Crisis in Oekra�ne #63 Rusland is een tankstation.

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Op maandag 7 april 2014 19:09 schreef corkydiggles het volgende:

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Dat^ alleen niet helemaal dat Rusland rustig afwacht en niks doet, maar draagt hun steentje bij aan het coordineren van het destabiliseren van oekraine.
paar betaalde demonstranten sturen bijv

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Op maandag 7 april 2014 19:10 schreef Nintex het volgende:

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Ik gok dat dit een fatale misrekening gaat worden van de Russen. Hoe meer ze de regering in Kiev onder druk zetten, hoe groter de kans dat Right Sector en andere malle clubjes het recht in eigen hand nemen.

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Op maandag 7 april 2014 19:12 schreef UpsideDown het volgende:

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Deste meer reden om Oekra�ne te bezetten en 'te ondoen van rechtse nationalisten' en 'het land te stabiliseren'.

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Op maandag 7 april 2014 19:16 schreef Nintex het volgende:

[..]

Tja, nu is het voor de Russen nog leuk. Een beetje met de WW2 uniformen en Stalin vlaggetjes wapperen, maar als de eigen soldaten straks in body bags naar huis komen, omdat de bevolking van Oekra�ne niet bij Rusland wil horen dan is het een heel ander verhaal.

twitter:

WaterdrinkerP twitterde op maandag 07-04-2014 om 19:18:11 Het Russische tv-kanaal stookt vuur in Oost-Oekraine hoog op. Teneur: Russen daar smeken om bij Moskou te komen. Het is complete hysterie. reageer retweet

twitter:

obk twitterde op maandag 07-04-2014 om 19:23:11 De vlucht Moskou - Donetsk is vandaag geannuleerd. Geen goed teken. Gelukkig zitten @RolandOliphant en ik in de trein reageer retweet

quote:

Putin's Attack On Ukraine Began Today: What This Means For Europe And The US

Vladimir Putin had to act before the Ukrainian presidential election of May 25, at which time his narrative of neo-Nazis and nationalist extremists in charge of Ukraine would vanish into thin air. Even Putin’s genius spin meisters could not portray a President Poroshenko from ex-boxer Klitschko’s UDAR party as a wild eyed extremist, nor could they whitewash the trivial vote for rightist candidates, although they would try.

Putin’s anti-Ukraine propaganda juggernaut rests squarely on the single fiction of a neo-Nazi, Jew-hating, extreme nationalist government in Kiev. If Putin waits out the election, his anti-Ukraine disinformation campaign directed to his Russian, southeastern Ukrainian, and Western audiences loses its credibility, even in receptive leftist quarters in the West.

True to expectations, Putin began today a coordinated attack on Eastern Ukraine and parts of Moldavia.

The Russian assault’s first covert phase aims for the utter and complete destabilization of key cities that lie near the eastern border. As I write, mobs, directed by Russian special ops forces, FSB operatives, and local thugs are directing rent-a-crowds in Lugansk, Donetsk, and Kharkiv to storm public buildings, rough-up unarmed security forces, and demand referendums to join Mother Russia. As a slight variation, Donetsk demonstrators demand a “free republic.” The propaganda machine is at work full force. Babushkas are brought before the cameras to plead that all they want is peace and to be together with their brothers and sisters in Russia. They are sincere, but they serve the interests of their masked puppet masters lurking in the background.

Russia’s economic destabilization program began weeks or even months ago. Russian businesses cancelled their contracts with companies in Donetsk and Kharkiv. Desperate employees are going without pay. Russian propaganda is wafting a siren song about the prosperity that awaits them if they join Russia.

Putin’s destabilization campaign will take a week or so to complete. The covert phase will culminate with the deaths of demonstrators, supposedly at the hands of Ukrainian security forces, but actually by Russian snipers. (With luck increasingly violent demonstrations may yield fatalities without the help of rifles with telescopic lenses). Russian TV cameras will show scores of bandaged civilians sporting bloody wounds. The beleaguered “local” secessionists will issue prepared pleas to Putin to save them from the crazed Ukrainian extremists.

Remember, Putin already has authority from his rubber-stamp parliament to deploy Russian armed forces into East Ukraine. Russian troops amassed along the border can reach their targets in matters of hours. This is not rocket science, and it has already been perfected in Crimea. Assuming the role of true humanitarian, Putin will lament that he has no choice but to save Ukraine. Someone has to restore order before the whole place goes up in flames. He will not allow such atrocities in his back yard. That’s the kind of macho man he is.

In the campaign’s second overt phase, Russian troops, amassed on the border, will heed the call of their endangered brethren. The incoming Russian troops will be met with staged jubilation, the waving of Russian flags, brass bands blaring, and the referendums will be held, as in Crimea, under the watchful eye of Russian Kalashnikovs. International observers will either be banned or Russian forces will carefully monitor their every move. The new puppet “leaders” of East Ukraine regions will have the honor of sitting next to Putin himself in the Grand Kremlin hall as they sign annexation agreements. Putin may even bring in the discredited Yanukovich as the “legitimate” president of all Ukraine. On May 25, Ukraine may have two presidents.

Ukraine and the West will be confronted with this tragic fait accomplis in the next couple of weeks. It will be too late for the West to do anything other than to babble about enhanced sanctions and warn of further isolation of Russia. The transitional government of Ukraine will have to proceed with a presidential election that excludes its annexed Eastern portions. Putin knows that possession is 99 percent of the law. He has achieved part of his dream. The metallurgical heart of the former Soviet Union has been restored to its rightful place. Now it’s time to turn to Belarus, Moldavia, Georgia, Armenia, and even Kazakhstan.

The West may not understand what is going on. The die-hards will continue to argue to their last breath that Putin really only wanted Crimea and why not let him have it.

Putin apologists will contend that these coordinated demonstrations are really spontaneous, that the Kremlin has nothing to do with them, and express gratitude for Putin’s armed intervention. After all, someone had to save Ukraine from disaster.

Kiev understands all too well. The acting prime minister has informed the people of Ukraine that they face the deepest crisis of their lives. He has warned them that the Russian plan “is an attempt to destroy Ukrainian statehood, a script which has been written in the Russian Federation, the aim of which is to divide and destroy Ukraine and turn part of Ukraine into a slave territory under the dictatorship of Russia.”

Those under the attack of jackals better understand what is about to happen to them than spectators to the event. Kazakhstan is already moving native Kazakhs to the North to dilute the Russian population’s share. Unlikely allies – Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, and Kazakhstan – have begun consultations. They know the jackals are circling.

If Europe and the United States truly understand what Putin has planned, will they continue to refrain from meaningful preventative action, in the little time before they are presented with a fait accomplis?

These leaders must shortly decide whether Putin will be the leader of a regional or world power. Are they to be trusted?.

Annexing Crimea, the West decided, did not threaten vital interests. Russia annexing half of Ukraine is a different matter. Will such a threat stir Europe and the United States to action? That, to quote Shakespeare, is the question.

In effect, Europe and the West are being confronted with two visions of the world.

In one, Russia remains, using Obama’s term, a regional power. With its nuclear arsenal, energy production, and security council veto, it can continue to play a spoiler role throughout the world as the United States’ number one geopolitical enemy, to use Mitt Romney’s words. Russia will be our nemesis in Iran, Iraq, Venezuela, Cuba, and any other trouble spots it can stir up. If the West and the United States limit Putin to annexation of Crimea, we get this first version of the world.

In the second, Putin succeeds in taking southeastern Ukraine, leaving a mortally wounded West Ukraine, whose sole interest is survival. The Baltic states might be spared because of the NATO shield. But the other states of the former Soviet Union understand that they are completely at the mercy of Putin’s Russia. They will either be annexed (Moldavia, Georgia, Belarus, and perhaps Kazakhstan), or they become vassals of Russia, clearing their every move with Putin. Russia now controls the energy resources not only of Russia but of all Central Asia. The emboldened Putin is free to explore new areas for trouble making and intervention, knowing that no one is prepared to face up to a powerful bully.

We have a choice of the two scenarios right now. We will not have a choice in a very short while. What is our answer?

A bold answer would consist of the following measures:

First, immediate joint NATO exercises in Ukraine itself and in the Baltic States.

Second, flood East and South Ukraine with a thousand international observers to provide detailed reports on demonstrations, civil right abuses, and interference with the presidential elections campaign.

Third, immediate delivery of vital weapons (not lunch boxes) by the United States.

Fourth, Europe and the United States vastly expand sanctions of individuals in Putin’s internal circle including Mr. Putin himself.

Fifth, financial guarantees by Europe and the United States to Ukraine in the magnitude of $40 billion, half of which is Marshall-Plan-like grants that recognize that Ukraine is at war.

Sixth, a flood of advisors from the European Union to accelerate Ukraine’s accession to the European Union.

Sixth, increase aid and assistance to Georgia, Moldova, and even Belarus to protect them from Russian armed intervention.

Seventh and most important, understand that Putin interprets concessions as weakness and action as strength. Playing nice with Mr. Putin gets you nowhere.

If the West does not learn this lesson, it has lost the game.

twitter:

obk twitterde op maandag 07-04-2014 om 19:36:21 En daar is het, ook in Charkov is de 'Volksrepubliek' uitgeroepen http://t.co/u5PrP6vrsL reageer retweet

quote:

Crimea cost Ukraine over $10 billion in lost natural resources

_{KIEV Mon Apr 7, 2014 10:23am EDT}

(Reuters) - Ukraine's ecology and natural resources minister estimated on Monday that Kiev had lost natural resources and related assets worth 127 billion hryvnias ($10.8 bln) when Russia annexed the Crimea region.

Ukraine has said it will file compensation claims with international courts over the annexation of Crimea, which Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said could ultimately cost Kiev "hundreds of billions of dollars".

Andriy Mokhnyk's spokesman said the minister had told a news conference Ukraine intended to go to court to recover the money Ukraine would lose through its natural resources assets, which included businesses, 198 fields and 380 prospective ones.

"Ministry staff have assessed the market value of the resource base for Crimea. According to preliminary estimates, it was 127 billion hryvnias," he told a news conference.

The region is home to offshore drilling firm Chernomorneftegaz (Chornomornaftohaz) and Russia has put Crimea's oil reserves at 47 million tonnes and gas at 165.3 billion cubic metres, RIA news agency said.

Russia took over Crimea, home to Russia's Black Sea Fleet, shortly after Ukrainian protesters toppled pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovich in February.

Moscow said it was protecting its compatriots there from nationalists from western Ukraine, but the country's new leaders accuse Russia of waging a political campaign against them, using trade and the economy as weapons.

(Reporting by Natalia Zinets, writing by Elizabeth Piper, editing by Timothy Heritage)

quote:

Op maandag 7 april 2014 18:15 schreef firefly3 het volgende:
Amerikaanse radiozender stilte in rusland. http://www.bbg.gov/blog/2(...).U0KptzGrA0E.twitter

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Russian authorities systematically eliminated domestic radio distribution of BBG-supported programs and almost all television distribution. In 2012, Russian authorities forced RFE/RL off its last remaining domestic radio outlet, an AM frequency in Moscow.

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On October 1, 1999, the Broadcasting Board Governors (BBG) became the independent federal agency responsible for all U.S. government and government sponsored, non military, international broadcasting. This was the result of the 1998 Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act (Public Law 105-277), the single most important legislation affecting U.S. international broadcasting since the early 1950s.

Every week, more than 206 million listeners, viewers, and Internet users around the world turn on, tune in, and log on to U.S. international broadcasting programs.

While the “Broadcasting Board of Governors” is the legal name given to the federal entity encompassing all U.S. international broadcasting services, the day-to-day broadcasting activities are carried out by the individual BBG international broadcasters: the Voice of America (VOA), Alhurra, Radio Sawa, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Radio Free Asia (RFA), and Radio and TV Mart�, with the assistance of the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB).

quote:

Op maandag 7 april 2014 19:35 schreef JimmyJames het volgende:
Wat een wild verhaal, maar hij maakt wel een paar interessante claims. Jammer dat hij een bronvermelding achterwege laat.

quote:

That, to quote Shakespeare, is the question.

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In Moscow, the head of the defense and security committee of the upper house of parliament said Russia could not send peacekeepers into Donetsk without approval from the United Nations Security Council — which is highly unlikely.

Viktor Ozerov told the Interfax news agency that a country cannot simply send in peacekeeping troops at the request of local authorities. He said the Russian legislature authorized the use of troops in Crimea out of a perceived need to enhance security at Russian military bases there and under the terms of the agreement Russia signed with Ukraine to keep those bases. Ukrainian officials sharply dispute that point.

Ozerov said Russian peacekeepers have been stationed in two regions that broke away from Georgia — Abkhazia and South Ossetia — under the framework of a grouping of former Soviet republics called the Commonwealth of Independent States.

“Russia has no right to do this unilaterally,” he said.

quote:

The less Americans know about Ukraines location, the more they want U.S. to intervene
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On March 28-31, 2014, we asked a national sample of 2,066 Americans (fielded via Survey Sampling International Inc. (SSI), what action they wanted the U.S. to take in Ukraine, but with a twist: In addition to measuring standard demographic characteristics and general foreign policy attitudes, we also asked our survey respondents to locate Ukraine on a map as part of a larger, ongoing project to study foreign policy knowledge. We wanted to see where Americans think Ukraine is and to learn if this knowledge (or lack thereof) is related to their foreign policy views. We found that only one out of six Americans can find Ukraine on a map, and that this lack of knowledge is related to preferences: The farther their guesses were from Ukraines actual location, the more they wanted the U.S. to intervene with military force.
[..]

quote:

Lavrov Urges NATO to Stop 'Groundless Whipping-Up of Tension'

MOSCOW, April 7 (RIA Novosti) NATO should stop its belligerent rhetoric over the crisis in Ukraine and return to normal cooperation with Russia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an article published on Monday.

Below is the full text of the article, obtained from The Guardian:

The profound, pervasive crisis in Ukraine is a matter of grave concern for Russia. We understand perfectly well the position of a country which became independent just over 20 years ago and still faces complex tasks to construct a sovereign state. Among them is the search for a balance of interests among its various regions, the peoples of which have different historical and cultural roots, speak different languages and have different perspectives on their past, present and their countrys future place in the world.
[..]

quote:

Latvia joins Lithuania in temporary ban against Russian TV broadcasts for 'biased' reporting

VILNIUS, Lithuania - Latvia is joining Lithuania in banning Russian state television broadcasts because it found that several programs about the Ukraine crisis were tendentious and not in the Baltic nation's security interests.

A three-month suspension of broadcasts of all Rossiya RTR's programs begins April 8, following a decision by the Latvian National Electronic Mass Media Council, the watchdog's spokeswoman Sanita Blomniece told The Associated Press on Monday.

The council said the decision was prompted by findings of the Latvian Security Police, which said events in Ukraine in several Rossiya reports last month were presented in a way that justified "military aggression against a sovereign state." It also said they were "dominated by the view that despite international law, the president of the Russian Federation has every right to use the military in Ukraine to defend Russian speakers. "

A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman in Moscow denounced the Latvian decision. Pnsyantin Dolgovsaid on Twitter called Latvia's ban "the latest attempt to censor inconvenient information and a violation of fundamental rights on access to mass media."

The Latvian ban follows a similar suspension in neighbouring Lithuania of RTR Planeta's broadcasts for three months after the media watchdog in Vilnius found that a March 2 weekly news program about Ukraine was biased. On Monday, the Vilnius Regional Court upheld the council's decision.

"The program incited violent actions against peaceful people in Ukraine, justified military intervention into Ukraine and questioned the legitimacy of the Ukrainian authorities," court spokeswoman Sigita Jacineviciene Baltaduone said. "It was obviously biased and was likely aimed to incite discord."

Both RTR channels are owned by Russian state broadcaster VGTRK.

All three Baltic states Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia have sizeable ethnic Russian minorities and are increasingly concerned about the Kremlin's actions toward Ukraine and its declaration that it will protect Russians abroad.

Громадське ONLINE. 7 квітня

twitter:

rolltidebmz twitterde op maandag 07-04-2014 om 21:53:49 Going to be a long night in #Kharkiv. Seems like some flash bangs, tear gas, water etc | Watch http://t.co/1pCK3khHV7 http://t.co/bwWgeH3wuG reageer retweet

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Op maandag 7 april 2014 20:16 schreef meth1745 het volgende:

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Of er veel (of uberhaupt) Amerikaanse radiozenders in Rusland zijn (op de kabel bvb) weet ik niet, maar als zij het hebben over "all remaining radio transmissions by U.S. international media", dan bedoelen ze de uitzendingen waarvoor zij verantwoordelijk zijn, namelijk de zenders van de Amerikaanse overheid.

[..]


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http://www.bbg.gov/broadcasters/

In feite gaat het maar om ��n zender, namelijk Radio free Europe (de vier andere zijn op Africa, MiddenOosten, Azi�, Zuid-Amerika gericht). Die trouwens nog steeds beschikbaar is via satelliet, SW en internet.

De BBG is de opvolger van de Board for International Broadcasting, die op haar beurt werd opgericht om de financiering van de Voice of America over te nemen van de CIA in 1973.

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Op maandag 7 april 2014 21:56 schreef theNull het volgende:

Громадське ONLINE. 7 квітня

twitter:

rolltidebmz twitterde op maandag 07-04-2014 om 21:53:49 Going to be a long night in #Kharkiv. Seems like some flash bangs, tear gas, water etc | Watch http://t.co/1pCK3khHV7 http://t.co/bwWgeH3wuG reageer retweet

twitter:

ManRoDJ twitterde op maandag 07-04-2014 om 22:12:14 CLASHES BETWEEN POLICE AND KHARKIV ACTIVISTS, RUMORS SAY RIGHT SECTOR BACKING UP POLICE AND THROWING GRENADES AND MOLOTOVS #russianspring reageer retweet

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Kerry belt Lavrov: grote zorgen

_{maandag 7 apr 2014, 20:39 (Update: 07-04-14, 22:05)}

De VS kijkt met grote zorgen naar de ontwikkelingen in het oosten van Oekra�ne. Elke verdere stap van Moskou om Oekra�ne te destabiliseren zal gevolgen hebben voor Rusland. Deze waarschuwingen heeft de Amerikaanse minister Kerry van Buitenlandse Zaken overgebracht aan de Russische minister Lavrov.

Kerry riep Rusland op "publiekelijk afstand te nemen van de activiteiten van separatisten, saboteurs en provocateurs".

Directe besprekingen
Verder hebben Kerry en Lavrov gesproken over de mogelijkheid van directe besprekingen tussen Oekra�ne, Rusland, de VS en de EU. Die zouden binnen tien dagen moeten worden gehouden.

De spanningen in het oosten van Oekra�ne lopen op. Russische actievoerders willen aansluiting bij Rusland.

De VS zegt informatie te hebben dat Rusland sommige activisten betaalt om overheidsgebouwen in het oosten van Oekra�ne te bestormen.

Lavrov waarschuwt Kiev
Minister Lavrov op zijn beurt heeft gebeld met de Oekra�ense minister van Buitenlandse Zaken Desjtsjitsa. Lavrov heeft hem gewaarschuwd dat Oekra�ne geen geweld moet gebruiken tegen pro-Russische betogers in het oosten van Oekra�ne.

Volgens Lavrov hebben de pro-Russische betogers legitieme eisen zoals de bescherming van de Russische taal en cultuur.

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Op maandag 7 april 2014 22:52 schreef SureD1 het volgende:

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Is dat vuurwerk, of wordt er (flink) geschoten nu?!

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Op maandag 7 april 2014 23:03 schreef SureD1 het volgende:

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Mykolaiv volgens twitter... Ligt ten noordwesten van Kherson, boven de Krim...zender is uit de lucht inmiddels..

Riots in Mykolaiv 7.4.2014

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Op maandag 7 april 2014 23:04 schreef Blue_Panther_Ninja het volgende:
Mother Russia

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Op maandag 7 april 2014 22:00 schreef firefly3 het volgende:

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ooh dan valt het wel mee. Maar niet heus

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Op maandag 7 april 2014 22:52 schreef SureD1 het volgende:

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Is dat vuurwerk, of wordt er (flink) geschoten nu?!

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Op maandag 7 april 2014 23:16 schreef SureD1 het volgende:
Via @mikekomar sattelietfoto's van de troepenopbouw van de Russen..kan geen tweets posten, zit mobiel..

quote:

Op maandag 7 april 2014 19:16 schreef Nintex het volgende:

[..]

Tja, nu is het voor de Russen nog leuk. Een beetje met de WW2 uniformen en Stalin vlaggetjes wapperen, maar als de eigen soldaten straks in body bags naar huis komen, omdat de bevolking van Oekra�ne niet bij Rusland wil horen dan is het een heel ander verhaal.

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Op maandag 7 april 2014 23:05 schreef michaelmoore het volgende:

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ja Poetin gaat de Oekraine terugpakken,/ confisceren/ innemen
en dan gaat janoekovitsj weer president worden

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Op maandag 7 april 2014 23:05 schreef michaelmoore het volgende:

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ja Poetin gaat de Oekraine terugpakken,/ confisceren/ innemen
en dan gaat janoekovitsj weer president worden

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Op maandag 7 april 2014 23:28 schreef Romanus het volgende:

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Janoekovitsj zie ik geen president meer worden. Zelfs Poetin heeft al gezegd dat zijn positie onhoudbaar is