Posted on 02/26/2014 5:52:42 AM PST by kristinn
President Vladimir Putin put Russian combat troops on high alert for a drill on Wednesday, the Kremlin's most powerful gesture yet after days of sabre rattling since its ally Viktor Yanukovich was toppled as president of Ukraine.
Thousands of ethnic Russians, who form the majority in Ukraine's Crimea region, demonstrated for independence for the peninsula that hosts part of Moscow's Black Sea Fleet. They scuffled with rival demonstrators, mainly from the Tatar minority, who support the new authorities in Kiev.
With the political turmoil hammering Ukraine's economy, the hryvnia currency tumbled 4 percent on Wednesday, with ripples spreading to Russia where the rouble fell to five-year lows and bank shares took a hit.
Ukraine's central bank, which has been rapidly burning its hard currency reserves to protect the hryvnia, said it has abandoned a managed exchange rate policy in favor of a flexible currency, a senior official told CNBC TV
Moscow also denounced what it described as the rise of "nationalist and neo-fascist sentiment" in the country's mainly Ukrainian-speaking western areas, where it said Russian speakers were being deprived of rights. It has repeatedly expressed concern for the safety of Russian citizens in Ukraine.
"In accordance with an order from the president of the Russian Federation, forces of the Western Military District were put on alert at 1400 (0500 ET) today," Interfax news agency quoted Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu as saying.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Important map...thanks for posting it Travis...
Neither Europe nor Putin will let Ukraine slide to far into the abbess of war.....both are dependent on stability there for the oil to flow.
IMO Europe will support Putins military moves to keep the Islamist mobsters from infilitrating, which they’re already on the move. Nobody wants a second Syria.
If the USA had ports on the Black Sea they’d also be moving forces to protect it no matter what political speak to do so.
Who is pushing for freedom anymore?? Certainly not the US, UK or EU! Last I checked it was *Putin* trying to protect Christian morals & protect children from the evil gay agenda. Please name for me another such country attempting this?
Yeah...and so what? Bush 41 was head of CIA & Skull & Bones member @ Yale, supposedly a demonic organization. Do you hear Bush trying to protect Christian morals & being anti-gay. I think not. You think the CIA are a bunch a choir boys? I’m quite sure the KGB & CIA used similar tactics to further their agenda, much of it evil. Especially now, with a Muzzie-Commie, gay, anti-Christian in office. Let’s get real.
Here is a video of Aleksandr Muzychko (aka Sashko Bilyi) at a recent regional council meeting where he brandishes an AK-47,brags about killing Russians in Chechnya, demands financial reparations for the families of recently killed protesters, and dares anyone to take his knives and machine gun.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtxbGjkpkF8#t=305
While not exactly a "Nazi" he is representative of the genre.
There was an economist very early in the 20th century who wrote a book demonstrating clearly that due to the interconnectedness of the European economies there could never again be a major war in Europe ... it would cost them all too dearly, and they would do whatever was necessary to avoid it.
You are wasting your time, trying to reason with Putin’s fifth column here. You can always recognize them by the same talking points: Putin, Russia good, everything West - bad. They will not respond to reason, just keep repeating the talking points.
Or Clueless..uh..uh..Clue! Yeah, that's it! Clue!
Couple of points.
Crimea was annexed from the Turks in 18th century, and since that time was a part of Russia, not a part of Ukraine. However, in 1954 Khruschev gave Crimea to Ukraine Soviet Socialist Republic as a gift commemorating the union of the two peoples.
Russian Federation is a legal successor to the USSR and so has to honor the international treaties of that time. So legally, Crimea is a part of Ukraine, but culturally it is isn’t. Crimea is populated mostly by ethnic Russians, some Crimean Tartars and some Ukrainians.
Crimea is arid and has no water, except on the coastline. All the water is pumped into Crimea from Ukraine, through the narrow isthmus. So the physical existence of Crimea as an attractive piece of real estate is predicated on Ukrainian goodwill.
Western Ukraine was annexed into the USSR by Stalin. A nationalist movement, initially allied with Nazi Germany, and after its defeat, without international support, fought the Soviet occupation as a guerrilla force. Since they were, at one point, allied with the Nazis, the anti-Ukrainian propaganda calls them “Nazis” to this day. They are certainly feisty like any armed rebels would be. It is the final crushing of the UPA/Bandera movement in 1954 that occasioned the gift of Crimea.
There is another treaty that binds Russia. When the Soviet Union was breaking up, the newly independent Ukraine agreed to turn over its nuclear weapons to Russia. Ukraine also agreed that the Russian Federation Navy be permanently stationed in Sebastopol. In return, the Russian Federation guaranteed territorial integrity of Ukraine in its 1991 borders, that is, with Crimea intact in Ukraine.
So the only way to remake the map of Ukraine peacefully would be through some kind of plebiscite in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine, that would be recognized as binding by both rump Ukraine and EU. Putin is a coward, and the diplomatic battle for him is steeply uphill. I think he will rattle the saber a little bit his side of the border in hopes that the Eastern Ukrainians start a civil war. He will not however, invade across the border because the diplomatic crisis will be formidable with no upside for him.
Very true
After I went to the CIA World factbook.
World factbook information about religion in the Ukraine: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/up.html
Religions:
Ukrainian Orthodox - Kyiv Patriarchate 50.4%,
Ukrainian Orthodox - Moscow Patriarchate 26.1%,
Ukrainian Greek Catholic 8%,
Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox 7.2%,
Roman Catholic 2.2%,
Protestant 2.2%,
Jewish 0.6%,
other 3.2% (2006 est.)
Maybe he meant by "putin was and is never former kgb," that he is still active in the KGB, not "former."
Skull and Bones was only a big deal when the left was trying to pin it on Bush, notice that they ignored it when John Kerry ran?
It isn’t a “demonic organization”, it is a college organization.
Putin should do what he needs to do to protect his nation’s borders from vandals and the anarchy they have caused.
Hope your scenario proves right.
Stick to the issue.
You asked if Putin had the “right” to invade Ukraine to “protect” Russian citizens there.
I answered you that he did not.
What he does in HIS own country to protect HIS people from liberal bullsh*t is his business. And I have NO problem with him “protecting Christian morals...” etc., if that is in fact what he is doing. He’s also a “former” KGB intelligence operative with a LIFETIME of communist indoctrination behind him, and is very skilled at manipulating a media that is already too stupid to be able to sense truth from bullsh*t.
Ukraine is an independent sovereign nation, and what THEY do is their business. They threw out a corrupt man and his corrupt administration, as every Free People have a right and duty to do.
It’s pretty simple. I answered your question.
Have a great day.
I’m especially liking the guy that keeps posting - over multiple threads - that the Ukrainian protestors are “Neo-Nazis”.
Sometimes, he drops the “neo”...
Nice try... a little disinformatziya...
Putin’s getting the band back together.
Prayers you did not misunderstand me ... I agree kgb putin is kgb! This happens so often when I try to communicate. It is me that makes errors. My apology.
Ukraine/Putin ping.
Thank You ... you interpreted me correctly. My Thanks!
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