Protests in Ukraine escalate

[Natalka]

#HagueCourt orders #Russia to stop persecuting #CrimeanTatar #Mejlis, allow education in #Ukrainian in #Crimea





The International Court of Justice’s decision on April 19 concerning Ukraine’s suit against Russia may have rejected one request for provisional measures, but its intercession on behalf of Crimean Tatars and other Ukrainians facing persecution in occupied Crimea and its recognition of jurisdiction on both claims made this an important victory for Ukraine.

(The Court) ordered Russia to “refrain from maintaining or imposing limitations on the ability of the Crimean Tatar community to conserve its representative institutions, including the Mejlis”. The order to “ensure the availability of education in the Ukrainian language” was passed unanimously.

If Russia continues its ban on the Mejlis and persecution of its members, it will be in direct breach of the UN International Court of Justice whose jurisdiction it recognizes.

http://khpg.org/en/index.php?id=1492636628

[Natalka]

UN court rejects Kiev bid for measures against pro-Russian rebels

The Hague (AFP) - The UN's top court on Wednesday rejected a bid by Kiev for emergency measures to halt Russia's alleged funnelling of money and arms into Ukraine's war-torn east
The complicated interim ruling by 16 judges at the International Court of Justice in The Hague came as the conflict in eastern Ukraine enters its fourth year.
"Both parties shall refrain from any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute before the court or make it more difficult to resolve," the judges ordered.


Seeking to bring stability to its east, Ukraine had sought an urgent interim court order demanding Russia refrain from "any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute" such as allegedly pumping money, weapons, equipment and personnel to the rebels.
And it urged the tribunal to order Moscow to control its borders with eastern Ukraine and halt racial discrimination in Crimea -- particularly against Tatars -- which Russia annexed in March 2014.
But the judges found that so far Kiev "has not put before the court evidence which affords a sufficient basis" to show that any funds from Moscow were used "to cause death or serious bodily harm to a civilian."
Therefore "the conditions required for the indication of provisional measures" on whether Moscow had broken an international convention on terrorism financing "are not met".


In its filing, Ukraine charged Russia with "sponsoring terrorism" by financing pro-Russian separatists and failing to stop military aid from seeping across the border into eastern Ukraine's Donbas region.
It called on the court's 16 judges to rule that "the Russian Federation bears international responsibility" for "acts of terrorism committed by its proxies in Ukraine".

https://www.yahoo.com/news/un-court-...151906794.html



(not impressed by this...)

[Natalka]

Euromaidan Press

4 hrs ·

Past 24 hours in the war zone
Russian proxies launch 47 attacks against Ukrainian positions in Donetsk, Luhansk and Mariupol sectors using tanks, 82mm mortars, various grenade launchers, and large-caliber machine guns.
Two Ukrainian soldiers killed, eight wounded

President Poroshenko in recent interview to Sky News, USA: "Is it a frozen conflict? It is a true hot war. It is real aggression. There are over 700 Russian tanks, over 1,250 artillery systems and over 300 multiple rocket launchers in the occupied Ukrainian territory."

[Natalka]

Ukraine will pray for her fallen heroes at 12:00 on April 23 at St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv.
In three years of war against Ukraine, almost 3,500 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or have died defending their country.
- 758 were young men aged 19-25; 25 were mere boys aged 16-18;
- more than 4,500 children have lost their father;
- about 100 servicemen have not been identified, and have been laid to rest in the cemeteries of Dnipro, Starobilsk and Zaporizhzhya.
We will remember every boy and every man… every fallen hero!
Their names and photos have been installed on the Wall of Remembrance commemorating the defenders of Ukraine (walls of the Golden-Domed Monastery).

[Natalka]

-Vasyl Nizhensky, soldier in the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade, was killed at Avdiyivka on April 20, 2017.
Vasyl was born in Uman on January 24, 1988. He leaves behind his wife and son.
Вічна Пам’ять! Eternal Memory!
Герої не вмирають! Heroes Never Die!

[Natalka]

Past 24 hours in the war zone
Russian proxies and mercenaries launch 41 attacks on Ukrainian positions in Donetsk, Luhansk and Mariupol sectors.
Two Ukrainian soldiers wounded

houses were damaged in the shelling of Maryinka, Ukraine-controlled southwest suburb of Donetsk, National Police reports. No one was hurt, most of the residents in the neighborhood were hiding in basements.

[Natalka]

An American member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) was killed and German and Czech monitors were injured Sunday, when their car hit a mine, near Moscow backed separatist controlled Luhansk, eastern Ukraine.



The U.S. State Department has said it was "shocked" over the death of a U.S. citizen serving as an international monitor in the conflict zone in Ukraine and called on Russia to use its influence to allow a full investigation.
The comments came on April 23 after the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said a member of its monitoring staff was killed and two more were injured after their vehicle hit a mine in eastern Ukraine in an area controlled by Russia-backed separatists.

"This death underscores the increasingly dangerous conditions under which these courageous monitors work, including access restrictions, threats, and harassment," the statement said. "The United States urges Russia to use its influence with the separatists to allow the OSCE to conduct a full, transparent, and timely investigation."

It was the first reported death among OSCE staff members, who were first deployed to the region in 2014 to monitor the cease-fires between the Russia-backed separatists and Ukrainian government forces in a conflict that has killed at least 9,940 people.

https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-osce.../28447060.html

[Natalka]

Joseph Stone, 36, is the American medic killed when his vehicle struck a land mine in the Russia-controlled part of Luhansk Oblast on April 23. He was a contract worker for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's Special Monitoring Mission.



Stone is the first member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine to be killed on duty. He was killed near the village of Pryshyb, 800 kilometers southeast of Kyiv, in the Russian-controlled part of Luhansk Oblast.

Stone died in an explosion and fire when the OSCE armored vehicle he was in, one of two on patrol in the area, hit the suspected mine. Two of his colleagues were injured. Overnight into April 24, the OSCE brought Stone’s body to Ukrainian-controlled territory in order to repatriate his remains.

Stone is survived by a son, girlfriend, two brothers, a grandmother and his mother

https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-pol...iend-says.html

[Natalka]

Past 24 hours in the war zone
Russian proxies launch 65 attacks against Ukrainian positions in Donetsk, Luhansk and Mariupol sectors using 122-mm artillery systems, 120- and 82-mm mortars, antiaircraft guns, armoured personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles.
Three Ukrainian soldiers killed, four wounded
OSCE drone registers 77 tanks and 13 armoured combat vehicles near Ternove in Luhansk Region

[Natalka]

Remembering:

The Chornobyl disaster was a catastrophic nuclear accident that occurred on April 26, 1986 at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. It revealed the lies, hypocrisy and disregard for human life that the USSR was built on.
An explosion and fire released large quantities of radioactive particles into the atmosphere, which spread over much of the western USSR and Europe.
The Chornobyl disaster is the worst nuclear power plant accident in history in terms of cost and casualties, and is one of only two classified as a level 7 event on the International Nuclear Event Scale.
The battle to contain the contamination and avert a greater catastrophe ultimately involved over 500,000 workers and cost an estimated £11 billion ($18 billion).
During the accident 31 people died, and long-term effects such as cancers and deformities are still being accounted for.
Soviet officials did not report the disaster for several days.
Even in the plant workers' town of Prypiat, few knew what had happened when the plant's No. 4 reactor blew up around 1.30am in the morning.
It was the beginning of the end for the USSR

[Natalka]

Oleksandr Kiriyenko and Vasyl Nizhensky were killed April 20, 2017 during enemy shelling near Avdiyivka. Two comrades-in-arms, two friends who fought together to protect their country.
Oleksandr had just turned 20… He was from Desna, Chernihiv Oblast. He enlisted in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and served in the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade.



Vasyl was 28, from the city of Uman, Cherkasy Oblast. He also served in the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade. He leaves behind a wife and child.



Вічна Пам’ять! Eternal Memory!
Герої не вмирають! Heroes Never Die!

[Natalka]

Past 24 hours in the war zone
Russian proxy forces launch 47 attacks on Ukrainian positions in Mariupol, Donetsk and Luhansk sectors.
One Ukrainian soldier killed, six wounded

Russia has just sent another "humanitarian convoy", the 64th, to the occupied regions of Luhansk and Donetsk Oblast.Ukrainian customs and border guard services are not allowed to inspect these trucks. Ukraine claim evidence that these trucks contain weapons, ammunition and anti-tank grenades among food boxes.

[Natalka]

Ruslan Amirov was laid to rest on April 25, 2017 in the village of Sosnytsia, Chernihiv Oblast. 25-year-old Ruslan was killed by a sniper bullet on April 23, 2017 in the well-known PromZone in Avdiyivka.

Ruslan served in the First Battalion, 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade. He was born on March 31, 1992 in Sosnytsia. As reported by the ATO press Centre, as of April 23 enemy gunmen have been shelling Avdiyivka with 120mm mortars, anti-tank grenade launchers and large-caliber machine guns, and Ruslan was caught in the midst of these attacks.

Вічна Пам’ять! Eternal Memory!
Герої не вмирають! Heroes Never Die!

[Natalka]

Past 24 hours in the war zone
Russian hybrid troops launch 52 attacks against Ukrainian positions in Mariupol, Donetsk and Luhansk sectors using 122-mm artillery, 120- and 82-mm mortars, armoured personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles.
One Ukrainian serviceman killed. seven wounded

[Natalka]

23-year-old Ivan Melnyk was killed by a sniper bullet in the war zone on April 25, 2017.

Ivan was born on July 7, 1994 in the city of Khmelnytsky. He studied at School No.15, and then at Khmelnytsky National University, where he completed a master’s in “Health and Hygiene”. He was a great athlete, taking part in many rowing and canoeing competitions and winning numerous prizes and awards at regional and national championships. In 2008, he was awarded the title of Candidate of Master of Sports.
Ivan joined the Armed Forces in February 2016.

Вічна Пам’ять! Eternal Memory!
Герої не вмирають! Heroes Never Die!