'Slaughterhouse': Civilians die in Kiev's ruthless military attacks (GRAPHIC)

[Natural Citizen]

Bodies are piling up in Donetsk morgues after Kiev unleashed fighter jets and artillery on the country’s southeast just hours after the presidential election. New leader-elect Petro Poroshenko is pushing for the crackdown to become even “more effective.”

Ukraine’s southeast saw only a brief suspension of Kiev’s military operations on Sunday while the nation took to the polls. Just before the presidential election, Ukrainian MPs called for immediate troop withdrawal from the country’s southeast.

Following the vote, the leading candidate – billionaire chocolate tycoon Petro Poroshenko – said he sees no reason why the military should stop the operation.

“I support its continuation, but demand a change in its format – it must be shorter and it must be more effective, military units must be better equipped,”

Continued - 'Slaughterhouse': Civilians die in Kiev's ruthless military attacks (GRAPHIC)

 

[Natural Citizen]

Shells hit school, kindergarten in Slavyansk amid Ukraine military op (VIDEO)

A school and a kindergarten have been shelled in Slavyansk as the city becomes increasingly unsafe in the intensified Kiev military campaign. At least 9 civilians were injured in Wednesday’s shelling incidents, including a child.

Ukrainian mortar shells have for weeks been raining down on the checkpoints and positions of the Slavyansk self-defense, but much of the shelling occurred outside the city. Italian journalist Andrea Rocchelli and his Russian interpreter, veteran human rights activist Andrey Mironov, were almost “torn to pieces” in one such shelling.

On Wednesday, there was a shocking reminder of how the situation might unfold if the likely president-elect Petro Poroshenko pushes on with the military operation in the region, as shells struck the city’s streets, yards, a school and a kindergarten.

“Around midday there was a loud explosion in the school, and I fell to the floor, taking cover,” the teacher told RT over the phone.

The man said that he rushed to the corridor to assemble all the teachers and children in the school and take them to a safe place. Clouds of dust were billowing on one side of the building.

According to the teacher, it turned out that the shell exploded right above the school hall, where children are usually gathered for festive events, and part of the roof “was simply blown away.”

Continued - Shells hit school, kindergarten in Slavyansk amid Ukraine military op (VIDEO)

 

[Zippyjuan]

There are thugs on both sides killing people. "Frontline" had an interesting documentary on last night on Ukraine and pro- Russian activists said that they are being paid by Moscow.

 

[Natural Citizen]

There are thugs on both sides killing people. "Frontline" had an interesting documentary on last night on Ukraine and pro- Russian activists said that they are being paid by Moscow.

I don't think it's particularly wise to give Russia a free pass with some of this stuff. How these things are reported from varying sources is often far more important to analyze than what is actually being reported. What is missing...what is not. If that makes sense...

Of course, a coup is a coup is a coup.

 

[Natural Citizen]

Shells hit school, kindergarten in Slavyansk amid Ukraine military op (VIDEO)

A school and a kindergarten have been shelled in Slavyansk as the city becomes increasingly unsafe in the intensified Kiev military campaign. At least 9 civilians were injured in Wednesday’s shelling incidents, including a child.

Ukrainian mortar shells have for weeks been raining down on the checkpoints and positions of the Slavyansk self-defense, but much of the shelling occurred outside the city. Italian journalist Andrea Rocchelli and his Russian interpreter, veteran human rights activist Andrey Mironov, were almost “torn to pieces” in one such shelling.

However, this week the battleground apparently moved right into civilian quarters of Slavyansk, as shells started hitting residential blocks and nearby buildings, killing three people on Monday.

Aside... Slavyansk kids and women cross Russian border on foot after Ukraine seizes bus

A bus carrying women and children from Slavyansk, including toddlers, was stopped at a border checkpoint by Ukrainian guards. The refugees managed to cross into Russia on foot and find new transport.

The incident happened on Friday night at a border crossing between Ukraine’s Donetsk region and Russia’s Rostov region. The bus was carrying people from Slavyansk, the city that has become the scene of constant battles between local militia and troops loyal to Kiev.

There were 38 refugees on board, including 21 children aged between 2 months and 12 years, and 17 women, Rostov region spokesman Aleksandr Titov told Itar-Tass. As the vehicle was seized, they went across the border on foot with the help of Russian border guards.

“They managed to go through, everyone is alive and well,” the Russian official said.

Local authorities housed the Ukrainians in a border city for the night and provided two buses for transportation.

Meanwhile a group of some 200 children from Slavyansk have been evacuated to Russia’s Crimea. The children, aged between 8 and 16, are being housed in various summer camps on the peninsula.

Their journey was not entirely trouble free either. On Friday, there were reports that buses carrying the evacuated children were not allowed to cross the border by Ukrainian guards and had to turn back. But now all of them are safe in Russia.

RT spoke to some of the kids, who will spend at least a month in Crimea, about how they feel after leaving their home city that has become a battlefield.

 

[pcosmar]

Was expecting as much after the Nazis took control.

 

[Natural Citizen]

Orphanage under fire as Kiev forces shell Slavyansk...

Several buildings, including an orphanage, have been severely damaged by artillery fire in Slavyansk, eastern Ukraine, where fighting between self-defense troops and Kiev’s army renewed over the weekend.

Fortunately, there were no casualties among children at Sails of Hope orphanage, as all of them were evacuated after the building previously came under fire on May 19.

This is the third time that the orphanage has been shelled. Its windows are now shattered, and its roof and walls are riddled with bullets. There is a massive hole under a window. The building is likely to not be repaired, meaning Sails of Hope will be forced to find a new home.

On Wednesday, the Ukrainian military shelled a residential area of Slavyansk, hitting a children’s hospital, a school, and a kindergarten.

Continued - Orphanage under fire as Kiev forces shell Slavyansk

 

[Natural Citizen]

Parents in Ukraine’s Donetsk rally, demand security for their kids (PHOTOS, VIDEO)...

Since April, Kiev has been engaged in an intensive military operation in the country's South East. The Donetsk and Lugansk regions had their independence from Kiev supported by a majority of voters in May referendums, proclaiming themselves "people's republics." The Ukrainian government does not recognize the regions' legitimacy, calling the opposition activists “terrorists.”

After parts of the South East of the country, including the town of Slavyansk, turned into a warzone, hundreds of children were evacuated from the region, but the Ukrainian authorities seized some of the transport carrying Slavyansk refugees. On May 31 a bus carrying women and children from the area was stopped at a border checkpoint by Ukrainian guards.

Evacuation from Donetsk has not been launched, as the city is blocked by Kiev's forces. The authorities of the self-proclaimed republic are talking of sending several buses with children to safety in Russia.

After the presidential elections, Ukrainian troops launched a military operation in the eastern city, deploying fighter jets and helicopters, aiming to gain control over its international airport. During the operation, traces of violence eventually shifted to Donetsk downtown and several civilians were killed by random fire.

Continued - Parents in Ukraine’s Donetsk rally, demand security for their kids (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

 

[Natural Citizen]

DEATH TOLL: 181 people killed, 293 injured in Kiev military op

A Ukrainian fighter flies above Lugansk during a battle between resistance fighters and the Ukrainian National Guard in June 2, 2014


Kiev has admitted showering the eastern Ukrainian city of Lugansk with dozens of missiles from the air, saying that its Air Force helicopters and jets “fired more than 150 missiles” in Monday’s military action.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) also confirmed on Tuesday that the deadly explosion at the city’s administrative building was indeed an airstrike. Kiev has so far denied the responsibility for the incident, saying its forces “do not target”civilian areas.


Not all the Monday fighting was on the outskirts of Lugansk, apparently, as one Ukrainian missile hit the occupied Lugansk administration building, killing at least eight civilians inside and nearby. Some Kiev politicians have laid the blame on the self-defense forces for the “blast,” which has undoubtedly been confirmed as an airstrike by the accounts of witnesses and the CCTV footage from the scene.

Continued - Confirmed: Ukrainian air force fired over 150 missiles at Lugansk, bombed admin HQ

 

[HOLLYWOOD]

Goes beyond that... checkout the Atlantic Council and their 501c game plan... again, the USUAL SUSPECTS keep showing up.

Was expecting as much after the Nazis took control.

"Toward a Europe Whole & Free" Via NATO global dominance - Atlantic Council

Yes, the same Brzezinski Family... May 30, 2014
Brzezinski: Ukrainian Crisis is "Not a Blip"

ATLANTIC COUNCIL - Staff & Directors

Matthew Brzezinski -

He was a Wall Street Journal staff reporter in Moscow and Kiev in the late 1990s. His first book, Casino Moscow (Free Press, 2001)[SUP][6][/SUP] is a first-person account of the "Wild East" atmosphere prevailing in Russia in the 1990s

Ian Brzezinski -

Ian Joseph Brzezinski is an American foreign policy and military affairs expert.He served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Europe and NATO Policy Brzezinski, Ian

Frederick Kempe - President and Chief Executive Officer - ATLANTIC COUNCIL

former Governor of Utah Jon Huntsman, Jr. - Chairman ATLANTIC COUNCIL

Former Chairman: Chuck Hagel, Gen. Brent Scowcroft,

The Atlantic Council has influential supporters, with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen calling the Council a "pre-eminent think tank" with a "longstanding reputation"

ATLANTIC COUNCIL 2010 filings: Targeting Energy and Economics in the Black Sea Region

To Liberate Ukraine, Get the Maidan Back in the Fight - ATLANTIC COUNCIL

 

[Natural Citizen]

Obama, Ukraine president-elect discuss US help to train Kiev's military...

A local resident outside his house destroyed in the Ukrainian army's artillery attack in Donetsk's Oktyabrsky district. (RIA Novosti/Alexey Kudenko)


The US has pledged additional military help to Ukraine as well as potential training of its law enforcement and military personnel. President Obama’s vows comes as Kiev continues air strikes as a part of its military operation in southeastern Ukraine.

Billionaire Petro Poroshenko won Ukraine’s May 25 presidential election and will be sworn in as the country’s new leader on Saturday.

Poroshenko announced that Kiev would step up its military operation shortly after exit polls predicted his victory in the election, saying that Kiev’s activities in the southeast of the country “will be more effective and military units must be better equipped."

Since March, the White House has approved more than $23 million in security assistance to Ukraine. Now the US is providing additional $5 million aid for "the provision of body armor, night vision goggles and additional communications equipment."

The White House said other aid for Ukraine has included 300,000 ready-to-eat meals and financing for medical supplies, helmets, hand-held radios and other equipment.

"The United States is absolutely committed to standing behind the Ukrainian people not just in the coming days, weeks, but in the coming years," Obama said.

Obama said it was critical that other countries also support Poroshenko and Ukraine’s new government, including by training its military and police.

Continued - Obama, Ukraine president-elect discuss US help to train Kiev's military

 

[Miss Annie]

Was expecting as much after the Nazis took control.

Nailed it! But the Nazis were installed though, by US!

 

[Natural Citizen]

Dozens feared killed in Ukrainian military assault on hospital...

Ukrainian armed forces have allegedly killed more than 25 wounded people in a hospital in Krasny Liman, on the outskirts of Slavyansk, as the National Guard seized the town from the local militia following heavy shelling.

“According to preliminary information, more than 25 people have been killed,”Denis Pushilin, Chairman of the Supreme Council of the People's Republic of Donetsk was quoted by Itar-Tass.
While there are no official figures yet, Pushilin fears the body count in Tuesday's assault on the hospital will eventually rise. “We fear that there may be more victims,” Pushilin said, adding that the figures announced by Kiev and reported by locals “differ greatly.”

The number of injured is still unknown as well. During an assault on the town people inside the hospital tried to flee in panic and hide in the basement. Medical staff scrambled to get the wounded, mostly elderly out, as mortar shelling on the medical facility continued.

According to Pushilin, Ukrainian forces were looking to kill the wounded self-defense members. “It is worse than a genocide – shooting at the sick and wounded. The immoral actions by Kiev's junta defy any explanation.”

The center of town with densely populated residential areas, and the train station also became scenes of the mortar assault. Massive damage to the railway track in Ukrainian air strikes resulted in cancellation of services, the press service of the Donetsk railway authority said on Wednesday.

Another local resident RT managed to speak with, Nataliya, said that people are terrified. She claims that the Ukrainian security services tapped the phone lines, intimidating people who are petrified to discuss anything with their friends and relatives for the fear of retribution. Most of all people are afraid of point blank murder by the Ukrainian forces of civilians, she said, adding that the city has been completely surrounded by government troops and no one is allowed to leave the besieged town.

Continued - Dozens feared killed in Ukrainian military assault on hospital




Aside - Another hospital was previously shelled just a few days prior to this one...

Devastation: Ukraine army shells hit another hospital (VIDEO)

The village of Krasny Liman near Slavyansk in the Donetsk region was heavily shelled by the Ukrainian army during Kiev’s military operation Tuesday. Residents were killed and injured as shells hit a hospital, school and train station..

The local hospital was also heavily shelled, with patients and personnel still inside the building. Local resident Irina told RT on the phone of unconfirmed reports that a surgeon was killed. Irina and Roman said that a local school was also shelled, but there is no official confirmation so far.

On Tuesday, the National Guard launched a massive artillery attack on Slavyansk, a city with a population of over 110,000 people, and its suburbs at 6 am local time.

The fighting, which has been ongoing all day is “the longest fight that has happened during the entire standoff in Ukraine,” said the press secretary of the People’s Mayor of Slavyansk, Stella Khorosheva, Itar-Tass reported.

She added that there are no official figures on the killed and injured, as their number is “constantly increasing.”

Ukrainian Air Force fighter jets fired missiles at the villages of Semenovka and Cherevkovka near the city on Tuesday, the People’s Mayor of Slavyansk, Vyacheslav Ponomarev, told Itar-Tass.

At least five missile strikes were carried out on Semenovka, the news agency reported, citing self-defense forces.

The Ukrainian troops brought to Slavyansk up to 100 units of military equipment, including tanks, self-propelled artillery and Tulpan mortars, self-propelled Gvozdika howitzers and Grad multiple launch rocket systems, Khorosheva said earlier Tuesday.

Kiev's bloody eastern Ukraine campaign: LIVE UPDATES

 

[specsaregood]

N.C., do you know if there is much hubbub in Russia from people wanting to get involved militarily in all of this?

 

[Natural Citizen]

N.C., do you know if there is much hubbub in Russia from people wanting to get involved militarily in all of this?

I don't think so. Not from Russian officials. Putin won't get involved in it. The idea here, I think, is that the U.S. wants to bait Russia into it in a manner in which they would be able to paint Russia into another Iraq by way of mainstream media and various politicians running and presenting platforms for foreign policy conforming to that same narrative. The minute Russia were to become involved it would be the start of another cold war. Putin knows this so he's not going to take that bait, I don't think. People were fleeing to Russia when these shellings and attacks started taking out society but then we see now that they are being confined and not allowed to flee beyond the limits.


Here is Putin on Ukraine, its sovereignty and Russian troops...
‘Russian troops in Ukraine? Got any proof?' Putin's best quotes from French media talk

The ongoing crisis in Ukraine has been occupying the center of international attention since the end of last year. While the coup-appointed government in Kiev is carrying out a military crackdown on the southeast of the country, the US said that Russian troops are allegedly involved in the crisis and they have proof of that.

“What about proof? Why don’t they show it?” Putin told French media.

“The entire world remembers the US Secretary of State demonstrating the evidence of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, waving around some test tube with washing powder in the UN Security Council. Eventually, the US troops invaded Iraq, Saddam Hussein was hanged and later it turned out there had never been any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. You know – it’s one thing to say things and another to actually have evidence.”

“After the anti-constitutional coup in Kiev in February, the first thing the new authorities tried to do was to deprive the ethnic minorities of the right to use their native language. This caused great concern among the people living in eastern Ukraine.”

“I wouldn’t call them either pro-Russian or pro-Ukrainian. They are people who have certain rights, political, humanitarian rights, and they must have a chance to exercise those rights.”

“When [the coup] happened some people accepted this regime and were happy about it while other people, say, in eastern and southern Ukraine just won’t accept it."

Something that is being ignored, though, is what Russia is doing in terms of economic impact. Especially with regard to agribusiness and energy. Also technology in critical areas of modern infrastructure. War doesn't always have to be with bullets and bombs. Right?

 

[Natural Citizen]

Slavyansk under fire, without water and power as Kiev troops resume shelling...

Death and destruction is reported in eastern Ukraine as Kiev’s artillery has resumed shelling the rebellious city of Slavyansk. Locals tell RT they have been without running water and power for days, and that hope is fading.

“The shells broke just near the central square. They hit residential houses, a furniture factory, a cafe and communications post,” an unnamed representative of the local city council told Itar-Tass. “There are victims among the civilians and some people received shrapnel wounds.”

Four people were killed in the result of the shelling, a small girl among them. Seven people were taken to hospital with injuries, RT's correspondent Andrey Krasnoschyokov reports from the scene.

Slavyansk residents say their spirits are getting lower, as the city is completely surrounded by Kiev’s armed forces and there is constant shooting and shelling while evacuation is hindered.

“Slavyansk has been attacked by massive shelling overnight,” a local resident told RT, adding that the shelling never stops.
As the man was speaking to RT in the morning, he saw massive columns of smoke coming from the city outskirts. The sounds of shelling were heard distinctly over the phone.

According to RT’s witness, those water and electricity lines that have been broken are located in the “war zones,” where most of the fighting takes place, that’s why it is almost impossible to repair them.

“There is an impression that [Kiev forces] are striking in the vicinity of high-voltage lines to disrupt them and leave the city without water and electricity,” he added.

Continued - Slavyansk under fire, without water and power as Kiev troops resume shelling

 

[Natural Citizen]

‘Not safe for our children!’ Mothers with kids flee Kiev crackdown in Lugansk...

The refugees have been forced to leave the troubled city since Kiev intensified the military crackdown on the country’s east. Now families, packing their bags into buses and crying, are leaving for an uncertain future.

“We don’t know what will happen there and for how long this situation will continue. We want to return home as quickly as possible,” Olga, another refugee, told RT.

The residents have been on the waiting list for days. One woman told RT that she received a phone call in the morning which told her that she had less than four hours to pack her things and leave Lugansk.

“The airplanes and the bombings are the scariest because you don't know where they’re going to fall and when. We can't always stay inside a basement because of the small children,” says Victoria, another mother who is traveling with her daughters and like all women in the bus have had to leave her husband and her family in the besieged city.

The refugees from all parts of eastern Ukrainian continue to arrive in Russia to escape Kiev’s military operation. The citizens of another eastern city, Slavyansk, who are now living without tap water, are also leaving the city. A driver who said he evacuates at least 10 residents a day from Slavyansk told RT that Ukrainian troops only let women and children leave the city, but they are forced to walk through the checkpoints.

Continued - ‘Not safe for our children!’ Mothers with kids flee Kiev crackdown in Lugansk



Aside - US deploys stealth B-2 bombers in Europe

The US has been sending additional troops to Europe lately in a gesture meant to reassure its NATO partners, especially those in Eastern Europe, that Washington is committed to defending them militarily. NATO says the deployments are needed for a possible aggression from Russia amid the ongoing political crisis in Ukraine.

Moscow is criticizing the buildup of NATO forces close to Russia's borders, calling them provocative and warning that the US is using the Ukrainian events as a pretext to flex its muscles.

The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit is a multipurpose stealth bomber first used by the US during the 1999 war in Kosovo. It was designed primarily to deliver nuclear weapons, but has been used extensively as a conventional bomber in all major US military campaigns from Afghanistan to Libya.

Relevant reading - Ten NATO countries start war games in Latvia

Britain's army soldiers march during opening ceremony of NATO military exercise "Saber Strike" in Adazi June 9, 2014. (Reuters/Ints Kalnins)

A major military exercise kicked off in Latvia, with 10 NATO member countries participating. The war games involve 4,700 troops and 800 military vehicles. Russia sees NATO's military build-up as a sign of aggression.

The Saber Strike ground forces exercise is being conducted for the fourth time this year and coincides with Baltic Host 2014 and Baltops 2014 naval drills.

Troops from the US, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Norway and the UK are taking part.

The two-week exercise is hosted by the three Baltic States, although some parts will be conducted in Germany.

For Latvia, where the opening ceremony was held, it's the biggest NATO military drill since its accession to the alliance in 2004, the country's defense ministry said Monday in a statement. The ceremony was crowned with a US strategic bomber B-52 flyover.

The exercise comes amid high tension between NATO and Russia over the Ukrainian political crisis. The alliance ramped up its presence in Russia's neighborhood, claiming that it is a response toward Moscow's aggressive stance.

Russia says NATO's actions are provocative and is taking measures to balance the shift in military power.

“We can't take this military buildup by the alliance next to Russia's borders as anything but a demonstration of hostile intention. The deployment of extra NATO troops in Central and Eastern Europe, even on a rotational basis” is a violation of Russia's agreements with the alliance, Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov said Monday.

“Of course we won't stand idly and watch the militarization of the countries in our neighborhood and will take all necessary political and military measures to ensure our security,” the diplomat told Interfax.

 

[Natural Citizen]

E. Ukraine warzone: Demolished houses, fires after heavy shelling (VIDEOS)

Several videos of destruction here. Is unfortunate...

Local residents react as they stand near destroyed houses and vehicles after what locals say was overnight shelling by Ukrainian forces, in the eastern Ukrainian town of Slaviansk June 9, 2014 (Reuters / Gleb Garanich)
​

Kiev's artillery has been firing on Slavyansk since mid-May, and the city's residential areas suffer most under the attacks. A multi-storeyed apartment block is seen damaged in the video, another residential house's roof is on fire. A woman is heard yelling, accusing the western press of lying, "they say that civilians do not suffer," she says. Locals have told RT they have been without running water and power for days.

Continued - E. Ukraine warzone: Demolished houses, fires after heavy shelling (VIDEOS)

 

[Origanalist]

NATO Falls Forward, Failing

A partial recap of recent activity by the US/EU/NATO/bankster coalition. http://westernrifleshooters.wordpress.com/2014/06/09/nato-falls-forward-failing/

 

[Natural Citizen]

#Don’t kill us: Refugees from Eastern Ukraine make a plea for peace (VIDEO)...

Refugees who fled the turmoil in Eastern Ukraine made a video plea, where they hold a poster with the hashtag #DontKillUs, urging the Kiev government to stop military assaults in the area. Women and children that have been sheltered in a children’s summer camp Dmitriadovsky in Russia’s southern Rostov Oblast appear in the 5-minute video asking Ukraine’s newly elected President Petro Poroshenko to stop the killing and withdraw Ukrainian troops.

​

Each of their messages asks the president to let them live and ends with a plea not to kill any more of their relatives.
The hashtag took the Twitter stratosphere by storm.

Overall about 20,000 women and children from Ukraine’s southeast have crossed the border into Russia’s Rostov Region in the last three days, according to regional authorities in Rostov. They added that at least 7,335 Ukrainian citizens have entered the Rostov Region in the last 24 hours.

“My husband and my parents have stayed behind in Lugansk. It was very difficult to leave town, and very scary. There was unrelenting gunfire, and my entire family had to lie down on the floor to stay safe. I can’t even tell you how scary that was. I’m very grateful to the people who have sheltered us here, we’ve been provided with absolutely everything. Thank you very, very much, Russia. I’m thankful for the fact that my children and myself are here. I’m really worried about the people who have stayed behind, and it’s very disturbing to watch the news and see what’s going on there. I beg you, stop the killings. Stop killing civilians, enough bloodshed.”

Continued - #Don’t kill us: Refugees from Eastern Ukraine make a plea for peace (VIDEO)