The Ukrainian Crisis

[Venustus]

Ukraine's Defence Minister Igor Tenyukh speaks during the cabinet of the ministers sittings in Kiev on March 16, 2014. Crimeans voted on March 16 in a unique referendum on breaking away from Ukraine to join Russia that has precipitated a Cold War-style security crisis on Europe's eastern frontier. Ukraine's new government and most of the international community except Russia have said they will not recognise a result expected to be overwhelmingly in favour of immediate secession. AFP PHOTO/ YURY KIRNICHNY

http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukr...oops-from-crimea-prepares-for-war-339724.html

PS:No political discussion please!
Only news updates for those interested!

 

[Prorootect]

Live: Putin calls up Manmohan, discusses situation in Crimea : http://www.firstpost.com/world/live...an-discusses-situation-in-crimea-1439173.html
9.30 pm: Putin dials Manmohan
Seeking to discuss the evolving situation in Crimea, Russian President Vladimir Putin had a telephonic talk with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a NDTV flash said.
The details of the call are awaited.
9.20 pm: Ukraine president says Putin acting like N**i Germany with Crimea annexation
8.35 pm: Joe Biden calls Russia's actions in Crimea 'land grab'
Denouncing Russia's actions in Crimea as "nothing more than a land grab," Vice President Joe Biden warned Russia on Tuesday that the US and Europe will impose further sanctions as Moscow moved to annex part of Ukraine. .
..
Biden said the goal is for NATO to emerge from this crisis stronger and more unified than ever. While in Europe, Biden planned to discuss what additional steps the U.S. can take to shore up security for Poland and the Baltics, such as increased training, said a senior administration official, who wasn't authorized to comment by name and demanded anonymity.
At Warsaw's request, the U.S. last week sent some 300 air troops and a dozen F-16 fighters to Poland for joint training in a show of military support for a key ally.
Also on the agenda: long-term energy security in Europe, a key factor that has confounded the West's attempts to display a united front in punishing Russia. Much of Europe is heavily dependent on Russian natural gas, and European countries have major economic interests in Russia that could be in jeopardy if Moscow retaliates with sanctions of its own.
Republican lawmakers and a handful of European countries, including Poland, have urged the White House to accelerate approval of U.S. natural gas exports, but the White House has insisted that would take too long and says Russia is too dependent on gas revenues to cut off Europe.
One option that doesn't appear to be on the table: rethinking the U.S. posture on missile defense in the region. Poland is still bruised from Obama's 2009 decision to cancel the final phase of a defense system sorely Poland wanted as a hedge against Russian missiles. Biden said the smaller, phased-in system Obama chose instead is on schedule for completion.
8.05 pm: Obama calls for meet over Russia's involvement in Ukraine
..
7.40 pm: Francois Hollande calls for EU response
French President Francois Hollande called Tuesday for a "strong and coordinated" EU response to Russia's annexation of Crimea, which he said Paris did not recognise.
"The next European Council on March 20 and 21 must provide the opportunity for a strong and coordinated European response to the new step that has just been taken," he said in a statement.
7.35 pm: Russia's referendum on Crimea breached international law, says Angela Merkel
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday that Russia's absorption of Ukraine's Crimea region after a secession referendum and declaration of independence there violated international law.
"The so-called referendum breached international law, the declaration of independence which the Russian president accepted yesterday was against international law, and the absorption into the Russian Federation is, in our firm opinion, also against international law," she said.
6.30 pm: Vladimir Putin signs treaty to annex Crimea

 

[Venustus]

Vladimir Putin's top aide Vladislav Surkov mocks US sanctions: 'The only thing that interests me about the US is Tupac, and I don't need a visa' for that:
A top aide to President Vladimir Putin has laughed off the sanctions imposed by the US, saying the only thing he likes about America is Tupac, and he "doesn't need a visa" to listen to rap music.
Vladislav Surkov, one of the seven Russian officials slapped with White House sanctions, told a Russian newspaper being on America's blacklist is a "big honour" for him.
He added: "The only things that interest me in the US are Tupac Shakur, Allen Ginsberg, and Jackson Pollock. I don’t need a visa to access their work. I lose nothing."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...-and-i-dont-need-a-visa-for-that-9200170.html

 

[Icekingus]

On March 18 Russian Lower Parliament (Duma) unanimously voted for the statement " On sanctions of the US and EU" where it demands to enter in the sanction list all the deputies of this State Body. The statement ends with the words:"We do not trade in our principles and are not afraid of any sanctions".

 

[Prorootect]

Europe 2000 - GIS Data 2000 - euratlas.net.jpg

Live: Crimea says Kiev officials will not be allowed to enter region : http://www.firstpost.com/world/live...l-not-be-allowed-to-enter-region-1439173.html
3.24: Crimean PM says Kiev officials will be sent back, no permission to enter region
Crimean Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov said, that senior Ukrainian officials dispatched to the region by the government in Kiev amid tension between military forces would not be allowed to enter, Russian news agency Interfax reported.
"They are not wanted in Crimea. Nobody will let them into Crimea, they will be sent back," Interfax quoted Aksyonov as saying, after Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk ordered and the acting defence minister and first deputy prime minister to fly to Crimea to "resolve the situation" in the region now controlled by Russian forces.
3.16: Russia conducts aviation exercises in Western regions
Russia's military started large-scale aviation exercises in western regions on Wednesday, Interfax news agency quoted a defence official as saying.
The report indicated the exercises involving jet fighters and bombers were taking place mostly in northwestern regions that do not border Ukraine, but the drills could add to tension between Russia and NATO over Moscow's drive to annex Crimea.
3.05: US Vice President meets Baltic leaders, pledges support
US Vice President Joe Biden met with leaders of Lithuania and Latvia on Wednesday, part of a quick trip to reassure Baltic allies worried about what an emboldened, aggressive Russia might mean for their nations, Reuters reported.
Biden's visit is intended to reassure nations like Poland and the Baltics that the United States will live up to its NATO pledge to protect allies under attack. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland are all members of both the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization - unlike Ukraine.
The Baltics are worried not just about Russia's intentions but also about the economic impact of rising tensions if Russia retaliates through trade bans or by withholding natural gas. Last week, Russia suspended food imports through Lithuania's major port, Klaipeda, a move local businesses saw as Moscow's way of exerting political pressure.
Latvia's finance minister said on Monday that the EU should compensate any countries hurt by its sanctions against Russia.
2.25 pm: US conducts joint naval exercise with Bulgaria and Romania in the Black Sea
The Truxtun, a US guided-missile destroyer has started a one-day military exercise with the Bulgarian and Romanian navies in the Black Sea on Wednesday, a US Naval Forces official told Reuters.
Ukraine's Crimea peninsula juts into the north of the Black Sea. The US military has described it as a "routine" deployment scheduled well before the crisis in Ukraine.
"There are many reasons for exercises with allies, it allows us an opportunity to assure our NATO allies that we support them," said Shawn Eklund, a public affairs officer for US Naval Forces Europe.
..
12.52 pm: Crimean self-defense forces storm Ukrainian navy HQ
Crimea's self-defense forces on Wednesday stormed the Ukrainian navy base in the Black Sea port of Sevastopol a day after Russia signed a treaty with local authorities to annex the region.
An Associated Press photographer witnessed several hundred self-defense forces force their way onto the headquarters' premises and raise the Russian flag on the square by the headquarters.
Ukrainian servicemen were standing guard by the main building. Crimean self-defense forces are not armed and seemed to be waiting for the Ukrainian army's decision whether to let them in.
Russia on Tuesday signed a treaty to incorporate Crimea into its territory following a referendum in which residents of Ukraine's region overwhelmingly backed the move. Ukraine and the West consider the vote illegitimate.
The United States and the European Union on Monday imposed sanctions on Russia, targeting Russian and Crimean officials with visa bans and asset freezes.
12.25 pm: Neighbours worried after Russia's intervention in Crimea
After moving to annex Crimea, Russian President Vladimir Putin insists he has no intention of invading other regions in Ukraine, much less other nations, the Associated Press reported.
But leaders in Russia's backyard aren't so sure. They're looking to Vice President Joe Biden for assurances that the US has a plan to prevent that from happening.
Biden meets in Vilnius on Wednesday with the leaders of Lithuania and Latvia, two small countries bordering Russia. The Baltics have suddenly been plunged into the type of eerie concern about foreign aggression they may have thought they'd left behind after the Cold War.
Biden plans to make the case that the US stands ready to defend NATO allies like Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. He offered a similar message Tuesday during meetings with leaders in Poland.

POLITICAL THIEVES! enhanced crop 1300x798 Q76 491 KB.jpg

- HARD TIMES, GRABBERS ..
They are Here! enhanced 1260x709.jpg

 

[Icekingus]

'We map the world as it is:' National Geographic maps Crimea as part of Russia
Published time: March 19, 2014 08:43
Edited time: March 19, 2014 11:08
Get short URL

A map showing Crimea as part of the Russian Federation was briefly showcased Tuesday on Wikipedia's English-language entry for Russia. (image from wikipedia.org)

“We map the world as it is – not as people would like it to be,” National Geographic’s map-making authority says, as the educational entertainment giant prepares to mark Crimea as part of Russia after the parliament officially ratifies the measure.

Juan Jose Valdes, NatGeo’s geographer, chief editor and research director for the map-making division, emerged from a meeting with the magazine’s editorial, legal and cartographic authorities on Tuesday, where the decision was made to give the area a temporary special shading (like the Gaza Strip or the West Bank), until permanent coloring after the Russian parliament approves the treaty signed by President Putin and the Crimean authorities.

 

[Venustus]

Update:

President Barack Obama made new comments on the situation in Ukraine on Thursday, announcing the U.S. is moving "to impose additional costs on Russia."

Obama said he signed a new executive order Thursday that allows the U.S. "to impose sanctions on key sectors of the Russian economy."

"Russia must know that further escalation will only isolate it further from the international community," Obama said.
Obama urged Congress to pass an aid package to support Ukrainians pursuing reforms.
"Expressions of support are not enough," Obama said. "We need action."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/20/obama-us-ukraine_n_5000115.html?icid=maing-grid7|main5|dl3|sec1_lnk2&pLid=456018

A link to Russia's allies:
http://www.ibtimes.com/who-are-russ...ians-view-other-countries-infographic-1409150

Here's also a link to the list of over seas naval bases for some countries
:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_with_overseas_military_bases

 

[Prorootect]

This is the first Obama's action, which I like, it was the time, as soon it will no longer play president.
But we'll see this in reality.

 

[Deleted member 178]

Thread closed by Umbra

Reason: rules violation, politics not allowed on this forum.