Russian Invasion Of Ukraine (Formerly: Democratic Malaise Draws Ukraine Eastwards)

[American Patriot]

I wasn't referring to you, Avvakum. I was talking to the world at large.

For far too long now people have been claiming the Russians are our friends. They NEVER have been. People around me, even where I work think this. Of course, most know better, but there are people in high up places in the government who believe this crap.

You... I suspect just were hornswaggled like others. You were led to believe something that wasn't true, by the Russians themselves, by the propaganda and by the public school systems in America.

Look at the the other thread. Jay Carney, the WH Press secretary has SOVIET posters in his own home. What kind of crap is that?????

[Avvakum]

I wasn't referring to you, Avvakum. I was talking to the world at large.

For far too long now people have been claiming the Russians are our friends. They NEVER have been. People around me, even where I work think this. Of course, most know better, but there are people in high up places in the government who believe this crap.

You... I suspect just were hornswaggled like others. You were led to believe something that wasn't true, by the Russians themselves, by the propaganda and by the public school systems in America.

Look at the the other thread. Jay Carney, the WH Press secretary has SOVIET posters in his own home. What kind of crap is that?????

It's easy because of the wholesale looting and other horrors of 'post-soviet Russia' to want to believe that the man claiming to be in charge after that, who talks tough and says the things any patriot of any country would want to hear, to give him the benefit of a doubt. But I get the larger dialectic; I had my doubts before when I suggested that Putin was talking 'Right' in order to make Obama look less 'Left' as they follow each other's lead. I may want Belarus, the Ukraine, and Russia together as brothers, but not under these kinds of people, these Scum...


But also there's this, speaking of that looting and the fact that Putin is said to be one of the richest men in the World... It's said that over 26 TRILLION in 'flight capital' was squeezed out of the 'former' eastern bloc, much of it said to go into a UN sponsered 'Global Security Program' chaired by M. Gorbachev and Prince Charles of Great Britain. That's a slush fund with enough funds to bribe just about every significant political, financial, cultural, media, and religious leader on Earth, is it not? It may have lead to economic collapse, but was it worth it to the Neo-Bolsheviks, the Gangsters?

Jay Carney may be just the tip of a very big iceberg.

[American Patriot]

Ukraine troops seize airfield from pro-Russian forces

Violence continues to plague eastern Ukraine, despite an ultimatum by the government for pro-Russian activists to leave occupied government buildings. Video provided by Reuters Newslook
Doug Stanglin, USA TODAY 12:16 p.m. EDT April 15, 2014
Ukraine

(Photo: Anatoliy Stepahov AFP/Getty Images)
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Ukraine's acting president launched an "anti-terrorism operation" in the strife-storm eastern regions Tuesday and said Ukrainian troops had "liberated" an airport from pro-Russian forces about 120 miles from the Russian border.

The mayor of Kramatorsk, in Ukraine's Donetsk region, said Ukrainian troops had taken control of the airfield, the Associated Press reports. The AP reported heavy gunfire in the area.

RT.com reported that four people were killed and two injured in the takeover, but the casualty figures could not be independently confirmed.

Another Russian news service, RIA-Novosti, quoted a representative of a pro-Russian militia as saying that at least two protesters were wounded in the attack on the airfield.

"Tonight a counter-terrorism operation was launched in the north of Donetsk region. But it will go on gradually, responsibly and prudently," acting president Oleksandr Turchynov said in a speech to parliament. "Once again I emphasize that these actions are meant for the protection of Ukrainian citizens, stopping terror, criminality, [and] attempts to break our country into pieces."

Pro-Russian insurgents have seized government buildings across eastern Ukraine in recent days and were digging in on Tuesday, fortifying their positions and erecting fresh barricades.

Turchynov said that Russia's plans in the area "were and remain brutal."

"They want to see not just Donbas burning -- they want the whole south and east to burn: from Kharkiv to Odesa regions," he siad.

While reports remained sketchy, Interfax Ukraine says Ukrainian armored personnel carriers stormed the airfield, which lies between the cities of Slovyansk and Kramatorsk. Interfax reports that Ukrainian troops fired on pro-Russian terrorists who had occupied the airfield.

An AP reporter earlier reported seeing seeing at least 14 armored personnel carriers with Ukrainian flags, one helicopter and military trucks parked 24 miles north of Slovyansk, which is 100 miles from the Russian border.

Other heavy military equipment appeared nearby, along with at least seven busloads of government troops in black military fatigues.

"We are awaiting the order to move on Sloyvansk," said one soldier, who gave only his first name, Taras.

Two of the helicopters loaded with troops later took off and headed toward Slovyansk.

A CNN news team also reported encountering a large Ukrainian military column traveling on roads leading from the city of Donetsk toward other towns in the region on Tuesday. The column included more than 20 armored personnel carriers, along with support vehicles, and a helicopter circled overhead.

Roads into Slovyansk, a city some west of Russia that has come under ever more secure control of the gunmen since Saturday, were dotted with checkpoints. One at the entrance into town was waving a Russian flag. Another bore a sign reading "If we don't do it, nobody will."

The insurgents, many of them armed, continued occupying government, police and other administrative buildings in nearly nine cities in the country's Russian-speaking east of the country, demanding broader autonomy and closer ties with Russia. The central government has so far been unable to rein in the insurgents, as many of the local security forces have switched to their side.

The unrest comes after Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula last month following the ouster of Ukraine's pro-Russian president at the end of three months of pro-Western protests.

The city of Horlivka, not far from the Russian border, where the local police station was seized by unidentified gunmen on Monday, has been turned into the latest of a wave of sit-ins across eastern Ukraine, where at least nine cities appeared in control of the insurgents.

Outside the police station, a sign pinned to the wall of tires listed items required by protesters, including blankets, drinking water and tape to cover up windows smashed during the storming of the building.

Anatoly Zhurov, a 53-year old Horlivka resident participating in the defense of the site, said their goal was to resist the government in Kiev.

The Interior Ministry's branch in the Donetsk region said on Tuesday that the police station in Kramatorsk that was seized by pro-Russian gunmen has been "liberated" while the nearby small airport is still controlled by the militia.

Turchynov, speaking to parliament, gave few details of the "anti-terrorist operation," saying only that it would be conducted in a "responsible and balanced" manner.

"The plans of the Russian Federation were and remain brutal. They want not only for Donbass (Donetsk region), but for the whole south and east of Ukraine to be engulfed by fire," Turchynov said. The aim of the operation is to "defend the citizens of Ukraine, to stop terror, stop crime and stop attempts to tear our country into pieces," he said.

Russia strongly warned Kiev against using force against the pro-Russian protesters, saying Moscow could walk out of an international conference devoted to the Ukrainian crisis scheduled for Thursday.

"You can't send in tanks and at the same time hold talks and the use force would sabotage the opportunity offered by the four-party negotiations in Geneva," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference Tuesday after talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. "One cannot issue invitations to talks while at the same time issuing criminal orders for the use of armed force against the people there."

In a sign the economic situation is becoming ever more difficult, Ukraine's central bank increased its benchmark interest rate by a whopping 7 percent to 14.5 percent.

The move aims to contain the risk of inflation by supporting the currency, which has been falling to record lows in recent days. A dropping currency fuels inflation by boosting the cost of imports.

However, hiking interest rates can cause collateral damage to the economy by making loans and mortgages more expensive to residents and businesses.

Ukraine has relied on cheap gas supplies from Russia for years. Moscow raised the gas prices for Kiev in the past weeks, leaving Ukraine scrambling to pay the mounting gas bills as well as multi-billion arrears.

In the wake of Moscow's threats to cut off the supplies, German utility company RWE AG said on Tuesday that it has started supplying gas to Ukraine via Poland began Tuesday could sell it up to 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year. Ukraine consumes between 52 and 55 billion cubic meters of gas a year.

In Kiev, two pro-Russian politicians were attacked by pro-Western activists as tensions mounted over unrest in the east.

Oleh Tsaryov, a pro-Russian lawmaker and a candidate in the May 25 presidential elections, was beaten by dozens of enraged activists in the early hours of Tuesday as he was leaving a television studio. The activists pelted him with eggs, shouted insults and then assaulted him.

Tsaryov's press service said in a statement that he was "brutally beaten."

Another Russian-leaning politician and presidential hopeful, Mikhaylo Dobkin, was sprayed with a green disinfectant and had flour thrown at him late Monday.

Moscow accused Kiev authorities of condoning such radicalism and said the attacks proved that presidential elections will not be fair or democratic.

[Avvakum]

God I've been so deluded, Statist Neo-Soviet 'Russia' needs to be smashed into pieces and the Russian people need to fight and liberate themselves from the tyranny of generations. Slavic peoples have always been freedom-loving, and before 'Moscow the Third Rome' and all that, russian city-states like Novogorod, Pskov, and Tver were all a model of republican polities for example, and the Ancient ways of Orthodoxy were protected and a lived reality.

Watch. Ukraine will win against the corrupt oligarchy of political crooks in Ukraine and in Russia, in all of Holy Rus, and this conflict we see now will lead to a domino effect that cannot be stopped. The only things is, this has to be a genuine nationalist effort, without the US, the EU, or others getting too involved. Putin WANTS the involvement of foreigners into this crisis; it plays into a frightened Moscovite public's fear of foreign domination when the reality of their being dominated by tyrants is purely domestic...

[New Guy]

not good if this is true...

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/w...raine/7816951/

Jews in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk where pro-Russian militants have taken over government buildings were told they have to "register" with the Ukrainians who are trying to make the city become part of Russia, according to Ukrainian and Israeli media.
Jews emerging from a synagogue say they were handed leaflets that ordered the city's Jews to provide a list of property they own and pay a registration fee "or else have their citizenship revoked, face deportation and see their assets confiscated," reported Ynet News, Israel's largest news website.
Donetsk is the site of an "anti-terrorist" operation by the Ukraine government, which has moved military columns into the region to force out militants who are demanding a referendum be held on joining Russia. The news was carried first by the Ukraine's Donbass news agency.
The leaflets bore the name of Denis Pushilin, who identified himself as chairman of "Donetsk's temporary government," and were distributed near the Donetsk synagogue and other areas, according to the reports.
Pushilin acknowledged that fliers were distributed under his organization's name in Donetsk but denied any connection to them, Ynet reported in Hebrew.
Emanuel Shechter, in Israel, told Ynet his friends in Donetsk sent him a copy of the leaflet through social media.
"They told me that masked men were waiting for Jewish people after the Passover eve prayer, handed them the flier and told them to obey its instructions," he said.
The leaflet begins, "Dear Ukraine citizens of Jewish nationality," and states that all people of Jewish descent over 16 years old must report to the Commissioner for Nationalities in the Donetsk Regional Administration building and "register."
It says the reason is because the leaders of the Jewish community of Ukraine supported Bendery Junta, a reference to Stepan Bandera, the leader of the Ukrainian nationalist movement that fought for Ukrainian independence at the end of World War II, "and oppose the pro-Slavic People's Republic of Donetsk," a name adopted by the militant leadership.
The leaflet then described which documents Jews should provide: "ID and passport are required to register your Jewish religion, religious documents of family members, as well as documents establishing the rights to all real estate property that belongs to you, including vehicles."
Consequences for non-compliance will result in citizenship being revoked "and you will be forced outside the country with a confiscation of property." A registration fee of $50 would be required, it said.
Olga Reznikova, 32, a Jewish resident of Donetsk, told Ynet she never experienced anti-Semitism in the city until she saw this leaflet.
"We don't know if these notifications were distributed by pro-Russian activists or someone else, but it's serious that it exists," she said. "The text reminds of the fascists in 1941," she said referring to the Nazis who occupied Ukraine during World War II.
Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, the oldest pro-Israel group in the USA, said the leaflets should be seen in the context of a rising tide of anti-Semitism across Europe and the world, and that it should prompt a strong response from the White House.
"This is a frightening new development in the anti-Jewish movement that is gaining traction around the world," Klein said.
Michael Salberg, director of the international affairs at the New York City-based Anti-Defamation League, said it's unclear whether the leaflets were issued by the pro-Russian leadership or a splinter group operating within the pro-Russian camp.
But the Russian side has used the specter of anti-Semitism in a cynical manner since anti-government protests began in Kiev that resulted in the ousting of Ukraine's pro-Russian former president Viktor Yanukovych. Russia and its allies in Ukraine issued multiple stories about the the threat posed to Jews by Ukraine's new pro-Western government in Kiev, Salberg said.
Those stories were based in part on ultra-nationalists who joined the Maidan protests, and the inclusion of the ultra-nationalist Svoboda party in Ukraine's new interim government. But the threat turned out to be false, he said.
Svoboda's leadership needs to be monitored, but so far it has refrained from anti-Semitic statements since joining the government, he said. And the prevalence of anti-Semitic acts has not changed since before the Maidan protests, according to the ADL and the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, which monitors human rights in Ukraine.
Distributing such leaflets is a recruitment tool to appeal to the xenophobic fears of the majority, "to enlist them to your cause and focus on a common enemy, the Jews," Salberg said.
And by targeting Donetsk's Jews, they also send a message to all the region's residents, Salberg said.
"The message is a message to all the people that is we're going to exert our power over you," he said. "Jews are the default scapegoat throughout history for despots to send a message to the general public: Don't step out of line."

[American Patriot]

Sounds like Nazi Germany!

This is NOT over in Ukraine. A lot of the media is ignoring it now.

There was some fighting today, and blood was spilled.

[American Patriot]

I just saw something on FNC - they were talking about tweets and apparently the registration of Jews/property IS happening.

[American Patriot]

ROMANIA’S president has said Russia is creating a chain of conflicts around the Black Sea to further President Vladimir Putin’s goal of rebuilding the former Soviet Union along its former border with the West.
Romanian President Traian Basescu, who spoke to The Associated Press in an interview, said he fears that neighbouring Moldova is “in great danger.” http://www.rumafia.com/
“If you look at the map, you will see this chain of frozen conflicts” around the Black Sea “that can be set off at any time,” he said, referring to conflicts in Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova.
Mr Basescu said Putin’s priorities “seem to be connected to the point of contact between the European Union and NATO.” He said Ukraine and Moldova were “a priority for Vladimir Putin, who wants to rebuild the Soviet Union.”
Russia has 1,500 troops stationed in the separatist republic of Trans-Dniester since 1990, when it broke away from Moldova, fearing that country would reunite with Romania. Trans-Dniester is not internationally recognised but is supported by Russia.The European Union on Monday slapped a travel ban on 21 Russian and Crimean officials after Crimea voted to split from Ukraine and join Russia. Basescu said the EU was planning further sanctions later this week — ones he called “extremely severe” — that would freeze the assets of Russian business people in the EU, stop financial exchanges and energy trades and halt arms sales to Russia.
Romania is one of the EU’s 28 nations.The Romanian leader, who leaves office after 10 years this year, ruled out a wider war in Europe, saying that neither Russia nor NATO wanted a full-scale conflict. He said there was still a risk of political instability in the region because of possible fallout from the sanctions.“Many regional governments and European governments have to see whether they themselves can put up with the (EU) sanctions (on Russia),” he said.Ignoring the toughest sanctions against Moscow since the end of the Cold War, Mr Putin recognised Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula as an “independent and sovereign country”, a bold challenge to Washington that escalates one of Europe’s worst security crises in years.The brief decree posted on the Kremlin’s website came just hours after the United States and the European Union announced asset freezes and other sanctions against Russian and Ukrainian officials involved in the Crimean crisis. US President Barack Obama warned that more would come if Russia didn’t stop interfering in Ukraine, and Mr Putin’s move clearly forces his hand.The West has struggled to find leverage to force Moscow to back off in the Ukraine turmoil, of which Crimea is only a part, and analysts saw Monday’s sanctions as mostly iMoscow showed no signs of flinching in the dispute that has roiled Ukraine since Russian troops took effective control of the strategic Black Sea peninsula last month and supported the Sunday referendum that overwhelmingly called for annexation by Russia. Recognising Crimea as independent would be an interim step in absorbing the region.
Read more

[Avvakum]

not good if this is true...

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/w...raine/7816951/

Jews in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk where pro-Russian militants have taken over government buildings were told they have to "register" with the Ukrainians who are trying to make the city become part of Russia, according to Ukrainian and Israeli media.
Jews emerging from a synagogue say they were handed leaflets that ordered the city's Jews to provide a list of property they own and pay a registration fee "or else have their citizenship revoked, face deportation and see their assets confiscated," reported Ynet News, Israel's largest news website.
Donetsk is the site of an "anti-terrorist" operation by the Ukraine government, which has moved military columns into the region to force out militants who are demanding a referendum be held on joining Russia. The news was carried first by the Ukraine's Donbass news agency.
The leaflets bore the name of Denis Pushilin, who identified himself as chairman of "Donetsk's temporary government," and were distributed near the Donetsk synagogue and other areas, according to the reports.
Pushilin acknowledged that fliers were distributed under his organization's name in Donetsk but denied any connection to them, Ynet reported in Hebrew.
Emanuel Shechter, in Israel, told Ynet his friends in Donetsk sent him a copy of the leaflet through social media.
"They told me that masked men were waiting for Jewish people after the Passover eve prayer, handed them the flier and told them to obey its instructions," he said.
The leaflet begins, "Dear Ukraine citizens of Jewish nationality," and states that all people of Jewish descent over 16 years old must report to the Commissioner for Nationalities in the Donetsk Regional Administration building and "register."
It says the reason is because the leaders of the Jewish community of Ukraine supported Bendery Junta, a reference to Stepan Bandera, the leader of the Ukrainian nationalist movement that fought for Ukrainian independence at the end of World War II, "and oppose the pro-Slavic People's Republic of Donetsk," a name adopted by the militant leadership.
The leaflet then described which documents Jews should provide: "ID and passport are required to register your Jewish religion, religious documents of family members, as well as documents establishing the rights to all real estate property that belongs to you, including vehicles."
Consequences for non-compliance will result in citizenship being revoked "and you will be forced outside the country with a confiscation of property." A registration fee of $50 would be required, it said.
Olga Reznikova, 32, a Jewish resident of Donetsk, told Ynet she never experienced anti-Semitism in the city until she saw this leaflet.
"We don't know if these notifications were distributed by pro-Russian activists or someone else, but it's serious that it exists," she said. "The text reminds of the fascists in 1941," she said referring to the Nazis who occupied Ukraine during World War II.
Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, the oldest pro-Israel group in the USA, said the leaflets should be seen in the context of a rising tide of anti-Semitism across Europe and the world, and that it should prompt a strong response from the White House.
"This is a frightening new development in the anti-Jewish movement that is gaining traction around the world," Klein said.
Michael Salberg, director of the international affairs at the New York City-based Anti-Defamation League, said it's unclear whether the leaflets were issued by the pro-Russian leadership or a splinter group operating within the pro-Russian camp.
But the Russian side has used the specter of anti-Semitism in a cynical manner since anti-government protests began in Kiev that resulted in the ousting of Ukraine's pro-Russian former president Viktor Yanukovych. Russia and its allies in Ukraine issued multiple stories about the the threat posed to Jews by Ukraine's new pro-Western government in Kiev, Salberg said.
Those stories were based in part on ultra-nationalists who joined the Maidan protests, and the inclusion of the ultra-nationalist Svoboda party in Ukraine's new interim government. But the threat turned out to be false, he said.
Svoboda's leadership needs to be monitored, but so far it has refrained from anti-Semitic statements since joining the government, he said. And the prevalence of anti-Semitic acts has not changed since before the Maidan protests, according to the ADL and the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, which monitors human rights in Ukraine.
Distributing such leaflets is a recruitment tool to appeal to the xenophobic fears of the majority, "to enlist them to your cause and focus on a common enemy, the Jews," Salberg said.
And by targeting Donetsk's Jews, they also send a message to all the region's residents, Salberg said.
"The message is a message to all the people that is we're going to exert our power over you," he said. "Jews are the default scapegoat throughout history for despots to send a message to the general public: Don't step out of line."

By the way, this quote is interesting;

"It says the reason is because the leaders of the Jewish community of Ukraine supported Bendery Junta, a reference to Stepan Bandera, the leader of the Ukrainian nationalist movement that fought for Ukrainian independence at the end of World War II, "and oppose the pro-Slavic People's Republic of Donetsk," a name adopted by the militant leadership."

This means that the Ukrainians who fought against the Soviets during WWII are not regarded as Nazis or Antisemites by the local Jewish communities, contrary to the Neo-Soviet propaganda which I myself half believed. The local Jews would know who the real 'Antisemites' were in the area.

The term 'antisemite' is just like the term 'racist' (the word 'racist' was invented by the Communist Trotsky). it can be used to shut down debate by silencing or demonizing antileft opposition.

And then there's this quote;

"Those stories were based in part on ultra-nationalists who joined the Maidan protests, and the inclusion of the ultra-nationalist Svoboda party in Ukraine's new interim government. But the threat turned out to be false, he said.
Svoboda's leadership needs to be monitored, but so far it has refrained from anti-Semitic statements since joining the government, he said."

From what i'm hearing, 'Svoboda' isn't so much antisemitic, as they want the same thing the Israeli Right wants; immigration of Jewish religionists to the State of Israel, to develop their own real nation.

[Avvakum]

Original Ukrainian National Anthem, from 1863;

Ukrainian original Ще не вмерла Україна, И слава, и воля! Ще намъ, браття-молодці, Усміхнеться доля! Згинуть наші вороги, Якъ роса на сонці; Запануємъ, браття й ми У своїй сторонці. Душу, тіло ми пложимъ За свою свободу И покажемъ, що ми браття Козацького роду. Гей-гей, браття миле, Нумо братися за діло! Гей-гей пора встати, Пора волю добувати! Наливайко, Залізнякъ И Тарас Трясило Кличуть насъ изъ-за могилъ На святеє діло. Изгадаймо славну смерть Лицарства-козацтва, Щобъ не втратить марне намъ Своєго юнацтва. Душу, тіло ... Ой Богдане, Богдане Славний нашъ гетьмане! На-що віддавъ Україну Москалям поганимъ?! Щобъ вернути іі честь, Ляжемъ головами, Назовемся України Вірними синами! Душу, тіло ... Наші браття Славяне Вже за зброю взялись; Не діжде ніхто, щобъ ми По-заду зістались. Поєднаймось разомъ всі, Братчики-Славяне: Нехай гинуть вороги, Най воля настане! Душу, тіло ...

Roman transliteration Shche ne vmerla Ukrayina, Y slava, y volia Shche nam, brattia-molodtsi, Usmikhnet'sia dolia! Z-hynut' nashi vorohy, Yak rosa na sontsi; Zapanuiem, brattia i my U svoyii storontsi. Dushu, tilo, my plozhym Za svoiu svobodu Y pokazhem, shcho my brattia Kozats'koho rodu. Hei-hei, brattia myle, Numo bratytsia za dilo! Hei-hei, pora vstaty, Pora voliu dobuvaty! Nalyvaiko, Zalizniak Y Taras Triasylo Klychut' nas yz-za mohyl Na sviateie dilo Yz-hadaimo slavnu smert' Lytsartstva-kozatstva, Shchob ne vtratyt' marne nam Svoieho iunatstva. Dushu, tilo ... Oi Bohdane, Bohdane Slavnyi nash het'mane! Na-shcho viddav Ukrainu Moskaliam pohanym?! Shchob vernuty ii chest' Liazhem holovamy Nazovemsia Ukrainy Virnymy synamy! Dushu, tilo ... Nashi brattia Slaviane Vzhe za zbroiu vzialys'; Ne dizhde nikhto, shchob my Po-zadu zistalys'. Poiednaimos' razom vsi, Bratchyky-Slaviane: Nekhai hynut' vorohy, Nai volia nastane! Dushu, tilo ...

English translation Ukraine has not yet died, The glory and the freedom! Still upon us brave brothers, Fate shall smile! Our enemies will vanish Like dew in the sun; We too shall rule In our country. Soul and body we will lay down For our freedom And show that we brothers Are of the Cossack nation, Hey, hey dearest brothers Onward take to battle Hey, hey, time to rise, Time to gain freedom! Nalyvaiko, Zalizniak And Taras Triasylo Call us from beyond the grave To the holy battle. Recall the famous death of Chivalarious Cossacks Not to lose vainly Our youth. Soul and body ... Oh Bohdan, Bohdan Our great hetman What for did you give Ukraine To wretched muscovites?! To return her honor, We lay our heads We shall call ourselves Ukraine's Faithful sons! Soul and body ... Our Slavic brothers Already took up arms No one shall see That we should stay behind. Unite together all, Brothers Slavs: So that enemies perish, And freedom comes! Soul and body ...

[American Patriot]

U.S. will stand by Ukraine in face of Russian aggression, Biden says

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Vice President Joe Biden meets with Ukraine's acting prime minister, Arseny Yatsenyuk, in Kiev on Tuesday. (Sergei L. Loiko / Los Angeles Times / April 22, 2014)

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By Sergei L. Loiko April 22, 2014, 9:05 a.m.

KIEV, Ukraine — The United States will stand by Ukrainians against Russian aggression that threatens their nation's sovereignty and territorial integrity, Vice President Joe Biden pledged Tuesday during a visit to Kiev.
“No nation has the right to simply grab land from another nation, and we will never recognize Russia's illegal occupation of Crimea, and neither will the world,” Biden said after meeting with Ukraine’s acting prime minister, Arseny Yatsenyuk. “No nation should threaten its neighbors by amassing troops along the border. We call on Russia to pull back these forces. No nation should stir instability in its neighbor's country.”
Biden threatened greater costs and greater isolation for Russia, already facing fresh sanctions after annexing Crimea last month, and demanded that it “stop supporting men hiding behind masks in unmarked uniforms sowing unrest in eastern Ukraine.”
"I came here to Kiev to let you know, Mr. Prime Minister, and every Ukrainian know that the United States stands with you and is working to support all Ukrainians seeking a better future," Biden said. "You should know that you will not walk this road alone. We will walk it with you."
He accused Russia of failing to abide by commitments to help de-escalate the situation in eastern Ukraine made last week during meetings with officials from the U.S., Ukraine and the European Union.
“Now it is time for Russia to stop talking and to start acting on the commitments that they made to get pro-Russia separatists to vacate buildings and checkpoints, accept the amnesty,” Biden said. “That is not a hard thing to do .... We need to see this kind of concrete steps, we need to see them without delay.”
Biden pledged that the U.S. would provide nonlethal military aid to Ukraine. He also noted that the U.S. had committed to providing a $1-billion loan guarantee to help shore up the interim government in Kiev, which took power in February with the fall of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovich.
Armed separatists that Ukraine and many in the West maintain are coordinated and led by Russian agents continued to hold administrative buildings in several key cities and towns of eastern Ukraine. The sites included an administrative building in Donetsk, the coal-mining region's center, and the Security Service station in Luhansk, the industrial capital of a neighboring district.
In the north of the Donetsk region armed militants have full control of the towns of Kramatorsk and Slovyansk. In Slovyansk, gunmen allegedly led by a Russian commando on Tuesday demanded additional firearms in exchange for a local police chief they had kidnapped the previous day, UNIAN news agency reported.
The separatists have insisted they won’t disarm until the interim government in Kiev does the same, calling its rule of Ukraine the result of an illegal coup.
The government Tuesday submitted a bill to Parliament that offered amnesty for separatists who surrender seized buildings and give up arms, said a Foreign Ministry statement posted on its official website.
Biden commended that measure as a sign that Ukraine will fulfill commitments made in Geneva, including holding elections next month that “are clean and closely monitored so that nobody on the 26th of May can question their legitimacy.”
“I am genuinely encouraged to see so many people in the east rejecting guns and choosing the ballot box to determine Ukraine's future,” he said.
Biden also met Tuesday with acting President Oleksandr Turchynov, who pledged that Ukraine's interim government would do its best to hold an "honest and transparent presidential election,” a statement on Parliament's official website said.
For his part, Yatsenyuk charged that Russia was seeking to disrupt the upcoming elections.
“Ukraine needs a legitimately elected president, something Russia doesn't want,” the acting prime minister said after his meeting with Biden, demanding that the Russians "abide by their international commitments" and "not behave like gangsters.”
In sending one of its top politicians to embattled Ukraine, the United States delivered a clear message to Russia to keep it hands off its neighbor, Ukrainian political scientist Vadim Karasyov said.
“Biden made it more than clear today that the United States will not give Ukraine away to Russia,” Karasyov, head of Kiev-based Institute of Global Strategies, said in an interview. “The most important point Biden made today was a pledge to see to it that the presidential election will be held in Ukraine on time, regardless of Russia's aggressive meddling.”
“The message Biden voiced today boils down to the fact that Ukraine and the United States have entered special strategic relations which will help Ukraine develop as a united, free and democratic state,” Karasyov said.
As Biden was leaving his Kiev hotel Tuesday morning a hotel manager asked him to sign a guest book, the vice president said, adding: “I signed: Ukraine united, Joe Biden."

[American Patriot]

Russia Hits Back at Biden: We Are Ready for 'Unfriendly Steps'

Russia hit back at tough talk by Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday, saying it could cope if the White House imposed further sanctions over its actions in Ukraine.


"We shan't give up on cooperation with foreign companies, including from Western countries, but we will be ready for unfriendly steps," Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev told the Russian parliament.





"I am sure we can minimize their impact," he said, according to a translation by the Reuters news agency. "We will not allow our citizens to become hostages of political games."


Medvedev said that some Russian banks had been affected in their international payments, and called this "a violation of existing agreements" which "must not go unpunished."


His comments came the same day Biden told a news conference in Kiev that Russia should "stop supporting men hiding behind masks." The U.S. also pledged a $58 million aid package to the Ukrainian government.


Biden hinted that Russia had only a matter of days until it incurred more sanctions from the U.S. In March, the Treasury Department announced a list of 27 names, including figures in Russian politics and businessmen Vladimir Putin's inner circle, who had been slapped with travel bans and asset freezes.
Biden Talks Tough on Crimea







Russia's state-run broadcaster Russia Today said Medvedev "scoffed" at the idea of new sanctions during his speech to parliament Tuesday.



Reuters contributed to this report.
- Alexander Smith

[American Patriot]

Nobody wants a war, but Ukraine is fighting back

Russia thinks it has found foolproof methods, but a lie is a lie and aggression is aggression. The evidence is everywhere.

By Hennadii Nadolenko | Apr. 22, 2014 | 10:31 AM | 2

Ukrainian soldiers clash with pro-Russia protesters on the field near Kramatorsk, in eastern Ukraine April 16, 2014. Photo by Reuters



By The Associated Press | Apr. 22, 2014 | 1:03 AM |







We’ve all heard a lot of different opinions on the situation in Ukraine recently. As an official representative of Ukraine in Israel, I would like to share with you the Ukrainian position. After the Anschluss of Crimea, the Kremlin went over to a second stage of the war on Ukraine by starting a covert operation in the country’s east.


Russia is sticking to the same routine as in Crimea. First, it is deploying professional military and mercenaries on Ukrainian territory. Second, it is paying local radicals and criminals to pose as “pro-Russian forces.” Third, it is trying to make the events look like turmoil stoked by ordinary people. But it doesn’t look like that at all. Unlike the December-February Euromaidan protest movement in Kiev, this is not a domestic uprising but full-blown foreign aggression against Ukraine.


There is valid proof that special-operations groups are being deployed on the ground. These are not Ukrainians. They are professional Russian mercenaries waging a war on Ukrainian territory. Some of the faces have been recognized from Crimea. Some are familiar from the events in Georgia in 2008.


Saboteurs with Russian citizenship are being apprehended throughout Ukraine. This and other evidence, including intercepted radio traffic, confirm that these are foreigners, invaders. Finally, on April 17, Russian President Vladimir Putin himself admitted in an interview that Russian troops had been deployed in Crimea, the so-called green men.


Ukraine is fighting back. It cannot allow the Russian-equipped, Russian-paid and Russian-deployed special-ops units to spread fear among Ukrainians. The population in eastern Ukraine is scared of strangers in green uniforms coming and ruining their daily lives. Stopping them, protecting the people, is the direct obligation of Ukraine’s government.


Ukraine conducts anti-terrorist operations in Ukraine’s east to stop the lawlessness by Russian saboteurs and armed groups. Russia thinks it has found a foolproof way to conduct a war – not calling things by their right name and flatly denying the truth. But a lie is a lie and aggression is aggression. The world must see it. The evidence is everywhere.


On April 13, Russia called a UN Security Council meeting to “express concern” about the situation that, in fact, had been created by the Russians themselves. Remarkably, they didn’t call any Security Council meetings when thousands were killed in Chechnya. But this time around they claim to be “concerned.”


Well, if they are, three simple steps would solve the problem. First, stop doing what Russia has been doing in Ukraine for the past two months. Second, start a resolution process immediately. Third, return to the boundaries of international law.


We hope the multilateral agreement in Geneva on April 17 between Ukraine, Russia, the United States and the European Union will promote the stabilization of the situation in Ukraine. We are eager to find a peaceful solution through diplomatic dialogue to ease the tension between Ukraine and Russia.


The writer is Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel.

[American Patriot]

US warship crosses Dardanelles Strait enroute to Black Sea

April 22, 2014 by American Patriot
ÇANAKKALE – Doğan News Agency

The USS Taylor heads back to the Black Sea after repairs in the Greek Port of Crete. AA Photo


A U.S. warship that ran aground in the Black Sea passed through the Dardanelles Strait April 22.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier this month accused Turkey and the United States of violating the Montreux Convention, claiming the USS Taylor stayed in the Black Sea for more than 21 days.
In response, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said the ship was grounded last month due to propeller damage which occurred while entering the port of Samsun. The ship was then towed to the Greek port of Crete for repairs.

[American Patriot]

US warship USS Taylor back in Black Sea

April 22, 2014 by American Patriot
TR_ISTA – 22.04.2014 17:55:41

A US Navy warship that caused a spike in tension between Russia and Turkey due to staying past its allotted time in the Black Sea passed through the straits again en route to the Black Sea on Tuesday.
According to Turkish news agencies, the USS Taylor entered the Çanakkale Strait from the Aegean Sea at around 8 a.m. and entered the Bosporus Strait at 3.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 43 days after it left the Black Sea and successfully completed post-repair sea trials.
The USS Taylor was reportedly the first ship the US Navy sent to the Black Sea in 2014. It entered the Black Sea to secure the region during the Sochi Winter Olympics on Feb. 5. During its mission in the Black Sea, the American warship ran aground near Turkey’s northern coastal city of Samsun on Feb. 12, damaging the ship’s propeller hub assembly, according to the US Department of the Navy. It departed on March 9.
“Taylor will continue her scheduled deployment in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations. This will include supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts, establishing and enhancing cooperation, and mutual training and interoperability with regional partner nations and NATO allies,” the US Department of the Navy said in a statement issued on its website on Monday.
Due to the damage that occurred while entering the port of Samsun, the USS Taylor stayed 11 days over its limit, which caused a series of exchanges between the Russian and Turkish foreign ministries. Russia warned Turkey, claiming that American ships had stayed in the Black Sea beyond the limits of the Montreux Convention, which regulates the transit of naval warships. Although Turkey said it is implementing the provisions of the Montreux Convention, Russia insisted that the ship had stayed in the Black Sea for a period longer than that allowed under the Montreux Convention. The Russian Foreign Ministry later welcomed Turkey’s restatement of its commitment to the Montreux Convention, although Turkey said it was “perplexed by the Russian Federation’s insistence on keeping the implementation of the Montreux Convention on the agenda.”
The Montreux Convention gives Turkey control over the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits and regulates the transit of warships. It specifies that warships from states without a Black Sea coast can remain in the Black Sea for up to 21 days.
Meanwhile, the USS Donald Cook, a destroyer equipped with the Aegis missile defense system, entered the Black Sea through the Bosporus on April 10 for exercises with ships from Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey.
According to Russian news source Russia Today (RT), the appearance of US warships in the Black Sea has led the Russian military to believe that NATO is assembling a battle fleet in the region.

[American Patriot]

Here Come The Boots On The Ground: US Troops Heading To Eastern Europe


Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/22/2014 13:26 -0400






It seems the truce "deal" is well and truly dead...

• 600 U.S. TROOPS HEADING TO EUROPE FOR EXERCISES: PENTAGON
• U.S. AIRBORNE TROOPS GOING TO POLAND, LITHUANIA, LATVIA,ESTONIA
• U.S. MILITARY EXERCISES ARE IN RESPONSE TO UKRAINE CRISIS:KIRBY
• MORE MILITARY EXERCISES 'COMING THROUGH' NATO: PENTAGON

The question now, of course, is - what will Putin do in response to this action?


As for where these troops may be arriving from the answer is simple: that other US military intervention success story - Afghanistan. From Reuters:

The number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan may drop well below 10,000 - the minimum demanded by the U.S. military to train Afghan forces - as the longest war in American history winds down, Obama administration officials briefed on the matter say.

Since Afghanistan's general election on April 5, White House, State Department and Pentagon officials have resumed discussions on how many American troops should remain after the current U.S.-led coalition ends its mission this year.

The decision to consider a small force, possibly less than 5,000 U.S. troops, reflects a belief among White House officials that Afghan security forces have evolved into a robust enough force to contain a still-potent Taliban-led insurgency. The small U.S. force that would remain could focus on counter-terrorism or training operations.

That belief, the officials say, is based partly on Afghanistan's surprisingly smooth election, which has won international praise for its high turnout, estimated at 60 percent of 12 million eligible votes, and the failure of Taliban militants to stage high-profile attacks that day.

The Obama administration has been looking at options for a possible residual U.S. force for months.

"The discussion is very much alive," said one U.S. official who asked not to be identified. "They're looking for additional options under 10,000" troops.

There are now about 33,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, down from 100,000 in 2011, when troop numbers peaked a decade into a conflict originally intended to deny al Qaeda sanctuary in Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001, attacks.

Of course, it would be peak irony if the next country Russia decides to destabilize is none other than its old "buddy" Afghanistan, which lately appears far more amicable toward the Kremlin than the White House. It certainly would be an additional egg in the face of US foreign policy if Aghaniitan - so critical to the US controlled heroin trade - were to show a return to some of its Taliban roots for which it is so well-known.

[American Patriot]

Dutch scramble jets after Russian bombers approach

April 23, 2014 by American Patriot
Posted: Apr 23, 2014 10:53 AM MST Updated: Apr 23, 2014 10:59 AM MST



AMSTERDAM (AP) — The Dutch defense department says several NATO member countries scrambled jets Wednesday afternoon after a pair of Russian bomber planes approached their airspace over the North Sea.


The Dutch ministry identified the planes as two Russian TU-95 Bears, and said it had launched two F-16s from Volkel air force base to intercept them. The Russian jets were escorted by aircraft from the Netherlands, Britain and Denmark until they departed.


Maj. Wilko Ter Horst said “that’s why we scrambled, that’s why the Danish scrambled and the English scrambled, to ensure to insure they fly out of our air space.”


The ministry statement said such incidents have occurred before, citing one from March 21 and another on Sept. 10 last year.

[Malsua]

Why do they gotta be like this? Constantly pressing for advantage.

[Avvakum]

Why do they gotta be like this? Constantly pressing for advantage.

The war never ended, the one that started in 1917 with the Bolshevik Revolution. The Marxist dialectic of struggle and conflict held to still by their strategists in the GRU and elsewhere means a cadre of military minds shaped by a worldview of ceaseless warfare in a multitude of forms-a Russian Military General is not like his Western counterparts-he is a Marxist academic who is a General, not just a General.

[American Patriot]

Kiss our asses Putin.

Russia Warns West "Remove Forces"; Begins Military Exercise On Ukraine Border


Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/23/2014 10:50 -0400

• Slovakia
• Ukraine

UPDATE: Dutch fighter jets were scrambled after Russian bombers approached Dutch airspace; the Russian planes turned away


With both sides appearing to have entirely un-de-escalated and the truce deal now a thing of the past (besides a few hundred Dow points), the Russians are speaking up today - and are not happy:

• RUSSIA IS EXTREMELY SURPRISED BY KIEV AND WASHINGTON'S "DISTORTED" INTERPRETATION OF AGREEMENT REACHED IN GENEVA LAST WEEK ON DE-ESCALATION OF UKRAINE CRISIS - FOREIGN MINISTRY
• RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SAYS KIEV AND WASHINGTON "CLOSING THEIR EYES" TO PROVOCATIVE ACTIONS BY NATIONALIST FORCES IN UKRAINE

And, on the heels of Turchynov's official restart of the so-called anti-terrorist operation, Russia is calling on Ukraine to pull back military from Ukraine's southeast... and rattles its sabre by undertaking a military exercise on the border.


Bloomberg reports,

Russia is surprised by distorted interpretation of Geneva accord from govts of Ukraine, U.S., RIA Novosti reports, citing Russia’s Foreign Ministry.

*RUSSIA CALLS ON UKRAINE TO REMOVE MILITARY FROM SOUTHEAST: RIA

Russia says Ukraine, U.S. closing eyes to provocations by right-wing extremists: RIA

Russia still believes partners are serious about resolving crisis in Ukraine: RIA

and in addition

• RUSSIAN MILITARY CONDUCTS MILITARY EXERCISE IN ROSTOV REGION, BORDERING UKRAINE - DEFENCE MINISTRY OFFICIAL

All of this sets the scene for an important set of meetings next week...

Russia ready to host EU, Ukraine energy officials in Moscow or consider other cities for talks, Russian Energy Ministry spokeswoman Olga Golant says by phone.

Golant confirms EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger invited Russia to gas talks

Slovakia planning talks on use of gas pipeline in reverse to supply Ukraine on Apr. 28 in Bratislava, Eustream pipeline operator spokesman Vahram Chuguryan says by phone

So to sum it all up:

1. The truce deal is dead
2. Russia blames Ukraine/West for breaking deal and misunderstanding it
3. Ukraine/West blame Russia for not unilaterally pulling back its forces
4. Russia is warning Ukraine to pullback military from Russia-held southeast Ukraine ("or there will be retaliation")
5. Russia is rattling its sabre by military exercises on the Ukraine border (after US sends another warship into the Black Sea)
6. Against all this tension, gas pipeline talks are set to begin shortly.

Still buying the fucking dip on the back of Ukraine 'calming down'?