Brothers and sisters!
Here’s the Summary for June 23, 2014
The bad news:
1. I did not want to comment on the situation with the alleged closure of the border with Russia. But [we received] too many appeals on this issue.
That is why I will say this: we, the IR group, to our deepest regret, don’t see any reason to share the confidences of government authorities with respect to its [border] control. Neither regarding the so-called “firing control” [of the border], nor any other [type of control]. Ah well.
2. The unpleasant story around the volunteer Aidar Battalion continues. The Aidar “Combat” announced today that the battalion was being withdrawn from the ATO area and is subject to being disbanded.
We failed to find a Defense Ministry [official] who would confirm the information about its disbanding. [Ed. Note: 30 minutes after the summary got published, Dmitry Tymchuk received confirmation from Ukrainian Defense Ministry that Aidar Battalion was not being disbanded]. But this does not matter. The fact is that an opposition of a volunteer formation to state structures is currently in full swing. And this has very negative consequences for both sides.
The very story of the Aidar Battalion and its armed fight near Luhansk is a story of heroism and tragedy. Near Luhansk, both battalion soldiers and military servicemen were killed. Brothers, [our] common misfortune should unite and not divide [us], especially when [we] work towards a common cause.
I am sure that both the Aidar soldiers and military leadership have something to say to each other. But this should not be done in a format of mutual accusations but in the form of discussion for the sake of key things–specific conclusions and decisions on how to work together. Perhaps the discussion should not be public, but with the involvement of military experts. There are complaints towards the organization of operation management, or, conversely, to the operation tactics by volunteers–why aren’t they submitted to an agenda for the sake of consensus?
The good news:
1. Today, the EU voiced the following position through the mouth of the British Foreign Secretary William Hague: if Russia doesn’t make organizational conclusion and stop supporting terrorists by the end of the cease-fire in Donbas, i.e.: June 27, it will face further sanctions.
I am not sure that the EU will still really dare to do what it vowed to do in early March, and enter a third round of sanctions, but it’s a powerful promise.
Although I fear that its forcefulness will predictably decrease depending on the size of the bonuses “Gazprom” will provide for some European officials and politicians.
2. By the end of today it became known that the terrorists promised a ceasefire until June 27.
If this happens (although it’s hard to believe), then it’s probably because of Moscow’s fear of receiving a third round of sanctions from the EU, but not from the insurgents’ desire for peace. They clearly demonstrated their “desire” during the first three days of the truce.
But in any case, a cease-fire, it is a respite afterall. And if Petro Poroshenko manages to bring peace back to Donbas without “surrendering” Ukrainian interests, then honor and praise to him.
3. The “DPR” [Donetsk People’s Republic] complains that Putin does not respond to their fiery appeals to make their careless company part of Russia/annex their careless company to Russia.
Today, some creature named the press secretary (please try not to laugh so hard, have compassion for a mentally ill person) of the “Moscow Mission of the MFA [Ministry of Foreign Affairs] of the Donetsk People’s Republic” Darya Mitina complained in tears that all of the terrorist calls to the Kremlin remain unanswered.
It seems these clowns don’t realize that they, i.e.: cannon fodder, have another purpose–to breathe as long as Moscow needs it. And no one in Russia is going to ask them for tips on global issues. The sooner these citizens, unburdened by intelligence, understand this truth, the better for them.
