Tag: May 9

Dmitry Tymchuk’s Military Blog: Summary – 7th of May, 2014

Translated and edited by Voices of Ukraine
The bad news:

1. The closer we get to May 9, the more alarming are the signals we receive of the impending activation of the pro-Russian extremists. Although they can hardly be called passive now.

What’s worse, against this backdrop Putin has begun his next game. ‘Tipping off’ separatists to postpone the referendum, his near-willingness to recognize the Presidential elections in Ukraine–it’s like the guy’s been replaced.

But the Head of the Kremlin’s lie about the alleged withdrawal of Russian troops from the Ukrainian border does not allow for delusions. No one is withdrawing troops. This means that the soothing and nearly peaceful statements by Putin–are likely a show for the most gullible.

We don’t yet understand the reasoning behind this game. But it is clear that we shouldn’t relax. Quite the contrary.

2. The geography of extremist danger keeps on growing.

Today, we have included Zaporizhya Region in the ‘red’ zone (with the threat of extremism at 5 or higher on a 10-point scale), whereas the previously assessed threat was at 4 points.

However, the threat in Kharkov region went down–it dropped from the ‘red’ to the ‘yellow’ zone. So, they cancel each other out. We will present the infographic tomorrow.

3. Today at a press conference, the head of the Anti-terrorist Center at the SBU  Vasyl Krutov announced that during the ATO, 14 Ukrainian servicemen were killed, and 66 servicemen were injured.

We have slightly different data, but it doesn’t matter. What really matters is that every day of confrontation is paid for by human lives.

These fallen guys from the special forces are Heroes. Vechnaya Pamyat (Memory eternal) for them.

The good news:

1. Today we ran a small monitoring mission to prepare the region for possible provocations on Victory Day [May 9].

The situation is better than you might expect. Not the most optimistic picture, however, in Donetsk and Luhansk only.

Especially positive are Kharkov and the southern regions (primarily Odessa and Mykolaiv, and Kherson to a lesser extent). Here, very powerful measures have been taken to counter the threat both by security forces and local authorities. (I am not talking about Dnipropetrovsk­–here the local authorities have initially shown themselves to be up to the mark.)

For example, ‘Kyiv-1’, a special police battalion formed by volunteers arrived in Odessa today. The Defense Ministry conducts activities along its chain of command–I think we will be able to report about them tomorrow.

2. The anti-terrorist operation. Today, we finally got the full information needed to complete the puzzles. We received full confirmation of our fears about the reasons for the apparent lack of effectiveness of the ATO.

Our previous claims to the leadership of the ATO and interactions between the special forces were fully justified. The positive is in the fact that we saw some serious, ongoing work from the “top” to eliminate the problem.

The main problem lies in staff. Our generals have grown used to their comfy office chairs, they are unable to make decisions and fear liability, with a panic. The good news is that there are still adequate people amongst them. Despite the delays, they are still being assigned to key positions.

I think that today, in this grim and joyless environment for Ukraine, a new generation of Ukrainian law enforcers is being born. Commanders and leaders who are ready to take responsibility, and soldiers who are ready to defend their country and its people–not in words but in deeds.

Unfortunately, this birth is payable with blood.

3. As a result of the separatist attack on the bus carrying the ‘Azov’ police battalion, the ‘Minister of Defense’ of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, Igor Kakidzyanov was captured.

Is it just me or are Donbass extremists truly idiots? Is this how they famously ‘attack’, to immediately give up their main ‘commander’? And if their ‘Defense Minister’ is such a unique individual, what should we expect from their ‘soldiers’?  What a dumb ‘army’, to be honest with you.

4. The SBU reported that in Odessa the existence of a Conversion Center was discovered that funded the riots on May 2. As expected, Yanukovych’s ‘Family’ bears responsibility for the financing.

In general, it’s not a big secret: the more the channels which finance extremists are blocked, the more chances there are to succeed in the fight against them. Without money, there will be no terror under the Russian flag. And Mr. Putin and his ilk can tightly roll up and stick their ideas of ​​’Russian World’ wherever they earlier stuck norms of international law.

Source: Dmitry Tymchuk FB

Events of April 25th

dmitry_tymchukDmitry Tymchuk, translated and edited by Voices of Ukraine

Brothers and sisters,

Here’s the Summary for April 25, 2014

The bad news:

1. Unknown degenerates threw a grenade at a checkpoint near Odessa this morning, and as a result seven people were wounded. Later in the day it became known that these same extremists planned to beat veterans on May 9 (Victory Day in Ukraine) “under contract” from a Russian TV Channel (as reported by the SBU).

Personally, I don’t like this fuss in the south. According to our data, with all the events happening in eastern Ukraine, our security forces are keeping an eye on Odessa, Mykolayiv, and Kherson. And this is very right.

But we are anticipating a powerful surge in various similar extremist acts by May 1 (Labour Day) and May 9. Let’s hope that the most heinous plans by pro-Russian “snitches” will be disrupted.

2. As a result of a shootout by terrorists at Kramatorsk airfield, a Ukrainian special forces Mi-8 helicopter and an An-2 plane were burned down.

I will not pose as a great strategist, but this event inevitably raises a number of questions. It was fine when Sloviansk separatists walked around the oblast (region) as if it was their home (although one cannot call it normal). But damn it, couldn’t they at least provide protection for the objects used by the Ukrainian security forces during this anti-terrorist operation (ATO)? It’s all very strange.

3. In Sloviansk, terrorists have hijacked a bus with OSCE representatives. This is the epitome of rudeness and cynicism.

It is absolutely clear that extremists are a bunch of drunk criminals and Kazachky (diminuitive of Cossack) led by professional subversives from Russia. Here’s the question to Ukrainian authorities. Do they realize that this egregious case – is a spit in the face? The ATO is under way in the region for a number of days already, and now look at it. Very sad, and I see no excuses.

The good news:

1. The Federation Council of Russia is against the invasion of Ukraine.

Valentina Matviyenko, the Chairman of the Federation Council, insists on continuing negotiations to resolve the crisis in Ukraine. This is as clear as day, she is Putin’s pet “talking head.” When it was necessary, the very same Federation Council happily voted to send troops to Ukraine in early March.

Does this mean that Putin has abandoned his plans to invade Ukraine? I think not. Rather, by playing democracy, he is preparing an excuse in case he considers the invasion to be inappropriate. But this statement does take the pressure down a notch.

2. The work of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry never ceases to delight us.

Today’s statement by the Ministry is quite extensive, but it lays everything out on the shelf. This includes the fact that Ukraine does not need Russian “peacekeepers,” the difference between separatists and Russian-speaking Ukrainians (Moscow is convinced that it amounts to the same thing), and the right of Ukraine to defend itself against terrorism through the use of force.

This rhetoric is relayed in a very educated and convincing manner. We must understand that these very guys are responsible for forming the attitudes of the international community towards events in our country. And they are truly doing a great job.

3. The operation to liberate Sloviansk has not been a complete success, but at least the city was finally blocked. It’s better than nothing.

4. It’s not necessarily “good news,” but rather a few words on the subject. Presidential candidates manifest themselves in the “Eastern crisis” in a very interesting manner.

Mykhaylo Dobkin is sitting in Kharkiv, where he wages his tense and invisible war for the unity of Ukraine. Having survived the egg attack by Luhansk separatists in mid-April, he is trying today to avoid the frontlines.

Serhiy Tigipko also performed ​​a quiet act of bravery in Luhansk a week ago. He bravely entered the SBU building, occupied by separatists “to negotiate.” Everyone held their breath. Half an hour later, Tigipko came out, shook separatists’ hands and said pointedly (if you believe the media), “All right, hang on here.” Leaving behind some innuendos.

Petro Poroshenko “landed” in Luhansk yesterday. He was blocked by a pro-Russian crowd right at the airport. Although it is not clear what they wanted from Poroshenko – it seems that he always demonstrated the ability to maintain composure in dialogue with his beloved Russian separatists. Especially since he always had problems with Moscow on business issues.

Yulia Tymoshenko announced that she came to an agreement with the separatists. Although Luhansk separatists immediately declared that nothing like that ever happened. Hopefully, Yulia Volodymirivna will invite separatist to the televised Presidential debates and convince them in front of all honest people that agreements with them still exist.

After visiting Crimea, Natalia Korolevska visited the “hot spots” – Kramatorsk, Sloviansk, and Donetsk Regional State Administration. Then, she made ​​a surprise announcement contrary to the general rhetoric. That in eastern Ukraine, aside from kids running around with guns, there are millions of Ukrainians who are offended by the word “separatist.” These are ordinary retirees, public officials, families with children who have been cut off from the world.

The sensible idea about this is that behind all this “war” (both within the Russia-triggered outrage, and during political battles) ordinary people go into the background. And that’s very bad.

Let us hope that in the future those in power will remember the lessons of today, and realize that human beings are the guarantee of stability in any region.