Holiday goodwill: Putin to provide coal to Ukraine without prepayment

© TASS

Russian supplies of coal and electricity to Ukraine without prepayment prove Russian President Vladimir Putin's goodwill to provide real support to the Ukrainian people, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS on Saturday.

He confirmed Ukraine's reports on starting such supplies.

"Against all the odds as President Putin said earlier in the hard times he had never given up the consistent policy towards supporting the Ukrainian people and providing real and not eventual support, due to the critical energy situation Putin took a decision on such supplies regardless the absence of prepayment, which is the condition of making them," Peskov said.

"This proves President Putin's political goodwill to provide support for Ukrainians, particularly before New Year," he said.

Russian Vice-Premier Dmitry Kozak said Russia had taken a decision to supply 500,000 tonnes of coal to Ukraine per month for solving its energy problems.

"If an additional corresponding agreement may be reached, we're ready to supply another 500,000 tonnes, totally one million tonnes of coal, to Ukraine in order to help it solve energy problems," Kozak told Rossiya24 TV Channel.

The decision to this effect was made at Ukraine's request. Energy carriers will be supplied to Ukraine on easy terms, he said.

Kozak expressed hope that this would help ensure reliable energy supplies to Crimea.

Earlier, anonymous hackers attacked the website of the Ukrainian Regional Development Ministry to have posted a hoax saying Russia was prepared to supply energy to Ukraine without prepayment, the ministry's spokeswoman, Nadezhda Petruniak, said.

"Apparently, the website was attacked by anonymous hackers. The ministry's press-service has not published any information of this sort either on its own behalf, or on behalf of other press-services or officials," she said.

Petruniak said the Regional Development Ministry did not have any information about energy supplies from third countries at its disposal and surely was not in the position to publish it, because it was a competence of a different ministry.

Meanwhile, the Regional Development Ministry's Internet site said Russia had agreed to supply fuels to Ukraine without prepayment. The hoax has now been eliminated.

Comment: The West destroys Ukraine; Russia picks up the pieces and provides cheap coal, not to mention humanitarian aid to the regions being starved by Kiev. Once more, Putin shows himself to be perhaps the only leader on this planet with a real conscience. Sure, he'll play hard-ball with the corrupt oligarchs ruling Ukraine -- demanding the money owed for gas -- but when it comes down to it, he is more than willing to give real support to the of Ukraine. Something that not even its own inept leaders can do. Russia has also agreed to provide ready-made electricity, since Kiev has been unable to meet the country's energy needs. (Due to their historical reliance on Russia for such needs -- e.g., fuel for their nuclear reactors -- which put in jeopardy due their needless and idiotic antagonizing of Russia.)