Sunday 17 July 2016

Ukrainian saviours need good changes in their service

After recent deaths of three saviours on Hrybovychi rubbish dump, it is actively talked about needful reform of Ukraine’s State Emergency Service in Ukrainian society. Some Lviv media indicate bad organization of saving operation as main reason of Hrybovychi tragedy, writing also about the lack of protective helmets in ordinary saviours during that fire-extinguishing. And like sorrowful destiny’s irony, this tragedy happened the day before planned meeting of the fire-fighters of Lviv region for the changes in Ukrainian saving service and one of the organizers of that meeting, A. Vnenkevych, and his colleague, B. Yunko, both unionists of Lviv region firemen’s union, died under Hrybovychi garbage.
But however such meetings of the firemen were held in July of 2016 in other Ukraine’s cities, as examples, local – in Chernihiv and Zaporizhzhya and all-Ukrainian – in Kyiv, though first meetings of Ukrainian fire-fighters were yet held the last year to attract society’s attention to the problems in State Emergency Service of Ukraine. And what are they, these problems? Firstly, it’s question about firemen’s uniforms of poor quality or very old uniforms, which can be easily torn. Some uniforms are sewn in the 1970’s and are used till now, some uniforms are modern, but made from such cloth that can be burnt and take care fire-fighter only from the dirt. Or radioactive and chemical protection clothing, made in the 1970’s, which doesn’t protect saviours from injurious influence. Or thermal protective uniforms, sewn more than 20 years ago, which have heavy masks (10 kg) with ancient glass diaphragms, through which it’s seen very badly. Fire-fighters often receive boots of poor quality in their fire-fighting departments, its soles fall off and become holed after 1 year of using. Besides it, they receive unhandy working gloves, so buy comfortable gloves for own money. Many firemen’s helmets may break at one blow on the asphalt and its glass diaphragms fuse even during the grass extinguishing, so they can’t care head and face from the fire. And sometimes saviours go to extinguish the fire, wearing in simple tarpaulin clothes, when it is -25 degrees Celsius, so people just freeze before arriving to the necessary place.
Secondly, it’s a huge problem of old fire-engines and firemen’s equipment. In some fire-brigades 131-ZIL fire-engines are used in the last 50 years, though they must be exhibited in the museums nowadays. These fire-engines drive 60 km per hour, may break on the way and its pumps function unwell. Except it, some Ukraine’s fire-engines have the ladders, not reaching higher than the roof of nine-floor-building and it’s a serious problem too. Like a problem of the disposition of some fire-brigades only in Ukraine’s regional centres and cities, while population of small towns and villages sometimes must wait for the firemen too long.
Ukrainian saviours also demand to liquidate contract system of employment, put into practice for the personnel in State Emergency Service of Ukraine in 2008, and to employ all saviours on regular basis like the employers of other state services work in Ukraine. For example, it’s impossible to free oneself by own desire because of made contracts and it’s very problematic to get work time off just for one day. All Ukrainian saviours aren’t insurant and their unpaid overtime is usual occurrence. Ukraine’s fire-fighters complain that they are forced to repair and to dye fire-engines or to go into the forest to prepare firewood in their rest days (because the buildings of all Ukrainian fire-brigades are heated with wood instead of expensive natural gas now). Ordinary saviours are indignant at their small wages (bare salary is the same as it was in 2010 – only 900 UAH) and minimum Ukraine’s pension, big difference in the payments of pecuniary aid for their sanitation in various Ukrainian cities, little financial aid for the families of their dead colleagues. Maybe, that’s why the large problem of a lack of the personnel exists in the majority of Ukraine’s fire-brigades, where one fireman works instead of three firemen. So State Emergency Service of Ukraine must be reformed immediately.

Friday 1 July 2016

World-known opera singer Vasyl Slipak was shot in Donbas








World-known opera singer from Paris "Grand-opera" Vasyl Slipak was born in Lviv, studied in Lviv secondary school no.46, Lviv choir school "Dudaryk" and Lviv Conservatory named after Mykola Lysenko. Great Lviv voice...After graduating at conservatory his unique baritone was noticed abroad and he moved to live in France. But when in spring of 2014 so-called antiterroristic operation had begun in Donbas, he started to help ATO participants as a volunteer and lately decided to become a soldier to fight against foreign occupants in Donbas region. But on 29th June 2016 his fighting way was suddenly broken off - V. Slipak was shot and died in ATO zone. And on 1st July he was buried on Lychakiv cemetery in Lviv, on special field side by side another men, who had taken part in ATO. And their deaths are sorrowful prooves of lasting war and the absence of some cease-fire in Donbas nowadays.                   

Wednesday 22 June 2016

Tragedy of Hrybovychi rubbish dump

On 28th May 2016 in the evening huge fire flashed on Hrybovychi rubbish dump near 3 km from Lviv and firemen arrived to extinguish it, what they managed to do only in the morning on 30th May. But in midday 30th May large garbage collapse happened and hundreds thousands of garbage fell on three firemen and ecologist of one Lviv communal economy. On 31st May there were found the bodies of three saviours: Andriy Vnenkevych and Bohdan Yunko from Zhovkva and Yuriy Rudyy from Rava-Ruska, who were buried on the next day, though body of ecologist Oleksandr Butin isn’t found till now. Some fire flashes appeared locally during first June’s days and in general fire was finally extinguished on 10th June.
The problem of Hrybovychi rubbish dump wasn’t new till this catastrophe, for years many ecologists, politicians and public activists demanded to close that garbage dump and to build waste remaking plant in Lviv region. After Hrybovychi tragedy some public activists brought dust-heaps in Lviv City Council as a sign of their disagree with actions of Lviv city power and registered on Lviv City Council’s site the petition for resignation of Lviv mayor Andriy Sadovyy, which quickly got necessary votes to be examined. But on 9th June mayor Sadovyy pleased Ministry of Internal Affairs to surround Lviv City Council’s building with large quantity of policemen and militaries from National Guard not to let public activists to be present during Lviv deputies’ session, thus Lviv mayor destroyed by himself famous slogan of his team “Lviv open to the world”. Except it, in March of 2016 it has been published official list of 43 companies which had appealed to Lviv authorities with proposals of building waste remaking enterprise, but Lviv mayor A. Sadovyy delayed these suggestions. 
Hrybovychi garbage dump is considered a third largest ecologically dangerous object in Europe and is included in top-10 dangerous objects in the world. It was necessary to sound the alarm yet in January of 2016, when sour tar run out from the artificially made tar lakes-pits on Hrybovychi garbage dump to near forest and in the Malekhivka River. Then dead fish found floating on reservoirs of nearby villages and the water was poisoned in local wells. And that sour tar of Hrybovychi rubbish dump creates another huge problem for Lviv region, besides accumulated garbage on the largest Ukraine’s dump, lack of waste remaking plant in Lviv region and new Lviv rubbish, which is temporally transported in different Ukrainian cities for short terms, for example, to Kyiv waste-burning plant.

Tuesday 31 May 2016

Savchenko is freed

At last! Ukrainian officer Nadiya Savchenko was freed by Russian authority and came back to Ukraine! Having been captured in Luhansk region in Ukraine and illegally transported to Russia in June of 2014, Savchenko was also unlawfully imprisoned almost two years in Russian jails and was sentenced to 22 years in jail by Russian court. On 25th May 2016 President of Russian Federation Vladimir Putin signed decree of pardon of Nadiya Savchenko and explained his decision with the pardon request of the relatives of one of two Russian journalists, with whose murder she had been charged (though N. Savchenko had been captivated 1 hour and a half before the time of the death of these journalists).
And also on 25th May 2016 it was published the pardon of President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko for Russian soldiers Alexander Aleksandrov and Yevgeniy Yerofeyev, who had been arrested in Luhansk region by Service of Security of Ukraine in May of 2015 and had been as an obvious example of Russian army’s presence in Donbas region of Ukraine. Having been sentenced to 14 years of imprisonment for terroristic activity in Ukraine, they were set free and flew to Moscow on the plane after their pardon. On the same day Nadiya Savchenko arrived in Kyiv, so it looked like the exchange of soldiers between two countries which are in military conflict.
People's deputy of Batkivshchyna political party in High Council of Ukraine and the member of Ukrainian permanent delegation in Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Nadiya Savchenko held a press conference after her return to Ukraine on 27th May 2016, answering the questions of journalists. And on 31st May 2016 she came in Ukrainian parliament at first in the life and opened parliamentary sitting like people’s deputy. Making speech, N. Savchenko thanked all Ukrainians and all people around the world for supporting her and sang Ukrainian state anthem after speech. Then she took off poster “Freedom for Savchenko” from parliament’s rostrum and instead of it hung another poster “Freedom for prisoners of Kreml” with painted faces of several dozens Ukrainian political prisoners and said that Ukrainian people’s deputies hadn’t right not to free them.
Because many other Ukrainian citizens are staying in Russian jails nowadays, being politically persecuted. For example, Oleh Sentsov, Oleksandr Kolchenko, Hennadiy Afanasyev, Oleksiy Chyrniy, Valentyn Vyhovskyy, Oleksandr Kostenko, Yuriy Ilchenko, citizens of Ukraine and settlers of Crimean peninsula, who were arrested by Russian police in the Crimea in 2014-2015 after Russian occupation of Ukrainian Autonomous Republic of Crimea in spring of 2014. There were different reasons of their arrests and they were jailed, because current state power of Russian Federation considers Crimean land Russian territory and correspondently considers these persons Russian citizens, so judges them according to Russian legislation. So here are not just criminal deals and political persecutions against some people, but there are also the problem of the Crimea and various opinions of Ukrainian and Russian authorities on the question of whose territory is this peninsula.

Tuesday 24 May 2016

Necessary refusal of Ukraine from "Eurovision-2017"

Last “Eurovision” probably was the most scandalous show in the history of this song contest because of its results in the final. But I shall not estimate the songs of “Eurovision-2016” participants here, every human has own musical preferences and I never dispute about it. There is other worry – how Ukrainian statesmen can hold next “Eurovision” in Ukraine, if many huge problems wait to be solved in the state. Money is the first and the largest reason to refuse from holding of “Eurovision-2017”, because every country must finance the organization of that musical festival, if it takes place in some of its cities. When Ukrainian authority get diverse credits from the whole world to stabilize Ukrainian economy, broken with devaluation of Ukrainian Hryvnia and bankruptcy of numerous Ukrainian banks during last two years, how can international festival be financed from state treasury or local budgets of Ukraine? And what is very important that so-called anti terroristic operation is continuing in Donbas region, where Ukrainian fighters defend Ukrainian territory against pro-Russian separatists and Russian army. Besides it, Ukrainian injured warriors of the ATO often need expensive treatment, so if Ukrainian statesmen may find the rest of cash in Ukraine’s state budget, then they must spend that cash for needful ATO participants instead of preparing to “Eurovision”. Moreover, one Ukrainian region – the Crimea – was occupied by Russian state power in spring of 2014, so in political sense it’s impossible to denominate Ukraine well quiet location to welcome foreign guests of “Eurovision” song contest. To the purpose, parents and grandfather of “Eurovision-2016” winner Jamala, to whom she dedicated her song “1944”, live on the Crimean peninsula nowadays, rejecting to move in another Ukrainian region.
And, to be honestly, politics (not music!) dominated from the beginning of Ukrainian national choice to “Eurovision-2016” and the victory of “1944” until representing of Ukraine in Stockholm and proclamation the winner of this year song contest. Thus, very lyrical song “Never Again” of Ukrainian singer Svitlana Tarabarova, who had sung about current war on the East of Ukraine and deaths of Ukrainian soldiers and about the necessity of stopping this war, was rejected by jury Ukrainian national choice because jury explained song had been sad and Europeans hadn’t needed Ukrainian pain. And then the same members of jury announced Jamala’s song about deportation of Crimean Tartars from the Crimea to Central Asia in 1944 as representative of Ukraine in “Eurovision-2016”...But massive deportations of Ukrainians were started in 1944 too: thousands Ukrainians were transferred by force from Kholmshchyna, Nadsyannya, Lemkivshchyna, Pidlyashshya (ethnic Ukrainian lands in present Poland) to Soviet Union by Polish and Soviet communistic statesmen during 1944-1947 years and thousands Ukrainians were transferred also by force from Western Ukraine to Siberia by Soviet state power in 1944-1952 and the quantity of deported Ukrainians in that periods is much more than the number of deported Crimean Tartars, whose deportation of 1944 is known in the world thanks to Jamala’s song now. And though Jamala is half-Crimean Tartar half-Armenian, as she told in many Ukrainian interviews earlier, but she never says about Armenian genocide in Ottoman Empire in 1915. So it’s clear that politics was everywhere in the case of “1944” song. And it’s a pity such famous song contest became political battle between Ukraine and Russia, which indeed have difficult relationships because of the Crimea and Donbas. That’s why one more cause for Ukraine to deny from the organizing of “Eurovision” next year – to avoid unnecessary politicization and rumours in the future and to help this song contest to be really musical show without any political implication. And, I guess, transfer of “Eurovision-2017” to runner-up winner of “Eurovision-2016” – to Australia – would be optimal decision not only because of problems in Ukraine, mentioned in the first indent of this article, but such step would stop Ukrainian-Russian contradictions in Eurovision and would satisfy many music fans, discontented with the results of this year song contest. For sure, if Australia will agree to hold “Eurovision-2017”. 

Sunday 10 April 2016

Saakashvili must prove his innocence in Georgia

This day Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk has resigned from that high state post. At least the worst prime minister in the history of Ukrainian state alleged own resignation! His two governments will remain in society’s memory like a period with corruption scandals, large increasing of utilities’ tariffs for population, huge depreciation of Ukrainian currency, two anti national state budget (for 2015 and 2016 years) and series of anti people’s laws, such as new 18% tax from every salary to state treasury, etc. Nowadays several politicians are debated  in the country’s media for the post of new head of Cabinet of the Ministers of Ukraine and, probably, the most contradictory candidate for the chief of Ukrainian government is Mikheil Saakashvili, ex-President of Georgia (2003-2013) and present Head of Odesa Regional State Administration.
M. Saakashvili has great ambitions to lead government in Ukraine, though yet in December of 2014 he declared the impossibility to be state man in Ukraine because of his unwillingness to lose Georgian citizenship in the case of his getting Ukrainian citizenship and his appointment on any Ukrainian state post. But on 13th February 2015 Saakashvili was assigned the Head of newly-created Advice International Council of Reforms of Ukraine by President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko. Further, on 30th May 2015 former Georgian president was appointed the Head of Odesa Regional State Administration by Poroshenko, who gave him Ukrainian citizenship the day before. Logically, present Georgian state power officially deprived M. Saakashvili of Georgian citizenship on 4th December 2015. So this situation surely demonstrates Saakashvili’s declarations as hollow promises and shows him like real liar.
And instead of dreaming about the post of Ukrainian Prime Minister, Saakashvili needs to prove his innocence in his native Georgia. Because after the defeat at Georgian presidential elections in October of 2013 Mikheil Saakashvili moved abroad, being yet Georgia’s president and not waiting the inauguration of newly-elected President of Georgia George Merabishvili. Obviously, Saakashvili did Saasuch political steps, because soon new Georgian state power prosecuted four criminal deals against him for: the organization of beating Georgian ex-people’s deputy Valeriy Gelashvili in 2005; the exceeding of his state power during the inquiry of the murder of Georgian banker Sandro Guirgvliani in 2006 and during the breaking up oppositional meeting in Tbilisi on 7th November 2007; the embezzlement of 3.7 million of state money during 2009-2012; the appropriation of “Imedi” Georgian TV-channel. Of course, neither Ukrainian judges nor Ukrainian society can’t be justice in these criminal deals and can’t say if this is political persecution against M. Saakshvili in Georgia or he is guilty indeed. But why did ex-president of Georgia refuse to participate even in on-line Georgian trial via Skype on 28th April 2015, as Tbilisi court had proposed him? Why is M. Saakashvili is afraid of Georgian justice, if he reformed Georgia, as it had been talking about during his presidency’s years? If his presidential team really had made democratic reforms in the system of justice in Georgian country, so there wasn’t any necessity to escape from Georgian judges. Moreover, there is no death penalty in Georgia, so when M. Saakashvili is innocent, he hasn’t reasons to avoid Georgian trial. Except it, Mikheil Saakashvili even didn’t appeal to European Court of Human Rights to bring suit against the accusations of Georgian state power during last two years of his persecution. That’s why he cannot any right to criticize Ukraine’s economics or people’s life, or Ukrainian politicians, but he must be responsible towards Georgian nation to evince persuasive evidences of his fairness as politician to Georgians and to whole world.

Thursday 31 March 2016

Indignation of Ukrainian scientists and sportsmen

Not only Ukrainian teachers of professional-technical schools, but also Ukrainian scientists are indignant because of state budget for 2016 and demand to accept some changes in this budget and to increase state expenses for National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU). Specifically, scientists expect additional 725 millions hryvnias from state treasury to finance Ukrainian science in 2016 year and emphasize problems of scientific personnel’s reduction, non-full working week and leaves without salary in the institutes of NASU. Moreover, Ukraine’s scientific researchers receive minimal financial maintenance from state and sometimes they even must pay for own expeditions and scientific missions. That’s why Ukrainian scientists held meetings on 16th March 2016 in Lviv and on 29th March 2016 in Kharkiv for saving National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
Besides catastrophic situation in Ukrainian science, there are rumours in Ukrainian society that present state power intends to liquidate the Ministry of the Youth and Sports of Ukraine. On 25th March 2016 National Olympic Committee of Ukraine (NOCU) has already declared against these plans of liquidation of sporting ministry before Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Such probable government’s step would endanger effective training of sportsmen and preparation process of Ukrainian delegation in the Rio-2016 Olympics and Paralympics. And generally the absence of special ministry of sports would threaten development of Ukrainian professional sport and physical culture in the country, so NOCU called to keep the Ministry of the Youth and Sports of Ukraine.   

Saturday 26 March 2016

Professional-technical schools on the brink of survival

High Council of Ukraine accepted state budget for 2016 year on 25th December 2015 at 4:04 AM! Does any parliament work at night like Ukrainian votes? And all laws, what were secretly voted in Ukrainian parliament’s building, bring negative changes to Ukrainian society. So state budget-2016 isn’t the exception in this tendency, because at that night Ukrainian people’s deputies replaced financing type for professional-technical schools (PTS). From the moment of the foundation these schools were always financed from state budget and in 2016 they must be financed from local budgets: when it’s situated in the city of regional importance – from the treasury of that city, in another cases – from regional treasuries. And such innovations made financial collapse in educational system of the regions and put almost all Ukrainian professional-technical schools on the brink of survival and a lot of them may be closed in 2016, because local budgets don’t have necessary sums to finance vocational-technical education. Moreover, local officials don’t understand why they are forced by the government to finance PTS buildings what are on the state balance and aren’t communal property and nowadays there is no lawful mechanism to exclude them from the list of state property. Besides it, the majority of local bureaucrats are indignant to give cash for education of non-local youth who came to their cities from near-by towns and villages or even from another region. Searching better solution of the problem of PTS financing, Ukrainian parliament voted the amendments to the law about state budget-2016 and in fact returned state maintenance to professional-technical schools, but President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko put a veto on these amendments on 18th March 2016, so budgetary 2016 year’s changes of PTS financing are still valid. And the Minister of Finance of Ukraine Natalia Yaresko, who had invented that changes and had proposed it to Ukrainian parliament, said that government would analyze current situation in PTS during the first quarter of 2016 year and could offer new replacements in state budget-2016.
Meanwhile state power and local authorities can’t divide their duties in reference to professional-technical schools, its teachers don’t see their wages in the pockets and students don’t get their scholarships for 2-3 months. Many Ukrainian PTS have debts for the utilities, that’s why some PTS and its dormitories have already been disconnected from heat, electricity and/or water supply in first months of 2016. And PTS students are mainly children from destitute families or from large families where only one parent has a job, and there also orphans, half-orphans and invalids, so these young persons don’t have money to get private high education or to graduate from some university or academy in general, because their relatives haven’t possibilities to favour in it. That’s why after finishing nine or eleven classes of secondary school, Ukrainian needy youth enter professional-technical schools to get any working vocation and to have unique chance to earn in the life. Acquiring professional knowledge and skills in Ukrainian PTS, children become builders, plasterers, bricklayers, electricians, electric welders, locksmiths, car mechanics, drivers with categories B and C, computer operators, sellers, cashiers, cooks, confectioners, waiters, bartenders, restaurant or hotel administrators, hairdressers, manicurists, makeup artists, tailors, seamstresses, carpenters or woodcarvers, florists, etc. And cutting of PTS state financing can cause its final closing. Since the beginning of 2016 professional-technical schools don’t receive even guaranteed state expenses to buy food for the students-orphans, so PTS workers ask local businessmen for their contributions that the orphans don’t starve, like it happened in Kamyanets-Podilskyy in Khmelnytskyy region, or local volunteers gather needful sums and help PTS, for example, in Teplodar in Odesa region, or teachers use product reserves from own neighbouring vegetable gardens, which are often planted near PTS in small towns in Ukraine. Professional-technical schools’ students survive how everyone can and here are some their stories. Nadia studies in Ostroh High Professional-Technical School in Rivne region and she is from a large family, her mother is invalid and father is unemployed, so she borrows cash in godmother or granny to buy meal, at the same time Vasyl, who is also studying in that PTS, is orphan, his scholarship was his mean of subsistence and nowadays he can hope only for outsiders’ aid. Sofia from Novovolynsk Professional-Technical School no.11 (Volyn region) gets money from her father, who is sole breadwinner in the family with four children, because her mother is in decree. Nadia from Uman Agrarian Lyceum (Cherkasy region) said journalists that her fellows worked at night or in the day-time, arranging with lyceum’s management about their possible absence. And 17-year-old orphan Serhiy is studying in specialized group for disabled students in Uman Professional Lyceum no.9, so he worries what will be with him and where he’ll go in the case of closing of this professional-technical school, where he is able to get some occupation and to live in its dormitory. Though what must PTS teachers do, if they don’t get salary for their teaching and often work, feeling regular starvation, as one of Mukachevo teachers-protesters told journalists about the state of health of some his colleagues? So the workers of professional-technical schools from various Ukrainian regions organized large meeting in Kyiv on 28th January 2016 to attract the attention of state power to solve PTS problems and to return its state financing. That’s why PTS teachers and students blocked traffic on the roads, for example, Kyiv-Chop road in Mukachevo in Transcarpathian region https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoS26WrYuEI, and Kovel-Zhovkva road in Novovolynsk in Volyn region https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I845B1FwpVo, and also protested near city councils and state regional administrations in Lviv, Ternopil, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Khmelnytskyy, Rivne, Odesa, Zaporizhzhya regions, etc. But those protests aided a little, because the majority of town councils couldn’t allot any payment to local PTS. And the examples of PTS financing from local treasuries, when Kharkiv city council allotted money for the needs of Kharkiv PTS for all 2016 year, Chernihiv town council found costs to pay teachers’ wages and students’ scholarships in the first half-year of 2016, Drohobych and Ivano-Frankivsk city officials could give financing of salaries and scholarships only in January of 2016 – there are the exclusions in present state of the affairs of Ukrainian professional-technical schools.
So I guess it’s a duty of Ukrainian state power and local officials not to leave PTS teachers jobless and poor children uneducated and without free acquiring some profession. Or do they think in another way? Though children of Ukrainian statesmen, of course, don’t acquire knowledge in Ukrainian PTS. Children of President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and of the Head of Ukrainian parliament Volodymyr Hroysman prefer British high education, as numerous Ukrainian media sites tell. And where did elder daughter of Minister of Finance of Ukraine Natalia Yaresko enter after finishing Pechersk School International in Kyiv? Ukrainian journalists are silent about it. But I don’t think that two daughters of this inventor of liquidation of PTS state financing, which have American citizenship and had possibility to go to such prestigious secondary school in Ukrainian capital, will work seller, waiter, manicurist or seamstress or will get any other vocational-technical education.
At least. Where are real reforms of this Cabinet of the Ministers of Ukraine, which enjoyed to get credits from International Monetary Found and from diverse world governments and global financial organisations during almost two years? Or is it one of “planned reforms” of current Prime Minister Yatsenyuk’s government – to destroy Ukrainian professional-technical schools and to make Ukraine a country of destitute uneducated people? So why does President Poroshenko not stop this destroying?

Thursday 17 March 2016

Free Savchenko!

Free Savchenko! Such slogan is actively heard around the globe especially in March of 2016 before declaring the sentence of Russian state investigation against Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko, stolen by Russians in Ukraine and moved to Russia in 2014. Savchenko had her last floor in the court of Russian city of Donetsk in Rostov-on-the Don region on 9th March 2016 and Russian judges will state final sentence on 21st-22nd March 2016. Eariler Russian state prosecutors wanted 23 years of the imprisonment for Ukrainian officer, though Russian authorities hadn’t any right to judge Ukrainian citizen, captivated by Russian citizens on Ukrainian state's territory. Because there are huge breaches of international laws and the proof of lawlessness and absurdity of that accident. Moreover, Savchenko is such Ukrainian citizen who did her duty like a soldier of Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2014, participating in anti terroristic operation in Donbas. Besides it, she rejected all Russian accusations. That’s why I also wish: “Free Savchenko”. 

Wednesday 16 March 2016

Donetsk Filtering Station stopped its work

Donetsk Filtering Station supplies drinkable water to Donetsk, Avdiyivka and neighbouring populated settlements, so it’s important object of Donbas infrastructure. This station is located in so-called ATO buffer zone between cities of Avdiyivka and Yasynuvata in Donetsk region and it is regularly fired during Ukrainian-Russian military conflict in the East of Ukraine. In the summer of 2014 the station functioned with stoppages owing to fights near Donetsk and then shells often hit that station in May and August of 2015. Nowadays Donetsk Filtering Station doesn’t work again since 13th March 2016 after short-term restoring of its functioning since 4th March. The station is shelled by Russian fighters in the last days, as it is told in the official reports of the press-centre of Ukrainian General Headquarters of anti terroristic operation. Lasting shells menace complete destruction of Donetsk Filtering Station, that’s why Ukrainian side called the occupants to stop military actions at least in the station area and to let Ukrainian masters into the station to repair it. Because long-term water absence threatens to people lives of local settlements. And it can cause humanitarian disaster to 480 000 local inhabitants and an epidemic of dysentery and hepatitis in the region, as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine declared in its recent appeal. So Ukrainian state needs world help to solve this difficult situation and to stop military conflict in Donbas in general. 

Friday 11 March 2016

Issues of ATO participants out of ATO zone

Fighting against the occupants in the zone of anti-terroristic operation in Donbas, Ukrainian warriors are exposed to mortal danger, but outside ATO zone they have different social problems too. The worst are bad living conditions for mobilized Ukrainian men in military units and on military training ranges. One of the last examples of such conditions was the situation with the 128th mountainous-infantry brigade of Ukrainian Armed Forces. In the autumn of 2015 mobilized soldiers of that brigade were settled on Yavoriv military training range in holed tents in the middle of pools and mud without electricity and woods. In January of 2016, the 128th brigade’s soldiers spent three nights outdoors during frosty weather without normal nutrition on the railway station of Dobrosyn in Lviv region, waiting for their departure on Shyrokyy Lan military training range in Mykolayiv region. Then local villagers and volunteers from the city of Rava-Ruska with its mayor brought hot meals to frozen warriors. But after that accident the 128th mountainous-infantry brigade was again settled in holed and snowbound tents on Shyrokyy Lan military training range. http://zakarpattya.net.ua/News/150873-Biitsiv-128-i-bryhady-kynuly-na-polihoni-Shyrokyi-lan-v-zanesenykh-snihom-diriavykh-nametakh-FOTO
Horrible organization of way of life on Shyrokyy Lan training range was also in the 53rd separate mechanized brigade, what became known after pedestrian pace of its soldiers from training range to Mykolayiv Military Public Prosecutor’s Office on 8th February 2016. The 53rd brigade wasn’t provided with drinkable water, food, woods, toilets, bath house, medicaments were obsolete. ATO fighters had to buy eatables, water to drink and to wash, petrol for cars, woods, as also had to repair military technique for own money. Sometimes it was needed to melt snow to get drinkable water and to warm up water to wash and in 60 persons lived in the 20-person tents. Besides it warriors of the 53rd brigade didn’t receive whole wages for January of 2016, but only the few of their salary. That’s why soldiers of the 53rd separate mechanized brigade protested https://news.pn/ua/public/154234, and management of General Headquarters of Armed Forces of Ukraine arrived to inspect living conditions on this military training range, though even then way of life for the 53rd brigade didn’t become better, as it was proved on the videos of volunteers and journalists of “The First National” TV-channel, who had visited Shyrokyy Lan on 10th  February and on 12th February 2016. Journalists saw that soldiers had still lived in the tents with mud under feet and with holes, through which rain had been wetting their mattresses. Bath house wasn't linked to communications and muddy water wasn’t useable to drink, so further militaries continued to buy pure drinking water. It’s not strange that some soldiers fell ill, living in such way of life. In the end of February court arrested commanders of the 53rd brigade for several days in the guardhouse, but they didn’t admit with this sentence. And since 2nd March  there is no any information about the 53rd brigade in Ukrainian media, as if total censorship exists on this topic in the press, so it isn’t known what is the present situation on Shyrokyy Lan military training range, unfortunately.
In general it was rather often reported the deaths of military men from health issues on training ranges and in the military units during spending anti terroristic operation in 2014-2016, what can be a proof of abnormal living conditions, created for mobilized persons there. Or another reason of this mortality – military commissariats mobilize men with health problems, especially with heart diseases, what is very spread cause of deaths in the official reports.
Military men of disciplinary battalion of Armed Forces of Ukraine, where it’s served punishment for discipline breaches in the army, have also health problems and absent due medical aid, as Commissioner of High Council for Human Rights Valeriya Lutkovska let know journalists on 3rd March 2016http://www.ombudsman.gov.ua/en/all-news/pr/10316-qq-the-military-personnel-serving-sentence-in-the-only-disciplinary-batta/ Only medical assistant works in the disciplinary battalion and there is no one doctor. Sick militaries must wait own turn even for several weeks to be driven at the hospital (and 1-2 months to visit dentist), because disciplinary battalion lacks cars, petrol and convoy personnel to escort imprisoned quickly and carefully to the doctors. Moreover, 56 soldiers stayed in the 27-person building of disciplinary battalion at the moment of the examination of Ukrainian parliament’s Commissioner for Human Rights.
In Ukraine lack of medical institution for physical rehabilitation and a few quantity of psychological help centres became serious problems for injured and invalid ATO participants, what decreases their chances to come back to more or less full life. And in such case disabled Ukrainian warriors certainly collide with huge employment problems, though job search issues can occur to various demobilized persons, especially when before their participation in ATO they worked in private companies. It’s also very sadly to certify, but it wasn’t put money in Ukrainian state budget-2016 for state compensations to those enterprises, institutions and organizations, which pay wages mobilized employees, so this fact generates a big risk of payments’ loss of soldiers, mobilized to the army, and further payments generally depend on decency and conscience of their employers.
Other current difficulty in the life of ATO participants is too slow process of giving them dwelling or lot of land by regional or local power for their participation in anti terroristic operation according to Ukrainian laws and it’s in spite of the growth of new buildings’ erecting in Ukraine. And defenders of Ukrainian territory frequently collide with infringement of their right of favourable free transportation in public transport, what is guaranteed in Ukrainian legislation too. So ATO warriors block the roads and organize meetings and pickets near regional administrations and city councils to attract society’s attention to these problems and let their difficulties would be solved by the authorities.
But, probably, the biggest disappointment in Ukrainian state power’s treatment to ATO fighters is sorrowful tendency to disgrace, accusation of desertion and criminal persecution soldiers in just ridiculous to such accusations situations. For example, in the end of July of 2014 year 42 soldiers of the former 51st separate mechanized brigade, transformed and renamed later in the 14th brigade, had been shot in ATO zone by the enemies during 10 days without possibility to defend themselves and their military technique had been burnt, they had asked for help, being surrounded by Russians, but any Ukrainian military assistance hadn’t arrive to them, so then they crossed Ukrainian-Russian state border just to save own lives from the death and found themselves in Russian country. Ukraine’s military management called them deserters and 20 of these 42 warriors, being under investigation’s pressure, have already agreed with the accusation and have got conventional terms of punishment, other 22 militaries are still fighting for their honour in the courts, not admitting the guilt. Thus, present state power criminally persecute Ukrainian defenders in the cases of their voluntarily leaving of the battle field even when it was mortal danger to stay there, instead of saving their lives and sending some military help in that accidents.

Tuesday 26 January 2016

Ukrainian farmers' fight for the fairness

Since summer of 2015 Ukrainian farmers are protesting against changes in the Tax Code of Ukraine, proposed by Ministry of Finance of Ukraine. According to these changes, state recompense of tax on the additional value is cancelled to agrarian enterprises-producers (except exporters), farmland payment and fixed agricultural tax are increased very much in 2016. Demanding to reject government’s bill, agrarians held meetings near regional state administrations in the various regions of Ukraine in summer and on the beginning of December. Farmers also held large rallies in Kyiv on the 17th December, bringing to the parliamentary building chopped off cow heads with fir branches, and on the 24th December 2015, carrying there dead pig in the coffin with several funeral wreaths as the symbols of the farming decline. But exactly on the 24th December the people’s deputies of Ukraine didn’t listen to Ukrainian peasantry and voted in favour of changing of Tax Code, abolishing special tax regime and enhancing taxes for the agriculture. So then during the next days (the 26th-30th December) at the different time farmers had been blocking many principal highways in the country, such as Kharkiv–Simferopol, Kyiv–Kharkiv, Chernivtsi–Kyiv, Odesa–Melitopol, Kirovohrad–Mykolayiv, Kyiv–Chernihiv, Zhytomyr–Vinnytsya, Kyiv–Chop etc. Nowadays agrarians warn that they’ll continue to block the roads if President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko doesn’t veto accepted bill or if the High Council of Ukraine refuses to restore preferential regime of the taxation for the farming. And resignation of the Cabinet of the Ministers of Ukraine, led by Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, denial from the idea to enhance farmland payment and fixed agricultural tax, necessity to accept laws about unique land tax and about family farms are another requirements of Ukrainian agricultural enterprises.
Ukrainian agrarians are justly indignant, because state recompense of tax on the additional value always gave them the possibility to buy beforehand seeds and fertilizers for the next harvest and a fuel for their agricultural machinery, and liquidation of this state subsidy plus new high taxes may strongly harm or even destroy farms in Ukraine. At least farmers will be obliged to increase prices for own agricultural production and to decrease a quantity of working places on their farms, so unemployment will enlarge among rural population, some farming enterprises may become bankrupt. If changes in the Tax Code of Ukraine from the 24th December come into force, farmers will slaughter cattle, so all Ukrainians will fell the deficiency of milk and meat in the country.
From the other side Ukrainian peasants are angry that agrarian exporters which are mainly agricultural holdings, registered abroad or been in the part of bigger, often foreign holding, will continue to get 100% state recompense of tax on the additional value from Ukrainian state treasury. Though Ukrainian agricultural holdings buy farming production in the primary manufactures at much lower prices than they sell abroad! So where is conscientiously in Ukrainian state power? I completely support the claims of Ukrainian farmers in their fighting for the fairness!

Wednesday 20 January 2016

Miners' strikes in Ukraine

Miners’ strikes often happened in 2015 as in Kyiv as in Ukrainian regions. In the last year the largest meetings of the miners were held on 2nd March, 22nd April and 23rd December in Ukrainian capital, when the miners the most frequently demanded in Ukrainian government to cease the destruction of Ukrainian coal industry and to pay their wages’ debts. In the spring of 2015 the workers of different Ukrainian coal mines claimed the resignation of Minister of Energetics and Coal Industry of Ukraine Volodymyr Demchyshyn, the growth of the financing of state coal mines, stopping of coal purchases abroad too. Though in December of 2015 Ukrainian miners from various cities also demanded the dismissal of all Cabinet of the Ministers of Ukraine, headed by Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who had abolished state subsidies to coal branch of Ukrainian economics in 2015. Besides Kyiv miners’ protests, the workers of coal mines of Volyn region blocked Lviv-Kovel road to get their wages in October of 2015 and struck in Novovolynsk to stop the destroying of Volyn coal industry in December of 2015. In the last month of 2015 the miners of Pavlohrad, Dnipropetrovsk region, organized meeting in the city for the retirement of the minister Demchyshyn, the liquidation of pension tax and the decreasing of public utilities’ tariffs for all Ukrainian citizens.

The miners of Lviv region had active public position too and struck actively in November and December, 2015. Thus, in the end of 2015 year the workers of “Lviv Coal Company” received only 42% payment for June, 2015 and 19% for July, 2015, so their biggest claim is a payment of their salary. And the new 2016 year was begun with miners’ strikes on “Stepova” state mine in the town of Hlukhiv (Sokal district of Lviv region) on 2nd and 3rd January 2016. On 4th January miners from “Velykomostivska” and “Lisova” mines supported “Stepova” strike and all together demanded 78% debt salary for November and 100% salary for December, 2015. On the next day state enterprise “LvivCoal”, the proprietor of these three and another four state mines in Lviv region, paid its workers 24% of November’s debt, though, maybe, the real reason of such step was the-day-before criminal deal, opened by Chervonohrad Public Prosecutor’s Office for groundless non-payment of the wages at “LvivCoal”. Requesting  the rest of their wages for 2015 year, miners of “LvivCoal” diverse mines held meetings on the main Chervonohrad square on 5th and 9th January 2016. Not achieving desirable goal, miners blocked Lviv-Kovel route, one Chervonohrad significant street and the entry to the city of Chervonohrad on 11th January. Then, on 12th January, workers of “LvivCoal” and “Lviv Coal Company” stopped traffic on Lviv–Rava-Ruska highway of international importance, walking the pedestrian crossing the whole day in the town of Kulykiv and in the villages of Smerekiv and Volya-Vysotska to attract foreigners’ attention to the problems of Lviv region’s miners. And in the evening on the same day miners blocked Zhovkva circular road towards Lviv. But not being heard by their employees, Ukrainian state and local power,  Stepova” miners incessantly went on the crosswalk in the village of Soposhyn nearby Zhovkva, continuing to block Lviv–Rava-Ruska highway on 13th, 14th and 15th January. And struck miners of Lviv region announced own future strike on 21st January near the office of “LvivCoal” in Sokal, Lviv Regional State Administration and Chervonohrad City Administration in the case non-payment of their wages for the last two months till tomorrow. But it’s not only the problem of the delay of miners’ salary, there is also the question about tons of Ukrainian coal on the stores of closed Chervonohrad Central Concentric Factory of “Lviv Coal Company”. Ukrainian miners protested in 2015 and protest nowadays against Ukrainian government’s coal purchase in Russia! (in 2014-2015 years), the United States of America, the Republic of South Africa and Australia, while Ukraine’s extracted coal lies on Ukrainian state mines’ stores. So can such state power as present Ukraine’s government be named careful for Ukrainian nation? Exactly it cannot.