Posts
Ukraine
"Truce"? Tanks Are Rolling In Poland As NATO Plans
Permanent Eastern European Bases
1
February, 2015
With
Ukraine, Germany, and France all expressing theirconcern
this morning about "conflict escalation" between
pro-Russian separatists and the Ukraine military, the so-called
"truce" appears to be hanging by a thread of semanticism
(despite OSCE's please for respect of the cease-fire and the
demarcation line). Today's triple whammy of 'escalation' appears more
focused on the non-Russian side as first, France
begins sending tanks into Poland;
second,Ukraine
shifts its tanks to the front-line;
and third - and potentially most inflammatory for Putin - NATO
has confirmed plans to create permanent command centers in Eastern
Europe.
Putin has not responded yet but reports of'nuclear
bombers' flying above the English Channel "with transponders
turned off," suggests
the sabre rattling continues.
Ukrainian
civilians are being evacuated:
- *UKRAINE EVACUATED 1,000 PEOPLE FROM DEBALTSEVE YDAY
- *7 CIVILIANS DEAD, 4 WOUNDED IN DONETSK REGION IN 24 HRS: POLICE
- *11 SERVICEMEN ALSO INJURED IN MILITARY CAMP BLAZE, IFX SAYS
The
OSCE is calling for the truce to stand...
- *OSCE'S DACIC SAYS MAXIMUM EFFORTS MADE TO END UKRAINE VIOLENCE
- *OSCE CALLS FOR CEASE-FIRE, RESPECT FOR DEMARCATION LINE: DACIC
- *OSCE'S DACIC SAYS NO ONE CONSIDERING NEW UKRAINE PLAN FOR NOW
Everyone
is "concerned"
- *POROSHENKO, MERKEL, HOLLANDE DISAPPOINTED BY MINSK TALKS
- *POROSHENKO CALLS FOR RUSSIAN REACTION TO UKRAINE TALKS FAILURE
- *UKRAINE, GERMANY, FRANCE CONCERNED ABOUT CONFLICT ESCALATION
Leaders
call for immediate “cease-fire” to fighting in east Ukraine after
speaking on the phone today, AFP says, citing the French president’s
staff.
So
the following takes place:
France is pledging tanks and armored vehicles to bolster NATO forces in Poland, where leaders are increasingly uneasy about Russia.
In a joint statement Friday after a meeting between French President Francois Hollande and Polish Prime Minister Eva Kopacz, the two governments also called for a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine, where fighting has intensified between pro-Russia separatists and government troops.
NATO has no permanent presence in Eastern Europe but since last April members have been cycling forces and military equipment through the region in response to Russia's actions in Ukraine.
The French military equipment is expected to remain in Poland for two months.
2) Ukraine
begins moving its tanks to the front-line in Eastern Ukraine
and
NATO said Friday it will deploy small units in six eastern European nations to help coordinate a spearhead force set up in response to Russia's actions in Ukraine.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the units in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Bulgaria and Romania will be the first of their kind there.
Defense ministers from the 28-nation military alliance will discuss the full force, which can react quickly to any hotspots in Europe, when they meet on Feb. 5.
Stoltenberg said countries responsible for providing the several thousand troops should be known next week.
The forward units will comprise a few dozen troops only. They will plan and organize military exercises, and provide command and control for any reinforcements the force might require.
"They're going to plan, they're going to organize exercises, to provide ... some key command elements for reinforcements," Stoltenberg said.
*
* *
Russia
has been very quiet today as all of this has occurred but we suspect
the last move - NATO bases so close to Russia's border - will warrant
some response very rapidly... or perhaps Putin already pre-empted
it...
Putin Sends Nuclear Bombers Over English Channel: “Transponders Turned Off… Invisible to Air Traffic Control”
The U.K.’s Royal Air Force scrambled fighter jets on Thursday after a pair of nuclear-capable Russian bombers flew across a busy civilian air traffic corridor above the English Channel. The bombers had their transponders turned off, British officials said, making them invisible to many air traffic control systems. The incident disrupted multiple flights – and ended with the U.K. government demanding the Russian ambassador appear at the Foreign Office to explain the actions.
* * *
This is not going to end well.
US
Considers Lethal Assistance to Kiev Amid Ongoing Fighting in Donbas
The
United States is considering supplying arms and equipment to the
Ukrainian Army in the wake of an intensifying conflict in Ukraine’s
southeast, The New York Times reported, citing anonymous sources in
the US establishment
2
February, 2015
MOSCOW,
February 2 (Sputnik) – Although US President Barack Obama has not
made a decision to supply lethal arms to Kiev, certain high-ranking
officials, including national security adviser Susan Rice and NATO’s
top military commander Gen. Philip Breedlove support the move, The
New York Times said.
The
aid Washington currently supplies to Ukraine is limited to non-lethal
items, such as first aid kits and body armor.
In
January, the leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic
(DPR) Alexander Zakharchenko told reporters that independence
fighters had found US-made weapons on the territory of the Donetsk
airport after the Ukrainian military pulled out of the area.
During
his September 2014 visit to the United States, Ukrainian President
Petro Poroshenko requested lethal military assistance from the
Congress, but Washington so far refused to grant it.
The
Russian Foreign Ministry has emphasized that the United States would
breach the Geneva agreements on the Ukrainian settlement, reached by
Russia, the European Union, the United States and Ukraine on April
17, 2014, if it supplied lethal weapons to Kiev.
The
military confrontation between Kiev forces and independence
supporters in eastern Ukraine began in April 2014 and recently
intensified despite a ceasefire agreement reached in September last
year.
More
than 5,000 people in Ukraine have died in the conflict, according to
the United Nations.
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