|
Post by DavidH on Mar 16, 2017 19:28:36 GMT
Kiev hits five Russian banks with sanctionsKiev has imposed sanctions on five Russian banks after the Kremlin issued a decree requiring lenders to recognise passports issued by Ukraine’s two Moscow-backed breakaway republics. The measures target the Ukrainian subsidiaries of Sberbank and VTB, Russia’s two largest state banks, as well as Prominvestbank, which is owned by VEB, Russia’s state development bank. The sanctions come after Russian president Vladimir Putin signed a decree last month recognising passports from the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics as identity documents. Sberbank said the decision was “politically motivated.” Andrei Kostin, VTB’s chief executive, told state television that the group stood to lose “hundreds of millions of dollars” as a result. www.ft.com/content/1c2251ea-0a65-11e7-ac5a-903b21361b43
|
|
|
Post by DavidH on Mar 17, 2017 13:17:45 GMT
A new army will appear in the Southern Military DistrictThe 8th Combined-Arms Army (OA) will appear in the Southern Military District. The G8 headquarters are planned to be deployed in Novocherkassk, and parts and units of the new association will be deployed in the Rostov and Volgograd regions. As Izvestia was told in the Southern Military District, the formation of the army has already begun. It is planned that the first stage will be completed in June 2017. The exact organizational and staff structure of the new association is still unknown. But the newly formed 150th motorized rifle division, which is also based in Novocherkassk, will probably join the army. Also, the 8th OA, most likely, replenish the 20 th Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade from Volgograd. izvestia.ru/news/670561
|
|
|
Post by DavidH on Mar 17, 2017 13:19:09 GMT
|
|
|
Post by DavidH on Mar 17, 2017 13:34:27 GMT
Russia is ready to turn down its decision about "LDR/DPR passports" recognitionThe Russian Federation will cancel the order on recognizing in the territory of the country the documents issued by the DNR / LNR structures, after the Ukrainian side has fulfilled the Minsk agreements. This was stated by the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the OSCE Alexander Lukashevich. At a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council on March 16 in Vienna, Lukashevich commented on the situation in Ukraine, including in Donetsk and Lugansk regions, the press service of the Russian Foreign Ministry reported. novosti.dn.ua/news/268062-rossyya-gotova-otmenyt-prykaz-o-pryznanyy-pasportov-l-dnr
|
|
|
Post by DavidH on Mar 17, 2017 13:37:43 GMT
Kremlin isn't going to integrate Donbas into Russia - PeskovIn the Kremlin they say that they do not consider the scenario of integration of certain regions of Donetsk and Lugansk regions (ORDLO) into the Russian Federation. This was reported by Interfax-Ukraine. "There are no such scenarios, some written. You know that there are different discussions. You know the mood, which was repeatedly voiced by representatives of the Donbass. But there are no written scenarios on this score, "Dmitry Peskov, the presidential press secretary, told journalists on Friday. novosti.dn.ua/news/268068-peskov-kreml-ne-planyruet-yntegryrovat-donbass-v-sostav-rossyy
|
|
|
Post by DavidH on Mar 17, 2017 13:41:21 GMT
The head of the LNR favours holding referendum on accession in the Donbass region to RUSSIAThe head of the Lugansk People's Republic, Igor Plotnitsky, said he was in favor of holding a referendum in the Donbass region on the accession of the region to Russia. This is reported by RIA Novosti. Plotnitsky also noted that if such a referendum is held, the results will be the same as in the Crimea. In the opinion of the head of the LNR, the introduction of the transport blockade of the Donbass in the republics is regarded as the actual recognition by Kiev of the independence of the LNR and the DNR. tvzvezda.ru/news/vstrane_i_mire/content/201703171448-dpeg.htm
|
|
|
Post by DavidH on Mar 17, 2017 13:43:02 GMT
NATO ships arrived in Odesa Update: NATO Maritime Command @nato_MARCOM 6 hours ago Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 2 arrived in Odesa, Ukraine this morning.
|
|
|
Post by DavidH on Mar 17, 2017 13:46:31 GMT
|
|
|
Post by DavidH on Mar 17, 2017 13:52:23 GMT
French troops to arrive in Estonia on MondayOver 50 French soldiers will arrive in Estonia on Monday, marking the beginning of the deployment of nearly 300 French troops that will be joining the over 800 British soldiers to be stationed in Estonia. The NATO battle group's equipment will include tanks scheduld to arrive in Estonia in the coming weeks, infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) as well as self-propelled artillery. news.err.ee/584617/french-troops-to-arrive-in-estonia-on-monday
|
|
|
Post by DavidH on Mar 17, 2017 16:49:06 GMT
Belarus crackdown: more than 200 arrested or detained in two weeksThe wave of protests rose against the construction of a business center near Kurapaty, the site of massive executions under Stalin, and against the so-called "social parasites fee" Presidential Decree No. 3, imposing a tax on unemployment. Among the more than 200 opposition members, journalists, activists, human rights defenders and average citizens detained at the protests on-going since the beginning of March are several former political prisoners and opposition leaders. A number of other opposition and civic activists were for their part arrested prior to protests in order to prevent them from participating in the demonstrations. Despite these detentions, on 15 March, several thousands of citizens took to the streets in Minsk, Mahiliau, Hrodna, Vitsebsk and other cities. At least 70 protesters were detained on 15 March and 54 were sentenced to up to 15 days in detention the following day. Most people were arbitrarily arrested and detained on their way to the demonstrations and on non-related charges: asocial behavior, swearing in a public place, etc. Others were picked up and detained upon returning home after the demonstrations, either on the streets nearby or in public transport on their way home. The arrests were carried out by unknown men in civilian clothing and people were taken to police stations in unmarked vehicles. Many, including women and minors, were violently beaten. Two independent online media websites charter97 and Belarusian Partisan, operating from abroad, were blocked during the demonstration. Continues- www.fidh.org/en/region/europe-central-asia/belarus/belarus-crackdown-more-than-200-arrested-or-detained-in-two-weeks
|
|
|
Post by DavidH on Mar 17, 2017 16:51:57 GMT
NATO top boss: No threat against the BalticsNATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says the alliance sees "no imminent danger" of a conventional military assault in the Baltic Sea region. Stoltenberg says "we are worried" about Russia's actions and possible intentions, but at the same time "it is important that we do not dramatize the situation." www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4936875,00.html
|
|
|
Post by DavidH on Mar 18, 2017 10:20:35 GMT
British troops arrive in Estonia120 Soldiers from the 5th Battalion The Rifles Battlegroup (5 RIFLES), including members of an Armoured Engineer Squadron, Military Police Detachment, Artillery Group and Port Task Group, arrived at Amari airbase last night. According to the government, the 120 soldiers are fundamental to setting up a UK headquarters in the country before the rest of the UK deployment arrives next month, increasing the total number of troops in Estonia to around 800. This week, around 300 UK vehicles have also arrived Estonia, including Warrior infantry fighting vehicles, Challenger 2 tanks and AS90 self-propelled artillery pieces. ukdefencejournal.org.uk/british-troops-arrive-estonia-part-major-nato-deployment/?utm_source=TW&utm_medium=Twitter&utm_campaign=social
|
|
|
Post by DavidH on Mar 18, 2017 10:33:01 GMT
"LPR" started supplying coal to Crimea"LNR" began supplying coal to Russia annexed by Crimea. This is reported by the DNR website controlled by the DAN. For 2 years "ЛНР" plans to put on peninsula of 3,5 million tons of coal from the Ukrainian enterprises in separate areas of Lugansk area. "We began to supply coal to Russia, to the Crimea. We have a contract, it works. Volumes of about 3.5 million tons. The contract is designed for two years. These are real things that are already happening, "- said the head of the" LNR "Igor Plotnitsky journalists in the Crimea on Friday, March 17. According to him, deliveries are made by rail, through Rostov-on-Don and the Kerch ferry crossing. novosti.dn.ua/news/268076-lnr-nachala-postavky-uglya-v-krym
|
|
|
Post by DavidH on Mar 18, 2017 10:49:11 GMT
|
|
|
Post by DavidH on Mar 18, 2017 11:30:28 GMT
U.S. Army Soldiers Slash Time To Move From Port To FrontDetermined to deter the rising Russian threat, the US Army is slashing the time it takes for a brigade to get ready for battle once it’s arrived in Europe, from over 40 days to under 10. The 9-14 days of what’s called Reception, Staging, Onward Movement, & Integration (RSOI) doesn’t include the time to sail equipment across the Atlantic. That’s why the service has warehoused a brigade’s worth of equipment in Army Prepositioned Stockpiles, building up to a division by 2021: With the heavy equipment already stockpiled in Europe, you can just fly troops in from the US overnight and start nine days of RSOI. However fast we deploy, the Russians can always deploy faster. In 2016, RAND did a series of wargames exploring a Russian invasion of the Baltic States, and once the Red Army started rolling, these tiny nations’ independence was measured in hours. “Across multiple games,” RAND scholars wrote, “the longest it has taken Russian forces to reach the outskirts of the Estonian and/or Latvian capitals of Tallinn and Riga, respectively, is 60 hours.” It’s a widely shared conclusion. So trying to race the Russians to Riga from a standing start is, well, a non-starter. Instead, the Army is keeping three brigades in Europe at all times: a light paratroop brigade (the 173rd Airborne) in Italy, a medium Stryker brigade (2nd cavalry) in Germany, and a heavy tank brigade deployed from the US. Then, if diplomats and intelligence officers picked up “indications and warnings” that Russia was readying an attack, more brigades would deploy from the US — the first wave flying in its troops and picking up equipment from Army Prepositioned Stocks, the second sailing its equipment from the US.breakingdefense.com/2017/03/army-soldiers-slash-time-to-move-from-port-to-front-deterring-russia/?_ga=1.102575049.952986818.1486232823
|
|