Ukraine's Rebels Prepare To Defend Donetsk To The Death

DONETSK, Ukraine -- Government troops close to surrounding rebel capital and cutting it off from its supply lines to the east. The men at the Budennovsky checkpoint say they are ready. For weeks, the group of rebel gunmen has worked like traffic cops, checking vehicles coming in and out of this eastern Ukrainian city. Yet soon, they expect, it will be time to fight: retreating behind cinder blocks and slinking into roadside trenches to mount the final defence of Donetsk, a million-strong metropolis facing imminent attack. "You'll see," says "Metky" (Sharpshooter), 37, a thickset former miner wearing camouflage fatigues and body-builder's gloves and cradling an AK-74 with a grenade launcher fixed underneath. "Tanks don't work in a city. We'll be at every corner, every window. Bang! An RPG, straight down the hatch." Such a battle is hard to imagine in 21st century Europe. Yet it is creeping closer after Ukrainian forces advanced in a classic pincer movement last week to cut off the rebel capital and its vital supply lines through rebel-held territory to the east and - ultimately - to the border with Russia. It is almost four months since separatists in the Russian-dominated Donbass region of eastern Ukraine launched their armed bid for autonomy. Initial victories have slowly been eroded and Petro Poroshenko, Ukraine's pro-western president, has promised to crush the "terrorist" uprising in time for new elections in a matter of months. "In autumn there will be a new parliament that will start on reforms," he said on Friday. Today the territory carved out for the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk "peoples' republics" is shrinking fast as the Ukrainian army makes ground. If government forces can take full control of area around the crash site where Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down on July 17, killing all 298 people on board, they will effectively have encircled Donetsk itself. On Thursday, Igor Girkin, the separatists' Russian military commander, was forced to issue a diktat declaring that Donetsk was officially in a "state of siege". His friend, the "people's governor" Russian Pavel Gubarev, promises a new Stalingrad if Kiev-backed forces move on the city. It may be an idle boast and Ukrainian forces appear to have a great superiority in men and hardware. The rebels probably have no more than 20,000 fighters, mostly in Donetsk. Yet everyone remembers another example: Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, in the 1990s. Then, an overconfident Russian army sent columns of tanks into the city, only to see them destroyed by few but nimble rebels firing rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs). What's more, in Donbass a flow of weapons and volunteer fighters across the border from Vladimir Putin's Russia, now fixed in a "New Cold War" with the West throughout the former Soviet Union, has so far bolstered the rebel movement The United States, Australia, Britain and other European states believe the Kremlin may have supplied or manned a Buk missile launcher allegedly used to knock down MH17. In a telephone call late to Putin late on Friday, President Barack Obama called on Russia to heed international pressure to defuse the civil war tearing apart Ukraine and expressed his "deep concerns" about Moscow's increased support for the separatists. But at Budennovsky, the men - who give only their noms de guerre - are locals and say they fight for their land, not for Moscow. "Every man has a grenade," says "The Greek", a 31-year old plumber who spent 15 years living on Crete before returning to his native village just outside Donetsk. "When the battle begins no one will allow himself to be taken alive. "If we give up now," he adds, pointing to a row of shabby cottages behind the checkpoint, "the Ukrainian fascists will take our town and all these people here who brought us food, gave their support, will be slaughtered or turned into slaves." Propaganda from Kremlin-controlled television channels has done its work among these fighters, who abound with conspiracy theories. The Ukrainians have set up concentration camps; they are slashing open the corpses of rebels to sell their organs. Yet the men have real cause for grief and anger. One has a son and parents in Torez, one of the towns to the east which the Ukrainian army is pounding with artillery as it attempts to complete their encirclement of Donetsk, at a point close to the MH17 crash site. Hundreds of civilians have been killed or maimed in the conflict. Human Rights Watch said on July 24 that the use of "notoriously imprecise" unguided Grad rockets by Ukrainian government forces in urban areas "may amount to war crimes". Donetsk, particularly its outskirts where rebel defence and artillery units are positioned, is peppered daily by shells. On Friday one ploughed into a road on the western fringe of the city, killing one resident and injuring several in a passing minibus taxi, which was left awash with blood. Earlier in the week, heavy artillery shells - thought to be 130 or 152mm - smashed into a series of apartment blocks in Vetka district, the first time they have hit so close to the city centre, a mile away. On Rosa Luxemburg Street a crowd surveyed the damage: gaping holes ripped in the fifth floor where an elderly lady miraculously escaped injury by going to the lavatory a few moments before the shell exploded in her bedroom. Just down the road, Alexander Dvoryadkin, 66, rushed to the scene when four shells plummeted in front of a 10-storey block leaving craters two-yards wide and spraying asphalt and stones that killing a street cleaner standing in the yard."We almost tripped over his body, it was covered in dirt and debris," said Mr Dvoryadkin. Shells are not the only fear. With wartime comes military law and military justice. Igor Girkin, the Russian rebel commander, also know as Strelkov, has already displayed his relish for brutal solutions. Early in July he and his forces retreated from Slavyansk, a town to the north of Donetsk that was until then the rebels' stronghold. Reporters who sifted through the charred remains of the rebels' Slavyansk headquarters after their flight found a series of court documents signed off by Girkin. They show he ordered the execution of an unemployed welder for stealing two shirts and a pair of trousers. The punishment was based on a Stalin-era martial decree published on June 22nd, 1941. In Donetsk, police have melted away, leaving armed rebels in charge of law and order. One night last week, The Telegraph witnessed a group of militiamen seizing a young woman outside the city's popular BaNaNa restaurant. She cried out in anguish as they wrapped her in packing tape, pushing her into the boot of a car and drove her away.Despite repeated attempts The Telegraph has so far been unable to establish her identity, or her fate. On Mir (Peace) Street in Donetsk, a group of civilians gathers every day outside the former headquarters of the SBU, Ukraine's Security Service, which is now Girkin's base, to plead for the return of detained relatives. At 6pm a rebel official should come out to read a list of the prisoners. Sometimes he appears, sometimes not. On Friday evening, 40 people - mostly women - craned over a line of sandbags at the fortified entrance to the base, shouting to a guard in a vest with an automatic slung over his shoulder. "This is fascism! Give me back my grandson," cried one. Another asked the guard for how long people could be detained. "How should I should know?" said the guard, scratching himself and puffing on a cigarette. "Up to 60 days, I think." "It's the not knowing that kills you," said Marina, 37, a pastry chef with glittery eye shadow, who - like many here - was afraid to give her surname.She thought she knew why her husband, Dmitry, 33, was detained. "He came here himself to sign up as a militiaman," she said. "They gave him one day's training, stuck an automatic in his hand and told him he was off to the front. I said that was madness, and persuaded him to refuse. So they took him away." Others thought their relatives had disappeared into the SBU building for minor infractions like drinking or breaking the loosely-observed 11pm curfew. Lyudmila Maidanova, an elegant older lady in paste earrings and a pressed blouse, said her grandson Sasha, 30, a computer technician, had gone missing without trace from his home three days earlier. "I've been everywhere, this is the only place he could be," she said. Meanwhile, hundreds of people flee the city every day and taxi drivers - on this, at least, a reliable source - estimate that 30 per cent of the population has already gone. On Friday, the rebels' ministry of defence warned it would requisition cars, building materials, food and medical supplies for military use. Streets are deserted and goods are thinning in the shops. "I thought about joining the militia but I've got a mortgage to pay," says Vitalik Cherkashin, 25, a barman at the city's Ramada Hotel."All my friends have left for Russia and Crimea. There's nowhere I could go. The Ukrainians are coming closer and closer." At the hotel, reporters in helmets and flak jackets are the only guests and a notice in the lobby gives advice on what do in case of artillery fire hitting the building. The waiting staff has been cut from 26 to six, and several employees sleep at the hotel to avoid returning home to shell-hit suburbs. "Maybe there's still a way to stop this madness," says Mr Cherkashin. "I don't like the government in Kiev and my roots are Russian but we don't have to live apart. Kiev just needs to treat us like equal citizens." Back at the Budennovsky checkpoint the men see little room left for compromise. "If you told me a year ago that I'd be running around with this Kalashnikov, I'd wouldn't have believed you," says "Dyusa", 39, a car mechanic. "Now I know we'll fight to the last drop of blood. And if the Ukrainians take Donetsk we'll go to the woods. That's the next phase: partisan war."

Official statement from Russian Defense Ministry in connection with Boeing 777 crash

The Defense Ministry of the Russian Federation released the following statement in connection with the crash of Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777. "In view of the objective investigation of the air crash of the Boeing 777 that crashed on the territory of Ukraine, it is necessary to conduct thorough investigation with the involvement of representatives of all interested international organizations. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, there are units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the disaster area; the units are armed with anti-aircraft missile systems Buk-M1. In the area of northwestern outskirts of Donetsk, divisions of the 156th anti-aircraft missile regiment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are deployed, with 27 Buk M1 complexes. These complexes, on their tactical and technical characteristics, are capable of detecting air targets at distances of up to 160 kilometers and striking them at all altitudes at a range of over 30 kilometers. Moreover, in the skies over the Donetsk region, aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force equipped with different types of missiles are constantly present. This is an undeniable fact. "Statements from official Kiev saying that those complexes or aircraft did not open fire on air targets raise serious doubts. In such a short period of time, making such unequivocal conclusions under the conditions of fierce fighting in the area is impossible. Such responsible statements that entail serious legal consequences, require full investigation. "In connection with all sorts of insinuations concerning the actions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation on the border regions of Ukraine, we herewith responsibly declare that: "On July 17, air defense systems of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation were not working in the area. "The aircraft of the Air Force of the Russia were not performing any sorties on July 17 in the regions bordering on the Donetsk region. "This information is fully confirmed by means of objective control. "One should pay attention to the fact that Boeing 777 was conducting the flight beyond the range of air defense systems of the Russian Federation. The aircraft was flying in the airspace of Ukraine, under the control of its air traffic management system. "We urge the international community to conduct thorough investigation of the disaster."

Ukraine false flag planned? Is NATO preparing for a war against Russia?

False flag events are the new modus operandi of NATO and its allies, as we have witnessed in recent years, the most blatant example of which was provided in Libya before the FUKUS Axis (France-UK-US) again breached international law and slaughtered civilians. Another is planned in Ukraine to blame Russia? By now it is perfectly clear that the West has lumped Russia and NovoRossiya Resistance Forces/Freedom Fighters together into an anti-western block, and prepares to consider NovoRossiya Resistance Forces/Freedom Fighters as a terrorist organization. But what to expect from a west that supported terrorist forces in Libya, on their own lists of proscribed groups, what to expect from a west that has used terrorists in Syria? In this column more than once I have spoken about planned false flag events in Libya and in Syria, including the chemical weapons attack by western-backed anti-Assad forces which eventually committed the crime, using chemical weapons to serve as a causus belli against President Assad. Only the swift action of President Putin avoided a bloodbath in Syria in which NATO would have become willingly involved. Surprise, surprise, because Russia has a Mediterranean naval base in Syria and surprise, surprise, Russia has a major naval base in Crimea. Once again, only swift action from President Putin avoided the Putsch forces in Kiev (which ousted President Yanukovich, the democratically elected Head of State, illegally) handing over the base to their NATO masters. Now the attempt to grab Syria has failed, now the attempt to grab the Crimea has failed, NATO starts to play dirty. As I write, there is a plan for a build-up of NATO military forces in Szczecin, Poland, one of the willing New Poodles in central Europe. This, as bellicose rumors circulate in the US Congress against Russia. And now the cherry on the cake, another alleged false flag event planned, more specifically plans for a series of terrorist operations perpetrated in Ukraine by forces loyal to the Poroshenko Junta, to then blame the Resistance and, predictably, Moscow. If this comes after Ukraine is given special status as an ally of NATO, it might be taken as justification for a strike against Russia by this Terrorist Organization. Yesterday, Resistance spokesperson Anton Guryanov issued the following statement: "According to our information, the Nazis of the Kiev Junta are planning to conduct a major terrorist act in the next several days. Or a series of terrorist acts. On the territory of Ukraine". "For the past several days, Mr. Avakov and his assistant Shkiryak have been conducting preparation for this in the mass media. The goal of this is to blame the terrorist acts on Russia and to introduce a regime of total dictatorship on the territory of Ukraine". As I predicted, after reading about the forthcoming plan from several different sources, "The maximum goal is to create the conditions for a NATO military intervention, and of the Polish-Lithuanian contingent in particular". Furthermore, we even have a name for the event, which is an operation with the code name "Spalokhutemreve" and the Resistance Forces state that Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) Major Aleksei Nikonov is the person in charge of the operation. The Resistance quotes as its source for this information "high-ranking officials in Kiev" who are fearing for their future after Poroshenko has fallen. The Resistance warns the Ukrainian people: "What should the common people, now listening to this address, do? In the next several days, do not visit places of public concentration of people. Try either not to use public transportation or to use it as sparingly as possible. In particular, this concerns the metro system. Pay close attention to looking after your children. Look after your buildings' cellars and entranceways, to ensure that no strangers go there and that no unknown cargos are deposited in your cellars and entranceways. Please disseminate this information to your acquaintances, friends and neighbors - to anyone that you can. And may God help us". Hardly a message from terrorist forces, now, is it? But what about those who are planning such an event? It is also rumored that the Kiev Junta has planned revenge for its losses in the failed attempt to take Donetsk and Lugansk Republics, to take place in a massive terrorist operation perpetrated by pro-Kiev Fascist forces masquerading as Resistance fighters conducting an imminent operation against civilians in Pavlograd. It is crystal clear that the west has used the Ukraine as a pawn in its disgusting power game to strangle Russia and ultimately seize its massive resources. Like the Roman Empire, the NATO military-industrial complex whose lobbies control western governments can only perpetuate itself by grabbing more land, and in this case, resources. It is crystal clear that Russia, the BRICS countries and some others, such as Uruguay, Venezuela, Bolivia, Iran, Vietnam, Guatemala, form the backbone of a growing force which walks hand-in-hand together with the hearts and minds of the people in this international community. NATO, its poodles and their sickening sycophantic governors, do not, and neither do they care. Until one day...until one day.

Russia will influence activists of the breakaway republic of Ukraine for the investigation of the crash of the Boeing passenger jetliner in the Donetsk region, Russian President Vladimir Putin promised, opening the meeting of the Security Council in the Kremlin on July 22. Experts have already dubbed the meeting "historical," expecting that the president will make "momentous declarations." "We are being called to show influence on the militia in the southeast. I repeat, we will certainly do the best we can," said the president. "One must, in the end, urge the Kiev authorities to respect basic norms of decency and introduce ceasefire regime at least for a short period of investigation," he added. In the first minutes of his speech, Putin stressed out that Russia would take additional steps to reduce the dependence of the national economy and finance from adverse external factors. "Mechanisms in the so-called competition on the international arena will be used. This applies both to the economic and political sphere. For this purpose, among other things, opportunities of special services will be used, along with modern information and communication technologies, channels of dependent, handheld, non-governmental organizations - mechanisms of so-called soft power," Putin said explaining the need to reduce external influence. Today's meeting of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, which was announced the day before, started two hours later than was originally scheduled. The meeting started at 3:10 p.m. instead of 1:00 p.m. Prior to the meeting, it was said that it would be devoted to "issues related to ensuring the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Russian Federation."

Russia will influence activists of the breakaway republic of Ukraine for the investigation of the crash of the Boeing passenger jetliner in the Donetsk region, Russian President Vladimir Putin promised, opening the meeting of the Security Council in the Kremlin on July 22. Experts have already dubbed the meeting "historical," expecting that the president will make "momentous declarations." "We are being called to show influence on the militia in the southeast. I repeat, we will certainly do the best we can," said the president. "One must, in the end, urge the Kiev authorities to respect basic norms of decency and introduce ceasefire regime at least for a short period of investigation," he added. In the first minutes of his speech, Putin stressed out that Russia would take additional steps to reduce the dependence of the national economy and finance from adverse external factors. "Mechanisms in the so-called competition on the international arena will be used. This applies both to the economic and political sphere. For this purpose, among other things, opportunities of special services will be used, along with modern information and communication technologies, channels of dependent, handheld, non-governmental organizations - mechanisms of so-called soft power," Putin said explaining the need to reduce external influence. Today's meeting of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, which was announced the day before, started two hours later than was originally scheduled. The meeting started at 3:10 p.m. instead of 1:00 p.m. Prior to the meeting, it was said that it would be devoted to "issues related to ensuring the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Russian Federation." "There is no direct military threat, of course, to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Russian Federation today. The guarantee to that, above all, is the strategic balance of forces in the world," he said. "What is actually happening? The groups of NATO troops on the territory of East European states have been growing demonstratively, including in the Black and Baltic Seas." "We need to fully and timely implement all planned measures to strengthen the defense ability, including in the Crimea and Sevastopol, where we have to actually rebuild military infrastructure from scratch." Putin touched upon problems in the country: "Attempts to destabilize the political situation, one way or another to weaken Russia, to hit vulnerable and problematic areas, are, of course, being taken and will be taken." According to him, this is done "to make us amendable in solving various problems in the interests of other states on the international arena." The president also said that the struggle against radicalism in Russia will not be conducted "solely for the purpose of tightening some screws." "We will never walk that path," he said. The president also expressed confidence that scenarios of "color revolutions" in Russia will not work, although attempts to destabilize the situation from the outside are being made. "Of course, such methods will not work head on in Russia," he said at the meeting of the Security Council. Putin is certain that recipes that can be applicable to weak and failed states, do not work in Russia. "Our people, our citizens, citizens of Russia will not allow this. And they never will," he concluded. Speaking about international security, Putin said that Russia strictly abides by international law in its commitment to partners. Putin hopes that other countries, military and political alliances should also proceed from this. Putin promised that Russia will adequately respond to attempts to weaken its position outside the international arena. According to him, such attempts are carried out with the help of special services, "handled NGOs" and other methods. "We need to adequately respond to these challenges, and most importantly, work systemically, to solve the problems that contain potential risks to the unity of our country and society," said the president of Russia. At the end of the introductory speech, Putin stressed out that Russia would take additional steps to reduce dependence of the national economy and finance from adverse external factors. "I mean not only volatility on global markets, but also possible political risks," ITAR-TASS quoted Putin as saying. It is fundamentally important, to take account of the regional factor, he said. "One needs to ensure the priority development of strategically important regions, including the Far East and other areas. Simultaneously, we must seek drastic reduction of gaps between subjects of the Russian Federation, the state of affairs in their economic bases and quality of life," said Putin. Speaking at a meeting of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin said that the Russian authorities plan to rely on the civil society. According to him, it is the civil society that should contribute to the prevention and struggle against radicalism and extremism. The president set priorities that would guarantee security and sovereignty of Russia. "First - this is gradual work to strengthen inter-ethnic harmony. Competent migration policy. Rigid response to inactivity of officials or offenses that may provoke conflicts on ethnic grounds," Putin said. "It is imperative that our civil society takes proactive stance, responds to violations of human rights and freedoms, contributes to the prevention of radicalism and extremism," the president said. He also said that it was "especially important" for the civil society to educate "young people in the spirit of patriotism and responsibility for the fate of the fatherland." "The language of ultimatums and sanctions is used in the world more and more often, and the concept of state sovereignty is eroded. Objectionable regimes and countries that pursue independent policies or simply stand in the way of someone else's interests are destabilized, - Putin said. - For this purpose, so-called color revolutions, or, if we call a spade a spade - coups are instigated and funded from the outside." "The focus is put on problems that exist inside countries, but there are always enough problems, especially in fragile states and states with a complex regime." "Often, stakes are made on radical nationalist, or simply a neo-fascist, fundamentalist forces - as it happened in many countries in the former Soviet Union and as it is happening now in Ukraine," he continued. Speaking of the current leadership of Ukraine, Putin said that it financed the coup. "Yes, after the coup, elections were held, but strangely enough, the people, who either funded or conducted the coup, came to power, and now they are trying to suppress the part of the population that does not agree with this development," Putin said. Following the introduction, members of the Security Council of the Russian Federation thanked the press, and the meeting continued behind closed doors.

Russia delivers all data about Boeing crash to EU

Russia handed over all data of the Defense Ministry about the crash of the Malaysian Boeing in Ukraine to the European Union, Russia's permanent representative to the EU Vladimir Chizhov said. "On Tuesday, we handed over the data as soon as we received them in writing, in English and Russian languages. We sent the information to all interested parties," Chizhov told reporters in Brussels, RIA Novosti reports. Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed on July 17 in the Donetsk region. On board the aircraft, there were 298 people, including 85 children and 15 crew members. All the people were killed. The Kiev authorities blamed the militia of the breakaway republics, but the latter suggested that they had no weapons that could be capable of shooting planes down at such an altitude. During a press briefing on July 21, the Russian Defense Ministry disclosed the data of objective control of the situation that was developing in the Donetsk region of Ukraine before the crash of the Boeing. In particular, the ministry reported increased activity of a Ukrainian radar station on the day of the tragedy, strange movements of Buk anti-missile system that was located near the militia-controlled territory. It was also said that Russian experts spotted a Ukrainian military aircraft Su-25 that approached the Malaysian airliner shortly before the disaster. According to Chizhov, the EU has shown no reaction to the received information yet. "The reaction came only from the U.S., and was quite predictable. The Americans called the collected Russian data into question. This is, of course, their right. But if they are in doubt, they should have presented their evidence, which they have not done still. The Americans never unveil factual evidence in such situations. They only claim that this is intelligence information that may compromise their sources and so on ," said Chizhov. U.S. intelligence officials said that, according to U.S. intelligence, the plane of Malaysia Airlines was shot down over the territory controlled by Ukraine separatists most likely "by mistake" - they allegedly took the passenger liner for a Ukrainian military aircraft. At the briefing, the U.S. intelligence officials rejected the claims from the Defense Ministry of Russia saying that the plane could be shot down either by Ukrainian missile or Ukrainian fighter jet. Vladimir Chizhov, commenting on Washington's criticisms, said that the United States was in the center of a similar scandal in 1988, when American cruiser the Vincennes fired a guided missile at an Iranian airliner, having taken it for a military aircraft. Chizhov quoted then U.S. President George H. W. Bush, who said: "I will never apologize for the United States of America - I don't care what the facts are." Russia sincerely hopes that the investigation into the tragedy with the Boeing disaster in Ukraine will be "truly impartial, independent and international, as regulated by the UN Security Council resolution," said Vladimir Chizhov. "I am surprised at the statements of certain European representatives. Attempts to second-guess the results of the investigation can be considered only as pressure on the investigation. Hopefully, that will not happen," said the permanent representative. Chizhov warned European politicians against making conclusions about the causes and circumstances of the disaster until the international commission of experts exposes the results of the investigation.

Russia strongly denies involvement in Boeing disaster, aks USA ironic questions

All allegations of the involvement of Donetsk militia in the crash of the Malaysian Boeing-777 are unsubstantiated and, for the most part, based on reports from the Internet, Russian defense officials believe. The Russian Defense Ministry analyzed the results of the investigation conducted by Washington and studied the so-called evidence, to which U.S. intelligence indicated. According to Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov, they do not tally with the data of the objective control of the Russian General Staff. "It was stated that U.S. technical intelligence data and satellite photography confirmed that the missile was launched from the territory controlled by the rebels. Question: Where are these data?" Antonov said in an interview with Russia 24 TV channel. "Some U.S. intelligence officials, apparently secret officials, as long as their names remain unknown, released the comments that, according to the State Department, were supposed to prove the guilt of the militia even Russia's involvement in the disaster," he recalled. However, according to Antonov, these data have not been provided. "The American experts excluded the involvement of Ukrainian military in the crash of the Boeing, as the plane was flying out of the range of missiles. A question arises: are the Americans ready to be responsible for the fact that this was so? Do they know where missile complexes are located in Ukraine? How can Americans comment on the Russian objective control data? Or may be, they have nothing else to say?" said the representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense. Antonov is also skeptical about the statement from the Ukrainian side about the tragedy with the Boeing. "These figures actively comment possible causes of the accident, but generally they refer to social networks," said Antonov. As an example, he referred to photographs of Buk missile systems that are said to belong to militia, although they are at service of the Ukrainian air defense troops. According to Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov, in June and July of this year, the Russian side has recorded nine attacks of the Russian territory on the part of Ukraine. Dozens of Ukrainian shells and mines exploded in border areas, the official told Russia 24 TV channel. "There was aimed fire conducted on the border patrol unit. Our citizen Andrey Shulyatyev was killed. He is survived by three teenage daughters," said Antonov. Addressing representatives of the United States, the official asked: "If the territory of the United States were fired from a neighboring territory, and, God forbid, an American citizen were killed, what would the United States do? The answer to this this question is clear, - he continued. - We show responsibility and restraint instead." According to Antonov, in this regard, "it is perfectly clear, who provokes whom on the border." "You'd better pay attention to the constant shelling of Donetsk and Luhansk, where civilians are killed," he said addressing the Western military, including U.S. intelligence officers, who claim that the group of the Russian troops on the Russian-Ukrainian border has been growing recently. On July 20, as a result of the shooting from the Ukrainian territory, employees of the Russian customs post Gukovo had to be evacuated. On July 17, Ukrainian shells exploded at the Russian checkpoint Kujbyshevo. On July 13, in the Donetsk district of the Rostov region of Russia, a man was killed, two others were injured after a Ukrainian shell exploded near a residential house.

Russia responds to US and EU sanctions and accusations

On Saturday, the Russian Foreign Ministry responded to the accusations from the White House spokesman, who said that Putin and the Russians were "guilty" of the crash of the Malaysian Boeing 777 in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the current events in Ukraine are an "internal conflict." However, "the Obama administration is partially responsible for its dire consequences." Spokesman for the White House Josh Earnest said at a briefing: "There were heavy weapons moved from Russia to Ukraine... into the hands of separatist leaders, and that those separatists who are backed by the Russians were trained by the Russians to use those systems," he said. "What we also know is that the Malaysia Airlines jet was brought down by a missile that was fired from the ground... in an area that was controlled by separatists and in an area where the Ukrainians themselves were not actually operating anti-aircraft weapons at that time," Earnest also said. "So that is why we have concluded that Vladimir Putin and the Russians are culpable to this tragedy," he said. Russia's Foreign Ministry commented on this statement as follows: "Judging by the relentless slander campaign against Russia organized by the American administration, they are being more and more guided by blatant lies when pursuing their foreign policy," the ministry said. "In line with its current practice, Washington cites no proof or any references to facts that could be considered and commented," it said, adding that the White House only mentions certain intelligence data but refuses to present it, and "information in social networks," ITAR-TASS reports. The Foreign Ministry said that such an approach increasingly isolates the U.S. administration from an opportunity to to have an adequate perception of anything, but its own schemes and conclusions." "We will survive sanctions, but it is unfortunate that the U.S. continues to push Kiev towards forced suppression of discontent of the Russian-speaking population." Because of the EU sanctions, the EU-Russia cooperation in the field of security was endangered. The programs to combat terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction are likely to be shelved, according to a press release from the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation about another expansion of the European sanctions list. The EU has really gotten hooked on Washington and Kiev's tales about the events taking place in Ukraine," the Foreign Ministry indicates. The Foreign Ministry also responded to U.S. allegations, calling them a part of the campaign of slander. According to Russian officials, the Obama administration is to a certain extent responsible for the "internal conflict" in Ukraine. "The additional sanctions list is a direct indication of the fact that EU countries have embarked on the course to completely terminate interaction with Russia on international and regional security, including the fight against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, organized crime and other new challenges and threats. We are convinced that such solutions will be enthusiastically received by international terrorist organizations. What they could not do during recent decades - to drive a wedge into the ranks of the world community - was easily done ​​in Brussels," the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation said. "Having done Washington's bidding again about additional anti-Russian sanctions, the EU acted as a "non-commissioned officer's widow," having jeopardized international cooperation in the field of security." On Saturday night, the EU exposed the names of 15 individuals and 18 legal entities that fell under the sanctions. They include FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov, Director of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service Mikhail Fradkov, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev and the head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov. For the time being, the European "black list" bars the total of 87 citizens of Russia and Ukraine, including senior officials, politicians and the military, from entering the EU banned. Their assets on the territory of EU Member States shall be frozen. The head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov, who fell under the EU sanctions, announced his own sanctions list, in which he included U.S. President Barack Obama and the current leadership of the EU, whom he called "state terrorists" who shed "the blood of Muslims." The following individuals are not allowed to enter the territory of the Chechen Republic, pursuant to Kadyrov's decision: U.S. President Barack Obama, European Commission President Jose Manoel Barroso, President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton, European Parliament President Martin Schulz. "I have instructed to freeze their bank accounts and assets of any kind. From July 27, the listed policies are denied entry to the Chechen Republic," Kadyrov said.In support of his decision, he wrote: "The whole world has witnessed the tragedy of the peoples of Libya, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and lately, of Ukraine. Under the guise of export of democracy, civilians, women, the elderly, children are being killed in these countries, cities and religious shrines are being destroyed. The U.S. and the EU are directly responsible for everything that happens there. The actions of their leaders are state terrorism directed against countries and peoples. And it is the blood of Muslims that is shed in most cases."