Ukraine Begins Offensive Against "Parasites"; Who Really Broke the Ceasefire? Journalist Prosecution

Ukraine president Petro Poroshenko vows to rid the country of "parasites" and launched a major offensive against the rebels.

In doing so, he went against his own advice as well as the advice of German and French leaders says Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Reuters reports Ukraine Forces Attack Rebel Positions, Putin Growls.

Ukrainian forces struck at pro-Russian separatist bases in eastern regions with air and artillery strikes on Tuesday after President Petro Poroshenko announced he would not renew a ceasefire but go on the offensive to rid Ukraine of "parasites".

His decision quickly drew fire from Russian President Vladimir Putin who said Poroshenko had disregarded the advice of himself and German and French leaders. Putin said Poroshenko would now have to bear full responsibility for veering off the road to peace.

Concrete Steps

Poroshenko said in his early morning statement that Ukraine had not seen "concrete steps for de-escalating the situation, including strengthening controls on the border".

Actually, that statement by Poroshenko is a blatant lie.

Yesterday Putin Made Significant Last Minute Concessions following unreasonable demands by Ukraine.

Specifically, Putin agreed "Ukrainian border guards be granted access to those crossing points from the Russian side as observers for joint control of the border, and that observers from the [Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe] also be admitted to those crossing points from the Russian side.”

That should have been enough because it was the only thing Russia could directly control.

Who Violated the Ceasefire?

A week ago I reported Rebels Down Ukraine Helicopter in Ceasefire Violation. Western media reported numerous instances of rebels breaking the ceasefire.

But did Ukraine ever honor one?

Reader Jacob Dreizin, a US citizen who speaks Russian and reads Ukrainian had some comments on the "ceasefire" yesterday.

Hello Mish

From the time that this bizarre unilateral “ceasefire” was declared until its expiration today, dozens of civilians have been killed and many more wounded by Ukrainian government shelling. The government even shelled a fully operational coal mine for no discernible reason, killing a female employee on the surface and forcing an evacuation of the facility. At the same time, Kiev continued to further deploy its forces in the rebel areas, moving up large numbers of additional tanks. In response, the rebels continued their attacks.

In short, the “ceasefire” was mostly a PR stunt to show the West that Mr. Poroshenko tried to be "reasonable" before going all-in with bombs.

What comes next will be bloody. In the Slaviansk area, the Ukrainian army has already been using everything from white phosphorous to flechette rounds. Just like Moscow, Kiev has been testing the waters of international opinion, slowly upping the ante to see what it can get away with.

In line with this, the Ukrainians have pushed the envelope by bombarding several Russian border/customs posts (causing damage and injuries) and even sending patrols across the border, one of which ran into mechanical difficulties and had to leave an armored personnel carrier behind. 

All of this has been very well documented in the Russian and even the Ukrainian press, as well as some of the European media, but almost completely ignored here in the U.S. While it may be that these incidents are simply mistakes made in the context of Kiev slugging it out with rebels near the border, it nonetheless shows (at a minimum) that the Ukrainians have been very careless in their operations. Almost none of this is being reported in the U.S. mainstream media. Our reporters sit in Kiev and prefer to carry "facts" from Ukrainian nationalist blogs and army press conferences.

Then we come to the recent U.S. State Department press conference at which the spokeswoman seemed to question or discount the United Nations’ tally of refugees pouring out of the war zone. This was simply laughable, but it is symptomatic of the total, do-whatever-you-want cover that Uncle Sam is providing Kiev.

All the best,

Jacob

There you have it: Two sides of the story, and a few simple questions.

1. Did anyone negotiate (or even state) terms of the ceasefire?
2. Were the rebels supposed to allow Ukrainian military helicopters do whatever they wanted, including move military equipment and personnel under guise of a ceasefire?
3. Was the ceasefire nothing but a PR stunt stunt all along?

Prosecution of Journalists

If you think the US news reporting is accurate, I invite you to read a very important article on a completely different front:

How Blackwater Survived Iraq Probes Of Being "Above The Law" - By Threatening To Kill Investigators

Please click on and read the above article. Perhaps it will change your mind regarding coverups and outright prosecution of journalists for telling the truth.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com