Is Minsk 2 Finally Breaking?

Terrible news out of Ukraine today as it appears that the Minsk Peace Accords are crumbling as I type. With these developments, the crisis in Ukraine could spin rapidly put of control in the weeks ahead. Please stay on top of the situation by listening to these weekly podcasts.

Again, if you're new to this, John Batchelor is a longtime correspondent and anchor for ABC News here in the US. Professor Stephen F. Cohen is a foremost expert on Russian and Soviet history. Every Tuesday night at 10:00 pm EDT they discuss the latest developments out of Ukraine and they do so in a manner and scope you won't find anywhere else in the mainstream media.

Last evening...and right before teh fighting resumed today...John and Steve primarily discussed three topics:

How the FIFA corruption scandal effects Russia and its powerful leaders and oligarchs.
The simply incredible news that former Georgian leader Mikheil Saakashvili has been made a Ukraine citizen and appointed to the governorship of the Odessa region.
The revelation that George Soros is attempting to steer the conflict through his influence within both the Ukraine and American governments.

The Saakashvili story is the most breathtaking and ominous development of the week. For more info, check these links:

If you missed the Soros story, here's the link to the report from ZeroHedge: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-06-01/hacked-emails-expose-george-so...

And here are some of the headlines out of Ukraine and Donbass from earlier today. These are extraordinarily bad developments as the renewed fighting will bring outcries from the War Party to arm Kiev and further intervene. Now is the time to follow this crisis VERY CLOSELY.

The most recent summary also comes from ZH: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-06-03/russian-ruble-tumbles-2-month-...

As Bloomberg notes,

*INTERFAX CITES GENERAL STAFF OF UKRAINE ARMED FORCES ON ATTACK
*UKRAINE SAYS REBELS STARTED LARGE-SCALE OFFENSIVE IN EAST: IFX
*UKRAINE SAYS REBEL OFFENSIVE INVOLVES 1,000 TROOPS, TANKS: IFX
*UKRAINE SAYS ARTILLERY RE-DEPLOYED TO HALT REBEL OFFENSIVE: IFX
*UKRAINE SAYS REBEL OFFENSIVE STARTED NEAR MARYINKA IN EAST: IFX
Offensive by pro-Russian insurgents near Donetsk-region town of Maryinka involves up to 1,000 troops, more than 10 tanks and howitzers, General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces says in statement on Facebook.

To counter attack, Ukraine re-deployed and used artillery that was previously pulled back

Ukraine says it informed international partners on artillery re-deployment

So, please take the time to listen to this discussion and PLEASE stay on top of this rapidly changing and dangerous situation. Below is a map to help you get your bearings.