Official message of Head of the Donetsk People’s Republic Alexander Zakharchenko to the young people of the South-East of Ukraine on: June 28, 2015:
"Friends!
I heartily greet my young fellow countrymen, residents of the South-East on the Day of Youth! For my part, in fact, for all the Donbass, you’re like relatives and family. Dnepropetrovsk and Odessa, Kharkov and Nikolayev, Kherson and Zaporozhye – these are beautiful Russian cities, true sister cities of Donetsk and Lugansk....
I urge you, the young people of the southeast, to cast aside all your fears, to unite your efforts, and present a united front against the [sic] occupation regime. Free yourselves, be masters in your own land; stand up to defend your culture, traditions, and mother tongue! ...."
[More of this rubbish, if anyone is interested, here from 'Novorossia Today'*.]
Compare with this..
".... many Russian speakers in Ukraine — who live primarily in the country’s east and in large cities — are demonstratively turning to Ukrainian as a badge of self-identification. A concise tutorial on how to switch from Russian to Ukrainian, written by a Kiev blogger, has earned thousands of shares and reposts. Patriotic Russian-speakers in Kiev and big eastern cities are pledging on social networks to speak Ukrainian to their children, hoping to make the next generation more fluent and natural speakers of their native tongue..."
And this about volunteer workers helping people in eastern Ukraine: "We realized that young people in our country are the same," he said, adding that news stories about different ethnicities exaggerate the differences, and that all young people want a better future...
Self-appointed 'Oplot' militant thug Zakharchenko will not fool or impress the young....while he and his Putinist zombies are in charge the future for the young residents of separatist-held territories of Ukraine is grim. To see what this future looks like they need only look at Abkhazia, Transnistria and other 'black hole' frozen zones of the former Soviet Union.
p.s. And I thought Novorossia was dead...isn't it?
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Friday, June 12, 2015
Russia must pay for occupied territories in eastern Ukraine
Ivan Yakovyna in "Novoye Vremya" notes the importance of a recent official appeal of Ukraine to the Council of Europe.
It declares the territories in eastern Ukraine not under Kyiv's control to be temporarily occupied, as result of armed aggression, by the Russian Federation. According to Kyiv, responsibility for the welfare of people in this territory should therefore fall onto what is the de facto occupying power.
Yakovyna considers this to be an extremely beneficial and important decision that should have to been made a year ago at the beginning of the occupation when it could have saved hundreds, if not thousands of lives [rather than declaring the Anti Terrorist Action - ATO].
Now the Kremlin has two choices - either take on the burden of maintaining the Donbas, or commence direct negotiations with Ukraine about the conditions of reintegration of the occupied territories back into Ukraine. Kyiv should insist: We will only take occupied parts of Donbas back in one package together with Crimea.
It declares the territories in eastern Ukraine not under Kyiv's control to be temporarily occupied, as result of armed aggression, by the Russian Federation. According to Kyiv, responsibility for the welfare of people in this territory should therefore fall onto what is the de facto occupying power.
Yakovyna considers this to be an extremely beneficial and important decision that should have to been made a year ago at the beginning of the occupation when it could have saved hundreds, if not thousands of lives [rather than declaring the Anti Terrorist Action - ATO].
Now the Kremlin has two choices - either take on the burden of maintaining the Donbas, or commence direct negotiations with Ukraine about the conditions of reintegration of the occupied territories back into Ukraine. Kyiv should insist: We will only take occupied parts of Donbas back in one package together with Crimea.
Friday, June 05, 2015
British Ambassador's statement at UN
"There are three things that now need to happen to prevent further escalation [of the conflict in Eastern Ukraine].
First, Russia must immediately withdraw its military forces from Ukraine, stop its flow of weapons to the separatists, and make every effort to secure a political solution to this crisis. This includes the immediate release of Nadiya Savchenko, who has been illegally detained for nearly a year.
Second, we urge Russia to use its considerable influence on the separatists to cease their provocative behaviour and live up to their commitment to implement fully the Minsk Agreements. The separatist forces are Russia’s creation; they are Russia’s tool. Russia has the capacity and the influence to control the separatist forces. It must exercise that influence to ensure compliance with the Minsk agreements. If it is not ready to do so, this Council must be clear in its condemnation.
And third, it is vital that all parties engage seriously in the process and implement the Minsk agreements..."
Thursday, June 04, 2015
More Maryinka-type attacks likely soon
Pavel Felgenhauer in 'Novoye Vremya' explains why Russian and separatist fighters attacked Maryinka yesterday and why it is likely these kind of attacks will increase in the weeks to come, until any remnants of any peace process disintegrate.
The next attacks may occur in Lysychansk or Schastya in a few weeks time after a large mass demobilization of conscripts in the Russian army takes place.
Freezing the conflict in the Donbas or its termination brings no benefit to the Kremlin. Putin faces a possible sharp drop in his ratings next year and mass protests cannot be ruled out.
Currently Russian society is mobilized against a perceived external threat and has rallied around the Kremlin. But if this threat diminishes and the conflict in Ukraine is frozen, economic [and social] issues will come to the fore in the public consciousness. A decline in real wages and household incomes is predicted so for the Kremlin it would be dangerous to freeze military conflict.
The appointment of Mikheil Saakashvili, a man Putin loathes, to the post of governor of the Odesa region has worsened relations between Putin and Poroshenko to even greater depths, to a point where informal contacts between the presidents of Russia and Ukraine have all but disappeared.
However, the freezing of the conflict in the Donbas would increase the likelihood of preservation and stabilization of power in Kyiv, which is unacceptable for the Kremlin. [Putin's overarching aim is to trash Ukraine's economy and turn the country into an unmanageable wreck. A successful, western orientated Ukraine is his greatest nightmare.]
If the front lines remain stable during July and August, Russia and the separatists will have to wait until the next year to mount further serious offensive attacks. In the meantime the regime in Kyiv will only get stronger.
For Russia and the separatists it is now only a matter of when, on what pretext, and to what degree, to renew the conflict.
Leonid Bershidsky, in a BloombergView article in which he quotes from a recent Chatham House publication that predicts dire consequences if NATO and EU do not challenge Russian aggression, agrees with this analysis.
"[Putin] cannot afford a prolonged lull in events, because he must keep his audience focused.
If Western leaders don't signal their willingness to normalize relations -- for example, to cancel sanctions while freezing the conflict in eastern Ukraine, or to pressure Ukraine into a softer approach to reintegrating separatist-held territories -- Putin can only make the conflict more acute.
In recent days, fighting has flared up again with the pro-Russian rebels attacking, but so far failing to take, the town of Marinka near Donetsk. If previous experience is any indication, when the rebels suffer military setbacks, regular Russian troops come in and wreak havoc on the Ukrainian military. If the current shaky truce breaks down and this happens again, the West will not be able to keep playing its waiting game. It may lean toward arming Ukraine and, instead of building up its economy, drag it into a destructive, full-scale war. In other words, for the West, too, the stalemate may turn into a zugzwang.
While they understand the root causes and the current shape of the "Russian challenge" perfectly well, the best Western experts -- and therefore the Western leaders -- lack the courage to take a stand. Just like after the Crimea annexation, the choice before them is simple: Fight to win or do a deal. There's no waiting it out."
I hope G7 leaders meeting in Schloss Elmau, Germany this weekend will rise to the new challenge, decide on a firm response, and not allow themselves to be bullied by upstart Putin.
The next attacks may occur in Lysychansk or Schastya in a few weeks time after a large mass demobilization of conscripts in the Russian army takes place.
Freezing the conflict in the Donbas or its termination brings no benefit to the Kremlin. Putin faces a possible sharp drop in his ratings next year and mass protests cannot be ruled out.
Currently Russian society is mobilized against a perceived external threat and has rallied around the Kremlin. But if this threat diminishes and the conflict in Ukraine is frozen, economic [and social] issues will come to the fore in the public consciousness. A decline in real wages and household incomes is predicted so for the Kremlin it would be dangerous to freeze military conflict.
The appointment of Mikheil Saakashvili, a man Putin loathes, to the post of governor of the Odesa region has worsened relations between Putin and Poroshenko to even greater depths, to a point where informal contacts between the presidents of Russia and Ukraine have all but disappeared.
However, the freezing of the conflict in the Donbas would increase the likelihood of preservation and stabilization of power in Kyiv, which is unacceptable for the Kremlin. [Putin's overarching aim is to trash Ukraine's economy and turn the country into an unmanageable wreck. A successful, western orientated Ukraine is his greatest nightmare.]
If the front lines remain stable during July and August, Russia and the separatists will have to wait until the next year to mount further serious offensive attacks. In the meantime the regime in Kyiv will only get stronger.
For Russia and the separatists it is now only a matter of when, on what pretext, and to what degree, to renew the conflict.
Leonid Bershidsky, in a BloombergView article in which he quotes from a recent Chatham House publication that predicts dire consequences if NATO and EU do not challenge Russian aggression, agrees with this analysis.
"[Putin] cannot afford a prolonged lull in events, because he must keep his audience focused.
If Western leaders don't signal their willingness to normalize relations -- for example, to cancel sanctions while freezing the conflict in eastern Ukraine, or to pressure Ukraine into a softer approach to reintegrating separatist-held territories -- Putin can only make the conflict more acute.
In recent days, fighting has flared up again with the pro-Russian rebels attacking, but so far failing to take, the town of Marinka near Donetsk. If previous experience is any indication, when the rebels suffer military setbacks, regular Russian troops come in and wreak havoc on the Ukrainian military. If the current shaky truce breaks down and this happens again, the West will not be able to keep playing its waiting game. It may lean toward arming Ukraine and, instead of building up its economy, drag it into a destructive, full-scale war. In other words, for the West, too, the stalemate may turn into a zugzwang.
While they understand the root causes and the current shape of the "Russian challenge" perfectly well, the best Western experts -- and therefore the Western leaders -- lack the courage to take a stand. Just like after the Crimea annexation, the choice before them is simple: Fight to win or do a deal. There's no waiting it out."
I hope G7 leaders meeting in Schloss Elmau, Germany this weekend will rise to the new challenge, decide on a firm response, and not allow themselves to be bullied by upstart Putin.
Monday, June 01, 2015
DNR and LNR in terminal decline
"Financial Times's" Roman Olearchyk, writing from Donetsk, describes how "Fighting in Ukraine leaves economy shattered and factories idle".
'Ostro.ua' provides a run-down of the current economic state industrial enterprises in DNR and LNR, giving figures that reveal the massive drop in output.
Because DNR and LNR are not economically viable the two pseudo-statelets are now running huge fiscal deficits and are incapable of paying state employers, pensionsers, and recipients of welfare payments while at the same time trying to maintain tens of thousands of armed men equipped with hundreds of pieces of military hardware.
Russia has contributed - some payments are now even being made in rubles, but it is becoming clear leaders in the Kremlin will not financially support the occupied territories in the long term. The cost of subsidising recently annexed Crimea is huge already - the Russian economy simply cannot withstand subsidising a large portion of Donbas too.
Much industry there is dependent on Ukraine proper for supplies. The steel mills of east Ukraine are primarily supplied by iron ore from Kryviy Rih in the Dnipropetrovsk oblast. The biggest plant producing blast furnace coke for is in Ukraine-controlled Avdiivka. Huge steel works in Mariupol are not so badly affected, but even if the city and its vast steel mills were to fall to separatists the problems do not go away - rather they become even more intractable. Serious difficulties will remain with supply and export of produce to and from factories in the east to traditional markets. And output from Donbas factories and mills is just not required by Russia which produces much analogous produce..
Many have commentated that some kind of end game between the masters of the universe in the USA and Europe, and the Kremlin, is in progress. Western leaders have gone quiet on Crimea...perhaps offering tacit acceptance of its Russian-held status in exchange for withdrawal of Russian forces and the end of Russian support for separatists in the east of Ukraine. The wishes of Ukraine's population seems to be a side show in all of this.
But any compromise between Kyiv and and disparate separatist groups that include irregular militia, Russian regular troops working under cover, Russian mercenaries , and fanatical crackpots is totally unrealistic.
Jerry Toms, in a RadioSvoboda piece explains why. It is dawning on the separatists that not only has the Novorossiya project been scuppered but that they are also incapable of getting a grip of the declining economy in the areas they control. However, they are definitely not prepared to give up the power they hold whilst the build-up of arms from Russia continues.
Toms compares the separatists to the trapped bungling 'Dog Day Afternoon' bank robbers...
LB.ua list the names of the more radical field commanders who have been eliminated or arrested in recent times in an attempt by DNR commanders, led by Aleksander Zakharchenko, to try to centralise control. And it seems 'Party of Regions' people are seeping back into positions of authority there, trying to rescue the vestiges of their 'empires of dirt'?
'Ostro.ua' provides a run-down of the current economic state industrial enterprises in DNR and LNR, giving figures that reveal the massive drop in output.
Because DNR and LNR are not economically viable the two pseudo-statelets are now running huge fiscal deficits and are incapable of paying state employers, pensionsers, and recipients of welfare payments while at the same time trying to maintain tens of thousands of armed men equipped with hundreds of pieces of military hardware.
Russia has contributed - some payments are now even being made in rubles, but it is becoming clear leaders in the Kremlin will not financially support the occupied territories in the long term. The cost of subsidising recently annexed Crimea is huge already - the Russian economy simply cannot withstand subsidising a large portion of Donbas too.
Much industry there is dependent on Ukraine proper for supplies. The steel mills of east Ukraine are primarily supplied by iron ore from Kryviy Rih in the Dnipropetrovsk oblast. The biggest plant producing blast furnace coke for is in Ukraine-controlled Avdiivka. Huge steel works in Mariupol are not so badly affected, but even if the city and its vast steel mills were to fall to separatists the problems do not go away - rather they become even more intractable. Serious difficulties will remain with supply and export of produce to and from factories in the east to traditional markets. And output from Donbas factories and mills is just not required by Russia which produces much analogous produce..
Many have commentated that some kind of end game between the masters of the universe in the USA and Europe, and the Kremlin, is in progress. Western leaders have gone quiet on Crimea...perhaps offering tacit acceptance of its Russian-held status in exchange for withdrawal of Russian forces and the end of Russian support for separatists in the east of Ukraine. The wishes of Ukraine's population seems to be a side show in all of this.
But any compromise between Kyiv and and disparate separatist groups that include irregular militia, Russian regular troops working under cover, Russian mercenaries , and fanatical crackpots is totally unrealistic.
Jerry Toms, in a RadioSvoboda piece explains why. It is dawning on the separatists that not only has the Novorossiya project been scuppered but that they are also incapable of getting a grip of the declining economy in the areas they control. However, they are definitely not prepared to give up the power they hold whilst the build-up of arms from Russia continues.
Toms compares the separatists to the trapped bungling 'Dog Day Afternoon' bank robbers...
LB.ua list the names of the more radical field commanders who have been eliminated or arrested in recent times in an attempt by DNR commanders, led by Aleksander Zakharchenko, to try to centralise control. And it seems 'Party of Regions' people are seeping back into positions of authority there, trying to rescue the vestiges of their 'empires of dirt'?
Thursday, May 28, 2015
2018 World Cup in Russia already dead in the water?
Following the huge scandal that has hit FIFA, serious Russian publications such as Gazeta.ru are already speculating the 2018 World Football Championship, to be hosted by Russia [and which they call The World Championship of Corruption], may now not take place.
In the UK one publication has announced: "England are the 11/10 favourites to host the 2018 World Cup amid speculation that Russia and Qatar [in 2022] could be stripped of the tournaments."
In the UK one publication has announced: "England are the 11/10 favourites to host the 2018 World Cup amid speculation that Russia and Qatar [in 2022] could be stripped of the tournaments."
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Black hole of Donbas
Dmitri Oreshkin, in his "Novoye Vremya" article, 'Putin, Kerry and the Black Hole of Donbas', suggests a frozen conflict scenario is probably the best option for the territory currently held by Russian backed separatist in Eastern Ukraine.
US Secretary of State Kerry, during his meeting with Putin, may have offered his host in Sochi a compromise: the United States will slightly weaken sanctions if Russia, if in return, hostilities cease and the sending weapons and armaments into Ukrainian territory stopped.
[The 'Slate's' Joshua Keating is of a similar opinion, claiming..."if Russia can be convinced that full-scale hostilities are not in its interest, there’s potential for the war to turn into a “frozen conflict”: the rebel-held eastern regions would remain under de facto Russian control for the time being but violence would die down. While far from an ideal outcome, this would at least give Kiev some time to rebuild Ukraine’s economy and military with substantial western support. The alternative is a return to full-scale hostility with deepening western military involvement."]
Putin is not prepared to put up the money to maintain Donetsk: rather he is is doing all he can to dump the costs to run the region onto Ukraine proper. DNR leader Pushilin has already said that insurgents are ready to be a part of Ukraine, but with greatest possible autonomy, i.e. to realise a "Transnistria-2" type project.
For Putin it is important extract himself from the situation without losing face, but in reality, over the last year and a half, he has actually 'lost' Ukraine. However he can claim a 'virtual victory' having annexed the Crimea and its two million population in what was a virtual, P.R. driven operation.
The same applies to the Donbas. The Kremlin cannot support the region in any significant way and current leaders in Donetsk and Luhansk are incapable of growing the economy because they do not understand how the economy works. All they know is aggression and plunder.
The economy of Donbas is seriously damaged and much infrastructure destroyed, but a great number of people who live there will never feel much sympathy for Kyiv again.
Their plight is well described by the "Insider' site in an article describing life in the self-styled Luhansk People's Republic [LNR] one year after their "independence referendum".
Violent clashes have taken place between 'official' LNR armed structures and numerous independent Cossack units caused by disagreements over payments and extortion rackets. These may have subsided somewhat as areas of influence become better defined.
The social and economic situation is very difficult. The price of products in shops is much greater that in the rest of Ukraine as a result of the blockade. For transport to get through bribes have to be paid to both Ukrainian and LNR border guards, and prices of Russian products are greater in any case. Burgeoning illegal schemes for transfer of cash from Ukraine to the LNR and for obtaining 'propusky' [passes] have sprung up. Many of the latter are inevitably forgeries, and bribe-taking has become order of the day.
A rudimentary banking system based on the Russian rouble has come into being quite recently. Pensions were paid out once in April, but have not been paid out since.
Sources of funding for the LNR budget are not clear - they may include some taxes, sales of coal to Russia, and the 'fire-sale' sell-off of industrial equipment to buyers in Russia. Huge contraband schemes which were operated even before the current troubles continue to operate, but have been taken over by LPR leaders.
Matters are particularly difficult in the fields of medicine and education. Many doctors have left, leaving few remaining to treat patients. Those that have stayed find themselves in an almost impossible situation. One can only assume that any medical treatment has to be paid for strictly' under the table'.
The last time LNR doctors and teachers received any money was in November 2014. Since they have only been given food rations from time to time.
Since the battle for Debaltseve there has been an attempt to form a battle-ready 'Novorossiya' army comprising several military brigades and also a 'Republican Guard'. In total, Novorossiya armed forces may comprise 35-45 thousand men. The rapid increase in size is primarily due to the now stable financing of these units, particularly at a time of severe mass unemployment amongst the remaining populous.
Russian advisers and specialists are actively involved in this process, and are forming anti-aircraft units supplied with Russian surface to air missiles.
Several closed off zones have sprung up where even local fighters do not have access. It is likely that various Russian electronic surveillance systems are deployed there intercepting and suppressing Ukrainian communications. These systems are capable of communicating with Russian military headquarters and their state of the art air defence systems.
US Secretary of State Kerry, during his meeting with Putin, may have offered his host in Sochi a compromise: the United States will slightly weaken sanctions if Russia, if in return, hostilities cease and the sending weapons and armaments into Ukrainian territory stopped.
[The 'Slate's' Joshua Keating is of a similar opinion, claiming..."if Russia can be convinced that full-scale hostilities are not in its interest, there’s potential for the war to turn into a “frozen conflict”: the rebel-held eastern regions would remain under de facto Russian control for the time being but violence would die down. While far from an ideal outcome, this would at least give Kiev some time to rebuild Ukraine’s economy and military with substantial western support. The alternative is a return to full-scale hostility with deepening western military involvement."]
Putin is not prepared to put up the money to maintain Donetsk: rather he is is doing all he can to dump the costs to run the region onto Ukraine proper. DNR leader Pushilin has already said that insurgents are ready to be a part of Ukraine, but with greatest possible autonomy, i.e. to realise a "Transnistria-2" type project.
For Putin it is important extract himself from the situation without losing face, but in reality, over the last year and a half, he has actually 'lost' Ukraine. However he can claim a 'virtual victory' having annexed the Crimea and its two million population in what was a virtual, P.R. driven operation.
The same applies to the Donbas. The Kremlin cannot support the region in any significant way and current leaders in Donetsk and Luhansk are incapable of growing the economy because they do not understand how the economy works. All they know is aggression and plunder.
The economy of Donbas is seriously damaged and much infrastructure destroyed, but a great number of people who live there will never feel much sympathy for Kyiv again.
Their plight is well described by the "Insider' site in an article describing life in the self-styled Luhansk People's Republic [LNR] one year after their "independence referendum".
Violent clashes have taken place between 'official' LNR armed structures and numerous independent Cossack units caused by disagreements over payments and extortion rackets. These may have subsided somewhat as areas of influence become better defined.
The social and economic situation is very difficult. The price of products in shops is much greater that in the rest of Ukraine as a result of the blockade. For transport to get through bribes have to be paid to both Ukrainian and LNR border guards, and prices of Russian products are greater in any case. Burgeoning illegal schemes for transfer of cash from Ukraine to the LNR and for obtaining 'propusky' [passes] have sprung up. Many of the latter are inevitably forgeries, and bribe-taking has become order of the day.
A rudimentary banking system based on the Russian rouble has come into being quite recently. Pensions were paid out once in April, but have not been paid out since.
Sources of funding for the LNR budget are not clear - they may include some taxes, sales of coal to Russia, and the 'fire-sale' sell-off of industrial equipment to buyers in Russia. Huge contraband schemes which were operated even before the current troubles continue to operate, but have been taken over by LPR leaders.
Matters are particularly difficult in the fields of medicine and education. Many doctors have left, leaving few remaining to treat patients. Those that have stayed find themselves in an almost impossible situation. One can only assume that any medical treatment has to be paid for strictly' under the table'.
The last time LNR doctors and teachers received any money was in November 2014. Since they have only been given food rations from time to time.
Since the battle for Debaltseve there has been an attempt to form a battle-ready 'Novorossiya' army comprising several military brigades and also a 'Republican Guard'. In total, Novorossiya armed forces may comprise 35-45 thousand men. The rapid increase in size is primarily due to the now stable financing of these units, particularly at a time of severe mass unemployment amongst the remaining populous.
Russian advisers and specialists are actively involved in this process, and are forming anti-aircraft units supplied with Russian surface to air missiles.
Several closed off zones have sprung up where even local fighters do not have access. It is likely that various Russian electronic surveillance systems are deployed there intercepting and suppressing Ukrainian communications. These systems are capable of communicating with Russian military headquarters and their state of the art air defence systems.
Friday, May 08, 2015
Timothy Snyder Video - "War and Peace (1945-2015) Updated
Watch this unmissable 45 minute video of Timothy Snyder speaking to the EPP Group in the European Parliament two days ago.
"In 2015, we commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. The defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 laid the foundations for durable European peace, which was formalised by the Helsinki Accords of 1975. Now its very existence is challenged, as Putin’s Russia is redrawing Europe’s borders by force and attempting a new Yalta.
In Europe, 8 May is a day of remembrance and commemoration. In Russia, the Victory Day celebrations consolidate the official narrative of the Great Patriotic War, mobilising the Russian people for an increased confrontation with the West.
Against this backdrop, the conference “War and Peace 1945-2015” will reflect on the politics of the commemoration and on how to preserve the European peace order, to defend the values for which Europeans, East and West, have paid a high price during and after the War."
Update: Also read this fro Snyder:
As Russia revives the tradition of wars of aggression on European territory, Vladimir Putin has chosen to rehabilitate the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact as good foreign policy. But why violate now what was for so long a Soviet taboo? Timothy Snyder explains.
"In 2015, we commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. The defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 laid the foundations for durable European peace, which was formalised by the Helsinki Accords of 1975. Now its very existence is challenged, as Putin’s Russia is redrawing Europe’s borders by force and attempting a new Yalta.
In Europe, 8 May is a day of remembrance and commemoration. In Russia, the Victory Day celebrations consolidate the official narrative of the Great Patriotic War, mobilising the Russian people for an increased confrontation with the West.
Against this backdrop, the conference “War and Peace 1945-2015” will reflect on the politics of the commemoration and on how to preserve the European peace order, to defend the values for which Europeans, East and West, have paid a high price during and after the War."
Update: Also read this fro Snyder:
As Russia revives the tradition of wars of aggression on European territory, Vladimir Putin has chosen to rehabilitate the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact as good foreign policy. But why violate now what was for so long a Soviet taboo? Timothy Snyder explains.
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Proud of victory over Nazis but also supportive of struggle against Russian aggressor
The sacrifice and contribution to victory in 1945 over Nazi Germany by Ukrainians was huge but has largely not been recognised in the west - and the current Russia authorities are doing everything possible to monopolize the remembrance of the victory in 1945 too.
But there is no contradiction in Ukrainians being proud of their contribution, and yet supporting Ukraine' fighting forces in their struggle against a Russian aggressor who is still trying to bring their country to its knees. I know this from elderly members of my own family who fought in the Red Army during WW2
Now two brief but emotionally charged videos are being shown on Ukrainian television to underline this.
Please watch these videos at this link
But there is no contradiction in Ukrainians being proud of their contribution, and yet supporting Ukraine' fighting forces in their struggle against a Russian aggressor who is still trying to bring their country to its knees. I know this from elderly members of my own family who fought in the Red Army during WW2
Now two brief but emotionally charged videos are being shown on Ukrainian television to underline this.
Please watch these videos at this link
Sunday, April 26, 2015
New laws mean Ukrainian cities to be renamed at last?
Following the recent de-communisation laws passed in the Verkhovna Rada the renaming the Sovietized names of some Ukrainian cities has now, quite correctly, become a hot topic.
The reluctance to do this after more than two decades of independence was an absolutely unbelievable disgrace to the shame of all previous administrations.
First on the list for change is undoubtedly Dnipropetrovsk, named after the infamous Hrigoriy Ivanovich Petrovsky, one of organizers of the genocidal 1932-33 famine in Ukraine.
Next should be Kirovohrad, named after Sergei Mironovich Kirov head of the Leningrad Communist Party. Kirov's 1934 assassination served as one of the pretexts for Stalin's escalation of repression against dissident elements of the Party, culminating in the Great Purges of the late 1930s
Dniprodzerzhynsk is named after Felix Dzerzhynsky, founder of the Bolshevik secret police, the Cheka - responsible for vast numbers of summary executions.
Tsyurupinsk in the Kherson region was named in honour of Alexander Tsyurupa, RSFSR People's Commissar of food in 1918-1921 and head of Gosplan. During his period in office mass forcible seizure of grain and food from the local population by Bolsheviks was common practice. The city has been trying to change its name to Oleshky for several years, indicating that at least some people demand change.
[More on this story and background on other cities here, in an article from gordon.ua]
p.s. Why should any sane person be against renaming cities, currently associated with such hideous personages, by law? Is this indication of the serf-like mentality of some Ukrainians, ready to accept humiliation for a crust of bread thrown down to them by 'pany'?
Also - Latest opinion polls indicate ever-increasing numbers of Ukrainians would like to see their country part of the NATO alliance. Even around 20% of Donbas residents support future membership.
The reluctance to do this after more than two decades of independence was an absolutely unbelievable disgrace to the shame of all previous administrations.
First on the list for change is undoubtedly Dnipropetrovsk, named after the infamous Hrigoriy Ivanovich Petrovsky, one of organizers of the genocidal 1932-33 famine in Ukraine.
Next should be Kirovohrad, named after Sergei Mironovich Kirov head of the Leningrad Communist Party. Kirov's 1934 assassination served as one of the pretexts for Stalin's escalation of repression against dissident elements of the Party, culminating in the Great Purges of the late 1930s
Dniprodzerzhynsk is named after Felix Dzerzhynsky, founder of the Bolshevik secret police, the Cheka - responsible for vast numbers of summary executions.
Tsyurupinsk in the Kherson region was named in honour of Alexander Tsyurupa, RSFSR People's Commissar of food in 1918-1921 and head of Gosplan. During his period in office mass forcible seizure of grain and food from the local population by Bolsheviks was common practice. The city has been trying to change its name to Oleshky for several years, indicating that at least some people demand change.
[More on this story and background on other cities here, in an article from gordon.ua]
p.s. Why should any sane person be against renaming cities, currently associated with such hideous personages, by law? Is this indication of the serf-like mentality of some Ukrainians, ready to accept humiliation for a crust of bread thrown down to them by 'pany'?
Also - Latest opinion polls indicate ever-increasing numbers of Ukrainians would like to see their country part of the NATO alliance. Even around 20% of Donbas residents support future membership.
Friday, April 24, 2015
Putin's right hand man oversaw Euromaidan crisis?
Highly respected journalist Sonya Koshkina reveals in Lb.ua the massive involvement of Russian agencies, and in particular that of Vladislav Surkov, [who some call 'Putin's Rasputin and 'The Hidden Author of Putinism'], in the Euromaidan crisis.
Below are two excerpts from her article:
"During the winter of 2013/14 groups of Russian FSB and Russian Interior Ministry operatives visited Kyiv on three occasions.
First time from 13 to 15 December - this was the largest group - twenty seven people in total. The second time was from 26 to 29 January - six people. And the third time - from 20 to 21 February - seven people.
Each time theses "guests" appeared just after peaks in the confrontation.
In December it followed attempts to disperse [Euromaidan] protesters on 10th and 11th of that month.
In January after the collapse of the state of emergency.
And in February after the massacre on the 18th, and on the day of the mass shootings at Instytutska.....
From the summer of 2013 until the end of the winter of 2014 the following visits were recorded:
Mid August 2013 - Vladislav Surkov in Kyiv. August 13-14 - in Crimea;
13-15 December - group of representatives of the Interior Ministry and Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation in Kyiv;
20-21 January 2014 - Vladislav Surkov in Kyiv. at the height of preparations for the introduction of a state of emergency;
January 26-29 - second visit of the siloviki group;
January 31 - February 1 - Surkov, Russian presidential adviser Rapoport, Chesnakov, Pavlov in Kyiv on Bankova Street [Ukr president's admin];
February 11-12 - Surkov and Rapoport in Donetsk and Crimea;
February 14-15. Surkov again in Kyiv;
February 20-21, Surkov, FSB General Beseda, and siloviki in Kyiv. Russian ambassador Zurabov and official RF representative Lukin visited Bankova on 21st;
On the morning of the 27th the siloviki arrive at Simferopol airport.
Koshkina also reveals how Russia supplied Ukrainian law enforcement agencies with thousands of stun grenades and other lethal equipment and weaponry.
Below are two excerpts from her article:
"During the winter of 2013/14 groups of Russian FSB and Russian Interior Ministry operatives visited Kyiv on three occasions.
First time from 13 to 15 December - this was the largest group - twenty seven people in total. The second time was from 26 to 29 January - six people. And the third time - from 20 to 21 February - seven people.
Each time theses "guests" appeared just after peaks in the confrontation.
In December it followed attempts to disperse [Euromaidan] protesters on 10th and 11th of that month.
In January after the collapse of the state of emergency.
And in February after the massacre on the 18th, and on the day of the mass shootings at Instytutska.....
From the summer of 2013 until the end of the winter of 2014 the following visits were recorded:
Mid August 2013 - Vladislav Surkov in Kyiv. August 13-14 - in Crimea;
13-15 December - group of representatives of the Interior Ministry and Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation in Kyiv;
20-21 January 2014 - Vladislav Surkov in Kyiv. at the height of preparations for the introduction of a state of emergency;
January 26-29 - second visit of the siloviki group;
January 31 - February 1 - Surkov, Russian presidential adviser Rapoport, Chesnakov, Pavlov in Kyiv on Bankova Street [Ukr president's admin];
February 11-12 - Surkov and Rapoport in Donetsk and Crimea;
February 14-15. Surkov again in Kyiv;
February 20-21, Surkov, FSB General Beseda, and siloviki in Kyiv. Russian ambassador Zurabov and official RF representative Lukin visited Bankova on 21st;
On the morning of the 27th the siloviki arrive at Simferopol airport.
Koshkina also reveals how Russia supplied Ukrainian law enforcement agencies with thousands of stun grenades and other lethal equipment and weaponry.
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Russian marauders in Donbas
Yesterday's I wrote how extremist elements of Russian society are wreaking havoc in Donbas with the full blessing of the Kremlin leadership.
Now check out this brief RFE/RL video entitled "Debaltseve – Gunmen, Looting, And Bread Queues...
The town of Debaltseve, in eastern Ukraine, fell to a Russian-backed separatist assault shortly after the Minsk cease-fire agreements were signed in February. A fraction of the pre-conflict civilian population now lives there. Those who remained have experienced looting, buried bodies being dug up, and bread queues controlled by gunmen"
According to most accounts Debaltseve was taken in violation of the Minsk 2 agreement, almost entirely by heavily equipped Russian forces.
Now check out this brief RFE/RL video entitled "Debaltseve – Gunmen, Looting, And Bread Queues...
The town of Debaltseve, in eastern Ukraine, fell to a Russian-backed separatist assault shortly after the Minsk cease-fire agreements were signed in February. A fraction of the pre-conflict civilian population now lives there. Those who remained have experienced looting, buried bodies being dug up, and bread queues controlled by gunmen"
According to most accounts Debaltseve was taken in violation of the Minsk 2 agreement, almost entirely by heavily equipped Russian forces.
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Where the fascists are..
If you have a spare hour check out this deeply scary BBC documentary [first of three]....and worry:
In the first of three programmes revealing the extreme side of Russia, Reggie Yates travels to Moscow to get close and personal with some of the country's far-right nationalists."
Kremlin with a light heart opens up a pathway for them to Donbas. They are told: you have two choices - either you are going to jail for a long time, or you go out there and are not coming back. And we'll let you go with weapons , with anything you need. The main thing is do not come back.
A great many such people realize their ambitions, desires and political ideas in the Donbas..."
Saturday, April 11, 2015
BBC report on Ukraine's Fragile Ceasefire
"Natalia Antelava reports from both sides of the ceasefire line on whether the fighting has stopped and what hope there is for a lasting peace."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b05rdf2d/our-world-ukraines-fragile-ceasefire
"What makes the ceasefire so fragile is that it's based on the premise Russia is neutral in this conflict"
The occupied territories will not be incorporated into Russia any time soon because of the huge cost of subsidising the LNR and DNR. According to some experts the figure could be over 10 billion dollars p.a. - and Putin is simply not prepared to pay this. Furthermore annexation of these territories would also aggravate the crisis in Russia's relations with the West to even greater depths.
On the other hand no Ukrainian politician will agree to prop up these separatist regions financially unless there are blue and yellow flags flying over their city halls..
As the weeks pass residents of Donbas are finding it harder and harder to make ends meet. There are reports of elderly people dying of hunger in the occupied territories. Even basic medicines are in desperately short supply.
'Segodnya' compares prices of basic foodstuffs in Donetsk and Mariupol - in Donetsk the price for a typical family food basket is currently about a third higher than in Mariupol.
The future for those living in separatist/Russian held territories looks very grim..
Does anyone seriously think further fighting will make things better?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b05rdf2d/our-world-ukraines-fragile-ceasefire
"What makes the ceasefire so fragile is that it's based on the premise Russia is neutral in this conflict"
The occupied territories will not be incorporated into Russia any time soon because of the huge cost of subsidising the LNR and DNR. According to some experts the figure could be over 10 billion dollars p.a. - and Putin is simply not prepared to pay this. Furthermore annexation of these territories would also aggravate the crisis in Russia's relations with the West to even greater depths.
On the other hand no Ukrainian politician will agree to prop up these separatist regions financially unless there are blue and yellow flags flying over their city halls..
As the weeks pass residents of Donbas are finding it harder and harder to make ends meet. There are reports of elderly people dying of hunger in the occupied territories. Even basic medicines are in desperately short supply.
'Segodnya' compares prices of basic foodstuffs in Donetsk and Mariupol - in Donetsk the price for a typical family food basket is currently about a third higher than in Mariupol.
The future for those living in separatist/Russian held territories looks very grim..
Does anyone seriously think further fighting will make things better?
Friday, April 03, 2015
Political drift in Donbas suits west but could force Putin's hand
Vitaly Portnikov writes about the current dangerous stalemate in the Donbas.
I have paraphrased what he says below:
The situation in the occupied part of the Donbas is drifting not to a frozen conflict but rather to a stalemate for the Russian leadership.
Talking to Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk in Berlin recently Chancellor Angela Merkel once again stressed that the preparation for the local elections in the Donbas can begin once a full ceasefire has been established and only after the complete withdrawal of heavy weaponry has taken place.
Merkel is waiting for confirmation from the OSCE observers but it will be a long wait, because Moscow is unlikely to vacate the territories now under its control, not because it fears a Ukrainian offensive but because it could be preparing for one of its own. And even if this is not the case it wants to give the impression that it is, otherwise mercenaries could drift away from the occupied zone and leaders of the "People's Republics" could begin to quietly start negotiating with Kyiv, possibly even giving some ground, in the search for compromise.
Angela Merkel achieved her aims at the meeting in Minsk on February 11-12 - not a frozen conflict in the Donbass, but rather an end to fighting [almost], and the current stalemate.
For Ukraine, the removal from the occupied territories of the Russian troops and other armed gangs is paramount - only then can local elections be held and dialogue on the status of the territories and welfare payments/civil servants' salaries restarted.
For Russia, it is important for Ukraine to promptly restart payment of salaries and welfare payments etc. After this Puin wants a dialogue to be initiated on the status of the territories, and on changes to the Ukrainian constitution under which fresh elections could be held.
The two conflicting parties therefore have absolutely differing priorities on the sequence of what needs to happen for resolution of the war.
Ukraine's goal is the restoration of the territorial integrity of the country. This objective can be achieved only when Russian troops and armed gangs are removed from the territory of Donbas and competitive free elections under reliable international supervision take place.
Russia's goal is the creation of a quasi-state on the occupied territory under its own control, and the transformation of Ukraine to a Bosnia-type state after the Dayton Accords, i.e. a shaky union of quasi-states. This can only be achieved if Russian troops and armed gangs remain in the Donbass, the "republics" conserved and elections undertaken under the supervision of separatist leaders Zakharchenko, Plotnitsky and the Russian FSB.
The economic blockade of the occupied territories is pushing Putin to come to a decision whether to abandon his Donbas adventure or to consider a further large-scale offensive to disguise his defeat.
The goal of the West is primarily to ensure cessation of hostilities continues.
Merkel can afford not to rush local elections in the Donbas, and not press for any dialogue between Kyiv and representatives of the occupied territories on the implementation of points of the Minsk Agreement; her mission is to draw Putin into a bureaucratic morass. The foreign ministers of Normandy format will meet, calls to each of the leaders will be made, reports of the OSCE observers studied, the possibility of holding elections discussed. After this a law on special status passed, and so on. Russia will insist that first the law is passed, then elections, then "let's meet again soon for further discussions, invite OSCE observers and on and on and on...
And all this time, month after month, the Russian economy will be sinking.
Because of the present cessation of hostilities, this stabilization will lead Russia nowhere except to a final irreversible collapse of their regime, which no one in the West now recognises as being capable of reasonable dialogue.
But in all of this there is one "but." Putin also understands what is happening. He does not have the money to supply the Donbas or moreover rebuild Donbas, and every day he has less and less. A frozen conflict would suit him only if Ukraine restarts payments to the occupied territories.
If Ukraine agreed to this Putin would then not need to start building a quasi-state at the expense of Ukaine and the West. If Russia and the separatists expanded the area under their control, Ukraine would continue to feed these newly occupied areas too, until eventually even Crimea would be reached.
Simply put, Putin will try to escape from the trap set by Western players and the Ukrainian leadership and not just sit by waiting for the deadly western sleeping pills to act.
The most important thing is not to allow him to wake up.
However Portnikov does not speculate on possible consequences for Russia in the event of restart of military attacks against Ukraine, e.g. an attempt to take Mariupol. Apart from major casualties for both warring parties, arming of Ukraine by the US and western powers becomes far more likely. Severe extra sanctions and exclusion from global banking arrangements could be imposed on Russia.
I have paraphrased what he says below:
The situation in the occupied part of the Donbas is drifting not to a frozen conflict but rather to a stalemate for the Russian leadership.
Talking to Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk in Berlin recently Chancellor Angela Merkel once again stressed that the preparation for the local elections in the Donbas can begin once a full ceasefire has been established and only after the complete withdrawal of heavy weaponry has taken place.
Merkel is waiting for confirmation from the OSCE observers but it will be a long wait, because Moscow is unlikely to vacate the territories now under its control, not because it fears a Ukrainian offensive but because it could be preparing for one of its own. And even if this is not the case it wants to give the impression that it is, otherwise mercenaries could drift away from the occupied zone and leaders of the "People's Republics" could begin to quietly start negotiating with Kyiv, possibly even giving some ground, in the search for compromise.
Angela Merkel achieved her aims at the meeting in Minsk on February 11-12 - not a frozen conflict in the Donbass, but rather an end to fighting [almost], and the current stalemate.
For Ukraine, the removal from the occupied territories of the Russian troops and other armed gangs is paramount - only then can local elections be held and dialogue on the status of the territories and welfare payments/civil servants' salaries restarted.
For Russia, it is important for Ukraine to promptly restart payment of salaries and welfare payments etc. After this Puin wants a dialogue to be initiated on the status of the territories, and on changes to the Ukrainian constitution under which fresh elections could be held.
The two conflicting parties therefore have absolutely differing priorities on the sequence of what needs to happen for resolution of the war.
Ukraine's goal is the restoration of the territorial integrity of the country. This objective can be achieved only when Russian troops and armed gangs are removed from the territory of Donbas and competitive free elections under reliable international supervision take place.
Russia's goal is the creation of a quasi-state on the occupied territory under its own control, and the transformation of Ukraine to a Bosnia-type state after the Dayton Accords, i.e. a shaky union of quasi-states. This can only be achieved if Russian troops and armed gangs remain in the Donbass, the "republics" conserved and elections undertaken under the supervision of separatist leaders Zakharchenko, Plotnitsky and the Russian FSB.
The economic blockade of the occupied territories is pushing Putin to come to a decision whether to abandon his Donbas adventure or to consider a further large-scale offensive to disguise his defeat.
The goal of the West is primarily to ensure cessation of hostilities continues.
Merkel can afford not to rush local elections in the Donbas, and not press for any dialogue between Kyiv and representatives of the occupied territories on the implementation of points of the Minsk Agreement; her mission is to draw Putin into a bureaucratic morass. The foreign ministers of Normandy format will meet, calls to each of the leaders will be made, reports of the OSCE observers studied, the possibility of holding elections discussed. After this a law on special status passed, and so on. Russia will insist that first the law is passed, then elections, then "let's meet again soon for further discussions, invite OSCE observers and on and on and on...
And all this time, month after month, the Russian economy will be sinking.
Because of the present cessation of hostilities, this stabilization will lead Russia nowhere except to a final irreversible collapse of their regime, which no one in the West now recognises as being capable of reasonable dialogue.
But in all of this there is one "but." Putin also understands what is happening. He does not have the money to supply the Donbas or moreover rebuild Donbas, and every day he has less and less. A frozen conflict would suit him only if Ukraine restarts payments to the occupied territories.
If Ukraine agreed to this Putin would then not need to start building a quasi-state at the expense of Ukaine and the West. If Russia and the separatists expanded the area under their control, Ukraine would continue to feed these newly occupied areas too, until eventually even Crimea would be reached.
Simply put, Putin will try to escape from the trap set by Western players and the Ukrainian leadership and not just sit by waiting for the deadly western sleeping pills to act.
The most important thing is not to allow him to wake up.
However Portnikov does not speculate on possible consequences for Russia in the event of restart of military attacks against Ukraine, e.g. an attempt to take Mariupol. Apart from major casualties for both warring parties, arming of Ukraine by the US and western powers becomes far more likely. Severe extra sanctions and exclusion from global banking arrangements could be imposed on Russia.
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Three interesting videos
Three short videos from a recent prestigious Oxford University Debating Society debate: "Is Putin building an empire?" The presentations naturally focus on the Russian-Ukrainian war..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjFKlUI94Hg&feature=youtu.be&a
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTfh3W_lmp8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpQ7aIou2ys
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjFKlUI94Hg&feature=youtu.be&a
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTfh3W_lmp8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpQ7aIou2ys
Thursday, March 19, 2015
UK Parliamentary seminar on Ukraine crisis
Video of today's two hour UK House of Lords EU External Affairs Sub-Committee Seminar on the Committee’s Report the EU and Russia: Before and beyond the Crisis in Ukraine
Definitely worth watching. Only the Brits do this sort of thing so well..
Definitely worth watching. Only the Brits do this sort of thing so well..
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Will Ukraine's contribution to WW2 victory over Fascism be recognised?
At the start of the year your blogger suggested "Western leaders should attend victory day parade in Kyiv, not Moscow" and explained why this should happen.
Thankfully the chances that this will occur are increasing daily.
LA Times runs an important op-ed piece today co-authored by former US ambassadors to Ukraine entitled: "Kiev, not Moscow, should be the choice for marking V-E Day"
Ukraine's contribution to WW2 victory over Fascism may now be properly recognised.
p.s. President Putin met his Kyrgyz counterpart Almazbek Atambayev on Monday in his first public meeting since March 5. Putin had gone AWOL for 11 days with no explanation.
At their meeting before the assembled press, Putin appeared rather sheepish, made just a few insignificant comments.. no attempt to provide an explanation for his absence or to provide reassurance to his people that the levers of power are firmly in his grasp.
The contrast with Putin's portrayal of strong-leader directing operations in the two and a half hour propaganda film on seizure of Crimea broadcast over the weekend was most marked.
All rather odd..
Thankfully the chances that this will occur are increasing daily.
LA Times runs an important op-ed piece today co-authored by former US ambassadors to Ukraine entitled: "Kiev, not Moscow, should be the choice for marking V-E Day"
Ukraine's contribution to WW2 victory over Fascism may now be properly recognised.
p.s. President Putin met his Kyrgyz counterpart Almazbek Atambayev on Monday in his first public meeting since March 5. Putin had gone AWOL for 11 days with no explanation.
At their meeting before the assembled press, Putin appeared rather sheepish, made just a few insignificant comments.. no attempt to provide an explanation for his absence or to provide reassurance to his people that the levers of power are firmly in his grasp.
The contrast with Putin's portrayal of strong-leader directing operations in the two and a half hour propaganda film on seizure of Crimea broadcast over the weekend was most marked.
All rather odd..
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Merkel leads again
On January 6 this year I wrote : "Western leaders should attend victory day parade in Kyiv, not Moscow" .
My post had been prompted by the news that Downing Street had not commented at that time whether or not the British prime minister was planning to attend this year's 70th anniversary celebrations of allied victory over Nazi Germany in Moscow in May.
Today it was reported: "German Chancellor Angela Merkel will not attend an official ceremony in Moscow on May 9 to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II due to tensions of the Ukraine crisis..."
In my blog I explained the reasons why Merkel as well as other European leaders should go to Kyiv rather than Moscow on that day...Proportionately more Ukrainians fought and died in World War 2 that Russians..Ukraine's enormous contribution to the defeat of Hitler's Third Reich, albeit as part of the Soviet effort, should be finally properly recognised. [How much longer will so-called Ukraine experts continue to mislead with the claim that the Oranges...the're from the west of the country...Ukrainian nationalists...fought with the Nazis..."monolingual, culturally autonomous from other Slavic nations.." ]
I sincerely hope that president Poroshenko and Foreign Minister Klimkin, are doing their utmost to make this happen...and western leaders will be as principled as Frau Merkel..Who wants to shake hands with "a common criminal dressed up as a head of state".. that brazenly hands out state awards to one of his hired killers..? Who wants to shake hands with a liar who denied Russian forces had invaded Crimea, then a year later, out of pure vanity, cannot resist bragging they did...
My post had been prompted by the news that Downing Street had not commented at that time whether or not the British prime minister was planning to attend this year's 70th anniversary celebrations of allied victory over Nazi Germany in Moscow in May.
Today it was reported: "German Chancellor Angela Merkel will not attend an official ceremony in Moscow on May 9 to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II due to tensions of the Ukraine crisis..."
In my blog I explained the reasons why Merkel as well as other European leaders should go to Kyiv rather than Moscow on that day...Proportionately more Ukrainians fought and died in World War 2 that Russians..Ukraine's enormous contribution to the defeat of Hitler's Third Reich, albeit as part of the Soviet effort, should be finally properly recognised. [How much longer will so-called Ukraine experts continue to mislead with the claim that the Oranges...the're from the west of the country...Ukrainian nationalists...fought with the Nazis..."monolingual, culturally autonomous from other Slavic nations.." ]
I sincerely hope that president Poroshenko and Foreign Minister Klimkin, are doing their utmost to make this happen...and western leaders will be as principled as Frau Merkel..Who wants to shake hands with "a common criminal dressed up as a head of state".. that brazenly hands out state awards to one of his hired killers..? Who wants to shake hands with a liar who denied Russian forces had invaded Crimea, then a year later, out of pure vanity, cannot resist bragging they did...
Monday, March 09, 2015
Vanity gets the better of Putin
Putin could not resist...personal vanity got the better of him; he had to make sure everyone knows it was he, Putin the Magnificent, who won back Crimea for Russia - its citizens will now "bend the knee each time his tale is told" [for how long?]
"President Vladimir Putin has revealed the moment he says he gave the secret order for Russia's annexation of Crimea and described how Russian troops were ready to fight to rescue Ukraine's deposed, pro-Moscow president.
In a trailer shown Sunday for an upcoming documentary on state-run Rossiya-1 television called "Homeward bound", Putin openly discusses Moscow's controversial grabbing of Crimea a year ago.
Putin recounts an all-night meeting with security services chiefs to discuss how to extricate deposed president Viktor Yanukovych, who had fled a pro-Western street revolt in the Ukrainian capital Kiev.
"We ended at about seven in the morning," Putin says. "When we were parting, I said to my colleagues: we must start working on returning Crimea to Russia."
[Source]
'Put' na Rodinu' video clip, with Putin here
This would support the case that Putin and a small coterie made a snap decision to do the dirty deed. Putin's admission also casts serious doubt on the Crimean pseudo-referendum. Voters were given no 'status quo ante' option at all - Putin had decided on their behalf to return the peninsula back to Russia.
Putin is saying: "Stick international law up your a*** I don't care", to world leaders who were shocked and dismayed by his actions in Crimea..
p.s Check out this 20 minute video interview with Fiona Hill, Director of the Centre on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution, discussing her book, 'Mr Putin: Operative in the Kremlin'. Brilliant analysis..Because Putin and just a tiny band of loyal trustees make all of the critical decisions in Russia, it makes prediction of their next moves very difficult, she says.
"President Vladimir Putin has revealed the moment he says he gave the secret order for Russia's annexation of Crimea and described how Russian troops were ready to fight to rescue Ukraine's deposed, pro-Moscow president.
In a trailer shown Sunday for an upcoming documentary on state-run Rossiya-1 television called "Homeward bound", Putin openly discusses Moscow's controversial grabbing of Crimea a year ago.
Putin recounts an all-night meeting with security services chiefs to discuss how to extricate deposed president Viktor Yanukovych, who had fled a pro-Western street revolt in the Ukrainian capital Kiev.
"We ended at about seven in the morning," Putin says. "When we were parting, I said to my colleagues: we must start working on returning Crimea to Russia."
[Source]
'Put' na Rodinu' video clip, with Putin here
This would support the case that Putin and a small coterie made a snap decision to do the dirty deed. Putin's admission also casts serious doubt on the Crimean pseudo-referendum. Voters were given no 'status quo ante' option at all - Putin had decided on their behalf to return the peninsula back to Russia.
Putin is saying: "Stick international law up your a*** I don't care", to world leaders who were shocked and dismayed by his actions in Crimea..
p.s Check out this 20 minute video interview with Fiona Hill, Director of the Centre on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution, discussing her book, 'Mr Putin: Operative in the Kremlin'. Brilliant analysis..Because Putin and just a tiny band of loyal trustees make all of the critical decisions in Russia, it makes prediction of their next moves very difficult, she says.
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