US Troops In Poland; Neo-Nazis Prepare For Fratricidal War In Ukraine
By Countercurrents
24 April, 2014
Countercurrents.org
While Kiev’s neo-Nazis are preparing for fratricidal war in Ukraine the first contingent of US troops have arrived in Poland. The US move is seen as support to the neo-Nazi regime in Kiev.
And, more than 2,000 coal miners in Lugansk, eastern Ukraine, are on strike for the second day. They are demanding higher wages and refusing to accept a pay cut to fund the restoration of Kiev, which suffered damage during the coup that overthrew the government.
Media reports on Ukraine and neighboring areas said:
More US troops will follow the US troops that has already reached Poland. The US troops are expected to be carrying out military exercises in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia for the coming months.
Coal miners’ opposition to Kiev regime
The striking Ukraine coal miners are from five coal mines owned by one of Ukraine's richest man, Rinat Akhmetov.
It should be mentioned that mining industry is the “the real bread winner of the Ukraine”. The mining industry employs about 500,000 workers throughout the region, and it provides about 15 percent of the country's GDP. Coal alone is 30 percent of Ukraine's energy consumption.
The miners are pressing for wage increases to match region's average pay, better social and living conditions and higher social bonuses.
According to the strikers they get an average of 6,000 hryvna ($520) while the average salary in the coal industry in the region is up to 10,000 hryvnia ($860).
The miners are also refusing to pay a 10 percent tax on their salaries, imposed by the post-coup authorities to restore the Maidan square in Kiev. The square and nearby buildings suffered significant damage during months of rallies and the violent standoff that led to a coup in February.
According to local media reports miners have seen around a 10 percent cut in their paychecks to restore the Ukrainian capital.
“I don't understand why are we involved!” one of the protesting miners, Stanislav Denisenko told Itar-tass. “It was not us who dismantled the stones and burned the houses down. I get about 900 hryvna a month, that is around 9,000 rubles ($260). I don't understand why they are taking away my salary.”
Local media also reports that protests also demand the reinstatement of a few dozen of their colleagues who they say have been fired from their jobs for taking part in pro-federalization rallies in the region.
While the coal sector workers mainly remain apolitical, some still question the legitimacy of the Kiev government.
“We are also against Kiev's junta. We do not recognize their authority. It is not legitimate. We stand for the memory of our ancestors fighting alongside Russians. We're all Slavs. We are one nation. We do not have heroes such as Bandera and Shukhevych. We are against these people because they are destroying our history,” one of the protesters said during the second day of the strike.
Neo-Nazis’ prepare for war
Ukrainian neo-Nazi group Right Sector has moved its main headquarters from Kiev to Dnepropetrovsk to “closely monitor” the developments in the east, its leader said, announcing the formation of yet another paramilitary squadron in Ukraine.
“I moved my headquarters to Dnepropetrovsk. The purpose is to prevent the spread of the Kremlin infection,” Ukrainian presidential candidate and Right Sector leader Dmitry Yarosh announced at a press conference in Dnepropetrovsk.
He says the vital industrial city in Ukraine, Dnepropetrovsk provides a better platform to observe the situation in Donbass where pro-federalization protests are flourishing after the neo-Nazi coup in Kiev.
Yarosh, placed by Russia on an international most wanted terrorist list, also announced that he started forming a special squad of fighters called “Donbass.”
“We coordinate all of our actions with the leadership of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Security service of Ukraine,” Yarosh said.
The unit will comprise about 800 fighters. Any military trained adults could volunteer to join the unit, as long as they meet the requirements.
The move follows a similar announcement in Dnepropetrovsk region, whose Kiev-appointed governor and oligarch Igor Kolomoysky recently formed a special battalion “Dnepr” formed of “local patriots of Ukraine.”
Both battalions are part of the special force which is being formed to stabilize and take the situation under control in the eastern and southern parts of Ukraine, as announced earlier by Ukraine’s coup-installed millionaire turned Interior minister Arsen Avakov.
“The new structure of special divisions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is the answer to saboteurs, ‘green little men’ and to the other gangs tasked with attacking statehood and integrity of Ukraine,” Avakov said earlier in April, stating his ministry was ready to employ and legalize as many as 12,000 volunteers across the country.
On Wednesday, Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov reiterated the worrying expansion of the Right Sector.
He sees the existence and the expansion of the neo-Nazi group as a violation of last week's Geneva accords.
“In Geneva we agreed that there must be total rejection of extremists and the Right Sector is still very active, and after Geneva the Right Sector staged provocations killing several people in the vicinity of Slavyansk during Easter Sunday. So nothing which was agreed in Geneva and which certainly is for the authorities in Kiev to start implementing was done by them,” Lavrov said.
In response to Yarosh's announcement, the mayor of Slovyansk Vyacheslav Ponomarev told Gazeta that formation of such a battalion “could lead to a fratricidal war.”
Yarosh, the neo-Nazi leader, was placed on an international wanted list in March and charged with inciting terrorism.
Yarosh has always been anti-Russian in his statements, calling for the destruction and division of the “Moscow Empire” and openly supporting Chechen militants and Georgian aggression. Yarosh believes that Russia is Ukraine’s “eternal foe” and that a war between the two countries is “inevitable.”
The Right Sector was formed in November 2013 soon after the anti-government protests in Ukraine began. Members of the far-right movement were very active in the violent events Kiev leading to the seizure of parliament there and usurpation of government.
The group has been referred to as the most active, the most right and the best organized group in the Ukrainian unrest. Many of its violent acts have been well-documented by media and in videos posted on YouTube.
Russia will respond to any attack
Earlier, Russia's foreign minister said Moscow would respond to any attack on its interests in Ukraine. He was speaking on Russian state TV channel RT on April 23, 2014.
Sergei Lavrov drew a parallel with the 2008 Georgian war, saying: "If our interests, our legitimate interests, the interests of Russians have been attacked directly.... I do not see any other way but to respond in full accordance with international law".
He also accused the US of "running the show" in Ukraine, and that it was "quite telling" that Kiev had re-launched its "anti-terrorist" operation in the east on Tuesday during a visit by US Vice-President Joe Biden.
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