Crisis Oekraïne - Rusland #193 Putin is AWOL

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tassagency_en twitterde op dinsdag 17-03-2015 om 10:33:31 Russian strategic bombers to be redeployed to Crimea amid snap check — source http://t.co/51poO6V2NZ reageer retweet

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Russia's Putin reappears after 10 day absence, laughs off 'gossip'

The 62-year-old leader met the president of Kyrgyzstan at a lavish Tsarist-era palace outside St Petersburg in his first appearance since Feb. 5. His absence had fueled rumors he was ill, had been overthrown by the army or had even flown abroad to attend the birth of a love child.

"It would be boring without gossip," Putin said, smiling easily before television cameras. He looked relaxed, if pale.

His spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, mocked the press for its interest, referring sarcastically to the various rumors: "So you've seen the broken, paralyzed president, who has been captured by generals? He's only just flown in from Switzerland, where he attended a birth as you know."

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Russia starts nationwide show of force

(Reuters) - More than 45,000 Russian troops as well as war planes and submarines started military exercises across much of the country on Monday in one of the Kremlin's biggest shows of force since its ties with the West plunged to Cold War-lows.

President Vladimir Putin called the Navy's Northern Fleet to full combat readiness in exercises in Russia's Arctic North apparently aimed at dwarfing military drills in neighboring Norway, a NATO member.

"New challenges and threats to military security require the armed forces to further boost their military capabilities. Special attention must be paid to newly created strategic formations in the north," Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said, quoted by RIA news agency.

Shoigu said the order came from Putin, who has promised to spend more than 21 trillion rubles ($340 billion) by the end of the decade to overhaul Russia's fighting forces.

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Fighting rages near Donetsk airport despite Ukraine ceasefire

(Reuters) - Heavy machinegun and light artillery fire pounded a district of Donetsk, the biggest city of eastern Ukraine, on Monday and pro-Russian rebels said there had been no lull in the fighting since a February ceasefire.

The Spartak district, adjacent to the city's now-flattened airport, is one of several sites in eastern Ukraine to have seen continued hostilities between the rebels and Ukrainian government forces since last month's ceasefire, brokered by France and Germany in the Belarussian capital Minsk.

The ceasefire is broadly holding in the rest of the region.

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Russia accuses Kiev of tightening blockade on rebel east

(Reuters) - Russia said on Monday that Kiev was stepping up a "blockade" of eastern Ukrainian regions controlled by pro-Russian rebels and accused Kiev of violating ceasefire agreements.

"Kiev is not only sustaining but even enhancing the blockade of the Donbass region, severely limiting citizens'... communication with the rest of Ukraine, as well as their trans-border connections with Russian... regions," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Kiev has also halted gas and other supplies to the rebel east, much of which is beyond their control.

The Russian Foreign Ministry called that a direct violation of the Minsk agreements concluded by Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France in an effort to end almost a year of fighting in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions that embrace the industrial area known as the Donbass.

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Op dinsdag 17 maart 2015 10:43 schreef Houtenbeen het volgende:

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tassagency_en twitterde op dinsdag 17-03-2015 om 10:33:31 Russian strategic bombers to be redeployed to Crimea amid snap check — source http://t.co/51poO6V2NZ reageer retweet

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Ukraine unveils draft bills on rebel autonomy

Kiev (AFP) - Ukraine on Monday said it will vote this week on bills granting separatist areas in the east special status in line with a February peace deal.

The bills state that rebel-controlled areas in Donetsk and Lugansk regions in the east will attain their "special status" -- giving preference to Russian language and possibly increased cooperation with Russia -- only after holding elections in accordance with Ukrainian law and under international observation.

All armed groups and weapons would also have to disarm or leave Ukraine, and Ukrainian media be allowed to operate in the region, the text of the bill said.

Kiev was obligated under the terms of the Minsk ceasefire to officially recognise the special status of the areas controlled by the self-declared "people's republics" of Donetsk and Lugansk.

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Self-proclaimed republics don't recognize amendments to law on Donbas special status — DPR

MOSCOW, March 17. /TASS/. The self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) do not recognize amendments to the law on Donbas special status that have not been coordinated with them, DPR envoy to the Contact Group Denis Pushilin said on Tuesday.

"Uncoordinated amendments to the law made by [Ukrainian President Petro] Poroshenko are not recognized by the republics [DPR and LPR]," the Donetsk News Agency quoted Pushilin as saying.
"From our point of view, they [amendments] are legally meaningless and politically void," the envoy stressed. "And they directly violate the spirit and word of the Minsk agreements.

The Minsk process is practically interrupted as its basis - the law on special status - is in fact cancelled by Poroshenko’s amendments. He [Poroshenko] does not respect the people of Donbas, he does not want peace," Pushilin said.

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"We express hope that the draft law will be approved by Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada as soon as possible," the Donetsk News Agency cited Pushilin and Deinego as saying. "’The party of war’ should not be able to use the adoption of the law for revising the ‘Law on Special Status’ and making amendments [to the law] that have not been coordinated with Donbass representatives," the envoys added.

"We stress that adopting the draft law without distorting the meaning of the Minsk package of measures will facilitate the process of peaceful settlement and create preconditions for mutual trust," Pushilin and Deinego said.

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Op dinsdag 17 maart 2015 11:27 schreef 99.999 het volgende:

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Klopt, de Russen bleken beter in vliegtuigen neerhalen dan de Oekraïeners.

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L0gg0l twitterde op dinsdag 17-03-2015 om 11:08:52 RUSSIAN TROOPS NEAR FINLAND BORDER PLACED ON COMBAT ALERT, YLE SAYS reageer retweet

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L0gg0l twitterde op dinsdag 17-03-2015 om 11:11:28 ISKANDER MISSILE SYSTEMS, FIGHTER JETS AND BOMBERS TO REINFORCE MILITARY GROUP IN KALININGRAD REGION - SOURCE IN DEFENSE MINISTRY -- IFX reageer retweet

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Op dinsdag 17 maart 2015 11:34 schreef ZOA het volgende:

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Ik zeg toch echt dat naar mijn mening Poroshenko en dus Oekraine verantwoordelijk is voor het neerhalen van MH17.

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Op dinsdag 17 maart 2015 11:36 schreef Houtenbeen het volgende:

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Je ui klopt wel, gigantische trol ben jij zeg

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Op dinsdag 17 maart 2015 11:36 schreef Houtenbeen het volgende:

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Je ui klopt wel, gigantische trol ben jij zeg

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Op dinsdag 17 maart 2015 11:34 schreef theNull het volgende:

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L0gg0l twitterde op dinsdag 17-03-2015 om 11:08:52 RUSSIAN TROOPS NEAR FINLAND BORDER PLACED ON COMBAT ALERT, YLE SAYS reageer retweet

twitter:

L0gg0l twitterde op dinsdag 17-03-2015 om 11:11:28 ISKANDER MISSILE SYSTEMS, FIGHTER JETS AND BOMBERS TO REINFORCE MILITARY GROUP IN KALININGRAD REGION - SOURCE IN DEFENSE MINISTRY -- IFX reageer retweet

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Op dinsdag 17 maart 2015 11:39 schreef DustPuppy het volgende:

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Mensen die doelbewust de feiten negeren vanuit een soort 'weg met ons mentaliteit'.

Ik zal dat nooit begrijpen

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Op dinsdag 17 maart 2015 11:39 schreef waht het volgende:

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Finland, nog zo'n land met 'goede' herinneringen aan de Russen.

Het is ook geen wonder dat alle buurlanden zich uiteindelijk tegen Moskou keren.

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Op dinsdag 17 maart 2015 11:39 schreef DustPuppy het volgende:

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Mensen die doelbewust de feiten negeren vanuit een soort 'weg met ons mentaliteit'.

Ik zal dat nooit begrijpen

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Op dinsdag 17 maart 2015 11:43 schreef ZOA het volgende:

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Wat ook een feit is, is dat je als pro Rus in Oost Oekraine de status van terrorist hebt...

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Op dinsdag 17 maart 2015 11:47 schreef DustPuppy het volgende:

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Nee, wat een feit is dat als jij als Pro-Rus in Oost-Oekraïne gewapend in verzet komt tegen het centrale democratisch verkozen gezag in Kiev (niks niet junta), dan beste ZOA krijg je de status van terrorist.

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Op dinsdag 17 maart 2015 11:48 schreef Solstice1 het volgende:

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Hap.

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Op dinsdag 17 maart 2015 11:40 schreef crashbangboom het volgende:

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Finland, het land wat al vele decennia een prima werkbare relatie met de Russen heeft, en zich maar wat irriteert aan de stugge contraproductieve insteek van Europa.

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Op dinsdag 17 maart 2015 11:47 schreef DustPuppy het volgende:

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Nee, wat een feit is dat als jij als Pro-Rus in Oost-Oekraïne gewapend in verzet komt tegen het centrale democratisch verkozen gezag in Kiev (niks niet junta), dan beste ZOA krijg je de status van terrorist.

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business twitterde op maandag 16-03-2015 om 16:11:25 The price of oil has dropped more than 4%, to a 6-year low http://t.co/bZhXVEHFNj http://t.co/VE6tBJH043 reageer retweet

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ASLuhn twitterde op maandag 16-03-2015 om 01:01:39 A Moscow official has blamed renovators for fire in historic Novodevichy Convent bell tower http://t.co/Vfd3zgJfmj http://t.co/Q0GgdRaIxs reageer retweet

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howardamos twitterde op maandag 16-03-2015 om 13:04:58 Amazing photo from @Reuters of nuns watching their Novodevichy Convent burn last night in Moscow: http://t.co/VUzv0MBUFc reageer retweet

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Op dinsdag 17 maart 2015 11:53 schreef ZOA het volgende:

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Een ieder die pro Russisch was,is of eventueel zou kunnen zijn mocht, ondanks de zogenaamd door toezichthouders vlekkeloos verlopen verkiezingen in heel Oekraine om b.v. 'administratieve redenen' niet stemmen. Er is niets democratisch aan het gezag in Kiev.

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Op dinsdag 17 maart 2015 11:59 schreef deelnemer het volgende:

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De DPR en LPR blokkeerde zelf de deelname aan de verkiezingen.

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Op dinsdag 17 maart 2015 12:00 schreef ZOA het volgende:

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Ik zei dan ook in heel Oekraine....