Ukraine postpones 'trade suicide', halts talks with EU

[Razor]

Stones, bottles thrown as pro-, anti-Russian protesters clash in Crimea

Bottles, stones and flags flew in the air as thousands of pro- and anti-Russian demonstrators clashed in front of the parliament building in Simferopol, the capital of Ukraine's autonomous Crimea region.

Tension between the rival groups rallying next to one another intensified after hours of demonstrating, with people wielding Russian, Ukrainian, Crimean and Crimean Tatar flags getting involved in clashes. Demonstrators slammed each other with flags and threw stones as leaders on both sides urged their followers to avoid provocations.

On Wednesday evening, local MP Mustafa Dzhemilev said that during the clashes two people died - a man of a heart attack and a woman who was trampled by the crowd.

At least 30 people have been injured in the clashes, 6 of whom were hospitalized, Crimean Health Ministry reported. Three of them remain in severe state while the other three suffered moderate injuries. Most people were admitted with head and abdominal injuries.

The head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, Refat Chubarov, eventually called for the participants of the rally to go home peacefully. Crimea shall not be divided by "provocations" and its people will decide the future of the region on their own, Chubarov said in a heated speech.

"We have gathered here to ensure that the Supreme Council [of Crimea] is no longer a center of destabilization. We may be different in our approach, but we are one in blood and in our love for Crimea. Our task for today is not to let any clashes happen here on this square. We are trying to find a common approach to building the future of Crimea," Chubarov said, addressing the demonstrators.

He also blamed the Crimean authorities for what is now happening and called for a new session of the local parliament to be held.

Chubarov then handed the microphone to the leader of Russian Unity party, Sergey Aksyonov, who also urged the demonstrators to avoid clashes.

"All of us here are Crimeans. Let us remember that, above all. Crimea is our common home, and we must respect each other. We must together address the outside challenges... Do not let political provocateurs start clashes on this square," Aksyonov said.

The rival groups are protesting for and against the new national authorities in Kiev. Part of the residents proclaimed that Crimea are not going to obey Kiev, while the local Muslim community of Crimean Tatars expressed support for the new Ukrainian authorities.

Two separate rallies, consisting of several thousands of protesters, faced each other on Wednesday. Russians shouted "Russia-Russia!" and "Berkut!", the name of the special police task force disbanded yesterday by the new Ukrainian authorities, who blame them for heavy-handed policing of opposition activists in recent months in central Kiev. The Muslim community protesters were shouting "Ukraine-Ukraine!" and "Crimea is not Russia!" Pro-Russian demonstrators were holding Russian flags, while Tatars were holding Ukrainian flags and flags of their own nationalist organizations.

The Tatars of the Crimea peninsula, united by their national party Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, together with local supporters of the new Ukrainian authorities, have declared that they will not allow the autonomous region to break away.

"We warned them not to arrange a [parliamentary] session. Do not explode the situation in Crimea. We know they need that session to tear Crimea away from Ukraine," Chubarov said. "We warned that Crimea Tatars will not allow this to happen. Tatars will not allow the fate of this land to be decided without them."

In addition, the protesters demanded a referendum be held to decide whether Crimea should retain its current status as an autonomous region in Ukraine, to become independent, or become part of Russia again (Crimea was part of Russia until 1954).

Demonstrators from Russian-dominated Sevastopol, the largest city in Crimea, are arriving at the region's capital Simferopol, in the center of the Crimea peninsula, to support thousands of Russian nationals rallying against the new authorities in Kiev.

Right-wing leaders threatened earlier that they would send to Sevastopol the so-called "trains of friendship," which are, in fact, groups of armed radicals, RT's correspondent Egor Piskunov reported from Simferopol. Additional checkpoints have been set up on the main roads leading to the city to prevent any possible provocations, he said.

http://rt.com/news/crimea-ukraine-protest-clashes-840/

Crimea is almost 60% ethnic Russian. Crimea was part of the Russian SFSR up until 1954 when Khrushchev removed Crimea from Russian SFSR and transferred it to Ukrainian SFSR to repay the support he got from the Ukrainians.

Kinda related.

Only 4% of Russians Say Relations with Ukraine Friendly - Poll

Only four percent of Russians describe relations between Moscow and Kiev as "friendly," an independent pollster said Wednesday.
The Levada Center reported that 40 percent of respondents to its poll described relations with Ukraine in positive terms: four percent as "friendly," ten percent as "neighborly," and 26 percent as "normal."
However, 54 percent used negative terms: 31 percent said relations were "chilly," 21 percent "tense" and two percent "hostile." Six percent did not answer.
While 60 percent of Russians said that their opinion of Ukraine was "largely positive" and 22 percent describing their view of the ex-Soviet neighbor as "largely negative."
Only 10 percent of respondents used stronger terms, with six percent describing their opinion of Ukraine as "very positive" and four percent saying it was "very negative." The rest gave no response.
The survey of 1,603 people from 130 cities and towns in 45 regions was conducted from January 24-27. The margin of error was no more than 3.4 percent.

http://en.ria.ru/russia/20140227/18...y-Relations-with-Ukraine-Friendly---Poll.html

 

[Razor]

Russian Navy Boosting Security in Crimea – Defense Minister

Russia is taking additional steps to ensure security at its naval facilities on the Crimean Peninsula amid the growing political unrest in Ukraine, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Wednesday.
"We are carefully monitoring the situation in Ukraine and around the Black Sea Fleet," Shoigu told reporters in Moscow.
"We are taking measures to ensure security of the fleet's facilities, infrastructure and arsenals," he said without specifying such measures.
A Russian military source said earlier on Wednesday that security check points at several Black Sea Fleet facilities had been strengthened with armored vehicles.
Shoigu's statement follows reports of scuffles that broke out Wednesday in the southern Ukrainian city of Simferopol as large crowds of opponents of the newly installed national authorities faced off against representatives of the Crimean Tatar community outside the local parliament.
Until Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in 1954 transferred Crimea to what was then the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, the territory was officially a part of Russia.
The Black Sea Fleet maintains its main base in the port of Sevastopol and several auxiliary naval installations around the peninsula.
During the tenure of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, which began in early 2010 and ended with his ouster on Saturday, the country renewed Russia's lease on the naval facilities in Crimea until 2042.

Russian Navy Boosting Security in Crimea – Defense Minister | World | RIA Novosti

Note: Sevastopol is the HQ of the Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet.

 

[Razor]

Related ??

Putin orders 'combat readiness' tests for western, central Russian troops

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered an urgent military drill to test the combat readiness of the armed forces across western and central Russia. The drill included troops dealing with mock security and terrorist threats.

"The drills are not connected with events in Ukraine at all," Sergey Shoigu, Russia's Defense Minister, told journalists Wednesday.

As part of the test, several drills will be held on Russian borders with other countries, including with Ukraine. The main purpose of these drills is to check the combat readiness of the Russian armed forces, Shoigu said.

The surprise drill tested ground troops, Air Force, airborne troops and aerospace defense, according to Shoigu.

Putin ordered to "test combat readiness of troops in dealing with crisis situations that threaten the military security of the country, as well as with antiterrorist, sanitary and epidemiological, or technogenic situations," Shoigu said.

According to the Defense Minister, the drill, which started at 14:00 GMT, will be held from February 26 until March 3 in two stages. The second stage involves an opposing-force exercise with the participation of Russia's Northern and Baltic fleet and bomb strike drills.

Some 150,000 troops, 90 aircraft, over 120 helicopters, 880 tanks and 1,200 pieces of military hardware will be involved in the drills, deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said Wednesday.

Russia informed NATO of the military exercise thus fulfilling its obligations in the field of military transparency, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told journalists before a scheduled meeting of the alliance's defense ministers.

"Yes, Russia has informed us about their military exercises," Itar-tass reports, as Rasmussen stressed that Russia "lived up to all their obligations as regards transparency."

Moscow also notified the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) of the military exercise, according to a senior NATO official.

While Western media was quick to connect the drill to the situation in Ukraine, such exercises were proposed by Putin as early as last September and followed massive 2013 drills.

In February, the Russian Army staged a surprise 'combat readiness' drill in central Russia for the first time in 20 years, which was followed by a Black Sea drill in March.

An exercise testing aerospace defense and Air Force then took place in May, involving thousands of troops with hundreds of aircraft and vehicles.

In July, a massive military drill took place in the Eastern Command. Up to 160,000 troops, 1,000 tanks and armored vehicles, 130 aircraft and 70 vessels took part in the drill.

Following the 2013 exercises, President Putin, in his capacity as Russia's Supreme Commander-in-Chief, announced that the practice of surprise drills will continue. A comprehensive inspection of Interior Ministry troops was also ordered.

http://rt.com/news/putin-drill-combat-army-864/

 

[Razor]

The west wants to do the same in India also, but because of diversity and contradictions they dont know where to start

When there is diversity it becomes easy for external forces to tap into it.

For example most of the radical protesters in the Ukraine situation are from Western Ukraine (they have since then been transported to various parts of the country too.)

Western Ukr is different from the rest of Ukr.
Religion plays a strong role in people of W. Ukr and some oblasts (provinces) of W.Ukr are dominated by Catholic church unlike the rest of Ukr where people are less religious and/or adhere to orthodoxy. Overall in Ukr orthodoxy dominates except in W. Ukr. The proposed PM for Ukraine Mr. Arseny Yatsenyuk is Greek Catholic from W. Ukr
Next, E.Ukr and S.Ukr are the places with the industries, therefore less jobless youth as compared to W. Ukr.
Also W.Ukr people prefer Ukrainian over Russian and show more anti-Russia feelings.

 

[nrupatunga]

Ukraine names pro-Western cabinet

Ukraine's new leaders named a strongly pro-Western cabinet on Wednesday as brawls erupted between rival factions on the volatile Crimean peninsula and Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered snap military drills near the border with the ex-Soviet state.

Kiev is grappling with the dual threats of separatism and economic default as it tries to recover from three months of protests that triggered pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych's oustinger following a week of carnage in which nearly 100 people died.

The interim leaders tried to secure the splintered nation's confidence by naming opposition icon Yulia Tymoshenko's top ally Arseniy Yatsenyuk as prime minister in front of about 25 000 people on Kiev's Independence Square, the heart of Ukraine's worst protests since independence in 1991.

But the wave of secessionist sentiment that gripped the Russified south-eastern parts of Ukraine following the fall of the pro-Kremlin government boiled over in Crimea, as several thousands led by pro-Russian Cossacks squared off against a force spearheaded by Muslim Tatars.

Local health authorities said one man died of a heart attack during the mayhem in the port town of Simferopol, while several were injured in scuffles that involved pepper spray and saw several bottles being hurled.

Post-Soviet alliance

Meanwhile Putin ordered his military to undergo snap readiness drills - one of several announced in recent months - across a western swathe of Russia that borders the northeast corner of Ukraine.

"The commander-in-chief has set the task of checking the capability of the armed forces to deal with crisis situations posing a threat to the military security of the country," Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said.

He also announced Russia was taking measures to ensure the security of its Black Sea naval fleet based in Crimea - a scenic peninsula that had answered to Moscow for centuries until being handed to the Ukrainian Soviet republic as a gift in 1954.

Russia has been venting daily outrage at the meteoric turn of events in a neighbour that Putin views as vital to his dream of building a post-Soviet alliance that could rival the EU and Nato blocs.

US Secretary of State John Kerry attempted to ward off any ambitions Putin may have to use force to alter the political outcome in Kiev.

"We are making it clear that every country should respect the territorial integrity here, the sovereignty of Ukraine. Russia said it will do that, and we think it is important Russia keeps its word," Kerry stressed.

The interim government's headaches have been compounded by Moscow's decision to freeze a massive bailout package that Putin promised to Yanukovych as his reward for rejecting closer EU ties in a surprise November decision that sparked the mass protests.

Fears of a catastrophic default by Ukraine - which is seeking $35bn in Western aid to keep functioning - saw the local currency sink 4% and reach a record low against the dollar on Wednesday.

Yanukovych hiding

The deposed Yanukovych - who is wanted for "mass murder" - is widely believed to have gone into hiding in Crimea with his two sons and a small team of heavily-armed guards.

The new interim prosecutor general insisted that Yanukovych was still in Ukraine while also requesting an international arrest warrant for both the fugitive ex-leader and the ousted interior minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko - a hate figure among protesters for ordering the deadly use of force.

There was further confusion when Putin's spokesperson was forced to say he had no information about a private Russian TV report claiming that Yanukovych was hiding out in a government health resort near Moscow called Barvikha.

The RBK channel cited an unnamed "major Russian businessman" as its source and said the information had been confirmed by a "high-ranking Russian official".

Crimea unrest

Top among interim president Oleksandr Turchynov's concerns are fears of mob violence in Crimea. Crowds have already ousted the mayor of Sevastopol - home to the Kremlin's navies for the past 250 years - and appointed a Russian citizen in his place.

However Kiev's new rulers were offered some short-term relief when the Crimean parliament speaker cancelled a planned vote on the peninsula's secession.

But Wednesday's scuffles threatened to continue across the peninsula and spread to other pro-Russian regions such as Yanukovych's native industrial base of Donetsk.

Three of Ukraine's post-Soviet leaders issued a joint statement accusing Russia of "resorting to direct intervention in the political life of Crimea".

Russia must "show respect to the choices made by the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian government", said a statement posted by former president Viktor Yushchenko and also featuring the names of ex- Moscow ally Leonid Kuchma and former leader Leonid Kravchuk.

New pro-Western team

The new cabinet is expected to win easy and quick confirmation by parliament after mass defection from Yanukovych's ruling Regions Party put the chamber firmly in the opposition's hands.

Several nominations were a clear sign that the protesters were taking charge of Ukraine.

Journalist Tetyana Chornovil - attacked in December after filing reports about Yanukovych's purported wealth - was nominated as head of a new anti-corruption committee.

And prominent opposition leader Dmytro Bulatov - who emerged with a part of his ear missing and caked in blood after being kidnapped and tortured by what he believes were pro-Yanukovych thugs in January - was asked to be Ukraine's ministry of sport and youth.

The vital economy ministry was offered to Kiev School of Economics President Pavlo Sheremeto.

New acting interior minister Arsen Avakov also disbanded the elite Berkut riot police force that many Ukrainians have feared since it was first formed in the dying years of Soviet rule.

 

[nrupatunga]

[tweet]438779094302343168[/tweet]

 

[nrupatunga]

TIFWIW.

Folks on twitter are saying deposed ukrainian president emerges in moscow.

============================
Ukraine Warns Russia on Troop Movements

The interim president of Ukraine warned Thursday that any movement by Russian forces outside their bases in the southern republic of Crimea will be interpreted as an act of military aggression.

Already frayed nerves on the peninsula reached breaking point after armed gunmen occupied the parliament Thursday in the Crimean town of Simferopol, only one day after fistfights erupted outside the building between supporters and opponents of the country's incoming leadership.

Russia, which has a substantial military presence at its leased naval base in the Ukrainian Black Sea city of Sevastopol, has insisted it will not interfere in its neighbor's affairs, while at the same time voicing worries about possible discrimination against ethnic Russians in the country.

About half of Crimea's population identifies as ethnic Russian.

Interim President Oleksandr Turchynov appealed to Russian Black Sea servicemen to refrain from leaving their quarters, apparently echoing wider international concern that Moscow may choose to throw its weight behind pro-Russian groups in Crimea seeking to defy authorities in Kiev.

"Any movement, particularly with weapons, outside official residences regulated by our agreement will be interpreted by us as military aggression," Turchynov said.
Russia maintains thousands of military personnel at bases in Sevastopol that it rents from Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered snap military exercises in Russia's western regions, including those bordering Ukraine.

Eyewitnesses in central Sevastopol reported seeing Russian armored personnel carriers on Tuesday and there have been other unconfirmed reports of Russian troop movements around the city since the weekend.

Acting Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov posted a link Thursday to an article on a Ukrainian news site reporting on a column of Russian APCs heading for Simferopol on a planned exercise being turned back by local law enforcement authorities.

In recent days, a series of pro-Russian demonstrations have taken place across Crimea. Protesters have said at those gatherings that they do not recognize the current government in Kiev and have called for Russian intervention.

 

[Razor]

Crimean parliament sacks regional government, approves referendum

The Supreme Council of Ukraine's Autonomous Republic of Crimea has dismissed the regional government, electing a pro-Russian party leader as its new chair. The MPs have also voted in favor of holding a referendum to decide the future of Crimea on May 25.

Facts you need to know about crimea

Fifty-five out of 64 MPs voted for the government's dissolution. The decision was announced by parliament official Olga Sulnikova.

The decision to dismiss Crimea's Council of Ministers was supported by 55 out of 64 Crimean MPs. The no-confidence motion came as a result of "unsatisfactory" work by the regional government in 2013, Interfax-Ukraine reported.

The Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Anatoly Mogilyov, was also dismissed. The leader of Crimea's Russian Unity party, Sergey Aksyonov, has been voted in as the new chairman, RIA Novosti reports. The pro-Russian politician was supported by a majority of 53 MPs of the Crimean parliament, with 64 MPs taking part in the vote out of 100.

The new council of ministers is to be formed Friday.

The regional parliament then voted in favor of holding an All-Crimean referendum on the status of the Autonomous Republic, with 61 out of 64 MPs supporting the poll.

On May 25, Crimeans will vote "yes" or "no" on whether the "Autonomous Republic of Crimea has state sovereignty and is a part of Ukraine, in accordance with treaties and agreements."

Earlier the presidium of the Crimean parliament have announced that they are confident "that only by holding an All-Crimean referendum on the issue of improving the status of the Autonomy and expanding its powers Crimeans will be able to determine the future of the Autonomy on their own and without any external pressure."

As a result of "the unconstitutional seizure of power in Ukraine by radical nationalists supported by armed gangs," Crimea's peace and order is "under threat," said Oksana Korniychuk, the press secretary of the head of the parliament.

Korniychuk spoke hours after an unknown group of people barricaded themselves inside the building of the Crimean parliament and installed Russian flags there. The group, however, allowed MPs inside, including the speaker of the parliament, Vladimir Konstantinov. The MPs then held their sessions as planned.

Later on Thursday, some 400 demonstrators announced an open-ended protest in front of the parliament building, demanding that a referendum on the status of Crimea be held.

The referendum on May 25 will coincide with the early Ukrainian presidential and city mayoral elections.

http://rt.com/news/ukraine-crimea-parliament-government-056/

 

[kseeker]

Ukraine accuses Russia of 'armed invasion' in Crimea - The Times of India

SIMFEROPOL (Ukraine): Ukraine accused Russia of staging an "armed invasion" of Crimea on Friday and appealed to the west to guarantee its territorial integrity after pro-Kremlin gunmen took control of the peninsula's main airport.

The spiralling tensions in a splintered nation torn between Russia and the west were due to take a dramatic new turn later on Friday when ousted president Viktor Yanukovych briefs reporters after winning protection from Moscow.

Unidentified armed men in full combat gear were patrolling outside of Crimea's main airport early on Friday while gunmen were also reported to have seized another airfield on the southwest of the peninsula where ethnic Russians are a majority and where pro-Moscow sentiment runs high.

Ukraine's parliament immediately appealed to the United States and Britain to uphold a 1994 pact signed with Russia that guaranteed the country's sovereignty in return for it giving up its Soviet nuclear arms.

Interim president Oleksandr Turchynov also told agitated lawmakers that he was convening the country's security and defence chiefs for an emergency meeting over the unfolding crisis.

Western governments have been been watching with increasing worry as Kiev's new pro-EU rulers grapple with dual threats of economic collapse and secession from Russian-speaking southern and eastern regions that had backed fugitive ex-president Viktor Yanukovych.

Russian President Vladimir Putin this week stoked concerns that Moscow might use its military might to sway the outcome of Ukraine's three-month standoff by ordering snap combat drills near its border involving 150,000 troops and nearly 900 tanks.

US secretary of state John Kerry attempted to relieve diplomatic pressure that has increasingly assumed Cold War overtones by announcing that Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov had assured him that Moscow "will respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine."

Putin also appeared to take a more conciliatory approach late on Thursday by vowing to work on improving trade ties with Ukraine and promising to support international efforts to provide Kiev with funds that could keep it from declaring a debt default as early as next week.

Yet tensions continued to soar by the hour in the Russian-speaking Crimea — a scenic Black Sea peninsula that has housed Kremlin navies for nearly 250 years and was handed to Ukraine as a symbolic gift by a Soviet leader in 1954.

Ukraine's Interior Minister Arsen Avakov accused the Russian armed forces of being directly involved in dawn raids on an airport in Crimea's main city of Simferopol as well as an airfield on the southwestern coast.

Dozens of men in battle fatigues and armed with Kalashnikovs encircled the Simferopol airport on Friday morning, which an administrator told AFP was "operating normally."

Unconfirmed reports by Ukrainian media said armed men had also seized the Belbek airfield near the city of Sevastopol — home to Russia's Black Sea fleet.

Avakov said the gunmen at the Simferopol airport "are not even hiding the fact that they belong to the armed forces of the Russian Federation."

The interior minister added that the Belbek airfield was "blockaded by military units of the Russian navy".

"I consider what is happening to be an armed invasion and an occupation," Avakov said in a statement posted on his Facebook account.

The peninsula of nearly two million people has been in crisis since dozens of pro-Kremlin gunmen seized and raised the Russian flag over Crimea's parliament and government buildings on Wednesday.

Crimean lawmakers appointed Russian Unity party member Sergiy Aksyonov as regional premier in place of Kiev-allied Anatoliy Mohilyov in a vote held late on Thursday under the watchful eye of the pro-Kremlin militia.

Aksyonov said on Friday that he still recognized Yanukovych as Ukraine's legitimate head of state.

The fugitive leader had not been seen since making a brief taped television appearance last Saturday that was aired only hours before parliament stripped him of power for a week of carnage in Kiev that claimed nearly 100 lives.

Ukraine's bloodiest crisis since its 1991 independence erupted in November when Yanukovych made the shock decision to ditch an EU trade pact in favour of closer ties with old master Russia.

The 63-year-old fugitive announced from an undisclosed location on Thursday that he was "compelled to ask the Russian Federation to ensure (his) personal security."

A source later told Russian news agencies that Yanukovych's request for protection "was satisfied on Russian territory."

The ousted leader was expected to appear before the media at 1300 GMT in Rostov-on-Don — a Russian city less than two hours' drive from the Ukrainian border.

Meanwhile Switzerland said it was prepared to freeze any funds the Yanukovych family might have in the Alpine country's banks.

It is unclear whether Yanukovych himself has funds in Switzerland. But his 40-year-old son Olexandr opened a branch of his Management Assets Company (MAKO) in Geneva in late 2011.

Ukraine's new leaders meanwhile are suffering from Moscow's decision to freeze a $15-billion bailout package Putin promised to Yanukovych in return for his rejection of the EU deal.

The country's Central Bank was forced on Friday to lower the maximum amount of money individuals can withdraw from banks in a day to about 1,100 euros ($1,400) from the 4,000-euro ($5,500) limit it imposed on February 7.

The Ukrainian hryvnia had lost about 13 percent of its value between Wednesday and Thursday before regaining some strength on Friday amid expectations of the imminent delivery of urgent Western aid.

IMF chief Christine Lagarde promised on Thursday to send a fact-finding mission to Kiev that could open the way for the quick release of about $2.5 billion in EU and US loans.

 

[Razor]

Ukraine accuses Russia of 'armed invasion' in Crimea - The Times of India

SIMFEROPOL (Ukraine): Ukraine accused Russia of staging an "armed invasion" of Crimea on Friday and appealed to the west to guarantee its territorial integrity after pro-Kremlin gunmen took control of the peninsula's main airport.

The spiralling tensions in a splintered nation torn between Russia and the west were due to take a dramatic new turn later on Friday when ousted president Viktor Yanukovych briefs reporters after winning protection from Moscow.

Unidentified armed men in full combat gear were patrolling outside of Crimea's main airport early on Friday while gunmen were also reported to have seized another airfield on the southwest of the peninsula where ethnic Russians are a majority and where pro-Moscow sentiment runs high.

Ukraine's parliament immediately appealed to the United States and Britain to uphold a 1994 pact signed with Russia that guaranteed the country's sovereignty in return for it giving up its Soviet nuclear arms.

Interim president Oleksandr Turchynov also told agitated lawmakers that he was convening the country's security and defence chiefs for an emergency meeting over the unfolding crisis.

Western governments have been been watching with increasing worry as Kiev's new pro-EU rulers grapple with dual threats of economic collapse and secession from Russian-speaking southern and eastern regions that had backed fugitive ex-president Viktor Yanukovych.

Russian President Vladimir Putin this week stoked concerns that Moscow might use its military might to sway the outcome of Ukraine's three-month standoff by ordering snap combat drills near its border involving 150,000 troops and nearly 900 tanks.

US secretary of state John Kerry attempted to relieve diplomatic pressure that has increasingly assumed Cold War overtones by announcing that Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov had assured him that Moscow "will respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine."

Putin also appeared to take a more conciliatory approach late on Thursday by vowing to work on improving trade ties with Ukraine and promising to support international efforts to provide Kiev with funds that could keep it from declaring a debt default as early as next week.

Yet tensions continued to soar by the hour in the Russian-speaking Crimea — a scenic Black Sea peninsula that has housed Kremlin navies for nearly 250 years and was handed to Ukraine as a symbolic gift by a Soviet leader in 1954.

Ukraine's Interior Minister Arsen Avakov accused the Russian armed forces of being directly involved in dawn raids on an airport in Crimea's main city of Simferopol as well as an airfield on the southwestern coast.

Dozens of men in battle fatigues and armed with Kalashnikovs encircled the Simferopol airport on Friday morning, which an administrator told AFP was "operating normally."

Unconfirmed reports by Ukrainian media said armed men had also seized the Belbek airfield near the city of Sevastopol — home to Russia's Black Sea fleet.

Avakov said the gunmen at the Simferopol airport "are not even hiding the fact that they belong to the armed forces of the Russian Federation."

The interior minister added that the Belbek airfield was "blockaded by military units of the Russian navy".

"I consider what is happening to be an armed invasion and an occupation," Avakov said in a statement posted on his Facebook account.

The peninsula of nearly two million people has been in crisis since dozens of pro-Kremlin gunmen seized and raised the Russian flag over Crimea's parliament and government buildings on Wednesday.

Crimean lawmakers appointed Russian Unity party member Sergiy Aksyonov as regional premier in place of Kiev-allied Anatoliy Mohilyov in a vote held late on Thursday under the watchful eye of the pro-Kremlin militia.

Aksyonov said on Friday that he still recognized Yanukovych as Ukraine's legitimate head of state.

The fugitive leader had not been seen since making a brief taped television appearance last Saturday that was aired only hours before parliament stripped him of power for a week of carnage in Kiev that claimed nearly 100 lives.

Ukraine's bloodiest crisis since its 1991 independence erupted in November when Yanukovych made the shock decision to ditch an EU trade pact in favour of closer ties with old master Russia.

The 63-year-old fugitive announced from an undisclosed location on Thursday that he was "compelled to ask the Russian Federation to ensure (his) personal security."

A source later told Russian news agencies that Yanukovych's request for protection "was satisfied on Russian territory."

The ousted leader was expected to appear before the media at 1300 GMT in Rostov-on-Don — a Russian city less than two hours' drive from the Ukrainian border.

Meanwhile Switzerland said it was prepared to freeze any funds the Yanukovych family might have in the Alpine country's banks.

It is unclear whether Yanukovych himself has funds in Switzerland. But his 40-year-old son Olexandr opened a branch of his Management Assets Company (MAKO) in Geneva in late 2011.

Ukraine's new leaders meanwhile are suffering from Moscow's decision to freeze a $15-billion bailout package Putin promised to Yanukovych in return for his rejection of the EU deal.

The country's Central Bank was forced on Friday to lower the maximum amount of money individuals can withdraw from banks in a day to about 1,100 euros ($1,400) from the 4,000-euro ($5,500) limit it imposed on February 7.

The Ukrainian hryvnia had lost about 13 percent of its value between Wednesday and Thursday before regaining some strength on Friday amid expectations of the imminent delivery of urgent Western aid.

IMF chief Christine Lagarde promised on Thursday to send a fact-finding mission to Kiev that could open the way for the quick release of about $2.5 billion in EU and US loans.

So when pro-West gunmen take over Ukraine it is peaceful protest but when pro-Russian gunmen start something, it is invasion ?

Anyway note that as mentioned in post #148 above, unlike ukraine where hooligans just seized power, there is going to be a referendum in Crimea where people will decide what to do (unless of course the West interferes again).

 

[nrupatunga]

Russia admits that its troops are moving in crimea
:shocked:

 

[The Messiah]

Stones, bottles thrown as pro-, anti-Russian protesters clash in Crimea

http://rt.com/news/crimea-ukraine-protest-clashes-840/

Crimea is almost 60% ethnic Russian. Crimea was part of the Russian SFSR up until 1954 when Khrushchev removed Crimea from Russian SFSR and transferred it to Ukrainian SFSR to repay the support he got from the Ukrainians.

Kinda related.

Only 4% of Russians Say Relations with Ukraine Friendly - Poll


Only 4% of Russians Say Relations with Ukraine Friendly - Poll | Russia | RIA Novosti

Tartars are basically turks and stalin deported most of them to siberia so naturally they'll be against russia.

 

[nrupatunga]

Tifwiw

[tweet]439458427920973824[/tweet]

 

[Razor]

Russia admits that its troops are moving in crimea
:shocked:

Read this please. Before quoting from Western media, one should at least try to verify.

Movement of Russian armored vehicles in Crimea fully complies with agreements - Foreign Ministry

The movements of the Russian Black Sea Fleet's armored vehicles in Ukraine's Autonomous Republic of Crimea are in full compliance with Russian-Ukrainian agreements, Moscow has said.

Russia has passed a note regarding the maneuvers to a minister-counselor at Ukraine's embassy in Moscow, Ruslan Nimchinsky, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday.

On Thursday, the Russian charge d'affaires in Kiev, Andrey Vorobyev, was summoned to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry and handed two diplomatic notes - one on the latest events in Ukraine and one asking Russia's Black Sea fleet units to abstain from movements outside their deployment sites.

"The Russian Foreign Ministry has passed an reply to the Ukrainian side on the movement of the Black Sea Fleet armored vehicles in Crimea, which is caused by the necessity to provide security for the Black Sea fleet's naval deployment areas on Ukrainian territory, which happens in full accordance with basic Russian-Ukrainian agreements on the Black Sea Fleet," a statement published on the Russian Foreign Ministry's website reads.

Meanwhile, the Russian Black Sea Fleet's press service dismissed reports that Russian troops were blocking Belbek airport near the port of Sevastopol in Crimea.

"No units of the Black Sea Fleet were deployed in the area of Belbek [airport], nor did they take any part in blocking it," a statement from the fleet's press service reads.

The comment followed reports in some media that the airport was being patrolled by a group of unidentified armed people. It was alleged that Russian troops arrived to "prevent the arrival of some militants," Interfax news agency reported.

On Friday evening, Crimean self-defense squads raided the international airport in the republic's capital, Simferopol, searching for Ukrainian airborne troops. They found no military personnel inside, but are still patrolling the grounds of the airport. Airport security said the squads are helping to ensure safety at the airport.

Crimea events result of Ukraine's internal policies – Moscow
Russia says that the latest developments in Crimea come as a result of internal political processes in Ukraine.

"The Russian side considers the events on the Autonomous Republic of Crimea a consequence of recent internal political processes in Ukraine and, in that context, sees no necessity to hold urgent bilateral consultations which were proposed by the Ukrainian side," the Foreign Ministry said after a meeting with Ruslan Nimchinsky.

On Friday, Russian diplomats met in Moscow with Nimchinsky, and handed him a reply. Earlier, Kiev proposed holding urgent bilateral consultations on the events in Crimea – based on the Agreement on Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership signed in 1997.

http://rt.com/news/russian-vehicles-crimea-comply-agreements-227/

 

[Razor]

Tartars are basically turks and stalin deported most of them to siberia so naturally they'll be against russia.

Well, tartars were famous for incessant slave raids into Russia, Ukraine, Poland etc. If Stalin deported them, consider it Karma. Some tartars also sided with the Nazis (just like some muslims in West-Asia), bad choice.

 

[Razor]

Neo-Nazis Pour Into Kiev

A stream of European jihadists have traveled to Syria to wage holy war. Now a group of European neo-Nazis are traveling to Ukraine to save the white race
In early February, Fredrik Hagberg stood at the rostrum in Kiev's City Hall, offering fraternal and comradely greetings from Sweden to the sweaty, bruised, and exhausted Ukrainian insurrectionists scattered throughout. The place was festooned with flags—some celtic crosses, a stray Confederate banner, a standard for the political party Svoboda, whose members essentially controlled the building—reflecting the dubious politics of its occupiers.

Revolutionary tourists, thrill seekers, and parachute journalists suffused Kiev. Sen. John McCain, actress Hayden Panettiere, and French intellectual Bernard Henri-Levy roused massive crowds with paeans to freedom and national sovereignty, while offering moral support to the opposition forces led by former boxing champion Vitaly Klitschko.

But Hagberg, a square-jawed and baby-faced member of the Swedish armed forces, had a darker message.
"I stand before your forces of revolution to tell you about what your future might be if you fail your glorious endeavour," he said in fluid-but-clipped English. "I stand here as a Swede. However where I come from is no longer Sweden." Hagberg warned Ukrainians that a successful revolution must chart a path that carefully avoided the evils of abortion and ethnic mongrelization, one that harshly punished welfare abuse and rejected the normalization of homosexuality. "Officials in Sweden like to calls us the most modern country in the world. I say to you, brothers, this is what awaits you if you choose to follow our example. You now have the opportunity to choose and create your own future. Do not accept the trap of choosing either the West or Russia."

It's unclear who, if anyone, invited him, but Hagberg was speaking as a representative of Nordisk Ungdom (Nordic Youth), a Swedish neo-Nazi group that celebrates "a traditional ideal of a better man, striving for something greater and more noble than his own personal benefit; an idealistic man who fights for Europe's freedom." Visitors to the group's English-language website are met with with a Barbara Kruger-like advertisement beseeching visitors to "help us to help the revolution! Support a free Ukraine! Donate Now..." Because Hagberg is trying to provoke his fellow neo-Nazis into travelling to Kiev to help shape a new, fascist-friendly Ukraine.

Amongst the fascists, ultra-nationalists, and racists in Europe, there has been much griping that the revolt in Ukraine has been overtaken, if not controlled from the outset, by "CIA/ZOG [Zionist Occupied Government]/Soros-sponsored" forces. The Euroscepticism of the continent's far-right movements has produced a skepticism of the uprising's much-discussed Europhile mainstream.

But Pro-Yanukovych forces and the former president's Kremlin allies have heavily promoted an alternative narrative—one that Hagberg and his allies happily embrace—suggesting that the protest movement is in fact honeycombed with dangerous neo-Nazis affiliated with the extremist Ukrainian political parties Svoboda and Right Sector. Therefore, Western supporters of the protests, like John Mccain, are agitating on behalf of violent Ukrainian fascism.

It's a modified version of the Kremlin's argument against Western support for Syrian rebel groups, which it says has amounted to material support for al-Qaeda-sponsered terrorism. And like with Syria—and the Spanish Civil War before it—sympathetic European extremists are travelling to provide support to their ideological brethren.

"We just got boots on the ground and are discussing with Svoboda representatives and other nationalists what we can assist with," Magnus Söderman, the neo-Nazi organizer of the Swedish Ukraine Volunteers (Svenska Ukrainafrivilliga), told me. "Our message to them is that we will assist with whatever; clearing the streets, security, making food."

On the group's website, stuffed with hackneyed neo-Nazi propaganda, potential volunteers are told that "we do not organize any paramilitary force because our involvement is of a civil nature, as aid workers. Of course, should violence break out we will make use of our right of self-defense." (The site advises recruits to "improve your physical fitness" before travelling to Kiev.) Ukraine, the group says, is facing an existential threat and "we must secure the existence of our people and the future of our white children!"

According to the group's newly constituted Facebook page, a representative of the Swedish Ukraine Volunteers recently "visited the parliament and established "‹"‹important contacts" amongst local politicians, presumably those affiliated with ultra-nationalist parties Svoboda and Right Sector. The idea of foreign volunteers is "a good initiative," said one member of a fascist message board in Sweden, "and I give my full support to Mikael Skillt and other party comrades who are travelling down to help our brothers in the east."

Mikael Skillt is well-known in Swedish neo-Nazi circles. A spokesman for the vigilante group Stop the Pedophiles and a veteran of various now-defunct fascist organizations, Skillt is currently affiliated with the Party of the Swedes (SvP), a neo-Nazi group founded by members of the less camera-friendly National Socialist Front. According to its website, SvP "has good contact with [Svoboda] who were guests at our conference Vision Europe just under a year ago."

When I contacted Skillt he was in Moscow, on his way to agitating in Kiev. So why does Ukraine need a fascist international brigade? "We are scanning the needs of the Ukrainians, but we will be offering [them] our help in whatever they need," he told me. "We have members with experience in most fields, ranging from military to truck drivers to journalists."

When I asked if he had canvassed the opinions of Russian neo-Nazi groups while in Moscow, Skillt told me, with predictable obliqueness, that he had "heard some [Russian] nationalists who have spoken of a revolution inspired by Ukraine."

So how large is the international brigade of ultra-nationalists? A European journalist who follows the movement of European jihadists to Syria—and now fascists migrating towards Kiev—told me that there was indeed scattered evidence that neo-Nazi groups outside Sweden were making pilgrimages to Ukraine. When I asked Magnus Söderman if there was a network of other Nazis on the ground, he told me that "comrades from other European countries are also preparing to assist if it is needed."

And while most European far-right groups have been coy about providing on-the-scene support for groups like Svoboda, the ecosystem of ultra-nationalist websites seem heavily focused on supporting Svoboda's bid for political power in post-Yanukovych Ukraine. An article praising Svoboda on the webite of the extreme-right British National Party enthused that "a group of our Polish comrades from the [neo-Nazi] Falange organization visited Ukraine" to support the party and the revolution. (Last year, members of the Polish Falange travelled to Damascus to offer support to Bashar Assad.)

While numbers are difficult to gauge, authorities in Sweden don't see the threat as equivalent to the migration of Scandinavian jihadists to Syria. A spokesman for Säpo, the Swedish security service, told the tabloid Expressen that "the security service is only interested in Swedes that travel to take part in terror-related activities in other countries, like al-Qaeda inspired groups in Syria."

The Swedish Ukrainian Volunteers wouldn't provide numbers of those who had either arrived--or committed to join—their sturmabteilung in Kiev. Söderman said he didn't "foresee any major numbers [of Swedish neo-Nazis] going since the modern world don't make men as it once did. During the war between Finland and the Soviet Union about 12,000 Swedes went over—and that was in wartime."

"If we get 50, all in all, I will be very proud."

The Swedish Neo-Nazis 'Volunteers' of Kiev - The Daily Beast

 

[The Messiah]

Well, tartars were famous for incessant slave raids into Russia, Ukraine, Poland etc. If Stalin deported them, consider it Karma. Some tartars also sided with the Nazis (just like some muslims in West-Asia), bad choice.

I was putting some background info.

They're still siding with the neo-nazis now, whats interesting is that the west is also siding with them. If any other power sided with them you'd hear is 24x7 from the media how evil they are

 

[Razor]

I was putting some background info.

They're still siding with the neo-nazis now, whats interesting is that the west is also siding with them. If any other power sided with them you'd hear is 24x7 from the media how evil they are

The West will side &/or turn a blind eye to anybody who can overthrow what it sees as Russian influence. From the mujaheddin in Afghan to the crazy warlords in Africa to the AQ in Syria and now Neo-Nazis in Ukr.

 

[Razor]

Gazprom Mulls Cancelling Ukraine Gas Discount Over Debt

MOSCOW, March 1 (RIA Novosti) – Russia's state-run energy giant Gazprom said Saturday that Ukraine is $1.55 billion in arrears on payments for natural gas deliveries, which the company said may force it to cancel a discount on the fuel agreed in December.
Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov told RIA Novosti that although relations with Ukraine remained good and that gas for onward delivery was being transited as required, payments still needed to be respected.
"What is owed is huge, not just for last year, but also debts for current deliveries," he said, noting that Russia has issued a $3 billion line of credit for the express purpose of covering its gas debts.
Kupriyanov said "agreements on discounts mandated full and timely payment for deliveries."
Ukraine's national oil and gas company Naftogaz Ukrainy had as of February 14 paid Gazprom $1.28 billion for gas delivered last year and asked to postpone payment of what remained until April 15.
Gazprom said in early February that Ukrainian debt for 2013 deliveries stood at $2.63 billion, meaning that Naftogaz had around $1.35 billion still to pay at the middle of the month.
Naftogaz bought around 13 billion cubic meters of gas from Russia in 2013 at the rate of $400 per thousand cubic meters.
That price was substantially reduced in December to $268.5 per thousand cubic meters.
The discount was part of a raft of support mechanisms devised by Russia for Ukraine following the latter's decision in late November to back away from signing a deal that would have deepened political and economic relations with the European Union.
Moscow has so far paid $3 billion out of a promised $15 billion loan, which was to be issued as payment for internationally listed Ukrainian bonds.
Critics of the loan and discount package have argued that it was devised as a bribe to induce Ukraine to cement its ties with Russia, spurn the EU and defer much –needed structural economic reforms.
The chances of the remainder of that Russian loan being provided looks slim since last month's ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych, who was chased out of office at the culmination of three months-long protests initially provoked by his decision on the EU deal.
The gas discount deal looks similarly frail.
Under the arrangement between Naftogaz and Gazprom, the size of the discount was to be determined of the first day of every new quarter and formalized within ten days. Failure to renew the discount deal by April 10 will cause it to cease having effect.
The incoming Ukrainian government confirmed by parliament this past week is viewed with deep suspicion by the Kremlin, which has nonetheless vaguely committed to cooperating with the international community on providing its western neighbor with financial assistance.
Interim Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk has warned of his country's desperate financial state and that unpopular decisions would urgently need to be taken.
Delegations from the EU and International Monetary Fund are to visit Ukraine next week to assess the country's needs as it faces a wave of looming financial and security crises.

Gazprom Mulls Cancelling Ukraine Gas Discount Over Debt | World | RIA Novosti

 

[Mad Indian]

The West will side &/or turn a blind eye to anybody who can overthrow what it sees as Russian influence. From the mujaheddin in Afghan to the crazy warlords in Africa to the AQ in Syria and now Neo-Nazis in Ukr.

I bet most Indians would have sided with the West if not for the the DK episode