|
Post by DavidH on Mar 5, 2017 15:31:13 GMT
Thread covers latest military, political, economic & humanitarian developments in Eastern Europe. Post no: 1 Sticky for important info. Russian Military Districtsgoogle tags: live blog, updates, Ukraine, Belarus, NATO, Donbass
|
|
|
Post by DavidH on Mar 5, 2017 15:38:54 GMT
Ukraine central bank warns blockade could nearly halve 2017 growthA blockade on goods from rebel-held territory could nearly halve Ukraine's expected economic growth this year, the head of the central bank said on Thursday, as the bank kept its key rate on hold. For the past month, opposition lawmakers and military veterans have blocked rail traffic from territory held by Russia-backed separatists. This has prevented coal supplies from reaching Ukrainian power plants and the steel industry, whose exports are a keystone of the economy. Earlier the bank said it would keep its main interest rate on hold at 14 percent, warning of inflation risks stemming from a recent escalation in the separatist conflict and the rail blockade. www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-cenbank-idUSKBN16921U
|
|
|
Post by DavidH on Mar 5, 2017 15:39:29 GMT
Germany says to keep soldiers in Baltics as long as neededGerman Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel on Thursday criticized Russia's military build-up on its borders with the Baltic states as irrational and said Germany would keep troops in the region for as long as needed. The NATO presence will swell further for exercises this summer, but is still dwarfed by the Russian military build-up, U.S. officials say. "The military potential that the Russian Federation has built up here at the border is completely irrational in my view because there is zero threat emanating from these countries," Gabriel told reporters. Gabriel gave no further details, but said the German troops would remain at the Lithuanian base "as long as needed". www.reuters.com/article/us-nato-defence-baltics-germany-idUSKBN1691UR
|
|
|
Post by DavidH on Mar 5, 2017 15:39:54 GMT
DNR announced the trade embargo with KievThe head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic Alexander Zakharchenko said that the residents of Donbas have learned to live in blockade by the Ukrainian security officials now DNR declares blockade of Kiev. ria.ru/world/20170303/1489215136.html
|
|
|
Post by DavidH on Mar 5, 2017 15:40:27 GMT
US Congress to slash defence aid to UkraineThe Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives of the US Congress has drafted a bill, which provides for the transfer of Ukraine $ 150 million for defence purposes. The assistance envisages include training of Ukrainian military, purchase of uniform, as well as defensive weapons. The proposed bill is to be considered the House of Representatives of the US Congress and approved by the US president. The document cuts the US military assistance to Ukraine by half. In 2016, US defense budget for the military support of Ukraine envisaged $ 300 million sum. en.lb.ua/news/2017/03/03/3260_us_congress_slash_defence_aid.htmlForeign Ministry: Moscow can only welcome proposals to cut US military aid to UkraineRussia can only welcome the proposal by US congressmen to cut Washington's military aid to Ukraine by more than half, if this prompts Kiev to comply with the Minsk agreements, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told TASS on Friday. He thus commented on reports on the proposal by the US House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations to earmark $150 mln in military aid for Ukraine in the 2017 fiscal year instead of $350 mln. The bill discussed by the US House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations says that the Pentagon can spend $150 mln in aid for Ukraine until September 30 (the end of the current fiscal year). These funds can be spent on training troops, purchasing equipment, defense weapons etc. However, these funds cannot be used to acquire or transfer man-portable air defense systems. More: tass.com/politics/933887
|
|
|
Post by DavidH on Mar 5, 2017 15:41:11 GMT
Political Tension Grows In MacedoniaOn March 3, 2017 in Skopje, Macedonia, thousands of Macedonian nationalists, with the support of the former ruling right wing party (VMRO-DPMNE), march to the parliament during a rally against an agreement between socialist democrats (SDSM) and Albanian parties to make Albanian the second official language. www.gettyimages.co.uk/license/647598336?share=site_twitterEU's Mogherini heckled in Serbia by pro-Russia MPsEU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has been heckled in the Serbian parliament by pro-Russia MPs. She called for closer integration between Serbia and the EU. Far-right Serbian Radical Party leader Vojislav Seselj said hecklers sent "a clear message that Serbia doesn't want to enter the EU, but wants integration with Russia". www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39160145
|
|
|
Post by DavidH on Mar 5, 2017 15:42:39 GMT
Gulliver Cragg @gullivercragg 13 minutes ago
Ukrainian activists, having blocked freight traffic with occupied areas of Donbas, started blocking trains from Russia.
UPDATE: Gulliver Cragg @gullivercragg 2 minutes ago
Activists lifted "blockade" of rail freight between Ukraine & Russia after agreement with rail company to monitor it.
|
|
|
Post by DavidH on Mar 5, 2017 16:26:27 GMT
Julian Röpcke @julianroepcke 6 hours ago
48 Ukrainian Army casualties over the first four days of March 2017.
^Figure includes fatalities and casualties.
|
|
|
Post by DavidH on Mar 5, 2017 16:34:31 GMT
|
|
|
Post by DavidH on Mar 5, 2017 17:03:30 GMT
Alex Kokcharov @alexkokcharov In Brest, Belarus, about 500 locals joined a protest rally against tax on the "social vagabonds".
|
|
|
Post by DavidH on Mar 5, 2017 20:06:39 GMT
OHCHR: Civilian casualties in Donbas double in past two monthsThe Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has reported that the number of civilian casualties in Donbas doubled in January-February 2017 compared to the previous reporting period of November-December 2016. "Since the beginning of the year, OHCHR verified 111 civilian casualties (20 deaths and 91 injuries), compared to 51 in November-December 2016," the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its Humanitarian Bulletin on Ukraine for January 1 – February 28. Most casualties were caused by shelling from artillery, tanks and multiple launch rocket systems, it said. www.unian.info/war/1808612-ohchr-civilian-casualties-in-donbas-double-in-past-two-months.html
|
|
|
Post by DavidH on Mar 6, 2017 11:48:19 GMT
Germans Begin To Ratchet Up Military MightThe German military has staged several military exercises in Poland and other parts of Eastern Europe, and its pilots form part of the air police deterring Russian planes buzzing the EU's eastern borders. It has also begun to take on more dangerous missions - deploying troops to the Balkans, Afghanistan and, last year, to Mali. The military also has taken on a logistical support role in the allied fight against the Islamic State. But the Germans are slated to do much more. In 2014, German officials agreed with other NATO nations to spend at least 2 percent of its gross domestic product on defense within 10 years - up from about 1.2 percent in 2016. Until recently, however, many German officials privately acknowledged that such a goal - which would see Germany leapfrog Britain and France in military spending - was politically untenable. After 26 years of cuts, defense spending is going up by 8 percent this year. Germany, along with its regional allies, has begun exploring an increase of military activity through joint European operations - and experts see that, and NATO, as the most likely funnels for German military power. www.ndtv.com/world-news/caught-between-trump-and-russia-germans-begin-to-ratchet-up-military-might-1666657
|
|
|
Post by DavidH on Mar 6, 2017 12:08:05 GMT
Europe Considers Its Own Nuclear DeterrentUnder such a plan, France’s arsenal would be repurposed to protect the rest of Europe and would be put under a common European command, funding plan, defense doctrine, or some combination of the three. It would be enacted only if the Continent could no longer count on American protection. Though no new countries would join the nuclear club under this scheme, it would amount to an unprecedented escalation in Europe’s collective military power and a drastic break with American leadership. The number of warheads in Europe would not increase under this plan, and could even decrease if the United States withdraws. www.nytimes.com/2017/03/06/world/europe/european-union-nuclear-weapons.html?smid=tw-nytimesworld&smtyp=cur&_r=0
|
|
|
Post by DavidH on Mar 6, 2017 14:20:40 GMT
Rally against trade blockade of Donbas in [Ukraine held] Kramatorsk via @5channel
|
|
|
Post by DavidH on Mar 6, 2017 21:03:50 GMT
Helicopters from 10thCAB "Nighthawks" arrive in Romania via @usarmyeurope
|
|