BBC: Ukraine sanctions imposed amid Kiev clashes

[alexey]

Far right on the west of me Putin on the east

Here I am, stuck in the middle with... 45 million peaceful Ukrainians.

[visionary]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/18/us-ukraine-crisis-putin-rompuy-idUSBREA2H1ZE20140318?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews

EU's Van Rompuy not meeting Putin on Wednesday: spokesman

 

A spokesman for European Council President Herman Van Rompuy denied a report by a Russian news agency that Van Rompuy would meet President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, saying he was not travelling to Moscow.

 

News agency Interfax cited diplomatic sources in its report, issued amid high tension over Putin's move to make Ukraine's Crimea region part of Russia.

 

"No. President Van Rompuy will not go to Moscow tomorrow," Preben Aamann, a spokesman for Van Rompuy, said on Tuesday. "He will be preparing for the European Council in Brussels on Thursday/Friday this week."

 

After Crimeans voted to join Russia in a weekend referendum dismissed by the EU and United States as a violation of Ukraine's sovereignty, Putin signed a treaty with Russian-backed Crimean leaders on Tuesday to bring the region into Russia.

 

"The European Union does not and will not recognize the annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol to the Russian Federation," Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

 

They said the European Council would discuss Ukraine at its meeting this week and "agree on a united European response."

 

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/amid-crimea-crisis-some-foreigners-in-moscow-worry-about-personal-safety/496296.html?ask_mobile=Y

Amid Crimea Crisis, Some Foreigners in Moscow Worry About Personal Safety

 

As Russia considers annexing Crimea after a weekend referendum, some foreign business leaders in Moscow are not only worried about the possible repercussions for their companies but also about something closer to home: personal safety.

 

No one has complained publicly about being physically assaulted amid an escalation in anti-Western sentiment, stoked by Russian government officials and state media. But several foreigners said in interviews that they have faced ridicule and feared that resentment might turn ugly.

 

"It is scary," said a senior U.S. lawyer, speaking on condition of anonymity because he did not want to draw attention to himself or his law firm. "I wish Russian colleagues would get a more balanced view, maybe by talking to colleagues in Britain or the U.S. Their viewpoints are getting more radical, and it is depressing to hear them."

 

Tensions over Crimea have reminded long-time expatriates of another time when anti-Western sentiments soared: amid the Kosovo conflict in 1999 when Russia strongly opposed a NATO-led campaign there. At the time, Moscow-based foreigners spoke of harassment and were advised to keep inconspicuous, including not speaking a foreign language in public.

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFuJMbfAKCI&feature=youtu.be

Published on Mar 18, 2014

 

Ankara threatens Russia of naval blockade.

Local Prime - Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has threatened to close the Bosporus to Russian ships, say Turkish diplomatic sources. TSN.Ranok March 18, 2014

 

https://twitter.com/EuromaidanPR

BREAKING Russians attackers used the commander of a Ukrainian military unit in Simferopol as a live shield to gain access to the building 

4:13 PM

 

https://twitter.com/AndersFoghR

Just arrived in Washington for talks w/ JohnKerry, SecDef Hagel & AmbassadorRice. I condemn Pres Putin's decision to incorporate Crimea

4:44 PM

 

 

http://www.moldova.org/russian-government-tackle-isolation-transnistria-thursday/

Russian government to tackle “isolation of Transnistria” on Thursday

 

Russian Government will discuss the situation in Moldova’s separatist region of Transnistria on March 20. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who is also the Kremlin’s envoy for the Transnistrian conflict, told journalists that the Transnistrian region has been economically isolated.

 

“On March 20, upcoming Thursday, we will organize a serious, large meeting with all ministries and authorities of Russia, so that the Transnistrian leadership can benefit from the presence of a group of Russian advisors dealing with the issue how to survive this economic blockade, which is still a reality today,” said Dmitry Rogozin, quoted by state-run RIA Novosti news agency.

 

He added: “This will become even more complicated if Moldova will sign the [Association] Agreement with the European Union.”

 

Mr. Rogozin noted that Ukraine has been denied entry or exit of Russian men at the Moldovan-Ukrainian border across the Transnistrian region, generating a “blockade.” He also accused Chisinau-based legitimate authorities of this territory that they “do not think at all” about the region.

 

 

http://www.interpretermag.com/russia-this-week-will-the-kremlin-reduce-america-to-nuclear-ash/#2033

2033 GMT: Mikhail Dvorkovich, brother of Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich, had a great idea — to boycott all American products in retaliation for the White House sanctions against 7 Russian officials announced yesterday:

 

Translation: From today on I will remove from my life American products. Friends, join me!

The concept began to unravel when some bloggers pointed out that he was tweeting from his i-Phone, which was an American product. He then pledged to fix that soon:

 

Translation: For now, yes. This afternoon I’m changing to a Samsung.

But others on Twitter persisted, explaining that Twitter itself was an American product. Dvorkovich had an answer:

 

Translation: @mdvorkovich Internet, Twitter and Facebook — these are not products.

He then dug himself in deeper, however:

 

Translation: @mdvorkovich Don’t confuse the American with the transnational. Internet and Twitter are not products.

 

[visionary]

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://rt.com/politics/russian-duma-sanctions-crimea-594/

Russian lawmakers ask President Obama to impose sanctions on them all

 

The State Duma has passed a motion suggesting that the US and EU extend the freshly introduced sanctions to all Russian MPs rather than a limited group of officials, defying western pressure just hours before Russia and Crimea signed a federation treaty.

 

The motion was supported by a unanimous vote on Tuesday morning. It was prepared the day before by all four parliamentary parties after representatives of the United States and the European Union said they were slapping sanctions, such as visa bans and asset freezes, on a number of Russian officials who are seen as “key ideologists and architects” of the policy towards Ukraine.

 

The State Duma motion reads that the US President’s decree was limiting the rights of Russian citizens and that similar discriminatory measures were approved by foreign ministers of the EU nations.

 

In a speech MP Mikhail Markelov (Fair Russia) called the move by the US State Department, President Obama and the European Union “an absurd attempt”, and suggested that the US punished all lower house members. “As long as they stress that MP Lyudmila Mizulina is on the blacklist, they should also impose sanctions on all 436 MPs who voted for the law that protects our children from gay propaganda,” Markelov noted.

 

[Predicto]

As much as I hate Putin and I hate to see him get away with this crap, I can't help but think that losing Crimea will be better for Ukraine in the long run.    It is poison to have a region of your country that is more loyal to a neighboring Power than to the country itself.  Putin is also uniting the rest of Ukraine against Russia, and turning them firmly toward the West.  I doubt they will forget this treatment anytime soon.  

 

So it sucks, but maybe it is all for the best.   

[zoony]

I think we as Americans would be best to look at this as if a faction of pro French radicals overthrew the Canadian government and demanded to be part of France. What do you suppose the US government would do

[nonniey]

I think we as Americans would be best to look at this as if a faction of pro French radicals overthrew the Canadian government and demanded to be part of France. What do you suppose the US government would do

Under the current administration???? Seriously is there anyone that posts here, even his supporters, that don't think he is perceived as weak by the rest of the world?

[Larry]

I think we as Americans would be best to look at this as if a faction of pro French radicals overthrew the Canadian government and demanded to be part of France. What do you suppose the US government would do

Contrary to the rhetoric of a lot of conservatives, France is not Russia.

And I will also point out that I'm not at all certain that Crimea voted this way.

It has been pointed out that the vote in parliament, to join Russia, featured the votes of several members who say that 1) they were summoned to parliament by phone calls threatening their families, 2) the vote was held under pointed guns, and with all witnesses expelled from the building, and 3) that they weren't even there, but they supposedly voted for it.

It has been pointed out that the guy who's nominally in charge, Is the head of a pro-Russian political party that got 4% of the vote, in the last election.

[@DCGoldPants]

Under the current administration???? Seriously is there anyone that posts here, even his supporters, that don't think he is perceived as weak by the rest of the world?

 

Didn't vote for him either time and I don't think he looks weak here. I think he knows that America is tired after the past 13 years or so of being involved abroad. I think that's what is so amazing when you hear McCain or Romney spout off on this stuff. If anything, they make us look weak and unhinged. Lets step in. Lets do something. What? You want me to say "what" we should do? We should do whatever the opposite of what this admin says!

 

The situation over the sucks and its a mess. But besides being part of a bigger international community who agrees on whatever consequences there should be....I don't want any more. I don't want American Troops involved.

[visionary]

To Predicto's post: it may turn out better for Ukraine to lose the Crimea, but....

 

1. They're also losing military bases and lots of ships and military equipment.

2. There are minorities in Crimea that may suffer because of this.

3.  If Russia doesn't stop with the Crimea and either invades/annexes Eastern/Southern Ukraine, or encourages all sorts of problems there it would be very bad for Ukraine as a whole (not even taking into account possible war or invasion of Western Ukraine in the fallout).

 

 

 

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/19/world/europe/russias-aggression-in-crimea-brings-nato-into-renewed-focus.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&smid=tw-nytimes&_r=0

Russia’s Aggression in Crimea Brings NATO Into Renewed Focus

 

Russia’s annexation of Crimea has suddenly revived the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s central role as a counterweight to Moscow, and with it questions about the alliance’s options and ability to act.

 

Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. swept into Poland and the Baltic nations on Tuesday with a message of reassurance that their membership in NATO carries the protection of the United States. But given deep Western reluctance to use military force in response to Russia’s aggression, it remains unclear what the alliance’s commitment to collective security means for Ukraine and other nonmembers should President Vladimir V. Putin continue to try to expand Moscow’s influence in the former Soviet bloc.

 

Ian Bond, the director of foreign policy at the Center for European Reform, a London-based research group, said that “Putin has just given NATO something to do, but the question is whether NATO is up to it.” It is now crucial to deter further moves by Mr. Putin, he said. “If Russian forces move into eastern Ukraine,” he said, “what would NATO do?”

 

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303563304579447300718769492?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702303563304579447300718769492.html

How Putin Parried Obama's Overtures on Crimea

 

U.S. officials negotiating with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov over the future of Ukraine were surprised last week after the experienced diplomat excused himself to phone President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

 

His making such a call wasn't unusual: Mr. Lavrov often sought instructions from the Kremlin leader. The Americans were stunned, however, when Mr. Lavrov reported that Mr. Putin had refused to take his call.

[nonniey]

Didn't vote for him either time and I don't think he looks weak here. I think he knows that America is tired after the past 13 years or so of being involved abroad. I think that's what is so amazing when you hear McCain or Romney spout off on this stuff. If anything, they make us look weak and unhinged. Lets step in. Lets do something. What? You want me to say "what" we should do? We should do whatever the opposite of what this admin says!

 

The situation over the sucks and its a mess. But besides being part of a bigger international community who agrees on whatever consequences there should be....I don't want any more. I don't want American Troops involved.

Reread my question I asked does anyone think that rest of the world doesn't perceive him as weak.

[visionary]

http://en.ria.ru/world/20140319/188544777/Crimean-Tatars-Will-Have-to-Vacate-Land--Official.html

Crimean Tatars Will Have to Vacate Land – Official

 

Ukraine’s breakaway region of Crimea will ask Tatars to vacate part of the land where they now live in exchange for new territory elsewhere in the region, a top Crimean government official said Tuesday.

 

Crimean Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Temirgaliyev said in an interview with RIA Novosti on Tuesday the new government in Crimea, where residents voted Sunday to become part of Russia, wants to regularize the land unofficially taken over by Crimean Tatar squatters following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

 

“We have asked the Crimean Tatars to vacate part of their land, which is required for social needs,” Temirgaliyev said. “But we are ready to allocate and legalize many other plots of land to ensure a normal life for the Crimean Tatars,” he said.

 

Temirgaliyev emphasized that members of the Tatar community could receive senior political positions in the new government, in an apparent move to ease ethnic tensions in the region.

 

“I think that Crimean Tatars will be well represented in the government and parliament,” he said.

 

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ukraine-grapples-despair-crimea-takeover

Ukraine grapples with despair in Crimea takeover

 

Ukraine's leadership simmered with a mix of hopelessness and anger at losing Crimea, tempering an influx of eager young men signing up as reservists with the growing certainty that no savior would deliver them from the Russian takeover.

 

For Ukraine's government in Kiev, it is a crime — one the inexperienced leaders can do little do address in the face of an overwhelmingly superior military force. But for at least one of the group of people in the new leadership, it is a reality that must be dealt with on practical terms.

 

"This is theft on an international scale, when under the cover of troops, one country has just come and robbed a part of an independent state," Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said.

 

Yatsenyuk's government now has to contend with the immediate complications of an armed confrontation that flared up Tuesday. A Ukrainian military spokesman said a serviceman was killed and another injured when a military facility in Crimea was stormed by armed men. The official said a truck bearing a Russian flag was used in the operation.

 

Yatsenyuk said the storming showed the dispute "has gone from the political stage to the military through the fault of the Russians."

"They are demanding to change the constitution, to change the system, to give up Crimea. This is the language of an aggressor ... this is the language of Josef Stalin," said Oleksiy Haran, a politics professor at the University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. "Ukraine has done everything which it can. We resisted from violence, which again the West demanded from us. We didn't kill any Russian soldiers."

 

"My advice to compatriots who live in Crimea is not to give up your Ukrainian passports. You are citizens of Ukraine and you are in effect hostages of the occupiers," Justice Minister Pavel Petrenko told Channel 5 television. "People should make their own decision about revoking citizenship and nobody has the right to force them."

 

Ukraine's one major lever of power — the electricity and water that comes from the mainland — is complicated by the new Kiev government's reluctance to alienate the residents, a majority of them ethnic Russians, but with large Ukrainian and Tatar communities.

 

 

 

http://uacrisis.org/ehvgen-nishhuk/

Ukraine Minister of Culture Yevgen Nischuk: We Ask UNESCO to Help Us Preserve Crimea’s Cultural Heritage

 

Kyiv, 18 March 2014 –

 

“Ukraine is contacting UNESCO with a request to help avoid looting and stealing of museum exhibits in Crimea”, said Yevgen Nischuk, Minister of Culture of Ukraine, during a briefing at the Ukraine Crisis Media Center.

 

“Now we don’t have access to the priceless rarities of the Chersonesus, which was added to the UNESCO World Heritage, as well as almost 900 historical sites all over Crimea”

 

The Minister also said that the Ministry of Culture had sent its representatives to Crimea to call for inter-confessional peace and tolerance. “Maidan has shown how peacefully people of different religions can coexist. The whole world knows about our tolerance when it comes to religious issues. Today, seizures of temples in Crimea is being provoked by Russia,” Nischuk said.

 

[Larry]

Reread my question I asked does anyone think that rest of the world doesn't perceive him as weak.

I don't know. Although I will observe that, on this matter, it's not like everybody else is urging Obama to do more. Obama's trying to do more, and the major NATO countries are holding things back.

[RVAbrendan]

This "Obama is weak" speak is just not jivin' hombre. What is this, a **** measuring contest? This is the same dude who has drones flying around after all... After winding down two wars over the past decade plus (everybody wanted our troops back, right?), now anything other than direct military action halfway across the world is weak? Where would we be in the world today if diplomacy was forgone and knee-jerk decisions were made (like, oh I don't know, going to war with Iraq)

 

Maybe cretins who only value the sharpened stick will think so, but this process is much more involved globally than one would like to think.

[@DCGoldPants]

Reread my question I asked does anyone think that rest of the world doesn't perceive him as weak.

And I said I don't think he looks weak. I think he looks deliberate.

[Larry]

Suggestion? Let's keep this thread about Ukraine/Crimea, and leave the Republicans and Democrats out of it.

As a gesture towards my own suggestion, I'm gonna go delete my own post on the topic.

[visionary]

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ukraine-crisis/biden-nato-allies-we-will-respond-any-aggression-n56521

Biden to NATO Allies: 'We Will Respond to Any Aggression'

 

The United States will respond to any Russian aggression against NATO allies, Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday as he visited Baltic countries worried about Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

 

“As long as Russia continues on this dark path, they will face increase political and economic isolation,” Biden told reporters in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius.

 

“The president wanted me to come personally to make it clear what you already know that under Article 5 under the NATO treaty, we will respond. We will respond to any aggression against a NATO ally."

 

Biden's visit is intended to reassure nations like Poland and the Baltics that the United States will live up to its NATO pledge to protect allies under attack. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland are all members of both the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization - unlike Ukraine.

 

http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/03/18/russia-government-tightens-screws-after-sochi

Russia: Government Tightens Screws After Sochi

 

Russian authorities have detained hundreds of peaceful protesters in recent weeks, in most cases arbitrarily and in some cases with unnecessary force. The detentions are part of a new crackdown on free expression and assembly as the crisis unfolds in neighboring Ukraine.

 

The detentions took place during protests against Russia’s approval of military intervention in Ukraine and during small demonstrations and other gatherings to support eight people sentenced to long prison terms for a protest in May 2012, on the eve of President Vladimir Putin’s inauguration.

 

“Many wondered what a post-Sochi crackdown might look like,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “These detentions, the crackdown under way on the media, and violent attacks against dissenters by unidentified assailants paint a stark picture of what is going on in Russia right now.”

 

http://time.com/26204/a-turbulent-priest-awaits-the-conquest-of-crimea/

A Turbulent Priest Awaits The Conquest of Crimea

 

Archbishop Kliment began evacuating the holy icons from his church about two weeks ago, as soon as he realized that the region of Crimea, where he serves as the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox faith, would soon fall to the Russians. He wasn’t so much afraid of looting or arson from the Russian soldiers occupying his region of Ukraine, although that concerned him too. He was preparing for nothing less than the nullification of the Ukrainian Orthodox church. Under Russian rule, “we will simply be liquidated,” he says. “Our church is an enemy to the order that Russia would impose here, and our churches would be either looted or in the best case forced to close.”

 

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/570519-in-crimea-some-now-wonder-better-to-go-or-stay/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

In Crimea Some Now Wonder, Better to Go or Stay?

 

Vait Sitdzhemiliev brought his wife and three daughters to Crimea to honor a deathbed wish from his father six years ago. Now, waking Wednesday in a land officially annexed by Russia, the Crimean Tatar is worried about what is to come.

 

He fears for the eight tidy guestrooms he has built for sun-seeking vacationers. He worries about how Russian neighbors will behave now that they’re in Moscow’s embrace. Most of all, he frets over what lies ahead for his daughters, three hard-working students in their 20s.

 

“We Crimean Tatars have never gotten anything good from the Kremlin,” said Sitdzhemiliev, a 49-year-old entrepreneur.

 

Nonetheless, he has decided to stay. Crimea is his ancestral homeland: His parents were among the tens of thousands of Crimean Tatars deported en masse by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, and he brought his family here from Uzbekistan six years ago on his dying father’s request.

 

Sitdzhemiliev’s choice mirrors that of the majority of members of minority populations in ethnic Russian-dominated Crimea — at least so far. Ukrainian Orthodox Archbishop Kliment of Simferopol and Crimea says that there has been no exodus by those fearful of Moscow’s takeover. But the future fills the archbishop with dread — and the present has shaken his faith in God: “The worst is that when people ask me to,” he said, “I can’t guarantee their safety.”

 

 

https://twitter.com/BSpringnote

Crimean Tataar leader Chubarov says they will not give up occupied Crimean territories

4:05 AM

 

https://twitter.com/AFP

BREAKING 200 pro-Moscow activists seize Ukraine navy HQ: official 

4:24 AM

 

https://twitter.com/Naharnet

Breaking AFP: Russian forces have seized control of a second Ukrainian navy base in Crimea. http://www.naharnet.com/ 

10:22 AM

 

And so it begins:

https://twitter.com/RichardEngel

Pro russian militias blocking a Ukrainian mil base in e ukraine. Tense. We're not welcome pic.twitter.com/o10rTlUDXu

10:43 AM

 

Pro russian mil settling in for long siege of e. ukranian base. Similar pattern to crimea pic.twitter.com/nlC36Y6C57

10:45 AM

 

Just left area where pro-russian militia blockading a Ukrainian supply depot. We didn't see any weapons, but happy to get out

11:10 AM

 

Pro russian militia blocking Ukrainian mil convoys: "they will not get thru". Coming up on @mitchellreports

11:30 AM

There has to be a way to stop this ****.  This is getting ridiculous.

 

 

 

 

[JMS]

I think we as Americans would be best to look at this as if a faction of pro French radicals overthrew the Canadian government and demanded to be part of France. What do you suppose the US government would do

 

Actually the more likely scenario since both Canada and specifically Quebec do about 90% of their economic activity based upon US trade;   Is if Quebec succeeded then both Canada and Quebec would become economically destabalized and would both petition the United States individually for membership as 1 or more states.    This was deemed the most likely scenario to arrise out of a Quebec moving out of union with greater Canada.    To us it's pretty much a nothing burger... Canada's population is like 10% of the United State's.    Canada's relations wiht us are so close it's pretty much identical to an internal stare with regard to contracts, exports,  imports,  and because we don't have to give them social services it's superior relationship to many states.

 

If France wanted to Take over Canada because Canada requested it... I don't think we would care... It's not like 90% of the economy wouldn't be based here.   That's why Canada isn't in the EU... Because joining would hurt their trade realtions with us.. not that we would require those relationships to be rethought... the EU would.

And I said I don't think he looks weak. I think he looks deliberate.

 

 

Depends upon what he does next.   Right now the sanctions we've announced are incredible weak.   If we respond in a timely mannor with greater sanctions as promised... then we can revise that to deliberate....   Right now though we've done little to make Putin to question his moves.   I think our hands are being tied by our allies who don't favor the type of crusssing sanctions used against Iran, because those sanctions would impact them too.

This "Obama is weak" speak is just not jivin' hombre. What is this, a **** measuring contest? This is the same dude who has drones flying around after all...

 

.. 

 

Maybe cretins who only value the sharpened stick will think so, but this process is much more involved globally than one would like to think.

 

Well I think that's partially true... the other part of that thoujgh is Obama has removed most of our forces from Europe or will do so soon. We are in the process of pivoting to a pacific focused defense strategy against China...  First time in our nation's history we didn't have a European defense strategy.  That's from Obama...  and I think what we've seen here from Russia is perhaps that's premature... Also Obama has anounced defense cuts... substantive defense cuts..  Which might also need to be rethought....  Finally Obama has announced a new mission for the DoD...  We are no longer going to support a two front or two war strategy for the DoD....  That's new with Obama too... anounced under Obama...

 

So there have been many things you could say Obama has done which Putin could see as easing up the preassure on him.

Weak or not depends upon if Obama can motivate our allies to support harsher sanctions....   It's about what happens next.

[visionary]

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/ukrainian-catholics-experiencing-total-persecution-in-crimea/#.UynDOgBVo55.twitter

Ukrainian Catholics experiencing 'total persecution' in Crimea

 

As the Russian president signed a bill to annex Crimea Tuesday, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in the peninsula has been experiencing what a Church official calls “total persecution.”

“At this moment all Ukrainian Greek Catholic life in Crimea is paralyzed,” Fr. Volodymyr Zhdan, chancellor of the Stryi eparchy in western Ukraine, told CNA March 18.
 
From 2006 to 2010, Fr. Zhdan served as chancellor of the Odesa-Krym exarchate, which encompassed both the mainland port city of Odesa and the Crimean peninsula.

Since late February the peninsula has seen the emergence of pro-Russian troops, who have taken control of its airports, parliament, and telecommunication centers.

Referring to the kidnapping of three Ukrainian Greek Catholic priests in Crimea by pro-Russian forces over the weekend, Fr. Zhdan stressed that one such case could be called a mistake, but that “multiple kidnappings are not an accident.”

Add this to the already mentioned Ukrainian Orthodox and Tatars, and things don't look to bright for minorities in the Crimea.

 

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/eligible-crimean-men-to-be-drafted-into-russian-army-next-spring/496455.html

Eligible Crimean Men to Be Drafted into Russian Army Next Spring

 

Young Crimean man will be drafted into the Russian army starting this spring and could end up stationed in Chechnya and Dagestan, Crimea's leader said following the peninsula's vote to join Russia.

 

When Crimea's accession to Russia is complete, the region will be subject to that country's laws, including its mandatory service in the Russian army, Crimea's Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov said Tuesday, Ukraine's TVi reported.

 

Ukraine scrapped universal conscription last October, but Russia still has universal military draft for men over the age of 18, and Aksyonov said the deployment of young Crimeans will not be limited to their native peninsula.

 

"The conscripts will serve throughout the country, including in Dagestan, Chechnya and generally in the North Caucasus," he said.

 

Ahead of last Sunday's referendum, Crimean regional legislature speaker Volodymyr Konstantinov promised that the salaries of government workers would increase from between twofold and fourfold if voters cast ballots in favor of joining Russia.

 

Several pundits said Crimeans were promised an embellished picture of Russia before the vote, and some residents may now feel they are getting more than they bargained for with news of their eligibility for conscription.

 

http://euromaidanpr.wordpress.com/2014/03/19/channel-5-cabinet-of-ministers-of-ukraine-approves-evacuation-plan-for-ukrainian-citizens-from-crimea/

Channel 5: Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approves evacuation plan for Ukrainian citizens from Crimea

 

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved the evacuation plan of Ukrainian citizens from the Crimean peninsula to mainland Ukraine in the course of today’s session. Ostap Semerak, minister of the Cabinet of Ministers, announced that during the news briefing after the session, UNIAN reports.

 

“Today, we approved an appropriate plan of actions. The decision was approved by the government and the National Security Council of Ukraine. The plan provides to order all levels of the central executive branch to start preliminary stage of the plan and fulfil tasks outlined for today,” the minister noted.

 

He also expressed his hopes that this process will not be threatening. However, Ukrainian government has to prepare to “the appropriate reaction for possible migration waves”. 

 

http://news.yahoo.com/putin-defies-west-crimea-land-grab-175213082.html;_ylt=AwrBEiTPxClTgRkAKBnQtDMD

Crimean militias storm bases, arrest Ukraine navy chief

 

Pro-Russian forces seized two Crimean navy bases and captured Ukraine's naval chief on Wednesday as Moscow tightened its grip on the flashpoint peninsula despite Western warnings its "annexation" would not go unpunished.

 

Dozens of despondent Ukrainian soldiers -- one of them in tears -- filed out of the Ukraine's main navy headquarters in the historic Black Sea port city of Sevastopol after it was stormed by hundreds of pro-Kremlin protesters and masked Russian troops.

 

"We have been temporarily disbanded," a Ukrainian lieutenant who identified himself only as Vlad told AFP.

 

"I was born here and I grew up here and I have been serving for 20 years," he said as a Russian flag went up over the base without a single shot being fired in its defence. "Where am I going to go?"

 

A Russian forces' representative said that Ukraine's navy commander Sergiy Gayduk -- appointed after his predecessor switched allegiance in favour of Crimea's pro-Kremlin authorities at the start of the month -- had been detained.

 

A regional prosecutor's statement said Gayduk was suspected of "ordering Ukrainian military units... to open fire on peaceful civilians".

 

Defence ministry officials said Russian forces also seized a military base in Crimea's western port town of Novoozerne after using a tractor to ram open its main gate.

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/19/us-ukraine-crisis-falklands-idUSBREA2I1GG20140319?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews

Crimea vote as worthless as Falklands poll: Argentina president

 

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, who has been campaigning for the Falkland Islands to become part of Argentina, said last week's referendum in Crimea was as worthless as a vote held last year over the British territory in the South Atlantic.

 

Fernandez has been increasingly vocal about Argentina's claim to the archipelago, a British Overseas Territory over which Britain and Argentina fought a war in 1982.

 

"This referendum (in Crimea) is worthless," Fernandez said, speaking through an interpreter at a news conference with French President Francois Hollande.

 

"We can't simply defend the integrity of Crimea and not the Malvinas," Fernandez said. Britain says that Russia has broken international law and violated the territorial integrity of Ukraine by annexing Crimea

 

https://twitter.com/mpoppel

AFP: Ukraine president gives Crimea leaders three hours to release navy chief

12:37 PM

 

[Larry]

The evacuation plan makes me wonder if the Russians will let people leave.

They're really in a hurry to show people how evil they are, aren't they? I would have expected them to act nice, for a while, let the attention die down, THEN start slowly enslaving people.

[visionary]

Good question.  I wonder if Russians still have the way in to the Crimea checkpointed and blockaded.

 

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/19/us-russia-estonia-idUSBREA2I1J620140319

Moscow signals concern for Russians in Estonia

 

Russia signaled concern on Wednesday at Estonia's treatment of its large ethnic Russian minority, comparing language policy in the Baltic state with what it said was a call in Ukraine to prevent the use of Russian.

 

Russia has defended its annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula by arguing it has the right to protect Russian-speakers outside its borders, so the reference to linguistic tensions in another former Soviet republic comes at a highly sensitive moment.

 

Russia fully supported the protection of the rights of linguistic minorities, a Moscow diplomat told the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, according to a summary of the session issued by the U.N.'s information department.

 

"Language should not be used to segregate and isolate groups," the diplomat was reported as saying. Russia was "concerned by steps taken in this regard in Estonia as well as in Ukraine," the Moscow envoy was said to have added.

 

https://twitter.com/BSpringnote

National Security Chief Parubi says Ukraine to require visas for Russians           

1:15 PM

 

 

https://twitter.com/BloombergNews

BREAKING: Ukraine says it will remove military from Crimea to mainland. 

1:32 PM

How?

 

https://twitter.com/SkyNewsBreak

Reuters: Ukraine government to appeal to UN to recognise Crimea as a demilitarised zone and take measures for Russian forces to withdraw

1:34 PM

https://twitter.com/RichardEngel

I definitely don’t think Russia is just going to take Crimea & forget about the rest of Ukraine. @maddow http://on.msnbc.com/1mgqsSN 

1:40 PM

 

[visionary]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26656617#TWEET1076706

Ukraine preparing Crimea withdraw

 

Ukraine draws up plan to withdraw soldiers aland their families from Crimea, security chief in Kiev says

So are they leaving vehicles, ships, weapons, equipment to Russia.

Maybe they can sue for compensation....

And I'm still not sure how they'll get people out.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/ukraine-developing-crimea-withdrawal-plan-security-chief-175832183.html;_ylt=AwrBJR4x3ClTxQoA0eHQtDMD

Ukraine developing Crimea withdrawal plan: security chief

 

Ukraine's security chief said on Wednesday that Kiev was developing a plan for withdrawing its soldiers and their families from Crimea following the Kremlin's claim on the flashpoint peninsula.

 

"We are developing a plan that would enable us not only to withdraw servicemen, but also members of their families in Crimea, so that they could be quickly and efficiently moved to mainland Ukraine," Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council chief Andriy Parubiy told a televised press conference.

 

http://www.buzzfeed.com/maxseddon/crimea-naval-base-stormed-as-ukrainian-soldiers-wonder-who-t

Crimea Naval Base Stormed As Ukrainian Soldiers Wonder Who They Serve Now

 

Early Wednesday morning, several hundred pro-Russian local “self-defense” units, backed by heavily armed Russian troops, surrounded the headquarters of Ukraine’s navy. Hopelessly outnumbered, the roughly 400 Ukrainian sailors inside stood by as the pro-Russian forces bashed through the gate with an ambulance, broke down doors, and threw smoke grenades, demanding their surrender.

 

By Wednesday afternoon, the Russian flag was flying high over the building. Adm. Sergei Hayduk, the head of the Ukrainian navy, was led from the headquarters in handcuffs and taken to an undisclosed location. One irregular said Hayduk had tried to hide, but was found by “self-defense” forces and dragged to negotiations with Igor Yeskin, the commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, which has long been stationed in Crimea. He was then taken away by Russian security services officers. Kiev still doesn’t know where he is.

 

Ukraine’s defense minister and a deputy prime minister attempted to settle the standoff by flying in from Kiev, but were denied entry to Crimea by local authorities. Several sailors are still barricaded inside without food or water. The rest simply dropped their weapons and walked home with their possessions slung over their backs.

 

Hours after the ceremony, which itself followed a speech during which Putin hailed Russia’s bloodless march into Crimea, a Ukrainian soldier was shot dead. Ukraine’s leaders responded by allowing the country’s troops in Crimea to use their weapons, but, at the naval base on Wednesday, no one opened fire.

 

The “self-defense” units, mostly comprised of middle-aged men in second-hand fatigues adorned with orange-and-black pro-Russian ribbons, repeated a choice made to all Ukrainian troops across the peninsula by Russia’s government. They could join the Russian army, abandoning the oath they had sworn to Ukraine. They could remain faithful to Kiev, but abandon their homes in Crimea, where most of them were from.

 

“All my relatives are from Russia, but I serve in the Ukrainian army,” Pavel, a Ukrainian officer who declined to give his last name, told BuzzFeed as he left the compound. “I definitely can’t go over to the Russian side, because that’s treachery. We can’t betray the country we served to the last. That’s not right.”

 

https://twitter.com/sangwonyoon

AFP: Germany suspends all arms trading with Russia  

2:22 PM

 

https://twitter.com/IvanCNN

Ukraine government says it will ask UN to designate Crimea a "demilitarized zone." IF THAT HAPPENS, Kyiv will withdraw military from Crimea

2:22 PM

 

Ukraine government to limit money transfers & impose sanctions against companies cooperating w/"self-proclaimed" Crimean authorities

2:26 PM

 

https://twitter.com/maxseddon

Don't see the logic of Ukraine bringing in a visa regime with Russia, which will disproportionately hurt ordinary Ukrainians in the East

2:19 PM

 

I'm aware of the need to stop the busloads of thugs coming over the Eastern border, but a visa regime is disproportionate and punitive

2:26 PM

 

Assuming Russia wouldn't introduce a visa regime to pressure the own government and force blame on them is naive

2:29 PM

 

How does a visa regime help screen for thugs? Surely it is an admission of the failure to do so that mostly blanket affects the innocent? 

2:32 PM

 

Has anyone got numbers on what a visa regime means for eastern Ukraine economically? So many work in Russia / get remittances from there... 

2:34 PM

 

https://twitter.com/BrookingsFP

AndersFoghR: Russian aggression gravest threat to Euro stability, security since cold war, crisis right on NATO border.

2:37 PM

 

 

http://news.yahoo.com/russias-action-gravest-threat-europe-since-cold-war-180633170.html;_ylt=AwrBEiRg5ClTcxYARBvQtDMD

Russia's action 'gravest' threat to Europe since Cold War: NATO

 

NATO's secretary-general said Wednesday that Russia's intervention in Ukraine posed the most serious threat to Europe's security since the end of the Cold War and warned Moscow it would face international isolation.

 

"This is a wake-up call," alliance chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in prepared remarks. "For the Euro-Atlantic community. For NATO. And for all those committed to a Europe whole, free and at peace."

 

There had been crises in the Balkans in the 1990s and in Georgia in 2008, "but this is the gravest threat to European security and stability since the end of the Cold War," he said.

 

The situation was more serious because of the scale of Russia's action, representing one of the largest troop movements in Europe for "many decades," and because it was occurring "right on NATO's border," he said.

But Rasmussen issued no military threat and acknowledged the West had no "easy" options at hand.

 

"There are no quick and easy ways to stand up to global bullies.

 

"Because our democracies debate, deliberate, and consider the options before taking decisions. Because we value transparency and seek legitimacy for our choices.

 

"And because we see force as the last, not the first, resort."

 

 

 

 

[Larry]

Feel like I'm watching a rape, on TV. And I can't do anything about it.

And Obama is telling the rapist that if he doesn't stop, we'll stop taking his checks, and demand cash. And Germany and the EU are saying "now don't be so hasty".

[visionary]

http://www.interpretermag.com/ukraine-liveblog-day-30-ukraine-military-bases-under-siege/#1847

The Ukrainian government has said that it is making plans to evacuate its military from Crimea. It’s unclear if this includes its navy, but if it does not withdraw its fleets then Russia has said that it will nationalize them. The Kremlin-operated RIA Novosti reports:

 

Up to 20 warships and auxiliary vessels of the Ukrainian navy could become part of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet following the reunification of Crimea with Russia, a senior Russian lawmaker said Tuesday.

 

According to Adm. (Ret.) Vladimir Komoyedov, chair of the State Duma Committee on Defense, the Ukrainian navy comprises some 40 ships, 20 of which are currently docked at naval bases in Crimea at Sevastopol and Donuzlav Bay.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of Crimea signed a treaty Tuesday reunifying Crimea and the city of Sevastopol with Russia. The Russian parliament is expected to ratify the treaty imminently.

 

“We can now assume that the ships that remain in Crimea will initially become part of the Crimean self-defense forces and will later join Russia’s Black Sea Fleet,” Komoyedov told RIA Novosti.

 

http://en.itar-tass.com/russia/724445

Putin and Sargsyan discuss Armenia’s accession to Customs Union

 

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan called Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, March 19, to discuss pressing issues of cooperation between the two countries and the implementation of agreements on Armenia’s accession to the Customs Union created by Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia.

 

“The presidents exchanged opinions in connection with the reunification of the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol with the Russian Federation,” the presidential press service said.

 

Armenian specialists will help draft the Customs Code of the Customs Union created by Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia, the Armenian government said on March 13 after talks between Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan and Eurasian Economic Commission Board member Vladimir Goshin.

 

Sargsyan and Goshin discussed customs legislation and cooperation during Armenia’s accession to the Customs Union. Goshin told Sargsyan about the work on the Customs Code to be put into effect next year.

 

In September 2013, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan “reaffirmed Armenia’s wish to accede to the Customs Union and join in the process of forming the Eurasian Economic Union.”

 

http://news.yahoo.com/germany-halts-major-arms-deal-russia-184506445.html;_ylt=AwrBJSAk7ClTBV8AYl_QtDMD

Germany halts major arms deal with Russia

 

Germany said Wednesday any arms trading with Moscow was currently "indefensible" as it halted a major deal to provide a fully equipped training camp to Russian forces.

 

Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel announced the suspension of the Rheinmetall project as Moscow tightened its grip on the flashpoint Crimean peninsula.

 

 

https://twitter.com/SkyNewsBreak

AP: Ukrainian security chief says Ukraine plans military exercise with United States and Britain

2:43 PM

 

https://twitter.com/strobetalbott

AndersFoghR NATO SG @ Russia joint projects suspended, including on Syria CW disarmament 

2:49 PM

 

https://twitter.com/MahirZeynalov

Senior Russian diplomat says Moscow may change its stance in the Iranian nuclear talks amid tensions with the West over Ukraine.

3:00 PM

 

 

https://twitter.com/ovaska?original_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.interpretermag.com%2Fukraine-liveblog-day-30-ukraine-military-bases-under-siege%2F&tw_i=446356013147783168&tw_p=tweetembed

Two loud bangs and and several rifle shots belbek airbase crimea 

2:24 PM

 

Was talking with col mamchur and he immediately returned inside base. A single alarm from siren sounded.

2:27 PM

 

Things calmer. The bangs and shots from near the base are said to be provocations from some unknown party. Not Ukrainian.

2:42 PM

 

Self defense wants evacuation. Col mamchur wants orders. Tense conversation. armed Ukrainian surrounding col.

2:59 PM

 

Self defense rep said provocations not them. Promised 2 cars to prevent further unattributed actions.       

3:10 PM

 

Self defense guys are here. About 10 guys.

3:17 PM

 

[JMS]

https://twitter.com/MahirZeynalov

 

 

Senior Russian diplomat says Moscow may change its stance in the Iranian nuclear talks amid tensions with the West over Ukraine.

3:00 PM

 

I don't really think we care.   During the Bush administration we unilaterally reduced our nukes and russia complained Bush didn't consult with them an allow a joint resolution on it.   Bush Administration was like,  you do what you want... we are reducing ours.

 

Threatenning Estonia is interesting.... Balkins and all the former Warsaw pact which are now in NATO are freaking out.

 

This waiting to announce our harder sanctions is stupid.   It telegraphs NATO's hesitancy and division on how to react.   Germany has stopped arms shipments... But France who's about to deliver a 2 billion arms package hasn't because France doesn't want to eat that cost....  

 

I've been watching Winds of War on Netflixs....  Man it was just like this in the late 1930's...   First they consolidated power in Germany... West did nothing...   Then they invade Austria,  west does nothing.   then they occupy Rhineland.   West did nothing.      Then they invade Sudetenland...  Nothing....     Then he takes all of Czechoslovakia,  nothing from the west.     Finally he invades Poland and the west can't back down anylonger...    Finally we act...

 

The leason is if you project inaction,   you just encourage them.

[Larry]

Germany has stopped arms shipments... But France who's about to deliver a 2 billion arms package hasn't because France doesn't want to eat that cost....

Proposal: Deliver those weapons to the Ukraine. The US will pay for them. (Maybe let's say 80 cents on the dollar.)