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BBC airs Maidan fighter admitting he fired on police before Kiev massacre

RT | February 12, 2015

Nearly a year after the massacre on Kiev’s Maidan left over 50 dead, the BBC has aired footage of an opposition fighter who says he fired at police in the early morning that day, bringing into question the popular narrative that riot police fired first.

“I was shooting downward at their feet,” says a man the broadcaster decided to identify as Sergei.

“Of course, I could have hit them in the arm or anywhere. But I didn’t shoot to kill.”

According to Sergei, he took up a position in the Kiev Conservatory, a music academy located on the southwest corner of Kiev’s Independence Square, on February 20.

One day prior, he had met up with a man who offered him two guns. The first was a 12-gauge shotgun, while the other was a hunting rifle – a Saiga that fired high-velocity rounds.

He chose the Saiga and hid it at a post office that, along with the conservatory, was under the protesters’ control. Sergei told the BBC he was later escorted to the Conservatory, where, with a second gunman, he spent 20 minutes before 7:00 am firing on police.

Other witness testimony has corroborated his account.

February 12, 2015 Posted by | Video, War Crimes | , | 1 Comment

Germany’s BND ‘evidence’ on MH17 tragedy looks like another disinformation operation

RT | October 20, 2014

German BND’s “evidence” that E. Ukrainian rebels are behind the MH17 crash is an attempt to muddle the waters and to throw more propagandistic mud at Russia’s door rather than to find the truth, foreign affairs expert Srdja Trifkovic told RT.

Germany’s foreign intelligence agency, the BND has blamed rebel forces in east Ukraine for the MH17 plane crash in July, Der Spiegel reported. According to the weekly magazine the BND has “ample evidence”, including satellite images that the militia forces in east Ukraine used the BUK missile system to bring down the Malaysian passenger plane. However, so far the intelligence agency has not made any of that “evidence” public.

RT: Well, if Germany has this evidence, why doesn’t it make it public?

Srdja Trifkovic: This is the obvious question. Actually, several questions come to mind. First of all, if Germany has satellite images that point in this direction, then Germany must have obtained those images from someone else, presumably the US. So why should the US use the German BND service [Federal Intelligence Service] as a conduit for presentation and presumably interpretation of the data which it, the US, had obtained in the first place. This seems to me like another disinformation operation because why should the BND be called upon to come to any conclusive evidence or indeed conclusions about the MH17 affair if the Dutch have two independent investigations going, and if most of the citizens and most of the countries affected were in fact the Netherlands, Malaysia and Australia.

RT: There’s an official international investigation underway. Why not share these findings with it?

ST: Because the obvious target in this case is yet again Russia and pro-Russians in the east of [Ukraine] and not the establishment of the truth. Because after all as we have seen with incomplete, inconclusive and ambiguous findings of the interim investigation six weeks ago, it was immediately misinterpreted as pointing into the direction of the pro-Russians or of the Russian-supplied weapon system. So I think we should really treat anything that comes from the Western intelligence agencies, the BND included, as not as an attempt to find the truth, but as an attempt to muddle the waters and to throw more propagandistic mud at the Russian door.

RT: So far, the investigators have only made very basic conclusions, as seen in the report they had released. How could Germany have already reached such a definite conclusion?

ST: Well, first of all, the question is whether Germany really did come with a fairly definite conclusion or whether this is an exercise in disinformation or propaganda. I think it is the latter because whatever the German intelligence, the Germans, might have had at their disposal to conclude that the rebels obtained the Buk system from the Ukrainian base, that there were no Ukrainian jet fighters in the vicinity of the aircraft and so on, could have come only from US satellite sources, not from Germany’s own which it doesn’t have. So the fact that it was made public, and the fact that the information was presented allegedly to the German parliamentary subcommittee and not to the official investigating body, to my mind, simply means that the MH17 issue is being kept on the backburner as a propagandistic tool of various Western powers to be deployed if and when needed and then to be put back on the backburner again. This is how it is being treated from the very beginning when unsubstantiated allegations started flying regardless of the fact that there was no real evidence. It was really interesting how some journalists misinterpreted the interim findings six weeks ago to support the thesis about a missile because even though it is stated high-[energy] objects which could have been consistent with machine-gun fire with small caliber, cannon-fire from an aircraft – it was still taken to mean… [it] was a missile. So I don’t think the BND story deserves a great deal of attention until and unless we see raw intelligence upon which it is based and until we see where that intelligence come from and with what purpose it was presented.

RT: Why hasn’t anyone else come up with their own conclusions like this?

ST: I’m afraid that at the end of the day for the propagandistic purposes it will come to the same thing – “maybe Russia was not directly involved but by virtue of supporting the rebels in this Russia bears the ultimate responsibility” or something along those lines. Obviously the propaganda of the first couple of days after the incident… could not be taken seriously. I simply think that this is a little bit more sophisticated in a way: ultimately still a pointing finger is at Russia and at the self-defense forces in the east, even though formal and direct Russian involvement is no longer acknowledged… Nevertheless, if it is the rebels and since Russia allegedly is supporting them, then Russia will bear the ultimate responsibility. What is interesting is that the Germans are so categorical about the absence of the Sukhoi in the vicinity of the Malaysian airliner even through there is ample evidence that indeed there was one at least from the Russian sources. Since the Germans simply do not have the satellite imagery and the electronic resources comparable to those of the US, for the BND to come up with such a compulsive story means either that they are making it out as a plot, or else that they have been presented raw intelligence by the US and they are coming to their own conclusions because the Americans themselves prefer not to be the ones to do so. Either way it doesn’t look like something aimed at establishing the truth and the full facts of the case of MH17.

READ MORE: Germany’s intel agency says MH17 downed by Ukraine militia – report

October 20, 2014 Posted by | Deception, False Flag Terrorism, Mainstream Media, Warmongering | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

3 Ukrainian atrocities lacking ‘transparent’ investigation

RT | October 10, 2014

Ukraine has been flooded with violence this year – snipers in Kiev, the Odessa massacre, the discovery of mass graves in E. Ukraine are just the tip of the iceberg. However, almost no proper investigation has been carried out so far – even of these cases.

The Ukrainian crisis that broke out almost a year ago resulted in a military conflict – which, in its turn, resulted in horrible crimes.

But current efforts to examine even the three most prominent cases seem to be not enough, RT’s Maria Finoshina found out.

On September 23, three unmarked graves with at least nine bodies were discovered, near the Eastern Ukraine city of Donetsk. The finding of self-defense forces was later confirmed by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM).

Chief medical examiner Konstantin Gerasimenko told RT that “All of them [the victims] had multiple gunshots and their hands bound.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called on the international organizations to give a “clear, unbiased and responsible response.” It was followed by Washington’s words of support for a “full and thorough” investigation destined “to get to the bottom of the facts.”

However, little progress has been achieved in the investigation of the killings by the OSCE, whose monitors are currently working on the scene, as well as by the monitoring mission of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights who promised to take part in the investigation of the matter.

Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy told RT via e-mail that “As underlined by the OSCE SMM and as far as we’re aware there has been no forensic analysis of the bodies so far.”

The answer of the Human Rights Watch organization is hard to call positive, as well. “At this moment we don’t have any factual information about the progress of these investigations, so it’s better not to comment.”

Another tragedy happened on May 2 in the southern city of Odessa, where nearly 40 people died in flames that burst out in a building where anti-Maidan protesters tried to take refuge. The international community was quick to condemn the massacre, though closing its eyes to the part Right Sector radicals played in setting the fire.

RT has recently contacted the EU Council, but all the spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy had to say five months after the violence was the “investigation must be swift and transparent, free of political influence, clarifying the facts and looking at the role of all parties involved, protesters as well as law enforcement services.”

As a matter of fact, the Ukrainian authorities carried out an investigation, but the resulting report called it “impossible” to arrive at an objective conclusion about the causes of the deaths “due to the lack of state-of-the-art equipment”.

The probe was slammed by the local media as “fabricated” and “lacking evidence”.

Svetlana Fabrikant, a member of the Ukrainian parliament and secretary of the parliamentary commission probing into the massacre in Odessa on May 2, even withdrew her signature from the published version, calling it “different” from what she had signed. Reportedly, the redacted final version did not contain witnesses’ accounts about the involvement of about 500 radicals who have been allegedly transferred to Odessa with the help of the region’s governor, Vladimir Nemirovsky. Also, it lacked information implicating the involvement of Andrey Parubiy, then-secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, in organizing the massacre.

In February, over a hundred people were killed on Maidan by sniper fire.

There have been complaints from human rights advocates that the investigation is going on slowly, and some important evidence has been destroyed.

The preliminary investigation blamed ousted president Viktor Yanukovich and the Berkut special division, who denied any connection to the snipers.

In a leaked tape that emerged in March Estonia’s Foreign Minister told EU’s Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton about the bloody events that “It is really disturbing that the new coalition, they don’t want to investigate what exactly happened.” He added that there was “A stronger and stronger understanding that behind the snipers it was not Yanukovich, but it was somebody from the new coalition”.

A number of Berkut special unit members have been arrested on charges of Maidan killings, and they are currently facing trial.

There has been no international investigation into either of those crimes.

READ MORE:

Odessa slaughter: How vicious mob burnt anti-govt activists alive (GRAPHIC IMAGES)

‘Taped hands, gun wounds’: RT witnesses exhumation of mass graves in E. Ukraine

October 10, 2014 Posted by | Deception, False Flag Terrorism | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Odessa massacre probe falsified? Parliament inquiry member blasts ‘redacted’ results

RT | September 11, 2014

A member of the Ukrainian parliamentary probe into the Odessa massacre has retracted her signature under the document, saying it was heavily redacted after signing. Multiple Odessa news outlets published what they said was the original probe conclusions.

Svetlana Fabrikant, a member of the Ukrainian parliament and secretary of the parliamentary commission probing into the massacre in Odessa on May 2, as well as other episodes of violence in eastern Ukrainian cities, withdrew her signature under the commission’s report, saying it was “different” from what she had signed.

“Regrettably, other members of the commission made some adjustments to the document after I had signed it,” she said. “After the document was published on the official website of the parliament, I found my signature under a different document – and I cannot agree with this document,” Itar-Tass quotes her as saying.

After the comparison of the version published by the parliament and the one obtained by Odessa media outlets, it can be concluded that the ‘redacted’ version got rid of witnesses’ accounts implicating the involvement of Andrey Parubiy, then-secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, in organizing the Odessa massacre.

Parubiy resigned from his post in August.

The final version of the report presented by Kiev is also reportedly missing witnesses’ accounts about the involvement of about 500 radicals who have been transferred to Odessa with the help of the region’s governor, Vladimir Nemirovsky. It also failed to mention the head of Odessa branch of the Udar party, Andrey Yusov, and other Euromaidan leaders who allegedly instigated radical nationalists to set ablaze the Trade Unions House.

Svetlana Fabrikant said that Parubiy, as well as the chief of Ukraine’s Security Council, Valentin Nalivaichenko, and Interior Minister Arsen Avakov refused to talk with the commission’s members during the investigation.

“Key participants in those developments had never showed up at the commission’s sessions. The reluctance of officials to provide explanations to the commission is an eloquent answer. What kind of openness and joint work can we speak about?” Fabrikant said, claiming that the authorities wanted to soft-pedal the investigation of the Odessa tragedy.

At least 48 people died, and over 200 were injured, in a series of events that led to an inferno in the Trade Unions building on May 2. After clashes erupted between anti-government protesters and radicals supporting the Maidan-imposed authorities in Kiev, the latter set on fire the Trade Unions House, where anti-Kiev protesters found refuge, as well as their tent camp.

The actual death toll could be much higher, as many of those who managed to escape the flames were then either strangled or beaten with bats by radicals, according to numerous witness reports.

“The Ukrainian authorities are seeking to drag out the investigation. Those who were behind the tragedy have not yet been named,” Nikolay Skorik, the former governor of the Odessa region and a member of the investigation commission, told the media.

The official version of the report does not arrive at any significant conclusion into the causes of death for those trapped inside the burning building. It says that after the camp of anti-Kiev activists had been set on fire, people tried to find shelter in the Trade Unions House that was also set ablaze.

Forensic examination revealed that nine people had died from carbon monoxide intoxication, 13 had died from combustion gas intoxication, 12 had died from burns, eight had died from injuries as they jumped out of windows, and six had died from gun wounds. One of those killed in the Trade Unions House has not yet been identified.

September 11, 2014 Posted by | Deception | , , , , | Leave a comment

Ukraine’s self-proclaimed government is illegitimate – Tallinn mayor

RT | March 04, 2014

The self-declared Kiev authorities cannot solve any political problems and “lack both credentials and power” in the crisis-torn country, said the mayor of the Estonian capital of Tallinn.

“The self-proclaimed Ukrainian government was put into power by people with baseball bats,” Edgar Savisaar told Postimees newspaper. “It lacks both credentials and the capacity to solve the crisis in the country.”

According to him, the situation in Ukraine will begin stabilizing only after it “has a legitimate, democratically elected government at the helm.”

“Only after elementary public order is restored in Kiev and western Ukraine, we can start discussing the issue of providing the country with foreign aid, be it from the EU, US, Asia or from all sources simultaneously,” Savisaar said.

According to the mayor, the current government which is under the influence of radicals lacks the power to even hold free elections in the country – let alone solve other significant questions which are put in front of the nation’s self-declared officials.

“Until the next elections [on May 25] only an integral government which consists of representatives of all Ukraine’s regions may claim any legitimacy,” said Savisaar.

The Tallinn mayor believes even the presence of defense and law enforcement agencies cannot provide stability in the country, because the nation also needs strong democracy and an integrated society.

Following a wave of violent street protests, the opposition-controlled parliament ousted President Yanukovich and appointed a new government. Ten southeastern Ukrainian regions saw massive protests against the developments in the capital. Several of them, including Crimea, announced that they would not take orders from the new government and replaced the appointed governors with elected representatives.


… A group of nationalist-radical group ‘Right Sector’ broke into a City Council meeting where members of the Party of Regions were sitting in the town of Vasilkov, outside the Ukrainian capital, Kiev.

Armed members of the group entered, hinting that members of the Party of Regions should “voluntarily” resign. This was after admitting that they just invaded another local meeting, where they had successfully got other elected members of the Party of Regions to resign. The members replied that they had already done so that morning. […]

The Right Sector movement was formed in November 2013, soon after the anti-government protests in Ukraine began. They were active in the events leading to the ouster of the President Viktor Yanukovich. … Full article

March 4, 2014 Posted by | Video | , , | Leave a comment