KIEV — “The video is funny because it’s so true,” says my Ukrainian teacher, Katrin Khalabuzar, during a recent lesson at a Kiev hipster café. I see why the video has struck a nerve with her and close to 50,000 other Ukrainians: It shows President Petro Poroshenko promising at various points that a deal to allow Ukrainians to travel to …
Chernobyl disaster site enclosed by shelter to prevent radiation leaks
Reactor No 4 at Chernobyl, the scene of the worst nuclear accident in history, has been enclosed by a vast steel shelter designed to prevent radiation leaks from the site. The structure covers the reactor and the unstable “sarcophagus”, which was hastily built around it by Soviet authorities in the immediate aftermath of the disaster 30 years ago. The shelter …
Scandalous Poll: 84% of Ukrainians want Putin as their president
The Ukrainian publication Nedelya.UA conducted a poll among its readers asking the following question: “Which politician would you entrust with the governance of your country?” The survey was participated in by 41,600 readers and showed the following figures: 84% (34,900) of Ukrainian respondents want to see Vladimir Putin as president of Ukraine. In second place with 5% (2,000) was Belarusian …
US ELECTIONS AND SUMMER ESCALATION IN UKRAINE
Recent weeks have seen a series of incidents, mainly on the Donbass, suggesting a large-scale escalation of combat operations cannot entirely be ruled out. Ukrainian forces have stepped up bombardments of frontline LPR/DPR positions and of Novorossia cities and towns. There have been a number of efforts by regular UAF forces and by “volunteer battalions” to seize key terrain features …
Eric Zuesse – Gallup: Ukrainians Loathe the Kiev Government Imposed by Obama
On December 23rd, Gallup headlines “Ukrainians Disillusioned With Leadership,” and reports that “nearly nine in 10 Ukrainians (88%) say corruption is widespread in their government, and about eight in 10 (81%) see the same widespread problem in their country’s businesses.” 8% of Ukrainians now say they “have confidence … about the national government.” 17% approve of the job-performance of their President, Petro …
Jonathan Marshall – How ‘Obscure’ Bureaucrats Cause Wars
History isn’t just made by impersonal forces and “great men” or “great women.” Sometimes relatively obscure men and women acting in key bureaucratic posts make a real difference. Thus, the international crisis in Syria traces back in part to the decision of President Barack Obama’s first ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, to reject peaceful rapprochement with the Damascus regime in …
James Howard Kuntsler – Tick Tick Tick
Did Charlie Rose look like a fucking idiot last night on 60-Minutes, or what, asking Vladimir Putin how he could know for sure that the US was behind the 2014 Ukraine coup against President Viktor Yanukovych? Maybe the idiots are the 60-Minutes producers and fluffers who are supposed to prep Charlie’s questions. Putin seemed startled and amused by this one on Ukraine:how could he know for …
Eric Zuesse – Obama’s Ukrainian Forces Break Minsk Agreement: Resume Invasion
The U.S.-backed Ukrainian Armed Forces, on Wednesday August 26th, resumed their all-out war against the breakaway Donbass region, according to an announcement on August 27th by the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) Deputy Commander, Eduard Basurin. Donetsk is the largest city in Donbass — the region that broke away from Ukraine after the February 2014 U.S. coup in Kiev, which threw out the …
Right Sector threatens violence throughout Ukraine By Andrea Peters
The Ukrainian neo-fascist militia, Right Sector, has announced it is preparing for “widescale actions” and the holding of an “emergency Congress” in Kiev, after a violent standoff with a rival gang and government authorities in western Ukraine last week. The primary fighting force behind the US-backed coup in February 2014 that led to the installation of the current regime in …
Kiev ‘Brainwashing’ Ukrainian People as Economy Collapses – Former PM
Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov says that authorities in Kiev are driving the country into the depths of economic depression, while brainwashing ordinary Ukrainians into believing that their political predecessors and ‘Russian aggression’ are to blame for their troubles. In a comment posted Saturday on his Facebook page, Azarov stated that “the Kiev regime is brainwashing Ukrainians using several myths. …