Ukraine claims 'invasion' by Russia

Russia and the west are on a collision course over Crimea after Moscow was accused of orchestrating a "military invasion and occupation" of the peninsula, as groups of apparently pro-Russian armed men seized control of two airports. Russian troop movements were reported across the territory.

One Ukrainian official claimed late on Friday that 2,000 Russian troops had arrived in Crimea during the course of the day, in 13 Russian aircraft.

Ukraine's acting president, Oleksandr Turchynov, addressed the nation and accused Russia of carrying out a similar strategy to 2008, when it in effect annexed two Georgian territories, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. "They are trying to provoke a military conflict and are creating a scenario identical to the Abkhaz one, when having provoked a conflict, they annexed territory," he said.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/28/russia-crimea-white-house

Definitely not looking good:

Ukraine's Defence Minister says Moscow has sent 6,000 troops into the country, as it was confirmed Russian soldiers are on the streets in the southeastern region of Crimea.

The country's military are on high alert amid the deepening crisis, with reports Russian forces are trying to seize control of an anti-aircraft missile base.

The pro-Moscow Prime Minister of Crimea Sergei Aksenov, who appealed to Russia for help in keeping the peace there, has confirmed service personnel from the Black Sea Fleet, which is based in the Crimean city of Sevastopol, were guarding key buildings.

And in an apparent orchestrated move, a referendum on whether residents in Crimea want greater independence from Ukraine has been brought forward by two months to March 30.

Russia's Foreign Ministry has also claimed there had been an overnight attempt by "unidentified gunmen sent from Kiev" to seize the offices of Crimea's interior ministry.

It said in a statement: "As a result of the treacherous provocation, there are wounded.

"With decisive actions by self-defence groups, the attempt to seize the interior ministry building was averted.

"This confirms the desire of prominent political circles in Kiev to destabilise the peninsula."

Russia's Lower House of Parliament has called on President Vladimir Putin "to take measures to stabilise the situation in Crimea".

US President Barack Obama has warned Moscow that any military intervention in Ukraine would be "deeply destabilising".

It came after armed men, suspected of being Russian soldiers, took control of key airports and other sites in Crimea.

Russian helicopter gunships have also been seen in Ukrainian airspace.

Ukraine's Prime Minister said his country would not be drawn into a military conflict by Russian "provocations", and appealed to Moscow to halt military movements in the region.

Arseny Yatseniuk said: "It is unacceptable when armoured Russian military vehicles are out in the centre of Ukrainian towns."

Mr Obama has called on Russia to respect the independence and territory of Ukraine.

"Any violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity would be deeply destabilising," he said.

"The United States will stand with the international community in affirming that there will be costs for any military intervention in Ukraine."

British Foreign Secretary William Hague will visit the country on Sunday and hold talks with Ukraine's new leaders.

Crimea has become a flashpoint for tensions between Russia and Ukraine after the overthrow of President Viktor Yanukovych, a Moscow ally, following months of protests which escalated into deadly violence.

Ukraine's population is divided in loyalties between Russia and the West, with much of western Ukraine advocating closer ties with the European Union while eastern and southern regions look to Russia for support.

Crimea has 2.3 million inhabitants, most of whom identify themselves as ethnic Russians and speak Russian.

More follows...

http://news.sky.com/story/1219302/ukraine-says-russia-has-sent-in-6000-troops


Obviously one of the reasons the EU was trying to inject money into the Ukraine economy and keep them stable was to stop this kind of thing from happening. Very worrying.

Well if it does kick off, it is going to be some worrying days ahead, as what can America really do other than go to war, because Putin is not the type to back down, when his mind is made up and with his energy resources vital to others he can remain strong .


However just read this on the BBC, though it is the BBC mind:






There is still no official confirmation of who the armed men surrounding key areas in Crimea really are. They wear uniforms without insignia and drive unidentified vehicles.

Some say they are locals organising themselves into a self-defence unit against the Ukrainian uprising. But many carry heavy weapons and appear in control of armoured personnel carriers. They seem more organised than an impromptu militia.

And yet while Ukraine's government warns that Russia has carried out a "military occupation and invasion" of Crimea, it does not feel as though it has gone that far - yet. The cities are relatively calm and there is no sign of a mass armed uprising; just the ongoing control of key sites like airports and communications buildings.

But this peninsula appears to be sliding steadily out of Kiev's control: the newly-elected Crimean prime minister now says all security and military forces here are under his command and his call to President Putin for direct help will not, says the Kremlin, be ignored. As the new Ukrainian cabinet meets, how to extend its writ here will be the urgent priority.

Just now:

Thousands PRO-Russia demonstrators in Donetsk, Ukraine are storming govt building taking down ukraine flags !...

https://twitter.com/novostidnua/status/439717593968934912/photo/1

(Can't find translation)

Listening to them on news items last night, the people in that area do seem to think of themselves as part of Russia.

this could kick off big time, I wonder how long before someone decides the russians aren't acting according to laws..

Duma asks for recall of Russian ambassador to USA
Last updated Sat 1 Mar 2014

World Ukraine Russia Russia's upper house of parliament has asked President Putin to recall the Russian ambassador to the USA, Reuters reports.

The call came after the house overwhelmingly approved an proposal by Putin to deploy Russian armed forced in Ukraine's Crimea region.

http://www.itv.com/news/update/2014-03-01/duma-asks-for-russian-ambassador-to-usa-to-be-recalled/

Very worrying!

it is and if handled badly could get really bad..

Two thoughts -- recently Obama's been threatening to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan, could there be a connection to this?

And I've seen headlines that said a Russian spy vessel was 200 miles off the coast of Florida, docked in Cuba.

Quite troubling indeed ...

Just watching the news, not looking good, Ukraine troops out. Very dodgy.

Odd is it not, when the cold war ended, many gave a huge sigh of relief that the reality of a global nuclear war had diminished greatly, until today with the Ukraine crisis, that could drag many nations into a global conflict, where the opposing sides have countless Nukes.

I woke up and saw William Hague in Russia on Sky. For a minute I thought "why are they sending Max Branning to deal with this?"

Tess. wrote:I woke up and saw William Hague in Russia on Sky. For a minute I thought "why are they sending Max Branning to deal with this?"

I shouldn't laugh in such a serious thread but ...   

There is a simple solution to this - a vote by the Ukrainian people to end links with Russian or not.

Croissant wrote:There is a simple solution to this - a vote by the Ukrainian people to end links with Russian or not.

How would that help? A lot of these wars are based on the fact that people from different ethnic groups live in one country, and their "mother" country wants to protect them, or obtain the area where they mostly live.

If some Ukrainians love Russia so much....let them move there. Russia has no right to be in this country.

It's all quite interesting really. Here's an article about Crimea.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10671066/What-is-the-Crimea-and-why-does-it-matter.html

When Khrushchev gifted Crimea to Ukraine in 1954, I don't suppose he thought that the USSR would collapse and Ukraine would get to keep it.

It's still a sovereign country.

i guess if russia want it bad enough they will take it back and more it just depends how much the west wants a full on war..

PhilDidge wrote:Odd is it not, when the cold war ended, many gave a huge sigh of relief that the reality of a global nuclear war had diminished greatly, until today with the Ukraine crisis, that could drag many nations into a global conflict, where the opposing sides have countless Nukes.

No, that isn't odd at all.

A similar thing happened with Georgia in 2008, but maybe it's not as important as Ukraine.

Raggamuffin wrote:A similar thing happened with Georgia in 2008, but maybe it's not as important as Ukraine.

it seems if a country has something to offer, such as oil, there is a much greater world interest but i'm sure the oil isn't the real reason for it, after all people are people..  

heavenly father wrote:

Raggamuffin wrote:A similar thing happened with Georgia in 2008, but maybe it's not as important as Ukraine.

it seems if a country has something to offer, such as oil, there is a much greater world interest but i'm sure the oil isn't the real reason for it, after all people are people..  

Well there's a lot of talk in the press about gas pipelines which cross Ukraine, but I'm not up to speed with it yet.

Raggamuffin wrote:

heavenly father wrote:

it seems if a country has something to offer, such as oil, there is a much greater world interest but i'm sure the oil isn't the real reason for it, after all people are people..  

Well there's a lot of talk in the press about gas pipelines which cross Ukraine, but I'm not up to speed with it yet.

I heard a little about it and why Russian help out financially because of it, i suppose it could be considered a threat to a valuable resource, time will tell..

now this has made the whole thing even bigger..

http://news.sky.com/story/1220272/ukraine-russia-delivers-assault-storm-deadline

heavenly father wrote:now this has made the whole thing even bigger..

http://news.sky.com/story/1220272/ukraine-russia-delivers-assault-storm-deadline

Oh dear. Crimea belongs to Ukraine so why should they not defend it?

Raggamuffin wrote:

heavenly father wrote:now this has made the whole thing even bigger..

http://news.sky.com/story/1220272/ukraine-russia-delivers-assault-storm-deadline

Oh dear. Crimea belongs to Ukraine so why should they not defend it?

they will obviously try but not sure for how long or what goes after that...we've been so long without the so called cold war but this could soon get very ugly especially if China chip in.

heavenly father wrote:

Raggamuffin wrote:

Oh dear. Crimea belongs to Ukraine so why should they not defend it?

they will obviously try but not sure for how long or what goes after that...we've been so long without the so called cold war but this could soon get very ugly especially if China chip in.

Ukraine will lose of course. As long as the Russians don't try to invade Ukraine itself, there will be no intervention from other countries IMO.

Raggamuffin wrote:

heavenly father wrote:

they will obviously try but not sure for how long or what goes after that...we've been so long without the so called cold war but this could soon get very ugly especially if China chip in.

Ukraine will lose of course. As long as the Russians don't try to invade Ukraine itself, there will be no intervention from other countries IMO.

hands down they will lose but will Russia force control back on the Ukraine??

Raggamuffin wrote:

heavenly father wrote:

it seems if a country has something to offer, such as oil, there is a much greater world interest but i'm sure the oil isn't the real reason for it, after all people are people..  

Well there's a lot of talk in the press about gas pipelines which cross Ukraine, but I'm not up to speed with it yet.

" OAO Gazprom (OGZD)’s threat to end natural gas discounts for Ukraine adds to the financial burden on the near-bankrupt government in Kiev and makes Europe’s energy supply part of the escalating crisis.

Vladimir Putin, who has permission from Russian lawmakers to deploy troops to Ukraine, has repeatedly used gas to strong-arm his western neighbor, cutting off supplies twice since 2006 over payment disputes. Because Ukraine hosts a network of Soviet-era pipelines that carry more than half of Russia’s gas exports to the European Union, any disruption of supply puts the region’s energy security at risk. "

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-02/russia-gas-threat-shows-putin-using-pipelines-to-press-ukraine.html

It is not just Ukraine 's gas supply at risk but the rest of Europe as well.

Those against Fracking in the UK please now think again.

just the same as all the oil countries then..