Protesters in Ukraine remind us of the priceless benefits of being EU members

[lordtiberius]

Wake up and smell the coffee jone.  Russia is a graveyard and the cradle of all bad ideas.

[JayH]

In a carefully controlled media event, Vladimir Vladimirovich stated the following:

1.  We have no territorial ambitions      Clearly a lie]

2.  We have no Russian troops in Crimea / They are local self defense troops    Clearly a lie[/color]

3.  Military force is a last resort                          Clearly a Lie!!

4.  Says he sees no political future for Yanukovych                        Duh-got that right!

5.  States that he believes that the Rada is legitimate but that the President is not[/i]        Got the first part right- and that highlights the ridicuous conclusion of the 2nd part


What do you think?                            It is in RED !!

The sheer audacity of the craziness Putin portrayed is amazing.For future reference  the degree of his delusion needs to ne noted.

[lordtiberius]

The sheer audacity of the craziness Putin portrayed is amazing.For future reference  the degree of his delusion needs to ne noted.

If you want to remove Putin from Crimea, you have to go to war with him.  Are you prepared to do that or advocate for it? 

[LAman]

Just a little recent  history about Crimea... if you are wondering why people in Crimea act as they do .... 'now' ;

 -In 2006, protests broke out on the peninsula after U.S. Marines[25] arrived at the Crimean city of Feodosiya to take part in the Sea Breeze 2006 Ukraine-NATO military exercise. Protesters greeted the marines with barricades and slogans bearing "Occupiers go home!" and a couple of days later, the Crimean parliament declared Crimea a "NATO-free territory." After several days of protest, the U.S. Marines withdrew from the peninsula.[26]

 -In September 2008, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Volodymyr Ohryzko accused Russia of giving out Russian passports to the population in the Crimea and described it as a "real problem" given Russia's declared policy of military intervention abroad to protect Russian citizens.[27]

 -During a press conference in Moscow on 16 February 2009, the Mayor of Sevastopol Serhiy Kunitsyn claimed (citing recent polls) that the population of Crimea is opposed to the idea of becoming a part of Russia.[28]

 -Although western newspapers like the Wall Street Journal have speculated about a Russian coup in Sevastopol or another Crimean city in connection with the Russian-Georgian war and the Recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia by Russia.[29] Valentyn Nalyvaychenko, acting head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), stated on 17 February 2009, that he is confident that any “Ossetian scenario” is impossible in Crimea.[30] The SBU had started criminal proceedings against the pro-Russian association "People's front Sevastopol-Crimea-Russia" in January 2009.[31]

 -On the 55th anniversary of the transfer of Crimea transfer of the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR (on 19 February 2009) some 300 to 500 people took part in rallies to protest against the transfer.[32][33]

 -On 24 August 2009, anti-Ukrainian demonstrations were held in Crimea by ethnic Russian residents. Sergei Tsekov (of the Russian Bloc[34] and then deputy speaker of the Crimean parliament[35]) said then that he hoped that Russia would treat the Crimea the same way as it had treated South Ossetia and Abkhazia.[36]

 -Chaos in the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian parliament) during a debate over the extension of the lease on a Russian naval base erupted on 27 April 2010 after Ukraine’s parliament ratified the treaty that extends Russia’s lease on a military wharf and shore installations in the Crimean port Sevastopol until 2042. The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Volodymyr Lytvyn had to be shielded by umbrellas as he was pelted with eggs, while smoke bombs exploded and politicians brawled.[37][38] Along with the Verkhovna Rada the treaty was ratified by the Russian State Duma as well.[39]

[JayH]

If you want to remove Putin from Crimea, you have to go to war with him.  Are you prepared to do that or advocate for it? 

What is certain is that any hope of dislodging him is that you would have to be prepared to remove the Russians(military) by force. As it stands now-- Ukraine is in urgent need of the type of support to enable the next step-- and now that is purely to secure the borders that are left.
The easiest way to assist Ukraine today is to give it the means to do that. If that was achieved - the deterrent to Putin to attempt further invasion is strong-- Putin would not risk losing.
That becomes the key to removing him from the Crimea -- you would need to be in the position to stand over him-- make it clear that he was leaving-one way or another.In addition-- I would place sanctions and seizures all around the world on Russian owned assets--put visa restrictions on Russians -- apply real world pressure in every way possible-- not wishy washy boycotts like we have seen previously. Getting pressure on Putin from inside his world is likely to be more effective than anything else--it is worth a try.If it does not work-- it will have created a nice $ bank to help Ukraine!!
To remove him needs total commitment-- put deadlines -short deadlines on demands--then act.
Would I go to war? Put all the above in place-- be prepared to back up the demands -- so yes is the answer.  If this is allowed to stand and Putin gets away with this-- a step in his mission to recreate the Soviet Union as the Russian Union--it will be the the first of a series of invasions of former Soviet states. Stop him now.

[JayH]

Russian media keeps pushing the nazi  scare card--

Putin plays Nazi card to marginalize Ukraine’s revolution
By Jamie DettmerPublished March 04, 2014FoxNews.com

In the propaganda war raging over Ukraine’s revolution, Russia is playing up claims of neo-Nazi involvement in the protests that toppled Viktor Yanukovych, alleging the far right is on the rise in the former Soviet republic and was crucial in the Ukrainian president’s downfall.

The allegations have stirred up memories of the ugly complicity of some Ukrainians’ with German pogroms of Jews in World War II in which hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian Jews died. Russian propagandists -- including President Vladimir Putin -- point to roles of the ultra-nationalist political party Svoboda and neo-Nazi faction the Right Sector in the revolution as evidence.

"We've seen lots of people, you know, with those signs -- armbands with swastikas," Putin said Tuesday. "There could be some unknown personality who could grab the power who could have serious consequences."


"We've seen lots of people, you know, with those signs -- armbands with swastikas. There could be some unknown personality who could grab the power who could have serious consequences."
- Russian President Vladimir Putin

Four ministries in the interim government, including the defense ministry, are now being run by Svoboda members. The Kremlin-controlled television channel Russia Today has been at the forefront of the broadcasting of the allegations, headlining one report, “West sides with neo-Nazis.”

And the Russian Foreign Ministry, in its defense of Russia’s incursion into Ukraine’s Crimea, has accused Washington and European allies of turning a blind eye to the participation of Russophobes and anti-Semites in the protests in Kiev’s Independence Square that led to Yanukovych’s ouster.

“The U.S.A. and its allies have closed their eyes to the excesses of the radical fighters on Maidan, the bullying of political opponents and ordinary citizens, as well as anti-Semitism and militant Russophobia,” the ministry said in a statement.

Independent analysts and observers acknowledge that neo-Nazis and Svoboda members were among some of the most organized elements that fought off Yanukovych’s riot police in Kiev’s Independence Square. But they say the ideological makeup of Ukraine’s interim government and of the protesters camped still in Independence Square, known as the Maidan, is complex.

To define the revolution by its more fringe elements is to misunderstand, they say, how the downfall of Yanukovych came about because of widespread anger at the cronyism and corruption that marked his rule and his refusal to draw Ukraine closer to Europe and away from Russia.

“By and large this was a revolution for democracy,” said Brian Bonner, the chief editor of the English-language newspaper Kiev Post. “Of course there are some extremists here who react strongly about Russia, which is understandable after centuries of what Ukraine has endured under Russian domination and repression. And you see that in some ultra-nationalist groups.”

He adds: “But this was a revolution to throw off Russia and to join if not the European Union, at least the European family of democratic nations.”

Ukraine’s Jewish leaders also warn against exaggerating the role of neo-Nazis in the overthrow of Yanukovych and the turning away from Russia.

They worry that a flurry of recent attacks on synagogues and the scrawling of swastikas on them is not the work of Ukrainian far right groups, but vandalism carried out by Russian provocateurs, and purposely done to provide grist to the Russian propaganda mill and to discredit Ukraine.

A Jewish leader in Simferopol, Rabbi Michael Kapustin, issued a statement last week saying:  “The city is occupied by Russians. Apparently Russians intend to take over the Crimea and make it a part of Russia. If this were the case I would leave the country since I want to live in democratic Ukraine.”

The rabbi of a synagogue in Crimea that was attacked just hours before Russian troops started their land-grab has urged Jews to show solidarity with Ukraine. And Rabbi Jacob Dov Bleich, president of the Jewish Federation of Ukraine, backed other Ukrainian religious leaders in calling on Russia not to act aggressively against Ukraine.

The appeal fell on deaf ears. Putin highlighted the involvement of “fascist hooligans” in the Ukraine revolution before asking the Duma, the Russian parliament, for approval to deploy Russian soldiers on Ukrainian soil. Duma members took up the cue, with several condemning Ukrainian fascists.

Not that liberals and Ukraine’s Jews are not concerned with the presence of the Right Sector and the role other ultra-nationalists are playing. Jewish legislators like Aleksandr Feldman have called on Maidan protesters to shun anti-Semites. But he insists the neo-Nazis and ultra-nationalists are a minority among those who helped oust Yanukovych.

Some analysts worry that further Russia-driven turmoil will boost the far right, but for now they say there is a danger on that role being exaggerated, pointing out that several prominent opposition politicians, including one of the front-runners to become president in elections slated for May, are Jewish.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/03/04/putin-plays-nazi-card-to-marginalize-ukraines-revolution/

[/img]

[JayH]

Less than a quarter of residents of Luhansk want unification with Russia
March 5, 2014 9:35 Views: 155 Comments: 0 Print
Less than a quarter of residents of Luhansk want unification with Russia
24 percent of residents would like to Lugansk region association with the Russian Federation. These are the results of research conducted by the Fund "Democratic Initiatives" and the Kiev International Institute of Sociology. survey showed that only 12 percent of Ukrainians want unification of Ukraine with Russia. Supporters of this idea, as you might expect, in the Crimea - 41 percent. Followed Donetsk region - 33 percent. In the Odessa area, as well as in the Luhansk - 24 per cent of supporters of the "Russian idea". In Zaporozhye and Kharkov regions - 17 percent and 15 percent respectively. This case study was conducted from 8 to 18 February this year. Were interviewed 2,000 people. Tolerance studies - not more than two percent.
http://ukr-online.com/society/2716-menshe-chetverti-zhiteley-luganschiny-hotyat-obedineniya-s-rossiey.html

[JayH]

Russia has begun preparations for retaliatory sanctions against the EU and the U.S.

 
According to a Russian senator, his proposed measures "clearly correspond to the European standards."
.
In Russia, a bill called the response to sanctions by the U.S. and EU. / Gazeta.ru
Federation Council initiated the preparation of the bill, according to which the Russian authorities will confiscate the property, assets and accounts of American and European companies, including private. This RIA Novosti reported with reference to one of the authors of the bill, Senator Andrew Klishas. forfeiture right receive the president and government. According to the senator, his proposed measures "clearly correspond to the European standards." Klishas explained that his law will help "protect our sovereignty from attack." His bill senator called a response to sanctions by the U.S. and the EU, which they promised to take in the case of Russian troops in Ukraine.




Note, Washington has not made ​​a decision concerning restrictive measures against Russia in connection with the situation in Ukraine. This was reported on Wednesday, March 5, U.S. State Department representative Jennifer Psak. "We are considering a range of options (sanctions - Ed.) for the case if Russia continues to move in the same direction. course, we have not yet made ​​a decision on this issue" - she said at a briefing in Washington.


Earlier, the U.S. announced the suspension of military-technical cooperation with Russia. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry noted that sanctions against Russia will be introduced very soon .

The change of government took place in Ukraine in late February. The Verkhovna Rada of ousted President Viktor Yanukovych from power, changed the constitution, the duties entrusted to the President and the Speaker Oleksandr Turchynov appointed presidential elections on May 25.

Crimea refused to recognize the legitimacy of the authorities in Kiev. February 27, the parliament dissolved the local government and  appointed Prime Minister of the pro-Russian politician Sergei Aksenov, who ordered a referendum in the Crimea on the status of the Republic and also  appealed to Russia for help  in securing peace in the region.

March 1 Federation Council  authorized the  President Vladimir Putin used on the territory of Ukraine for the protection of troops living on the peninsula Russian citizens. March 4, Putin said that  the need to enter the Ukraine troops yet .

http://news.bigmir.net/world/798382-Rossija-nachala-podgotovku-k-otvetnym-sankcijam-v-otnoshenii-ES-i-SShA

[JayH]

U.S. sent an aircraft carrier to the Black Sea George HW Bush and three submarines - media
Of Korrespondent.net, Yesterday, 11:44
370 242 21 371404 115658
U.S. sent an aircraft carrier to the Black Sea George HW Bush and three submarines - media
Photo: AP
USS accompany seventeen other ships and three submarines
The U.S. has sent towards the Black Sea aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush's invasion of the Russian army in the Crimea.
"In response to the Russian invasion of the U.S. sent the aircraft carrier strike group in the direction of the Black Sea, to be able to react to developments on the Crimean peninsula in Ukraine", - said the site Turner Radio Network RSS Feed .
USS accompany seventeen other ships and three submarines, which were held March 3 through the Aegean Sea.
It is also alleged that the carrier on board carries 90 aircraft, including helicopters of various types, and a few F-22 fighters Raptor.
Each submarine has twenty four missile silos to launch nuclear warheads.
U.S. sees no reason for the introduction of Russian troops in Ukraine.
U.S. decided to stop military cooperation with Russia because of aggression against Ukraine.
Russian military since the end of February every day to attempt to seize the military units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Crimea.
March 3 Russia explained its presence in Crimea that the Verkhovna Rada dismissed from performing the functions of President Viktor Yanukovych called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to use Russian troops on the territory of Ukraine to stabilize the situation in the country.

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http://korrespondent.net/world/3314540-ssha-napravyly-v-chernoe-more-avyanosets-George-HW-Bush-y-try-submaryny-smy

[JayH]

http://ukr-online.com/society/2720-na-granice-ukrainskie-siloviki-nachali-otlavlivat-rossiyskih-titushek.html

 
Ukrainian troops on the border began to catch "Russian titushek"
March 5, 2014 11:00

State Border Guard Service of Ukraine together with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Security Service began active operations on the eastern border to prevent the entry into Ukraine from Russia individuals who can participate in the activities of an extremist nature in the country. said First Deputy Chairman of the State Border Service of Ukraine Pavlo Shisholin at the briefing. "In order to protect the public interest in Ukraine today we started active operations on the eastern border, the organization of work to prevent the entry into Ukraine extremist radical citizens from the territory of the Russian Federation", - stressed Shisholin. According to him, in the south increased control border regime at the junction of the administrative boundaries of Zaporozhye and Kherson regions and Crimea. Shilolin noted that in order to prevent entry into Ukraine from Russia organized groups of individuals who may be involved in extremist activities on the territory of Ukraine, the transport of weapons, ammunition, explosives substances on the eastern section of the border, launched operation "Border" with the participation of the Interior Ministry and SBU. He added that the State Border Service reserves, training centers, mobile units additionally exposed frontier clothes and used machinery. Shisholin also noted that today the state border is under control. Earlier Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said on Ukraine's border with Russia will be strengthened control.

[JayH]

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/04/opinion/pifer-ukraine-budapest-memorandum/


Steven Pifer: In Ukraine occupation, Russia reneging on 1994 deal to leave it alone
Budapest Memorandum let Ukraine shed nukes in exchange for its sovereignty, he says
U.S., Russia, UK, Ukraine signed. Russia now reneging. West must penalize it, he says
Pifer: Failure to support Ukraine could delegitimize future nuke deals, like with Iran
 note: Steven Pifer, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, is a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and helped negotiate the Budapest Memorandum.
(CNN) -- Russia's military occupation of Ukrainian territory on the Crimean peninsula constitutes a blatant violation of the commitments that Moscow undertook in the 1994 Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances for Ukraine. The United States and United Kingdom, the other two signatories, now have an obligation to support Ukraine and penalize Russia.
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Ukraine found itself holding the world's third largest nuclear arsenal, including some 1,900 strategic nuclear warheads that had been designed to attack the United States. Working in a trilateral dialogue with Ukrainian and Russian negotiators, American diplomats helped to broker a deal —the January 1994 Trilateral Statement — under which Ukraine agreed to transfer all of the strategic nuclear warheads to Russia for elimination and to dismantle all of the strategic delivery systems on its territory.

Kiev did this on the condition that it receive security guarantees or assurances. The Budapest Memorandum, signed on December 5, 1994, by the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom (the latter three being the depositary states of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, that is, the states that receive the accession documents of other countries that join the treaty) ) laid out a set of assurances for Ukraine. These included commitments to respect Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and existing borders; to refrain from the threat or use of force against Ukraine's territorial integrity and independence; and to refrain from economic coercion against Ukraine.
Rubio, Cotton: Congress must act quickly to punish Putin
The memorandum bundled together a set of assurances that Ukraine already held from the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) Final Act, United Nations Charter and Non-Proliferation Treaty. The Ukrainian government nevertheless found it politically valuable to have these assurances in a Ukraine-specific document.
Words matter, and a big question at the time arose over whether to use the term "guarantees" or "assurances" in the memorandum. The United States provides guarantees to allies, such as NATO member states; the term implies a military commitment. In the early 1990s, neither the George H. W. Bush administration nor the Clinton administration was prepared to extend a military commitment to Ukraine— and both felt that, even if they wanted to, the Senate would not produce the needed two-thirds vote for consent to ratification of such a treaty.
The Budapest Memorandum thus was negotiated as a political agreement. It refers to assurances, not defined, but less than a military guarantee. U.S. negotiators —myself among them — discussed this point in detail with Ukrainian counterparts so that there would be no misunderstanding.
 Squeezing Russia economically Russian TV personality supports Putin Albright: Putin is delusional
What is taking place today in Crimea can only be described as a Russian military occupation. The Russian Black Sea Fleet and its associated units have had bases in Crimea since 1991, by agreement with Ukraine. But the agreement does not allow for the Russian military, which has poured thousands of additional troops onto the peninsula over the past several days, to take control of Crimea.
Opinion: Putin's Ukranian endgame
These Russian actions are in blatant violation of the Budapest Memorandum, as well as Russia's commitments under the CSCE Final Act and a 1997 bilateral Ukraine-Russia treaty. As signatories, the United States and United Kingdom have an obligation to respond, even if they are not obligated to respond with military force.
Washington and London should act in two ways. First, they should work with other European Union member states to support Ukraine. That means political engagement, such as Secretary of State John Kerry's visit today to Kiev. They should also assemble a financial package with the International Monetary Fund to extend credits to Ukraine. That can give the country some breathing room as it undertakes critical reforms to put its economic house in order.
Second, Washington and London should work with the European Union and others to impose political, diplomatic and economic sanctions on Moscow unless and until Russia ceases its violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. This has begun. On Sunday, the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and Japan announced they were suspending preparations to take part in the G8 summit to be hosted in June in Sochi by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Other steps have been taken, and still others are being planned.
The West should aim to impose significant costs on Russia that will lead Putin to rethink his actions. That likely will prove difficult, but there can be no business as usual with Moscow.
Opinion: How Putin carries out power grab
A strong response is important for settling Ukraine's current crisis. It also matters for the cause of nuclear nonproliferation. Security assurances were key to bringing Kiev to agree to get rid of its nuclear arms. If Washington and London do not stand by the Budapest Memorandum now, it would discredit the idea of such assurances. That would be unfortunate, as security assurances could play a role in defusing nuclear proliferation cases, such as Iran.

[Hammer2722]

The submarines described in this article are the Ohio class SSBN. The US would never send an SSBN into the Agean or Black Sea as it is unnecessary.

[lordtiberius]

Every Ukrainian should have a pistol, a rifle, an RPG, a helmet, a flak jacket and the same color track suit.  Turn Ukraine into 45m strong Chechenya.

[lordtiberius]

There is more antisemitism on this board than there is in Ukraine.  Uman hosts Jews every year and yet we have heard no reports of attacks on Jewry except for philippics against Oligarch Victor Pinchuk.  Nice try Putin stooges.

[dogspot]

This guy understands the situation better than most...and makes the most sense.

http://www.aei.org/article/foreign-and-defense-policy/regional/europe/how-to-understand-putins-ukraine-strategy/

How to understand Putin's Ukraine strategy

To understand what motivates Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Ukrainian crisis and how he will proceed, we have to recall two key things about his strategy and his tactics.

First, Russian foreign policy — whether under Brezhnev, Yeltsin, Putin or anyone after him — is informed by three imperatives: Russia as a nuclear superpower, Russia as the world’s great power, and Russia as the central power in the post-Soviet geopolitical space. And a power that is political, economic, cultural, diplomatic and most certainly military.

What differs from one Russian political regime to another is interpretation and implementation, that is, the policies that support these objectives.  Putin’s have been far more assertive and at times riskier than those of his predecessors. The nuclear “superpowership” has been translated into a vehement opposition to missile defense in Europe.  Russia as a great power has been defined largely in opposition to the U.S. and the West in general. And the centrality of Russia in the post-Soviet space has been reinterpreted as dominance and hegemony.

Ukraine’s European breakout — caused by Putin’s first major political blunder in openly and heavy handedly betting on ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, and thus escalating the issue from corruption and thievery to Ukraine’s sovereignty — is hugely important to Putin’s Russia. Why? Because it has dealt a very heavy, perhaps fatal, blow to not one but two elements of the Russian geostrategic triad as defined by Putin: to the "great power" pillar (the West has won in the Ukraine!), and to Russia's hegemony in the post-Soviet space.

From Moscow’s point of view, the double whammy must be mitigated — or better yet reversed — before the consequences become irrevocable and the geopolitical map of Eurasia permanently redrawn.  As a result, for as long as the eye can see, containment, destabilization and, if possible, derailment of the Europe-bound Ukraine will be by far the most important objective of Russian foreign (as well domestic) policy.

As to the tactics, in his effectively 14 years in power, Putin has been very lucky both in his domestic and foreign endeavors, in part because of objective factors (when he took over as acting president in 1999, a barrel of crude averaged around $17 a barrel) and in large measure because his opponents, at home and abroad, were politically or economically handicapped.

As a result, Putin has trusted his luck and his smarts while counting on his opponents' weaknesses. This means he has operated in accordance with Napoleon’s principle: On s’engage and puis on voit, which I would translate as “First get into a fight, and then decide what to do."

And that is how he has proceeded thus far,  gradually escalating the pressure on Ukraine, seeing what works and what does not, pausing and looking over his shoulder at the response from the West, primarily the U.S.  From the expression of concern for the safety of ethnic Russians in Ukraine (which proved ineffective), to the questioning of the legitimacy of the Ukrainian government, to the introduction of forces in the Crimea, to his “request” to the Federation Council of the Russian parliament for the “use” of troops in Ukraine. In accordance with his tactical habits, Putin will likely stop now and assess the reaction.  A full-scale invasion and occupation of Crimea is therefore likely to be next — unless the response from the “West” proves effective.

What will that response be? We know (and so surely does Putin) that the U.S. is not going to go to war over Ukraine.  Yet even with the military option off the table, the U.S. still has quite a few diplomatic and economic tools at its disposal, to be deployed publicly and, most crucially, privately.

The U.S. and its allies also must keep in mind that most, if not all, of these measures are aimed not only at Putin but at the elites around him and at the Russian public at large. Dominant though he is, Putin is not Stalin or Brezhnev. Russia is not the Soviet Union, the Iron Curtain is gone — the internet exists and public opinion matters.

The West’s steps are not difficult to divine. To begin, in the public domain, separate statements and phone calls to Putin by U.S. allies would be replaced by a joint statement from the heads of state of NATO and EU countries warning about the “consequences” of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. Such a statement should stress that Russia risks isolating itself from the world — economically, politically, culturally — with disastrous results for the people of the Russian Federation.

These “consequences” may have been spelled out in President Obama’s private call to Putin (with an understanding that what is private today may become public tomorrow). Ideally, the conversation would have been one in which the American president was speaking not only for the U.S., but also for NATO and the EU. The president is likely to have pointed out that the risks would involve Russia's membership in the G8, the safety of financial and other assets of the Russian elite which are located outside of Russia, as well as the ability of the members of this elite and their families to visit, live or study in the U.S. and the EU. In addition, Moscow's behavior could trigger new export controls, which given its dependence on Western technology, particularly in the oil and gas sector as well as in the food industry, could have a very negative impact on the Russian economy.​

Alongside these measures, the U.S. and its allies might also provide — publicly and in private — a few face-saving devices for Russia, such as guarantees that the Russian-speaking Ukrainians will be free from harassment or discrimination of any kind; an introduction of U.N. peacemaking forces in Crimea to protect the political rights of all  Crimeans, and the reaffirmation of the pre-existing “special status” of Crimea within Ukraine, as well as the continuation of the pre-existing Russian sovereignty of the leased naval base in Sevastopol.

Given the size of the hole that the Ukrainian revolution has torn in the fabric of Russia’s geopolitics, these measures may not stop Russia from attempting to reverse the crisis. But they will certainly convey the increasing costs of the course in which the Kremlin seems to be embarking, and possibly provide a way out without losing face.

[Hammer2722]

Anybody still think these pro-Russian protesters are the majority and not paid shill like this lady?

[Gylden]

U.S. sent an aircraft carrier to the Black Sea George HW Bush and three submarines - media
Of Korrespondent.net, Yesterday, 11:44
370 242 21 371404 115658
U.S. sent an aircraft carrier to the Black Sea George HW Bush and three submarines - media
Photo: AP
USS accompany seventeen other ships and three submarines
The U.S. has sent towards the Black Sea aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush's invasion of the Russian army in the Crimea.
"In response to the Russian invasion of the U.S. sent the aircraft carrier strike group in the direction of the Black Sea, to be able to react to developments on the Crimean peninsula in Ukraine", - said the site Turner Radio Network RSS Feed .
USS accompany seventeen other ships and three submarines, which were held March 3 through the Aegean Sea.
It is also alleged that the carrier on board carries 90 aircraft, including helicopters of various types, and a few F-22 fighters Raptor.
Each submarine has twenty four missile silos to launch nuclear warheads.
U.S. sees no reason for the introduction of Russian troops in Ukraine.
U.S. decided to stop military cooperation with Russia because of aggression against Ukraine.
Russian military since the end of February every day to attempt to seize the military units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Crimea.
March 3 Russia explained its presence in Crimea that the Verkhovna Rada dismissed from performing the functions of President Viktor Yanukovych called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to use Russian troops on the territory of Ukraine to stabilize the situation in the country.

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http://korrespondent.net/world/3314540-ssha-napravyly-v-chernoe-more-avyanosets-George-HW-Bush-y-try-submaryny-smy

This article is an example of internet trash. It is not true.
The George HW Bush is in Athens.

[Muzh]

Dear one,

I think you meant 'anonymous'.  But your command of English is so good that we are happy to help on occasion.

Or was that a 'funny' because someone made a mistake earlier?  If so, just hit me over the head.

LMAO
 
Dear one?
 
Must have been the rack that got in your eyes. 

[Muzh]

CIA Director is a political appointment position, not a career operational position. In other words, George H. W. Bush was not an operational spy and assassin, as Putin was.

Yep and unicorns fly.

[lordtiberius]

Russia is not a superpower and all options are on the table.

[LiveFromUkraine]

Yes, ignorance...my friend spends much time on internet with not much problems, it does go out now and then but he tells me that can be normal. We have never had any interference yet....so maybe I am lucky then...

You should have your friend read this thread.  He is obviously uninformed and needs to see reality from people who are not there.

[dogspot]

Russia is not a superpower and all options are on the table.

Brilliant! 

[jone]

LMAO
 
Dear one?
 
Must have been the rack that got in your eyes. 

I was simply trying to be gracious.  But I do see the humor.

[tfcrew]

Port of Istanbul is as far as it can go anyway.

[jone]

REUTERS

(Repeats no change to text)

By Lina Kushch and Alessandra Prentice

DONETSK/KHARKIV, Ukraine, March 4 (Reuters) - More than 1,000 demonstrators with Ukrainian flags took to the streets of the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk on Tuesday, for the first time outnumbering pro-Moscow youths who have seized its government building, which flies the Russian flag.

President Vladimir Putin's declaration on Saturday that Russia had the right to invade Ukraine was accompanied by pro-Russian demonstrations across Ukraine's mainly Russian-speaking south and east.

But in the four days since, the tide of opinion in eastern cities appears to be turning back towards Kiev.

Bearing placards with slogans such as: "I am Russian. I don't need protection," the protesters marched near the occupied regional government building, staying far enough away to avoid clashing with the pro-Russian youths still inside.

"My parents are from Russia. I was born in Ukraine, but I am Russian. My children and grandchildren were born here. We are for Ukraine," said Natalia Sytnik, who turned out to protest against the prospect of a Russian invasion.

"We did not ask for help. I don't want him, Putin, to bring tanks here. I don't want them to shoot at my kids. Let him hear us: 'Do not defend me from anyone. No one is attacking me'."

The government building's lower floors were seized on Monday by followers of Pavel Gubarev, owner of a Donetsk advertising business, who has declared himself "the people's governor", demanded the region's ties with Kiev be severed and all control over regional security forces be placed in his hands.

His followers chant "come, Putin!" and wave Russian flags. On Monday they barricaded lawmakers into the building and demanded they pass a bill calling for a referendum on regional autonomy. The lawmakers passed a bill calling for a "referendum", but to the chagrin of the pro-Moscow protesters it made no mention of what question would be asked or when.

Kiev says the protests - which erupted simultaneously in Kharkiv, Odessa, Dnipropetrovsk and several other cities hours before Russia's parliament voted to grant Putin authority for armed force - were organised by Moscow as a pretext to invade. It says most of the pro-Russian demonstrators were Russians brought across the border in busloads.

It is certainly clear that many of Gubarev's followers are not from Donetsk, where locals speak Russian with an easily recognisable accent. One, who said he was a miner from a nearby village, was unable to name either the village or a single mine in a region known across the ex-Soviet Union for its coal.

Nevertheless, the pro-Moscow demonstrations have also attracted many local sympathisers in a region with longstanding grievances towards Kiev, where there was genuine alarm at the uprising that toppled native son Yanukovich.

"I support these (pro-Russian) meetings, because I want the city to resolve its difficult questions by itself, independently of the central authorities," said Olga, a law student.

"Of course the fact that here the doors (of the government building) have been torn open is not very nice, but in general the demonstrations here are less violent than in Kiev, where there are weapons and Molotov cocktails and so forth."

But there are increasing signs that the tactics used by the pro-Moscow protesters and the prospect of a full-scale armed invasion have pushed many in the east to stick with Kiev.


CHAINS AND AXE HANDLES

In Kharkiv, another eastern city, Saturday's protest turned violent, with scores of people injured when pro-Russian demonstrators armed with chains and axe handles stormed the regional parliament building and trashed it, savagely beating the heavily outnumbered civilians who turned out to defend it.

The incident seems to have backfired, however, causing a backlash and alarming the public. The demonstrators lost more credibility after a social media page was discovered showing that the young man who put a Russian flag atop the regional parliament building had described himself as a Muscovite.

Since then the city has been quiet and the Ukrainian flag is back. On Tuesday around 200 policemen in full riot gear stood four-deep along the front of the building, with a further 20 helmeted officers barricading the entrance with metal shields.

"Where were they on Saturday when we needed them?" said Lyudmila Shevchenko, a teacher standing in a small group of people wearing ribbons in yellow and blue Ukrainian colours. "We're still scared to be here, but we need to show our support for Ukraine. We don't need Europe, Russia or any talk of a split. Putin should mind his own business."

Across the street from the police blockade, a pro-Russian crowd had dwindled to about 100 people. Most wore orange and black ribbons, a sign of their loyalty to Russia, while one waved a handmade sign with the writing "Russia, help us!".

Flyers being handed round advertised a large protest against Kiev's "fascist regime" scheduled for Wednesday.

"Far-right groups from the west have been coming here to cause trouble. We don't want them or any of the nationalists in Kiev telling us what to do," 21-year-old Sasha said through a face mask. "We're here today, we'll be here tomorrow - we're not going anywhere. It could get ugly again."


OLIGARCHS ON BOARD

The authorities in Kiev have made one important bet that could prove decisive in the east: naming some of the country's richest men as governors of their home regions.

Ukraine's oligarchs, who once mainly backed Yanukovich, have lined up behind the new authorities in Kiev. Most have their own roots in the east, where Ukraine's mineral resources and factories are mainly located.

In Donetsk, the newly appointed governor is Sergei Taruta, a metals baron with tens of thousands of employees in the east.

By Tuesday he had yet to make his first appearance since being awarded the job two days before. In an interview, he said the pro-Russian demonstrations were organised by Moscow, lacked genuine broad support and would soon fizzle out.

"I am absolutely convinced that the southeast, in its majority, stands for the position of a united Ukraine. Law and order will be restored," he told the weekly Zerkalo Nedeli newspaper in Kiev. "The plotters will not succeed in achieving their desired effect."

In Dnipropetrovsk, another eastern city that has seen unrest, Kiev is counting on the clout of an even wealthier oligarch. The new governor is billionaire industrialist Ihor Kolomoyskiy, Ukraine's third richest man.

Shevchenko, the Kharkiv schoolteacher, compared Ukraine since Yanukovich was deposed to a young child who would soon grow out of its unruly behaviour.

"Of course it's weak and doesn't always make the right decisions, but it will grow and flourish in time." (Writing and additional reporting by Peter Graff in Kiev; Editing by Will Waterman)

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I believe that this story is the key to the entire environment in Ukraine.  Even should Crimea vote for independence, which I do not see as a foregone conclusion (yet) Russia is failing to win over the key bastions of Eastern Ukraine.

As the propaganda war wages on, people are becoming more and more suspicious of young men marching around with Nazi armbands and of rebellious groups who do not speak with the local dialect of the Russian language.

What do you think?