ORAC, 1-1 this time, bravo. Fake news from Politico and nearly a true one from Reuters.
As for Ukraine, Politico has put things upside down. First, it was the blockade of all transportation routes and traffic by the "western" part and, as the result of it, the eastern (rebel) part had to implement a sort of external management to the coal mining plants. Ownership still remains with the Ukrainian oligarphs. The problem is that if the coal is not transported (to the Ukrainian power plants which are the only consumers), hundreds thousands of people in Donbass become unemployed. The irony is that the Ukrainian government had to start importing coal directly from Russia, and at higher costs. Also, it was not the Ukrainian government who started the blockade. There were/are groups of armed ultra-nationalists (they called themselves self-organized battalions) who started it, and the Kiev government is afraid of them. Poor Ukraine, idiotism rules there new...
As for north Ossetia, I have no idea why this stupid decision was made. There is no reason for that now...
And finally, I wonder why the military aviation thread is being "garbaged" by such topics? There is no war in the air in this region. And I assume there are many special forums for russophobes.