HAGUE: European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker urged Dutch voters Saturday not to oppose an EU cooperation deal with Ukraine, saying such a move "could open the doors to a continental crisis."

A citizens' campaign in the Netherlands spearheaded by three strongly eurosceptic groups garnered more than 300,000 votes needed to trigger a non-binding referendum on the deal, three months from now.

Observers said the vote, set for April 6, pointed more towards broader euroscepticism among the Dutch than actual opposition to the trade deal with Kiev, which fosters deeper cooperation with Brussels.

A Dutch 'no' "could open the doors to a continental crisis," Juncker told the authoritative NRC daily newspaper in an interview published Saturday.

"Let's not change the referendum into a vote about Europe," Juncker urged Dutch voters, adding: "I sincerely hope that (the Dutch) won't vote no for reasons that have nothing to do with the treaty itself."

Should Dutch voters oppose the deal, Russia "stood to benefit most," he said. Read the full story here.


Related:    Can the refugee crisis and subsequent rise of Extreme right make the EU fall apart?

Lavrov: Obama 'admin' admits lack of prospects of restoring Ukrainian solvency.

Lavrov: Obama 'admin' admits lack of prospects of restoring Ukrainian solvency.  (RBTH).

By having refused to guarantee Ukraine's debt as part of Russia's proposal to restructure it, the United States effectively admitted the absence of prospects of restoring its solvency, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with Interfax.

"We were ready to restructure Ukraine's $3 billion debt at much more advantageous terms than those asked of us by the IMF [International Monetary Fund]. But these terms, which extend the repayment not by one but three years and in equal installments, were certainly tied to these payments by Ukraine being guaranteed by the EU, the U.S. and the IMF or a first-class international bank. We were denied it. By officially rejecting the proposed scheme, the United States thereby subscribed to not seeing any prospects of Ukraine restoring its solvency," Lavrov said.


"This reform, which they are now trying to implement, designed to suit Ukraine only, could plant a time bomb under all other IMF programs," Lavrov said.

"Essentially, this reform boils down to the following: since Ukraine is politically important - and it is only important because it is opposed to Russia - the IMF is ready to do for Ukraine everything it has not done for anyone else, and the situation that should 100 percent mean a default will be seen as a situation enabling the IMF to finance Ukraine," the minister said.

The IMF Executive Board is meeting on Tuesday to consider changes to the IMF policy with respect to countries with a debt to official creditors.

The IMF's current lending policy rules out the possibility of providing financing for a member state which has a debt to an official creditor. Removing this restriction will enable the IMF to continue disbursements to Ukraine under the current extended-financing program, even if Kyiv defaults on its debt to Russia for the $3 billion Eurobonds issued in 2013. Hmmm.......NEXT... IMF about to create 'Greek situation in Ukraine'?

Russia To Halt Gas Supplies To Ukraine, considering Coal shipment Cuts.

Russia To Halt Gas Supplies To Ukraine, Mulling Coal Cuts.(Rferl).

Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak says Moscow will cut gas supplies to Ukraine for Kyiv's failure to pay up front for deliveries and might also suspend coal shipments to Ukraine in retaliation for a power blackout of Crimea.

Novak said on November 24 that the gas deliveries will be stopped "today or tomorrow due to the lack of advance payment by Ukraine," adding that Russia could retaliate "politically and economically" unless Kyiv restores electricity supplies to Crimea.

Russian-annexed Crimea continues to rely on emergency generators to meet its basic power needs after unknown saboteurs blew up electricity pylonssupplying the peninsula with electricity, in Ukraine's Kherson region over the weekend.

Pro-Ukrainian activists have so far prevented repairs to the damaged pylons and associated power lines.

The Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said on November 23 that just one of the four damaged transmission towers could be repaired at the moment. Hmmmm......They knew they could not pay for the Gas, so blew up the pylons to escalate the situation?

#Russia may terminate coal supplies to #Ukraine as response to #Crimea blockade — minister https://t.co/GAkwC0Pb02

— rouge68 (@rougek68) November 24, 2015

No More Money for 'Money pit' Ukraine Unless Kiev Gets Rid of Corruption - Biden.

No More Money for 'Money pit' Ukraine Unless Kiev Gets Rid of Corruption - Biden. (SP). 

The White House is worried about a high level of corruption in Ukraine and worse of all by the fact that it isn't decreasing.

The United States told the Ukrainian government to fight against corruption more actively by carrying out anti-corruption reforms. Victoria Nuland, the Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs at the US State Department, stressed that Ukraine must get rid of corruption, as it represents Viktor Yanukovych's "old system."

US Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt also spoke against corruption: "There isn't a problem in Ukraine today that is a bigger threat to the long-term success of the country than legalized corruption."

Last year, Ukraine was ranked 142nd (tied with Uganda and the Comoros Islands) on the list of the most corrupt countries in the world, conducted by Transparency International (TI). Hmmm.....Days after the EU just gave them another 1 Billion Dollar for Gas. By the way their total gas debt is now at $29,2 US $. Read the full story here.

German 'aging' Tanks Stand No Chance Against Advanced Russian Tanks – German Media

Armata tank breaks down during rehearsal.

German 'aging' Tanks Stand No Chance Against Advanced Russian Tanks – German Media. (Sputnik).

The German Armed Forces in its current state would not be capable of repelling a hypothetical attack by Russian tanks, the German media outlet Focus reported.

According to the article, although the Bundeswehr has some of the best tanks in the world in service, their combat system is aging and not that effective.

Actual tank projectiles of the German military are incapable of producing enough kinetic energy to hit the armor of Russia’s modern T-90 and updated T-80 machines, Focus explained.

Currently, Russia is implementing a modernization program for its tanks. The armor and weapons of T-90 tanks have been heavily upgraded since they entered service back in the 1990s. In 2017, the state-of-the-art Armata tank is scheduled to join the Russian military.

Due to a reform of its military Germany has reduced the number of Leopard-2 tanks in service to 225.

Read the full story here. 

Gazprom signs key Nord Stream-2 deal with EU companies, avoids need for gas transit through Ukraine.

Gazprom signs key Nord Stream-2 deal with EU companies, avoids need for gas transit through Ukraine. (RBTH).

Russia’s gas giant Gazprom has signed a binding shareholders’ agreement with European energy companies for the construction of the Nord Stream-2 pipeline from Russia to Germany. The landmark deal was inked at the Eastern Economic Forum, held in Russia’s far eastern city of Vladivostok on Sept. 3-5.

Gazprom will own a controlling stake, while Germany’s E.ON and BASF/Wintershall, Austria’s OMV and Royal Dutch Shell will receive 10 percent each, while France’s Engie will receive 9 percent.

Economic interests take priority

In itself, the signing of the shareholders’ agreement for Nord Stream-2 is already evidence that the EU, as before, has no common position either on relations with Gazprom as a whole or on today’s most pressing issue – that of gas transit through Ukraine.

The largest power companies in the UK, France, Germany and Austria signed the project, whose implementation will minimize the transit of gas through Ukraine, which all these states continue to support politically. However, the agreement is contrary to the position of Brussels; according to Vice-President of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič, there is no need for any gas pipelines bypassing Ukraine.

“Germany believes that Ukraine should be supported, but the path to democracy and reform is very long, and we are losing time; the Ukrainian gas transportation system must be modernized, but no one is ready to invest,” said Alexander Rahr, research director of the German-Russian Forum, adding that plans for Nord Stream-2 do not violate EU law, including the Third Energy Package.

Southern Europe left high and dry

The shareholders’ agreement is a serious blow to the south-eastern countries of the EU, which were prevented by the United States and the European Commission last year from building the South Stream pipeline, intended to supply Russian gas to Southeast Europe via an undersea pipeline and a distribution hub in Turkey.

Now it is proposed to build a gas pipeline which, with a capacity of 55 billion cubic meters a year, which will bring billions of dollars in transit fees not to Bulgaria and Hungary, but to Germany and the Czech Republic. In addition, virtually all Russian gas will reach Europe through Germany, providing German gas pipeline companies with stable income for decades.

“The participants of South Stream – Bulgaria, Greece and Italy – are the countries that do not have enough weight to make decisions contrary to the general political line, but Germany will be able to,” said Fyodor Lukyanov, head of the Council for Foreign and Defense Policy, an independent Moscow-based think tank. Hmmm.......Guesss the Turkish stream will remain a 'Turkish dream'? Read the full story here.

Two brand new 'Armed' ice breaking rescue and salvage vessels for Russia are ready at Nordic Yards in Germany.

Two brand new 'Armed' ice breaking rescue and salvage vessels for Russia are ready at Nordic Yards in Germany. (BarendObserver).

The two identical vessels are icebreakers of the second highest ice class, suitable for rescue operations in harsh environments. They can be used both for icebreaking operations in harbors and waters with an ice thickness of 1m as well as for fire-fighting and combating oil spills from the sea.

“Beringov Proliv” will be based in the Sakhalin region, while “Murman” will be based in Murmansk, the shipyard says in a press release.

The vessels can study the ocean floor and damaged objects at depths of up to 1,000m. Furthermore, they are equipped with a helipad on the bow.

The Russian Federal Marine and River Transport Agency and German shipbuilder Nordic Yards in December 2012 signed a contract for the construction of two icebreaking rescue and salvage vessels to operate in Russian Arctic waters. The total volume of the orders was €150 million. Hmmm.....Russia has already a large fleet of Ice breakers, now they're getting armed ones. I Hope that Canada takes notes.

HT And Source:

These might be the icebreakers 'with guns' Germany recently delivered to Russia. http://t.co/dFlmFYS5iQ #Mistral pic.twitter.com/RDzVxX50Du

— Ukraine@war (@DajeyPetros) August 10, 2015

@moscow_ghost Für Russland wurden zwei Eisbrecher mit militärischer Schutzausstattung genehmigt. http://t.co/rB87PQgGr6

— MFS - The Other News (@MFS001) August 10, 2015

Related:

US Coast Guard still wrangling with Only one 'retired' heavy ice breaker.

Russian nuclear build heavy ice breaker Yamal.

US Coast Guard still wrangling with Only one 'retired' heavy ice breaker. (Janes).

As human activity in the Arctic continues to expand, the chief of the US Coast Guard (USCG) remains concerned about the nation's limited ice-breaking capability and is continuing to advocate for recapitalising its obsolete fleet of heavy ice breakers.

"This is not a coastguard unique challenge. It's a global access challenge that requires a national solution," Admiral Paul Zukunft, commandant of the USCG, said on 24 February in his annual state of the coastguard address.

Polar-class USCGC Polar Star (WAGB 10), a 39-year-old cutter that has been reactivated, remains the United States' sole heavy ice breaker, with sister ship USCGC Polar Sea (WAGB 11) laid up in disrepair. The 16,000-tonne medium ice breaker USCGC Healy (WAGB 20) is also in service.

Demand for ice-breaking capability is only growing, as several recent cases have demonstrated, the commandant noted. Polar Star in mid-February steamed 900 miles and broke through 150 miles of ice to rescue a 207-ft fishing vessel, Antarctic Chieftan , hailing from New Zealand with 26 crew members, that had become stranded in the southern polar region. "Ponder that for a minute, what a truly spectacular rescue and what would happen if we weren't there," Adm Zukunft said. "What concerns me even more is that the United States has no rescue capability whatsoever had it been Polar Star who suffered a catastrophic [mechanical] casualty and become beset in ice."

A study commissioned by the USCG to assess the United States' future ice breaker requirement concluded that a fleet of three heavy and three medium ice breakers would fulfill the needs for operating in the polar regions.

Enticing shipbuilders to help on a new ice breaker also has been difficult. "When you try to incentivise a shipyard to building an ice breaker, most shipyards will not make the front-end capital investments to build one ship of one type. So there's been an expressed need for more than one ice breaker," Adm Zukunft told reporters.

USCG officials have been arguing for a 'whole-of-government' approach to funding a new ice breaker for some time, but the idea has yet to gain traction with US agencies with a vested interest, such as the Department of Defense, which also is struggling with its own budgetary problems.

To keep up with the burgeoning activity in the Arctic, the USCG is weighing options for bolstering its ice-breaking capability in the near term, including leasing ice breakers, reactivating Polar Sea , and possibly pursuing new ship acquisition. Hmmmm......Meanwhile the Russians have 6 heavy nuclear powered icebreakers, 7th is being build, and the have 39 diesel powered ice breakers. Good luck defending the arctic from Russia's appetite.China has 2 heavy ice breakers and one more coming in to service next year.Read the full story here.

Minority shareholding: The shares which gives potentially power to Gazprom and Rosneft over the EU energy market.

Minority shareholding: The shares which gives potentially power to Gazprom and Rosneft over the EU energy market.(delfi). A Must read! Read the full story here.

Nabucco 2.0? - New route for Russia'n gas to Europe bypassing Ukraine jointly with Gazprom.

Nabucco 2.0? - New route for Russia'n gas to Europe bypassing Ukraine jointly with Gazprom.(Euractiv).

A new version of the defunct Nabucco gas pipeline project is being prepared, this time based on the transport of Russian gas, Austria's Die Presse has learned. Ironically, the original concept of Nabucco was precisely to carry gas from other sources than Russia.

According to the newspaper, Austria's OMV energy company is planning a new route for Russian gas to Europe bypassing Ukraine jointly with Russia’s Gazprom.

The new route appears to resurrect the defunct Nabucco West project, with one major difference: instead of carrying Azeri gas, it will transport Russian, and possibly Iranian gas, via Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary to the Baumgarten gas hub in Austria.

Nabucco West - a 1,326-km pipeline with a 122-cm diameter - was to take the gas from the Turkish border across Bulgaria to Romania and Hungary to the gas hub of Baumgarten near Vienna. The project was shelved in June 2013 after a consortium managing the gas, which is expected to be pumped from the offshore Shah Deniz II gas field in Azerbaijan, was awarded to the Trans-Adriatic TAP pipeline.

Now Russia is planning to bring gas to the European territory of Turkey and says it’s up to the EU to decide how to transport it further.

But in reality Russia is devising plans for a so-called Tesla pipeline across Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Hungary to Austria.

Such a project, however, would need more time to be realised, compared to the Nabucco project, which was in an advanced phase before it was shelved.

Most of Gazprom’s clients have gas contracts which specify Baumgarten as the delivery point.

Three independent sources have reportedly confirmed to Die Presse that the new Nabucco project would be promoted by Reinhard Mitschek, the former managing director of the Nabucco consortium, in which OMV, Hungary’s MOL, Romania’s Transgaz, Bulgaria’s Bulgargaz, Turkey’s Botas and Germany’s RWE each held 16.67%. Hmmm.........Seems once again i was right earlier this week when i said 'Turkish stream has become dead stream'.Read the full story here.


Update:    More on the 'Turkish stream' story here.

Putin: 'I'll see you and raise you' - 40+ ICBMs targeted for 2015 nuclear force boost

Putin: 'I'll see you and raise you' - 40+ ICBMs targeted for 2015 nuclear force boost. (RT).

Over 40 intercontinental ballistic missiles will be delivered to Russia’s strategic forces in 2015, President Vladimir Putin announced at the opening ceremony of the Army-2015 Expo, an international military forum held near Moscow.

“This year, our nuclear forces are going to get more than 40 intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of penetrating all existing, even the most advanced missile defenses,” the Russian president said, adding that the state would persist in paying specific attention to realization of a massive military rearmament program and modernization of the defense industry, Putin said.

Vladimir Putin also said that tests of a new radar station capable of beyond-the-horizon aerial target detection will start soon in Russia. The system will be directed westward. A similar radar station is also due to be deployed eastward. And in April a new radar station started operations in the city of Armavir, in southern Russia.

Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov says that NATO is provoking Russia into an arms race. Antonov’s statement was made referring to US plans to put its F-22 jets in Eastern Europe.

“I believe the statement must be looked at together with other similar statements, which have recently been numerous,” the deputy defense minister said. “A few days ago, reports started to turn up about certain [American] missiles put in a certain location and about certain ammunition depots in Eastern European countries and the Baltic. It looks like our colleagues from NATO member states are pushing us into an arms race,” he said. Hmmm.....And we're off at the Nuclear races.

U.S. supported Ukraine cancels social benefits for former NAZI concentration camps prisoners & Russian medal recipients.

U.S. supported Ukraine cancels social benefits for former concentration camps prisoners and Russian medal recipients. (Tass).

Ukraine has stopped paying out welfare payments for pensioners, World War Two veterans, people with disabilities, liquidators of the Chernobyl disaster beginning with Monday, since the law of December 28, 2014, on stabilizing the financial condition of the state has come into force.

It affects practically all social security beneficiaries, without defining the mechanisms for providing targeted assistance to low-income groups.

Kiev has eliminated transport, healthcare, utilities and financial benefits for former prisoners of Nazi concentration camps and recipients of some Soviet-era orders and titles. 

Compensations to families with children living in the areas contaminated by radiation from the Chernobyl accident will be no longer paid either.

Ukraine’s parliamentary opposition believes that the Prosecutor General’s Office should launch an investigation against Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk who actively promoted the law on the abolition of privileges.

Germany, France to Develop New Battle Tank to Catch up with Russia’s Armata

Germany, France to Develop New Battle Tank to Catch up with Russia’s Armata. (Fars).

Germany and France are now preparing to jointly develop a new main battle tank, the Leopard 3, to replace its ageing Leopard 2 military vehicle by around 2030, which would be able to compete with Russia's next-generation Armata tank, recently showcased at the Victory Day parade commemorating the end of World War Two in Moscow.

The German Defense Ministry has announced its plans for the "Leo 3" (as it's likely to be nicknamed in Germany) to replace its main battle tank, the Leopard 2, Sputniknews reported.

The main reason for the modernization is believed to be the Leopard 2 service life, which is set to expire by 2030.

The German media, however, suggest that the real reason is the recently-presented analysis by Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND) on Russia’s reinforced combat strength and its recently showcased T-14 Armata tanks, which were presented during the country's Victory Parade in Moscow on May 9.

The BND analysis suggests that even though the combat vehicles unveiled at the parade are still somewhat pre-production models, when completed, it will be a tank with the highest levels of armaments.

According to Deutsche Welle, the manufacturer of the current Leopard 2, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, is scheduled to fuse with the French firm Nexter Systems over the course of this year.

This has prompted the German media to report that the new Franco-German firm, with more than 6,000 staff and a combined turnover of around 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion), could be a strong candidate to win the contract to develop a new battle tank for the German Bundeswehr.

Just before the Victory Day Parade in Moscow, the US bimonthly magazine The National Interest reported on why America should really fear Russia's Armata T-14 tank.

The magazine suggested that Russia actually might be able to deliver in the field the tank of greater speed, maneuverability, firepower and survivability vis-à-vis anything being produced for Western armies.

The Armata is a Russian prototype of a heavy tracked vehicle platform that will be used in the construction of a next-generation main battle tank and a range of other combat vehicles. More here.

Russia's potential problems with gas supply via Turkish Stream

Russia's potential problems with gas supply via Turkish Stream.(Taz).

Russia can encounter problems with gas supply via the Turkish Stream, Sergey Pravosudov, director of the Russian National Energy Institute, told Trend.

He recalled that Russia and the European countries have long-term contracts on gas supply, most of which are active until 2019, the year when the term of the contract for the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine expires.

"The gas delivery points are indicated in these contracts,” the expert said. “They are not on the border between the EU and Turkey."

Earlier, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and Gazprom head Alexey Miller said that Russia will stop gas transit to Europe through Ukraine from 2019. Afterwards, the gas will be supplied via the Turkish Stream to the border of Turkey with the EU.

“If Russia refuses to continue supplying gas to Europe via a route through Ukraine after 2019, it will be violation of the contracts that expire later than those signed with several countries,” he said.

He said that it is possible to solve this problem only through a dialogue between the supplier and the buyer and the renegotiation of terms of existing contracts.

At the same time, he said that this would be difficult to do, because these European countries will suffer from political pressure.

“The United States put pressure on the European Commission, the European Commission puts pressure on the countries that are members of the EU,” said Pravosudov. “Therefore, the external pressure will hinder the implementation of this project.”

He went on to remind that Russia decided to refuse to supply gas through Ukraine because it doesn’t consider this route reliable in the long term*. He said that Russia's position is in the fact that there is a civil war in Ukraine and the country is a step away from bankruptcy.

Pravosudov said that Ukrainian Naftogaz is also on the verge of bankruptcy, because it shows the multibillion-dollar losses each year. He said that only in the first quarter of 2015, the loss of Naftogaz accounted for $1 billion.

“Since Naftogaz is state-owned, it is subsidized by the budget, but the budget lives only at the expense of loans,” said the expert. “Accordingly, if Ukraine is declared bankrupt, it means that Naftogaz is also automatically declared bankrupt.”

Moreover, Pravosudov said that also, investments should be made in the pipeline that runs through Ukraine, adding that Ukraine has no funds and it is unknown who will undertake these expenditures.

For all these reasons Gazprom proposes a bypass route through Turkey, said the expert. He added that however, in this case, such a question arises: how to deliver gas from EU borders to consumers?

Pravosudov said that in order to deliver gas to small countries such as Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, the existing infrastructure can be used by putting it into operation in a reverse mode.

But the main gas purchasers are the other countries such as Hungary, Austria, Italy and new infrastructure is needed to deliver gas from Turkish borders to the consumers in these countries, the expert added.

This infrastructure faces the same problems as the South Stream project before, Pravosudov said.

“The key problem due to which Gazprom refused from the launch of the South Stream gas pipeline is that the European Commission didn’t offer an exception from the rules of the Third Energy Package for this project and demanded its implementation in accordance with these norms,” said the expert. “This would mean that Gazprom was to arrange the construction of this pipeline, and then to give 50 percent to someone, to some of its rivals.”

Pravosudov said that naturally, such a thing didn’t suit Gazprom, especially since the competing project TAP got such permission.

“Now, Gazprom doesn’t want to build gas pipelines in Europe, as it understands that it won’t be granted exceptions to the rules of the Third Energy Package,” said the expert.

He also said Gazprom suggests that the companies from those countries should solve the issue with regard to the infrastructure by themselves.

“It is not yet clear whether they will agree to build, or not,” Pravosudov added.

At the same time, he said, the current EU sanctions against Russia won’t affect the implementation of the Turkish Stream project, since the sanctions don’t apply to Gazprom, and don’t interfere with its work.

“As for example, recently Gazprom attracted a loan from Italy, despite of the anti-Russian sanctions,” Pravosudov reminded.

Regarding a possible construction of pipelines from the borders of Turkey and EU, the expert said the sanctions won’t affect them either, since it is assumed that they will be built by European companies in the EU. Hmmm........*Come Winter 2015 Ukraine's Gas reserves are as good as empty, this will blow.

Related: 

'SURPRISE!' - Ankara not to build Turkish Stream.

Russian Iskander-M missile systems to be deployed in Kaliningrad region till 2018.

Iskander missile range.

Russian Iskander-M missile systems to be deployed in Kaliningrad region till 2018. (Tass).

Russian Ground Forces’ guided missile brigade stationed in the westernmost Kaliningrad region will be reequipped with the Iskander-M ballistic missile systems till 2018, Maj Gen Mikhail Matveyevsky, commander of the army’s missile forces and artillery, said on Saturday.

When asked by the Russian News Service radio station whether the brigade in the Kaliningrad region would be reequipped with the missile complexes, Matveyevsky replied: "There are no doubts about it."

"The Ground Forces’ guided missile brigades are being rearmed with this complex, according to the schedule," he said. Hmmm.....'Flexibility' seems only Russia is flexing their muscles.