|
Russia without Ukraine is a country; |
During the Great War, Germany grabbed Ukraine
and Lenin took it back
During the Great Pariotic War, Germany grabbed Ukraine
and Stalin took it back
During the Winter Olympiad, Germany grabbed Ukraine
and Putin let it slip away
Ukraine Crisis - Russian Military Intervention
Russia began a slow-motion occupation of Ukraine in April 2014. In the face of insurrections by pro-Russian protesters that spread like wildfire through eastern Ukraine, local security forces either melted away or, in some places, swapped sides and joined the protesters. "We did not expect that the whole system of central and regional power would fall to pieces so quickly," Acting President Oleksander Turchinov said. Federalization supporters in Donetsk, Druzkivka, Gorlovka/Horlivka , Kharkiv, Kramatorsk, Luhans'k, Makiyivka, Melitopol, Slaviansk and Zaporizhzhya seized local adminstration buildings, and refused to recognize the legitimacy of the current Ukrainian government.
Ukraine Crisis - 07 April 2014
Czech President Milos Zeman said 07 April 2014 that if Russia made an incursion into eastern Ukraine, NATO should deploy its troops on Ukrainian territory. Zeman simultaneously acknowledged that the EU would have to accept Crimea's accession to Russia, as "in the near future it will not be returned to Ukraine. He also said he did not oppose the federalization of Ukraine, citing as examples federal states such as the United States, Germany, and Switzerland.
Russian Foreign Ministry was concerned that additional Ukrainian army forces were arriving at the east of Ukraine. Among the army forces there are also representatives from the US Greystone organization. According to the Ministry, additional internal forces and the National Guard of Ukraine with the participation of the illegal armed militants "Praviy Sector" are arriving to the southeastern regions of Ukraine, including Donetsk. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, they are designed to suppress protests of the inhabitants of southeast of the country against the policy of the Kiev authorities. "The fact that there are about 150 American experts from the private military organization Greystone, disguised as soldiers unit Falcon brings additional concern," said in a statement 07 April 2014. Greystone Limited is a subsidiary of Vehicle Services Company LLC (the company previously known as Academi, Xe, and Blackwater). The reports of Greystone Limited operating in Ukraine surfaced some weeks ago, and remain unconfirmed.
A law proposing the introduction of a state of emergency in Donetsk, Lugansk and Kharkov regions following the public disorder over the weekend had been submitted to the Rada. It was put forward by Nikolay Rudkovskiy, a former Party of Regions deputy who quit his fraction. Ukraine's prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk told a Cabinet meeting that Russia was behind the unrest in the eastern cities of Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kharkiv. He said the violent demonstrations are clearly part of a plan to destabilize the situation and allow "foreign" troops to cross the border and seize Ukrainian territory.
Tens of thousands of Russian troops remain on the border, officially participating in an exercise, but it's the kind of exercise that could quickly become something else, according to the commander of NATO's sizable military force. "The force that is at the Ukrainian border now to the east is very, very sizable and very, very ready," said U.S. Gen. Phillip Breedlove. And it faces a much smaller Ukrainian force, including many reservists and new volunteers. NATO forces are relatively far away and officials have made clear they do not want to go to war with Russia over Ukraine. It seems that eastern Ukraine, with its large ethnic-Russian population is there for the taking, if Russian leaders decide they want it.
Kiev must not use force against pro-Russian protesters in southeastern Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Ukraine's acting foreign minister, Andrey Deshchytsa, in a phone conversation. The Russian side emphasized "the need to respect the aspirations of the residents of southeastern Ukraine and the inadmissibility of the use of force to respond to legal demands [by protesters] to protect their language, culture and socioeconomic rights," the ministry said in a statement.
Russia called on Kiev to stop pointing the finger at Moscow after Ukraine's interior minister accused President Vladimir Putin of orchestrating "separatist disorder" in the east and southeast of the former Soviet republic. "Stop nodding at Russia, blaming all the troubles of today's Ukraine on it," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
In the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, a group of activists declared their region independent from Kiev on 07 April 2014. The Council in Donetsk issued an address to Russian President Vladimir Putin, asking for deployment of a temporary peacekeeping force to the region. This came after protesters stormed a local government building. Mass demonstrations against the country's new leadership started peacefully, but the situation quickly escalated. Pro-Russian protesters in Donetsk have seized the local power building, including the headquarters of the Security Service of Ukraine and proclaimed the creation of a People’s Republic of Donetsk. Ukraine’s police and security services did not intervene, although officials in Kiev threatenied punishment for the rioters. The Council proclaimed itself the only legitimate body in the region until the regions in southeast Ukraine conduct a general referendum, set to take place no later than May 11 [that is, two weeks before the presidential election].
Activists in second-largest Ukrainian city of Kharkov have proclaimed the creation of a People’s Republic independent from the coup-imposed Kiev authorities. A group of local "deputies" have proclaimed they have taken all the responsibility for government activity in the eastern Ukrainian city. The move was proclaimed near the building of Kharkov regional administration, where massive pro-Russian rallies have been held.
Ukraine Crisis - 04 April 2014
The Foreign Ministry noted a definite decline in the concentration of Russian troops near the Ukrainian borders; however, threats to Ukraine's security still remain, the Ministry’s spokesman Yevhen Perebyinis told a press conference in Kyiv on 04 April 2014. "We cannot clearly describe the situation, for in some areas the Russian troops are being withdrawn, in the other they are regrouping. We can say that there is a certain decrease in the concentration of the troops, but we cannot say that threat to our security is removed, because the unnatural concentration the Russian armed forces on our borders remains," he said. According to the diplomat, the Ukrainian special services and law enforcement agencies are closely monitoring the situation.
Ukraine Crisis - 02 April 2014
Border guards together with militaries had dug 123 km of ditches and trenches along the Ukrainian-Russian border, Chief of the Eastern Regional Department at the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine (SBGS) Andriy Kucherenko briefed the press on 02 April 2014 in Kharkiv. "This is an obstacle that stops not only smugglers, but also military vehicles for some time. This will enable to deploy units of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine," he said. According to Kucherenko, on the border there are 97 checkpoints, including 238 concrete blocks to block a possible intrusion of vehicles or military equipment into the Ukrainian territory. "There are military terms as "convergence of efforts" and "direction of probable movement of trespassers". In this case it is about troops. No one is digging ditches for no particular reason, they are dug in those areas that are dangerous," the official said. Kucherenko recalled that the border guards have the right to use weapons against trespassers: first they make a warning shot into the air, then shoot to kill.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
