The Battle for Novorussiya

[Lauren Johnson]

In the larger US/NATO war on Russia, it appears the so-called Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) is about to resume in full force. Although the various Ukrainian units, I hesitate to call them an army, never stopped attacking mostly via the use of artillery attacks on civilian targets, they have mostly been re-supplying, re-organizing, digging in and training while negotiations where being conducted.

All negotiations have come to an end with not signs of any serious resumption in the offing. While the Ukrainian President Poroshenko was in Paris showing solidarity with the victims of terror, his units massively increased their shelling of Donesk and Gorlovka along with probing attacks by attacks by recon units. Today in what appears to be some kind of failed false flag, a Pravy Sector unit attacked and destroyed a bus carrying what they said were terrorists with anti-personnel mines. When it was revealed that the bus was filled with civilians, they tried to lay the blame on separatist units. That story was quickly refuted.

The Saker has been getting reports of long tank columns approaching the front lines. A fourth mobilization in Ukraine is about to take place targeting about 200,000 people. Official Russian communications state they have reliable information that the Ukrainian decision is for war.

The outcome? Russia would like for the separatist republics to survive with nothing more than the covert aid that it supplies. The Ukrainian forces would obviously like to annihilate the resistance and kill or drive out the Russian speaking population. US/NATO can be satisfied if Russia is drawn into the conflict to prevent the Donbass from being overrun. The propaganda opportunities will be endless.

Finally, I read a report (rumor?) that CNN has units in Eastern Ukraine. :hock::

[Magda Hassan]

Yes, there was not much ceasefire at all. I heard that they were looking to mobilise women as soldiers and confiscating (borrowing?) vehicles from businesses.

[Lauren Johnson]

From Vladimir Suchan on FB:

As it turned out, the trip of Poroshenko "I am Bandera" to Paris to march in solidarity with haters and mockers of religions ("I am perverse Charlie"), where he was able to receive new personal instructions from his masters, also coincided with his order to resume the war against Donbass in full blast. In other words, the war is now fully raging along the whole front from Mariupol in the south to Lugansk in the north.

EDIT: There needs to be a lot more confirmation on this.

[Magda Hassan]

From Vladimir Suchan on FB:

As it turned out, the trip of Poroshenko "I am Bandera" to Paris to march in solidarity with haters and mockers of religions ("I am perverse Charlie"), where he was able to receive new personal instructions from his masters, also coincided with his order to resume the war against Donbass in full blast. In other words, the war is now fully raging along the whole front from Mariupol in the south to Lugansk in the north.

EDIT: There needs to be a lot more confirmation on this.

Grahame Phillips said there was major fighting at Donetsk airport (again? still?) with in the last couple of hours.

[Lauren Johnson]

From Vladimir Suchan on FB:

As it turned out, the trip of Poroshenko "I am Bandera" to Paris to march in solidarity with haters and mockers of religions ("I am perverse Charlie"), where he was able to receive new personal instructions from his masters, also coincided with his order to resume the war against Donbass in full blast. In other words, the war is now fully raging along the whole front from Mariupol in the south to Lugansk in the north.

EDIT: There needs to be a lot more confirmation on this.

Grahame Phillips said there was major fighting at Donetsk airport (again? still?) with in the last couple of hours.

Every time the airport is liberated, the next day or so comes another update. And then there was the day when replacements were allowed in with removal of some casualties. Weird. There even was a video of Motorola greeting the other commander. Suspicion? They are trying to prove they are not worthy of accepting desertions.

The word today was that the final soldiers would be allowed to leave the airport, otherwise they would be killed. I don't get it.

Another Minsk Accord meeting is set for 1/16. The last one ended with no progress.

There does not seem to be any Russian press coverage about the conflict. The Kremlin certainly is not pushing the war. The last official Russian position was that the Donbass region is a part of Ukraine. On the other hand, the Saker continues to say that Russia cannot and will not allow Novorussiya to be over run.

My own guess is that if Russia could find a way to give the appearance of a peace accord, they would take it. Since US/NATO is running the show, it's their call. I think war is in the works short of Putin accepting a humiliating defeat.

[Magda Hassan]

How viable is Ukraine really though? Sure the oligarchs and some NATO interests are pushing the envelope but they are really scraping the bottom of the barrel as far as money and assets go. There war is not universally supported even in the western Ukraine. Lots of resistance and foot dragging. Lots of pissed off government workers, teachers and health care workers and others who have had pay cuts. Even the EU wont put all their money on this clapped out horse. Maybe this offensive is the hoorah before the chocolate king melts down and the rest of Ukraine with him?

[Lauren Johnson]

How viable is Ukraine really though? Sure the oligarchs and some NATO interests are pushing the envelope but they are really scraping the bottom of the barrel as far as money and assets go. There war is not universally supported even in the western Ukraine. Lots of resistance and foot dragging. Lots of pissed off government workers, teachers and health care workers and others who have had pay cuts. Even the EU wont put all their money on this clapped out horse. Maybe this offensive is the hoorah before the chocolate king melts down and the rest of Ukraine with him?

Just. Not. Viable.

But I don't think that's the point. The state runs on both terrorizing its own citizens as well as lots of propaganda. The full mobilization of the population is now going forward. I saw a video of some Pravy Sector boys leading some of their cheers with everyone supporting it except for one old man who was roundly booed. I'm putting my money on the force of hate enforced by terror to carry the day. It's a winning combination for the dark forces.

[Lauren Johnson]

Maggie, Here's an article of young men fleeing, mostly to Russia, to escape the coming conscription in Ukraine. Glad they can get out.

Also, along your line of thinking, I understand the Ukrainian Kolomoisky run punitive battalions are do not want to fight their "brothers."

[Lauren Johnson]

Better brush up on your Russian before watching this. It's the visuals that are so powerful. Ahhh ... victory is soooo sweet.

[Lauren Johnson]

The constant talking points from Ukrainian, European, and US leaders is that Russian backed separatists must fully and completely comply with the Minsk Accords. This is said despite the constant shelling of civilian targets ever since the signing of the Minsk Accords. Now there is the issue of the destruction of a civilian bus by the Pravy Sector, supposedly designed to boost the sagging morale of the normal conscript. They for the most part do not want to fight. Here is a very good article from GlobalResearch and a video taken from a dashcam showing the blast coming from the right side of the bus from an anti-personnel mine.

One more thing, this act was declared a terrorism of course, and guess who is all over that one.

On January 13th 12 passengers on a bus going to Donetsk were killed in an explosion near the Ukrainian controlled town of Volnovaha. Ten casualties were reported directly and two more died later in the hospital. Both Kiev and Marie Harf of the Obama Administration were quick to put the blame on the Novorussia army saying it was an artillery strike."Attacks on the airport of Donetsk and the shelling of the bus, which killed 10 people and injured 13 more, constitute gross violations of the Minsk agreements", said Harf.

The problem is the nearest artillery set up in DNR is over 50 kilometers away which is well out of range.

Poroshenko immediately ordered another mobilization of conscripts and Kiev tightened the blockade of Donbass by stopping bus and train travel near the war torn area.

The problem for the Ukrainian and US Administration's claim is video footage from the scene shows clearly that the area was mined. The footage was taken by Ukrainian soldiers at the scene.

Further complicating the claim that this was an artillery attack is in an apparent attempt at a coverup by Kiev. This hole is what the Ukrainian government is claiming to be the crater from the shell blast. The hole itself has square edges obviously made with the shovel used to dig it.

Simplifying the investigation is this image from the scene that shows a Ukrainian soldier with what appears to be a claymore mine. Claymore mines are direction anti-personnel mines that can be triggered remotely.

Shown in the Vkontakte social media post below Pravy Sektor has taken responsibility for the attack saying they killed 15 terrorists and took 3 prisoners. The men, women, and children on the bus were civilians whose crime was traveling on a bus on the wrong day. The area they were traveling in is completely in the Ukrainian government's control. This is another outrage.




What is Kiev Up To?
For the last few days Kiev has gone on the offensive again. In the last 24 hours Kiev has broken the peace treaty over 60 times. Incendiary shells rained down on Donetsk overnight. Over the previous 24 hours prior to that Kiev attacked over 40 times. Donbass forces are now on a counter offensive retaking towns Poroshenko's forces have attacked with tanks in what is supposed to be neutral area.

In a hacked document from Ukrainian SBU (equivalent to FBI) head Valentin Nalyvaichenko, dated December 25th, 2014, attacks on civilians in towns occupied by the Ukrainian army were ordered. (Note: this is in the Ukrainian Government controlled area, not in the rebel-held area.) The document states that patriotic nationalist officers were to set up temporary artillery positions and kill civilians. The reasoning according to the document is low Ukrainian troop morale. Local citizens are questioning the soldiers' right to be there, and these citizens support the the Novorussia volunteers. Ukrainian conscript-soldiers are losing the will to continue fighting in the war. (The objective of simply killing the local residents the people who live there is not what they had thought that the alleged Anti-Terrorist Operation,' or ATO, was all about.) The document was not written by conscripts, who are the general Ukrainian population; it was instead written by a true-believing nazi, or fascist racist, an individual who instead represents the people that the Obama Administration (now with the full support of the U.S. Congress) had placed into power during the February 2014 coup and these nazis' particular hatred is directed specifically against Russians, and against anyone who supports Russia and Russians. The killing of the residents there is thus a morale-booster for the relatively few nazis who are fighting on the side of the Ukrainian Government, but not for the majority of that Government's troops, for whom it is the opposite: very depressing to be participating in.

The document stipulates that after the attacks are completed, nationalist officers were to then move the artillery positions and blame Donbass defense forces for the attack. This propaganda move is designed to enrage conscripts in the Ukrainian army against "the enemy" and raise morale needed for the offensive Kiev is now beginning. The officers would be reassigned to a different location away from the apparent war crime.

The document shown above is more clear evidence of crimes against humanity by the Ukrainian government. The question is how long will they be allowed to investigate their own criminal actions, and when will the world demand justice for the people of Ukraine and Donbass?

This video is in Russian, but the visuals are quite obvious.