Ukraine: Daily Briefing – May 3, 2018, 5 PM Kyiv time

The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported at 12:30 PM Kyiv time that in the last 24 hours, no Ukrainian soldiers were killed and three Ukrainian soldiers were wounded in action. In the last 24 hours, Russian-terrorist forces opened fire on Ukrainian positions on the Luhansk and Donetsk sectors of the front 51 times in total, including at least 12 times with heavy weapons – mortars and artillery.

Edward Lucas, Senior Vice President at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), wrote, “When we are attacked, we are quick to call on other countries for help. Fixing our own problems is a lot harder. That is the story of the West’s response to the Russian ‘hybrid war’-the intensifying mixture of cyber, diplomatic, economic, military, and propaganda attacks.

            After the attempted assassination last month in Salisbury of a retired British spy, Britain was quick to call on its allies to join it in the symbolic but impressive coordinated expulsion of Russian intelligence officers from embassies and other diplomatic missions. The response was gratifying.

           But now the British authorities face more painful, non-symbolic decisions, about how to clean up the financial system. Russian and other dirty money gains respectability in the City of London and through the luxury end of the real estate market.

           According to the anti-corruption group Transparency International, more than $5 billion-worth of properties in the UK were purchased with criminal money, and more than one in five of these are owned by Russians. Bankers, lawyers, and accountants have for years feasted on this lucrative business. […]

          Cleaning up the City of London and the offshore network which sustains it should be a national-security priority for Britain. Dirty money corrodes our public life. It also discredits us in the eyes of our allies. How can we tell Latvia to clean up its non-resident banking system, or lecture our brave Ukrainian allies on corruption, when we will not take politically painful decisions at home? […]

          If we really want Russia and other adversaries to take us seriously, we first have to show that we take ourselves seriously too. The West cannot be both brave and greedy.”

The full article is available here: Shell Game: It is time to shine the light on Russian dark money 

US Embassy video report on Assistant Secretary Mitchell’s visit to Ukraine. To view video, click on image above

US Assistant Secretary of State A. Wess Mitchell is in Kyiv May 1-3. On May 2, Mitchell met with Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko. Ukraine’s Presidential Administration reported, “Poroshenko expressed gratitude to the American side for their strong support in the fight against the Russian aggression.

          The importance of providing Ukraine with military assistance was emphasized and Washington’s decision on the supply of defensive weapons was noted. The parties coordinated steps to counteract the construction of the Nord Stream 2.”

          US State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert stated, “Today after meeting President Poroshenko, Assistant Secretary Mitchell announced $5 million more in U.S. assistance to help Ukraine prevent, mitigate, and respond to cyberattacks, doubling the total since last year to $10million. The threat from Russia is real. Our commitment to Ukraine is unbending.”

The US Mission to the OSCE stated, “The instigator and driver of this four-year-old conflict is Russia. Its claim that it is not a party to the conflict is laughable. The tragic toll of over 10,300 killed, and 25,000 wounded, is the direct result of Russia’s deliberate aggression, and Moscow’s continued military, political, and financial backing of proxies in eastern Ukraine.

          In deliberate disregard of yet another in a long series of ceasefire agreements, Russia continues to fight, despite the Easter recommitment to the ceasefire. Between April 24 and 26, Ukrainian forces suffered more casualties than in any 72-hour period since July 2017.

         Although Russia portrays itself as the protector of the Russian-speaking minority of eastern Ukraine, these very people shoulder the heavy burden of Russia’s aggression: death, destruction and isolation. […]

        Mr. Chair, there is no doubting Russia’s direct involvement in this conflict. On April 19, the OSCE Border Observation Mission spotted a small van crossing the border into Russia bearing the sign ‘Cargo 200’ in Russian – a well-known code-word for Russian military casualties on board. This is far from the first such incident. Since the border monitoring mission was established, observers have tracked over two dozen such crossings at the two crossing points where they are stationed. Consider, colleagues, how many more unauthorized crossings have occurred where the observers are not allowed to see. […]

        Continued harassment and abuses of ethnic Tatar and Ukrainian activists constitute another contravention of Russia’s OSCE commitments. The United States is deeply concerned about the critical condition of Uzeir Abdullaev, one of over a dozen Crimean Tatars facing charges of belonging to Hizb-ut-Tahrir, an Islamic group that is legal in Ukraine. According to his relatives, Mr. Abdullaev is suffering from a serious blood infection. We remind Russia that we expect it to provide adequate medical care for those in its custody.

        The United States also remains concerned about Volodymyr Balukh, who is still on hunger strike and has reportedly been remanded to a ‘punishment cell.’ We are concerned by credible reports that four people died in April under suspicious circumstances in Simferopol’s Pre-Trial Detention Center #1, where Mr. Balukh is held, including two Crimean Tatars. Occupation authorities have purportedly concluded that all of these deaths were suicides. Given prior allegations of torture, or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, poor conditions, and other abuses at this facility, we call on Russian occupation authorities to conduct a thorough and independent investigation into these deaths. […]