Posts
Warning
shots end OSCE Crimea entry bid
Observer
mission turn back from their third attempt to enter Ukrainian
peninsula after armed men fire warning shots
8 March, 2013
An
unarmed observer mission of the Organisation for Security and
Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has been forced to turn back from
crossing into Ukraine's Crimea region after gunmen fired warning
shots, the European security body said.
Nobody
from the mission was hurt in the third straight day that the civilian
and military OSCE observers had been turned back from their attempts
to cross the narrow isthmus connecting the Black Sea peninsula to the
rest of Ukraine.
Sources
told Al Jazeera that two sets of warning shots were fired.
An
OSCE spokeswoman said in an e-mailed statement that the mission was
withdrawing to Kherson, the nearest big city, to decide on its next
steps, Reuters news agency reported.
Russian
forces seized control of the region last week and President Vladimir
Putin declared that Moscow has the right to take military action in
Crimea to protect the Russians and Russian-speaking population there.
The
OSCE mission has been invited by Ukraine's government, but the
pro-Russian Crimean authorities, who voted
to join Russia on Thursday,
say they have not given it permission to enter the region.
Meanwhile,
a large unmarked military convoy made its way towards the
Crimean regional capital of Simferopol, Associated Press news agency
reported.
At
least 60 military vehicles bearing no licence plate numbers were seen
on the road from Feodosia, in eastern Crimea, to Simferopol, the
agency said, adding that the convoy carried heavily armed soldiers
who appeared to have no identifying badges or insignia.
In
another development on Saturday, the Russian foreign ministry has
announced that Grigory Karasin, Ukraine's envoy to Moscow, has met
Volodymyr Yelchenko, Russia's deputy foreign minister, for talks on
the situation in Crimea in an "open atmosphere".
Russia
says its only troops in Crimea are
those normally stationed there with
its Black Sea Fleet in line with a bilateral agreement, an assertion
Washington calls "Putin's fiction". Kiev says there are
30,000 Russians in Crimea while the United States Department of
Defense estimates their number at around 20,000
Another
East-Ukraine City Falls To Pro-Russian Protesters As Ukraine Denies
Sending Troops To Crimea
Observer
mission turn back from their third attempt to enter Ukrainian
peninsula after armed men fire warning shots
Despite
clear evidence otherwise, presented here extensively yesterday, this
morning Ukraine has denied that is has "plans to send armed
forces to Crimea" and instead Ukrainian troops are performing
"training exercises" in base, Interfax news agency quoted
Acting Defence Minister Ihor Tenyukh as saying on Sunday. Responding
to media speculation about Ukrainian military movements after Russian
forces took control of Crimea, Tenyukh said the only troop movements
that might be seen would be from one base to another to take part in
the training exercises. "No movements, no departures for Crimea
by the armed forces are foreseen. They are doing their routine work
which the armed have always had," he said. Right, and Russia
just happened to launch an ICBM as a "drill" in the middle
of the greatest Cold War re-escalation in 30 years.
Adding
somewhat to the confusion was the statement by Pavlo Shysholin, head
of country’s border guard service tells reporters in Kiev, who said
that so far Ukrainian border guards denied entry to 3,500 people and
that Ukraine border troops remain in Crimea, would leave only if
"forced" but more importanly:
UKRAINE
BORDER TROOPS BOOST FORCES ON EAST BORDER: SHYSHOLIN
So
there is an escalation in the mobilization, only not toward Crimea,
which the Russians already control entirely, but the critical East,
which as everyone knows, is the next target for Putin annexation once
the Crimean referendum passes in one week.
Confirming
just this were just released photos from another major city in east
Ukraine, this time Lugansk, where
pro-Russian protesters just stormed and
took over the city administration building. Their demand: to be part
of the March 16 referendum to become part of Russia.
A clip of the latest peaceful pro-Russian takeover via LifeNews:
Lugansk's
location in context:
And
so one by one, the cities in east Ukraine are slipping away to
Russia, even as Obama continues his Key Largo vacation and makes the
occasional phone call.
The
Ukrainian regime purports to show Russian troops fortifying
Ukrainian
Drone Captures Video Of Russian Troops Fortifying In The Crimea
Observer
mission turn back from their third attempt to enter Ukrainian
peninsula after armed men fire warning shots
Zero Hedge,
9 March, 2014
The only thing that is unclear about the following clip released by the Ukraine's Border Guard supposedly capturing Russians "digging in" on a key route linking Crimea to the rest of the Ukraine, is what is funnier: that the Russian soldier is "painting" the drone with a laser flashlight, or that according to the Ukrainians said action was evidence the drone was being "shot at" by Russian soldiers.
9 March, 2014
The only thing that is unclear about the following clip released by the Ukraine's Border Guard supposedly capturing Russians "digging in" on a key route linking Crimea to the rest of the Ukraine, is what is funnier: that the Russian soldier is "painting" the drone with a laser flashlight, or that according to the Ukrainians said action was evidence the drone was being "shot at" by Russian soldiers.
As a follow up, here is another video made by a Ukrainian drone showing the distribution of Russian forces on the peninsula.
Ukraine
Refinery Halts Amid Tensions with Russia
3
March, 2014
Russia’s
Lukoil has reportedly halted
all oil supplies
to Ukraine’s Kherson refinery in Odessa ostensibly over unpaid
debts as political chaos engulfs the country with the refinery’s
director and top executives walking out.
Lukoil
sold the refinery last year to Ukrainian group VETEK, owned by a
multi-millionaire whose fortunes grew under President Viktor
Yanukovych until he was ousted from power in February.
Now,
Russia’s largest oil company, Rosneft, is said to be considering
the acquisition
of the troubled refinery, which is hostage to a Russian-state bank
for outstanding debts owed by VETEK head Serhiy Kurchenko.
With
Yanukovych ousted and on the run, Kurchenko has left the country and
according to Russian media reports, transferred the refinery to the
Russian bank.
According
to Russia’s
Kommersant,
an agreement with Rosneft over the sale of the
3.6-million-ton-per-year refinery was reached last week.
In
the meantime, Ukrainian media reports that as of 25
February,
police have blocked all entrance and exit from the Odessa refinery.
Last
week, refinery Director Valery Chakheyev tendered his resignation.
Last
month, Ukrainian press reported that a preliminary investigation had
been launched by the authorities over suspicions that the plant was
processing illicit oil products.
Rosneft
controls another refinery, the second largest in Ukraine, at
Lisichansk, and the acquisition of the Odessa refinery would have
significant political implications.
The
crisis
intensified
with the ouster last month of President Yanukovych, while Ukraine has
mobilized its armed forces and is calling for foreign observers to
step in after Russian forces took steps to control the Crimea.
Russia
is strengthening its presences in Ukraine’s Crimea as a tense
standoff between the two countries ensues. On 2 and 3 March, Russian
troops confronted Ukrainian troops in the Black Sea are, with Russian
fighter jets and warships challenging Ukraine’s sovereignty.
By
James Burgess of Oilprice.com
Putin
defends Crimean referendum legitimacy to EU leaders as Ukraine's
southeast rallies
Crimea’s
upcoming referendum will reflect the legitimate interests of its
people, Russian President Vladimir Putin told two EU leaders over the
phone. Inspired by Crimea’s actions, eastern Ukraine is also
protesting the coup-imposed government in Kiev
RT,
9
March, 2014
Putin
on Sunday had a top-level conversation on the situation in Ukraine
with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and UK Prime Minister David
Cameron, according to a statement issued by the Kremlin press
service.
The
Russian president “underlined
in particular that the steps taken by Crimea’s legitimate
authorities are based on international law and aimed at guaranteeing
the legitimate interests of the peninsula’s population,” the
statement said.
The
“lack
of any action” on
part of the current Kiev authorities with regard to
ultra-nationalists and radical forces acting in Ukraine has
particularly been noted by Putin.
While
Putin reminded that the power in Kiev was seized in an
unconstitutional armed coup, Merkel stressed that, according to
Europe’s view, the Crimean referendum violates the Ukrainian
constitution and international law.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron (L-R) sit to watch a fragment of the ballet "Ruslan and Lyudmila" during the G20 Summit in Peterhof near St. Petersburg September 6, 2013.(Reuters / Michael Klimentyev)
Despite
the difference of opinions, the sides have agreed that the
de-escalation of tension in Ukraine is in everyone’s interest, the
Kremlin statement notes.
Meanwhile,
the coup-imposed Kiev government has stepped up pressure on Crimea,
blocking the electronic system of the region’s treasury, freezing
the autonomy’s accounts, and ramping up the presence of border
police on the autonomy’s borders.
According
to Crimean Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Temirgaliyev, Kiev’s recent
moves will not affect state payments, including pensions, and Crimean
authorities are now opening accounts in Russian banks instead of
relying on the frozen ones.
Temirgaliev
also told Interfax that authorities are expecting that some
additional railway traffic to and from Russia will be ferried over
the Kerch Strait. A bridge connecting Kerch and Russia’s Krasnodar
Region is also being built “at
a rapid pace,”
he said.
The
future status of the region has yet to be decided by its people; the
All-Crimean referendum will
take place on March 16.
According
to the speaker of the Supreme Council of Crimea, Vladimir
Konstantinov, Crimea would prefer to keep its status of autonomous
parliamentary republic in the case of a favorable outcome of the
referendum.
Southeastern Ukraine rallies against govt
On
Sunday, thousands of anti-Maidan demonstrators rallying in the
eastern Ukrainian city of Lugansk blocked and occupied the regional
administration building, hoisting a Russian flag on top. The
protesters have demanded that Mikhail Bolotskikh, the region’s
head, step down. Bolotskikh was appointed by the self-proclaimed Kiev
authorities.
Some 3,000 people took part in the rally and about 1,000 broke inside the building, according to Itar-Tass and local media reports. Twitter users claimed that Bolotskikh has already signed his resignation and escaped the city center in a car through a “disgrace corridor” formed by the protesters.
Later
on Sunday, the fugitive official declared that he signed the document
under pressure and that he is still carrying out his duties.
Before
the takeover, pro-Russian demonstrators reportedly clashed with
Euromaidan activists demonstrating near a monument to Ukrainian poet
Taras Shevchenko, whose 200th birthday was celebrated on Sunday.
Shevchenko’s
anniversary attracted rallies in support of Ukraine’s unity all
across the country. One of the largest demonstrations took place in
Kharkov, where some 10,000 people marched with a huge 100-meter
Ukrainian flag and chanted, “No
to war!”
The
eastern Ukrainian city, which is located just 26 kilometers away from
the Russian border and has a large Russian minority, has been
extremely divided on whether to accept the current Kiev regime as a
legitimate power. On Saturday, more than 10,000 pro-Russian Kharkov
residents rallied in favor of rejecting Kiev’s rule, urging the
formation of a southeastern federation of regions.
The
issue of the federation, referred to as the Autonomous South-Eastern
Republic within the Ukrainian state, should be decided by a popular
vote as soon as possible, the people demanded.
While
the rally itself was peaceful, it ended with several attempts of
provocations. Two people were beaten and one shot by unidentified
masked people, who quickly left the scene by car. The radical Right
Sector movement has denied that its members waged the attack.
Around
7,000 pro-Russian demonstrators in the city of Donetsk on Sunday also
supported the holding of a referendum on the status of their region.
The people demanded that the status of the Russian language, stripped
by the coup-imposed government, be reinstated, and that the “People’s
Governor” of Donetsk, Pavel Gubarev, be freed.
Gubarev,
who was detained in Donetsk by Special Security Forces, has
reportedly been brought to Kiev on charges of violating the
territorial integrity of Ukraine, takeover of power, and seizure of
government buildings.
The
coup-imposed Ukrainian authorities were also quick to respond to the
situation in Lugansk, opening a criminal case on similar charges.
Ukraine’s prosecutor general has taken control of the case.
Despite the ongoing popular protests in southeastern Ukraine, the country’s former opposition remained deaf to the people’s demands. UDAR party leader Vitaly Klitschko said in a Sunday interview with BBC Ukraine that those demanding referendums in eastern Ukraine are simply “citizens of another state,” for whom the borders of the country “must be closed.”
Kharkov today
Ukrainian troops move towards Crimea
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