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

[Ryan Ruck]

Ukraine’s president has been in constant contact with NATO and European leaders concerning recent developments in the Kerch Strait. https://t.co/9Yr9UD5rVX

— The Intel Crab (@IntelCrab) November 25, 2018

Ukrainian Air Force now alerted to full combat readiness. All tactical/attack assets are required to be airborne within 15-30 minutes, once called upon.

— The Intel Crab (@IntelCrab) November 25, 2018

Su-25s from Mykolaiv, MiG-29s from Ivano, Su-27s from Myrhorod, should also be placing alert five and ten alert responders on standby ready to spin up for scramble https://t.co/2N7iDqmT9K

— INTELLIPUS (@intellipus) November 25, 2018

[Ryan Ruck]

[Ryan Ruck]

Over two dozen Ukrainian Sailors are now in Russian custody tonight according the representative of the president in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Boris Babin. #Ukraine

— Mikhail D. (@Eire_QC) November 25, 2018

[Ryan Ruck]

President at NSDC: I have to support the decision to impose "state of war", urging MPs of Rada to gather tomorrow vote for the decision pic.twitter.com/IdtGy5awBk

— Liveuamap (@Liveuamap) November 25, 2018

It is unlikely that NATO or US forces will participate in any further escalations between Russia and Ukraine. In our analysis, this conflict will likely escalate in the coming hours. 4/5

— Strategic Sentinel (@StratSentinel) November 25, 2018

Poroshenko asks war veterans to stand prepared to defend their country. https://t.co/WviporNTmV

— The Intel Crab (@IntelCrab) November 25, 2018

[Ryan Ruck]

As tensions between Russia and Ukraine rise, @Telegraph were first to report that Britain is sending more troops and a Royal navy ship to the Black Sea.
Read Gavin Williamson's announcement here:https://t.co/MRl2dUdXYZ

— Jamie Johnson (@JamieoJohnson) November 26, 2018

Emergency meeting of the @NATO-#Ukraine committee to convene https://t.co/oIKo6lkkKx

— Strategic Sentinel (@StratSentinel) November 26, 2018

[Ryan Ruck]

US officials:military flying reconnaissance flights over #BlackSea near Crimea to gather intelligence on escalating tensions btw #Ukraine and #Russia. Both Navy and Air Force can use airborne reconnaissance to gather imagery and eavesdrop on communications. #KerchStrait #Crimea

— Barbara Starr (@barbarastarrcnn) November 26, 2018

Watching over the Black Sea, around Crimea & the Kerch Strait

���� US Air Force - RC135V Rivet Joint
���� US Air Force - RQ4 Global Hawk#BlackSea #KerchStrait #Crimea pic.twitter.com/5lmoVgD0Uw

— CivMilAir ✈ (@CivMilAir) November 26, 2018

[Ryan Ruck]

Royal Navy Destroyer swarmed by 17 Russian jets in Black Sea https://t.co/USmUmNFfGy

— CivMilAir ✈ (@CivMilAir) November 26, 2018

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Liveuamap
‏Verified account @Liveuamap
15m15 minutes ago

Liveuamap Retweeted Liveuamap

Poroshenko is speaking now like he has 100% information on imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine

20 minutes agosource
Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has voted for martial law in Ukraine. 276 for



EndGameWW3
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🇺🇦 Gen Staff chief @VikMuzhenko in @ua_parliament: we have additional information about 🇷🇺Naval Su-30 taking part in 11/25 assault on 🇺🇦 gunboats, 2 rockets fired, no info on impact (likely missed - admin)
— Numbers Stations (@Spy_Stations) November 26, 2018

@EndGameWW3
2h2 hours ago
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UNSC meeting now adjourned, no progress made towards resolving the crisis. Russia's ambassador to the UN gave rambling speech after refusing to give remarks in protest due to failure of his proposed agenda.EndGameWW3
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@EndGameWW3
2h2 hours ago
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Nikki Haley's comments at emergency UNSC meeting on Ukraine: She calls Russia's attack on Ukrainian vessels, "outrageous violation of sovereign Ukrainian territory" and "another reckless Russian escalation.EndGameWW3
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@EndGameWW3
2h2 hours ago
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BREAKING: UNSC blocks discussions regarding Kerch Strait incidentEndGameWW3
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@EndGameWW3
2h2 hours ago
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Russia vetoed any discussion

Strategic Sentinel
‏Verified account @StratSentinel
5m5 minutes ago

#Ukrainian Parliament passes Martial Law proposal for the next 30 days. Reservists to be called up, defensive forces mobilized.

"There is a threat of an invasion of Mariupol and Berdyansk," - Volodymyr Yelchenko, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN.

Steve Herman
‏
Verified account

@W7VOA
2h2 hours ago
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#Ukraine demands immediate release by #Russia of 23 captured Ukrainians military personnel and three ships.Strategic Sentinel
‏
Verified account

@StratSentinel
10m10 minutes ago
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#Ukrainian Parliament passes Martial Law proposal for the next 30 days. Reservists to be called up, defensive forces mobilized.

[vector7]

ELINT News
ELINT News
@ELINTNews
#UPDATE: FSB videos of ‘interrogation’ and ‘confession’ of Ukrainian prisoners begin to be aired on Russian TV stations
3:28 PM · Nov 26, 2018 ·

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22m
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@AlixRo89
and
@ELINTNews
Quote Tweet
CNW
@ConflictsW
The Russian FSB has published a ‘confession’ video of Ukrainian sailors captured last night
#Russia #Ukraine

·
9m
Cheers bro
Blackranger45
Blackranger45
@Roger4563965650
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15m
Replying to
@ELINTNews
War
Just Some Guy
Just Some Guy
@JustSom41966040
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18m
Replying to
@ELINTNews
This is bad. The timeline of events does not support the Russian narrative, nor do current troop movements or photographs of the event. Russia has wanted war for a long time. Japan and Germany reformed post wwii, but Russia never did.
Travis Garrity
Travis Garrity
@garrityv_t
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@ELINTNews
What does this mean now
Remain Awake
Remain Awake
@woke_watchman
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14m
it means Ukraine continues to be embarrassed and there is nothing they can do about it, unfortunately.

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ELINT News Retweeted
CivMilAir ✈
CivMilAir
@CivMilAir
Royal Navy ship buzzed by 17 'hostile' Russian jets off the coast of Crimea - Sky News
One pilots sent a 'good luck' a message to the ship.
Royal Navy ship buzzed by 17 'hostile' Russian jets off the coast of Crimea
news.sky.com
7:05 PM · Nov 26, 2018
https://t.co/Qk4rbng1K6?amp=1

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Russia would use nuclear arms if under missile attack, Vladimir Putin says

Vladimir Putin tells an international policy forum in Sochi that "retaliation is inevitable" if Russia is targeted with missiles.

20:19, UK, Thursday 18 October 2018

Putin says Russia would retaliate but not initiate
Russia would use its nuclear weapons in response to an incoming missile attack, Vladimir Putin has said.

The Russian president said the country would only launch a nuclear strike if its early warning systems spot missiles heading toward its territory.

"The aggressor should know that retaliation is inevitable," he told an international policy forum in Sochi.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/news.sk...-says-11528800

[vector7]

#UPDATE: #Russia air force strategic bombers have been noted airborne, where exactly is unkown. -Gage https://t.co/RmyqHKOrWU
— World Events Live (@IdeologyWars) November 27, 2018

World War 3 alert: Royal Navy warship swarmed by 17 Russian fighter jets in Black Sea

THIS is the dramatic moment 17 Russian fighter jets swarmed around a Royal Navy warship in the Black Sea near Crimea.

By Tom Nellist
PUBLISHED: 19:48, Mon, Nov 26, 2018 | UPDATED: 21:23, Mon, Nov 26, 2018



The remarkable footage shows HMS Duncan being ‘buzzed’ by the Russian jets as it led a NATO fleet through the disputed region earlier this year. The government labelled the incident, which happened in May, an act of “brazen hostility”. In the footage, which was filmed as part of a Channel 5 documentary, Russian jets can be seen circling around HMS Duncan and the NATO fleet.

The jets, which are a mix of fighters and bombers, are shown coming so close to HMS Duncan the crew is worried their high-powered radars might scramble the jets’ computer systems causing them to crash.

Naval officers on the £1billion Type 45 Destroyer then issued a warning to the Russian pilots amid fears the planes might attack.

One communications technician told the Russians: “We are operating high powered radars. Request you remain outside of two miles for your safety.”

One Russian pilot gives a threatening replied “Good luck guys” before the jets return to their airbase.


HMS Duncan was swarmed by 17 Russian fighter jets near Ukraine earlier this year (Image: Channel 5)

The documentary, called Warship: Life at Sea and broadcast tonight, also shows one of Duncan's 280 naval crew saying she thought the incident was Moscow trying to send a warning to NATO.

Commander Eleanor Stack, Duncan's captain, said: “To me if felt unprecedented. There were more aircraft than we have seen in a long time.”

However another sailor believed Russia, despite the dangerous pass, would never have carried out an attack.

The sailor said: “They had 17 aircraft, we have 48 missiles - I think we're going to win that one.”


HMS Duncan was leading a NATO task force near Ukraine when it was swarmed by Russian jets (Image: GETTY)

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said: “Over the past year, HMS Duncan and her crew have embodied the key role the UK plays in Nato.

“As Nato flagship, she has faced down brazen Russian hostility in the Black Sea with jets buzzing overhead.

“She has been stalked by Russian spy ships and played a vital role protecting Nato allies during the British, American and French strikes against Syrian chemical weapons facilities.

“Through her deployment, this world-leading ship and her crew epitomised the nation we are going to be as we exit the EU.

“A truly global Britain which is outward-looking and engaged on the world stage.”


Commodore Mike Utley praised his crew for how they dealt with the incident (Image: Channel 5)

Commodore Mike Utley, who was in charge of the NATO task force from HMS Duncan’s bridge, said: “This ship is probably the only maritime asset that has seen a raid of that magnitude in the last 25 years.

“I think their tactics are naive. What they don't know is how capable the ship is.

“When you see that much activity, I think it reinforces the nature of what people expect at the moment and why there is a challenge from Russia.”

HMS Duncan, which launched in 2010 and is named after 18th century Royal Navy admiral Viscount Adam Duncan, is currently based in Portsmouth after carrying out the NATO naval operations in the disputed Crimean waters.

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https://t.co/Nc8TETvYMo

— EndGameWW3 (@EndGameWW3) November 27, 2018

UPDATE Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko warned of the threat of "full-scale war" and said Russia had sharply increased its military presence on their shared border as tensions escalate between the ex-Soviet neighbors-AP

— EndGameWW3 (@EndGameWW3) November 27, 2018

#Russia|n army, reportedly, now begins to move anti-ship ballistic missile systems to the #Kerch Strait, in occupied #Crimea:https://t.co/WUw3qtVBQ0

— Alex Kokcharov (@AlexKokcharov) November 27, 2018

Russian anti-ship missiles filmed moving towards Kerch after flare-up with Ukraine (VIDEO) — RT Russia https://t.co/2eJYv7mrQt

— EndGameWW3 (@EndGameWW3) November 27, 2018

#BREAKING: President #Trump is the #US has said he may cancel his meeting with president Putin of #Russia over attack in #Ukraine. -Gage

— World Events Live (@IdeologyWars) November 27, 2018

Russian ‘Bal’ coastal defense systems relocated near #Kerch after standoff with #Ukraine (EXCLUSIVE) pic.twitter.com/FNo5RnjPhj

— RT (@RT_com) November 27, 2018

#BREAKING: President #Trump is the #US has said he may cancel his meeting with president Putin of #Russia over attack in #Ukraine. -Gage

— World Events Live (@IdeologyWars) November 27, 2018

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Russian anti-ship missiles filmed moving towards Kerch after flare-up with Ukraine (VIDEO)

Published time: 27 Nov, 2018 22:20



A large column of Russian military hardware, including anti-ship missile systems, has been spotted moving towards the Crimean city of Kerch, after Russian border guards faced off with Ukrainian ships violating Russia’s border.

A video exclusively obtained by RT’s video agency Ruptly shows a whole column of military trucks, as well as several ‘Bal’ coastal defense systems, moving along a road in Crimea. The troops were being relocated to an area near the city of Kerch, following the tense standoff on Sunday with a group of Ukrainian ships that, despite repeated warnings, had breached Russia’s territorial waters in the Kerch Strait.

The ‘Bal’ systems are equipped with eight X-35 cruise anti-ship missiles, capable of hitting vessels with displacement tonnages up to 5,000 tons at a distance of up to 20 kilometers.



The video emerged hours after the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) admitted that intelligence agents had been on the ships which entered Russian waters. Russia’s FSB had earlier accused the SBU or coordinating the “provocation,” and also released a confession of one of the two SBU officers detained and interrogated after the chase was over.

Moscow said the Ukrainian vessels had failed to apply to pass through the narrow strait as required, and were undertaking dangerous maneuvers while ignoring the orders of the Russian border guards. Following an intense hours-long game of cat-and-mouse and the blocked Ukrainians’ attempt to break through, the guards saw no option but to open fire and seize the vessels. Several Ukrainians who received shrapnel wounds were immediately treated and hospitalized.

Kiev immediately accused Russia of “aggression” and, on Monday, imposed martial law on its territories bordering Russia as well as along the coast of the Black and the Azov Seas. Moscow, in turn, has accused Kiev of staging a planned provocation aimed at stirring up the conflict between the two neighbors and justifying the imposition of martial law ahead of the presidential vote in March, in which President Petro Poroshenko is trailing behind several candidates in polls.

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Putin Warns Ukraine Against Committing any 'Reckless Acts'

Russian President Vladimir Putin is warning Ukraine against committing any “reckless acts” as Ukraine imposed martial law after Russian forces seized three Ukrainian ships and their crews in the Black Sea.



In a phone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Putin said he was “seriously concerned” about the developments and asked Germany to approach Ukrainian authorities “to dissuade them from further reckless acts,” the Kremlin said.

The Kremlin had previously warned the imposition of martial law could lead to a flare up in hostilities in eastern Ukraine.

President Petro Poroshenko said martial law will help "strengthen Ukraine's defense capabilities amid increasing aggression and according to international law a cold act of aggression by the Russian Federation."

Ukraine's parliament voted Monday to approve martial law in 10 of the country's 27 regions beginning Wednesday.

The measure calls for 30 days of martial law, an apparent concession to opponents, which would allow for elections to be called as scheduled in December.

Russia fired on two Ukrainian naval ships and rammed a third vessel Sunday in the Black Sea, seizing the ships and accusing them of illegally entering its territorial waters.


U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged Ukraine and Russia Tuesday to exercise “maximum restraint” to avoid further escalation in the region.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley condemned Russia for its "outrageous violation of sovereign Ukrainian territory."

"This is no way for a law-abiding civilized nation to act," Haley said at a Monday emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council.

"Impeding Ukraine's lawful transit through the Kerch Strait is a violation under international law. It is an arrogant act that the international community must condemn and will never accept."

At the U.N. Security Council, most members condemned the escalation, urged restraint and called for the unconditional and immediate release of the Ukrainian sailors and the return of their ships.

Poroshenko is demanding Russia immediately release the Ukrainian sailors and ships.

NATO head Jens Stoltenberg also called on Russia to release the Ukrainian navy ships, saying "there is no justification" for Moscow's actions, while European Union chief Donald Tusk condemned Russia's use of force and reiterated the EU would stand in support of Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Ukraine of violating international norms with "dangerous methods that created threats and risks for the normal movement of ships in the area."

Russia's deputy envoy Dmitry Polyanskiy blamed Kyiv and its western supporters for the escalation.

"This provocation was pre-planned, that's obvious, and it was with the full connivance of Western states that de facto have just given carte blanche to any actions taken by their subordinates," he said.

Ukraine's U.N. ambassador, Volodymyr Yelchenko, said his government would like to see a tightening of economic sanctions on Moscow.

"The sanctions is the only real tool that can make Russia at least start thinking of their behavior," Yelchenko said after the meeting. "Sanctions, they do bite."

Ukrainian officials say at least six sailors were wounded in the incident and denies any wrongdoing.

"We think our sailors committed no crime whatsoever," Ambassador Yelchenko said, noting that Crimea is not recognized as Russian territory by anyone except Russia. "What are they claiming, that Ukrainian sailors committed a crime by crossing the Russian border?

Where is this border? It does not exist."

Russia's deputy U.N. envoy appeared to signal the Ukrainian sailors would not be released quickly and could face a trial.


"The three sailors, they were acting in provocation and they were conducting a crime according to the laws of the Russian Federation," Dmitry Polyanskiy told reporters. "Each and every sovereign country has [a] right to prosecute people who conduct crimes and unlawful acts on their territory, that's our approach.

Sunday's incident began when a Ukrainian tugboat set out to escort two navy ships from Odessa, on the Black Sea, through the Kerch Strait to the Ukrainian port of Mariupol, in the Sea of Azov.

The Kerch Strait is the only passage between the two seas.

Ukraine said Russia used a tanker to block access to the Kerch Strait, which under a treaty is shared territory.

The Trump administration has previously warned Russia against trying to strangle the Ukrainian economy by harassing international shipping through the Kerch Strait.

Russia forcibly annexed Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula in 2014, claiming its ethnic Russian majority was under threat from the Ukrainian government.

Fighting between pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine and Ukrainian troops has eased in recent months, but there are still occasional deadly flare-ups.

Russia has consistently denied sending weapons and fighters to help the separatists, despite strong evidence to the contrary.

https://www.voanews.com/a/putin-warn...-/4675776.html


Russia Moves Fast to Deepen Kerch Crisis


November 27, 2018 5:15 PM

• Jamie Dettmer

A Ukrainian sailor, right, is escorted by a Russian intelligence officer to a court room in Simferopol, Crimea, Nov. 27, 2018.

LONDON — Russia’s attack on Ukrainian military vessels in the Black Sea marks the first time the Kremlin has staged open aggression against Ukraine since President Vladimir Putin annexed Crimea four years ago, and launched a destabilization campaign in the Donbas region.

In the past, the Kremlin has used so-called “little green men” — Russian soldiers without an insignia — to stage provocations or battle Ukrainian forces, denying they are directed by Moscow.

Sunday marked a new departure, however, with the hybrid war being stepped up, a development that risks igniting a broader conflict and spiraling out of control.

The damage on one of three Ukrainian ships is seen after it had been seized, Nov. 25, 2018, in Kerch, Crimea.

Putin power play

So why did the Russian leader decide now to stage such overt aggression — especially at a time when the Russian economy is struggling and could well do without any escalation of sanctions by Western nations? Putin's move comes just days before he's due to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump during the G20 summit in Argentina to discuss Syria and the recent U.S. decision to withdraw from a nuclear weapons treaty.

Some Western officials and analysts point to President Putin's slumping popularity at home, the consequence of unpopular pension reforms, to explain the attack in the Kerch Strait, which links the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, and is officially a waterway shared by Russia and Ukraine. They say it is calculated to boost Putin's approval ratings that are now at a five-year low.

On Twitter, Alexei Navalny, the prominent Putin critic, said the decision to ram, fire on and seize two gunboats and a tugboat is straight out of the Russian leader's traditional playbook in which he uses foreign adventures to divert domestic attention and encourage a siege mentality, whereby Russians feel Western nations are ganging up on them.

“We can expect 30 talk shows a day over the next month with discussions of aggressive warmongers from Kyiv,” he tweeted.

Captured sailors on display

Russia has moved fast to deepen the crisis, say analysts. A court in Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014, has ordered one of the 24 Ukrainian sailors detained by Russia to be held for two months and Russian media are reporting the man faces a charge of illegally crossing Russian borders, which carries a sentence of up to six years in prison. The other sailors are likely to face similar court action.

And the Kremlin moved quickly to blast the Ukrainians for what it paints as aggression against Russia, with state television Tuesday broadcasting interrogations of three of the captured sailors.

"I recognize that the actions of the ships with military hardware of Ukraine's navy had a provocative character," one of the sailors, identified as Vladimir Lisov, said in one of the interrogations, which Kyiv claims are being conducted under duress. "I was carrying out an order," Lisov added.

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko delivers his annual address to parliament in Kyev, Ukraine, Sept. 20, 2018.

Dark intent?

The presence of Ukrainian counterintelligence officers on board the vessels also is being highlighted by the Kremlin and on state media as evidence of Kyiv's dark intent. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov labeled the whole incident “a dangerous provocation” by the government of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. Russian officials accuse Poroshenko of trying to manufacture a crisis to boost his desperately low poll ratings ahead of next year's presidential elections, which he appears to be in danger of losing.

The exchange of accusations is par for the course in the long-running conflict between Moscow and Kyiv since the Euro-Maidan uprising led to the 2014 ouster of Ukraine's pro-Kremlin president, Viktor Yanukovych.

Certainly Poroshenko has seized on Sunday's clash, pressing for the imposition of martial law in 10 of the country's 27 regions, a decisive move that some say may boost his poll standings. Jan Surotchak, senior director for Transatlantic Strategy at the International Republican Institute, a Washington-based democracy-promotion non-profit, acknowledges that Poroshenko could profit from the clash in domestic political terms, “if he is able to focus his allies in the West to be more supportive.”

But he says, “In the end, of course, that is not what this is about.” Surotchak sees Sunday's incident as not just being about Putin's short-term domestic political needs or Poroshenko's seizing on it to try to improve his own election prospects. “Most importantly what Moscow was trying to achieve is what it has tried to do now for the better part of the last five years, and that is destabilize Ukraine.”

Western and Ukraine officials say there has been a pattern of heightened Russian activity in the Donbas region, as well as the Sea of Azov for the past few weeks. Speaking three days before the maritime clash, Stepan Poltorak, Ukraine's defense minister, cautioned that the Donbas conflict was re-entering an "active phase," saying he expected more open moves by Russia.

Western officials say they are taking those Ukrainian warnings seriously and acknowledge there has been a ratcheting up by Russia of incidents in the Sea of Azov since Russia completed in May the building of a bridge across the strait linking the Russian mainland to Crimea. Russia has increased sharply the number of armed vessels patrolling the Kerch Strait, and cargo ships trying to reach Ukraine's Azov ports — Mariupol and Berdyansk — have found themselves subject to more Russian inspections and week-long delays, resulting in a 33 percent decrease in freight traffic.

A car is stopped at a checkpoint manned by Ukrainian police officers, in Berdyansk, south coast of Azov sea, eastern Ukraine, Nov. 27, 2018.

West shares blame

Sunday's incident, Ukrainian officials say, is a direct result of the lack of Western reaction to the unfolding imposition of a de facto sea border, which has been slowly but surely throttling access to the Sea of Azov and the Ukraine's important Mariupol industrial region. The Kremlin felt emboldened, they say.

How all this will play out when Trump and Putin meet in Buenos Aires later this week isn't clear. When asked whether it will have any impact on the encounter between the two leaders, Kremlin spokesman Peskov said the clash in the Kerch Strait won't affect preparations for the meeting.

Putin may be banking, say American officials, on reducing any fallout from the Kerch clash by pledging to enforce U.N. sanctions on North Korea ahead of a planned U.S.-North Korea summit next month, something he was urged to do earlier this month by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence during an exchange at an Asian summit meeting.


Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
(Russian Ministry of Defense)

11/27/2018 (13:22)

Began testing the readiness of formations and military units of the Southern Military District for the new school year.

To check the readiness of more than 40 formations and military units of the Southern Military District (YuVO) to the beginning of the new school year, complex commissions started from the directorates and services of the district headquarters appointed by the commander of the Southern Military District Colonel-General Alexander Dvornikov.

Representatives of the branches of the branches of troops and services of the Southern Military District check the readiness of the training material base, weapons and military equipment, as well as the state of social facilities in the units and military units of the district subordination, combined-arms units, the Black Sea Fleet, the Caspian Flotilla and 4 air forces and armies Air Defense.

In order to organize the training process in the new academic year, more than 30 combined-arms ranges, shooting ranges, as well as more than 400 training classes and about 200 training complexes at the order base were trained in the Southern Military District.

More than 3.5 thousand targets and radio-controlled firing systems were equipped for conducting training in firing training at combined-arms ranges.

The new academic year in the troops of the Southern Military District will begin on December 1 of this year.

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#BREAKING: Heavy artillery fire along the front in eastern Ukraine. Possibly near Mariupol #Ukraine #Russia

— Luna News (@Breakingservice) November 27, 2018

Russia rejects Ukraine talks over Kerch Strait ship capture

By ZOYA SHEFTALOVICH 11/27/18, 11:12 AM CET Updated 11/27/18, 3:27 PM CET

Russian President Vladimir Putin will announce his position on the Kerch Strait crisis “in the coming days,” but “it would be wrong to underestimate the significance and danger” of the episode, the Kremlin’s spokesman said Tuesday.


Referring to a statement in which U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Russia and Ukraine should hold direct talks to resolve the crisis, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that is unnecessary.





“Actually, the situation does not need to be calmed,” Peskov said, according to Russian news agency TASS. “[That] happened the day before yesterday, when our border guards calmed the violators of the Russian Federation’s state border.”


Ukraine’s parliament on Monday voted to introduce martial law for 30 days after Russia on Sunday opened fire on two Ukrainian armored artillery vessels and a tugboat off the coast of Crimea. Russia’s FSB security service claimed the vessels had illegally entered its territorial waters, and authorities seized the three ships, detaining 24 sailors.

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Fighting earlier today close to Mariupol. pic.twitter.com/GtLRhezZH7

— Альфонс Шмідт☢����☢ (@_AlfonsSchmidt) November 28, 2018

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Heavy artillery can be heard in #Toshkivka near the highway at #Bakhmutka. https://t.co/RN6cRX172g
— The Intel Crab (@IntelCrab) November 28, 2018

The #RussianNavy closes the waters of the #Mediterranean and prevents the flying of civil aircraft and ships. Chinese warships have been ordered to go to the Syrian coasts and join the Russian fleet #Syria #Breaking #China #US pic.twitter.com/bS7QOhV4aP
— Desert Hawk 🏴 (@Syrian_Lion) September 1, 2018

We repeat: There are at least 150,000 Russian Ground Forces troops in a state of combat readiness (trained, kept on their toes with drills/alerts) that Russia could deploy west into Ukraine within a 96 hour period. Plus Russian airborne and marine troops. All covered by air force pic.twitter.com/6PzctEOite
— GorseFires Collectif (@GorseFires) November 28, 2018

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@rabrowne75
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SecDef Mattis on Russian actions in Kerch Strait: "It was obviously a flagrant violation of international law, it was I think a cavalier use of force that injured Ukrainian sailors...it just shows that Russia cannot be counted on right now to keep its wordEndGameWW3 Retweeted

Mikhail D.
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@Eire_QC
7h7 hours ago
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"Germany must take a clear line... and put (Russian President Vladimir) Putin in his place," Ukrainian ambassador Andrij Melnyk told German radio on Wednesday. "Everything is at stake." #UkraineEndGameWW3 Retweeted

Mikhail D.
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@Eire_QC
7h7 hours ago
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The Ambassador has even raised the possibility for Germany to send Marines to the Black Sea. #Ukraine

ELINT News
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#UPDATE: On top of this new deployment of S-400 systems to Crimea today, the Russian army 31st air defence division has already previously deployed the S-400 triumph to numerous regions of the peninsula including at Yevpatoria, Sevastopol and Feodosiia Via- @ukraine_world

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Russia International News 🇷🇺
Russia International News
@russia_watch
Major events unfolding in #ukraine #Russia President Trump is now in the War room being briefed on the incident/s
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Doge
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The Press Pool has now returned to the White House. A travel/photo lid has been put into place. No travel expected for the rest of the night from the president. (link: https://twitter.com/zekejmiller/stat...29637005783040) twitter.com/zekejmiller/st…
6:59 PM · Nov 28, 2018 ·
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Ukraine gave up its nukes in return for a guarantee. After Russian forces fired at and seized 3 Ukrainian naval vessels on Sunday, Kyiv suggested that the U.S. and Europe should do more to protect it against the vastly superior Russian military https://t.co/nCOuUgnrhU
— GorseFires Collectif (@GorseFires) November 29, 2018

Yesterday, #F16 @beairforce, currently deployed in the #Baltic Region ������������ to safeguard the integrity of @NATO airspace, intercepted #Russian Flanker Jets flying w/o flight plan. Our mission @BelgiumDefence is to protect your security pic.twitter.com/JBjFxSLXTc
— Belgian Air Force���� (@BeAirForce) November 29, 2018

Footage of a fourth S-400 battalion deploying near the border with #Ukraine in #Crimea earlier today. pic.twitter.com/59u1RKn6v4
— The Intel Crab (@IntelCrab) November 29, 2018

#Крым Боевые расчёты С-400 выдвинулись на позиции, осуществили развёртывание и заступили на дежурство... pic.twitter.com/y8ot3Vqiix
— Горловский Томос (@062_Region) November 29, 2018

I asked a Ukrainian soldier on the front lines what he needed most. He told me: "More than ammunition, we need to know we're not alone." pic.twitter.com/kR6vwWiwqJ
— Nolan Peterson (@nolanwpeterson) November 29, 2018

My latest, on today's developments in Ukraine.https://t.co/x2C4Ujddfz
— Nolan Peterson (@nolanwpeterson) November 29, 2018

President Poroshenko shows Sky News surveillance photos he says are Russian tanks massing on the Ukrainian border: pic.twitter.com/oVE1CD5LM7
— Alistair Bunkall (@AliBunkallSKY) November 29, 2018

We live in a mad world.

The 2014 - 18 invasion of Europe by Russia. Perhaps one of the #G20 world leaders can show Putin it? But no rush, show him after you've had a few drinks and shared a few jokes with him. #Donbas #AzovSea #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/it2VagNX7t

— Glasnost Gone (@GlasnostGone) November 29, 2018

@ELINTNews
32 minutes ago

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#BREAKING: Ukraine officially bans all Russians from entering and leaving Crimea through Ukrainian territories, only Ukrainians will be allowed in and out


Donald J. Trump
‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump
1m1 minute ago

Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin. I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved!


@EndGameWW3
26m26 minutes ago
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KREMLIN SPOKESMAN SAYS IF SUMMIT IS INDEED CANCELLED PUTIN WILL HAVE A COUPLE OF EXTRA HOURS FOR USEFUL MEETING AT G20 - IFAXEndGameWW3
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@EndGameWW3
25m25 minutes ago
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RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT SAYS PRETEXT FOR CANCELLING TRUMP-PUTIN TALKS IS 'FAR FETCHED' (INTERFAX)

Trump cancels planned meeting with Putin at G20 over Russia-Ukraine flare up

Published time: 29 Nov, 2018

Trump had previously cast doubt over whether the meeting would take place, telling the Washington Post on Wednesday that “maybe” he would cancel the tete-a-tete, citing the recent confrontation between Russian and Ukrainian military vessels in the Kerch Strait.

Three Ukrainian Navy vessels were apprehended by Russia trying to cross between the Black Sea and the Azov Sea on Sunday. While Kiev said it had informed Russia of the crossing, Moscow said it had not received notification.

Leaving the White House for Argentina on Thursday, Trump told reporters he “probably” would meet with Putin at the summit, but said he would make a decision after receiving a briefing on the plane.

Shortly after, Trump tweeted that “it would be best for all parties concerned” to cancel the meeting with Putin “based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine.”

Trump said he looked forward to a "meaningful summit" when the "situation is resolved.US President Donald Trump has cancelled a scheduled meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin which was due to take place at the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires on Saturday."Responding to Trump's decision, the Kremlin said it had received no confirmation of the cancellation through official channels. A Kremlin spokesperson said if the meeting is off, however, Putin will have a few free hours for other important meetings.

It's not the first time uncertainty has surrounded whether a meeting between the two leaders would take place. In fact, it seems to happen frequently.

Just three days before the pair met in Helsinki in July, Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating alleged "collusion" between Trump and Russia announced grand jury indictments against 12 Russian military officials for their alleged roles in interfering in US domestic politics. That move prompted White House officials to suggest Mueller was trying to derail the Helsinki meeting.

There were also conflicting reports about a possible meeting between the two leaders in the days before Armistice Day commemorations in Paris last month. In the end, the two reportedly had a brief conversation behind the scenes and shook hands publicly after French organizers changed the seating arrangements at the last minute to avoid having the pair seated next to each other.

White House tells reporters on Air Force One that @realDonaldTrump made the decision to cancel his summit with Russia's Putin on the plane after speaking with @SecPompeo, General Kelly and @AmbJohnBolton
— Jeff Mason (@jeffmason1) November 29, 2018

Ukraine urges NATO to deploy ships in dispute with Russia


By YURAS KARMANAU and VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV | November 29, 2018 at 2:58 AM EST - Updated November 29 at 1:48 PM

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — The president of Ukraine is urging NATO to deploy warships to the Sea of Azov, a proposal that has been sharply criticized by Russia as a provocation that could worsen tensions between the two countries following a weekend confrontation in the waters off the Crimean Peninsula.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he was canceling a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G-20 summit in Argentina because Moscow has not released the Ukrainian vessels and sailors it seized.

In an interview published earlier Thursday with the German daily Bild, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko laid out his hope that NATO would "relocate naval ships to the Sea of Azov in order to assist Ukraine and provide security" against Putin's expansionist ambitions.

The Russian coast guard fired on and seized three Ukrainian vessels and their crews on Sunday. Russia alleged the Ukrainian vessels had failed to obtain permission to pass from the Black Sea into the Sea of Azov through the Kerch Strait. Ukraine insisted its vessels were operating in line with international maritime rules in the strait, which separates Russia's mainland and the Crimean Peninsula that it annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

While condemning the Russian action, NATO is not expected to send ships to the area, a deployment that could trigger a confrontation with Russia. A 2003 treaty between Russia and Ukraine stipulates that permission from both countries is required for warships from anywhere else to enter the internal sea.

The Southern Military District of Russia has announced that another S-400 surface-to-air missile system division has taken up combat duty Crimea. Fourth in a row. pic.twitter.com/HSEg0Hy6O6
— DEFCONWarningSystem Staff (@Drumboy44DWS) November 29, 2018

EndGameWW3
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@EndGameWW3
1h1 hour ago
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Ukraine's President Poroshenko announces that the country will restrict Russian citizens' banking transactions (currency exchanges, deposits, etc.) and travel. "And I think it's totally justified," he adds.