Fighting Breaks Out As Ukraine Deploys Tanks, APCs, Troops In Slavyansk: Deaths Reported
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/24/2014 05:53 -0400
A day after the acting government in Kiev announced the Geneva agreement is void and that it would once again send special forces to deal with “terrorists” in east Ukraine, it had made good on its promise and over the past few hours, Ukrainian tanks, APCs and other special forces troops took control of a checkpoint north of Slavyansk on Thursday, following what numerous reports confirm was an exchange of gunfire.
What happened next is not exactly clear. Reuters reports that “when the armoured unit approached along a road from Sviatogorsk, which Ukraine’s government said it recaptured on Wednesday, militants set up a smokescreen of burning tyres. Within half an hour, the Ukrainian force was in control of the position near the village of Khrestyshche. No shots were heard.”
Reuters continues:
Ukrainian forces appear to be closing in around Slaviansk, a city of 130,000 which has become a military stronghold for the pro-Russian movement and is entirely controlled by separatist fighters.
Reuters journalists saw Ukrainian troops digging in outside the city on the main road south to the regional capital Donetsk.
Earlier in the morning, a spokeswoman for the separatist authorities in Slaviansk, Stella Khorosheva, said on Facebook that two people were killed at a checkpoint overnight.
Local online news site slavgorod.com.ua quoted other separatist representatives saying one man was dead and another seriously wounded after a group of local militia fighters from a checkpoint went to engage a group of “armed men” between Slaviansk and Sviatogorsk and were then fired on from a wood.
The Ukrainian government said troops repelled an overnight raid on a base at Artemivsk, to the south of Slaviansk on the road to Donetsk. A soldier was wounded in the attack by about 70 people who Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said on Facebook were led by Russian soldiers.
This conflicts somewhat with reports from both AFP and RT of a far more serious escalation including shooting at the Slavyansk checkpoint, and that according to @GazetaRu at least six people have been killed so far. Just out from RT:
Fighting has erupted just outside Slavyansk, a town in east Ukraine where population voiced their protest against Kiev authorities. Ukrainian troops on tanks and armored vehicles are trying to break into the town.
According to Ukrainian Interior ministry, at least five self-defense guards have been killed and one policeman injured after the ‘antiterrorist operation’ launched by Kiev in the city. Three checkpoints erected by the anti-government protesters have also been destroyed.
“Around 40 minutes ago fighting started on the outskirts of Slavyansk,” one of the leaders of self-defense forces, Miroslav Rudenko , told Interfax. We are checking reports of one dead and one injured. There are shootings at a number of checkpoints at some of Slavyansk exit-roads.”
Rudenko said it was impossible to reach self-defense leaders in Slavyansk by phone, suspecting that mobile phone connection could have been switched off.
More from RT:
Police has announced the beginning of the crackdown via loudspeakers and a special vehicle is currently patrolling the streets warning local people about the crackdown.
The local citizens in the city are preparing for the Kiev crackdown. The majority of shops, kindergartens and schools have been closed in the city. Only the shops selling bread and water remain open. Rossiya 24 TV channel reported there was a slow offensive by Ukrainian troops on Slavyansk.
“Now armored vehicles and special forces are just 10km away from the town,” said Rossiya 24 correspondent currently on the ground.
According to locals, at least eight armored infantry vehicles passed the village of Hrestische, near Slavyansk, on Thursday morning, reports Gazeta.ru.
At least three snipers from Ukrainian army are now at the barricades, the residents also told Gazeta.ru, adding that when one of the journalists tried to approach the barricades, the snipers opened fire.
Meanwhile, two columns of armored vehicles are heading towards Slavyansk. The first column is now 6km from the city, while the second is 3 to 4km, Mayor of Slavyansk Vyacheslav Ponomarev told Rossiya 24 TV channel.
According to the latest reports, self-defense forces have repelled the attack of the Kiev gunmen at the key checkpoint in north of Slavyansk. At least three infantry vehicles had to retreat, reports Rossiya 24.
Meanwhile, the armored infantry vehicles are currently heading towards the town of Izyum in the Kharkov Region, not far from Slavyansk.
Anti-government protesters are still controlling the checkpoints on the outskirts of Slavyansk.
MOSCOW — Ukrainian authorities said Thursday that up to five pro-Russian militants were killed and three roadblocks overrun outside an eastern city at the heart of a local insurgency, as Kiev restarted a military operation to regain control in the region.
Also on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the use of military force against Ukrainian civilians would have consequences for the leadership in Kiev. He didn’t elaborate on what they would be.
“If the Kiev regime begins to use the army against its own citizens, that is, without a doubt, a very serious crime,” he said. “This will certainly have an impact on those who make such decisions and on our bilateral relations.”
Putin didn’t repeat his previous statements that Moscow reserves the right to defend ethnic Russians or Russian-speakers in eastern Ukraine. There was no immediate indication that Moscow was preparing to use military force, though it has built up troops along the border with Ukraine.
The renewed action is among growing signs that an agreement reached last week in Geneva laying out steps to reduce the tension is falling apart. Among other things, the broadly written agreement called for militants to disarm and vacate illegally occupied buildings.
President Barack Obama said during a visit to Tokyo that Russia hasn’t been abiding by the spirit or letter of the agreement, and he warned that the U.S. was prepared to impose additional sanctions.
Officials in Kiev have repeatedly accused Russia of having agents operating on the ground in the east to foment unrest. Russia denies this, but has moved tens of thousands of troops to the Ukrainian border, raising fears that it could quickly mobilize.
But Alexei Pushkov, the head of the foreign affairs committee of Russia’s lower house of parliament said Thursday as news of the Ukrainian military operation emerged that there are no plans to send in troops.
“[Foreign Minister] Sergei Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin have both made statements that we have no intention to send troops into eastern Ukraine. As far as I know, no other statements have been made in this regard,” he said, according to the Interfax news agency.
Five killed
Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said that police and military units had killed up to five “terrorists” in the early morning operation outside of Slovyansk and that three checkpoints leading into the city had been destroyed. The ministry said that one person from the Ukrainian force had been injured.
Russian state media broadcast footage of an armored personnel carrier flying a Ukrainian flag stopped near a pile of burning tires on a road leading to the city as a heavy plume of smoke wafted overhead. Helicopters also were shown flying over the area.
Ukraine’s president ordered a renewed assault on separatist militias in the region on Tuesday, after the body of a local pro-Kiev politician was found in a river with what he said were signs of torture.
The Interior Ministry said Thursday it had also regained control overnight of the city council in the southeastern port city of Mariupol, which had been under militant control since April 13.
Ukraine’s Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said there were no casualties in the operation to take back the building. He said the city’s mayor had already returned to his office but police were checking the buildings for explosives.
“The process of normalizing the situation in the city is continuing,” he said.
But the local interior ministry in the Donetsk region where Mariupol is located said the clash initially involved a group of about 30 unknown people armed with bats who demanded the pro-Russian protesters leave the building. A fight then broke out, after which police arrived.
According to the local ministry statement, five people were hurt and required medical attention. The statement didn’t say whether the building had been cleared.
Avakov also reported that a group of 70 people he said were being led by Russian military officers attacked a military base in the city of Artemovsk in an effort to seize weapons. He said the attack was repulsed but that soldiers had been wounded.
It wasn’t immediately clear if there were casualties among the attackers, he said.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Lavrov accused the U.S. and the European Union of having tried to organize another “color revolution” in Ukraine in the run-up to the ouster of former-President Viktor Yanukovych in February.
Several former-Soviet states underwent “color revolutions” between 2003-2005 — including Ukraine’s Orange Revolution–in which waves of street protests led to new, more pro-Western governments taking charge.
The Russian-leaning Yanukovych was elected in 2010 after voters grew frustrated with squabbling among Ukraine’s West-leaning leaders. But anger grew after he rejected a cooperation agreement with the EU.
Russia has accused the West of supporting the pro-European protesters who took over Kiev’s main square and several government buildings for months before Yanukovych was driven from office.
“In Ukraine — let’s call a spade a spade — this was an attempt by the United States and the European Union to bring off another ‘color revolution,’ or unconstitutional regime change,” he said, according to Russian news agencies.
Welshman
It is so wonderful thinking we can get Ukraine into NATO, I just may wet my pants.
Russia “Forced” To Launch Drill On Ukraine Border In Response To “NATO Build Up”, Will Involve Fighter Jets
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/24/2014 09:07 -0400
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu says that Russia will begin “defense drills” today, forced to react to the situation in southeast Ukraine and, more improtantly, the NATO build up, the first time Russia has explicitly reacted to the military build up of the military alliance. There are already tanks amassing within meters of the border (as the following clip indicates), and
•RUSSIAN DRILLS TO INVOLVE PLANES WORKING NEAR BORDERS
It is now entirelyclear that the “truce” deal is dead as both sides not only escalate but blame each other for the un-de-escalation. Russia’s move – after US and NATO’s expansions this week – leaves the situation as bad as it has been since tensions began.
As Bloomberg reports,
Drills to involve planes working near state borders, troops along Ukrainian border, Interfax reports, citing Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
Shoigu says Russia forced to react to situation in southeast Ukraine: Interfax
Shoigu says drills began today, Interfax reports
Interfax confirms…
RUSSIAN BATTALION TACTICAL COMBINED-ARMS GROUPS FROM SOUTHERN, WESTERN MILITARY DISTRICTS START DRILLS IN RESPONSE TO SITUATION IN SOUTHEAST UKRAINE – SHOIGU
SHOIGU: IN FRAMEWORK OF DRILLS AVIATION TO CARRY OUT FLIGHTS TO EXERCISE ACTIONS NEAR STATE BORDER
Finally, from RT:
Russia has begun extensive military exercises on its Ukrainian border following the escalation of violence in eastern Ukraine.
“The order to use force against civilians has already been given, and if this military machine is not stopped, the amount of casualties will only grow,” Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said during an official meeting in Moscow.
“We are forced to react to the situation.”
Shoigu said that the drills involve march and deployment exercises by forces in the southern and western military districts, and separate Air Force maneuvers.
Finally, RIA notes the explicit warning from Russia:
•Ukraine risking large number of casualties w/ military operation in southeast of country: RIA
The prospect of WW3 is causing stock to run higher. War is good for the stock market. Well, all bad news is good for the stock market. FB is up 2%, Amazon is up 3% today alone. People will order more crap off the internet, and update their Facebook pages every time the have a bowel movement. 95% of the people in the USSA don’t even know what’s happening in Ukraine, nor do they care. But 99% know Kim Kardasian’s mulatto baby’s name. We’re doomed.
Leave it to the incompetent imbeciles running out country to blow up the world….
Folks, what we are witnessing is the end of the post cold war unipolar world. The evil and corrupt US gov’t has fucked itself this time. Russia is asserting itself as a major player in global affairs and the US and it’s NATO sock puppets are just gonna have to learn to sit and spin when Russia tells them to fuck off.
Right now it’s Russia that is acting like a mature adult in a roomful of unruly children; a fact that I’m certain isn’t lost on the rest of the world.
Billy
Still trying to figure out the players here…
We got the Ukrainian government, the pro-Ukrainian militias on one side and the Russians and the separatist militias on the other…
MEANWHILE, the US and the EU are fucking with forces beyond their comprehension, like giving a monkey a loaded handgun, and are sending about 600 or so of my bretheren from the 187th (RAKKASANS!) Airborne into neighboring Poland for…. for fucking what? One guy in a suit with a briefcase, a map, and sail foam can keep an eye on that shit…
THEN you got Joe Fucking Biden showing up in Ukraine doing…. doing fucking what? Running his cock holster and putting down the Russians… dumbass.
MEANWHILE, Putin – who don’t take no shit offa nobody – sends in… well… everyone as far as I can tell and piles them up on the border like a big fucking game of RISK.
I’m thinking the banksters want war. They cannot allow the dollar to lose reserve currency status. The Fed has wired trillions to banks in Europe as well. They also cannot lose the petrodollar. They will push Russia into a war, which will go nuclear, as this is the only way to wipe out Russia. Better to nuke somebody than lose reserve currency status. The banksters don’t want the value of their billions to go down….
Obama isn’t qualified to run a lemonade stand. Biden isn’t smart enough play chess. They have a nuke-proof bunker, however, where they’ll be spending time when the ICBM’s start flying….
USSA’s meddling in Ukrainian affairs has produced wonders so far;
— A bigger Russia.
— A smaller Ukraine.
— A happy Russian Crimea.
— A politically-agitated and alarmed Eastern Ukraine in full cry.
— A hungry, confused, and dispirited Ukrainian military, whose troops increasingly find themselves preferring the cut of the Russian army’s jib.
— The withdrawal of many millions of Russian money from EU and UK banks.
— The significant selling of US Treasuries from the Russian treasury’s portfolio.
— A US commitment of $1 billion and of euro 2.5 billion from the EU in emergency funds to Ukraine’s U.S.-selected interim government of no authority.
— A further commitment of $27 billion of US and EU taxpayers’ money to Ukraine via the usual consortium of global loan sharks: the IMF, the EBRD, the World Bank, and the IFC, whose loans will be ““a windfall for hedge funds and Russian banks.” (The initial sum is but a down payment on what will be at a minimum a $200 billion liability.)
— An EU trade agreement with a bankrupt Ukraine whose products are not wanted or needed by the EU.
— A near doubling of the price to Ukraine of formerly Russian-subsidized energy.
— An unworkable plan to pipe Russian energy deliveries to Poland and Slovakia back to Ukraine, whose unnecessary costs US and EU taxpayers will be expected to make good.
— Russian plans to create a national payment settlement system in light of US and EU sanctions, thus striking a blow to the US dollar’s reserve currency status.
— A Russian agreement with Iran to purchase Iranian energy to re-sell and then transport to European buyers. Settlement to be in gold and Russian goods, not U.S. dollars.
— An invigorated effort on the part of both Russia and China to conclude in May a ‘holy grail’ energy partnership in which settlement will not be in U.S. dollars.
Should Eastern European members grasp that the greatest risk they face is not from Russia, but from the use of their territories as military staging grounds to provoke Russia at their peril in order to advance US neocon dreams of world domination, it will be game, set and match for prudence, foresight and peace, and a 25-year overdue farewell to NATO.
Disgusted Kerry And Lavrov Can’t Even Hold A Phone Conversation Any More
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/24/2014 15:27 -0400
With the “truce deal” laying torn asunder by un-de-escalation by each and every side in this dangerous game of chicken, it now seems even diplomacy is off the table. The Russian foreign ministry reports that the planned on April 23 and 24 telephone conversations between, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry , unfortunately did not take place for reasons beyond Moscow’s control, adding that
•*UKRAINE GETTING DEEPER AND DEEPER INTO CRISIS: RUSSIA
•*U.S. MUST FORCE UKRAINE TO STOP MILITARY PUSH IN EAST: RUSSIA
Ukraine’s 48-hour red-line is getting closer and with the UN warning that “the situation could quickly spin out of control with unpredictable consequences,” it is perhaps time to derisk a little.
Via The Russian Foreign Ministry,
The unpredictability of the situation in the south-eastern regions of Ukraine, where people are thrown against regular military units, special forces and paramilitary forces, ultranationalist, requires urgent action forced wards U.S. Kiev authorities to show restraint and not to use force.
The planned on April 23 and 24 telephone contacts, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, unfortunately, did not take place for reasons beyond Moscow reasons. In the run scheduled for April 25 conversation of foreign ministers of the two countries, the Russian side once again urges Washington to use all his influence on the interim government in Kiev to reason with him and convince refrain from hasty steps, Ukraine plunged deeper into crisis.
We hope that the U.S. finally take urgent measures for de-escalation of the situation in accordance with the provisions of the Geneva Declaration on April 17. Washington should make the current Ukrainian leadership to immediately stop military operation in the South East, to ensure allocation of units of the armed forces of Ukraine and its security forces to their permanent deployment. While nothing has been done to address this urgent task. We hope that Washington understands the full measure of their responsibility for what happens.
And The UN warns,
War in eastern Ukraine must be prevented “at all costs,” UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said as quoted by Itar-Tass.
Ban’s spokesman told journalists that all sides involved in the conflict in Ukraine must stick to the Geneva agreements of April 17, refrain from violence, repression and provocative actions.
Saying that he is “deeply concerned that the situation could quickly spin out of control with unpredictable consequences,” UN chief stressed that “military action must be avoided at all costs.”
Obama says U.S. will defend Japan over Senkaku Islands
“The policy of the United States is clear — the Senkaku Islands are administered by Japan and therefore fall within the scope of Article 5 of the U.S. — Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security. And we oppose any unilateral attempts to undermine Japan’s administration of these islands.”
———- Warmongering Nigger In Charge, yesterday
OK.
— We are basically at war with 1.5 billion mooslims, fucking up one country after another
— It seems we are about to take on Russia (I think they still have a few thousand nukes)
— and now The King Of Peace is willing to fuck with 1.3 billion Chinese
Lavrov was interviewed on Sophie Co on RT last night. It’s a great interview. He says the US is running the show in Ukraine and that if the issue wasn’t Ukraine, it would be something else. He listed Syria and Iran as two other examples where the US has proven to be an unreliable partner in that when an agreement is reached, they just move the bar higher. Watch it.
fyi ……. seems like a great place for Ukraine info ….
“The blog ‘The Vineyard of the Saker’ has rocketed in popularity going from 1,000 hits a day to 20,000 a day since the start of the Ukrainian crisis. His analysis takes us to depths that are not even hinted at in the New York Times and other U.S. media. The comments section has also become a robust forum for debate and elaboration.”
The US plan for the Ukraine – a hypothesis by The Saker
Listening to [Russian Foreign Minister Sergey] Lavrov today I came to the conclusion that the regime in Kiev was indeed about to try to attack the eastern Ukraine. It’s not only Lavrov, the Russian Internet is on “red alert” and chock-full of rumors and speculation about an imminent attack. This begs a number of questions:
1) Why would the junta in Kiev so overtly renege on the Geneva agreement?
2) Why would it attack when the chances of success are very small?
3) Why would they attack know that Russia would almost certainly intervene?
4) Why is the US clearly behind that strategy?
I have a hypothesis which I would like to submit to your attention.
First, the junta in Kiev is reneging on the Geneva agreement simply because it cannot abide by its terms. Remember, the junta is composed of a few politicians handpicked by the US and a few Ukrainian oligarchs. They do have money, but no power. How could they possibly impose anything in the well-armed and determined freaks of the Right Sector?
Second, the eastern Ukraine is lost no matter what. So the junta in Kiev have to pick on of the following options:
a) Let the eastern Ukraine leave by means of referendum and do nothing about it.
b) Let the eastern Ukraine leave but only after some violence.
c) Let the eastern Ukraine leave following a Russian military intervention.
Clearly, option ‘a’ is by far the worst. Option ‘b’ is so-so, but option ‘c’ is very nice.
Think of it: this option will make it look like Russia invaded the Eastern Ukraine and that the people there had no say about it. It will also make the rest of the Ukraine rally around the flag. The economic disaster will be blamed on Russia and the Presidential election of May 25th can be canceled due to the Russian “threat”. Not only that, but a war – no matter how silly – is the *perfect* pretext to introduce martial law which can be used to crack down on the Right Sector or anybody expressing views the junta does not like. That is an old trick – trigger a war and people will rally around the regime in power. Create a panic, and people will forget the real issues.
As for the USA – it also knows that the Eastern Ukraine is gone. With Crimea and Eastern Ukraine gone – the Ukraine has exactly *zero* value to the Empire, to why not simply use it as a way to create a new Cold War, something which would be much more sexy that the Global War on Terror or the really old War on Drugs. After all, if Russia is forced to intervene militarily NATO will have to send reinforcements to “protect” countries like Poland or Latvia just in case Putin decides to invade all of the EU.
Bottom line – the freaks in power in Kiev and the USA *know* that the eastern Ukraine is lost for them, and the purpose of the imminent attack is not to “win” against the Russian-speaking rebels or, even less so, to “win” against the Russian military, it is to trigger enough violence to force Russia to intervene. In other words, since the East is lost anyways, it is much better to lose it to the “invading Russian hordes” than to lose it to the local civilian population.
So the purpose of the next attack will not be to win, but to lose. That the Ukrainian military can still do.
Two things can happen to foil this plan:
1) The Ukrainian military might refuse to obey such clearly criminal orders (and becoming a target of the Russian military might help some officers make the correct “purely moral” choice).
2) The local resistance might be strong enough to draw out such an operation and have to come to a grinding halt.
From the Russian point of view things are rather simple: it is infinitely better for Russia to have the East break away without any Russian intervention. If the attacking force is crazy enough to use armor, artillery or airpower, the Russian could decide to strike from the air without actually sending in ground forces. They could also use electronic warfare capabilities to further create chaos inside the attacking force. Limited pinpoint attacks could also serve to demoralize the attacking force. What Russia has to avoid all costs to find itself forced to engage in offensive urban operations which are always dangerous and bloody. It is therefore absolutely essential the the locals take control of their own streets, villages and cities.
Lavrov today delivered a very direct warning: if things go out of hand in the eastern Ukraine Russia will intervene. Hopefully somebody in the West will finally realize that the Russians are never bluffing and that they really mean it. I am not very optimistic though – if Lavrov felt the need to make a full 30min interview in English in which he clearly compared the situation in the Ukraine today to the one in Ossetia in 08.08.08 it is probably because the Russians have intelligence indicating that an attack is imminent.
Great interview. I noticed that Lavrov confirmed that the zionazis were about to do to Crimea what they did to Kiev. The USN construction contracts for Crimea show that Sevastopol was intended to be a USN base eventually, so their hysterical reaction to seeing those plans scuppered by the “polite armed men in green” is indicative how much they had wanted Sevastopol.
Another thing is Lavrov stressed how the Americans immediately sabotaged agreements after signing them. As Lavrov said, they “pocket their gains, and then do not follow through with what they had agreed to do” (paraphrase). They falsely accuse the other side of practices they themselves were engaging in, and they beginning adding new demands, falsely claiming the agreement was about those, too.
This is exactly how Israel negotiates and applies agreements they agree to. The USA has always been dishonest about applying agreements it makes, but with the Israeli influence now securely emplaced in the American establishment, one can see the USA slowly becoming fully israelisized, taking on the “israeli personality”, if you will, in how it conducts all its affairs.
Furious Russia, Downgraded To Just Above Junk By S&P, Proposes “Scorched Earth” Retaliation Against NATO Countries
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/25/2014 04:42 -0400
Cyprus and Russia – what’s the difference (aside from the fact that the former was a money laundering offshore center of the latter until last year of course)?
If you said one is a lackey to statist, selfish banker interests, and after having its economy thoroughly destroyed by the great doomed European sociopolitical (and pathological) experiment, came crawling back to its Eurozone masters, while the other couldn’t care one bit about Pax Petrodollariana and the global central bank cabal, you are right. In which case it will also be clear why a few hours ago that joke of a rating agency, Standard & Poor’s, which also earlier announced it was “affirming” France at an AA rating making it very clear it will no longer accept being sued for telling the truth and downgrading sovereigns or otherwise have its offices abroad raided, not only upgraded Cyprus from B- to B (please deposits your funds in Cyprus banks now: they are safe, S&P promises), but – far more importantly – delivered a political message to the Kremlin, and downgraded Russia from BBB to BBB-, one short notch away from junk status. This was the first downgrade of Russia by S&P since December 2008.
WSJ reports:
“In our view, the tense geopolitical situation between Russia and Ukraine could see additional significant outflows of both foreign and domestic capital from the Russian economy and hence further undermine already weakening growth prospects,” S&P wrote in its report.
Moscow’s MICEX stock index fell by 1.5% after the move. The ruble weakened 0.6% against the dollar to 35.977.
A further cut to junk status would be a big move, given Russia’s relatively modest level of debt, according to Tim Ash, an economist at Standard Bank.
“But if the crisis in Ukraine deteriorates further, and we see sustained capital flight and pressure on the ruble and Russian markets further, then it is possible,” he said.
Russia’s response was prompt.
First, in retaliation to the downgrade, Russian economy minister Alexei Ulyukaev said S&P’s downgrade of Russia’s rating was expected by investors, won’t significantly change their behavior, adding the obvious that the decision to cut Russia’s rating was partly political, partly based on economic situation. In other words, entirely symbolic – it is not as if Russia has access to bond markets anyway, plus as we wrote earlier this week in “Why Putin Is Smiling At The Bond Market’s Blockade Of Russia”, it is not as if it needs them.
But far more importantly, and ahead of yet another round of western sanctions which appears imminent unless Obama is to look even more powerless than he currently is (granted, a difficult achievement), Russian presidential adviser Sergei Glazyev proposed plan of 15 measures to protect country’s economy if sanctions applied, Vedomosti newspaper reports, citing Glazyev’s letter to Finance Ministry. According to Vedomosti as Bloomberg reported, Glazyev proposed:
•Russia should withdraw all assets, accounts in dollars, euros from NATO countries to neutral ones
•Russia should start selling NATO member sovereign bonds before Russia’s foreign-currency accounts are frozen
•Central bank should reduce dollar assets, sell sovereign bonds of countries that support sanctions
•Russia should limit commercial banks’ FX assets to prevent speculation on ruble, capital outflows
•Central bank should increase money supply so that state cos., banks may refinance foreign loans
•Russia should use national currencies in trade with customs Union members, other non-dollar, non-euro partners
In other words, a full-blown scorched earth campaign by Russia.
Granted, Russian holdings of US Treasurys are not that substantial (and could be monetized entirely in three months of POMO by the Fed), and western financial linkages to Russia, aside from trade routes, are not life-threatening, but if Russia were to take the baton, and other BRIC countries, already furious by the recent US decision to not boost their IMF status, follow suit, then Obama’s life is about to become a living nightmare. Especially, if that most important BRIC member – China – does any of the many things it can do to indicate if, in this brand new Cold War, it is with or against the US…
Finally, those curious what are the linkages between the west and Russia are, review our recent post on the matter: All You Need To Know About Russia, In Charts.
Fighting Breaks Out As Ukraine Deploys Tanks, APCs, Troops In Slavyansk: Deaths Reported
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/24/2014 05:53 -0400
A day after the acting government in Kiev announced the Geneva agreement is void and that it would once again send special forces to deal with “terrorists” in east Ukraine, it had made good on its promise and over the past few hours, Ukrainian tanks, APCs and other special forces troops took control of a checkpoint north of Slavyansk on Thursday, following what numerous reports confirm was an exchange of gunfire.
What happened next is not exactly clear. Reuters reports that “when the armoured unit approached along a road from Sviatogorsk, which Ukraine’s government said it recaptured on Wednesday, militants set up a smokescreen of burning tyres. Within half an hour, the Ukrainian force was in control of the position near the village of Khrestyshche. No shots were heard.”
Reuters continues:
Ukrainian forces appear to be closing in around Slaviansk, a city of 130,000 which has become a military stronghold for the pro-Russian movement and is entirely controlled by separatist fighters.
Reuters journalists saw Ukrainian troops digging in outside the city on the main road south to the regional capital Donetsk.
Earlier in the morning, a spokeswoman for the separatist authorities in Slaviansk, Stella Khorosheva, said on Facebook that two people were killed at a checkpoint overnight.
Local online news site slavgorod.com.ua quoted other separatist representatives saying one man was dead and another seriously wounded after a group of local militia fighters from a checkpoint went to engage a group of “armed men” between Slaviansk and Sviatogorsk and were then fired on from a wood.
The Ukrainian government said troops repelled an overnight raid on a base at Artemivsk, to the south of Slaviansk on the road to Donetsk. A soldier was wounded in the attack by about 70 people who Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said on Facebook were led by Russian soldiers.
This conflicts somewhat with reports from both AFP and RT of a far more serious escalation including shooting at the Slavyansk checkpoint, and that according to @GazetaRu at least six people have been killed so far. Just out from RT:
Fighting has erupted just outside Slavyansk, a town in east Ukraine where population voiced their protest against Kiev authorities. Ukrainian troops on tanks and armored vehicles are trying to break into the town.
According to Ukrainian Interior ministry, at least five self-defense guards have been killed and one policeman injured after the ‘antiterrorist operation’ launched by Kiev in the city. Three checkpoints erected by the anti-government protesters have also been destroyed.
“Around 40 minutes ago fighting started on the outskirts of Slavyansk,” one of the leaders of self-defense forces, Miroslav Rudenko , told Interfax. We are checking reports of one dead and one injured. There are shootings at a number of checkpoints at some of Slavyansk exit-roads.”
Rudenko said it was impossible to reach self-defense leaders in Slavyansk by phone, suspecting that mobile phone connection could have been switched off.
More from RT:
Police has announced the beginning of the crackdown via loudspeakers and a special vehicle is currently patrolling the streets warning local people about the crackdown.
The local citizens in the city are preparing for the Kiev crackdown. The majority of shops, kindergartens and schools have been closed in the city. Only the shops selling bread and water remain open. Rossiya 24 TV channel reported there was a slow offensive by Ukrainian troops on Slavyansk.
“Now armored vehicles and special forces are just 10km away from the town,” said Rossiya 24 correspondent currently on the ground.
According to locals, at least eight armored infantry vehicles passed the village of Hrestische, near Slavyansk, on Thursday morning, reports Gazeta.ru.
At least three snipers from Ukrainian army are now at the barricades, the residents also told Gazeta.ru, adding that when one of the journalists tried to approach the barricades, the snipers opened fire.
Meanwhile, two columns of armored vehicles are heading towards Slavyansk. The first column is now 6km from the city, while the second is 3 to 4km, Mayor of Slavyansk Vyacheslav Ponomarev told Rossiya 24 TV channel.
According to the latest reports, self-defense forces have repelled the attack of the Kiev gunmen at the key checkpoint in north of Slavyansk. At least three infantry vehicles had to retreat, reports Rossiya 24.
Meanwhile, the armored infantry vehicles are currently heading towards the town of Izyum in the Kharkov Region, not far from Slavyansk.
Anti-government protesters are still controlling the checkpoints on the outskirts of Slavyansk.
And of course gold is crushed…….where is Jim Willie, Bill Murphy not even WWIII can get gold out of the toilet.
I love the smell of napalm in the morning.
Five killed as Ukraine army moves in; Putin warns
By Lukas I. Alpert
MOSCOW — Ukrainian authorities said Thursday that up to five pro-Russian militants were killed and three roadblocks overrun outside an eastern city at the heart of a local insurgency, as Kiev restarted a military operation to regain control in the region.
Also on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the use of military force against Ukrainian civilians would have consequences for the leadership in Kiev. He didn’t elaborate on what they would be.
“If the Kiev regime begins to use the army against its own citizens, that is, without a doubt, a very serious crime,” he said. “This will certainly have an impact on those who make such decisions and on our bilateral relations.”
Putin didn’t repeat his previous statements that Moscow reserves the right to defend ethnic Russians or Russian-speakers in eastern Ukraine. There was no immediate indication that Moscow was preparing to use military force, though it has built up troops along the border with Ukraine.
The renewed action is among growing signs that an agreement reached last week in Geneva laying out steps to reduce the tension is falling apart. Among other things, the broadly written agreement called for militants to disarm and vacate illegally occupied buildings.
President Barack Obama said during a visit to Tokyo that Russia hasn’t been abiding by the spirit or letter of the agreement, and he warned that the U.S. was prepared to impose additional sanctions.
Officials in Kiev have repeatedly accused Russia of having agents operating on the ground in the east to foment unrest. Russia denies this, but has moved tens of thousands of troops to the Ukrainian border, raising fears that it could quickly mobilize.
But Alexei Pushkov, the head of the foreign affairs committee of Russia’s lower house of parliament said Thursday as news of the Ukrainian military operation emerged that there are no plans to send in troops.
“[Foreign Minister] Sergei Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin have both made statements that we have no intention to send troops into eastern Ukraine. As far as I know, no other statements have been made in this regard,” he said, according to the Interfax news agency.
Five killed
Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said that police and military units had killed up to five “terrorists” in the early morning operation outside of Slovyansk and that three checkpoints leading into the city had been destroyed. The ministry said that one person from the Ukrainian force had been injured.
Russian state media broadcast footage of an armored personnel carrier flying a Ukrainian flag stopped near a pile of burning tires on a road leading to the city as a heavy plume of smoke wafted overhead. Helicopters also were shown flying over the area.
Ukraine’s president ordered a renewed assault on separatist militias in the region on Tuesday, after the body of a local pro-Kiev politician was found in a river with what he said were signs of torture.
The Interior Ministry said Thursday it had also regained control overnight of the city council in the southeastern port city of Mariupol, which had been under militant control since April 13.
Ukraine’s Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said there were no casualties in the operation to take back the building. He said the city’s mayor had already returned to his office but police were checking the buildings for explosives.
“The process of normalizing the situation in the city is continuing,” he said.
But the local interior ministry in the Donetsk region where Mariupol is located said the clash initially involved a group of about 30 unknown people armed with bats who demanded the pro-Russian protesters leave the building. A fight then broke out, after which police arrived.
According to the local ministry statement, five people were hurt and required medical attention. The statement didn’t say whether the building had been cleared.
Avakov also reported that a group of 70 people he said were being led by Russian military officers attacked a military base in the city of Artemovsk in an effort to seize weapons. He said the attack was repulsed but that soldiers had been wounded.
It wasn’t immediately clear if there were casualties among the attackers, he said.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Lavrov accused the U.S. and the European Union of having tried to organize another “color revolution” in Ukraine in the run-up to the ouster of former-President Viktor Yanukovych in February.
Several former-Soviet states underwent “color revolutions” between 2003-2005 — including Ukraine’s Orange Revolution–in which waves of street protests led to new, more pro-Western governments taking charge.
The Russian-leaning Yanukovych was elected in 2010 after voters grew frustrated with squabbling among Ukraine’s West-leaning leaders. But anger grew after he rejected a cooperation agreement with the EU.
Russia has accused the West of supporting the pro-European protesters who took over Kiev’s main square and several government buildings for months before Yanukovych was driven from office.
“In Ukraine — let’s call a spade a spade — this was an attempt by the United States and the European Union to bring off another ‘color revolution,’ or unconstitutional regime change,” he said, according to Russian news agencies.
It is so wonderful thinking we can get Ukraine into NATO, I just may wet my pants.
Fifty million fuckin dollars we give the Ukrainians, and all I get is a bunch of burning tires videos??
Fuck that shit. I better see some REAL FUCKING MAYHEM by tomorrow!!
Russia “Forced” To Launch Drill On Ukraine Border In Response To “NATO Build Up”, Will Involve Fighter Jets
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/24/2014 09:07 -0400
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu says that Russia will begin “defense drills” today, forced to react to the situation in southeast Ukraine and, more improtantly, the NATO build up, the first time Russia has explicitly reacted to the military build up of the military alliance. There are already tanks amassing within meters of the border (as the following clip indicates), and
•RUSSIAN DRILLS TO INVOLVE PLANES WORKING NEAR BORDERS
It is now entirelyclear that the “truce” deal is dead as both sides not only escalate but blame each other for the un-de-escalation. Russia’s move – after US and NATO’s expansions this week – leaves the situation as bad as it has been since tensions began.
As Bloomberg reports,
Drills to involve planes working near state borders, troops along Ukrainian border, Interfax reports, citing Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
Shoigu says Russia forced to react to situation in southeast Ukraine: Interfax
Shoigu says drills began today, Interfax reports
Interfax confirms…
RUSSIAN BATTALION TACTICAL COMBINED-ARMS GROUPS FROM SOUTHERN, WESTERN MILITARY DISTRICTS START DRILLS IN RESPONSE TO SITUATION IN SOUTHEAST UKRAINE – SHOIGU
SHOIGU: IN FRAMEWORK OF DRILLS AVIATION TO CARRY OUT FLIGHTS TO EXERCISE ACTIONS NEAR STATE BORDER
Finally, from RT:
Russia has begun extensive military exercises on its Ukrainian border following the escalation of violence in eastern Ukraine.
“The order to use force against civilians has already been given, and if this military machine is not stopped, the amount of casualties will only grow,” Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said during an official meeting in Moscow.
“We are forced to react to the situation.”
Shoigu said that the drills involve march and deployment exercises by forces in the southern and western military districts, and separate Air Force maneuvers.
Finally, RIA notes the explicit warning from Russia:
•Ukraine risking large number of casualties w/ military operation in southeast of country: RIA
Final warning?
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27136276
“The first contingent of US troops has landed in Poland for military exercises amid tensions with Russia over Ukraine.
An initial 150 soldiers are to be followed by a further 450 within days.
US President Barack Obama has warned Russia it faces new sanctions if it refuses to implement an agreement to reduce tensions in eastern Ukraine.
Reports are coming in of violent incidents overnight between pro-Russian militants and Ukrainian forces in Mariupol and Artemivsk……”
The prospect of WW3 is causing stock to run higher. War is good for the stock market. Well, all bad news is good for the stock market. FB is up 2%, Amazon is up 3% today alone. People will order more crap off the internet, and update their Facebook pages every time the have a bowel movement. 95% of the people in the USSA don’t even know what’s happening in Ukraine, nor do they care. But 99% know Kim Kardasian’s mulatto baby’s name. We’re doomed.
Leave it to the incompetent imbeciles running out country to blow up the world….
http://peacemoonbeam.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451af9f69e20133f35d751a970b-600wi
Folks, what we are witnessing is the end of the post cold war unipolar world. The evil and corrupt US gov’t has fucked itself this time. Russia is asserting itself as a major player in global affairs and the US and it’s NATO sock puppets are just gonna have to learn to sit and spin when Russia tells them to fuck off.
Right now it’s Russia that is acting like a mature adult in a roomful of unruly children; a fact that I’m certain isn’t lost on the rest of the world.
Still trying to figure out the players here…
We got the Ukrainian government, the pro-Ukrainian militias on one side and the Russians and the separatist militias on the other…
MEANWHILE, the US and the EU are fucking with forces beyond their comprehension, like giving a monkey a loaded handgun, and are sending about 600 or so of my bretheren from the 187th (RAKKASANS!) Airborne into neighboring Poland for…. for fucking what? One guy in a suit with a briefcase, a map, and sail foam can keep an eye on that shit…
THEN you got Joe Fucking Biden showing up in Ukraine doing…. doing fucking what? Running his cock holster and putting down the Russians… dumbass.
MEANWHILE, Putin – who don’t take no shit offa nobody – sends in… well… everyone as far as I can tell and piles them up on the border like a big fucking game of RISK.
These dumbshits will be the end of us….
https://sp.yimg.com/ib/th?id=HN.608019347483590988&pid=15.1
I’m thinking the banksters want war. They cannot allow the dollar to lose reserve currency status. The Fed has wired trillions to banks in Europe as well. They also cannot lose the petrodollar. They will push Russia into a war, which will go nuclear, as this is the only way to wipe out Russia. Better to nuke somebody than lose reserve currency status. The banksters don’t want the value of their billions to go down….
Obama isn’t qualified to run a lemonade stand. Biden isn’t smart enough play chess. They have a nuke-proof bunker, however, where they’ll be spending time when the ICBM’s start flying….
https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSGXTljInz5bOrvRR7jWjUGakcwtE_MEwuCnOr07iil5C_SFc55
USSA’s meddling in Ukrainian affairs has produced wonders so far;
— A bigger Russia.
— A smaller Ukraine.
— A happy Russian Crimea.
— A politically-agitated and alarmed Eastern Ukraine in full cry.
— A hungry, confused, and dispirited Ukrainian military, whose troops increasingly find themselves preferring the cut of the Russian army’s jib.
— The withdrawal of many millions of Russian money from EU and UK banks.
— The significant selling of US Treasuries from the Russian treasury’s portfolio.
— A US commitment of $1 billion and of euro 2.5 billion from the EU in emergency funds to Ukraine’s U.S.-selected interim government of no authority.
— A further commitment of $27 billion of US and EU taxpayers’ money to Ukraine via the usual consortium of global loan sharks: the IMF, the EBRD, the World Bank, and the IFC, whose loans will be ““a windfall for hedge funds and Russian banks.” (The initial sum is but a down payment on what will be at a minimum a $200 billion liability.)
— An EU trade agreement with a bankrupt Ukraine whose products are not wanted or needed by the EU.
— A near doubling of the price to Ukraine of formerly Russian-subsidized energy.
— An unworkable plan to pipe Russian energy deliveries to Poland and Slovakia back to Ukraine, whose unnecessary costs US and EU taxpayers will be expected to make good.
— Russian plans to create a national payment settlement system in light of US and EU sanctions, thus striking a blow to the US dollar’s reserve currency status.
— A Russian agreement with Iran to purchase Iranian energy to re-sell and then transport to European buyers. Settlement to be in gold and Russian goods, not U.S. dollars.
— An invigorated effort on the part of both Russia and China to conclude in May a ‘holy grail’ energy partnership in which settlement will not be in U.S. dollars.
Should Eastern European members grasp that the greatest risk they face is not from Russia, but from the use of their territories as military staging grounds to provoke Russia at their peril in order to advance US neocon dreams of world domination, it will be game, set and match for prudence, foresight and peace, and a 25-year overdue farewell to NATO.
Disgusted Kerry And Lavrov Can’t Even Hold A Phone Conversation Any More
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/24/2014 15:27 -0400
With the “truce deal” laying torn asunder by un-de-escalation by each and every side in this dangerous game of chicken, it now seems even diplomacy is off the table. The Russian foreign ministry reports that the planned on April 23 and 24 telephone conversations between, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry , unfortunately did not take place for reasons beyond Moscow’s control, adding that
•*UKRAINE GETTING DEEPER AND DEEPER INTO CRISIS: RUSSIA
•*U.S. MUST FORCE UKRAINE TO STOP MILITARY PUSH IN EAST: RUSSIA
Ukraine’s 48-hour red-line is getting closer and with the UN warning that “the situation could quickly spin out of control with unpredictable consequences,” it is perhaps time to derisk a little.
Via The Russian Foreign Ministry,
The unpredictability of the situation in the south-eastern regions of Ukraine, where people are thrown against regular military units, special forces and paramilitary forces, ultranationalist, requires urgent action forced wards U.S. Kiev authorities to show restraint and not to use force.
The planned on April 23 and 24 telephone contacts, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, unfortunately, did not take place for reasons beyond Moscow reasons. In the run scheduled for April 25 conversation of foreign ministers of the two countries, the Russian side once again urges Washington to use all his influence on the interim government in Kiev to reason with him and convince refrain from hasty steps, Ukraine plunged deeper into crisis.
We hope that the U.S. finally take urgent measures for de-escalation of the situation in accordance with the provisions of the Geneva Declaration on April 17. Washington should make the current Ukrainian leadership to immediately stop military operation in the South East, to ensure allocation of units of the armed forces of Ukraine and its security forces to their permanent deployment. While nothing has been done to address this urgent task. We hope that Washington understands the full measure of their responsibility for what happens.
And The UN warns,
War in eastern Ukraine must be prevented “at all costs,” UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said as quoted by Itar-Tass.
Ban’s spokesman told journalists that all sides involved in the conflict in Ukraine must stick to the Geneva agreements of April 17, refrain from violence, repression and provocative actions.
Saying that he is “deeply concerned that the situation could quickly spin out of control with unpredictable consequences,” UN chief stressed that “military action must be avoided at all costs.”
Obama says U.S. will defend Japan over Senkaku Islands
“The policy of the United States is clear — the Senkaku Islands are administered by Japan and therefore fall within the scope of Article 5 of the U.S. — Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security. And we oppose any unilateral attempts to undermine Japan’s administration of these islands.”
———- Warmongering Nigger In Charge, yesterday
OK.
— We are basically at war with 1.5 billion mooslims, fucking up one country after another
— It seems we are about to take on Russia (I think they still have a few thousand nukes)
— and now The King Of Peace is willing to fuck with 1.3 billion Chinese
Cool!! I gotta invest in popcorn manufacturers.
Lavrov was interviewed on Sophie Co on RT last night. It’s a great interview. He says the US is running the show in Ukraine and that if the issue wasn’t Ukraine, it would be something else. He listed Syria and Iran as two other examples where the US has proven to be an unreliable partner in that when an agreement is reached, they just move the bar higher. Watch it.
http://rt.com/shows/sophieco/154364-lavrov-ukraine-standoff-sophieco/
fyi ……. seems like a great place for Ukraine info ….
“The blog ‘The Vineyard of the Saker’ has rocketed in popularity going from 1,000 hits a day to 20,000 a day since the start of the Ukrainian crisis. His analysis takes us to depths that are not even hinted at in the New York Times and other U.S. media. The comments section has also become a robust forum for debate and elaboration.”
http://vineyardsaker.blogspot.com/
The US plan for the Ukraine – a hypothesis by The Saker
Listening to [Russian Foreign Minister Sergey] Lavrov today I came to the conclusion that the regime in Kiev was indeed about to try to attack the eastern Ukraine. It’s not only Lavrov, the Russian Internet is on “red alert” and chock-full of rumors and speculation about an imminent attack. This begs a number of questions:
1) Why would the junta in Kiev so overtly renege on the Geneva agreement?
2) Why would it attack when the chances of success are very small?
3) Why would they attack know that Russia would almost certainly intervene?
4) Why is the US clearly behind that strategy?
I have a hypothesis which I would like to submit to your attention.
First, the junta in Kiev is reneging on the Geneva agreement simply because it cannot abide by its terms. Remember, the junta is composed of a few politicians handpicked by the US and a few Ukrainian oligarchs. They do have money, but no power. How could they possibly impose anything in the well-armed and determined freaks of the Right Sector?
Second, the eastern Ukraine is lost no matter what. So the junta in Kiev have to pick on of the following options:
a) Let the eastern Ukraine leave by means of referendum and do nothing about it.
b) Let the eastern Ukraine leave but only after some violence.
c) Let the eastern Ukraine leave following a Russian military intervention.
Clearly, option ‘a’ is by far the worst. Option ‘b’ is so-so, but option ‘c’ is very nice.
Think of it: this option will make it look like Russia invaded the Eastern Ukraine and that the people there had no say about it. It will also make the rest of the Ukraine rally around the flag. The economic disaster will be blamed on Russia and the Presidential election of May 25th can be canceled due to the Russian “threat”. Not only that, but a war – no matter how silly – is the *perfect* pretext to introduce martial law which can be used to crack down on the Right Sector or anybody expressing views the junta does not like. That is an old trick – trigger a war and people will rally around the regime in power. Create a panic, and people will forget the real issues.
As for the USA – it also knows that the Eastern Ukraine is gone. With Crimea and Eastern Ukraine gone – the Ukraine has exactly *zero* value to the Empire, to why not simply use it as a way to create a new Cold War, something which would be much more sexy that the Global War on Terror or the really old War on Drugs. After all, if Russia is forced to intervene militarily NATO will have to send reinforcements to “protect” countries like Poland or Latvia just in case Putin decides to invade all of the EU.
Bottom line – the freaks in power in Kiev and the USA *know* that the eastern Ukraine is lost for them, and the purpose of the imminent attack is not to “win” against the Russian-speaking rebels or, even less so, to “win” against the Russian military, it is to trigger enough violence to force Russia to intervene. In other words, since the East is lost anyways, it is much better to lose it to the “invading Russian hordes” than to lose it to the local civilian population.
So the purpose of the next attack will not be to win, but to lose. That the Ukrainian military can still do.
Two things can happen to foil this plan:
1) The Ukrainian military might refuse to obey such clearly criminal orders (and becoming a target of the Russian military might help some officers make the correct “purely moral” choice).
2) The local resistance might be strong enough to draw out such an operation and have to come to a grinding halt.
From the Russian point of view things are rather simple: it is infinitely better for Russia to have the East break away without any Russian intervention. If the attacking force is crazy enough to use armor, artillery or airpower, the Russian could decide to strike from the air without actually sending in ground forces. They could also use electronic warfare capabilities to further create chaos inside the attacking force. Limited pinpoint attacks could also serve to demoralize the attacking force. What Russia has to avoid all costs to find itself forced to engage in offensive urban operations which are always dangerous and bloody. It is therefore absolutely essential the the locals take control of their own streets, villages and cities.
Lavrov today delivered a very direct warning: if things go out of hand in the eastern Ukraine Russia will intervene. Hopefully somebody in the West will finally realize that the Russians are never bluffing and that they really mean it. I am not very optimistic though – if Lavrov felt the need to make a full 30min interview in English in which he clearly compared the situation in the Ukraine today to the one in Ossetia in 08.08.08 it is probably because the Russians have intelligence indicating that an attack is imminent.
We shall know very soon.
http://vineyardsaker.blogspot.com/
Stucky, from the comments section of that post:
“вот так said…
Great interview. I noticed that Lavrov confirmed that the zionazis were about to do to Crimea what they did to Kiev. The USN construction contracts for Crimea show that Sevastopol was intended to be a USN base eventually, so their hysterical reaction to seeing those plans scuppered by the “polite armed men in green” is indicative how much they had wanted Sevastopol.
Another thing is Lavrov stressed how the Americans immediately sabotaged agreements after signing them. As Lavrov said, they “pocket their gains, and then do not follow through with what they had agreed to do” (paraphrase). They falsely accuse the other side of practices they themselves were engaging in, and they beginning adding new demands, falsely claiming the agreement was about those, too.
This is exactly how Israel negotiates and applies agreements they agree to. The USA has always been dishonest about applying agreements it makes, but with the Israeli influence now securely emplaced in the American establishment, one can see the USA slowly becoming fully israelisized, taking on the “israeli personality”, if you will, in how it conducts all its affairs.
вот так
23 April, 2014 19:51″
Zara
That Lavrov interview is quite good. They have a well-spoken man with integrity …. we have Ketchup Boy. Game over.
Russian troops will be on Ukrainian soil in the next 10 days. You heard it here first.
Ruskies don’t take a dump without a plan Son.
Furious Russia, Downgraded To Just Above Junk By S&P, Proposes “Scorched Earth” Retaliation Against NATO Countries
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/25/2014 04:42 -0400
Cyprus and Russia – what’s the difference (aside from the fact that the former was a money laundering offshore center of the latter until last year of course)?
If you said one is a lackey to statist, selfish banker interests, and after having its economy thoroughly destroyed by the great doomed European sociopolitical (and pathological) experiment, came crawling back to its Eurozone masters, while the other couldn’t care one bit about Pax Petrodollariana and the global central bank cabal, you are right. In which case it will also be clear why a few hours ago that joke of a rating agency, Standard & Poor’s, which also earlier announced it was “affirming” France at an AA rating making it very clear it will no longer accept being sued for telling the truth and downgrading sovereigns or otherwise have its offices abroad raided, not only upgraded Cyprus from B- to B (please deposits your funds in Cyprus banks now: they are safe, S&P promises), but – far more importantly – delivered a political message to the Kremlin, and downgraded Russia from BBB to BBB-, one short notch away from junk status. This was the first downgrade of Russia by S&P since December 2008.
WSJ reports:
“In our view, the tense geopolitical situation between Russia and Ukraine could see additional significant outflows of both foreign and domestic capital from the Russian economy and hence further undermine already weakening growth prospects,” S&P wrote in its report.
Moscow’s MICEX stock index fell by 1.5% after the move. The ruble weakened 0.6% against the dollar to 35.977.
A further cut to junk status would be a big move, given Russia’s relatively modest level of debt, according to Tim Ash, an economist at Standard Bank.
“But if the crisis in Ukraine deteriorates further, and we see sustained capital flight and pressure on the ruble and Russian markets further, then it is possible,” he said.
Russia’s response was prompt.
First, in retaliation to the downgrade, Russian economy minister Alexei Ulyukaev said S&P’s downgrade of Russia’s rating was expected by investors, won’t significantly change their behavior, adding the obvious that the decision to cut Russia’s rating was partly political, partly based on economic situation. In other words, entirely symbolic – it is not as if Russia has access to bond markets anyway, plus as we wrote earlier this week in “Why Putin Is Smiling At The Bond Market’s Blockade Of Russia”, it is not as if it needs them.
But far more importantly, and ahead of yet another round of western sanctions which appears imminent unless Obama is to look even more powerless than he currently is (granted, a difficult achievement), Russian presidential adviser Sergei Glazyev proposed plan of 15 measures to protect country’s economy if sanctions applied, Vedomosti newspaper reports, citing Glazyev’s letter to Finance Ministry. According to Vedomosti as Bloomberg reported, Glazyev proposed:
•Russia should withdraw all assets, accounts in dollars, euros from NATO countries to neutral ones
•Russia should start selling NATO member sovereign bonds before Russia’s foreign-currency accounts are frozen
•Central bank should reduce dollar assets, sell sovereign bonds of countries that support sanctions
•Russia should limit commercial banks’ FX assets to prevent speculation on ruble, capital outflows
•Central bank should increase money supply so that state cos., banks may refinance foreign loans
•Russia should use national currencies in trade with customs Union members, other non-dollar, non-euro partners
In other words, a full-blown scorched earth campaign by Russia.
Granted, Russian holdings of US Treasurys are not that substantial (and could be monetized entirely in three months of POMO by the Fed), and western financial linkages to Russia, aside from trade routes, are not life-threatening, but if Russia were to take the baton, and other BRIC countries, already furious by the recent US decision to not boost their IMF status, follow suit, then Obama’s life is about to become a living nightmare. Especially, if that most important BRIC member – China – does any of the many things it can do to indicate if, in this brand new Cold War, it is with or against the US…
Finally, those curious what are the linkages between the west and Russia are, review our recent post on the matter: All You Need To Know About Russia, In Charts.
Why are the people filming the above airport blast ….. laughing? Translation follows;
Andrai: “Holy shit, Boris. Did you just see that huge explosion at the airport?”
Boris: “You think I’m deaf you fucknut? Of course I heard it! And I know what it was!”
Andrai: “For the love of borscht, what was it?”
Boris: “They just just blew up John Kerry’s plane!”
Andrai: “Ha Ha-ski! Was he in it?”
Boris: “Well, that ain’t ketchup all over the runway!”