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

[Ryan Ruck]

And we all know what those Soviet fishing trawlers were really used for.

[American Patriot]

So an American working a trawler, CIA?

[vector7]

CIA or GRU?

[American Patriot]

American.... CIA

[vector7]

And we all know what those Soviet fishing trawlers were really used for.

FISHING TRAWLERS: SOVIETS NEW SPY SHIPS

Cold War Tech: Soviet Torpedo Trawlers

by John Reed on March 9, 2012







Thought I’d give you some secret Soviet Cold War tech for this Friday morning. The ship above looks like an innocent little ex-Soviet fishing trawler. You know, the innocent trawlers that were always fishing within sight of U.S. warships. Fishing for intelligence, that is, boom! (Sorry, it was so bad I couldn’t resist.)

Anyway, it appears that some of those trawlers were carrying more than imaginary fishhooks and EW/SIGINT gear. The pic below shows the bow section of that trawler equipped with what appears to be at least one torpedo tube and what might be a sonar dome. So sneaky. This torpedo-armed trawler may have been a one-off concept ship, since it’s unknown how many were actually built.






Via Sal.


Read more: http://defensetech.org/2012/03/09/co...#ixzz2sezddPta
Defense.org

[Ryan Ruck]

Those trawlers were notorious SIGINT/ELINT platforms always following our carrier groups around to gather whatever intel they could. And as vector posted some were there to take them out in a surprise attack.

If Nuland was working on a Soviet trawler, her loyalties should absolutely be questioned.

[American Patriot]

So she's ripping up the EU and she's really a Russian?

I'm confused. lol

[Avvakum]

So she's ripping up the EU and she's really a Russian?

I'm confused. lol

Ill attempt to simplfy; Pro-Soviet or 'pro-American', Nuland is without a doubt an absolute Statist like Obama, or Putin for that matter. Very few career politicians and bureaucrats, by the time they reach her level, have any integrity or feeling for the 'common man' after decades of moral and ethical compromise.

More specific to the Obama Administration, I wouldn't be suprised if many senior officials weren't involved to a degree with the Bolsheviks.

[Avvakum]

Ill attempt to simplfy; Pro-Soviet or 'pro-American', Nuland is without a doubt an absolute Statist like Obama, or Putin for that matter. Very few career politicians and bureaucrats, by the time they reach her level, have any integrity or feeling for the 'common man' after decades of moral and ethical compromise.

More specific to the Obama Administration, I wouldn't be suprised if many senior officials weren't involved to a degree with the Bolsheviks.

For what it's worth;

February 7, 2014
US In “Shock And Turmoil� After Snowden Info Lets Russia Tap Top Obama Officials
By: Sorcha Faal, and as reported to her Western Subscribers

A new Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) report circulating in the Kremlin today says that the Obama regime is in “total shock and turmoil� today after the YouTube leaking by the Federal Security Service (FSB) of a highly encrypted telephone conversation between the US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland and the American Ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt, wherein this top US State Department official was discovered engineering the overthrow of the Ukrainian government and shaming her European counterparts by saying “Fuck the EU.�
The “YouTube leaking� referred to in this report involves a video posted yesterday titled “Marionettes of the Maidan� [see video below] that became known to the world after a tweet from Dmitry Loskutov, an aide to the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, Dmitry Rogozin, that said: “Sort of controversial judgment from assistant secretary of state Victoria Nuland speaking about the EU.�

After hearing this conversation, this report continues, German chancellor, Angela Merkel, erupted in anger calling Nuland’s remarks “totally unacceptable,� and which Nuland subsequently apologized for making.
Following her apology, the Guardian reports, Nuland refused to be drawn further into the row and stated, “I will not comment on a private diplomatic conversation.� But she implied she had been a victim of a sophisticated eavesdropping operation carried out by Russia's spy agencies as the embarrassing tape surfaced with Russian subtitles. “It was pretty impressive tradecraft. [The] audio quality was very good,� Nuland said earlier today.
Most ironic about Nuland’s statement of “pretty impressive tradecraft� being used to capture her highly encrypted conversation, this report says, was that it was actually the United States own National Security Agency/Central Security Service (NSA/CSS) which provided this information to the FSB.
In what this MoFA report calls a “masterpiece� of reverse-engineering, Russian technological experts with the FSB have been able to “surreptitiously link� to every form of communication emanating from the Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System (JWICS).
JWICS is a system of interconnected computer networks primarily used by the United States Department of Defense, United States Department of State, United States Department of Homeland Security and the United States Department of Justice to transmit classified information by packet switching over TCP/IP in a secure environment and is administered by the Defense Intelligence Agency.
The “roadmap,� so to speak, for allowing the FSB access to JWICS, this report continues, was provided by the over 24 million documents provided by “the most wanted man in world,� Edward Snowden, described as an “intelligence treasure trove,� and which US Senator Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, said if stacked “would be three miles high.�
American news reports confirming this report state that Snowden fabricated the digital keys—essentially assuming the identity—of multiple senior intelligence officials to gain access to classified intelligence systems well outside of the NSA-CSS like the US military’s top secret JWICS, and which US House Representative Mac Thornberry, a Texas Republican, warned this week “would cost billions to repair.�
What is not stated in this report, but should most assuredly be assumed, is that the FSB in gaining access to Nuland’s highly secretive and encrypted conversations has, in turn, captured everything that has flowed out from JWICS, including the conversations of all top Obama regime officials.
And in what can only be described as “farce meeting irony,� Obama’s White House, though not directly blaming Russia for the catastrophic leak of Nuland’s conversation, is nevertheless “crying foul�…and this coming from a government that by all measures and accounts has become one of the largest spying nations in the entire history of the world.

February 7, 2014 © EU and US all rights reserved. Permission to use this report in its entirety is granted under the condition it is linked back to its original source at WhatDoesItMean.Com. Freebase content licensed under CC-BY and GFDL.

[Ryan Ruck]

So she's ripping up the EU and she's really a Russian?

I'm confused. lol

Ill attempt to simplfy; Pro-Soviet or 'pro-American', Nuland is without a doubt an absolute Statist like Obama, or Putin for that matter. Very few career politicians and bureaucrats, by the time they reach her level, have any integrity or feeling for the 'common man' after decades of moral and ethical compromise.

More specific to the Obama Administration, I wouldn't be suprised if many senior officials weren't involved to a degree with the Bolsheviks.

Oops, forgot to get back to this last night.

But Avvakum is pretty correct.

I was getting at the fact that thanks to that information vector posted, it comes to light we've got yet another Communist sympathizer in the (no surprise) Obama State Department. With the information that she was involved in some manner with the Soviet fishing trawler fleet, it was a fairly serious involvement at that. This was irrespective of her remarks on the EU.

To be honest I don't know the official stance the Commies, like Nuland, have about the EU. If I had to make an educated guess though, they probably don't like it because it could be seen as an extension of NATO and/or a direct Western enemy.

[vector7]

WOW Check it out right NOW!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_LFrMcoEm4#t=1309746





more live links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoiX6...layer_embedded

http://rt.com/on-air/ukraine-central-kiev-protest/

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/press-club/theater

http://www.livestream.com/activistworldnewsnow

http://www.bloomberg.com/live-stream/

http://www.livestation.com/en/reuters




Demonstrators have torched a BTR in Kiev.

Demonstrators in Kiev pelted a BTR armoured personnel carrier with Molotov cocktails as it approached the barricade on Khreschatyk on the side of European Square.

According to eyewitnesses, the BTR was engulfed in flames.

http://tvrain.ru/articles/v_kieve_de...li_btr-363172/


WATCH: Live video feed shows the ongoing crackdown in Ukraine



Independent Ukrainian news station Espreso TV is broadcasting live from the clashes in Kiev. Protests there reignited today (here's why) as thousands of demonstrators tried to march the mile from their camp at Independence Square to the Parliament building. Security forces cracked down; the ensuing violence is thought to have killed nine people already, and police are anticipated to make a big push soon.
The live video feed comes from two cameras trained directly on the clashes. It is stomach-churning to watch. Explosions are nearly constant, mostly from fireworks but also possibly from security forces and homemade explosives (they've been used before; an opposition site says riot police are using molotov cocktails). There's a large fire on one end of the square and, on another, a phalanx of security forces shooting a water cannon at demonstrators. The temperature is just above freezing in Kiev.
Read the three big reasons that protests reignited here. Read the fuller backstory on Ukraine's crisis here: 9 questions about Ukraine you were too embarrassed to ask.




Crimean parliament declared the actual beginning of the Civil War

The Supreme Council say that reserve the right to protection Crimean parliament declared the actual beginning of the Civil War

Photo : @ MaximEristavi, Twitter

Leonid Ragozin ‏@leonidragozin 29m
Crimean parliament says civil war is under way in Ukraine. States possibility of mobilization. http://vesti.ua/kiev/38106-parlament-kryma-zajavil-o-fakticheskom-nachale-grazhdanskoj-vojny …

Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of Crimea said that Ukraine actually began a civil war, and urged President Viktor Yanukovych to take extraordinary measures to preserve the constitutional order and unity of Ukraine.

"Peaceful Crimea extremely disturbed another outbreak of violence in the center of Kiev. Carnage on the streets of the capital proves that the opposition accepted the numerous concessions from the government as a sign of weakness, and an amnesty law used as a breather before trying to take power by force in the country," - said on the official website of the Supreme Council.

http://vesti.ua/kiev/38106-parlament...hdanskoj-vojny

[vector7]

Ukraine riot police move in on Kiev protesters after 14 die



By Pavel Polityuk and Richard Balmforth

KIEV Tue Feb 18, 2014 4:15pm EST

Ukrainian protesters, police light up Kiev's main square with petrol bombs, fireworks (01:10)
Related Video
Video
Ukrainian protesters, police light up Kiev's main square with petrol bombs, fireworks
Video
Renewed clashes in Ukraine spark worst street violence in more than three weeks
Video
Scores of Ukrainians injured in worst street battles since January

Related News

Ukraine opposition leader arrives at president's office for talks
Ukrainian riot police move on protesters occupying Kiev square
Kiev death toll rises to 14, police say six officers shot dead
U.S. urges Ukraine's president to restart talks with opposition: White House

(Reuters) - Ukrainian riot police advanced on Tuesday onto a central Kiev square occupied by protesters, after at least 14 people died in the worst day of violence since demonstrations erupted against President Viktor Yanukovich 12 weeks ago.

Protesters on Independence Square responded with petrol bombs, fireworks and stones, as police moved slowly forward, hours after the state security service had set a deadline for the demonstrators to end disorder or face "tough measures".

Live television footage showed the police throwing stun grenades at the protesters separated from them by a line of burning tents, tyres and wood.

Western powers warned Yanukovich against trying to smash the pro-European demonstrations and opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko, fearing an assault, urged women and children to leave the central square - also known as Maidan - "to avoid further victims".

A police spokeswoman said seven civilians and six policemen died in several hours of clashes, some from gunshot wounds, in what was also Ukraine's bloodiest day since it gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. A representative of the protesters said one other civilian had also died.

Earlier the State Security Service (SBU), in a joint statement with the interior ministry, signalled the government's intentions. "If by 6 p.m. the disturbances have not ended, we will be obliged to restore order by all means envisaged by law," they said.

The riot police moved in hours after Moscow gave Ukraine $2 billion in aid which it had been holding back to demand decisive action to crush the protests.

Nationwide protests against Yanukovich erupted in November after he bowed to Russian pressure and pulled out of a planned far-reaching trade agreement with the European Union, deciding instead to accept a Kremlin bailout for the heavily indebted economy.

In what has become a geo-political tussle redolent of the Cold War, the United States and its Western allies are urging Yanukovich to turn back to Europe and the prospect of an IMF-supported economic recovery, while Russia accuses them of meddling.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele said he had spoken to Ukraine's acting prime minister, who had given assurances that the authorities would try to avoid using live firearms.

"For the sake of the Ukrainians and for the sake of the future of that country, I will pray that he is right," Fuele told a public event in Brussels.

U.S. APPALLED

In Washington, White House spokesman Jay Carney said the United States was appalled by the violence and urged Yanukovich to restart a dialogue with opposition leaders. "Force will not resolve the crisis," Carney told a briefing.

Earlier on Tuesday, clashes raged for several hours outside the parliament building, where opposition lawmaker Lesya Orobets said three demonstrators were killed and taken to a nearby officers' club used as a medical center. More than 100 people were injured, she said.

"Three bodies of our supporters are in the building. Another seven are close to dying (because of wounds)," she said on her Facebook page. Two more bodies were lying in front of a Metro station on the southeastern side of the square, a photographer told Reuters.

The police spokeswoman gave a variety of reasons for the deaths including gunshot wounds, a traffic accident and heart attacks. One protester died in a fire.

WESTERN ALARM

Right Sector, a militant far-right group, added to tensions by calling on people holding weapons to go to Independence Square, center of the revolt, to protect it from security forces.

As protesters and police battled on the streets of Kiev, Russia called the escalation a "direct result of connivance by Western politicians and European structures that have shut their eyes ... to the aggressive actions of radical forces".

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who has tried to broker a power-sharing transition, urge Ukraine's leadership "to address the root causes of the crisis".

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen called on all parties to refrain from violence. Germany's foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier telephoned his Ukrainian counterpart to warn against sliding back into violence and to urge the government to keep working for a political solution.

Later he raised the possibility of sanctions against Ukrainian leaders. "Those responsible for taking any decisions that lead to the further spilling of blood must know that the reserve Europe has shown in terms of personal sanctions will be reconsidered," he said in a statement.

Monday's $2 billion cash injection, a resumption of the $15 billion aid package, was seen as a signal that Russia believed Yanukovich had a plan to end the protests and had dropped any idea of bringing opposition leaders into government.

In another apparent gesture towards Moscow, a Ukrainian government source said state gas company Naftogaz has paid back $1.3 billion of its 2013 debt to Russian gas monopoly Gazprom, although it still owes $1.5 billion.

Ukraine's hryvnia currency fell towards five-year lows after the fresh outbreak of violence, with importers clamouring for dollars.

While Russian President Vladimir Putin seems to have won the battle for influence in Ukraine for now, protesters who have occupied the centre of the capital are not going quietly.

"The authorities do not want to compromise on any issue ... We understand that yet another odious candidate will be put forward (for prime minister), one who will be unable to restore the economy or end the political crisis," said Vyacheslav Kyrylenko, a Ukrainian opposition deputy.

(additional reporting by Marcin Goettig in Kiev, Alexandra Hudson in Berlin, Eric Beech in Washington, Elizabeth Piper in Moscow, Adrian Croft in Brussels and Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk in Warsaw; writing by Richard Balmforth and Paul Taylor; editing by Jeremy Gaunt and David Stamp)

















https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v...=video_comment

[vector7]

Ukraine riot police move in on Kiev protesters after 14 die



By Pavel Polityuk and Richard Balmforth

KIEV Tue Feb 18, 2014 4:15pm EST

Ukrainian protesters, police light up Kiev's main square with petrol bombs, fireworks (01:10)
Related Video
Video
Ukrainian protesters, police light up Kiev's main square with petrol bombs, fireworks
Video
Renewed clashes in Ukraine spark worst street violence in more than three weeks
Video
Scores of Ukrainians injured in worst street battles since January

Related News

Ukraine opposition leader arrives at president's office for talks
Ukrainian riot police move on protesters occupying Kiev square
Kiev death toll rises to 14, police say six officers shot dead
U.S. urges Ukraine's president to restart talks with opposition: White House

(Reuters) - Ukrainian riot police advanced on Tuesday onto a central Kiev square occupied by protesters, after at least 14 people died in the worst day of violence since demonstrations erupted against President Viktor Yanukovich 12 weeks ago.

Protesters on Independence Square responded with petrol bombs, fireworks and stones, as police moved slowly forward, hours after the state security service had set a deadline for the demonstrators to end disorder or face "tough measures".

Live television footage showed the police throwing stun grenades at the protesters separated from them by a line of burning tents, tyres and wood.

Western powers warned Yanukovich against trying to smash the pro-European demonstrations and opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko, fearing an assault, urged women and children to leave the central square - also known as Maidan - "to avoid further victims".

A police spokeswoman said seven civilians and six policemen died in several hours of clashes, some from gunshot wounds, in what was also Ukraine's bloodiest day since it gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. A representative of the protesters said one other civilian had also died.

Earlier the State Security Service (SBU), in a joint statement with the interior ministry, signalled the government's intentions. "If by 6 p.m. the disturbances have not ended, we will be obliged to restore order by all means envisaged by law," they said.

The riot police moved in hours after Moscow gave Ukraine $2 billion in aid which it had been holding back to demand decisive action to crush the protests.

Nationwide protests against Yanukovich erupted in November after he bowed to Russian pressure and pulled out of a planned far-reaching trade agreement with the European Union, deciding instead to accept a Kremlin bailout for the heavily indebted economy.

In what has become a geo-political tussle redolent of the Cold War, the United States and its Western allies are urging Yanukovich to turn back to Europe and the prospect of an IMF-supported economic recovery, while Russia accuses them of meddling.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele said he had spoken to Ukraine's acting prime minister, who had given assurances that the authorities would try to avoid using live firearms.

"For the sake of the Ukrainians and for the sake of the future of that country, I will pray that he is right," Fuele told a public event in Brussels.

U.S. APPALLED

In Washington, White House spokesman Jay Carney said the United States was appalled by the violence and urged Yanukovich to restart a dialogue with opposition leaders. "Force will not resolve the crisis," Carney told a briefing.

Earlier on Tuesday, clashes raged for several hours outside the parliament building, where opposition lawmaker Lesya Orobets said three demonstrators were killed and taken to a nearby officers' club used as a medical center. More than 100 people were injured, she said.

"Three bodies of our supporters are in the building. Another seven are close to dying (because of wounds)," she said on her Facebook page. Two more bodies were lying in front of a Metro station on the southeastern side of the square, a photographer told Reuters.

The police spokeswoman gave a variety of reasons for the deaths including gunshot wounds, a traffic accident and heart attacks. One protester died in a fire.

WESTERN ALARM

Right Sector, a militant far-right group, added to tensions by calling on people holding weapons to go to Independence Square, center of the revolt, to protect it from security forces.

As protesters and police battled on the streets of Kiev, Russia called the escalation a "direct result of connivance by Western politicians and European structures that have shut their eyes ... to the aggressive actions of radical forces".

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who has tried to broker a power-sharing transition, urge Ukraine's leadership "to address the root causes of the crisis".

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen called on all parties to refrain from violence. Germany's foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier telephoned his Ukrainian counterpart to warn against sliding back into violence and to urge the government to keep working for a political solution.

Later he raised the possibility of sanctions against Ukrainian leaders. "Those responsible for taking any decisions that lead to the further spilling of blood must know that the reserve Europe has shown in terms of personal sanctions will be reconsidered," he said in a statement.

Monday's $2 billion cash injection, a resumption of the $15 billion aid package, was seen as a signal that Russia believed Yanukovich had a plan to end the protests and had dropped any idea of bringing opposition leaders into government.

In another apparent gesture towards Moscow, a Ukrainian government source said state gas company Naftogaz has paid back $1.3 billion of its 2013 debt to Russian gas monopoly Gazprom, although it still owes $1.5 billion.

Ukraine's hryvnia currency fell towards five-year lows after the fresh outbreak of violence, with importers clamouring for dollars.

While Russian President Vladimir Putin seems to have won the battle for influence in Ukraine for now, protesters who have occupied the centre of the capital are not going quietly.

"The authorities do not want to compromise on any issue ... We understand that yet another odious candidate will be put forward (for prime minister), one who will be unable to restore the economy or end the political crisis," said Vyacheslav Kyrylenko, a Ukrainian opposition deputy.

(additional reporting by Marcin Goettig in Kiev, Alexandra Hudson in Berlin, Eric Beech in Washington, Elizabeth Piper in Moscow, Adrian Croft in Brussels and Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk in Warsaw; writing by Richard Balmforth and Paul Taylor; editing by Jeremy Gaunt and David Stamp)


https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v...=video_comment

[Avvakum]

As is usual, the bigger neighbors decide the fates of the smaller ones. From the German Foreign Office;

Steinmeier visits Russia

Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier arrived in Moscow on Thursday (13 February) for a two-day visit. The trip centred around extensive political consultations with his opposite number in Russia, Sergey Lavrov. On the Friday (14 February), Steinmeier also met President Putin and representatives of civil society.

Talks in the fireplace room: Steinmeier and Lavrov
© Photothek/Trutschel


Steinmeier and Lavrov took plenty of time for their talks, with Thursday evening’s long dinner, where the spotlight was on the situation in Ukraine, followed on Friday morning by more extensive discussions among the delegates. The focus there was on such international issues as the situation in Syria and nuclear talks with Iran, as well as bilateral matters – both German-Russian relations and the relationship between Russia and the European Union.
Working on a “positive German-Russian agenda”

At a joint press conference with his opposite number, the German Foreign Minister highlighted the outstanding significance of German-Russian relations, saying this represented both a responsibility and an obligation. Despite the two countries’ “in some ways still divergent concepts of state and society”, he said, silence between Berlin and Moscow was not the answer. More dialogue was what the situation called for, he averred. Steinmeier continued:
Zusatzinformationen

In my view, we mustn’t reduce our relations to our differences alone; we should highlight what we have in common more and work on a positive German-Russian agenda.

Press conference with Foreign Ministers Steinmeier and Lavrov
© Photothek/Trutschel


The German Foreign Minister stressed the need to use partnerships like the modernisation partnership in place between Russia and the EU to clarify differing perspectives and seek ways of bringing the different points of view closer together. Examples he gave were exchanges for young people, shared universities and cooperation pertaining to the rule of law.
Ukraine: not a geopolitical chess match

Steinmeier also reported that the two Foreign Ministers had spent a long time discussing the situation in Ukraine. They were of one mind, he said, on the need for Russia and the EU to talk about long-term prospects in Europe in order to prevent any future crisis like the one gripping Ukraine. He said that the crucial thing here was the “reciprocal pledge that each side would ensure greater transparency with regard to its own policy”. Above all, Steinmeier went on, Ukraine must not become a “geopolitical chess match”:
Zusatzinformationen

What goes on in Ukraine must not be about securing geopolitical spheres of influence. We have to enable the people of Ukraine to choose freely which path they want to take in future.

Fresh momentum for bilateral relations

On Friday afternoon, Foreign Minister Steinmeier had a meeting with President Putin. Afterwards, Steinmeier emphasised the open and constructive nature of their talks on bilateral relations which, he said, “could do with some fresh momentum”. There will be lots of opportunity for that over the coming weeks and months, which will see a whole series of bilateral meetings between Germany and Russia – including the bilateral intergovernmental consultations and meetings at the up-coming G8 summit. All in all, as Steinmeier saw it, the important thing was to really make full use of the potential of German-Russian relations while at the same speaking openly about differing conceptions of civil rights and the rule of law. Alongside bilateral relations, Steinmeier and Putin also discussed the situations in Ukraine and Syria.
Foreign Minister Steinmeier with representatives of civil society
© photothek/Trutschel


This was followed by extensive talks between the German Foreign Minister and representatives of Russian civil society.
Steinmeier’s visit to Moscow highlighted his desire to continue consolidating Berlin and Moscow’s relations. In an interview with the Russian daily Kommersant on Friday, the Foreign Minister spoke of his wish to work on a shared future with Russia: “It is important to me to be offering Moscow trust-based, constructive collaboration right from the start of my term in office.” Before departing on his trip, Foreign Minister stressed Germany’s reliance on cooperation with Russia in an article in the magazine Focus: “We need Russia to solve nearly all security policy crises and conflicts of our time.”


More information

"Not without Russia!" - Article by Foreign Minister Steinmeier, published in the news magazine Focus (27 January 2014)

Relations with Russia


Last updated 14.02.2014

[vector7]

NewsBreaker@NewsBreaker·38 secs
BREAKING: Ukraine sanctions being "fast tracked" -- now at the White House ready for Obama signature


zerohedge ‏@zerohedge 2m
PUTIN, YANUKOVYCH DISCUSSED RUSSIAN HELP IN MEDIATING CRISIS


zerohedge ‏@zerohedge now
KREMLIN SPOKESMAN SAYS YANUKOVYCH ISN'T SEEKING HAVEN IN RUSSIA


zerohedge ‏@zerohedge · 6 min
Civil war forward guidance: EU TO WORK OUT UKRAINE ASSET FREEZE, VISA BAN SOON


Private jet owned by #ukraine richest man Ahmetov left #donetsk and is on route to London

21:23
Yanukovych is in his office – spokesperson


21:20
EU ministers offer Yanukovych solutions to Ukraine's crisis


21:17
Russian analysts believe Ukrainian President Yanukovych showing weakness in facing coup attempt


21:13
Ukrainian authorities promise smooth supplies of petroleum products


21:12
Berkut riot police base in Lviv catches fire – emergency services

In "Zhulyanah" of Collector car unloaded boxes in private jets

February 20, 2014 , 19:40

Overload is carried out by armed guards.

At the airport, "Juliani" (Kiev) observed a large number of collector cars.
As the correspondent LB.ua from the scene of cars in private jets under armed guard overload huge box.
Earlier, it was reported that the airport "Juliani" filled with people flying from the country

Read News LB.ua ÓêðÃ*

[Avvakum]

Since events in the Ukraine are speeding up so fast and it's possible that there will be a Civil War or even greater conflagration, and that now there are de facto two 'Ukraine's', it might be good to examine this article from www.german-foreign-policy.com about Germany and the Crypto-Fascist revolt against the admittedly criminal Yanukovich Regime;

deutsch english polski français

Sunday, 2014/2/23 News Interviews ex.klusiv

News History Archive Info/Impressum At all Costs 2014/02/19 KIEV/BERLIN (Own report) - Yesterday, the day after the German Chancellor held deliberations with two leaders of the Ukrainian opposition, protests in Kiev escalated into bloody confrontations. Demonstrators, unconditionally sponsored by Germany and other western countries for months, began, over the past few days, to arm themselves with firearms and ammunition. Two police officers were shot to death during yesterday's uprising. This escalation into a bloody confrontation followed on the heels of government compliance with a fundamental demand of the demonstrators, just as it seemed that a de-escalation was about to begin - to the tactical disadvantage of the "German's man" in Kiev, Vitali Klitschko, who has been calling for the president to resign. Klitschko, who flew to Berlin Monday, to discuss the next steps, threatened an even more bloody escalation and declared, that he does not "rule out the use of force in the evacuation of the Maidan." One of the organizations he is relying on is explicitly named after Nazi collaborators, who had carried out mass-murder of Soviet Jews. Escalation strategies, such as those currently implemented in Kiev, are not alien to German foreign policy. Firearms and Ammunition In the course of yesterday's bloody escalation of the protests, several police officers and demonstrators were killed in Kiev. As was confirmed by news reports, there have been clear indications since some time that some of the demonstrators in Kiev had begun arming themselves. It was reported that for days, a group calling itself the "First Hundred Group in Kiev of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists" were publicly asking for "ammunition or money to buy it."[1] Just previously, the Berlin-supported leader of the opposition, Vitali Klitschko, called for forming militias. Yesterday, the fascist-interspersed, violence-prone, "Right Block" called on all opponents of the government in the possession of firearms to come to the Maidan. In their attempt to storm the Ukrainian Parliament, government opponents broke through police barricades and set police cars on fire. Heavy clashes erupted between the armed demonstrators and police. Parliamentarians seeking to flee the building were clubbed in their cars; the office of the governing party was set on fire. Whereas demonstrators claim that ambulances were impeded by the police in action, the wounded apparently were not treated because of the barricades set up by the demonstrators.[2] During the night, the situation escalated further. Collaborators in Nazi Murder This escalation into a bloody confrontation occurred the day after opposition leaders Arseniy Yatsenyuk and Vitaly Klitschko had had an audience in Berlin's Chancellery, where they discussed with Angela Merkel the next steps the government opponents should take. The plea by the "First Hundred Group in Kiev of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists" for ammunition could not have not been known to them at the time of their meeting. The plea had not been made clandestinely, but was publicly displayed on a poster. Apparently, neither the Chancellor nor the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had insisted that further offensive protest demonstrations be held back, to avoid the worst, until the arms buildup of the opposition could be reversed. On the contrary, as usual, the German Foreign Minister criticized "the violence" in Kiev, generally and specifically that emanating from state forces. The fact that the demonstrators, under the leadership Berlin's Klitschko, is largely comprised of fascists, is not even mentioned in the German government declaration. The "First Hundred Group in Kiev of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists," for example, is a historical reference to the "Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists," who, at the side of Nazi Germany's Wehrmacht, helped invade the Soviet Union and, among other crimes, actively participated in Nazi mass murders of Jews. (german-foreign-policy.com reported.[3]) Escalation Strategies The fact that Berlin comes to the defense of the Ukrainian protest demonstrations, even when violence-prone government opponents attack the government security forces with live ammunition, corresponds to a well-worn German government escalation strategy. In the 1990s, for example, the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) helped in the arms build-up of Kosovo gangs. These weapons ultimately benefited the infamous KLA guerrillas, who then escalated their struggle against Yugoslavian security forces, until finally Germany and NATO attacked. (german-foreign-policy.com reported.[4]) Even earlier, for example in the 1960s, West German politicians, along with extreme right-wing forces from West Germany and Austria, who, by way of access to a militant wing of the Northern Italian (South Tyrol) autonomy movement sponsored and - according to reports - supported violent forces,[5] with the objective of forcing the Italian government to grant wide-ranging political autonomy to South Tyrol. The strategy was a success. End of a Relaxation of Tensions The escalation in Kiev came at precisely the point, where the Ukrainian government accepted a central demand of the protestors, declaring an amnesty for the arrested demonstrators. "Signs of a slight relaxation of tensions" were "not to be overlooked," according to reports in the German media,[6] which then indicated that special units of the police were being pulled back and law enforcement officers had begun dismantling barricades and towing away burned out police cars. However, this also removed the means of leverage for all those who, like "the German's man" in Kiev, Klitschko - sought to force President Viktor Yanukovych to resign. Out of the escalation into violent confrontation, the German Foreign Minister now concludes that "Europe's restraint, exercised in its decision to impose personnel sanctions" - on politicians in Kiev - "will certainly now be reconsidered."[7] Washington recently criticized Berlin and the EU for not having put enough pressure on the Ukrainian government. A Geopolitical Game The power struggle over the Ukraine, which is causing a growing number of casualties, revolves around "two fundamental questions," as the former Head of the German Defense Ministry's Planning Staff explained already last November: "where are the eastern boundaries of the EU and where the western boundaries of Russia's sphere of influence?" Germany's interference in Kiev's unrest is, therefore, simply "a new and grand geopolitical game." Experts are pointing out that the Ukraine only has so much importance, because Russia would be defenseless without it - a factor, Moscow cannot ignore. Because of the risk of an incontrollable escalation between Germany and Russia, the above-mentioned former Head of the Defense Ministry's Planning Staff, the publicist, Theo Sommer ("Die Zeit"), advises that the power struggle, which for now revolves around the relatively expansive EU Association Agreement, should not be overstretched. "Would a free-trade agreement that does not reek of expansive ambitions, not be better than association?"[8] Berlin has decided otherwise and continues to fuel the upheaval in Kiev with its interference to come out the winner - at all costs. Other reports and background information on the current German policy toward the Ukraine can be found here: Problems of Eastward Expansion, A Broad-Based Anti-Russian Alliance, Expansive Ambitions, Our Man in Kiev, Integration Rivalry with Moscow and On the Offensive. [1], [2] Reinhard Lauterbach: Randale und Tote in Kiew. www.jungewelt.de 19.02.2014. [3] See A Broad-Based Anti-Russian Alliance and Die Expansion europäischer Interessen. [4] See The Sorcerer's Apprentice. [5] See Der Zentralstaat als Minusgeschäft and Doppelrezension: Südtirol-Terrorismus. [6] Amnestie-Gesetz tritt in Kraft. www.tagesschau.de 17.02.2014. [7] AM Steinmeier zur aktuellen Lage in Kiew. Pressemitteilung des Auswärtigen Amts 18.02.2014. [8] Theo Sommer: Ein neuer Eiserner Vorhang? www.zeit.de 25.11.2013. See Expansive Ambitions.

[vector7]

Ukraine Crisis: Russia Ready to go to War over Crimea

• By Jack Moore , February 21, 2014 11:59 AM GMT
• 116 +

Russian servicemen, dressed in historical uniform, take part in a military parade rehearsal in Red SquareReuters

A Russian government official has revealed that Russia would be willing to fight a war over the Crimea region of Ukraine and protect the large Russian population and its military assets there.

"If Ukraine breaks apart, it will trigger a war," the unnamed official told the Financial Times.

"They will lose Crimea first [because] we will go in and protect [it], just as we did in Georgia," the official continued.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been publicly restrained about the Ukraine and sent Vladimir Lukin, a former diplomat and human rights commissioner, to Kiev as a mediator.

But analysts have pointed to the possibility of a repetition of the 2008 Georgia conflict when Russian troops and tanks invaded after the Georgian government launched an attack on the separatist region of South Ossetia. One hundred and fifty people died in the Russian action.

Russia is one of the few countries in the world to officially recognise the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and would be likely do so with the Crimea region should Ukraine divide.

The speaker of the Crimea parliament, Volodymyr Konstantinov, suggested that the Russian-majority region might secede from Ukraine if it splits in the event of a civil war.

"It is possible, if the country breaks apart. And everything is moving towards that," he told Russian news agency Interfax.

Ukraine's western region of Lviv has already reportedly declared independence from the central government.

Ukraine is a nation torn between Russia and the European Union, situated at the heart of the "shared neighbourhood" between the two blocs.

Approximately 21% of Ukraine's population is Russian and it holds deep cultural and historical links with modern Russia because of its Soviet history.

The region of Crimea lies on the northern coast of the Black Sea. Russia's massive Black Sea Fleet is stationed at Sevastopol and 60% of the region's population are ethnic Russians.

The Russian elite views Ukraine as part of the Soviet "sphere of influence" and sees the country as a potential bulwark against the growth of EU liberalisation.

"We will not allow Europe and the US to take Ukraine from us. The states [are] of the former Soviet Union, we are one family," a foreign policy official told the FT.

"They think Russia is still as weak as in the early 1990s but we are not."

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has claimed a deal to resolve Ukraine's political crisis has been reached with pro-European opposition leaders after the bloodiest day in the country's history since the Soviet era and footage emerging of government snipers firing on unarmed protesters.



BREAKING: Reports Russia Building Up Troops on Ukraine Border OBAMA WARNS RUSSIA..

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report February 24, 2014, 6:08 PM (IST)

Russian Units transferred to the Ukraine border

debkafile’s military sources report that units of the Russian forces which formed a steel ring around the Olympic Winter Games that ended in Sochi Sunday were flown and shipped Monday, Feb. 24 to Russian bases at the Ukrainian Crimean port of Sevastopol, as Moscow refused to recognize the legitimacy of the new authorities in Kiev.

Giant Russian Air Force transports and rapid deployment forces were placed on alert at the Rostov on-Don base east of the predominantly Russian-speaking southeastern Ukrainian town of Donetsk.

Russian military movements were also sighted near Belgorod, a Russian town 40 kilometers from the Ukraine border and north of its second largest town of Kharkov. There, too, most of the inhabitants are Russian speaking with a strong affinity to Moscow – in contrast to their European-oriented compatriots in the capital, Kiev.

These military movements were accompanied by sharp Russian rhetoric in Moscow’s first direct response to the tumult in Kiev and ouster of the pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych, against whom Kiev police Monday issued a warrant for mass murder.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Monday: “Today I see no legitimate Ukrainian partners for a dialogue. If people crossing Kyiv in black masks and Kalashnikov rifles are considered a government, it will be difficult for us to work with such a government," he said, calling it “the result of a mutiny.”

The prime minister spoke of a “real threat to our interests, and to our citizens’ lives and health.”

With these comments, the Russian leader laid down a pretext for Russian military intervention in Ukraine. It was Moscow’s response to the warning issued by US National Security Adviser Susan Rice Sunday, Feb. 23, that “it would be a grave mistake for Russia to send military force.”

An area emerging as a potential flashpoint in the Ukraine crisis is the Crimean peninsula in the south.

This territory and its port of Sevastopol was part of Russian imperial might from the 18th century until in 1954 when Nikita Khrushchev, an ethnic Ukrainian, transferred it to Ukrainian control – a step bitterly resented by Russians ever since.

When Ukraine broke away from the Soviet Union in 1991, it took Crimea with it. Moscow has since leased the strategically critical naval base as a deep-water port for the Russian Black Sea Fleet, with easy access to the Mediterranean. The lease is paid up to 2042. Ethnic Russians make up almost 60 per cent of the population, with Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars accounting for the rest. If Ukrainian turmoil continues and it faces a real threat of breaking up, Vladimir Putin may seize the opportunity to recover the peninsula. The Russian military force in Sebastopol was already beefed up Monday.

[Avvakum]

Ukraine Crisis: Russia Ready to go to War over Crimea

• By Jack Moore , February 21, 2014 11:59 AM GMT
• 116 +

Russian servicemen, dressed in historical uniform, take part in a military parade rehearsal in Red SquareReuters

A Russian government official has revealed that Russia would be willing to fight a war over the Crimea region of Ukraine and protect the large Russian population and its military assets there.

"If Ukraine breaks apart, it will trigger a war," the unnamed official told the Financial Times.

"They will lose Crimea first [because] we will go in and protect [it], just as we did in Georgia," the official continued.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been publicly restrained about the Ukraine and sent Vladimir Lukin, a former diplomat and human rights commissioner, to Kiev as a mediator.

But analysts have pointed to the possibility of a repetition of the 2008 Georgia conflict when Russian troops and tanks invaded after the Georgian government launched an attack on the separatist region of South Ossetia. One hundred and fifty people died in the Russian action.

Russia is one of the few countries in the world to officially recognise the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and would be likely do so with the Crimea region should Ukraine divide.

The speaker of the Crimea parliament, Volodymyr Konstantinov, suggested that the Russian-majority region might secede from Ukraine if it splits in the event of a civil war.

"It is possible, if the country breaks apart. And everything is moving towards that," he told Russian news agency Interfax.

Ukraine's western region of Lviv has already reportedly declared independence from the central government.

Ukraine is a nation torn between Russia and the European Union, situated at the heart of the "shared neighbourhood" between the two blocs.

Approximately 21% of Ukraine's population is Russian and it holds deep cultural and historical links with modern Russia because of its Soviet history.

The region of Crimea lies on the northern coast of the Black Sea. Russia's massive Black Sea Fleet is stationed at Sevastopol and 60% of the region's population are ethnic Russians.

The Russian elite views Ukraine as part of the Soviet "sphere of influence" and sees the country as a potential bulwark against the growth of EU liberalisation.

"We will not allow Europe and the US to take Ukraine from us. The states [are] of the former Soviet Union, we are one family," a foreign policy official told the FT.

"They think Russia is still as weak as in the early 1990s but we are not."

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has claimed a deal to resolve Ukraine's political crisis has been reached with pro-European opposition leaders after the bloodiest day in the country's history since the Soviet era and footage emerging of government snipers firing on unarmed protesters.



BREAKING: Reports Russia Building Up Troops on Ukraine Border OBAMA WARNS RUSSIA..

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report February 24, 2014, 6:08 PM (IST)

Russian Units transferred to the Ukraine border

debkafile’s military sources report that units of the Russian forces which formed a steel ring around the Olympic Winter Games that ended in Sochi Sunday were flown and shipped Monday, Feb. 24 to Russian bases at the Ukrainian Crimean port of Sevastopol, as Moscow refused to recognize the legitimacy of the new authorities in Kiev.

Giant Russian Air Force transports and rapid deployment forces were placed on alert at the Rostov on-Don base east of the predominantly Russian-speaking southeastern Ukrainian town of Donetsk.

Russian military movements were also sighted near Belgorod, a Russian town 40 kilometers from the Ukraine border and north of its second largest town of Kharkov. There, too, most of the inhabitants are Russian speaking with a strong affinity to Moscow – in contrast to their European-oriented compatriots in the capital, Kiev.

These military movements were accompanied by sharp Russian rhetoric in Moscow’s first direct response to the tumult in Kiev and ouster of the pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych, against whom Kiev police Monday issued a warrant for mass murder.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Monday: “Today I see no legitimate Ukrainian partners for a dialogue. If people crossing Kyiv in black masks and Kalashnikov rifles are considered a government, it will be difficult for us to work with such a government," he said, calling it “the result of a mutiny.”

The prime minister spoke of a “real threat to our interests, and to our citizens’ lives and health.”

With these comments, the Russian leader laid down a pretext for Russian military intervention in Ukraine. It was Moscow’s response to the warning issued by US National Security Adviser Susan Rice Sunday, Feb. 23, that “it would be a grave mistake for Russia to send military force.”

An area emerging as a potential flashpoint in the Ukraine crisis is the Crimean peninsula in the south.

This territory and its port of Sevastopol was part of Russian imperial might from the 18th century until in 1954 when Nikita Khrushchev, an ethnic Ukrainian, transferred it to Ukrainian control – a step bitterly resented by Russians ever since.

When Ukraine broke away from the Soviet Union in 1991, it took Crimea with it. Moscow has since leased the strategically critical naval base as a deep-water port for the Russian Black Sea Fleet, with easy access to the Mediterranean. The lease is paid up to 2042. Ethnic Russians make up almost 60 per cent of the population, with Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars accounting for the rest. If Ukrainian turmoil continues and it faces a real threat of breaking up, Vladimir Putin may seize the opportunity to recover the peninsula. The Russian military force in Sebastopol was already beefed up Monday.

This is so damn serious I want to scream if that could change things. Russia has a history with the Ukraine well before the Bolshevik abomination period; 'Ukraine' was actually where Russia BEGAN as a Nation, Moscovy and the rest being a later development of Principalities free of Tatar, Turk, Mongol, Polish, Swede, and Teutonic knight control. Ukrainian is just a dialect of Russian, or vice versa. The main thing is that this is a clear attempt, aside from the merits or demerits of the local politicians in charge, to break apart and weaken this geopolitical Region of the World.

Goddamned Germans, Poles, and East European Fascists..... Israel I heard wants to evacuate Ukraine's Jews from there now that Obama and Merkel's friends are in charge, people like 'Right Sector' and the 'Svoboda' group who say they'll "fight and kill russians and jews all day long", etc....

[vector7]

Ukraine: Sevastopol installs pro-Russian mayor as separatism fears grow

Moscow shows its influence in Crimean city amid fears the whole peninsula could seek deeper ties with Russia

• Howard Amos in Sevastopol
• theguardian.com, Tuesday 25 February 2014 06.07 EST
• Jump to comments (626)

Pro-Russian protesters wave Russia's flag in front of Sevastopol's city hall: the council has made Russian citizen Aleksei Chaliy mayor. Photograph: Darko Vojinovic/AP

Authorities in the southern Ukrainian city of Sevastopol have installed a pro-Russian mayor as fears grow that the Kremlin may be stoking separatist sentiment in the region.

Sevastopol's city council handed power to Aleksei Chaliy, a Russian citizen, during an extraordinary session on Monday evening while more than a thousand protesters gathered around city hall chanting "Russia, Russia, Russia," and "A Russian mayor for a Russian city."

Fears are spreading that separatists in Sevastopol, and the Crimean region of which it is a part, could use the power vacuum in Ukraine to seize greater autonomy and deepen ties with Russia.

It was not immediately clear whether local security forces would back Chaliy, but earlier in the day Sevastopol police chief Alexander Goncharov said that his officers would refuse to carry out "criminal orders" issued by Kiev.

At least four checkpoints manned by armed police were in place on major roads into the city to stop the arrival of extremists, according to local media reports.

Ukraine's interim president, Olexander Turchynov, warned on Tuesday that the country faced a "serious threat" from separatism.

Viktor Neganov, a Sevastopol-based adviser to the interior minister, condemned the events in the city as a coup. "Chaliy represents the interests of the Kremlin which likely gave its tacit approval," he said.

The Crimean peninsula, which is the only region of Ukraine with a majority of ethnic Russians, was Russian territory until 1954. Moscow recently extended its lease on a large naval base in Sevastopol to 2042.

In recent years, Russia has faced accusations of fast-tracking the distribution of Russian passports in Crimea, as well as sponsoring pro-Russian groups.

Similar demonstrations to those in Sevastopol have taken place across Crimea in recent days, including the regional capital of Simferopol and the coastal town of Kerch. Self-defence militias are also being formed.

Russian state television channels have given the unrest large amounts of airtime.

The mayor of Sevastopol appointed from Kiev, Vladimir Yatsuba, was booed and whistled on Sunday when he told a pro-Russian rally that Crimea was a part of Ukraine.

Yatsuba was in tears when he announced his resignation to journalists on Monday, paving the way for his pro-Russian replacement.

Crowds gathered again outside Sevastopol's city hall again on Tuesday as rumours spread that security forces could arrest Chaliy.

"Putin and the Black Sea fleet should come," said one woman, who only gave her name as Alexandra, stood outside city hall on Monday evening as the city council voted inside. "We are not scared of bloodshed," she added.

[vector7]

Russian Ships Arrive On Ukraine’s Crimean Coast As Fears Mount Over Russian Invasion In the Region



According to Russian news site flot.com, Russian military ships carrying soldiers have arrived on Ukraine’s Crimean coast in what some are claiming could be the early signs of a Russian coup in the hotly disputed autonomous region of the Crimea.

Russia’s large landing ship Nikolai Filchenkov has arrived near the Russia Black Sea Fleet’s base at Sevastopol, which Russia has leased from Ukraine since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

The ship is reported to be carrying as many as 200 soldiers and has joined four additional ship carrying an unknown amount of Special Forces troops. Flot.com also reported over the weekend that personnel from the 45th Airborne Special Forces unit and additional divisions had been airlifted into Anapa, a city on Russia’s Black Sea coastline. In addition, it is believed that Russia's Sevastopol base contains as many as 26,000 troops already, according to the German Institute for International And Security Affairs.

It remains to be seen if a weakened Ukraine in the midst of revolution can respond to the Russian military developments or if NATO will take the United States' line by telling Russia to stay clear of a region it has long considered it own.

However, a Russian invasion of the Crimea seems to be popular with the largely Russian population of the Crimea after a flurry of pro-Russian protests have called for Russian intervention.

Aside from the Crimea, there are concerns from the United States and European governments that Russia could attempt a much larger intervention in Kiev and restore a Russian-friendly government.