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14 Jul, 2023

Ukraine security agency: Starlink puts Ukrainian soldiers at ‘increased risk’

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A Ukraine security agency says Starlink, which has helped Ukraine keep its battlefield communications live, puts Ukrainian soldiers at “increased risk” from cyber-spies who belong to a Russian-led espionage group in occupied Crimea. The group has been known to Western security agencies for almost a decade. After a Russia sympathizer was jailed for plotting to disrupt Western arms supplies by blowing up transport infrastructure, Ukraine’s Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-UA) urged soldiers to install advanced anti-hacker software, saying:

Computers located outside the [computer security] protection perimeter, in particular those that use Starlink terminals to access the Internet, are at increased risk.

The CERT-UA warning comes as the agency shed fresh light on the actions of an espionage-focused hacker gang known in the West as Gamaredon, whose members were described by CERT-UA as “former ‘officers’ of the State Security Service of Ukraine” who “betrayed their military oath and began to serve the FSB [spy agency] of Russia.” (The SSSU says Gamaredon is led by five Russian intelligence agency officers.) Immediately before Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Gamaredon “tried to compromise a Western government entity in Ukraine” according to US cyber security company Palo Alto Networks.

1 Jun, 2023

Pentagon buys Starlink terminals for Ukraine

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The Pentagon signs a contract to buy Starlink terminals and services to aid the Ukrainian military in its war against Russia. Starlink has previously donated terminals to the Ukrainian war effort. Shortly after the country was invaded, Starlink donated 3,667 terminals to Ukraine and the country had approximately 22,000 of them as of December, with funding secured to receive 10,000 more. The terminals access a network of satellites to provide internet and help maintain stable communications and internet connections for the Ukrainian military despite the attacks on their telecommunications infrastructure. Details about terminal costs, specific capabilities, contracts, and partners involved in the deal were not revealed for “security reasons.”

15 Oct, 2022

Musk will continue to cover Ukraine Starlink costs

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Despite earlier tweeting that SpaceX could not fund Starlink ‘indefinitely’, Musk says he will continue to pay for Starlink to cover Ukraine. SpaceX has told the US government that Ukraine’s use of Starlink has already cost $80 million and could cost close to $400 million over the next 12 months.

The hell with it … even though Starlink is still losing money & other companies are getting billions of taxpayer $, we’ll just keep funding Ukraine govt for free

When a Twitter user told Musk “No good deed goes unpunished”, he replied:

Even so, we should still do good deeds.

21 Sep, 2015

Polio scare

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Ukrainian health officials fear a major polio outbreak, after it is announced that the disease has paralyzed two children in the south-western region of Trans-Carpathia. Many Ukrainian children are not vaccinated, and less than 14% of one year children have been immunized against polio. Officials have launched a national immunization campaign that will embrace all children up to ten years old. Parent:

The vaccinations are much more dangerous than the illnesses that they treat. Nobody knows how the vaccines were stored or if the expiration dates were changed.

Health experts say anti-immunization activists and parents, some of whom include local doctors, are flat-out wrong, and that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the vaccines used in Ukraine:

(They believe) that a child should build up his or her immunity in a natural environment, that the immune system should work itself out by being exposed to illnesses. They don’t understand how serious these diseases are.

17 Jul, 2015

Expels Russia’s consul general

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The Ukrainian government expels Shibeko, Russia’s consul general, from the Black Sea port of Odessa, declaring him ‘persona non grata’ after the Security Service of Ukraine accuses him of ‘actions incompatible with diplomatic activity.’ Ukraine security:

The security service will continue to identify foreigners who work against our government using their diplomatic status as cover.

21 Sep, 2014

German families to sue Ukraine

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German lawyer Elmar M. Giemulla, an aviation expert, says he will file a suit at the European Court of Human Rights in the coming weeks on behalf of three German families who lost relatives when the plane was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014. He argues that Ukraine should have closed the airspace if safety could not be guaranteed for aircraft flying in it. German weekly Bild am Sonntag reports Giemulla will ask for compensation of $1.29 million for each victim killed in the crash.

 

10 Sep, 2014

70% of Russian troops withdrawn

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Poroshenko says Russia has withdrawn the majority of its forces from eastern Ukraine. At a government meeting:

According to the latest information that I have received from our intelligence, 70 percent of Russian troops have been moved back across the border. This further strengthens our hope that the peace initiatives have good prospects.

7 Sep, 2014

Fighting threatens ceasefire

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Fighting erupts in two Ukrainian cities, threatening the ceasefire status. Sporadic artillery and machine gun fire are reported in the early hours of Sunday on the outskirts of the strategic port city of Mariupol. A gas station is set on fire, and cars carry wounded civilians down the roads with the Mariupol city government saying pro-Russian rebels carried out the shelling near the city overnight, killing one woman and leaving three people wounded. Shelling and explosions are also heard near the airport of the flashpoint city of Donetsk on Sunday morning, the Donetsk city council says. Mariupol resident Gennady Andreyavich:

There is so much confusion. We really don’t know what will happen, because when people say we must live in a united Ukraine and we see at the same time Ukrainian forces in retreat – what should we think?

5 Sep, 2014

Ceasefire begins

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Ukraine, Russia and the Kremlin-backed separatists sign a ceasefire deal. Gunfire and shelling appear to fall silent across the east of the country as the agreement takes effect. Poroshenko says he ordered his forces to halt hostilities at 6 p.m. local time (11 a.m. EDT) after the deal was signed in Minsk, Belarus capital, by the three sides and a representative of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Separatist leaders also say they ordered their forces to hold fire. Poroshenko says the cease-fire is based on an agreement reached during a ‘long conversation’ with Putin and will be overseen by international monitors from the OSCE. The European Union is preparing additional sanctions in case it fails. The negotiators also agree on withdrawal of all heavy weaponry, the release of all prisoners and the delivery of humanitarian aid to devastated cities in eastern Ukraine.

4 Sep, 2014

The Times commentary

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Obama and Cameron write in a commentary for The Times that global security is under threat from Russia’s unilateral actions in the Crimea and Ukraine and the ability of groups like ISIS to develop state-like powers:

The growth of technology and globalisation, for all its great benefits and opportunities, has put power once reserved for States in the hands of the individual, raising the capacity of terrorists to do harm. The utterly despicable murders of two American journalists by ISIL are but the latest evidence of a brutal and poisonous extremism that murders indiscriminately and risks exporting terrorism abroa.

Isolationism has no place in the global era:

Of course there are some who say that we shouldn’t get involved in addressing these threats, that in Britain and America we have done our bit for the world and we should leave today’s problems for others to sort out. … First, those who believe in stepping back and adopting an isolationist approach misunderstand the nature of security in the 21st century. Developments in other parts of the world, particularly in Iraq and Syria threaten our security at home.

They say NATO can adapt to the new global security environment, and renew calls for a rapid response force to tackle the Russian aggression and for member nations to commit to spending 2% of GDP on defense. Military, economic and political force must all be utilized:

We know that terrorist organisations thrive where there is political instability and weak or dysfunctional political institutions. So we must invest in the building blocks of free and open societies, including the creation of a new genuinely inclusive Government in Iraq that can unite all Iraqis, including Sunni, Shia, Kurdish, Christian and other minority populations. When the threats to our security increasingly emanate from outside the borders of our Alliance, we must do more to build partnerships with others around the globe who share our values and want to build a safe, tolerant and peaceful world – that includes supporting the partners who are taking the fight to ISIL on the ground, as we have done by stepping up support for Kurdish and Iraqi Security Forces. And we should use our expertise to provide training and mentoring to forces elsewhere, whether in Georgia or the Middle East, strengthening the capacity of forces there to tackle local threats.

The U.S. and UK will continue to lead the alliance:

… It is only by supporting peace, democracy and human rights around the globe that we will keep British and American families safe today.

3 Sep, 2014

Suspends uranium trade

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Abbott announces that uranium trade with Russia is ruled out until further notice due to its actions in the Ukraine, several days after the government announces other sanctions including restrictions on investment, travel, and access by Russian banks to Australian capital markets.

Australia has no intention of selling uranium to a country which is so obviously in breach of international law as Russia currently is

Ukraine aid

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Abbott says Australia is considering ‘non-lethal’ military action and humanitarian assistance in the Ukraine:

… Ukraine continues to be subject to active destabilisation and indeed outright invasion from Russia, a country it has never ever sought to harm … along with our European partners and allies, we are considering short-term humanitarian assistance and non-lethal military assistance to Ukraine and in the medium term … we are considering civil and military capacity building assistance to that country.

2 Sep, 2014

‘Russia can take Kiev in two weeks’

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Barroso questions Putin on the apparent presence of as many as 1,600 Russian troops in Ukraine at a closed-door discussion at an EU summit in Brussels, and the Russian leader responds that he could take the country’s capital in a fortnight. Details of the talk leaked by the Italian La Repubblica newspaper show that he responds:

The problem is not this, but that if I want I’ll take Kiev in two weeks

A Kremlin foreign policy advisor says the remarks are out of context, however the Kremlin does not deny that Putin has spoken of taking Kiev.

Over a million Ukrainians displaced

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The United Nations refugee agency states that over a million Ukrainians are in a situation of displacement do to conflicts and warn of “devastating consequences” if the fighting does not cease. The last three weeks a displacement of 260,000 refugees is only a low estimate, nearly double the effect in that time frame. Approximately 814,000 are and may continue to migrate to Russia, with tens of thousands moving to varies European countries. Ukrainian authorities say that about 2.2 million still live in battle areas.

If the crisis is not quickly stopped, it will have not only devastating humanitarian consequences, but it also has the potential to destabilize the whole region. After the lessons of the Balkans, it is hard to believe a conflict of these proportions could unfold in the European continent.

1 Sep, 2014

‘High-readiness’ force

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NATO members meeting this week in Wales are expected to create “a very high-readiness force” to deal with Russian aggression in Ukraine, says NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. He calls the new unit “a spearhead within our Response Force” that can “travel light, but strike hard if needed.” It will include several thousand troops and respond with air, sea and special forces support.

At the summit, we will meet with (President Petro Poroshenko) of Ukraine and make clear our support for Ukraine, as it is confronted by Russia’s aggression. Russia appears to be trying to force Ukraine to abandon its democratic choices through the barrel of a gun.

30 Aug, 2014

European ultimatum to Russia

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European leaders give Russia one week to scale back its intervention in Ukraine – or face fresh economic sanctions. European leaders order officials to make urgent preparations for a toughening of measures, likely to target senior Kremlin figures as well as the defence, energy and financial sectors. Barroso:

We are in a very serious, I would say, dramatic situation … where we can reach the point of no return. If the escalation of the conflict continues, this point can come.

29 Aug, 2014

Nuclear threat

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Putin tells NATO and US not to mess with Russia. He also says that Moscow doesn’t want or intend to wade into any “large-scale conflicts”.

I want to remind you that Russia is one of the most powerful nuclear nations. This is a reality, not just words. We must always be ready to repel any aggression against Russia and (potential enemies) should be aware … it is better not to come against Russia as regards a possible armed conflict.

11 Aug, 2014

Obama: Intervention is ‘unacceptable’

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In a phone call, Obama tells President Petro Poroshenko that any Russian intervention in Ukraine without consent from Kiev would be “unacceptable” and a violation of international law. Poroshenko tells Obama that shelling of Ukrainian territory from Russia in ongoing. Obama urges Poroshenko to exercise restraint in military operations in order to avoid civilian casualties.

Forces close to taking back Donetsk

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Ukraine’s military forces announce that they are close to recapturing Donetsk and are preparing the “final stage” of the attack. A spokesman says Kiev’s troops have cut Donetsk off from the other main rebel-held city of Luhansk, 150 km (90 miles) away, on Russia’s border. He tells Reuter’s:

The forces of the anti-terrorist operation are preparing for the final stage of liberating Donetsk. Our forces have completely cut Donetsk off from Luhansk. We are working to liberate both towns but it’s better to liberate Donetsk first – it is more important.

1 Aug, 2014

Pro-rebels kill 10 near crash site

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Hours before international investigators arrive at the crash site, at least 10 Ukrainian soldiers are killed when their convoy is ambushed by pro-Russian separatist rebels in a town close to the wreckage.Thirteen soldiers are unaccounted for, and four other bodies are being examined to determine whether they are soldiers or rebels.