Ukraine: What Is The Situation?

August 2, 2014

The news from Ukraine is quite vague. It is not exactly clear to me who is gaining in the military field. While the Ukrainian military claims to have some successes it is also losing quite a lot of material and personal. At least ten Ukrainian soldiers, probably many more, were killed in an ambush yesterday. Add to that many pictures of destroyed tanks and APCs.

So what is really the military and political situation? Is there a reliable side or source for information on it?

Posted by b on August 2, 2014 at 17:38 UTC | Permalink

Comments

@100 You won’t get balanced reporting from the BBC until the official position changes. They do mention Strelkov and Boroday occasionally managing to make them look like bandits. The Guardian is no better….here is an impartial journalistic gem from yesterday…..
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/02/ukrainian-military-closes-in-pro-russia-rebels-donetsk

Posted by: dh | Aug 4 2014 19:45 utc | 101

Cnn just reported that there are explosions around donetsk. Reporter was whispering like he was afraid. He said he hears gunfire on the street but it did not sound like there was any return fire.
I hope that kiev troops and/or mercs are not shooting civilians to try and pin it on the resistance. Just saying….

Posted by: really | Aug 5 2014 22:54 utc | 102

@102 continued
Ukraine rebels attack medics, casualties rise
August 5, 2014 KIEV: Pro-Kremlin rebels in eastern Ukraine are hampering the treatment of a growing number of civilian casualties by threatening doctors, hijacking ambulances and looting medical equipment, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday“.
Pro-Russian insurgents’ attacks on medical units and personnel are putting sick and vulnerable people and those who care for them at risk,” Yulia Gorbunova, Europe and Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch (HRW), said in a statement.
“This appalling disregard of people who are sick or wounded can be deadly and needs to stop immediately,” she said The New York City-based rights group said it had documented insurgents hijacking ambulances to transport fighters, coercing medics, and expropriating equipment in what could constitute war crimes…”
http://www.manilatimes.net/ukraine-rebels-attack-medics-casualties-rise/116721/
I have a gut feeling that this story bs..

Posted by: really | Aug 5 2014 23:41 utc | 103

Nieuwsuur August 5, 2014
Airlift cargo from Eindhoven Airport, The Netherlands to Kharkiv, Ukraine in joint Dutch/Australian MH-17 Recovery Mission.
Australian cargo planes 24/7 continu flights from Eindhoven to Kharkiv loaded with 100 ton goods. Presumably for medical facilities, six ambulances, a humvee armored vehicle. Two planes are in use. Any idee if more than medical/rescue goods are involved?
Facebook RAAF: Operation Bring Them Home
The Royal Australia Air Force contribution to Operation Bring Them Home has continued, with a C-17A Globemaster transporting medical equipment and supplies into the Ukraine on August 1st, 2014. The Australian Government continues to work alongside Dutch and Ukrainian authorities to ensure the swift identification and repatriation of victims of the MH17 tragedy. (See photos}
Two Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) C-17A Globemasters and a KC-30A Multi Role Tanker Transport, all from RAAF Base Amberley near Brisbane, sit on the tarmac at Eindhoven Airfield.
○ NATO/European Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC). Heavy Airlift C-17 supports MH17 ops

Posted by: Oui | Aug 6 2014 11:36 utc | 104

@104
NATO is building up a trust fund to support the Ukrainian defense sector financially, the source in NATO headquarters said, TASS reports
http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_06_23/NATO-creating-trust-fund-to-support-Ukraines-defense-sector-agency-5556/
http://voiceofrussia.com/2014_06_18/Ukraines-engagement-to-NATO-is-part-of-big-geopolitical-game-that-US-is-playing-8682/

Posted by: name | Aug 6 2014 15:12 utc | 105

http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/7/nato-ukraine-vladimirputincrimeaeuropeunitedstates.html
For some reason the link won’t open for me. Maybe someone else can.

Posted by: ? | Aug 6 2014 17:32 utc | 106

Colonel Cassad: …and once again “the criminal regime went against Maidan”
They are burning tires again in Kiev. The criminal regime once again wants to suppress freedom and democracy.
Today at 9am from the side of the Mikhaylovskaya St. the municipal employees and the police officers started to dismantle the barricades.

Posted by: Demian | Aug 7 2014 8:43 utc | 107

Looks like the Maidan unrest are back.
Maidan Unrest Back to Life as Activists Clash With Police on Central Kiev Square | World | RIA Novosti

KIEV, August 7 (RIA Novosti) – Clashes among activists and police broke out Thursday on central Kiev’s Maidan Square, the flashpoint of the country’s pro-EU uprising in November 2013.

Activists were seen throwing stones and sticks at police and firemen in a bid to force them out of the square.

A RIA Novosti correspondent said that tires were set ablaze, with sounds of what appeared to be an explosion heard in downtown Kiev. Thick smoke has blanketed the square, where a protest camp was set up less than a year ago.

Posted by: Fran | Aug 7 2014 10:37 utc | 108

@demian 107 – sorry didn’t see that you posted the topic already, but I guess “doppelt genäht hält besser”. 🙂

Posted by: Fran | Aug 7 2014 10:39 utc | 109

Seems like the junta going all in now, the civilian killed is around 1700 now.

Posted by: Anonymous | Aug 7 2014 13:25 utc | 110

On Monday 4 August, the Saker posted a Ukraine SITREP that had the so-called Southern Cauldron in East Ukraine shrinking, with the surrender of Ukrainian troops.
Also on Monday 4 August, the Saker posted his hypothetical explanation of the downing of MH17 by a Ukrainian Su-25, Just the baseless hypothesis of an uninformed amateur, nothing more.
On Wenesday, 6 August the Saker posted an alternative, BUK based explanation of the downing on MH17 by Ukrainian forces, Detailed expert analysis of the MH17 downing.
On Thursday, 7 August the New Straits Times came out in favor of the Sakar’s Su-25 hypothesis, but cited US analysts conclude MH17 downed by aircraft.
Everyone seems to have packed up and left the crash site. Apparently the investigation to implicate Russia was not going as planned.
On Friday, 8 August Elizabeth Zimmermann noted, German commission undermines parliametary approval requirement for military operations.
Also on Friday, Christopher Dreier wondered. What lies behind the warmongering by Der Spiegel?
Today, Sunday 10 August, the Saker has a long SitRep claiming the loss of 4000 lives by the Ukainian invaders of Novorussiya, in a long, (The MUCH awaited) Ukraine SITREP, which includes a story from the Ukrainian press in which a Ukrainian soldier details his own growing dissatisfaction with the war and among the Ukrainian troops.
Also on Sunday, Eric Margolis notes for an MSM audience in the “West” that maybe war in the Ukraine is not really such a good idea, What If There’s a Real War in Ukraine?

Posted by: john francis lee | Aug 10 2014 6:57 utc | 111

http://en.rsf.org/ukraine-ukrainian-parliament-approves-very-12-08-2014,46793.html
“…, the proposed law would allow the National Security and Defence Council (RNBO) to suppress the dissemination of any national or international media or block any website on the grounds of protecting “security and national interests” without referring to a court.
The sanctions envisaged by the bill – whose second reading is scheduled for later today – include “limiting or banning the activity of media or other sources of information, including on the Internet” and “banning the production or dissemination of any printed product or other informational content.”
It also says “the broadcasting of television or radio stations” and “the use of Ukrainian broadcast frequencies” can be banned…”
—————————————————————-
Kiev must be feeling some pressure from the populace at large.

Posted by: really | Aug 13 2014 14:20 utc | 112

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