War in Ukraine

Just another day in Kiev:



http://rt.com/news/195796-nationalists-protest-kiev-ukraine/

Tense stand-off btw far-right march and police at Kiev parliament building
Published time: October 14, 2014 09:46
Edited time: October 14, 2014 12:47

Kiev police deployed additional forces around the parliament building after a group of demonstrators started throwing smoke bombs and firecrackers at guards in an apparent reprisal over MPs’ failure to honor past nationalists.

Streaming video from the scene showed officers in riot gear standing in tight formations near the building, as occasional bangs from exploding firecrackers were heard in the distance.

More than 20 people were detained during the clashes, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov reported on his Facebook page. He said 15 officers were hurt in the standoff.

The protesters launched their offensive shortly after Ukrainian MPs voted against considering a bill, which would treat Ukrainian nationalists, who fought against Soviet troops during World War II, as war veterans

Tuesday is the anniversary of the UPA (Ukrainian Insurgent Army), an armed Ukrainian nationalist organization that at one point during the war sided with the Nazis to fight against Russian troops. The organization was accused of war crimes, including the killings of Jews and Poles in Ukraine, and was hunted down after Moscow fought off the Nazi invasion and took control of Ukraine again.

Modern Ukrainian nationalists from the Svoboda party are celebrating the anniversary with rallies across the country. The party's flags as well as those of the radical Right Sector movement can be seen in the crowd of people encircling the parliament building.

The bill, which the MPs decided not to consider on Tuesday, would give surviving members of the UPA benefits similar to those given to war veterans. Incidentally, it was submitted by the Svoboda party.

Inside the parliament, Speaker Aleksandr Turchinov called on fellow MPs to call off the protesters.

“It was reported that they started setting tires on fire. I call on the people doing it: such actions will not help pass this law. You will make part of the members leave the hall and there wouldn't be enough to vote. Those who organized those people, please, call the street to order and stop interfering with the work of the parliament,” he said as cited by Ria Novosti.

Whatever disappointment the nationalists may have over the parliament's lack of action on what they wanted, it is probably compensated by President Petro Poroshenko. His office announced that on Monday he signed a decree that makes October 14 a national holiday dedicated to the “defenders of independence and the territorial integrity of Ukraine.”

The honoring of Ukraine's military was done earlier on February 23. The date was inherited from Soviet times and coincides with a similar national holiday in Russia.

This change is the latest in a string of moves by the new Ukrainian authorities to distance itself from Moscow. However, it may be viewed as offensive by older Ukrainians, who would see it as an attempt to glorify Nazi collaborators and vilify Ukraine's Soviet past.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-10-30/thank-you-us-taxpayers-russia-ukraine-agree-terms-gas-supply-through-march

Good news for the cold-showering, snow-covered Ukrainians... Russia has reached an interim agreement to supply natural gas to Ukraine through March according to Bloomberg. Of course, this will be paid for by more IMF loans (thank you US Taxpayer), pushing Ukraine further into debt and more dependent upon the West.

I hope the IMF makes the cheque for the gas bill payable directly to the Kremlin aka Gazprom. If it passed through Kiev hands it will get 'lost', like all the money they've had to pay their bills previously.

Ukraine deserves some sort of award for turning itself into a third world nation in less than a year.

It appears they've got that old 'exploding nuclear power station' problem again:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-12-03/accident-took-place-ukraine-nuclear-power-plant-prime-minister-reveals

Their gold reserves have vanished - has Gordon Brown been visiting?

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-12-02/its-gold-vaporized-furious-ukraine-turns-its-central-bankers

and they're importing foreigners to run the country:

http://rt.com/news/210883-ukraine-foreigners-government-poroshenko/

The natives of the US, Georgia and Lithuania were hastily granted Ukrainian citizenship in order to become key ministers in the new government of Ukraine, which was approved by the country’s parliament on Tuesday.

President Poroshenko has also announced he will sign a decree to grant citizenship to foreigners fighting on Kiev’s side in the east of the country.

Bless, all those mercenaries can now be proud Ukranians!

And this, children, is a warning to never, ever take cookies from strange women, especially if they're from the US government.

Beware of far lefties bearing gifts.

I don't see Ukraine ever recovering, Lily. They're making noises about wanting other countries to supply them with coal for the winter - Hello? Perhaps you shouldn't have bombed and destroyed your own coal mines. And a good few miners at the same time.

I am convinced that if whoever was President a year ago had sat down with Merkel and Putin, all the then-problems could have been sorted out round the table. No doubt the neo-nazis would have done a bit of street fighting, but then, that's what they do, anyway.

Look at the state the country is in now! It's ruined, and east-west relations are the worst since before the end of the Cold War, and all the progress made since the fall of communism destroyed.

It's an object lesson in never, ever letting anyone from Washington as it is under Obama anywhere near your country.

We should know too..........

Obama and co would be well advised to read Putin's State of the Nation speech very, very carefully:

http://rt.com/news/211383-putin-russia-deterrence-policy/

One quote:

Yugoslavia-style disintegration scenario for Russia failed
Russia has fought off attempts to initiate its disintegration, similar to the scenario applied to the former Yugoslavia, Putin said.

“They would make us follow the Yugoslavian scenario, with its disintegration and dismemberment of territory, with great relish and with all the resultant tragic consequences for the peoples of Russia. No way. We prevented it,” he said

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article40381.htm

Quote:


However the Europeans did not envisage that Russia would just supply them with energy. Rather they always supposed this energy would be extracted for them in Russia by Western energy companies. This after all is the pattern in most of the developing world. The EU calls this “energy security” - a euphemism for the extraction of energy in other countries by its own companies under its own control.

It's always about $$$$$$ nowadays, it's never about any supposed high-minded principles.

That is an excellent article, Bonny.  You can imagine that there are a few people who wish they had zipped it?

It's fascinating, isn't it? All that hot air about 'democracy', all those expensive cookies - it was only ever about $$$$$$. I don't know what happens next; it's obvious Europe in particular has screwed up very badly and it is equally obvious that Putin has out-thought them all along the line. Biden and his cronies are NOT going to get their paws on Russian resources; I suspect Russia would burn everything to the ground first - they have before.

I actually don't even know why Europe and the US forgot something very basic - Russia isn't in debt. Russia is pretty much self-sufficient, and what it doesn't produce itself, its new friends in the developing nations are more than happy to supply. Like fresh produce, off-season in the Northern hemisphere.

The EU and US has, IMO, operated at a quite staggering level of arrogance, incompetence and greed.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-12-04/charges-brought-against-national-bank-ukraine-liquidating-gold-reserves

A Kyiv-based court has taken action, instructing Kyiv prosecutors to file charges against the National Bank of Ukraine. Governor Valeriya Gontareva in case No. 757/33660/14 is specifically charged with “abuse of power or misuse of office under Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine”.





The plaintiff is lawyer Rostyslav Kravets, who claims that Governor Gontareva, “has intentionally committed an extremely unfavorable transaction for the gold and forex reserves of Ukraine”.





Under the Ukrainian constitution, the sale of Ukraine’s gold is seen as a criminal act, given that the central bank is in charge of maintaining its countries gold reserves. I don’t believe any sane person would believe that the sale of all but 1% of anything, would be considered maintaining, but rather liquidating.





This development has prompted Olena Shcherbakova, head of the of the monetary policy department at the Ukrainian central bank, to resign from her position. Bloomberg, who attempted to reach her by phone was told that she did not need to give a reason for her decision. Clearly, she believes that this case is not going to go well and that the wrath of the Ukrainian people is coming.

Oops!

We've said time and again on here, Putin plays chess while Obama and others play tiddlywinks.

I suspect he also takes a long view of history, Lily, and is prepared to wait years for things to fall into place as he plans. Western politicians these days seem to be utterly ignorant of the past, their minds only on the next soundbite, or tomorrow's headlines.

He's running rings around our guy. 

There's never a dull moment in the Ukrainian parliament:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-12-04/fight-breaks-out-parliament-when-ukraine-learns-it-has-quietly-become-newest-us-stat

I can't recall any other government EVER making foreigners natives so they can rule the country...Mind you, all sorts of astounding things happen in Ukraine.

So, is that to be the 51st State?  

Won't it be 58th, by Obama's counting?

Could well be although I think some of that was by invasion. 

OMG...I forgot that.  

Easily done, Lily, there are so many to choose from....

http://www.channel4.com/news/china-ukraine-farmland-food-security-investment-overseas

China buys huge swathe of Ukraine in grab for farmland


It has a fifth of the world's population but just 9 per cent of the world's farm land. Now China has signed a deal to buy vast areas of arable land in Europe's bread basket - Ukraine.

As overseas investments go, this one is pretty huge. China is buying up to 3 million hectares of farmland in Ukraine, an area the size of Belgium. Two state-owned firms will take over the land in the eastern Dniepropetrovsk region to grow crops and raise pigs for consumption back home.

More at link.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't this mean Russia's ally China is going to own a huge chunk of Ukraine handily close to the Russian border?

Should never have taken those cookies....

Yes it does.

Anyone that thinks the Ukraine coup wasn't planned and organised by the West to enrich themselves should read this, and other articles about the 2013 Yalta carve-up:

http://www.economist.com/blogs/easternapproaches/2013/09/other-yalta-conference

The guestbook read like a Who's Who of Europe. Mario Monti and Gerhard Schröder, a former prime minister of Italy and a former chancellor of Germany, along with Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former managing director of the IMF, were lamenting the lack of visionary and inspiring European leaders who could re-ignite the passion for a united Europe. Egemen Bagis, Turkey’s chief negotiator with the EU, passionately lectured them on the benefits of fiscal discipline.

Lawrence Summers, a former American treasury secretary, and Robert Zoellick, an ex-head of the World Bank, were reflecting on the imbalances of the world economy. David Petraeus, a retired general and former head of the CIA, and Bill Richardson, a former energy secretary, talked about the shale-gas revolution that is changing the balance of power between Russia and the West. Mr Pinchuk himself was having a ball, moderating a session between Tony Blair and Bill Clinton.

The 'guest book' reads more like a roll call of thieves, liars, sex pests and war criminals, frankly.

Oh, how it must have stung when Crimea decided it DIDN'T want anything to do with their illegal neo-nazi coup, and that NATO wasn't going to get to make

The elegant white palace combines Neo-Renaissance style with the light subtlety of Moorish architecture

its latest HQ from which to threaten Russia. Neither was the US fleet going to be anchoring in Sevastopol harbour.

Look what the great, good and greedy have achieved! A failed, ruined, state, thousands dead, the EU economy destroyed - and they needn't kid themselves, Russia is going to be Last Man Standing in this. Russia isn't over its head in debt, and Russians don't have hysterics if FB is offline, or they can't buy avocados in February.

And China owning a huge chunk of Ukraine, handily close to their best trading friends.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-12-22/ukraine-central-bank-conned-swapping-its-gold-lead-bricks

RT adds that the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has confirmed the theft of several kilograms of gold in the Odessa region. The cashier involved has apparently fled to Crimea, Vesti Ukraine reports. Criminal proceedings began on November 18, even though the scam apparently took place between August and October.

In other words, when Ukraine still, allegedly, had some gold left. Now it has no more gold, but at least it has some very expensive lead.

Just another day in Ukraine.