Crisis in Oekraïne #94 Biden oligarch dynastie?

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Tijdlijn van de ontwikkelingen in Oekraïne
NOVEMBER
* Nov 21: Kiev suddenly announces suspension of trade and association talks with the EU and opts to revive economic ties with Moscow, triggering months of mass rallies in Kiev.
* Nov 30: Riot police try to break up the Kiev demonstration by force. Protest turns against Yanukovich and his government.

DECEMBER
Protests continue with crowds of up to 800,000. Some clashes with police. Opposition forms bloc called Maidan. Yanukovich and Putin meet, Putin agrees to buy $15 billion of Ukrainian debt and to slash by a third the price of Russian gas supplies to Ukraine.

JANUARY
* Jan 22: Three people die in protests in Kiev. EU threatens action over crisis. Talks between opposition, Yanukovich fail.
* Jan 23: Washington threatens sanctions over violence.
* Jan 26: Unrest spreads to pro-Yanukovich east.

FEBRUARY
Anti-government protests turn increasingly violent. At least 77 people killed in clashes between demonstrators and police.
* Feb 21: Opposition leaders sign EU-mediated peace pact with Yanukovich.
* Feb 22: Ukraine's parliament votes to remove Yanukovich, who flees. Arch-rival Yulia Tymoshenko released from jail.
* Feb 26: Ukraine appoints new government. Angry Russia puts 150,000 troops on high alert.
* Feb 27-28: Armed men seize Crimea parliament, raise Russian flag. Militia take control of two airports in Crimea.

MARCH
* March 1: Putin wins parliamentary approval to invade Ukraine, angering the White House. Russian forces fan out in Crimea.
* March 6: Crimea's leadership votes to join Russia. U.S. President Barack Obama orders sanctions on those responsible for Moscow's actions in Ukraine.
EU leaders hold emergency summit to find ways to pressure Russia to back down and accept mediation.
* March 15: Two killed in clashes between pro-Russian demonstrators and Ukrainian nationalists.
* March 16: Referendum held in Crimea, shows overwhelming support for joining the Russian Federation.
* March 21: Putin signs laws completing annexation of Crimea. The U.S. imposes sanctions on Putin's close allies, EU follows with similar measures.
* March 23: NATO says Russia has amassed a large force at Ukraine's border.
* March 24: Ukraine pulls troops from Crimea.

APRIL
* April 2: NATO suspends cooperation with Russia.
* April 7: Pro-Russia activists in eastern Ukraine proclaim the creation of the "Donetsk People's Republic".
* April 12: Separatists take control of city of Slaviansk in eastern Ukraine. Kiev prepares troops.
* April 13: One Ukrainian state security officer killed and five wounded in operation against separatists.
* April 14: Obama warns Putin in phone call that Moscow would face further costs for its actions in Ukraine.
* April 17: Pro-Russian separatists seize armored vehicles of Ukraine forces trying to recapture rebel-controlled town.
* April 18: The United States, Russia, Ukraine and the EU reach deal for illegal armed groups to disarm and end occupations of public buildings and spaces.
* April 19: Separatists say they will not sign deal until the Kiev government steps down.
* April 24: Ukraine sends in troops again to try to expel the separatists in Slaviansk, kill five rebels.
* April 25: Ukrainian forces mount full blockade of Slaviansk. Separatists detain group of international observers, say a Kiev "spy" among them.
* April 26: G7 leaders agree to impose extra sanctions on Russia over Ukraine. Yatsenyuk cuts short a Vatican trip to see Pope Francis, saying Russian warplanes violated Ukraine's airspace seven times overnight. Russia denies the claim.
* April 27: Rebels say the OSCE observers are "prisoners of war" and present them in front of the press, where they say they have not been mistreated.
* April 28: West imposes new sanctions on Moscow. Russia vows a "painful" response. Russia says troops have returned to barracks after conducting exercises on the border with Ukraine. The West says there is no sign of this pull-back. Russia assures the US it will not invade Ukraine.
* April 29: Russia accuses Washington of seeking to revive Iron Curtain policies. Putin warns sanctions could harm Western interests in Russia's lucrative energy sector, denies there are Russian forces in eastern Ukraine.
* April 30: Kiev says its armed forces are on "full combat alert" against a possible Russian invasion. Interim president Oleksandr Turchynov admits Kiev is "helpless" to prevent rebels over-running towns. Rebels storm the regional police building and town hall in Gorlivka. The International Monetary Fund approves $17-billion aid deal for the beleaguered Ukrainian economy.

MAY
* May 1: Some 300 pro-Russian militants seize prosecutor's office in Donetsk amid violent clashes with police. Conscription reintroduced for all Ukrainian men aged 18-25.
* May 2: Ukrainian commandos launch pre-dawn raid to retake Slavyansk. Rebels shoot down two helicopters and two servicemen are killed.
* May 3: Slavyansk rebels free OSCE inspectors after Kremlin envoy intervenes. Two days of mourning proclaimed over Odessa deaths. Fierce firefights around Slavyansk and nearby towns as military seeks to retake control.
* May 4: Kiev vows to expand "anti-terrorism" operations. Yatsenyuk launches probe into security forces in Odessa over the deaths.

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Op dinsdag 13 mei 2014 20:10 schreef Zolder het volgende:
Wat is er aan de hand dan?

twitter:

hdevreij twitterde op dinsdag 13-05-2014 om 18:17:40 #Ukraine used an Mi-24 attack helicopter in #UN colors near #Kramatorsk, Russian TV reports http://t.co/N7IcIB4CZz /2 http://t.co/w5oAvzTfOo reageer retweet

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Op dinsdag 13 mei 2014 21:24 schreef deelnemer het volgende:

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Is dat net zoiets als Gehard Schroder die voor Gasprom werkt?

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Devon Archer is a wealthy investor and Democratic campaign bundler with long ties to the family of Secretary of State John Kerry. He was the college roommate of Christopher Heinz, Kerry’s stepson, and also served as co-chair of the national finance committee for Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign.

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You could call Mr. Archer a “baby bundler,” a well-connected macher-in-training who has spent every free moment of the last two years tapping friends, family, business partners and even Republicans for contributions to the Kerry cause. Ever since the Massachusetts Senator announced his candidacy in 2003, the dimple-cheeked Mr. Archer has dedicated himself to hosting cocktail parties at old-boy hideaways like the University Club and the Links Club, attending weekly finance-committee pow-wows and dialing, dialing, dialing for dollars. He has coaxed as little as $50 from his friends and cajoled the maximum, $2,000, from his family and business associates. In the process, he has outpaced veteran bundlers more than twice his age and joining the finance committee alongside such finance gurus as Steven Rattner and Richard Holbrooke.

Now his hard work is paying off, with the kind of convention access lowly Hill staffers can only dream of. He has a room at the Four Seasons Hotel, tickets to all the hot parties, access to the convention floor and face time with Mr. Kerry. The convention is his induction into the Democratic elite, and when the bunting comes down and the four-day Boston romp is done, there will be little doubt that Mr. Archer is the Democratic equivalent of a made man.

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9. This has to be a hoax, right?

It’s so bizarre that you almost have to assume it’s a hoax. It sounds more like a cliched movie plot — a shady foreign oil company co-opts the vice president’s son in order to capture lucrative foreign investment contracts — than something that would actually happen in real life. But the indications as of this afternoon are that the board appointments actually happened, and that a Ukrainian energy company has retained the counsel of the vice president’s son and the Secretary of State’s close family friend and top campaign bundler.

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Op dinsdag 13 mei 2014 21:42 schreef deelnemer het volgende:

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Schroder is natuurlijke een vooruitgeschoven post van Duitsland, om goede gascontracten te kunnen afsluiten. En om Poetins grootsheidswaanzin te voeden en zo de RF ten val te brengen. Een speciale vergeldingsmissie van Angela Merkel voor de annexatie van Oost-Duitsland door de Sovjet Unie na WOII. Ben ik nu warm?

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Op dinsdag 13 mei 2014 22:57 schreef Nintex het volgende:
Haal de aluhoedjes maar weer uit de kast, het is allemaal de schuld van het grote internationale gas-kartel.

Het lijkt er eerder op dat de Oekraïense gasboeren een snelle weg zoeken naar de Amerikanen nu dat Putin zijn leger op 75km heeft gestationeerd. Dit is ook een tactische zet, omdat de Amerikanen weer geld hebben iets dat in Oekraïne nu ontbreekt.

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Ik weet nog dat er in Rusland een privaat olie bedrijf was en Putin de boel nationaliseerde om het failliete Russische staatsbedrijf te redden en de eigenaar opsloot in Siberië.

Owja, politieke tegenstanders opsluiten mag, provincies annexeren ook, maar een baantje geven aan een Amerikaan, foei, foei, foei

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Russia Pulls Space Cooperation in Response to Ukraine Sanctions

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia will bar the United States from using Russian-made rocket engines for military satellite launches, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said on Tuesday, retaliating for sanctions on high-tech equipment which Washington has imposed over the Ukraine crisis.

He also said Russia would reject a U.S. request to prolong the use of the International Space Station beyond 2020.

Russia pledged to respond in kind when the United States said last month that it would deny export licenses for any high-technology items that could aid Russian military capabilities and would revoke existing licenses.

Moscow's measures would affect MK-33 and RD-180 engines which Russia supplies to the United States, Rogozin told a news conference. "We are ready to deliver these engines but on one condition that they will not be used to launch military satellites," he said.

Washington wants to keep the International Space Station, a $100 billion orbital outpost that is a project of 15 nations and a showcase of Russian-U.S. cooperation, flying until at least 2024, four years beyond the previous target.

In spite of differences on foreign policy and security matters, Washington and Moscow have cooperated extensively on space exploration. Russian Soyuz spacecraft are the only way astronauts can get to the space station, whose crews include both Americans and Russians.

Rogozin also said Russia will suspend the operation of GPS satellite navigation system sites in Russia from June and seek talks with Washington on opening similar sites in the United States for Russia's own system, Glonass.

He threatened the permanent closure of the GPS sites in Russia if that is not agreed by September.

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Op dinsdag 13 mei 2014 23:40 schreef Nintex het volgende:

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Dat Nuland telefoontje is vaak aangehaald, maar bekijk het even vanuit het perspectief van de Amerikanen.

- Ze zien van Baalen en Verhofdstadt onzin uitkramen op het podium in Kiev (no way dat de EU Oekraine gaat helpen met de rekeningen)
- Ze zien dat Yanukovich geen krediet meer heeft en bezig is om te vluchten
- Ze zien dat er op dat moment 3 mogelijke keuzes zijn voor interim premier - Klitschko, Tymoshenko, de leiders van de Right Sector .. etc. en de bureaucraat Yatsenyuk. Voor wie had je zelf gekozen?

Als ik me niet vergis is de voorzitter van het parlement nu tijdelijk president die direct een veto uitsprak toen radicale clubjes probeerden om de Russische taal status te veranderen. De vorming van de interim regering is een van de weinige dingen in deze chaotische teringbende die alles mee gerekend redelijk soepel verlopen is. Daardoor is het gros van de Maidan demonstranten ook redelijk snel weer naar huis gegaan na de protesten, wat harde kern kampeerders daar gelaten.

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Op woensdag 14 mei 2014 00:30 schreef Nintex het volgende:

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De Amerikaanse inlichtingen diensten waren er oprecht van overtuigd dat er WMD's lagen. Mede door de gek gehouden door oppositiefiguren in Irak zelf die met 'bewijzen' kwamen.

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Cheney is een crimineel, maar dat bleek al toen hij op zoek moest gaan naar een vice president en zichzelf als beste kandidaat vond. Die heeft daar zonder meer een slaatje uit weten te slaan, maar de VS was ook zonder Cheney Irak binnen gevallen op basis van de verzamelde Interpol, CIA en FBI bewijzen. Saddam werkte ook tot op het laatste moment inspecties en dergelijke tegen tot Hans Blix eindeijk een kijkje mocht nemen (achteraf gezien een hele domme actie ).

Een tweede Irak-oorlog was onvermijdelijk net als een confrontatie tussen Putin/Medvedev en Georgië onvermijdelijk was met iemand als Saahkasvilli aan het roer.

De zoon van Biden heeft al allerlei baantjes en consultancy jobjes gehad ook op het gebied van de energiesector. Daarbij zie ik niet hoe een privaat Oekraïens gasbedrijf baat heeft om een conflict te starten waarbij het risico is dat Putin de gaskraan dichtdraait en/of seperatisten de pijpleidingen opblazen. Dit zou wel de meest domme conspiracy ooit zijn.

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U.S. Sanctions against Russia Sowing Confusion, Caution among Space Firms

PARIS — Morocco’s decision to drop the European version of Russia’s Soyuz rocket as a backup launch option for two Moroccan reconnaissance satellites is the latest example of the ripple effects of the U.S. government’s sanctions against Russia for its incursion into Ukraine, industry officials said.

Morocco’s hypersensitivity to any possible licensing issues with the two satellites may be an extreme case of risk aversion. It remains unclear whether the European Soyuz — launched from French territory under French legal authority and sold by Europe’s Arianespace consortium — will ever be affected by the expanding sanctions imposed by the United States and other governments against Russia.

Even before the Ukrainian issue, officials in Morocco’s capital refused to acknowledge a contract with French manufacturers to build the satellites, which will be launched by Europe’s new Vega rocket.

But Morocco’s prudence is reflective of the confusion that surrounds the U.S. government’s intentions as the Ukrainian crisis appears to worsen and the confrontation with Russia heats up, officials said.
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For now, industry officials said, licenses are being neither denied nor approved — a tactic the U.S. government used starting in 1999 when it blocked U.S. satellites from being launched on Chinese rockets. The China policy remains in effect 15 years later, surviving on the idea that a commercial launch aboard a Chinese rocket constitutes aiding China’s military.
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'Trampolines' to space? Where Ukraine crisis leaves a Russia-dependent US.

A House panel's move to find a replacement for a Russian rocket motor highlights US second thoughts over its heavy dependence on Russia for flight hardware – a bit late in the game, analysts suggest.

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Ukrainian Soldiers Killed in Militia Ambush

DONETSK, Ukraine — Antigovernment forces ambushed a Ukrainian Army convoy outside a village west of Kramatorsk on Tuesday afternoon, further intensifying tensions in Ukraine’s restive eastern regions.

The attack represented a significant tactical escalation, with the pro-Russian militia venturing for the first time outside its strongholds to disrupt Ukrainian military movements along routes it uses to supply the positions essential to what it calls a blockade of armed rebel areas.
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Ukraine favors Europe over Russia, new CNN poll finds

(CNN) -- Ukrainians are a lot less pro-Russian than separatists there would like the world to believe, even in regions along the border with Russia which are supposedly voting overwhelmingly to declare independence from Ukraine, a new poll for CNN suggests.

The people of Ukraine feel much more loyal to Europe than to Russia, and a clear majority back economic sanctions against Russia, according to the poll of 1,000 people across the country conducted in the past week.

Two out of three (67%) people in Ukraine approve of economic sanctions against Russia, while one out of three (29%) disapproves, the poll by ComRes for CNN found.
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Ukraine vs Russia: A mafia state's cover-up?

It's not yet quite as bad as the battle of Vukovar, but the armed conflict in Ukraine is looking increasingly similar to the war in Croatia fought in 1991. One by one, Russia is trying to chip off the predominantly Russophone southeastern parts of Ukraine either through direct annexation, as in the case of Crimea, or by setting up puppet regimes akin to the one the Serbs established in eastern Croatia during the war.

The latter scenario appears to be implemented in the coal-rich region of Donbass, where on May 11 Russia-backed militants conducted a vote on either independence or autonomy from Ukraine (depending on how you interpret the vaguely worded question people had to answer). Although they called it a referendum, it was abundantly clear that the poll was neither fair nor representative.

The region is gripped by terror that is sown primarily by the insurgents. They have kidnapped dozens of Ukrainian activists and politicians. Three of them were found in a river near Sloviansk, the epicentre of the insurrection and the main rebel HQ, with signs of torture and their bellies cut open. Ruthless and armed to their teeth, the insurgents left the Ukrainian government with no other choice, but to use the army in an urban environment. The army's often hapless performance has contributed to the overall chaos.
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Ukraine crisis provokes more economic sanctions against Russia

The economic sanctions that Western nations and Japan have brought against Russia over Ukraine have targeted people and businesses, with travel bans and asset freezes hitting individuals who are considered to be close financially or politically to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

World leaders have also dangled the prospect of harsher actions in economically sensitive areas such as energy if Russia disrupts elections to choose a successor to ousted Ukranian President Victor Yanukovych on May 25.

Canada's sanctions have focused on senior officials, businesses and some institutions in Russia and Ukraine.
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Notably absent from everyone's sanctions lists are the top officials with Gazprom, the Russian energy behemoth that supplies Western Europe with much of its natural gas, and is half-owned by the Russian government.
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Russia says EU sanctions will hurt Ukraine peace efforts

(Reuters) - Russia said on Tuesday new European Union sanctions will hinder efforts to defuse the crisis in Ukraine and urged the West to persuade Kiev to hold discussions on the country's future structure before a May 25 presidential election.

The results of self-rule referendums in the mainly Russian-speaking eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk "should be a clear signal to Kiev of the depth of the crisis" in Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The Kremlin has stopped short of endorsing independence for the regions or their absorption into Russia but has said the referendums underscore the need for talks between the pro-Western government and separatists from the east.
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Op woensdag 14 mei 2014 01:06 schreef deelnemer het volgende:

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Als dat zo is, hoe verklaar je de aanvalsoorlog op Irak dan? Want wat is dommer dan een oorlog beginnen tegen een land, waarvan je denkt dat ze beschikken over direct inzetbare WMDs (volgens Tony Blair) aangevoerd door een gewetenloze gek (volgens de hele politiek), met het plan om Bagdad te belegeren en het regime uit te roken?

Het lijkt mij veel logischer dat je eerst jezelf overtuigd dat er geen inzetbare WMDs meer zijn, en dan pas aanvalt. Dus toen Blix constateerde dat Irak niet beschikte over WMDs (en daar is een lange weg aan voorafgegaan), begon al snel de aanval.

Daarom geloof ik niet dat men aanviel, met de overtuiging dat er WMDs aanwezig waren. Stel dat deze waren ingezet om de Amerikaanse troepen, op Israel ... Wat zou de publieke opinie dan ... onwaarschijnlijk. Men viel aan omdat men zichzelf overtuigd had dat er geen WMDs aanwezig waren.

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Op woensdag 14 mei 2014 01:22 schreef deelnemer het volgende:

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Het kan ook zo zijn dat de RF de Oekraine stimuleert om vaart te zetten achter de exploratie van (shale) gas door zijn voortdurend gebruikt van het 'gas-wapen'.

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Former PM Clark says Ottawa needs to tone down rhetoric on Ukraine

The Conservative government’s rhetoric on Ukraine could compromise Canada’s efforts to resolve the protracted crisis, former prime minister Joe Clark says.
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Earlier this year, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird and Prime Minister Stephen Harper both compared Russia’s annexation of Crimea to actions by Adolf Hitler in the leadup to the Second World War. Mr. Clark said he understands why the government has been outspoken on the matter, but added that he is concerned some of its statements could make it more difficult for Canada to participate in future negotiations.

“I think that the co-operation would have proved more effective without the rhetoric,” he said. “I think there was a risk, there may still be a risk, that our rhetoric was so extreme that we will not be called to the influential decision-making meetings.”
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Mr. Clark said he would not want to overstate Canada’s potential role in helping to resolve the crisis, but said Canada is a skilled player with a reputation for moderation and for “keeping the lines open” – qualities he said could prove useful when it comes to Ukraine. “We have those skills, but we have to safeguard them. And the rhetoric, I think, raises the risk that we might not be as free to be helpful as we want to.”

On Tuesday, Germany attempted to launch talks between the government in Kiev and pro-Russia separatists, a first step in implementing a “road map” developed by the Organization of Security and Co-operation in Europe. Acting Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk thanked the OSCE for the plan, but said Ukraine has its own “road map” for resolving the crisis.

SPOILER

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Subject: On Ukraine.
From: UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply [at] un.org
Date: Tue, May 13, 2014 at 7:40 PM
To: Matthew.Lee@innercitypress.com

The Departments of Peacekeeping Operations and Field Support are in contact with the Ukrainian authorities concerning this issue. It is the responsibility of Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) that provide Contingent Owned Equipment to peacekeeping missions to remove all logos and signage bearing the UN's name once such equipment has been repatriated to the home country or is no longer being used for official UN purposes. Moreover, every Letter of Assist, signed between the UN and TCC, also clearly states that “the Government may only use such painted and marked Aircraft for flights, which have been tasked by the United Nations.”

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Aureliano_no_24 twitterde op woensdag 14-05-2014 om 05:37:24 Ridiculous: #Ukraine still fielding 600 peacekeepers in Congo, Liberia, Kosovo incl heli pilots; 250 fresh replacements abt to ship out. reageer retweet