World War Three Thread....

[American Patriot]

Russian Bombers Conduct Test Flights Over Northern Europe



Standard

Russian Tu-95MS “Bear” strategic bombers, accompanied by supersonic Mikoyan MiG-31 interceptors, have conducted test flights over neutral waters of the North Sea, a senior Air Force official told reporters Thursday.Russia’s strategic bomber force regularly performs flights over neutral waters of the Arctic, the Atlantic, the Black Sea and the Pacific Ocean.The flights sometimes prompt a reaction by neighboring countries. Japan has scrambled aircraft to escort such flights several times since the beginning of the month.The Russian Defense Ministry has insisted that the flights are carried out “in strict accordance with international regulations” and do not violate the borders of other countries.
For full report read …… http://en.ria.ru/military_news/20140...rn-Europe.html

[Avvakum]

the "Source" was her/it?


I can't see it from here. oh well.

Then garbage.

Well, this garbage peddler has an agenda, and collects information in order to spin it out as disinformation. I see another hidden pattern from the articles that 'sorcha faal' sources, a pattern 'Sorcha Faal' tries to hide.

And that would be Communist infiltration and aggression.

[American Patriot]

Ukraine crisis: Russia accused of wanting to start WW3

25 April 2014 Last updated at 14:20 BST
The war of words over the crisis in Ukraine has deepened after the the country's interim prime minister accused Russia of wanting to start World War Three.
Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Russia was in danger of creating a conflict that would spread to the rest of Europe.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused the West of wanting to "seize" Ukraine for its own ends.
Nick Childs reports.
Read more

Ukraine crisis: Kerry accuses Russia of 'destabilisation'

[American Patriot]

April 25, 2014 6:45 pm
High noon looms over Ukraine

Russian leader seems determined to fuel the crisis


The Ukraine crisis looks more menacing than at any time since the Maidan revolution that toppled President Viktor Yanukovich. A military conflict between Russia and Ukraine – one that would bring war to the heart of the European continent for the first time this century – cannot be dismissed.


In a dozen towns in eastern Ukraine, pro-Russian separatists continue to occupy buildings in their bid to break away from rule by the central authorities in Kiev. The interim government in Kiev has dubbed the militants “terrorists” and is trying to dislodge them from their strongholds.


President Vladimir Putin regards the regime in Kiev as illegitimate. He has threatened to avenge what he calls Kiev’s “serious crime” in confronting the pro-Moscow activists.

Some of the 40,000 Russian troops on the Ukrainian border are once again on manoeuvres. The question is whether this is a prelude to an invasion of Ukraine, dressed up as a “humanitarian” or “peacekeeping” initiative.


Tensions have reached this pitch because of the collapse of an agreement signed in Geneva nine days ago that tried to resolve the crisis. Moscow blames Kiev for the failure of the accord, signed by Russia and Ukraine. The Geneva pact certainly requires Kiev to disarm the radical Right Sector, a group that helped to topple the Russian-backed Mr Yanukovich. Kiev has either been unwilling or unable to disarm this militia.


But the overwhelming responsibility for the failure of the Geneva pact lies with Mr Putin. Under the agreement, pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine were required to leave the official buildings they had occupied. Moscow’s claim to have no influence over these militants is not credible. The Kremlin leader has never called on them to surrender their arms. Indeed, Mr Putin has given them succour by publicly suggesting that eastern and southern Ukraine are a block of territory called “Novorossiya” that was only handed to Russia’s neighbour in the 1920s.


The US has accused Russia of actively intervening to destabilise Ukraine “with personnel, weapons, operational planning and co-ordination”. There may as yet be no dossier of hard evidence, but Mr Putin appears bent on creating a pretext for an intervention that could lead to a de facto partition and the end of Kiev’s aspiration to join the EU and the Nato military alliance.


The US is now threatening new sanctions on Russia as punishment for scuppering the Geneva accord. The Obama administration would be right to take such action. But full-scale energy and banking sanctions should only be applied if Russian tanks cross the Ukrainian border. An extension of existing targeted sanctions would send a message that Ukraine cannot be destabilised by stealth without Moscow paying a high price.


The bigger question, however, is for Mr Putin. Not for the first time, he must ask himself what possible gain there is in further Russian belligerence. Western sanctions have already taken a toll on the Russian economy. It suffered net capital flight of $64bn in the first three months of 2014. The Standard & Poor’s rating agency cut Russia’s credit rating on Friday to one notch above junk. Sanctions are tipping Russia into recession in the second half of this year.


The stand-off on Ukraine’s eastern border looks increasingly dangerous. Moscow must weigh the price of an intervention that would lead to a new cold war and a bloody civil conflict.


The alternative course is to renew diplomatic efforts to stabilise Ukraine. No solution is possible without Russia and the US. Mr Putin must abandon his revanchist journey and come back to the negotiating table. Whatever his distaste for the Kiev government, he should recognise that a civil war in Ukraine serves no one’s interest, let alone Russia’s.

[American Patriot]

` Britain is Dispatching Four Typhoon Jets to Patrol Air Space of Baltic States Part of the NATO Pact ‘

#AceWorldNews – LONDON – April 28 – Britain is dispatching four Typhoon fighter jets to patrol the airspace of Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, British media said Monday.

They will perform their patrolling mission alongside with six fighter jets of the Polish Air Force and will serve as a replacement for six F15 jets of the US Air Force.


British Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said the Typhoons would support Poland’s contribution to the operation destined to calm down the apprehensions of easternmost member-states of the North-Atlantic pact.


In February 2012, NATO Council extended the patrolling of the airspace over former Soviet Baltic republics by combat aircraft of the North-Atlantic pact through to 2018. Air Forces of different NATO nations take part in the operation on the basis of rotation.


The effort also involves more than 50 members of ground personnel.


#ANS2014

[American Patriot]

Germany too:

` Germany will send 6 Euro-Fighter Jets to Patrol Airspace over Baltic Countries as part of NATO Pact ‘

#AceWorldNews – BERLIN – April 16 – Germany will send up to 6 Euro-fighter jets to patrol airspace over Baltic countries, as part of a campaign to set up security of NATO’s easternmost member-states in the wake of the crisis in Ukraine, a spokesman for the German Defence Ministry said Wednesday.



In addition to this, an auxiliary seacraft of the Elba family with 45 servicemen aboard will be cruising in the Baltic Sea as of the end of May.


The Eurofighters will get down to patrolling missions in three former Soviet Baltic republics – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – as of September, the Defence Ministry said.
#ANS2014

[American Patriot]

U.S. Announces More Sanctions Against Russia — While Obama in Philippines

.

President Obama in Manila on Monday. Credit Stephen Crowley/The New York Times
By PETER BAKER and MARK LANDLER
The New York Times
WASHINGTON — The United States on Monday imposed additional sanctions against Russian government officials and companies deemed close to President Vladimir V. Putin, accusing Moscow of failing to live up to its agreement to defuse the crisis in Ukraine.
The Obama administration ordered travel bans and asset freezes for seven Russian officials, including two said to be in Mr. Putin’s inner circle, and froze assets for 17 companies. Thirteen Russian companies will also face additional restrictions as the government will cut off the export or re-export of American-made products to them.
Additionally, the State and Commerce Departments announced a new policy to deny export license applications for high-technology items that could contribute to Russia’s military capabilities. The two departments will revoke existing export licenses along those lines, the White House said in a statement.
Among those targeted on Monday was Igor I. Sechin, president of the state-owned Rosneft oil company and a longtime Putin adviser. Although administration officials said over the weekend that they also expected Aleksei B. Miller, the head of the energy giant Gazprom, to possibly be targeted, Mr. Obama ultimately chose a list that did not include him.
Others who face sanctions include Dmitry N. Kozak, a deputy prime minister; Vyacheslav V. Volodin, a deputy chief of staff to Mr. Putin; and Aleksei Pushkov, the chairman of the international affairs committee of the State Duma, the lower house of Parliament. The companies targeted included several banks, including Sobinbank, and energy companies like the Stroytransgaz Group and various related entities.
In imposing sanctions on Mr. Sechin, the administration has targeted a top partner of ExxonMobil, which has multiple joint ventures with Rosneft. It is not known if Mr. Sechin has any assets in the United States to freeze, but he will no longer be permitted into the country to consult with his ExxonMobil partners. ExxonMobil lawyers have been studying the possible ramifications in anticipation of the administration move.
The firms targeted on Monday were all tied to Russian businessmen who were targeted in previous rounds of sanctions. Eleven of the companies were linked to Gennady N. Timchenko, including the Volga Group, his private investment holding company. Mr. Timchenko is a co-founder of the Gunvor Group, a commodities trading firm in which the Treasury Department has previously said Mr. Putin has personal investments. Gunvor has adamantly denied that Mr. Putin has any financial ties to the company, and Mr. Timchenko has sold his shares in Gunvor.

Three other firms targeted on Monday were tied to Arkady and Boris Rotenberg: InvestCapitalBank, SMP Bank and Stroygazmontazh. Three others were subsidiaries of Yuri V. Kovalchuk’s Bank Rossyia: Abros, Zest and Sobinbank.
“Today’s targeted sanctions, taken in close coordination with the E.U., will increase the impact we have already begun to see on Russia’s own economy as a result of Russia’s actions in Ukraine and from U.S. and international sanctions,” Jacob J. Lew, the Treasury secretary, said in a statement. “Russian economic growth forecasts have dropped sharply, capital flight has accelerated and higher borrowing costs reflect declining confidence in the market outlook.”
American officials said that the European sanctions list would diverge from theirs, but that the fact that both sides were moving on the same day signaled important unity.
“We don’t expect there to be an immediate change in Russian policy,” said a senior administration official, briefing reporters under ground rules that did not permit him to be identified. But he said the latest actions would signal that “much more severe economic pain” could still be imposed if Moscow did not back down.
Other individuals subject to the travel ban and asset freeze were Oleg Belavantsev, who was appointed by Mr. Putin last month as presidential envoy overseeing the annexed Crimean Peninsula; Sergei V. Chemezov, the director general of Rostec, the Russian state firm overseeing high-technology industries and a longtime member of Mr. Putin’s circle; and Evgeny Murov, the director of Russia’s Federal Protective Service and an army general.
The actions came shortly after President Obama, traveling here in Asia, declared that Russia was continuing to bully and threaten Ukraine and would pay a price. The fact that the announcement was made on the last stop of his weeklong Asia trip underscored the sense of urgency about fears that Russia was destabilizing eastern Ukraine.
“These sanctions represent the next stage in a calibrated effort to change Russia’s behavior,” Mr. Obama said at a news conference with President Benigno S. Aquino III of the Philippines.
But Mr. Obama acknowledged, “We don’t yet know whether it is going to work,” and he left the door open to more sweeping sanctions against Russian industries like banking and defense.
“The goal is not to go after Mr. Putin personally; the goal is to change his calculus, to encourage him to walk the walk, not just talk the talk” when it comes to diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis, Mr. Obama said.
Mr. Obama said the sanctions would affect high-tech military exports to Russia, because they are not “appropriate to be transferred in the current environment.”

Peter Baker reported from Washington, and Mark Landler from Manila.
*******************************
US hits Russia with new sanctions on Vladimir Putin cronies
United States levies new sanctions on seven Russian government officials, as well as 17 companies with links to the Russian president

Among the targets is Igor Sechin, who has worked for Vladimir Putin since the early 1990s






Reuters

2:33PM BST 28 Apr 2014

The United States has imposed sanctions against seven Russian government officials and 17 companies linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin in its latest action to punish Moscow for its intervention in Ukraine.

The White House said the seven Russians, who include Igor Sechin, head of Russia’s major oil company Rosneft and a close ally of Putin, are now subject to a freeze on any assets they hold in the United States and a ban on US travel.

In addition, the United States will deny export license applications for any high-technology items that could contribute to Russian military capabilities. The Commerce and State Departments will revoke any existing export licenses that meet these conditions, the White House said.

It was the third round of sanctions that the United States has imposed over Russia’s intervention in the Crimea region and troop buildup near the border with Ukraine. All of the sanctions have been aimed at specific individuals and businesses.

The other people named were Oleg Belavencev, Sergei Chemezov, Dmitry Kozak, Evgeniy Murov, Aleksei Pushkov and Vyacheslav Volodin.

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  • Crimea: A lesson for all in how not to manage a crisis RBTH

President Barack Obama has made clear, however, that should Russia launch a military move deeper into Ukraine, the United States will slap sanctions on key sectors of the Russian economy, such as the financial services, energy, metals and mining, engineering and defense sectors.
The White House said the latest round of sanctions was in reaction to Russian failure to meet its commitments under a mid-April agreement to de-escalate the crisis.
“Russia’s involvement in the recent violence in eastern Ukraine is indisputable,” a White House statement said.

[American Patriot]

` Ukraine’s State Security Service has Detained the Deputy Mayor of Sloviansk for Interrogation ‘

#AceWorldNews – KIEV – April 28 – Ukraine’s State Security Service (SBU) has detained the deputy of Sloviansk popular mayor Ihor Perepechayenko.


Head of SBU press service Marina Ostapenko reported this at a briefing on Monday.


“Illegal actions of Ukrainian citizen Ihor Perepechayenko, known as deputy for the self-proclaimed Sloviansk mayor in Donetsk region, have been prevented,” she said, adding that he was being interrogated.


According to Ostapenko, Perepechayenko is involved in staging separatist actions and mass riots in Donetsk region.


Ostapenko also claimed that in Sloviansk, there are about 40 people including three SBU officers kept as prisoners by the protesters. She added that there were no reports about their fate.


She also said that the invaders did not put forward any demands regarding the liberation of prisoners.


#ANS2014

[American Patriot]

Let me assist... the unidentified people are RUSSIANS


Geez

` Unidentified People have Seized Police Department Building in Kostiantynivka ‘

Rate This

#AceWorldNews – KIEV – April 28 – Unidentified people have seized the building of a police department in Kostiantynivka of Ukraine’s Donetsk Region on Monday.

Local TV reports that protesters have also gathered on the street near the town hall.
According to media reports, town hall staff does not enter the office. Public transport is restricted, and buses are forwarded to bypass routes.
The protesters do not make any demands.
They say that they are launching preparations for the referendum on independence of the Donetsk People’s Republic scheduled for May 11.
#ANS2014

[American Patriot]

Obama Rachets Up Spite Against Russians

Posted on April 28, 2014 by Brittius







Monday, April28, 2014: It is being reported by Russia Today News Agency, that United States President Barack Obama, has targeted seven Russian people and seventeen Russian corporations for economic blackmail sanctioning. The present sanction, is in addition to the previous sanction that targeted as a means of economic blackmail, thirty-three Russian people, including a premier bank that many common people depend on to feed their families, the Rossiya Bank. According to news sources stated, the spite work of Barack Obama, are expected to include technical corporations engaging in export of services and goods, though reluctant to be a Man, an engage in contest with hardcore financial and energy concerns where the European Union and United Kingdom are in a semi-state of anxiety over. The goal of Obama is to panzy-whip Putin into being less than, a Man.


http://rt.com/news/155316-obama-sanc...utin-calculus/

[American Patriot]

Foreign Ministers of Russia and Germany discussed the situation in Ukraine on the phone

Posted on April 28, 2014 by newsworldrussia

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and German Foreign Minister and Frank-Walter Steinmeier discussed on the phone the development of the current situation in Ukraine, “including in the context of the detention of OSCE military observers from several European countries in the South- East of the country,” said the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Russian Foreign Ministry made ​​it clear that the conversation had been initiated by the German side.
The German government “strongly condemns” the detention in Ukraine of a group of the OSCE observers, among which are the citizens of Germany, and calls for their “immediate release without any conditions.”
Unarmed military observers from a number of OSCE countries were detained not far from Slavyansk late last week.

[American Patriot]

Russian “Doomsday Plane” Active For 4th Consecutive Day

Image | Posted on April 28, 2014 by tomfernandez28

Aircraft shadows Putin as Ukraine descends into civil war
Paul Joseph Watson
********.com
April 28, 2014


Russia’s “doomsday plane,” the Tupolev Tu-214SR, which is Moscow’s version of the U.S. E-4B, is flying for the fourth consecutive day, illustrating how high tensions are running as Ukraine descends into civil war.


The communications relay aircraft, which normally accompanies Vladimir Putin, is currently circling over the island of Valaam in Lake Ladoga near Finland, where the Russian President is visiting his spiritual home, the Valaam monastery, which is considered to be one of the Russian Orthodox Church’s most revered sites.


The doomsday plane recently flew over Crimea during Russia’s “annexation” of the region and can be tracked via Flightradar24.com. The flight is still currently circling just north of St. Petersburg as of this morning.


Although the plane can usually be relied on to indicate Putin’s location, “It is likely that Russia is aware that the entire world can track Putin based on a free public website, so one probably shouldn’t put it beyond Russia to maybe just send the plane on a wild goose chase now and then so that it doesn’t telegraph to the entire world where Putin may be found next,” reports Zero Hedge.


Violence escalated today as the mayor of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkov, Gennady Kernes, was shot in the back by unidentified gunmen and remains in a critical condition.


On Sunday, 300 anti-government protesters were attacked by a 5,000 strong mob of pro-Kiev football hooligans in Kharkov who severely beat numerous demonstrators, leaving 14 injured.


Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/paul.j.watson.71
FOLLOW Paul Joseph Watson @ https://twitter.com/************
*********************
Paul Joseph Watson is the editor and writer for ********.com and Prison Planet.com. He is the author of Order Out Of Chaos. Watson is also a host for ******** Nightly News.
This article was posted: Monday, April 28, 2014 at 6:00 am

[American Patriot]

All the indicators for nuclear war are showing their ugly teeth.

Moscow calls US, NATO military buildup near Russian borders ‘unprecedented’

Published time: April 28, 2014 21:58
Edited time: April 29, 2014 01:32


Russia's Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu (L) and U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel (R) (RIA Novosti / Reuters)



Russia’s Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has urged his Pentagon counterpart Chuck Hagel to help cool down the rhetoric over Ukraine and described NATO troops massing near Russian borders as “unprecedented.”


Speaking to Hagel by phone on Monday, Shoigu also denied the accusations that there are Russian agents acting in Ukraine.


“The Russian minister has called for his colleague to help cool down the rhetoric [over Ukraine] as much as possible. He also unequivocally refuted baseless accusations that there are Russian sabotage and spy teams, purportedly destabilizing the situation in the south-east of the country,” said a statement from the Russian defense ministry.


Instead, Shoigu classed the growth of NATO activity in Eastern Europe as “unprecedented”, saying it was accompanied by “provocative” rhetoric about “containing” Russia.
According to the Russian statement, Hagel expressed “extreme concern” about the situation in Ukraine on behalf of Brussels and Washington, and said that NATO’s actions in Europe intend to demonstrate the unity and defensive capability of the alliance, and have “no provocative or expansive aims”.



“There is nothing new for Russia in all of this,” Hagel, who assumed the role of Secretary of Defense last year, told Shoigu.


The Russian minister defended Moscow’s decision to announce military exercises near the Ukrainian border last week.


“As soon as the Ukrainian authorities said that they were not going to use regular troops against unarmed civilians, Russian units were re-stationed in their usual bases,” said Shoigu.


Shoigu accused Kiev of deploying more than 15,000 personnel, 80 tanks, 130 armored vehicles, and 60 artillery guns in the east of the country, “under the pretext of ‘fighting terrorism’.”



On Monday, NATO continued to increase its presence in the Baltic regions as UK and France deployed eight fighter jets to Lithuania and Poland to strengthen NATO air defense amid rising tensions in Ukraine, according to officials.


Out of the eight planes, four UK Typhoon jets touched down in Lithuania and another four French Rafale jets landed in Poland’s northeast town of Malbork, UK and French defense ministries stated.


The additional jets in the area are to “provide reassurance to our NATO allies in eastern Europe and the Baltic states,” British Defense Minister Philip Hammond said. "In the wake of recent events in Ukraine, it is right that NATO takes steps to reaffirm very publicly its commitment to the collective security of its members," he added.

[American Patriot]

North Korea holds live-fire drill near its maritime border with South Korea


By Jung Ha-Won
.

.
An undated handout picture released on April 27, 2014 showing North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (C) inspecting a shelling drill of a long-range artillery sub-unit (AFP Photo/)
Seoul (AFP) – North Korea held a live-fire drill near its maritime border with South Korea on Tuesday, with Seoul vowing a “strong” response if any shells fall on its side of the disputed boundary.

Related Stories

• North Korea says it will conduct live-fire drills Associated Press
• South Korea says North may be close to nuclear test AFP
• North Korea conducts firing drills near disputed border with South Reuters
• North Korea starts firing drills near disputed inter-Korean sea border – military Reuters
• South Korea Says North Korea Could Be Prepping for Nuclear Test The Atlantic Wire

A similar exercise a month ago resulted in the two rivals firing hundreds of artillery shells into each other’s territorial waters.
North Korea had given advance notice of the drill which began around 2:00 pm (0500 GMT), the South Korean defence ministry said.
“Our military is fully prepared,” ministry spokesman Kim Min-Seok said.
“If any shell lands on our side of the border, South Korea will respond strongly.”
The Yonhap news agency reported that South Korean jet fighters had been scrambled to patrol the border area.

File photo: This undated photo shows a live shell firing drill, overseen by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, being conducted near the disputed sea border with South Korea. (AFP/KCNA/KNS)


Fishing vessels had been warned off and local officials on the border islands of Yeonpyeong and Baengnyeong said residents were advised to leave their homes.
“They’ve been told to move into shelters,” a local official on Baengnyeong told AFP, adding that the sound of artillery shelling could be heard in the distance.
North Korea carried out a similar drill on March 31 during which a number of shells dropped into South Korean waters, prompting South Korea to fire back.
The exchange was limited to untargeted shelling into the sea, but fuelled tensions that had already risen after North Korea threatened to carry out a nuclear test.
Tuesday’s announcement followed analysis of recent satellite images suggesting the North was indeed preparing to conduct its fourth atomic detonation, with stepped-up activity detected at its main nuclear test site.



It also followed the visit to Seoul last week by US President Barack Obama, who angered Pyongyang by demanding that the North abandon its nuclear weapons programme and by threatening tougher sanctions if it went ahead with another test.

Graphic showing the maritime border between North and South Korea where Pyongyang has announced a live-fire drill Tuesday (AFP Photo/)

- Flouting Obama’s warning -

“North Korea’s continued pursuit of nuclear weapons is a path that leads only to more isolation,” Obama told American troops based in Seoul.
“It’s not a sign of strength. Anybody can make threats. Anyone can move an army. Anyone can show off a missile,” he said.
North Korea denounced Obama’s visit as provocative and said it had only reaffirmed Pyongyang’s policy of preparing to fight “a full-scale nuclear war”.



North Korea has conducted three nuclear tests, the most recent — and most powerful — in February last year.
The de-facto maritime boundary between the two Koreas — the Northern Limit Line — is not recognised by Pyongyang, which argues it was unilaterally drawn by the US-led United Nations forces after the 1950-53 Korean War.
Both sides complain of frequent incursions by the other and there were limited naval clashes in 1999, 2002 and 2009.
In November 2010, North Korea shelled Yeonpyeong island, killing four South Koreans and briefly triggering concerns of a full-scale conflict.
Border island residents have become used to the North’s behaviour and some brushed off Tuesday’s drill.
“I’m so sick of it,” said one inn owner on Baengnyeong island.
“The whole thing is just scaring my customers away. I’m more likely to die from business losses than an attack from the North,” she told AFP by telephone.
Inter-Korean ties had seemed to be enjoying a thaw earlier this year when the North — following rare, high-level official talks — hosted the first reunion for more than three years of families separated by the Korean War.
But tensions began to escalate after the South launched its annual joint military exercises with the United States in late February.
The North was also angered by a UN report detailing Pyongyang’s record of human rights abuses and by the UN Security Council’s criticism after it test-fired two medium-range missiles in March.

[American Patriot]

EU imposes more sanctions on Russia — Follows U.S. Lead on Ukraine Crisis


Pro-Russian activists attack the regional administration building in Luhansk, eastern Ukraine, April 29, 2014. Credit: Reuters/Vasily Fedosenko
(Reuters) – The European Union announced asset freezes and travel bans on 15 Russians and Ukrainians over Moscow’s actions in Ukraine, but the measures were seen as less aggressive than sanctions imposed this week by the United States.
The EU list published on Tuesday included senior Russian politicians but did not extend to companies, several of which were singled out by Washington when it extended its sanctions list on Monday.
Moscow immediately denounced the new EU measures, saying the Europeans were simply doing Washington’s bidding and should be ashamed of themselves. A senior Russian politician said Moscow was working on measures to counter the new sanctions.
But while the Russian stock markets rallied after the announcement of less stringent EU sanctions than were expected, there were increasing signs that the Ukraine crisis was having an effect on key parts of the Russian economy.
Russian natural gas exporter Gazprom said further sanctions could disrupt gas sales to Europe and hit its business, while a Russian minister said U.S. restrictions on high-tech exports to Russia would be a blow to Russian companies in the sector.


The International Monetary Fund said it was preparing to cut its forecasts for Russian growth for the second time in less than a month. U.S. credit card firm Visa said it would suspend network services to two Russian banks sanctioned on Monday by the United States.
Those sanctioned by the EU included Russian deputy prime minister Dmitry Kozak, Ludmila Shvetsova, a deputy speaker of the lower house of parliament, Valery Gerasimov, chief of staff of Russia’s armed forces, as well as separatist leaders in Ukraine.
But the list did not include the heads of Russian energy giants such as Rosneft’s Igor Sechin, who had been included in the latest U.S. sanctions.
TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY


The decision brings to 48 the number of people that the EU has put under sanctions for actions it says have undermined Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
Russia annexed the Crimea region after Ukraine’s pro-Moscow president was ousted in February by protesters demanding closer links with Europe. Kiev and the West accuse Russia of stirring up a separatist campaign in the east, a charge Moscow denies.


On Monday, the United States imposed sanctions on 7 Russians and 17 companies linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The United States has been more aggressive in the penalties it has imposed on Russia than has the European Union, which depends heavily on Russia for energy and has close trading links. The EU has only sanctioned individuals, not companies.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said the EU sanctions would not ease tensions in Ukraine, where the Kiev government is struggling to rein in pro-Russian separatists.
“Instead of forcing the Kiev clique to sit at the table with southeastern Ukraine to negotiate the future structure of the country, our partners are doing Washington’s bidding with new unfriendly gestures aimed at Russia,” the ministry said.
Despite a Ukrainian military operation to contain them, pro-Russian militants have seized public buildings in about a dozen towns and cities in Russian-speaking eastern and southeastern regions of Ukraine. Their actions have led to accusations in the West and in Kiev that Russia is planning to annex those areas as it did with the Crimean peninsula.


Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov denied that on Tuesday, telling a Russian news website that Moscow was “not at all inclined to repeat the so-called Crimea scenario in southeastern Ukraine”.


Russian has massed tens of thousands of troops near the border with Ukraine. A NATO official said on Tuesday the alliance had has seen no sign that they were withdrawing, despite a Russian statement that the troops had returned to their permanent positions.
SANCTIONS EFFECT


Western countries say sanctions are already having an effect on Russia by scaring investors into pulling out capital. The central bank has raised interest rates to support the ruble, and Russian firms are finding it harder to raise funds.


Gazprom, headed by Alexei Miller, an ally of Putin, and its managers have not been hit by U.S. or EU sanctions.


But the company, which meets a sizeable amount of Europe’s demand for gas, said a pricing row with the new government in Kiev could potentially lead to a disruption of its gas exports to the rest of Europe through pipelines crossing Ukraine.


“An expansion of the U.S., EU and other sanctions programs could adversely impact operations and the financial condition of the Gazprom Group,” it said in a report following publication of its 2013 financial results.


Long seen as a tool of Russian foreign policy, Gazprom has threatened to cut supplies to Ukraine over an unpaid gas bill it puts at more than $2 billion and warned this could lead to reduced deliveries to clients in Europe.


MILITARY OBSERVERS


In eastern Ukraine, the self-declared mayor of a separatist-held town said he would discuss the release of detained military observers only if the EU dropped sanctions against rebel leaders.


Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, the de facto mayor of Slaviansk, told Interfax news agency the imposition of visa bans and asset freezes against Denis Pushilin, leader of the self-styled People’s Republic of Donetsk, and Andrei Purgin, another leader in the eastern region, “was not conducive to dialogue”.
The six observers were in Ukraine under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, a democracy watchdog. They were detained last week after separatists said they had found a Ukrainian spy with them.


The mayor of eastern Ukraine’s biggest city was in a stable condition on Tuesday in a hospital in Israel, where he was flown after being wounded in the highest-profile assassination attempt in the standoff between Kiev and Moscow.


Gennady Kernes, one of Ukraine’s most prominent Jewish politicians, was shot in the back on Monday in Kharkiv, and underwent surgery in Ukraine on Monday. Officials had said his injuries were life-threatening.
(Additional reporting by Elizabeth Piper, Oksana Kobzeva, Megan Davies, Olesya Astakhova and Vladimir Soldatkin in Moscow, Marc Jones in London and Dan Williams in Israel; Writing by Giles Elgood; Editing by Alastair Macdonald)

[American Patriot]

#AceNewsGroup 06:11 on April 29, 2014
Tags: #AceWorldNews ( 1,852 ), #ANS2014 ( 1,584 ), #Russia ( 38 ), EU ( 51 ), European Union ( 85 ), Moscow ( 188 ), Ukrainian ( 166 ), Washington ( 77 )

#AceWorldNews – MOSCOW – April 29 – (Reuters) – Russia suggested on Tuesday the European Union should be ashamed of itself for “doing Washington’s bidding” by punishing Moscow with sanctions over the crisis in Ukraine.


The Foreign Ministry said the EU sanctions imposed on 15 Russian and pro-Moscow Ukrainian officials would not ease tension in Ukraine, where the government is struggling to rein in pro-Russian separatists in south-eastern regions who it says are backed by Moscow.
#ANS2014

[American Patriot]

` US Ramps Up Their Presence in `NATO’s Spring Strom Military Drills in Estonia ‘

AceWorldNews – TALLINN – April 29 – A US airborne unit, that will take part in NATO’s Spring Storm military drills in May, has arrived in Estonia.
A US Air Force plane has flown them to the Ämari air base.
As reported by Estonia’s Defence Ministry, the troop (around 150 people) will be stationed at the Ämari air base during the drills.
The USA is sending 600 military servicemen to Poland and other Baltic states for drills.
Estonia’s Defence Minister Sven Mikser said that American paratroopers will stay in the country at least till the end of this year.
Russian and Estonia News
#ANS2014

[American Patriot]

` Visa International Payment System Stops Servicing Russia’s SMP Bank and Invest Capital Bank ‘

#AceFinanceNews – MOSCOW – April 29 – Visa international payment system stops servicing Russia’s SMP Bank and Invest Capital Bank.
“On April 28, 2014, several more Russian individuals and organizations, including SMP Bank and InvestCapitalBank, were added to the list of specially designated nationals, or SDN’s.
In compliance with the US legislation, Visa International Service Association stopped servicing the above mentioned financial institutions,” a spokesperson for Visa told ITAR-TASS.
#AFN2014

[American Patriot]

North Korea Lobs Shells Near Disputed Sea Border

By CHOE SANG-HUNAPRIL 29, 2014



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SEOUL, South Korea — The North Korean military on Tuesday fired dozens of artillery shells near a disputed western sea border with South Korea, prompting thousands of South Korean islanders to flee to shelters.








Earlier Tuesday, North Korea told the South that it had designated two firing zones near the Northern Limit Line, which South Korea defends as a western sea demarcation line. North Korea claims a border line farther south.


North Korea subsequently fired about 50 rounds of artillery, but none were believed to have fallen south of the disputed maritime border.


The waters around the disputed sea border remain the most volatile section of the inter-Korean frontier and have been the scene of several naval skirmishes between the two countries in recent years. South Korea’s military increased its vigilance on Tuesday.

North Korea conducted similar drills in the region on March 31, firing more than 500 rounds of artillery and rockets. At the time, more than a hundred rounds landed south of the disputed border. South Korean marines on a frontier island fired back, lobbing 300 rounds of artillery north of the line.


North Korea’s live-fire drills followed its harsh criticism of a summit meeting between President Obama and his South Korean counterpart, Park Geun-hye, in Seoul on Friday. After their meeting, the two leaders pledged to impose more sanctions if the North conducted another nuclear test. They also promised to pressure the North Korean government over its human rights abuses.


On Sunday, the North lashed out, calling Ms. Park “a dirty prostitute” in thrall to the “pimp” Mr. Obama.
South Korean officials and American think tanks have reported increased activities at an underground nuclear test site in Punggye-ri in northeastern North Korea, raising fears of a possible nuclear detonation.

[American Patriot]

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