https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQ-aweuXZEo
Poroshenko’s army defeated by Donetsk Republic, blames it on Russia: Expert
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQ-aweuXZEo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQ-aweuXZEo
Poroshenko’s army defeated by Donetsk Republic, blames it on Russia: Expert
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQ-aweuXZEo
Ukraine Troops Suffer Catastrophic Defeat in Novorossiya. Kiev Regime in Disarray
Saturday, August 30, 2014 15:05
(Before It's News)
http://www.globalresearch.ca/wp-cont...ass-region.png
By Global Research News
Global Research, August 30, 2014
Colonel Cassad LiveJournal and Slavyangrad.org (original in Russian)
Novorossiya Military Briefing – Novorossiya Shall Be!
We are currently witnessing an epic and in its own way historic event. The Ukrainian regular army and the punitive battalions are suffering a catastrophic defeat to the south of Donetsk. Only a short time ago the Republics were in dire straits: the DPR was hanging only by a thin supply thread, which the Ukrainian army was attempting to sever near Shakhtersk and Krasnyi Luch; the summit of Saur-Mogila has been abandoned, and Bolotov’s counteroffensive had failed to bring decisive victories.
To many it seemed that the Militia forces were on the ropes and just about to break, which would have led to the collapse of Novorossiya and a military victory for the fascist Junta.
Nevertheless, the Militia managed to withstand the most severe blow, which the Junta dealt with all the forces available to it in the first half of August. The Junta did not conceal its plans, and the preparations for the assaults on Shakhtersk and Lugansk were openly discussed. The bravura level of the Junta’s triumphant reports that came with each new breakthrough of its mechanized battle groups was off the charts.
https://slavyangrad.files.wordpress....pg?w=450&h=254 The first critical moment came when the soldiers of the 25th Airborne Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (“UAF”) and the units of the National Guard broke into Shakhtersk. In those days, the fate of the DPR was hanging literally by a thread, and the Junta was on the verge of a strategic victory. But those few militiamen that mired the Junta forces in urban battles and held their ground until the reinforcements arrived saved Novorossiya from being dismembered into two parts. In subsequent battles, the Junta’s breakthrough was localized and defused, and, after sustaining heavy losses in personnel and military hardware, the Junta’s forces in this location were routed.
The second critical moment came when a strike was made from Debaltsevo through Fashchevka, intended to converge with the 24th Mechanized Brigade that was breaking out of the Southern Cauldron. It was an ambitious plan, whereby the enemy tried to bisect Novorossiya by using as a strike group the units that everybody assumed had been written off. This joint strike on Miusinsk and Krasnyi Luch triggered a severe crisis in Novorossiya because were very few troops in this area.
https://slavyangrad.files.wordpress....pg?w=450&h=254 Miusinsk, which the mechanized convoys of the junta slipped through unhindered, was hardly defended at all, and in Krasnyi Luch some of the Cossacks abandoned their positions. This gave rise to a palpable threat of Novorossiya being split in two and of the militia grouping located in the area of Torez-Snezhnoye-Saur-Mogila being eliminated. But, once again, the courage of ordinary soldiers who clung to the towns of Krasnyi Luch and Miusinsk allowed the Militia units to hold out until the arrival of the reserves that aided in the purge of the enemy from these cities. Having overcome the crisis, here also the Militia was able to win decisive battles, which had far-reaching consequences.
Because the offensive on Yasinovataya failed, the breakthrough to Verkhnyaya Krynka and Zhdanovka aimed at cutting off Gorlovka was liquidated, and the Junta failed to advance toward Yenakievo, in the second half of August the Junta’s offensive started to run out of steam and the Militia gradually began to gain offensive momentum.
https://slavyangrad.files.wordpress....pg?w=450&h=251 Objectively, the situation demanded that the Junta stop the offensive, regroup, pull up reserves, create stores of fuel and ammunition, and then continue the offensive by assembling new strike groups. Nevertheless, political considerations dictated a continuation of the offensive by the same depleted battle groups. Because the front in the LPR on the whole had stabilized, the South Cauldron was routed, and the offensive to the north of Donetsk had been stopped, the Junta continued its offensive in the south, trying to take Ilovaysk and Mospino head-on despite the serious operational risk. And as the more the Junta became embroiled in these battles, the narrower became the front of its offensive. Having begun in early August over a broad swath of the battlefront, already by August 20th the Junta’s offensive narrowed effectively to a single point.
The outer limits of this offensive were the southern slopes of Saur-Mogila, the semi-encircled Mospino and the southern suburbs of Ilovaisk. In the last few days of the offensive, it was reduced simply to a primitive frontal assault on Ilovaisk. Meanwhile, a threat that later proved to be fatal was looming on the Junta’s southern flank. Having finished off the Southern Cauldron and after repelling the offensive on Miusinsk and Krasnyi Luch, the Militia recaptured Marinovka (which in July-August twice went back and forth between the factions) and started to seep along the border toward the Uspenka border-crossing checkpoint, in the process encircling the Amvrosievka grouping.
https://slavyangrad.files.wordpress....pg?w=450&h=254 It is difficult to say why the Junta did not react to this threat – it is possible that the Ukrainian command decided that the only danger in this area was the activity of the saboteur-reconnaissance groups (“SRG”), which, though unpleasant, carried no operational significance. Alternatively, they may have thought that they will manage to achieve success near Ilovaisk and then fend off the threat coming from the south. As a result, the Militia was able to accumulate a sufficient force to the south-east of Amvrosievka, and this force carried out a cleaving strike on the supply lines of the main forces of the Junta that were embroiled in the fighting near Ilovaisk, Mospino and Saur-Mogila.
At the same time, the forces of the enemy advancing from the south were met to the west of Mospino with a strike by a mechanized battle group of the Militia. The Junta did not expect this maneuver because until quite recently they were the ones trying to encircle Mospino from both sides.
By the looks of it, the Junta’s intelligence missed this offensive entirely, and as a result of this oversight a comparatively small Militia force intercepted the main supply routes of the largest battle group of the Junta to the south of Donetsk. This grouping was comprised of the enemy’s most combat-capable units involved in the assaults on Mospino, Saur-Mogila and Ilovaisk, including the three punitive battalions – Azov, Shahtersk and Donbass-1, as well as the various reinforcement units and independent companies. More than 5,000 soldiers, approximately 180 various armoured vehicles, and up to 90 artillery pieces, mortars, and MLRS ended up being surrounded.
Though the difference in scale makes a direct comparison impossible, the militia actually carried out a mini-“encirclement operation” similar to the Stalingrad Cauldron – a classic pincer strike in converging directions. While the Junta’s battle group had no Romanians or Italians on its flanks, but it did, instead, have a gaping hole on one side, and on the other side – barrier troops that were never meant to withstand an attack by mechanized units. As a result, in addition to the unfinished remnants of the Dyakovo Cauldron, the Amvrosiyevka Cauldron was created, around which the militia began to create a ring of encirclement, spreading its offensive to the south and to the south-west and in the process occupying settlements deep in the rear of the southern grouping of the Junta. At the same time, the enemy command structures rapidly disintegrated. Battalion Azov in essence refused to subordinate, and the majority of its troops fled to Mariupol. Battalions Donbass-1 and Shahtersk became mired in urban combat for Ilovaisk and, instead of breaking out of the cauldron, started to demand tanks and artillery from the military in order to continue their assault on the city, which by that time was pretty much a lost cause.
[GR editor's Note: The following map indicates the military positions held by Ukrainian Kiev forces and those of Novorossyia, 18-24 August]
https://pp.vk.me/c616328/v616328038/...zEGehRxVAg.jpg
Because only rearguard unites without heavy weapons remained outside the cauldron, the Militia immediately began to develop the offensive to the south-west of Amvrosievka, toward Starobeshevo, and took it by the evening of August 26th. Meanwhile, militiamen were already moving toward Volnovakha on August 25th.
Effectively, the loss of these centres means that here the Junta does not have positions from which it can try to break through to the surrounded forces. The encircled troops, in essence, ended up deep in the rear, far away from the new front line, and with a limited supply of fuel and ammunition.
https://slavyangrad.files.wordpress....pg?w=450&h=254 And this new frontline is a gaping hole for the Junta, which has nothing to plug it with. The remnants of its forces, including Battalion Azov, fled to Mariupol, in the process abandoning several settlements virtually without a shot. As a result, the Militia rolled directly into the suburbs of Novoazovsk and onto the approaches to Mariupol. On the Junta’s side, there is virtually no front from the area south of Starobeshevo and up to Novoazovsk. The Milita’s lack of sufficient troops is the only thing slowing down the looming catastrophe.
At the same time, the Militia also developed its offensive to the west of Mospino, toward Ugledar, Yelenovka, and Nikolskoye. Here the forces of the Junta are few in number, so the Militia’s offensive has been developing quite successfully, albeit not too rapidly. Near Yelenovka, yet another “mini-cauldron” has formed, and the connectivity of the Junta groups that held Donetsk in semi-encirclement has been irreparably compromised.
https://slavyangrad.files.wordpress....pg?w=450&h=293 The Junta has no reserves with which to relieve the encircled group and to patch the massive hole in the frontlines – they are now hastily withdrawing troops from Perekop (on the Crimean border) and bringing territorial battalions of questionable combat readiness to the front. They have also announced the 4th wave of mobilization and are trying quickly to drag ancient armoured vehicles from long-term storage to the frontlines, in order to compensate for the huge losses in personal and military hardware.
https://slavyangrad.files.wordpress....pg?w=450&h=410 Overall, it still is not quite clear how the Junta intends to avoid a complete defeat here. It will clearly not be able to restore the previous frontline, and the only question is whether the surrounded troops will be able to break out (and as they will have to do so on their own, it is likely that they will have to make that decision as soon as possible), and where the Militia’s offensive will stop – they still have fairly limited forces and they are now routing a larger force with a smaller force.
State Border of the Republic of Novorossiya
In the meantime, the once-solid front, which stretched from Marinovka to Yelenovka has now broken up into separate pockets of resistance with intercepted supply lines. After this disaster it became absolutely clear that the Junta does not have the capacity to destroy Novorossiya. By squandering the most combat-capable brigades in systematic offensive operations, the Junta sustained enormous losses and at the same time suffered a crushing, purely military defeat. The southern front has collapsed. Novorossiya shall exist!
We are much indebted to Slavyangrad.org for this report
Original: Colonel Cassad LiveJournal
http://slavyangrad.org/2014/08/27/the-southern-front-catastrophe-august-27-2014/
Translated from Russian by Daniel Mikhailovich / Edited by Gleb Bazovhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogs...~4/UtpM9zw1TfQ
Source: http://blogdogcicle.blogspot.com/2014/08/ukraine-troops-suffer-catastrophic.html
http://beforeitsnews.com/politics/20...y-2647610.html
https://fbcdn-profile-a.akamaihd.net...13334682c3ad96 Fox News
Ukrainian troops retreat from three towns in the face of a renewed onslaught by pro-Russian separatists, while European leaders order Brussels to prepare new sanctions that could take effect within a week, after Ukraine's president warned of a possible "full-scale war" in Eastern Europe.
https://fbexternal-a.akamaihd.net/sa...&cfs=1&upscale
EU Orders Prep of 'Urgent' Russia Sanctions as Ukraine Troops Give More Ground
The 28 leaders of E.U. member countries also issued a statement calling on...
foxnews.com
Video and article at the page link:
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/08...sia-sanctions/
Red Alert: Putin Threatens To Nuke U.S. & Allies
Tuesday, September 2, 2014 7:24
(Before It's News)
http://www.secretsofthefed.com/wp-co...315&w=599&zc=1
Secrets Of The Fed
Raising the spectre of nuclear war over Ukraine, Russia’s Vladimir Putin is playing a new, and dangerous, game.
On Friday, as Russian Federation tanks and troops poured across the border into eastern Ukraine, Vladimir Putin talked about his country’s most destructive weaponry. “I want to remind you that Russia is one of the most powerful nuclear nations,” he said. “This is a reality, not just words.” Russia, he told listeners, is “strengthening our nuclear deterrence forces.”
That same day, Putin used a term for eastern Ukraine meaning “New Russia.” So when he refers to repelling “any aggression against Russia” and speaks of “nuclear deterrence,” as he did on Friday, the Russian president is really warning us he will use nukes to protect his grab of Ukrainian territory.
For more than a generation, nuclear weapons were considered defensive only. In a few short sentences on Friday, however, Putin made these devices offensive in nature, just another tool to be employed by an aggressor. And to highlight his threat, on Aug. 14 at Yalta, the Crimean city he had seized this year, Putin mentioned “surprising the West with our new developments in offensive nuclear weapons about which we do not talk yet.”
Also in Yalta, where the Duma was meeting, the Russian leader spoke about renouncing the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty between the U.S. and Russia. The treaty outlaws ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges between 300 and 3,400 miles and is a foundation of the post-Cold War peace.
Read More Here
http://beforeitsnews.com/alternative...s-3021910.html
The Battle For Strategic Mariupol Begins As NATO Vows To Do "Whatever It Takes"
http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defau.../picture-5.jpg Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/04/2014 12:19 -0400
Update: behold the shelling...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7k6bHCoBcw&feature=player_embedded
Shelling is reported to have started on the eastern outskirts of Mariupol, Ukraine, according to local reporters on social media. This crucial city, due to its standing as the last major city standing in the way of a land connection to Crimea (from Russia) across the Southern border. Furthermore, Mariupol's strategic importance as a port and major industrial city is crucial to Kiev who are reinforcing the city after losing Novoazovsk last week, with the Ukrainian army on full alert. NATO has been actively sabre-rattling this morning, pulling a full Draghi by threatening to do "whatever it takes" to defend ourselves and our allies, and offering training and support for Ukraine (as they report over 3,000 Russian troops in Ukraine). Escalation?
https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images...H__normal.jpeg Simon Ostrovsky ✔ @SimonOstrovsky Follow Shelling on the outskirts of Mariupol #Ukraine
7:16 AM - 4 Sep 2014
UKRAINIAN ARMY ON TOP ALERT NEAR PORT CITY OF MARIUPOL, READY TO REPULSE POSSIBLE ATTACK BY REBELS - MILITARY SOURCE - RTRShttp://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defau...0903_ukr_0.jpg
Furthermore,
"Artillery and tank fire audible on eastern edge of Mariupol. Ukrainians say 4 armored columns advancing towards Shirokina. Hint of panic:" France 24 journalist Robert Parsons says in Twitter post
http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defau...903_ukr1_0.jpg
"Apparently, the rebel tanks have left Novoazovsk several hours ago and are moving towards Mariupol now. Their current position is unclear:” freelance journalist Petr Shelomovskiy says in Twitter post
http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defau...0904_ukr_0.jpg
- *NATO SAYS >3,000 RUSSIA TROOPS W/ TANKS IN UKRAINE: SKY
NATO has some comments too...* * *
“We have left no doubt that we will do whatever it takes to defend ourselves,” NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says.
Rasmussen: “Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has been a wake-up call. It has reminded all of us that our freedom, security and prosperity cannot be taken for granted. Some are trying to redraw dividing lines in Europe with force”
Terrorism, Middle East turmoil, Russia’s aggression, the threats of cyber-warfare confront NATO with a “climate of chaos” on its borders, he says
Rasmussen: “We will adopt a readiness-action plan that will make our forces faster, fitter and more flexible, ready to address any challenges, whenever they come and from wherever they come”
Rasmussen: Readiness plan to center on “a military unit that can be deployed at very short notice if needed. It would be followed by more forces if needed”
NATO will step up cooperation with Ukraine, help build up and advise Ukraine’s military, he says
Rasmussen: “We will adopt a substantial package for Georgia, a package that will bring Georgia closer to NATO, including a defense-capacity initiative, establishing a training center in Georgia, occasionally also exercises in Georgia”
Rasmussen: “I see NATO as an alliance with a global perspective, not as a global policeman. We can’t solve all crises all over the world”
If this is not escalation, then we are baffled as to what is...
* * *
Now it seems Ukraine wants 'talks' again...
- *UKRAINE TO CALL TRUCE TOMORROW IF TALKS TAKE PLACE: POROSHENKO
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-0...tever-it-takes
Russia Warns Obama's "Two-Faced" Strategy In Syria Will Lead To "Huge Escalation In Middle East & Africa"
http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defau.../picture-5.jpg Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/11/2014 23:00 -0400
If the West bombs Islamic State militants in Syria without consulting Damascus, LiveLeak reports that the anti-ISIS alliance may use the occasion to launch airstrikes against President Bashar Assad’s forces, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Clearly comprehending that Obama's new strategy against ISIS in Syria is all about pushing the Qatar pipeline through (as was the impetus behind the 2013 intervention push), Russia is pushing back noting that the it is using ISIS as a pretext for bombing Syrian government forces and warning that "such a development would lead to a huge escalation of conflict in the Middle East and North Africa."
As LiveLeak reports,* * *
“There are reasons to suspect that air strikes on Syrian territory may target not only areas controlled by Islamic State militants, but the government troops may also be attacked on the quiet to weaken the positions of Bashar Assad’s army,” Lavrov said Tuesday. Such a development would lead to a huge escalation of conflict in the Middle East and North Africa, Lavrov told reporters in Moscow after a meeting with the foreign minister of Mali.
Moscow is urging the West to respect international law and undertake such acts only with the approval of the legitimate government of a state, Lavrov said.
“Not a single country should have its own plans on such issues. There can be only combined, collective, univocal actions. Only this way can a result be achieved,” he said.
...
Russia has long warned its western partners about the threat posed by Islamic State, al-Qaeda and other groups that later merged into the Islamic Front, Lavrov said.
“We have repeatedly suggested to the US, the EU and leading European states to realize the extent of this threat. We have called on the UN to resolutely condemn terrorist attacks staged by Islamists in Syria. But we were told that it was Bashar Assad’s politics that gave rise to terrorism, and that denouncing such acts was possible only alongside with the demand for his resignation,” Lavrov said.
In Moscow’s view, this represents “a double standard” and an attempt to justify terrorism.
Up until the Syrian conflict, Russia and the West were unanimous that terrorism cannot be justified “no matter what motive was behind them,” Lavrov said. But in case with Syria the West had a “different, two-faced stance.”
It was only when the terrorism threat which originated in Libya crept to Lebanon and then Iraq that Western countries realized it was time to deal with that, Lavrov said.
“Having admitted it with a huge delay, western partners for some reason think that this threat should be eliminated on the territory of Iraq, while on the territory of Syria it might be left to the consideration of those who conduct the operation,” Lavrov said.
The US agreed its airstrikes against Islamic State militants on Iraqi territory with Baghdad, Lavrov said. However, “it was rumored... no such permission was required from the government of Syria because they claim ‘Assad should resign and his regime should be overthrown’.” Lavrov said that there could be no different interpretation when it comes to the common interests of the West, Russia and other states: “Terrorist threats must be eliminated and terrorists liquidated,” he said.
Of course - what this is all really about is the Qatar pipeline...
Specifically, the issue at hand is the green part of the proposed pipeline: as explained above, it simply can't happen as long as Russia is alligned with Assad.
http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defau...pipeline_0.jpg
So there you have it: Qatar doing everything it can to promote bloodshed, death and destruction by using not Syrian rebels, but mercenaries: professional citizens who are paid handsomely to fight and kill members of the elected regime (unpopular as it may be), for what? So that the unimaginably rich emirs of Qatar can get even richer. Although it is not as if Russia is blameless: all it wants is to preserve its own strategic leverage over Europe by being the biggest external provider of natgas to the continent through its own pipelines. Should Nabucco come into existence, Gazpromia would be very, very angry and make far less money!
* * *
No wonder Putin is pissed - Obama has (for now) got his way from a year ago in Syria...blowback coming soon.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-0...-middle-east-a
Ukraine Admits Resurgent Separatists Extend Control All The Way To Sea Of Azov
http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defau.../picture-5.jpg Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/11/2014 10:04 -0400
The Ukraine "ceasefire" may be raging, but don't tell that to the "rebel", "separatists", "pro-Russian terrorists" or whatever it is that the ethnic Russians in east Ukraine are called nowadays, because a few short hours ago even Kiev finally admitted that the insurgency, with or without Russian backing, has finally hit the beach of the Azov Sea, which implicitly means that the only thing that is prevent the formation of a land connection from Russia to Crimea is the city of Mariupol, which as Ukraine reported overnight, it is now massing heavy weapons for what may be the most critical fight of the entire Ukraine civil war to date.
From AFP:How this looks on a map:
The Ukrainian authorities acknowledged on Thursday that pro-Russian rebels had extended their control over territory on the eastern border with Russia to the Sea of Azov.
The announcement by the National Security and Defence Council follows a lightning offensive across the southeast area launched by the pro-Russian separatists last month.
http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defau...ituation_0.jpg
So while the Ukraine army is losing key strategic waypoints, the parliament speaker told Fokus magazine that Ukraine needs to regroup, strengthen army, and must open way to NATO membership, something which as Russia has made quite clear, will truly drive the Kremlin over the edge.
Meanwhile, for some inexplicable reason, the myth that a "ceasefire" continues is propagated by both Moscow and Kiev...
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-0...l-way-sea-azov
Poland Says Russian Gas Deliveries Tumble By 45%; Europe To Launch Sanctions On Friday, Russia Will Retaliate
http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defau.../picture-5.jpgSubmitted by Tyler Durden on 09/11/2014 09:34 -0400
Yesterday, when Gazprom was supposedly "troubleshooting its systems", we reported that in what was the first salvo of Europe's latest cold (quite literally, with winter just around the corner) war, Poland complained that up to 25% of its usual gas deliveries from Russia had been cut. Russia indirectly hinted that this was also a result of Ukraine using "reverse flow" to meet its demands, with Europe allowing Kiev to syphon off whatever gas it needs without paying Gazprome for it. It also led Poland to promptly admit it would halt reverse flow to the civil-war ridden country. Fast forward to today when Polish financial website Biznes reports that things are going from bad to worse in Russia's energy retaliation war, after Poland claimed a 45% shortfall in Russian natgas imports as of Wednesday.
Not surprisingly, Gazprom has said that is not the case, which leaves two options: either someone is lying, or the Ukraine is quietly, and illegally syphoning off gas destined for Europe.
http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defau...yphoning_0.jpg
More:So as the new balance of power is suddenly dawning on Europe, as is the realization that Putin does have all the leverage (as otherwise Gazprom would never suicide itself in a way as to show it can proactively cut European gas supplies, even if the recipient is a country that has been so vocally beligirent toward Russia as Poland), the Europeans have decided there is no point in waiting any longer, and as was blasted moments ago:
Poland's listed natural gas group PGNiG noted Wednesday natural gas deliveries from the east 45% below the ordered level, the firm said in a Thursday press statement. Wednesday marks the third straight day when Poland claims to have received less gas than ordered from Russia's Gazprom. Poland claims that shortfall forced a shutdown of re-export to gas-strapped Ukraine and an increase in imports from other directions to compensate the loss.
"Under the Yamal contract, PGNiG has the right to collect volumes lower or in line with the maximal daily amounts contracted for particular entry points," PGNiG said. "Volumes ordered by PGNiG were below the maximal level - that is line with the contract. Nevertheless, they have not been realized by OOO Gazprom Export."
In order to make up for the missing volumes from the east, PGNiG claims to have launched supplementary gas deliveries via Lasow at the German border and via Cieszyn at the Czech border, the firm noted in its statement.
Additionally, on Thursday PGNiG launched natgas supply through the Mallnow point at the Yamal pipeline on the German border, PGNiG said.
A spokesperson for PGNiG, Dorota Gajewska, refused to indicate if the level of Russian deliveries constituted a reduction from any prior periods, reiterating only that delivered volumes are below the contractually requested level, she said in an interview for broadcaster TVN24.
On Wednesday PGNiG claimed that deliveries had fallen 20% short of order on Monday and 24% short of order on Tuesday.
The firm said it was "investigating" the reasons behind the delivery shortfall, in particular whether it is of technical or commercial nature, and said it was compensating for the volumes with imports from other directions.
On Wednesday PGNiG still hasn't received any explanation from Gazprom, the firm said.
Deliveries to PGNiG's clients are being carried out without disruption, and there is no need to tap undergroung gas storage facilities, filled to 100% of their capacity (around 2.6 bcm).
PGNiG's long-term Yamal contract with OOO Gazprom Export, dating back to 1996 and renegotiated in 2010, provides for annual natural gas imports of 10.24 bcm, drawn at Drozdowicze, Wysokoje & Polish points along the Yamal pipeline. The contract is based 85% on a take-or-pay formula. PGNiG will seek a gas price reduction during a renegotiation window that opens in November 2014.
- BERLIN - EU DIPLOMAT SAYS NEW SANCTIONS AGAINST RUSSIA TO COME INTO FORCE ON FRIDAY
More from Reuters:Which means that the gloves are now fully off and Russia is content that it will be cold enough soon enough to give Putin even more of a first mover advantage, and thus negotiating leverage while the part of Europe, and all of Ukraine, shivers in the cold.
European leaders spoke early on Thursday and agreed to push ahead with a package of sanctions against Russia by the end of the week, due to its aggression towards Ukraine, the spokesman for British Prime Minister David Cameron said.
"This morning the prime minister took part in a joint call with several fellow European leaders; president (Herman) Van Rompuy, Chancellor (Angela) Merkel, president (Francois) Hollande and prime minister (Matteo) Renzi," the spokesman said.
"(They spoke) to discuss the subject of sanctions against Russia in the context of Ukraine and agreement to proceed with the implementation of the sanction package that was agreed earlier in the week."
Sure enough:
- RUSSIA WAITS FOR SANCTION DETAILS TO DECIDE HOW TO RETALIATE
- RUSSIA WILL RESPOND TO NEW EU SANCTIONS: LUKASHEVICH
- RUSSIA SAYS READY TO RESPOND TO NEW U.S. SANCTIONS
And:
https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images...09_normal.jpeg Agence France-Presse ✔ @AFP Follow
#BREAKING Russia has drawn up second set of anti-Western sanctions: Putin aide
8:35 AM - 11 Sep 2014
In other words, Russia's staggered gas reduction, which we predicted last weekend would happen momentarily, as it has, is not a retaliation but merely a side-effect. One wonders just how bad things will escalate to if in addition to its gas Europe loses, for example, access to Russian airspace, or worse.
And the full wrap of the most recent events surrounding Ukraine and Russia, via Bloomberg:
- EU to impose new Russia sanctions tomorrow, will lay out conditions for eventually suspending measures
- Russia says will retaliate against new sanctions, says they are “unfriendly policy”; may target cars, textiles: RIA
- Ruble falls to record vs dollar
- U.S. sees Ukraine as arena for geopolitical battles, Russian foreign minister says in interview to Itar-Tass
- Ukraine needs to regroup, strengthen army; must open way to NATO membership, Parliament speaker tells Fokus magazine
- Donetsk airport shelled by rebels overnight: Ukraine defense ministry
- Gazprom may face biggest decline in European gas revenue in five years; sales to EU, source of 40% of rev., forecast to fall >10% to ~$55b this year, co. officials say
- Putin orders war readiness test for East Russian regions: Interfax
- McDonald’s being taken to court by Russia’s consumer-safety regulator for allegedly understating caloric values, microbial contamination in products; suit delayed as chain defends calorie count
- Ukraine seeking to prevent Russian cos from getting licenses to run 3G networks in planned auction
Summary: tomorrow's latest round of sanctions and countersanctions should be interesting.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-0...tions-be-enact