[mafarrico]

para finalizar sobre o massacre ocorrido em Odessa deixo este link

vejam, vejam    

http://ersieesist.livejournal.com/813.html

[mafarrico]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3155271/posts

Surpreendidos?

Hunter Biden [son of US VP Joe Biden] joins the team of Burisma Holdings [Ukraine gas producer]

Burisma website ^ | May 12, 2014 | media@burisma.com

Posted on mardi 13 mai 2014 04:45:51 by CMB_polarization

Burisma Holdings, Ukraine’s largest private gas producer, has expand edits Board of Directors by bringing on Mr. R Hunter Biden as a new director.

R. Hunter Biden will be in charge of the Holdings’ legal unit and will provide support for the Company among international organizations. On his new appointment, he commented: “Burisma’s track record of innovations and industry leadership in the field of natural gas means that it can be a strong driver of a strong economy in Ukraine. As a new member of the Board, I believe that my assistance in consulting the Company on matters of transparency, corporate governance and responsibility, international expansion and other priorities will contribute to the economy and benefit the people of Ukraine.”

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Burisma Holdings, Mr. Alan Apter, noted: “The company’s strategy is aimed at the strongest concentration of professional staff and the introduction of best corporate practices, and we’re delighted that Mr. Biden is joining us to help us achieve these goals.”

R. Hunter Biden is a counsel to Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP, a national law firm based in New York, USA, which served in cases including “Bush vs. Gore”, and “U.S. vs. Microsoft”. He is one of the co-founders and a managing partner of the investment advisory company Rosemont Seneca Partners, as well as chairman of the board of Rosemont Seneca Advisors. He is an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University’s Masters Program in the School of Foreign Service.

Mr. Biden has experience in public service and foreign policy. He is a director for the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, The Center for National Policy, and the Chairman’s Advisory Board for the National Democratic Institute. Having served as a Senior Vice President at MBNA bank, former U.S. President Bill Clinton appointed him an Executive Director of E-Commerce Policy Coordination under Secretary of Commerce William Daley. Mr. Biden served as Honorary Co-Chair of the 2008 Obama-Biden Inaugural Committee.

Mr. Biden is a member of the bar in the State of Connecticut, and the District of Columbia, the U.S. Supreme Court, and the Court of Federal Claims. He received a Bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University, and a J.D. from Yale Law School.

R. Hunter Biden is also a well-known public figure.He is chairman of the Board of the World Food Programme U.S.A., together with the world’s largest humanitarian organization, theUnited Nations World Food Programme. In this capacity he offers assistance to the poor in developing countries, fighting hunger and poverty, and helping to provide food and education to 300 million malnourished children around the world.

Company Background: Burisma Holdings is a privately owned oil and gas company with assets in Ukraine and operating in the energy market since 2002. To date, the company holds a portfolio with permits to develop fields in the Dnieper-Donets, the Carpathian and the Azov-Kuban basins. In 2013, the daily gas production grew steadily and at year-end amounted to 11.6 thousand BOE (barrels of oil equivalent – incl. gas, condensate and crude oil), or 1.8 million m3 of natural gas. The company sells these volumes in the domestic market through traders, as well as directly to final consumers.

[mafarrico]

http://www.bild.de/politik/ausland/nach ... .bild.html

http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/u ... 68745.html

[mafets]

Naaaaa. Alguma vez. Ainda reforçou foi o dispositivo.. http://www.sofmag.com/putin-lied-about-pullback



Cumprimentos

[mafarrico]

estejam descansados que a Russia não vai enviar as tropas. como um analista disse - its a win win situation for america. os russos não vão fazer o jogo dos americanos. só em ultimo recurso, em caso de total descontrolo . a russia tem todos os trunfos para fazer o que quiser da ucrania. eles vão/ estão a minar por dentro. dito isto não me canso de admirar a paciencia do putin. e se se recusarem a falar com os russos é a pior coisa que podem fazer. não se sentem à mesa não ...

entrevista do lavrov ao Bloomberg  

ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE

[mafarrico]

http://www.rferl.org/media/video/reside ... 84432.html

[mafarrico]

http://www.parismatch.com/Actu/Internat ... ing-564127

[HSMW]

As cidades de Slavyansk e Kramatorsk foram cenário de violentos combates, nas últimas horas.
Do lado ucraniano, há 11 mortos e 24 feridos. Do lado separatista, há também registo da morte de um miliciano.
Os separatistas responderam às movimentações do exército, com um ataque a um lança-granadas ucraniano.
Houve uma troca de tiros que se prolongou por horas, com baixas dos dois lados.
Quase em simultâneo, iniciava-se em Kiev uma mesa redonda que não produziu resultados práticos.

[mafarrico]

http://www.sott.net/article/279193-Powe ... pes-reveal

Powerplay and cover-up: Kiev protégé allegedly behind Mariupol and Odessa massacres leaked tapes reveal


Ihor Kolomoisky and Oleh Tsarev

Two leaked tapes have emerged on the internet where Kiev-appointed governor allegedly threatens an ex-presidential candidate who called for a referendum. The official may also be behind the Odessa massacre and Mariupol shootings, the leak adds.

"They put $1 million for your head, they will go after you everywhere," Kolomoisky told him. "Tomorrow they will look for your people and relatives," said the Ukrainian oligarch.

"Besides, it was he [Kolomoisky] who hired the guys in the Odessa [massacre]... the situation went out of control. Their task was to beat them [anti-government protesters] so they would be taken to hospital and to destroy the camp [on Kulikovo Pole Square] completely," he said.

Here is a rough translation of the first leaked tape done by a Sott reader:

    Kolomoisky: Hello,
    Tsarev: Hello.
    Kolomoisky: Where are you? Still there?
    Tsarev: Still there.
    Kolomoisky: How are you?
    Tsarev: Fine.
    Kolomoisky: We've got a serious accident. One Jew from Dnepropetrovsk Jewish community died.
    Tsarev: What happened?
    Kolomoisky: Well, one Jew from Dnepropetrovsk Jewish community died. I am at the synagogue now.
    Tsarev: What was he doing there?
    Kolomoisky: It doesn't matter what he was doing. They say that your head costs a lot of money now [censored].
    Tsarev: Mine?
    Kolomoisky: One million dollars. Yours. Yes. They say they will be searching you everywhere. Just wanted to tell you this. I wanted to tell you that you'd better stay in Moscow, do not return.
    Tsarev: Let me tell you one thing. In Africa there is such ...
    Kolomoisky: Tomorrow they will be catching your people here.
    Tsarev: In Africa there is such ... poison...
    Kolomoisky: Listen, I don't give a [censored] what is there in Africa. Don't tell me this crap. I'm telling you we've been praying in synagogue before the Shabbat. We've been praying for Shlemkevitch, the Jew who was killed in Mariupol [censored].
    Tsarev: So...
    Kolomoisky: They say Tsarev is to blame [censored]. And tomorrow they will search for all your relatives first [censored]. Tell them to leave [censored]. Because we will hang them right in the square [censored]... I'm telling you, tell Markov that he shouldn't come here either. To Ukraine, I mean. No way. Hallo.
    Tsarev: Don't phone me anymore, Igor.
    Kolomoisky: Not to phone you? OK. Bye, Tsarev. That's it.

And here is the translation of the other phone conversation:

    Telephone conversation between President of Customs Union Suppliers Association Oleg Noginsky with Ian Borisovich Epstein, the honourable consul of Israel in Ukraine, carried out by the former staff of the SSU (Security service of Ukraine) nowadays calling Integrated CyberMilitia of Donetsk, Lugansk and Kharkov regions. Conversation took place on May 10, 2014 at 11:18 pm.
    The statements which publication can lead to undesirable consequences are removed from audio recordings.

    Ian: Hallo.
    Noginski: Hallo. Ian Borisovich, good evening. I beg your pardon. Happy holiday. Did I wake you up?
    Ian: Oh, no. It's not too late. Happy holiday you too. Wish you peace, good health and well-being...
    Noginski: Ian Borisovich, I'm calling because of a serious problem, it makes me really concerned.
    Ian: What happened?
    Noginski: Well, the 9th of May in Mariupol, did you see what happened there? Certain Shelemchak was killed there.
    Ian: Who was it?
    Noginski: A Jew from Dnipropetrovsk. At least if we can trust Kolomoysky. But what is even worse, Mr. Kolomoysky called Tsarov and told him that broadly speaking that day in all synagogues of Ukraine it was announced to all right Jews that there will be a reward for the head of Tsarov's and Russian separatists. When I heard the word 'synagogue'...
    Ian: You don't say so. That can't be. I just know that... Today I went to a synagogue. We were reading prayers. Everything was, so to say...
    Noginski: Ian Borisovich, I'm not saying that, surely, it didn't happen in the synagogues... But when he is speaking about it... I don't know whether he was recorded or not. In case his words appear in the media, can you imagine what happens in that case?
    Ian: Did Kolomoyskyi say it was Tsarov exactly?
    Noginski: Yes. A million ($) for his head. He also said that the next day his family would be hanging. His relatives. Listen, I just repeat his words... You know, Oleg, he is not like anybody else, he never lies. And he sent it to me late in the evening, he was deeply shocked. Another man who was by his side at that moment told me the same.
    Ian: Terrible. No, I just can't understand how a Jew... Jews in general, so to say, must not allow themselves anything of the kind... Gave him a personal call?
    Noginski: Yes, he likes it. He called Markov (Ukrainian MP (deputy) Igor Markov) recently, told him how he would get burned in case he comes to Odessa. That's kind of his amusement. I'm not sure but I feel like he went crazy, seriously. By the way, that's a totally proved out fact that he paid those guys in Odessa. Totally. And it was done to seat Palytsia as governor. Even at the "Fatherland" (Party of Tymoshenko) headquarters they prove it out... The situation went out of hand. Their task was to beat them up, give them the works so that they all get to the hospital, and the camp was to be totally destroyed.
    Ian: Well, you know, there were the guys of Avakov (Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine). They could have done it all.
    Noginski: Well, there was an agreement. In case... it all still keeps voiced. There was an agreement. He came up and said, 'Why are you fiddling around that Odessa'? There was that 'Kulikovo Field' all the time, non-stop. 'You better give Odessa to me and it will be just like in Dnipropetrovsk.' So to say, no one will dare to show up. They said, 'OK'.
    Ian: He used to come to Odessa. He has already been in Odessa.
    Noginski: He is still there. And has been busy during the recent three days with what makes 16 people dead who had been arrested and stayed alive after the 'Trade Unions House'. Two people were put a knife near the building. And so forth.
    Ian: Well, Oleg, I just, you know, can't believe that Benya (Kolomoysky nickname) is able to do that.
    Noginski: You know, many people here say they feel he went kind of crazy. These days, you know, Korban is actively trying to take Tsarov's property. Well, there's nothing I can add.
    Ian: I just don't know him, that's why I cannot say anything. I don't know him.
    Noginski: Well, he is a good friend of Benya... And Filatov (first assistant of Kolomoysky) already gives a reward for "moskals" (Russians) and already pays. I just... Ian Borisovich, the thing it that Benya's affairs are up to him. He can do whatever he likes. In case he imagines himself second Hitler... Well, I think there will be a second Nazi Germany on the territory of a small piece of Ukraine. Benya will be a multibillionaire and the owner of this territory. But what Jews in the rest of the world will do... I just think it is necessary to publicly back off from this process right away.
    Ian: What do you mean? What process?
    Noginski: From Kolomoysky. From Benya.
    Ian: Well, how?
    Noginski: Just report that in this case the world Jewish community, firstly, has nothing to do with personal position of Mr. Kolomoysky, secondly, a) don't back up neither Odessa, nor Mariupol, nor any other and sincerely sympathize with them. And thirdly, state that in case any of Jews is noticed in Nazi crimes, we will be first to deal with it.
    Ian: Thank god, there hasn't been any problem with it lately.
    Noginski: The more so because of one man who decided to become a billionaire, a multibillionaire or imagined himself to be an owner of Ukraine...
    Ian: No, the matter is that the synagogues are... They should be standing apart from all these things. A synagogue is a place for meeting, it's a prayer place. It should deal with inner life of Jews. That's it. This is so to say what a synagogue is about. So, dealing with so to say politics, dealing with such things and backing up...
    Noginski: I mean... You know, I've got such feeling that standing apart is not an option for us.
    Ian: Come again.
    Noginski: We can't help standing apart. By the way, I asked Oleg not to make it public. His first thought was to make it public.
    Ian: No. By doing this he will definitely bring reproach on Jews right away.
    Noginski: You don't say so! It will start a huge wave of tension. The more so, it will start all over the world.

[mafarrico]

http://rt.com/news/158864-kiev-snipers-not-berkut/

Quem diria?

‘No evidence of Berkut police behind mass killing in Kiev’ – probe head

Published time: May 14, 2014 10:14
Edited time: May 14, 2014 11:46


There is no forensic evidence linking the victims of mass killings in Kiev on February 20 with officers from the Berkut police unit, the head of the parliamentary commission investigating the murders told journalists.

"This will be yet another case, like the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy, which is still being investigated today,” Gennady Moskal reported.

The MP made the statements at a media conference on Tuesday gathered to announce preliminary results of his commission’s probe. He assured that despite the Ukrainian General Prosecutor’s office having arrested 12 Berkut officers on allegations of committing the mass killings, forensic evidence suggests their innocence.

He said the bullets that killed people in Kiev on the bloodies day of confrontation between protesters seeking to oust President Viktor Yanukovich and riot police didn’t match any of the firearms issued to Berkut’s special unit, which, unlike the majority of riot police, was allowed to carry lethal weapons.

Moskal added that the first shot was fired at police, not the protesters. He alleged that the shooters were agents of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) acting from the ranks of the protesters, but admitted that genuine protesters could have been the culprits.

Earlier Moskal said that the investigation of the high-profile case was being stalled by the SBU and the Interior Ministry because the post-coup heads of the law enforcement don’t want to face the scandal which would ensue if the real perpetrators were exposed.

In early April, the Ukrainian authorities arrested 12 members of Berkut for alleged participation in the mass killings. The move sparked protest among their fellow officers, who picketed police HQ in Kiev, saying the arrests were made on poor evidence that accusing the authorities of denigrating them. The prosecutors called the suspects “Berkut black company” when announcing the arrest.

The sniper case is one of the hottest issues in Ukraine, where the new authorities accused the ousted president of ordering the mass killings. Both he and several former Ukrainian officials accused the new authorities of sending the snipers to provoke bloodshed and topple the government.

Yanukovich said he never ordered anyone to shoot at Ukrainian people.

The same version was voiced privately in a leaked conversation between EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton and Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet.

Russia says that activists of the radical Right Sector ultranationalists are the most likely culprits.

[Edu]

Há um novo exército nas ruas de Mariupol, pago pelo homem mais rico da Ucrânia
 Alexandre Martins   16/05/2014 - 14:21

O oligarca Rinat Akhmetov entrou de forma decidida na crise ucraniana, pondo-se ao lado do Governo interino. Milhares de trabalhadores das suas empresas patrulham, desarmados, uma das cidades ocupadas pelos separatistas.

Durante mais de um mês, as ruas da cidade de Mariupol fizeram parte do mapa sangrento que começou a ser desenhado no Leste da Ucrânia depois da anexação da Crimeia pela Rússia. Poucos esperavam que o cenário se alterasse de um momento para o outro, mas foi isso mesmo que aconteceu: bastou uma ordem disfarçada de apelo ditada pelo oligarca Rinat Akhmetov para que dezenas de milhares de mineiros e trabalhadores da siderurgia, todos incluídos na sua folha de pagamento, formassem um verdadeiro exército e começassem a limpar e a patrulhar as ruas, expulsando as milícias pró-russas dos edifícios que tinham ocupado.

Poucos dias depois do referendo sobre o estatuto de Donetsk, que levou os separatistas a pedirem informalmente a integração na Federação Russa, os ventos podem ter começado a mudar na região, soprados pelos receios económicos do homem mais rico da Ucrânia.

Na quarta-feira, Rinat Akhmetov, outrora apoiante e financiador do Presidente Viktor Ianukovich e do seu Partido das Regiões, revelou publicamente o resultado da equação que lhe tinha sido apresentada pela crise política no país. Apesar de ser conhecido pela aversão às câmaras de televisão, Akhmetov entrou nas casas dos ucranianos durante quatro minutos para anunciar que estava definitivamente ao lado da "Ucrânia unida" e dos projectos do Governo interino para uma maior autonomia – ele que continua a oscilar entre a desconfiança e a fúria dos manifestantes que ocuparam a Praça da Independência e que acabaram por levar à deposição de Ianukovich.

No mesmo dia, milhares de trabalhadores da poderosa Metinvest, uma das cinco maiores fabricantes de aço do mundo, começavam a patrulhar, desarmados, as ruas de Mariupol ao lado dos agentes da polícia local. Grupos constituídos por seis a oito trabalhadores e dois polícias percorrem agora a cidade, para assegurarem a ordem pública, mas também para deixarem as ruas como elas estavam antes do início da crise – sem pneus empilhados, sem sacos de areia, e sem combatentes determinados a arrancar uma parte do mapa da Ucrânia.

Para além de Mariupol, Rinat Akhmetov despertou também o seu exército de trabalhadores em outras cidades da região de Donetsk, segundo o relato do enviado do jornal norte-americano The New York Times, mas em nenhuma delas com o mesmo sucesso. Slaviansk, o bastião dos separatistas, continua a resistir a todas as investidas das tropas fiéis a Kiev, e não dá sinais de tremer perante as mais recentes milícias no campo de batalha em que se transformou o Leste da Ucrânia.

O facto de o homem mais rico da Ucrânia – e um dos 100 mais ricos do mundo, com uma fortuna avaliada em mais de 12 mil milhões de dólares (quase nove mil milhões de euros), segundo a revista Forbes – ter finalmente entrado na batalha entre Kiev e Moscovo não é propriamente uma surpresa. Mas a forma directa e decidida como o fez indica que a crise política no país está a pôr em risco o seu império e, como ele e os seus administradores fizeram questão de sublinhar, os postos de trabalho de quase 300.000 ucranianos.

"Ninguém quer que a região de Donetsk se transforme numa espécie de zona cinzenta, sem reconhecimento internacional. Isso seria muito doloroso para nós", disse à agência Reuters o director-geral de uma das fábricas da Metinvest, Iuri Zinchenko.

O risco de que a autoproclamada República Popular de Donetsk se junte a entidades como a Abkházia, na Geórgia, ou a Transnístria, na Moldova, na lista de territórios fechados à maior parte do resto do mundo, é grande de mais para os interesses de Rinat Akhmetov, que gere um império assente nas exportações.

Um risco que aumenta à medida que o tempo passa e Moscovo não responde ao pedido dos líderes separatistas para que a República Popular de Donetsk seja integrada na Rússia.

Ao contrário do que aconteceu com a Crimeia, a Rússia tem dado mostras de não querer enterrar-se até ao pescoço no Leste da Ucrânia – uma coisa é desestabilizar a região, como acusam as novas autoridades de Kiev, os Estados Unidos e a União Europeia, e outra é repetir a estratégia seguida na península.

Depois de o Presidente russo, Vladimir Putin, ter apelado ao adiamento do referendo de domingo passado, sem sucesso, o porta-voz do Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros veio dizer nesta sexta-feira que Moscovo ainda não recebeu um pedido oficial por parte dos separatistas.

"Não tenho conhecimento de que tenha sido enviado um pedido oficial, apesar de os media terem especulado muito sobre isso", afirmou Alexander Lukashevich.

O responsável sublinhou que a Rússia está mais interessada "no lançamento de um diálogo abrangente entre os ucranianos, com assistência internacional, sobre os caminhos para a futura estrutura do Estado da Ucrânia".

Mas o principal teste ao futuro da Ucrânia está a pouco mais de uma semana de distância, e tudo pode ainda acontecer até lá – ninguém sabe ao certo se o exército de trabalhadores de Rinat Akhmetov será suficiente para travar o separatismo no Leste do país, mas as notícias do regresso da calma a Mariupol vieram acompanhadas de indícios de dissensões entre os pró-russos.

Um dos homens que liderou a ocupação da câmara da cidade, German Mandrakov, disse à agência Associated Press que os seus homens foram "forçados" a abandonar o edifício.

"Toda a gente fugiu. Alguém está a tentar semear a discórdia entre nós, alguém assinou alguma coisa, mas nós vamos continuar com a nossa luta", disse Mandrakov.

Pelo menos por enquanto, os milhares de braços que Akhmetov enviou para Mariupol parecem estar a ganhar terreno. Nesta sexta-feira, a porta-voz da polícia local, Iulia Lafazan, falou numa "melhoria drástica" da situação desde que os homens da Metinvest começaram a patrulhar a cidade.

Entre eles há várias tendências em relação ao conflito – muitos não apoiam o Governo interino de Kiev, mas o receio de perderem o trabalho fala mais alto.

"Toda a gente tem direito à sua opinião, mas não no trabalho. No trabalho, temos de fazer o que a fábrica exige", disse ao The New York Times um dos chefes de turno da Metalúrgica Illitch de Mariupol, Sergei Istratov.

Uma convicção partilhada por Iuri Rizhenkov, director executivo da Metinvest: "A coisa mais importante que nós temos é a fábrica. Se tivermos a fábrica, temos postos de trabalho, salários e estabilidade familiar."

A maré começa a mudar no leste, os separatistas e pró-russos (a não ser que a Russia intervisse) vão ficar isolados.

[HSMW]

Ukrainian tanks near Donetsk

Ukrainian Tanks near Izyum

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mais alguns

Russian mercenaries in the Donbas

Although Vladimir Putin has so far stopped short of a full-scale invasion of Eastern Ukraine, he has used mercenaries trained by the Russian military to organize anti-government acts in the region. Who are these soldiers and where did they come from? A number of websites and bloggers have provided profiles of some fighters. It is evident from these profiles that the core group was trained by Russian military instructors, mostly in Krasnodarskii Krai in the Kuban. Some of the fighters have dubious pasts, all hold extremist right-wing views.

Over the last few years Russian authorities have nurtured far-right paramilitary groups by supporting reconstructionist groups (who rebuild tsarist military organizations and reenact battles), knife-fighting clubs, biker gangs (the Night Wolves are Putin’s favourite gang), and detachments of Cossacks. Vladislav Surkov is considered the first to come up with the idea of placing extreme right-wing groups ‘at the service of the Motherland.’ In the century’s first decade, as deputy-head of the President Putin’s administration with responsibility for internal politics, he decided to disrupt political opposition groups of all kinds (from followers of Eduard Limonov’s National Bolshevik party to antifascists) by using violent gangs recruited from football fans. Then the neo-Nazi organization BORN (Battle Organization of Russian Nationalists) appeared, and implemented more radical ways of ‘solving’ the ‘opposition problem’ by killing human rights activists and journalists (See Lynch, http://balkanist.net/right-world/2).

Here are some of profiles of individuals fighting in the Donbas.

1. Strelkov-Girkin



The leader of the ‘Donbas self-defence’ force is Igor ‘Strelkov.’ His real surname is Girkin. He was born in 1970, and comes from Moscow. An avid reconstructor of historical events, he loves to dress up in the uniforms of the White armies who fought in the South, and to reenact the campaigns of the Volunteer Army of South Russia from the period 1918-1920. He took part in reenactments of the ‘War of 1916’ in 2009 and the ‘Civil War’ in 2010. He has also participated in reenactments of Russia’s imperial wars.

From June 1993 until July 1994 he served as a rifleman in a company of guards. Then in 1995 he was on contract service, mainly as deputy commander of a platoon. His last service was ‘directing the struggle against international terrorism’ while working for the Russian FSB (Security Service). It is rumoured that he was fired from the FSB in the autumn of 2013.

The SBU (Ukrainian Security Service) calls him an agent of Russia’s GRU (Main Intelligence Directorate) and says he has visited Ukraine on a number of occasions, travelling on a Russian passport. The journalist Oleh Kashin has stated that Strelkov was introduced to him as a member of the GRU on 2 March, during negotiations over the Crimea (See Kashin’s interview,  http://sputnikipogrom.com/russia/11673/ ... in-magadan).

Strelkov has given interviews to broadcasters as a military expert. In 2013 during one broadcast on the Arab Spring he discussed anti-partisan warfare in the following terms: ‘The basis for success in wars of the new type is [to understand that] these are preventative, specialized, not large-scale military operations. Having removed a few leaders in time, perhaps not always through legal means, these operations preserve thousands and thousands of lives, entire regions. This is precisely how the armed forces and special operations of Israel operate, and the results are obvious: in spite of the hostile environment, the safety of Israeli citizens is much higher than in any other country of the Far East’ (Strelkov profile, Crime.in.UA,http://crime.in.ua/statti/20140429/strelkov-portret). Clearly, he is capable of leading a campaign of assassinations.

Strelkov-Girkin took part in the Crimean events of February-March 2014. He arrived there in late February, shortly before the building of the Crimean parliament was occupied. The SBU has informed that at the beginning of March 2014 he received an order from Moscow to begin large-scale terrorist operations in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts (See Ukrainska Pravda, 16 April 2014).

Strelkov has given an interview in which he describes his ‘Donests self-defence’ force in the following way: ‘This homeguard has many volunteers from other regions. The detachment with which I came to Sloviansk was formed in Crimea. I will not hide this fact. They were all volunteers, and two-thirds were citizens of Ukraine.’ He goes on to claim that many of these people, who ‘are now citizens of Ukraine,’ fought with the Russian armed forces in Chechnia and the Middle East. Some fought in Iraq and Yugoslavia in the ranks of Ukrainian forces. Some were even in Syria’ (Strelkov-Girin interview,http://www.kp.ru/daily/26225.7/3107725).

2. ‘Babai’-Mozhaev



‘Babai’ (real name Aleksandr Mozhaev) has become something of a celerity in the Russian media’s propaganda campaign in support of military intervention in the Donbas. The blogger Tolkovatel informs that most people with his profile would have avoided publicity: Mozhaev is wanted in Russia on criminal charges (for either hooliganism, or attempted murder). Forced to flee criminal proceedings, he first went to Crimea and from there to the Donbas (http://ttolk.ru/?p=20508).

Despite his grey beard, which makes him appear fifty, Mozhaev is only 36. After serving in the Russian army, he made money in small-time crime and trained in military activities. He lived in Belorechensk in Krasnodarskii Krai, where he trained with the ‘Terek Wolves.’ It turns out that many of these ‘soldiers of fortune’ are from Belorechensk and were trained in the same company by two former special services men (reportedly FSB officers). Tolkovatel states that although Mozhaev defines his views as monarchist, ‘this does not prevent him from posing against a background of Nazi regalia.’

4. ‘Berkut-Kobr’-Tkachenko



The nickname of this ‘soldier of fortune’ is ‘Berkut-Kobr’ (also known as Vladislav Valentinovich Tkachenko). Born in 1975 in Omsk, he fought in Chechnia and is trained in gun shooting and knife-fighting. He likely also spent time training in Krasnodarskii Krai.

10. Olga Cherkerdes



The blogger Tolkovatel presents Olga Chekerdes as a rare example of a woman in the masculine world of mercenaries. According to him, she was born in Sevastopol, where she participated in paramilitary organizations. She considers herself a member of the ‘Don Cossacks of Crimea,’ and in recent years has travelled to Belorechensk for training with the ‘Wolves.’ She idealizes General Piotr Krasnov, who agreed to organize and head Cossack units recruited from anti-bolshevik emigres and Red Amy prisoners of war who were of Cossack background. The Nazis required Krasnov to follow their political line and to maintain a Cossack separatist orientation.

11. ‘Krasnyi’-Andrei Krasilnikov

Tolkovatel reports that Russian documents were apparently found on one of the individuals who burned in the Trades Union Building in Odesa belonged to Andrei Krasilnikov (nicknamed ‘Krasnyi’). Born in 1966, he came from Nizhnii Novgorod, where he worked in the militia’s criminal investigation unit.

On 31 August 2004 he was given a conditional sentence of three years imprisonment by the Nizhnii Novgorod court and banned from serving in any law-enforcement agency for two years. His conviction was for beating three workers in the Gorky automobile factory in August 2003. The militia accused them of stealing machine parts from the factory. When they refused to ‘confess’ they were beaten on the legs with steel pipes. They lodged complaints, were again summoned and beaten with steel pipes, and again lodged complaints.

Eventually, on 16 July 2004 the head of the militia detachment was found guilty and sentenced to four-and-a-half years imprisonment and given a three-year ban from serving in law enforcement. The deputy head, the chief inspector of criminal investigations, and Krasilnikov himself, who was the lead criminal investigator in this case, all recveived similar conditional sentences and bans.

Tolkachov describes these individuals as déclassé element who became mercenaries to make money and demonstrate their worth. They serve the Russian military, which finances, arms, and directs them.

A number of researchers have confirmed the allegiance of these individuals to far-right ideologies, including neo-Nazism. Some, like Tolkachov, feel that such views doom their uprising to failure. The blogger writes: ‘The tormented, impoverished, strongly proletarianized society of Donbas will never accept a right-wing ideology. It is clear that these people [the mercenaries] will not be able to entice the masses.’ This may in the long term prove correct. However, it should be noted that the deep-seated resentment of this population continues to search for political expression. The Party of Regions is now discredited. So is the communist party, in both its Ukrainian and Russian versions. For many decades it has represented ‘a parody of a social movement,’ to use Tolkachov’s words. The blogger concludes that at this moment of crisis the people of the Donbas are being encouraged to fight a mythical ‘fascist’ government in Kyiv while being led by ‘pro-Russian’ military leaders who  hold extreme nationalist, and in many cases neo-Nazi views.

[mafarrico]

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB1 ... 34056.html