BBC: Ukraine sanctions imposed amid Kiev clashes

[JMS]

Does anyone else (besides Obama I mean) really believe that Russia's actions were an attempt to drive a wedge between the US and the EU? I don't think this has anything to do with us...

 

There already is a wedge between the EU and the US.   We are militarily pivoting away from Europe and towards Asia for the first time in our history.   We have abandoned our long standing policy of a two war capability in favor of what is essentially a 1 war and 1 hold policy and Europe isn't exactly happy they are the hold and assia is our new priority..   The EU as the worlds largest economy is tflexing their economic muscle and giving us some headaches domestically.  Important American companies are finding they are under the EU's cross hairs.   We have a handful of trade disputes with the EU..    We have profound disagreements on there "commitment" to NATO.  We have profound foreign policy disputes with the EU too.   We've recently had a spy scandal which the EU and Merkle specifically wasn't all that happy about.  So yea the EU / US relationship is as weak today as it's been in quite a long time.. maybe ever post WWII.   All these issues taken in their entirety, maybe Putin did think he could further wedge that relationship apart...   Rather than what is going to happen,    Europe isn't as important to us as it once was..  Most of our economic activity today has to do with Asia and it's growing markets not Europe and it's relatively stagnant ones.    That wasn't true for most of the cold war.

 

The NET effect here though is we and the EU are going to reprioritize on those issues which are dividing us.     Trade,  Military spending, spy scandals, and foreign policy;  because while Europe is no longer our #1 priority..  It's still probable among our top 2.

[visionary]

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/03/barack-obama-vladimir-putin-ukraine-105067.html

Obama: Putin will lose — eventually

 

President Barack Obama said Wednesday that Vladimir Putin is just the latest in a series of history’s losers, comparing the Russian leader to those who came up short in World War I, World War II, the Cold War, the American civil rights movement, apartheid, and other major 20th century struggles.

 

Time’s on his side, Obama argued. People always struggle to be free and eventually succeed — and they will in Russia too, even if for now it’s ruled by a flaunter of international law and obstinate believer in “that recycled maxim that might somehow makes right.”

Of course, Putin — who waited six years between the last time he grabbed land from another country and marching into Crimea — seems to feel the clock’s in his corner. His grand ambitions to reunite all ethnic Russians under one flag and reassert Russian dominance in the world are clear — but as a man who’s 61 and been in power for 14 years straight already, he has time to wait for Western passions to fade, and the next opportunity to arrive.

 

A day after dismissing Russia as a “regional power,” Obama’s speech — delivered in the Palace of Beaux-Arts in Brussels, full of aspirational rhetoric and billed by the White House as a major address — focused on the global challenge that Putin has created in Ukraine.

 

“Russia’s leadership is challenging truths that only a few weeks ago seemed self-evident: that in the 21st century, the borders of Europe cannot be redrawn with force, that international law matters; and that people and nations can make their own decisions about their future,” Obama said.

 

Putin might have hoped that the world wouldn’t care or will eventually stop paying attention, Obama said, but “that kind of casual indifference would ignore the lessons that are written in the cemeteries of this continent. It would allow the old way of doing things to gain a foothold in this young century. And that message would be heard — not just in Europe, but in Asia and the Americas, in Africa and the Middle East.”

 

 

https://www.facebook.com/euromaidanpr/posts/10202475584904366

Colonel Mamchur, along with several other Ukrainian military commanders in Crimea, was recently released from captivity and are already on mainland Ukraine! Journalist Yuri Butusov on the brief phone conversation with him:

 

"I just spoke on the phone with Colonel Yuliy Mamchur, this was about 20 minutes after he arrived to the territory controlled by Ukrainian troops. Deputy Chair of Presidential Administration Andriy Senchenko, who oversees the Crimea on behalf of Ukrainian authorities, helped facilitate the call. The Colonel said: 'I was held in solitary confinement for 3.5 days. On the first day, some unknown Russian servicemen were constantly talking to me: trying to convince me to break my military oath to the people of Ukraine, to switch allegiances and take the Russian army's side. Then, the psychological pressure followed: they wouldn't let me sleep, they knocked on the doors with their butt-stocks. Now I'm feeling fine, and I'm in a fighting mood. What will I do next? First, I'll shower, and then will be making decisions. Glory to Ukraine!'

 

I decided I'd better not tire Yuliy with further questions, so I thanked him on behalf of Facebook and all Ukrainians for his fidelity to the military oath, and wished him all the best - our nation needs such true Colonels."

 

 

https://twitter.com/EuromaidanPR

Ukraine, Poland & Lithuania creating a joint military brigade 4 peacekeeping purposes http://news.liga.net/articles/politics/1053979-mininato_zachem_ukraine_polshe_i_litve_obshchaya_voennaya_brigada.htm
5:07 PM

[JMS]

You can never trust a warm blooded fish.

 

Ukraine's spy dolphins switch allegiance to Russia

Ukrainian Army dophins, which have been trained to plant bombs and kill frogmen, will be transferred to Russia

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10724506/Ukraines-spy-dolphins-switch-allegiance-to-Russia.html

[Predicto]

I don't even care anymore. Their soldiers not even bothering fighting just tells me all I need to know. You would think that there would be 1 or 2 soldiers who would at least fight or civilians that would take up and fight but nah just get surrounded and give up, not worth the time.

 

They didn't "just not bother."  They were told not to fight, and for good reason.  There was no way to win that battle, and not fighting denies Russia a "casus belli" justification for its actions.

[Mocountyskins]

They didn't "just not bother."  They were told not to fight, and for good reason.  There was no way to win that battle, and not fighting denies Russia a "casus belli" justification for its actions.

I thought the Ukrainian Government authorized force according to CNN sometime last week

[visionary]

That was the official order, and only if their lives were in danger or there was no alternative.

Orders after that though were rather vague or non-existent from what commanders have said.

In most cases base and ship commanders weren't sure how to respond to their specific situations, and weren't given orders telling them what to do.

 

https://twitter.com/EuromaidanPR

All 6 Ukrainian Commanders have been finally freed from Russian captivity and are on their way to Kyiv

8:26 PM

[visionary]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/03/26/ukrainian-women-s-lysistrata-moment-sex-strike-against-russian-men.html

Ukrainian Women’s Lysistrata Moment: Sex Strike Against Russian Men

 

Call me when you’ve left Crimea, Ivan. The ‘Don’t Give It to a Russian’ campaign enlists Ukraine’s women in the boycott of Russian-made goods.

 

On the heels of of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, while the U.S. and EU threaten sanctions against the Kremlin, Ukrainian women have adopted their own extreme measure to pique Putin’s interest: swearing off sex with Russian men.

 

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/03/26/russia-may-threaten-the-baltics-but-estonia-knows-how-to-fight-back.html

Russia May Threaten the Baltics but Estonia Knows How to Fight Back

 

Estonia’s President Ilves says go after the Kremlin’s banks like you’d go after a terrorist’s, question the legitimacy of Russian passports, and never doubt Putin’s taste for territory.

 

As president of a small Baltic republic that was occupied by the Soviet Union for more than four decades, Estonia’s Toomas Hendrik Ilves is all too familiar with the way Russia has treated its neighbors. For years he’s warned about the revanchist agenda and aggressive behavior of Russian President Vladimir Putin. And now that the world has seen the Kremlin’s reckless, ruthless actions in Ukraine and Crimea, influential leaders in the respectable salons of Washington, Brussels and other European capitals are starting to pay attention. Or, at least, they should be.

 

What’s most threatening about Russia’s behavior, in Ilves’s view, is that “the old rules don’t apply.” But it should not have taken the invasion of Crimea to get that message across. The Helsinki Accords of 1975 were supposed to have established the territorial integrity of European nations, he says, and since Russia’s 2008 invasion of Georgia it’s been clear that Putin would just ignore them when he saw fit.

 

The sanctions announced thus far by the United States and the European Union aren’t likely to do the job, Ilves told me last weekend on the sidelines of the Brussels Forum, a conference sponsored by the German Marshall Fund. The current measures threaten visa restrictions and asset freezes against Putin’s cronies, but the mood in Moscow is such that most of those on the list see having their names there as “a badge of honor,” says Ilves.

 

So, where should the West focus its attention?

 

Ilves’ eyes light up and he repeats one word: “Banks,” he says. “Banks.” The American sanctions have targeted one financial institution so far, Bank Rossiya, described by the U.S. as “the personal bank for senior officials.” But such measures could go much further. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the United States developed a complex and stringent system for applying economic sanctions to target terrorist funding. Ilves would like to see the same sort of tools deployed against many of the banks doing business with the Russian government and Putin’s cronies.

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/27/us-ukraine-crisis-centralasia-idUSBREA2Q0BP20140327?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews

As Kiev looks West, Putin turns east to build Eurasian dream

 

With his biggest prize escaping his grasp in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin is likely to turn to the autocrats of Central Asia, particularly Kazakhstan's Nursultan Nazarbayev, to further his aim of erecting a Eurasian Union of former Soviet states.

 

The Russian president's swift annexation of Crimea has earned him huge popularity at home but ends his dream for now of bringing the rest of Ukraine voluntarily into the new structure he plans to build on as much as possible of the ex-Soviet space.

 

"Having lost Ukraine, Central Asia will be much more sought after by Moscow in striking its integration plans," said Lilit Gevorgyan, an analyst at IHS Global Insight.

 

Kazakhstan in particular was one of two ex-Soviet countries, along with Belarus, to join a customs union with Russia. Members plan to sign documents this year to form the Eurasian Economic Union, a regional bloc within former Soviet borders intended eventually as a counterweight to the EU.

 

http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2014/03/26/u-s-intel-assessement-greater-likelihood-russia-will-enter-eastern-ukraine/

U.S. intel assessment: greater likelihood Russia will enter eastern Ukraine

 

A new classified intelligence assessment concludes it is more likely than previously thought that Russian forces will enter eastern Ukraine, CNN has learned.

 

Two administration officials described the assessment but declined to be identified due to the sensitive nature of the information.

 

The officials emphasized that nothing is certain, but there have been several worrying signs in the past three to four days.

 

“This has shifted our thinking that the likelihood of a further Russian incursion is more probable than it was previously thought to be,” one official said.

 

The buildup is seen to be reminiscent of Moscow’s military moves before it went into Chechnya and Georgia in both numbers of units and their capabilities.

 

U.S. military and intelligence officials have briefed Congress on the assessment.

 

As a result, Republican members of the House Armed Services Committee late Wednesday sent a classified letter to the White House expressing concern about unfolding developments.

 

An unclassified version obtained by CNN said committee members feel “urgency and alarm, based on new information in the committee’s possession.”

 

The committee said there was “deep apprehension that Moscow may invade eastern and southern Ukraine, pressing west to Transdniestria and also seek land grabs in the Baltics.”

 

 

 

 

 

https://twitter.com/BSpringnote

IMF Extends $14-$18 Billion Rescue to Ukraine http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/124069

5:03 AM

 

Yatseniuk says ukraine on edge of financial bankruptcy. Government short hryvnias 289 bn or $28 bn.  

5:07 AM

 

Ukraine and IMF to sign memorandum in Washington in first half of April. I get the sense that there isn't much of a sense of urgency here

5:13 AM

 

US intel tells congress chances of russian attack against Luhansk Donetsk And Harkiv significantly increased over past several days 

5:15 AM

 

[alexey]

I thought the Ukrainian Government authorized force according to CNN sometime last week

Dying for principles is only good when it does good.

[visionary]

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/lawmakers-rush-pass-bill-aid-ukraine

Senate backs bill to aid Ukraine, sanction Russia

 

Congress is speaking with one voice against Russia's annexation of Crimea, passing legislation in the House and Senate giving help to Ukraine and imposing sanctions against Russia.

 

The Senate approved the legislation by voice vote Thursday while the House was passing a different version on a 399-19 vote.

 

The votes are a show of solidarity with Obama, who has already announced sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin and others.

 

Lawmakers intend to get a final measure to the White House by day's end.

 

Each bill would provide $1 billion in loan guarantees to cash-strapped Ukraine and sanction Russia for its annexation of Crimea.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/russia-create-own-national-payment-system-ptuin-says-000217707.html;_ylt=AwrTWf1mTzRTEUQAWpfQtDMD                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Putin eyes Russia's own credit card system after Western sanctions

 

President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said Russia should create its own national payment settlement system, in a bid to reduce economic dependence on the West amid the controversy over Moscow's seizure of Crimea.

 

"In countries such as Japan and China these systems work, and work very well," Putin told lawmakers in televised remarks.

 

"Initially, they started out solely as national systems limited to their own markets, their own territory, their own population but they are becoming more popular right now."

 

"Why should we not do it? We should definitely do it and we will do it," he said, noting that Russia's Central Bank and the government have been looking into the matter.

 

Last week the United States hit more than 20 Russian officials, including some of Putin's closest allies, with sanctions over Moscow's takeover of the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine. A lender described as a "crony bank" for the Russian elites, Bank Rossiya, was also blacklisted.

 

As a result of punitive measures, several banks last week saw their customers barred from using Visa and MasterCard credit cards, prompting talk among officials and lawmakers that Russia should create its own operational network.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/28/world/europe/General-Assembly-Vote-on-Crimea.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&smid=tw-nytimesworld&_r=0

United Nations General Assembly Vote Isolates Russia

 

In the first barometer of global condemnation of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, Ukraine and its Western backers persuaded a large majority of countries in the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday to dismiss the annexation as illegal, even as Russia sought to rally world support for the idea of self-determination.

 

The resolution, proposed by Ukraine and backed by the United States and the European Union, represented the latest effort to isolate President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia over the annexation, which followed a March 16 referendum in the peninsula that has been internationally regarded as Ukrainian territory.

 

The resolution garnered 100 votes in favor, 11 votes against, with 58 abstentions. The two-page text does not identify Russia by name, but describes the referendum as “having no validity” and calls on countries not to recognize the redrawing of Ukraine’s borders.

 

Ukraine’s acting foreign minister, Andriy Deshchytsia, called Russia’s actions “a direct violation of the United Nations Charter.”

 

Russia said Crimea should not have been part of Ukraine anyway and appealed to another element in United Nations principles: the right of Crimeans to self-determination.

 

That assertion was disputed by Samantha Power, the United States ambassador, in the debate that preceded the vote. Coercion cannot be the means to self-determination, she argued. “The chaos that would ensue is not a world that any of us can afford,” she said.

 

 

 

https://twitter.com/JimMaceda

I travelled 500 miles inside the Russian-UKrainian border today and saw no sign of Russian troops/tanks. Journey continues in the morning.

3:58 PM Mar 26

 

We stopped at border checkpoints in areas like Kursk and Belgorod, expecting tension so near to E Ukraine, but all was quiet and normal.

4:07 PM Mar 26

 

We saw lots of combines and farmers selling apples, but if there are 20-25k Russian forces along the border they were hiding in their bases.

4:10 PM Mar 26

 

Just inside Russia along the very long border. If there's intent to invade, you don't see it. Surprising. The search goes on.

5:03 PM Mar 26

 

Always on the Russian side. Still combing the border and talking to people. So far no one's seen Russian troops off base.

5:40 PM Mar 26

 

https://twitter.com/markmackinnon

Armenia, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, N Korea, Nicaragua, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, Zimbabwe. The countries that voted with Russia over Crimea...  

12:12 PM

 

Rest of BRICS - Brazil, India, China and South Africa all abstained in UN vote over Crimea.  

12:13 PM

 

In ex-USSR, Russia supported only by Belarus and Armenia, though all of Central Asia "stans" either abstained or didn't vote.

12:20 PM

[JMS]

Since the sanctions were so enimic, I think we should be following the capital markets and the Russian Stock index to see what the real cost of Russia's actions are going to be.

It's hard to see how the markets ultimately will respond right now...

First Earlier in the week it looked like russsia's markets would rebound... But it looks like they've ultimately continued to decline.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-23/eu-s-muted-crimea-response-triggers-russian-stock-rebound.html

 

EU’s Muted Crimea Response Triggers Russian Stock Rebound

Mar 23, 2014

Russian stocks trading in New York snapped a four-week slide as the European Union, the nation’s biggest trading partner, refrained from imposing economic sanctions after the annexation of Crimea was completed.

The Bloomberg Russia-U.S. Equity index of the most-traded Russian shares in the U.S. rallied 2.2 percent to 80.27 last week, the most in more than a month. OAO Mechel (MTL), the country’s largest producer of coal for steelmakers, capped the biggest weekly surge since 2012, while OAO RusHydro (RSHYY) climbed 9 percent. RTS index futures declined in U.S. hours March 21.

While the EU will weigh curbs on business and investment, it said last week that President Vladimir Putin hasn’t crossed the destabilization threshold amid the worst standoff between Russia and the West since the Cold War. The 28-nation bloc is moving more slowly than the U.S. on sanctions, with President Barack Obama authorizing on March 20 potential future penalties on Russian industries from financial services to energy.

“The sanctions are still fairly cosmetic and won’t affect companies as well as the economy,” Mattias Westman, the chief executive officer of London-based Prosperity Capital Management Ltd., which manages about $3 billion in Russian and former Soviet country’s assets, said by phone March 21. “If you are a long-term investor, it’s a good time to buy.”

Russian equities have the cheapest valuations among 21 developing countries monitored by Bloomberg, with shares on the Micex Index trading at 4.8 times projected earnings, compared with a multiple of 9.1 for the MSCI Emerging Markets Index.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/chriswright/2014/03/26/as-sanctions-bite-is-there-any-reason-to-hold-russian-stocks/

As Sanctions Bite, Is There Any Reason To Hold Russian Stocks?

3/26/2014

Foreign money is fleeing Russia following the country’s actions in Crimea and the sanctions that have followed. On Monday Andrei Klepach, Russia’s deputy economy minister, said he expected that capital outflows in the first quarter alone were likely to be around $70 billion – worse than the $63 billion that left the country in the whole of last year.

When money flows out, share prices fall, and so far, that has been exactly the pattern. By the end of yesterday, Russia’s Micex index was down more than 10% since Russian troops began the process of annexing Crimea at the end of February. It fell more than 3% on the day the first round of sanctions was announced. Anecdotally, we are hearing of international fund managers selling down some of their Russia holdings, most obviously anything that is connected with the sanctions list.

This is the first important point: obviously, any stock that will be affected by sanctions is to be avoided. As today’s FT reports, there are three companies commonly held by international investors that are directly affected: Novatek (LSE:NVTK), an independent gas producer; CTC (Nasdaq: CTCM), a media group with a New York listing; and Mostotrest (MCX:MSTT), an infrastructure group listed in London. Novatek is affected indirectly – Gennady Timchenko, who is on the White House sanction list, is a minority shareholder – but that hasn’t stopped the shares falling more than 7% since last Thursday.

Then there’s the question of whether sanctions will extend further. Two companies attracting concern in this respect are VTB (MCX:VTBR), the state-backed bank which has reinvented itself as an emerging market investment banking pioneer in the last couple of years, and Sberbank(MCX:GAZP); in the last month they are down 25% and 17% respectively. Any further sanctions are likely to impact these companies, and many others, as well.

What about the real heavyweights, like Gazprom (MCX:GAZP)? That’s been badly hit too, and lost about one sixth of its market capitalization in the first week after Russia’s incursion into Ukraine. To some extent, Gazprom is treated as a proxy to Russia itself: it is majority state owned, the biggest employer in Russia, and also a considerable source of foreign exchange. It is specifically affected too because a large amount of its revenue comes from exports to Ukraine. Other Russian stalwarts like Lukoil and steel provider NLMK are also down, suggesting that all of Russia is being affected by international sentiment.

Still, any fall in value creates a potential opportunity, and it is interesting to look at what market analysts are telling investors to do. Daniel Salter at Renaissance Capital outlined three scenarios for the coming weeks in mid-March, with the most likely, in his view, a limited ratcheting up of sanctions – which is indeed what has happened. In that scenario, he advised investors to avoid economically sensitive sectors, such as banks; avoid Russian stocks well-owned by foreigners for now, primarily New Russia (see my earlier article quoting Renaissance on this); and avoid Ukraine exposure (chiefly mobile phone operators). “For those who want to remain exposed, under-owned, cheaply valued, rouble-hedge stocks are the place to be such as LUKOil, Surgutneftegaz, Alrosa and Norilsk Nickel,” he wrote. “Consider Moscow Exchange as a beneficiary of market volatility (in bonds and equities).” He said that investors may be more willing to own ADRs over local shares, and should consider fixed income if yields spike upwards.

And then? This is the clincher, the opportunist, contrarian view: “Monitor redemption-related weakness as an opportunity to rotate in to New Russia over the coming weeks, on the assumption that ultimately it will be in Russia’s best interests to negotiate a deal with Ukraine once a new government starts to be formed, and ahead of a new constitution being agreed.”

Still, timing that correctly is very tricky, and will require some guessing about geopolitics. In the meantime, more risk-averse investors are likely to have a more pragmatic view: avoid Russian stocks entirely.

[JMS]

http://news.yahoo.com/ukraine-claims-100-000-russian-troops-near-border-151112283.html;_ylt=AwrTWfycSTRTzxkAs3_QtDMD

Ukraine says 100,000 Russian troops near border

 

Washington (AFP) - Nearly 100,000 Russian forces have massed on Ukraine's border, a top Ukrainian defense official told an American audience Thursday, giving a number far higher than US military estimates.

 

"Almost 100,000 soldiers are stationed on the borders of Ukraine and in the direction ... of Kharkiv, Donetsk, " Andriy Parubiy, chairman of Ukraine's national security council, said via a webcast from Kiev.

"Russian troops are not in Crimea only, they are along all Ukrainian borders. They're in the south, they're in the east and in the north," Parubiy said.

After its intervention in the Crimean peninsula, Russia is plotting to foment separatist sentiment elsewhere and Kiev fears a possible incursion in the country's east, he told the Atlantic Council, a Washington think tank.

Parubiy said any day "we might see a huge attack on the territory of continental Ukraine and we are getting ready for it."

Although US defense officials have put the number of Russian troops closer to 20,000, a US lawmaker said Thursday that much stronger Russian forces had deployed towards Ukraine's border.

"Over the past week we've seen the buildup of up to 80,000 additional Russian troops," Representative Mike Turner said in a statement.

Turner said the force included large numbers of armored vehicles, battle tanks, artillery, helicopters and planes.

The Republican lawmaker accused the White House of witholding "critical" information about the full scope of Russian troop movements and demanded the adminstration reveal what it knows to help "vulnerable allies."

Pentagon officials previously have said more than 20,000 Russian troops -- including airborne units and armored vehicles -- have deployed along Ukraine's border, a force big enough to seize control of the eastern region.

But a senior defense official expressed skepticism at Parubiy's estimate of Russian troop strength.

"That sounds too high," the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP.

Russia has assured Washington that the Russian forces were there to carry out a "spring" exercise but the Pentagon on Thursday acknowledged there was no indication of any drill underway.

"We've seen no specific indications that exercises are taking place," spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby told reporters.

He declined to discuss US intelligence assessments on the possibility of a Russian attack into eastern Ukraine but said the military presence only served to aggravate tensions.

Kirby said that "regardless of the intent it does nothing to de-escalate the tension in Ukraine.

"It does nothing to improve the stability in that part of the world."

Parubiy said the Ukrainian government supported moves by Western countries to impose punitive sanctions on Russia and appealed for a public display of military partnership to send a signal to Moscow over its actions.

"We are calling on our partners to hold a common military exercise" that would "show that the cooperation and partnership is still there," he said through an interpreter.

He urged "visible support, visible presence of our partners" at this moment of crisis.

The Russian troops that have deployed in Crimea were well-trained special forces, he said.

After Russia's takeover of Crimea, Moscow had launched a new strategy aimed at disrupting Ukraine's upcoming presidential elections in May, according to Parubiy.

Kiev authorities had "arrested" separatist leaders in the east and Moscow's attempts to provoke street demonstrations were faltering with fewer people turning out for the protests, he said.

US President Barack Obama and NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen have both denounced Moscow's incursion into Crimea but have called for a diplomatic solution to the crisis.

NATO has bolstered its presence in Eastern Europe since Russia's intervention, deploying radar surveillance aircraft to the area while Washington has sent F-16 fighter jets to Poland.

Obama has ruled out military action in Ukraine, which is not a member of the NATO alliance.

[JMS]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/26/us-ukraine-crisis-usa-idUSBREA2P22120140326

Western governments see continuing Russian buildup on Ukraine border

 

Wed Mar 26, 2014 4:27pm

 

(Reuters) - U.S. and European security agencies estimate Russia has deployed military and militia units totaling more than 30,000 people along its border with eastern Ukraine, according to U.S. and European sources familiar with official reporting.

The current estimates represent what officials on both sides of the Atlantic describe as a continuing influx of Russian forces along the Ukraine frontier, the sources said.

The 30,000 figure represents a significant increase from a figure of 20,000 Russian troops along the border that was widely reported in U.S. and European media last week.

But U.S. and European security sources noted that these estimates are imprecise. Some estimates put current troop levels as high as 35,000 while others still suggest a level of 25,000, the sources said.

However, the sources said that U.S. and European government experts believe that there has been, and continues to be, a steady and noticeable buildup in the total number of Russian forces along the Ukrainian border, though some military units have rotated in or out of the area.

U.S. and European security sources said that the Russian force deployed along the Ukraine border includes regular military including infantry and armored units and some air support.

Also deployed are militia or special forces units comprised of Russian fighters, wearing uniforms lacking insignia or other identifying markings, similar to the first Russian forces to move into Crimea during Russia's recent military takeover there.

U.S. officials said that what Russian President Vladimir Putin actually plans to do with his forces deployed on the Ukraine border is unknown. Some officials say intelligence information available to policymakers regarding what Putin is thinking, and what he is saying to his advisors and military commanders, is fragmentary to non-existent.

But the portents are potentially ominous. "No one's ruling out the possibility of additional Russian military aggression," one U.S. official said.

U.S. President Barack Obama was non-committal when asked about the 30,000 Russian troops estimate at a news conference in The Hague on Tuesday.

"With respect to the Russian troops that are along the border of Ukraine at the moment, right now they are on Russian soil. And if they stay on Russian soil, we oppose what appears to be an effort of intimidation, but Russia has a right, legally, to have its troops on its own soil. I don't think it's a done deal. And I think that Russia's still making a series of calculations," Obama said.

[JMS]

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2014/03/alaska_back_to_russia_petition_to_secede_gains_28000_signatures_on_whitehousegov.html

 

Alaska back to Russia: Petition to secede gains 28,000 signatures on WhiteHouse.gov

A petition seeking to give Alaska back to Russia is gaining steam on the White House's petition website, petitions.whitehouse.gov.

The petition is strangely worded and full of grammar problems, but that hasn't stopped it from getting more than 28,000 signatures since it was created on March 21.

Titled "Alaska back to Russia." it reads:

"Groups Siberian russians crossed the Isthmus (now the Bering Strait) 16-10 thousand years ago.
"Russian began to settle on the Arctic coast, Aleuts inhabited the Aleutian Archipelago.

"First visited Alaska August 21, 1732, members of the team boat "St. Gabriel »under the surveyor Gvozdev and assistant navigator I. Fedorov during the expedition Shestakov and DI Pavlutski 1729-1735 years

"Vote for secession of Alaska from the United States and joining Russia"



The Alaskan Peninsula and Aleutian Islands.Thinkstock photo

The creator of the petition is known only as "S. V." of Anchorage, Alaska.

The White House will issue an official response to a petition on the site if it reaches 100,000 signatures in 30 days, Fox News reported.

This petition has until April 20 to get another 70,000 signatures.

Alaska was purchased from Russia for $7.2 million in 1867 by Secretary of State William Seward. At the time, the purchase was sometimes referred to as "Seward's Folly."

In 2012, a similar petition for Texas to secede from the United States got enough signatures to merit a response, plus a few thousand more.

A White House official wrote this statement:

"Our founding fathers established the Constitution of the United States 'in order to form a more perfect union' through the hard and frustrating but necessary work of self-government. They enshrined in that document the right to change our national government through the power of the ballot -- a right that generations of Americans have fought to secure for all. But they did not provide a right to walk away from it."

[JMS]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/27/ukraine-crisis-russia-economy-idUSL5N0MO2IV20140327

Despite falling growth, Russia refers to old script on economy

Thu Mar 27, 2014

 

MOSCOW, March 27 (Reuters) - Russian officials have dramatically reduced growth forecasts for this year and acknowledged the annexation of Crimea will spur capital outflows and hurt investment, but they have not ripped up the old script entirely.
At an investment conference on Thursday, Russia's central bank head and finance and economy ministers were sanguine, boasting they had ways to protect the economy against the fallout from the worst East-West standoff since the Cold War.
Most would not have to be used, they said, and the crisis over Crimea could eventually help the economy become more self-sufficient, a message which chimes with President Vladimir Putin's longstanding drive to bring money home from abroad.
But while sticking to a protocol agreed last week with Putin for all public comments to refer to economic and financial stability, Russia's three leading financial officials were clearly making preparations for the worst.
Having already stopped referring to the official growth forecast for 2.5 percent this year, Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said it could instead slow to 0.6-0.7 percent if capital flight reached $100 billion this year.
The Economy Ministry has estimated capital outflows of up to $70 billion in the first quarter alone.
"(With) an outflow of $150 billion, growth becomes negative," he said, suggesting Russia could tumble into recession for the first time since the aftermath of the global financial crisis in 2008-09.
In the first estimate by a leading international body, the World Bank said on Wednesday Russia's economy could contract markedly this year and see record capital outflows of $150 billion if the crisis over Crimea deepens.
It said Russia's gross domestic product could shrink by 1.8 percent, hurt by uncertainty over future measures the West may take to punish Russia for annexing Crimea - a move criticised by Ukraine, the United States and the European Union as illegal.
Economists have also said Russia's economy would suffer badly if the price of oil, its main export item, were to fall.
A Reuters poll of analysts on Thursday showed that increasing supplies from North America and OPEC nations coupled with sluggish global demand will push oil prices lower in 2014, with further falls expected in 2015 and 2016.
 
FEARS FOR FUTURE
Russia's former finance minister, Alexei Kudrin, agreed, saying it was not the sanctions themselves that were damaging the economy but the expectation of more, possibly targeting trade or finance, and also how Moscow would retaliate.
"All this affects the amount of capital outflows and investments. The general atmosphere of uncertainty about Russian policy in these circumstances is also a deterrent," he said.
"My forecast for economic growth is about zero, plus or minus 0.5 percent," he said, pegging outflows at $150-160 billion.
He said this was what it cost to pursue an independent foreign policy and society was so far prepared to agree to such a cost.
"We are paying hundreds of billions of dollars for this, hundreds of billions, and we will see lower GDP growth, investment and revenues," Kudrin said.
For now, most officials are at least publicly backing Putin's decision to pursue his strident foreign policy, forcing their financial colleagues to come up with ways to plug the gap.
Ulyukayev urged a loosening in budget funds to help spur investment, possibly from oil revenues.
Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said he was ready to offer companies the same emergency measures adopted during the 2008-2009 financial crisis when the government spent billions of dollars, or about 8 percent of GDP, bailing out Russia's major banks and companies.
He suggested using funds from the National Wealth Fund, a sovereign fund financed from oil taxes designed to support the pension system, which as of March 1 stood at $87.3 billion.
Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina also promoted a plan to ease borrowing at home, pointing to three-year refinancing for banks secured by state-backed investment projects as a way of reducing reliance on Western finance.
But for the time being, the overall message was relatively upbeat.
"We expect that one of the consequences of these recent events could be an increase in demand for credits inside the country, if access to lending abroad is reduced for companies and banks," Nabiullina said.

[visionary]

This will probably end badly for everyone:

 

http://www.interpretermag.com/ukraine-liveblog-russia-likely-to-invade-ukraine-says-u-s-intelligence/

1900 GMT: Following the death of a Right Sector leader at the hands of police this week, Right Sector activists and leaders are holding a rally right now to demand the resignation of Ukraine’s top cop. Things are tense.

 

 

https://twitter.com/pravolivo

one of the leaders said Right Sector should back off, come back in the morning, cause Russia can attack any moment at night. oh really?

2:48 PM

 

Most of the protesters don't look like backing off. MP Lyashko is trying to bring them to senses about Russian aggression.

2:50 PM

 

Lyashko: I'll pass your demands to Pres Turshynov, parliament will vote the resignation of @AvakovArsen tomorrow. Immediately, they chant.

2:52 PM

 

 

Seems to be relatively peaceful so far though.  Reports that they are singing and just standing around and don't appear intent on storming the parliament.

[visionary]

https://twitter.com/UN_PGA

 

 

Interesting and somewhat disheartening seeing who abstained and who didn't even vote(?)

 

 

 

 

http://mashable.com/2014/03/27/ukraine-yulia-tymoshenko-president/#:eyJzIjoiZiIsImkiOiJfNmt2enU0Nm5rcTV0aHo1ZSJ9

Ukraine's 'Gas Princess' Joins 'Dr. Iron Fist' and 'Chocolate King' in Presidential Race

 

In case she didn’t make it clear when she returned from medical treatment in Germany last week when she tweeted, “Good day. I’m back. In every way,” Yulia Tymoshenko, the former Ukrainian prime minister with the trademark blonde braid, let it be known on Thursday that she was ready to get down to business.

 

Tymoshenko announced she will run for president in the country's elections set for May 25.

 

The announcement from the leader of Ukraine’s 2004 Orange Revolution comes one month after she was released from prison following the ouster of her nemesis, ex-President Viktor Yanukovych, as Ukraine faces the prospect of a full-scale military attack from Russia.

 

A charismatic but divisive figure, Tymoshenko surprised few in saying she would enter the race in which she will almost certainly be a leading contender. Others include businessman Petro Poroshenko, known as the Chocolate King, and former world champion boxer-turned-politician Vitali Klitschko, aka Dr. Iron Fist.

 

“I will be the candidate of Ukrainian unity,” Tymoshenko, 53, said during a press conference in the courtyard of her Batkhivshcyna party office in Kiev. “The west and center of Ukraine has always voted for me, but I was born in the east, in Dnepropetrovsk.”

[Predicto]

Ugh.  Tymoshenko is totally, shamelessly corrupt.   She is one of the main reasons that Ukraine is so messed up to begin with.  

[visionary]

Well there's a lot of that to go around. But so far most polls and public opinion seem to be against her having a large role in the future.

On the other hand she does have a lot of friends in high places in the parliament and cabinet now.

 

http://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2014/03/27/poll-ukraine-crisis-hurts-obama-approval-ratings

Poll: Americans support sanctions but Ukraine crisis hurts Obama's already low approval rating

 

Foreign policy used to stand out as a not-so-bleak spot in the public's waning assessment of Barack Obama. Not anymore. He's getting low marks for handling Russia's swoop into Ukraine, and more Americans than ever disapprove of the way Obama is doing his job, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll.

 

Despite the poor performance reviews, Obama's primary tactic so far — imposing economic sanctions on key Russians — has strong backing.

 

Close to 9 out of 10 Americans support sanctions as a response to Russia's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, the poll indicates. About half of that group says the U.S. sanctions so far are about right, while the other half wants to see them strengthened, the AP-GfK poll found.

 

Most Democrats say the sanctions were OK, while a majority of Republicans find them too weak.

"We're supposed to be a country that helps smaller countries in need," said Christopher Ashby, 29, a Republican in Albemarle, N.C., who wants a more powerful response. "Ukraine at this time is definitely in need."

 

Ashby, a stay-at-home dad caring for three young daughters, said, "When I look at Obama, I see my 5-year-old daughter looking at something that just happened and saying, 'What do I do?'"

 

Overall disapproval of the job Obama is doing ticked up to 59 percent — a record high for his presidency — in the poll released Wednesday. That's still well below the 72 percent disapproval rate that former President George W. Bush recorded in the AP-GfK poll in October 2008. Still, Obama's 41 percent approval rating is a sobering number for fellow Democrats running in this fall's House and Senate elections.

 

http://www.valuewalk.com/2014/03/ukraine-elections/

Ukraine Elections: Meet The New Boss, Same As The Old Boss

 

Having ridden roughshod over Ukraine, Russia’s annexation of the Crimea is now over and a new chapter in Ukrainian politics is about to begin—but it won’t be much different than the last chapter, with the same old faces surfacing for May presidential elections.

 

In the aftermath of the Maidan protests that overthrew president Viktor Yanukovych in February and Russia’s retaliatory annexation of the Crimea in March, Ukraine has moved presidential elections forward a year to 25 May.

 

As of early Wednesday, the top four candidates for the presidency were independent businessman Petro Poroshenko, professional boxer and UDAR party leader Vitali Klitschko, banker and former ruling party figure Serhiy Tihipko, and controversial former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who was recently released from prison to join the Maidan protests.

 

According to a survey conducted between 14 and 19 March, Poroshenko was polling with a significant lead of 24.9%, leaving Klitschko and Tymoshenko battling it out for second place with 8.9% and 8.2%, respectively, and Tihipko trailing slightly with 7.3%.

What the polls indicate is that Poroshenko is likely to make it to a second round of elections, which are expected to take place sometime around late June, while he would be running against Klitschko, Tymoshenko or Tihipko, who are each polling more or less equally.

 

http://zik.ua/en/news/2014/03/26/658_of_ukrainians_favor_early_parliamentary_elections_poll_says_474188

65.8% of Ukrainians favor early parliamentary elections, poll says

According to the poll run jointly by Ukraine’s leading polling agencies SOCIS, KMIS, Rating and Razumkov Center, 65.8% of Ukrainians favor the early parliamentary elections, Ukrayinska Pravda reports March 26.

 

17.5% of respondents are against and 16.7% are undecided.

81.7% of respondents are prepared to vote.

Preferences for the parties are as follows:

• Batkivshchyna to get 15% of the vote,
• Solidarity headed by Poroshenko – 14.8%,
• UDAR – 11.3%,
• Regions – 10.5%, Communists – 4.
• Radical party headed by Liashko – 3.9%,
• Svoboda – 3.5%.

 

 

 

 

 

Not sure what this is from, but it looks interesting:

 

 

[JMS]

Interesting and somewhat disheartening seeing who abstained and who didn't even vote(?)

 

http://mashable.com/2014/03/27/ukraine-yulia-tymoshenko-president/#:eyJzIjoiZiIsImkiOiJfNmt2enU0Nm5rcTV0aHo1ZSJ9

 

WTF ?   ISRAEL!

[visionary]

http://www.trust.org/item/20140328214939-hi16s/?source=shtw

EXCLUSIVE-Russia threatened countries ahead of UN vote on Ukraine-envoys

 

Russia threatened several Eastern European and Central Asian states with retaliation if they voted in favor of a United Nations General Assembly resolution this week declaring invalid Crimea's referendum on seceding from Ukraine, U.N. diplomats said.

 

The disclosures about Russian threats came after Moscow accused Western countries of using "shameless pressure, up to the point of political blackmail and economic threats," in an attempt to coerce the United Nations' 193 member states to join it in supporting the non-binding resolution on the Ukraine crisis.

 

According to interviews with U.N. diplomats, most of whom preferred to speak on condition of anonymity for fear of angering Moscow, the targets of Russian threats included Moldova, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan as well as a number of African countries.

 

A spokesman for Russia's Mission to the U.N. denied that Moscow threatened any country with retaliation if it supported the resolution, saying: "We never threaten anyone. We just explain the situation."

 

According to the diplomats, the Russian threats were not specific. But they said it was clear to the recipients of the warnings not to support the resolution that retaliatory measures could include steps such as expelling migrant workers from Russia, halting natural gas supplies or banning certain imports to Russia to cause economic harm.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/putin-no-intention-further-military-moves-ukraine-ban-222029023.html;_ylt=AwrBJR5M.TVTOCEAxQjQtDMD

Putin has 'no intention' of further military moves into Ukraine: Ban

 

The UN secretary general said Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin assured him he had no intention of ordering further military incursions into Ukrainian territory.

 

Ban Ki-moon made the remarks to reporters after briefing the UN Security Council on his recent talks in Moscow and Kiev, as he urged the international community to de-escalate the crisis.

He responded to a question on whether Putin gave him any assurances that Russia was not planning to go into southern and eastern Ukraine after the annexation of Crimea.

 

Putin told Ban "that he had no intention to make any military move. I should also tell you at the same time that President Putin also expressed his concern about some extreme radical elements and any such movement along the border lines," the UN chief said.

He still hasn't admitted to the previous military moves.

 

 

https://twitter.com/markknoller

WH says Putin called Pres Obama today to discuss US proposal for "diplomatic resolution to the crisis in Ukraine."

5:29 PM

 

WH says Pres Obama, in Saudi Arabia, suggested to Putin that Russia "put a concrete response in writing" for discussion by Kerry & Lavrov.

5:31 PM

 

A WH readout says Pres Obama urged Russia to "avoid further provocations" including its troop buildup on Ukraine's border.  

5:34 PM

 

WH: Pres Obama told Putin diplomatic solution possible only if Russia pulls back its troops & no further breaches of Ukraine sovereignty.

5:37 PM

 

https://twitter.com/markknoller

Rusian statement says Putin said he wants to discuss steps intl community can take to end "rampage of extremists" in Ukraine.

6:16 PM

 

Kremlin says Putin complained to Pres Obama about a virtual embargo against Transnistria, a sliver of territory between Moldova & Ukraine.

6:21 PM

 

Some fear Russia might use the situation in Transnistria to make a move against Moldovan territory.

6:23 PM

 

[Larry]

A spokesman for Russia's Mission to the U.N. denied that Moscow threatened any country with retaliation if it supported the resolution, saying: "We never threaten anyone. We just explain the situation."

 

 

Is there anybody who's monitor isn't just dripping with irony, when they read that? 

 

I mean, I imagine Tony Soprano saying that. 

[visionary]

Not a good sign:

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/3/28/obama-russia-couldhaveadditionalplansforukraine.html

Yanukovich pushes for more Crimea-style referendums in Ukraine

 

Ukraine’s exiled President Viktor Yanukovich on Friday pushed for a vote to let each of the country's regions determine its own status — a call serving Moscow’s desire to turn Ukraine into a loosely knit federation.

 

The statement from Yanukovich – a longtime Moscow ally who fled to Russia in February after three months of anti-government protests forced him out – raised the threat of more unrest in Ukraine's Russian-speaking eastern provinces, where many resent the new, West-leaning Ukrainian government.

 

"As a president who is with you with all my thoughts and soul, I urge every sensible citizen of Ukraine: Don't give in to impostors! Demand a referendum on the status of each region within Ukraine," Yanukovich said in an address to the people of Ukraine.

 

 

Very interesting article.  Pretty informative:

http://euromaidanpr.wordpress.com/2014/03/28/the-election-for-president-of-ukraine-an-analysis/

The Election for President of Ukraine: An Analysis

 

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304688104579467542674720908?KEYWORDS=Jay+solomon&mg=reno64-wsj

Ties to Russia Arms Supplier Snarl U.S. Sanctions Efforts

 

WASHINGTON—Close American ties with Russia's largest arms-exporting firm are complicating efforts to punish President Vladimir Putin and his generals for the annexation of Crimea, current and former U.S. officials said.

 

The Russian company, JSC Rosoboronexport, has become central to American efforts to build up Afghanistan's military as U.S. forces prepare to depart that country. Since 2011, the Pentagon has contracted with...       

 

http://www.interpretermag.com/category/blog/

1815 GMT: The US and the EU have released a joint statement on last night’s events outside the Verkhovna Rada, where Right Sector protesters staged a rally in protest over the death of one of their leaders (jump to update 1515):

 

The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv and the Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine condemn the incident that took place at the Verkhovna Rada on the night of March 27.

 

This is a difficult moment in Ukraine’s history, which requires consolidation of all reform efforts, while embracing mutual respect and eschewing violence. Lasting reform in Ukraine will be a long and complex process. To be credible, it must remain democratic, transparent, and peaceful and be pursued exclusively in coordination with the nation’s democratic institutions. As in the past, we call on all sides to refrain from violence and to stick to legal methods for expressing their views and concerns and to avoid any actions which may destabilize the situation.

 

We welcome the statements of Pravy Sector’s leadership that they intend to keep their actions “within the framework of the law”. We urge all political forces to distance themselves from extremists, who undermine the efforts to stabilize Ukraine and to protect its sovereignty.

 

We urge the Ukrainian Government to ensure that those who broke the law are held accountable. We stand by previous assertions that any death which occurs in unclear circumstances should be investigated impartially in order to provide citizens the feeling of security and accountability of law enforcement organs. We welcome the establishment of the special parliamentary commission which will scrutinize all evidence on the events involving the police and resulting losses.

 

During this process, the United States and European Union remain committed to standing with the Ukrainian people to help them build the prosperous, democratic future they deserve. 

 

http://m.voanews.com/a/china-supports-international-aid-for-ukraine/1879550.html

China Supports International Aid for Ukraine

 

China's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that international financial bodies ought to be offering aid to Ukraine to ensure its economic stability, though it stopped short of saying whether Beijing would participate in such efforts.

 

Ukrainian Finance Minister Oleksander Shlapak says he is negotiating with the International Monetary Fund for a loan package of $15 billion to $20 billion because the economy had been severely weakened by months of political turmoil and mismanagement.

 

U.S. President Barack Obama has also urged the IMF to reach agreement swiftly on a financial support package for Kyiv, which would unlock additional aid from the European Union and Washington.

 

Asked about aid for Ukraine, China, whose President Xi Jinping discussed Ukraine with Obama on Monday, said that the government "upholds the maintaining of Ukraine's financial stability."

"International financial organizations ought to get down to dealing with this, to ensure Ukraine's financial and economic stability," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a daily news briefing.

[visionary]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/29/us-ukraine-crisis-idUSBREA2S0K020140329?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&dlvrit=992637

Russia sees no need for Ukraine incursion, Tatars seek autonomy
 

Russia said on Saturday it had no intention of invading eastern Ukraine following its annexation of Crimea, while the Black Sea peninsula's Muslim Tatars demanded autonomy.

 

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet on Sunday in Paris, the State Department said, as both sides moved to ease tensions in the worst East-West standoff since the Cold War.

 

In a pivotal political development, Ukraine's presidential election effectively became a two-horse race when boxer-turned-politician Vitaly Klitschko pulled out and threw his weight behind confectionary oligarch Petro Poroshenko.

 

This sets up a May 25 contest between the man known as the "Chocolate King" and former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, in an interview with Germany's Focus magazine published on Saturday, said the alliance is "extremely worried".

 

"We view it as a concrete threat to Ukraine and see the potential for further interventions," said Rasmussen.

 

"I fear that it is not yet enough for him (Putin). I am worried that we are not dealing with rational thinking as much as with emotions, the yearning to rebuild Russia's old sphere of influence in its immediate neighbourhood."

In the Tatars historic capital of Bakhchisaray, the assembly representing the 300,000-strong indigenous Muslim minority voted in favour of seeking "ethnic and territorial autonomy" in Crimea. They make up less than 15 percent of Crimea's population of 2 million and have been overwhelmingly opposed to Russia's annexation of the territory.

 

Crimean Tatars' assembly leader Refat Chubarov told more than 200 delegates: "In the life of every nation there comes a time when it must make decisions that will determine its future."

 

"I ask you to approve...the start of political and legal procedures aimed at creating ethnic and territorial autonomy of the Crimean Tatars of their historic territory of Crimea."

 

The assembly subsequently backed his proposal.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/darth-vader-runs-president-ukraine-172730691.html;_ylt=AwrBEiI5FjdTmB8Aq0bQtDMD

'Darth Vader' runs for president of Ukraine

 

As Ukraine battles to stave off dark forces of its own, iconic movie villain Darth Vader announced he was running for president in a bid to restore all glory to the downtrodden nation.

 

The Sith Lord, or at least an unnamed protester dressed up as him who has often been seen on Kiev's Independence Square during the winter protests flanked by his loyal Stormtroopers, has been chosen as the official candidate of the Ukrainian Internet Party (UIP) which has become known for its theatrical public stunts.

 

"After winning intra-party primaries by a landslide, comrade Vader will be our party's candidate," said UIP leader Dmitry Golubov, who spent time in prison after being convicted of using the internet to run a credit card fraud scheme.

 

Encased in black armour, with a black mask and cape, the party's "Darth Vader" has been involved in several political actions in the country.

 

In November 2013 he was carried by his Stormtroopers -- the elite soldiers of the fictional galactic empire -- to Odessa city hall where he declared himself mayor.

 

According to local media reports he has also reportedly demanded a plot of land in the southwestern city to park his space ship.

 

"I alone can make an empire out of a republic, to restore former glory, to return lost territories and pride for this country," Vader said in a party statement.

 

The party said it had paid the required 2.5 million hryvnia ($225,000 / 165,000 euro) registration fee for their unusual candidate.

 

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/28/crimean-annexation-dacha-vladimir-putin-russian-president?CMP=twt_gu

Crimean annexation brings dacha prize closer for Putin

 

When Russia annexed Crimea this month, it didn't just add 2 million people to its population and some disgruntled Ukrainian sailors to its navy. It may well have paved the way for Vladimir Putin to acquire the most prestigious dacha in the former Soviet Union.

 

The dacha complex in Yalta has long been the choice destination for Kremlin leaders to unwind. Stalin used to spend summer breaks strolling in the sprawling grounds of Yalta's Massandra Palace, now a museum and tourist attraction. And in 1991 it was in Crimea's Dacha No 3, in Foros Yalta, that the last Soviet president, Mikhail Gorbachev, was held under house arrest as his empire collapsed around him. Dacha No 1, also known as Wisteria, was owned by Nikita Khrushchev.

 

"You know the history of this place, and who it belongs to?" asked a security guard outside the gates to the property in 27-hectare grounds. Nestled in the forested mountains overlooking Yalta's Black Sea coast, the lavish holiday home, which includes indoor and outdoor pools and spa facilities, reportedly caught Putin's eye in 2003 when he visited the southern peninsula and declared his "love for this small corner of Russia".

 

Now, Crimea's new leaders are reportedly discussing the legal work needed to gift the property to their new president.

 

"This would complete the historical justice. Crimea returned to Russia and Putin returning to Russia's soul," said Mikhail, an ethnic Russian who owns a holiday apartment in one of the nearby blocks. "When Khrushchev gave away Crimea it was a terrible moment for all the Russians here, we have waited more than 60 years for this moment. It would be an honour to welcome the Russian president in Yalta."

 

Putin has tried to get his hands on the dacha once before. In 2005, just two years after he first declared his affections for Wisteria, the property mysteriously came into the ownership of the Russian bank VTB under the title of "the official residence of the president of Russia in Crimea"

 

https://twitter.com/myroslavapetsa

 

Party of the Regions strips former PM Azarov of membership

8:01 AM

 

Party of Regions MP Shufrych praises Azarov, says he was the only one to stand up to the watermelons like Yanukovych &ex-vice PM Arbuzov

8:09 AM

https://twitter.com/EuromaidanPR

1 Ukr military- Col. Demjanenko remains in captivity of Rus occupants in Crimea. Deputy Defense Minister Polyakov http://uacrisis.org/leonid-polyakov-2/

3:19 PM

 

Rus to send Ukr mil equipment from Crimea 2 mainland via railway. 74vehicles loaded in Bahchisaray, tanks, helicopters to follow. c-inform  

3:12 PM

I have to say, if this is true, I'm pleasantly surprised.

Although I noticed that a lot of activists think these might be Trojan horses of some kind.

That seems a bit brazen even for Russia.

Though I wouldn't put sabotage past them.

[visionary]

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSBREA2T07R20140330?irpc=932

Chechens offer weary welcome to new Crimean compatriots

 

Days before Crimea voted in a referendum to join Russia from Ukraine, Adam, a Chechen soldier, was ordered to go to the Black Sea peninsula to defend Russia's interests.

 

He and about 200 other soldiers from his special battalion, grouping ethnic Chechens, were mobilized on March 12 and spent two weeks in the Crimean city of Yevpatoria.

 

The mission, which mainly involved guarding buildings, was an illustration of how far the Chechnya region in Russia's North Caucasus is ready to go to show allegiance to Russian President Vladimir Putin, 14 years after he crushed its separatist drive.

 

But many Chechens feel no love for Russia and have a sardonic message for their new Crimean compatriots: welcome to Russia, we hope you like it.

 

"The referendum itself was one thing. It was calm, orderly. But what happens now with Crimea, that's up to Vladimir Putin," Adam, 36, said in a cafe in Chechnya's main city of Grozny, speaking on condition that his last name was not used.

 

Chechnya fought a separatist war in 1994-96 that briefly shook off Russian rule but lost a second war in 1999-2000 in which Putin re-established control over the region and then installed militant-turned-loyalist Akhmet Kadyrov as its leader.

 

Russia has poured money into Chechnya since then, as it plans to do in Crimea now. A cluster of steel skyscrapers built with Russian cash tower over Grozny, with boutiques offering Swiss watches and Italian suits.

Last Sunday, thousands of people streamed to a Grozny soccer stadium to mark the 11th anniversary of a referendum on a new constitution that subordinated Chechnya to Moscow.

 

Participants, many of whom said they were forced to attend, held banners and flags supporting Crimea's entry into Russia which they said they were given by the rally organizers.

 

At the gates of the stadium, elderly women gathered begging to be let out but were pushed back by police barking in Chechen that they had to stay until the rally was over.

 

"We're here to support Crimea's entry into the Russian Federation. I think that before too long they can expect the same holidays. I'm sure they'll be as happy as we are, please send them our regards," Malika, 52, a mathematics teacher said with a sarcastic smirk.

 

http://euromaidanpr.wordpress.com/2014/03/30/now-we-know-the-results-of-the-crimea-referendum/

Now we know the results of the Crimea referendum

 

http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_03_30/West-plotted-to-split-Ukraine-from-Russia-for-years-Lavrov-5732/

West plotted to split Ukraine from Russia for years - Lavrov

 

For years, the West has been setting the scene to pull Ukraine and Russia apart, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on a Sunday show on the Channel One TV station. "It feels as though our Western colleagues… have long been working to 'tear' Ukraine away from Russia. Once they realized they had been wrong and it had been a mistake to act in violation of all post-Soviet agreements, they couldn't own up to it. A false idea of pride stood in their way," Lavrov suggested.

 

"And all the sanctions we are seeing now are a knee-jerk reflex that makes them want to find a reasonable way to remedy their hurt feelings."

 

 

https://twitter.com/WilliamsJon

US official: Kerry & Lavrov to discuss disarmament of irregulars, international monitors & direct dialogue between Russia & Ukraine

12:56 PM

 

[visionary]

http://news.sky.com/story/1234856/ukraine-putin-orders-partial-withdrawal

Ukraine: Putin Orders 'Partial Withdrawal'

 

Mr Putin told German Chancellor Angela Merkel about his move in a phone call on Monday afternoon.

 

The pair also discussed "further possible steps to stabilise the situation in Ukraine and Transdniestria (a breakaway Russian-speaking region of Moldova)," said Mrs Merkel's spokesman.

The Russian defence ministry said it was pulling back a battalion from the 15th motorised infantry brigade, but it was not clear if this was linked to a wider troop withdrawal.

 

There are fears Russia may try to seize more ex-Soviet states, and that Transdniestria may become the next Crimea.

 

On Sunday, the US announced it was giving Moldova $10m (£6.1m) to strengthen security on its border with Ukraine and Transdniestria.

Moscow claims Moldova's capital Chisinau and Ukraine's new government have blockaded Transdniestria.

 

A Kremlin spokesman said: "The Russian leader spoke of the need to take effective measures aimed at removing the de facto external blockade of this region and at searching for a fair and comprehensive solution to the Transdniestria issue."

 

Meanwhile, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has announced plans to turn Crimea into a special economic zone, during a visit to the region where he chaired a government meeting.

 

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ukraine-crisis/finland-frets-russia-launches-military-drills-its-doorstep-n67866

Finland Frets as Russia Launches Military Drills on Its Doorstep

 

Russian military drills near neighboring Finland have provoked concern that northern Europe may be the next focus of Moscow's seemingly renewed appetite for redrawing its borders.

 

Troops and jet fighters from all four military regions of Russia were deployed Sunday about 150 miles east of the Finnish border, according to the English-language newspaper Finnbay. The Russian defense ministry said in a statement that the exercises were pre-planned and that more than 50 fighter pilots took part.

 

 

Finland was part of the Russian empire for 108 years, from 1809 until Russia’s withdrawal from World War I in 1917. The Karelia region, where the war games are taking place, straddles the Finnish border and has historically been a heavily militarized zone for Moscow.

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/30/world/europe/ukraine-russia-border-tension/index.html?iref=allsearch

In tense, defiant Ukraine border region, prayers are for peace -- unless peace fails

 

A low hum rises high into the onion-shaped dome of a village church.

 

The priest, shrouded in a gold cape, peers through steel-gray eyes at the small flock standing before him, intoning ancient religious chants.

 

A few miles of forest, swampland and rolling potato fields is all that stands between this community of 2,500 people and Ukraine's eastern border with Russia.

 

In the congregation, tears stream down one lady's face. Hard to tell whether she's moved by the power of prayer or whether she's just plain terrified of the prospect Russian troops could invade.

 

Before he took his vows, Father Mikhail Zorivchak -- an engineer by profession -- was an officer in the Soviet army. He came back to this region after the fall of the Berlin Wall but found no other work except rebuilding churches, including the one in this village.

 

He cannot believe his old comrades will roll into Ukraine, even less that rank-and-file Russian soldiers would heed orders to open fire on their Ukrainian neighbors.

 

But if they do, Zorivchak is preaching to the faithful that there can be no question of turning the other cheek.

 

"I will preach to our people to defend our homeland from any invader. This is the land of our grandfathers. I'll pray for our army. And if they need me I'm ready to join them to protect our holy land," he told CNN.

 

http://www.interpretermag.com/ukraine-liveblog-day-42-diplomacy-takes-center-stage/#1838

 

1830 GMT: Looking at the Pravda article, they report that one of those wounded in the shooting is the deputy mayor of Kiev, Bogdan Dubas, and he was shot by Right Sector activists, but the details are confusing.

1838 GMT: We have translated the article on Pravda on the shooting in Kiev:

 

 

Ukrainskaya Pravda and Segodnya report a shoot-out at a restaurant called “Mafia” on the main avenue of Kreshchatik in which three people have been wounded.

 

The gunmen burst into the restaurant and barricaded themselves in the bathroom. Fighters from Right Sector and Maidan Self-Defense came to the scene and were debating whether ot try to neutralize the gunmen before the police arrived.

 

As of 21:00 local time, journalist Mikhaylina Skorik reported that one of the wounded is Bohdan Dubas, first deputy chairman of the Kiev State City Administration and the second is a self-defense fighter. The third was not yet identified. She said that “guys in masks from Right Sector” who looked to be teen-agers were among those who appeared to be the shooters.

 

According to Anatoly Medved, a sotnik [self defense fighter], the conflict with Right Sector occurred “over the issue of taking down the tents, the question of dismantling the barricades”. The shots were fired from a combat pistol. The gunmen retreated to the Hotel Dniepr. A Right Sector nick-named “Iranian” refused to identify the Right Sector gunman.