Donetsk Archives - the patient investor

November 13, 2014

Chaos in Eastern Ukraine rebel government

From Christian Neef at Der Spiegel:

….the disputes between leaders in Donetsk and Lugansk are growing — a development Moscow views with dismay. Their citizen militias are disintegrating into different groups that are each pursuing different agendas. Some are refusing to recognize the leaders of the People’s Republics and others don’t want to accept the terms of the Minsk Protocol. One of the biggest problems is the Cossacks, who control 80 percent of the Lugansk region and have now proclaimed their own state, the Lugansk Democratic Republic. The situation in Lugansk itself is especially complicated given that the city is partly under the control of criminal gangs.

Resistance is even stirring in Donetsk. Three weeks ago, a party calling itself “New Russia” held a protest in the city center and pilloried leaders of the separatist republic for agreements they had made with Kiev. Speakers at the demonstration said the cease-fire must be ended immediately and that attacks against Ukrainian positions should resume. A short time later, assailants perpetrated an assassination attempt against New Russia’s leader, who as recently as this spring had been the “people’s governor” of Donetsk….

August 19, 2014

The Battle for Donetsk Reveals a Resigned Populace | SPIEGEL ONLINE

From Christian Neef in Donetsk:

Could it be that the much discussed conflict between the Russians, the West and the eastern Ukrainians doesn’t really exist? The longer I am in this city, the more I believe that much of what is said about the war in eastern Ukraine isn’t true. Others have imported the conflict…..

July 18, 2014

MH17 is the third plane this week shot down over Ukraine under mysterious circumstances – Vox

From Max Fisher:

…at first, people were wondering if rebels even had the capability to shoot down a high-flying commercial airliner like MH17. But there was another incident just on Monday, July 14, that did not get very much attention at the time. That day, over eastern Ukraine, an Antonov AN-26 Ukrainian military transport plane was hit by a missile while flying over eastern Ukraine — at 21,000 feet altitude. That’s far beyond the range of a shoulder-fired system like the MANPADS.

July 17, 2014

What We Know So Far About the Passenger Jet Shot Down in Ukraine

From Elias Groll & Reid Standish:

Update: 1:10 p.m.Prior to the Malaysian Airlines jet’s shoot down, pro-Russian separatist leader Igor Strelkov posted on the Russian social networking site, VKontakte, claiming responsibility for shooting down a Ukrainian AN-26 transport plane. However, after news emerged of the downed Malaysian Airlines plane, Strelkov’s page appears to have been scrubbed of the post.Strelkov’s page claimed responsibility for taking down a Ukrainian jet and posted and accompanying video that shows smoke rising from what is now believed to be the crash site of the passenger jet. Below is a screengrab of Strelkov’s VKonkakte page that includes the post claiming responsibility for the downed transport plane. That post now appears to have been removed. Donetsk separatist boss Strelkov, Kremlin’s proxy in war, says he ordered shootdown thinking plane was Ukrainian pic.twitter.com/uaWKVlsA7q — Strobe Talbott @strobetalbott July 17, 2014 After reports emerged that a passenger jet had been shot down, Strelkov said that his forces were not responsible and that they lacked the capability to shoot down a plane flying at that altitude. The plane was reportedly flying at an altitude of about 33,000 feet.Meanwhile, additional images are emerging of the crash site, including the horrifying image below that was carried by Russian television: