11.03.2015
Description:
Extended announce of the film about how Crimea returned to Russia.
Crimea
Putin Warns ‘We Were Ready’ To Use Nukes To Secure Crimea
– Putin Warns “We Were Ready” To Use Nukes To Secure Crimea (ZeroHedge, March 16, 2015):
Having re-emerged from his hibernation, Vladimir Putin is wasting no time getting back to business. Having paced 40,000 troops on “snap-readiness,” AP reports that a documentary which aired last night shows Putin explaining that Russia was ready to bring its nuclear weapons into a state of alert during last year’s tensions over the Crimean Peninsula and the overthrow of Ukraine’s president, and admitted well-armed forces in unmarked uniforms who took control of Ukrainian military facilities in Crimea were Russian soldiers. In the documentary, which marks a year since the referendum, Putin says of the nuclear preparedness, “We were ready to do this … (Crimea) is our historical territory. Russian people live there. They were in danger. We cannot abandon them.”
Read morePutin Warns ‘We Were Ready’ To Use Nukes To Secure Crimea
Putin in film on Crimea: US masterminds behind Ukraine coup, helped train radicals
Vladimir Putin (Screenshot from ‘Crimea – The Way Home’ documentary aired by Rossiya 1 news channel)
– Putin in film on Crimea: US masterminds behind Ukraine coup, helped train radicals (RT, March 15, 2015):
The Ukrainian armed coup was organized from Washington, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated in an interview for a new documentary aired Sunday. The Americans tried to hide behind the Europeans, but Moscow saw through the trick, he added.
“The trick of the situation was that outwardly the [Ukrainian] opposition was supported mostly by the Europeans. But we knew for sure that the real masterminds were our American friends,”Putin said in a documentary, ‘Crimea – The Way Home,’ aired by Rossiya 1 news channel.
“They helped training the nationalists, their armed groups, in Western Ukraine, in Poland and to some extent in Lithuania,” he added. “They facilitated the armed coup.”
The West spared no effort to prevent Crimea’s reunification with Russia, “by any means, in any format and under any scheme,” he noted.
Read morePutin in film on Crimea: US masterminds behind Ukraine coup, helped train radicals
Russia To Increase ‘Combat Capabilities’ In Crimea, Sees Ukraine Conflict Worsening
Following the adoption of its new military doctrine signed by President Vladimir Putin in December which identifies NATO expansion as an external risk, it is perhaps hardly surprising that, as Reuters reports, Russia’s top general, Valery Garesimov stated that the “Defence Ministry will focus its efforts on increasing the combat capabilities of its units and increasing combat strength.. with special attention will be given to the groups in Crimea.” Amid renewed heavy shelling in Donetsk, NATO’s top military commander noted they will be stepping up exercises in the Baltic Sea region as Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin warns, “the situation in eastern Ukraine is deteriorating.”
Russia’s top general said on Tuesday he would beef up combat capabilities this year in Crimea, the Arctic and the country’s westernmost Kaliningrad region that borders two NATO states.
Read moreRussia To Increase ‘Combat Capabilities’ In Crimea, Sees Ukraine Conflict Worsening
Ukraine Cuts Power To Crimea Again, Halts Train Services
– Ukraine Cuts Power To Crimea Again, Halts Train Services (Zerohedge, Dec 26, 2014):
There was some expectation following the loud public response following Ukraine’s shut down of power to Crimea on Christmas Eve, that Kiev would treat the territory which it alleges is still part of Ukraine as, well, part of Ukraine. And sure enough, a few hours after the regionwide blackout was first reported, Ukraine restored power. Until today, when moments ago we learned that not only did Ukraine cut off electricity to Crimea earlier today, but also halted train services, moves which, according to the WSJ, could raise tensions with Russia, but which also will harden the local popluation’s pro-Russian determination even further.
Repeated power blackouts in Crimea. Here’s Sevastopol 10 mins ago. Cars are the only illuminated objects pic.twitter.com/S6ZnIAodgx
— idaltae (@idaltae) December 26, 2014
Ukraine to suspend all trains to Crimea over security concerns – Ukrzaliznytsia http://t.co/5ksHbB3chmpic.twitter.com/PMM7R54a2S
— UKRAINE TODAY (@uatodaytv) December 26, 2014
Crimea’s Fuel and Energy Minister Sergei Egorov told Russia’s Interfax news agency that power was cut off at 1:50 p.m. Friday without warning. He said backup diesel generators and mobile turbine power plants were supplying critical infrastructure with electricity.
More from WSJ:
Read moreUkraine Cuts Power To Crimea Again, Halts Train Services
How To Start A War And Lose An Empire
FYI.
– How to start a war and lose an empire (Club Orlov, Oct 21, 2014):
A year and a half I wrote an essay on how the US chooses to view Russia, titled The Image of the Enemy. I was living in Russia at the time, and, after observing the American anti-Russian rhetoric and the Russian reaction to it, I made some observations that seemed important at the time. It turns out that I managed to spot an important trend, but given the quick pace of developments since then, these observations are now woefully out of date, and so here is an update.
Russia To Deploy ‘Full-Scale Military Unit’ In Crimea
– Russia To Deploy “Full-Scale Military Unit” In Crimea (ZeroHedge, Sep 17, 2014):
Just a day after NATO began military exercises (with troops from the US) near the city of Lviv in Western Ukraine, WSJ reports Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu is responding to the “rising foreign military presence,” near Russia. In a not-so-de-escalatory move, Shoigu explained that NATO’s comments were “light-minded” and his ministry’s key task now is to “deploy a full-scale and self-sufficient force grouping” in the Crimea region.
First this…
Russian Defense Ministry official calls light-minded NATO general’s statements about Russian military presence in Ukraine
Then, as The Wall Street Journal reports,
Read moreRussia To Deploy ‘Full-Scale Military Unit’ In Crimea
HOPING To Isolate Russia, US Woos China On Ukraine
How stupid can they get?
(I know I shouldn’t have dared to ask such a question.)
Here comes more hope …
– Hoping to isolate Russia, US woos China on Ukraine (AP, June 10, 2014):
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is stepping up its attempts to court China’s support for isolating Russia over its military intervention in Ukraine.
With official comments from China appearing studiously neutral since the Ukraine crisis began, President Barack Obama spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping late Sunday in a bid to get Beijing off the fence.
?Yatsenyuk Demands $1 Billion Worth Of Gas ‘STOLEN’ By Russia In Crimea
– ?Yatsenyuk demands $1bn worth of gas ‘stolen’ by Russia in Crimea (RT, May 27, 2014):
Russia owes Ukraine about 2.2 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas worth around $1 billion, which was “stolen together with Crimea,” self-appointed Ukrainian PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Tuesday.
“We have no idea what he means,” Reuters quotes Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov as saying.
Earlier on Tuesday Yatsenyuk said he was waiting for a reply from Russia on his claim 2.2 bcm of natural gas was “stolen” by Russia when it took over the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and consequently local gas supplier Chornomornafrogaz (Black Sea Gas). At Gazprom prices the value of the gas is about $1 billion, Yatsenyuk calculated.
Read more?Yatsenyuk Demands $1 Billion Worth Of Gas ‘STOLEN’ By Russia In Crimea
Dr. Paul Craig Roberts: Putin Sees Chance To Break Up NATO, EU
Dr. Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury during President Reagan’s first term. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal. He has held numerous academic appointments, including the William E. Simon Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Georgetown University, and Senior Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University.
– Putin sees chance to break up NATO, EU: Analyst (PressTV, May 25, 2014):
By Paul Craig Roberts
Western propaganda about events in Ukraine has two main purposes. One is to cover up, or to distract from, Washington’s role in overthrowing the elected democratic government of Ukraine. The other is to demonize Russia.
The truth is known, but truth is not a part of the Western TV and print media. The intercepted telephone call between US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and the US Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt reveals the two coup plotters discussing which of Washington’s stooges will be installed as Washington’s person in the new puppet government.
The intercepted telephone call between Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet and EU foreign policy official Catherine Ashton revealed suspicions, later confirmed by independent reports, that the sniper fire that killed people on both sides of the Kiev protests came from the Washington-backed side of the conflict.
Read moreDr. Paul Craig Roberts: Putin Sees Chance To Break Up NATO, EU
USA Insulting World’s Intelligence (Veterans Today)
– USA insulting world’s intelligence (Veterans Today, May 14, 2014):
“They must really think we’re stupid.” That is what people all over the world are saying about the American government and media’s portrayal of world events.
Several weeks ago, an interviewer said to Russian President Putin: “NATO claims the missile shield was not built against you but against Iran.” Putin broke out laughing. When the laughter finally subsided, Putin said: “You really make me laugh. God bless you because it’s almost time to finish the day… indeed it’s already time to go to sleep. At least I get home in good humor.”
Watch the video here: Putin Laughs Right In Journalist’s Face (Video)
No sane person could seriously assert that NATO’s missile shield circling Russia is intended to protect the West from Iran. Yet, that is exactly what NATO – the imperial American occupation army in Europe – tells the world. How stupid do they think we are?
Read moreUSA Insulting World’s Intelligence (Veterans Today)
Putin Warns ‘Other Countries Must Respect Russia’
– Putin Warns “Other Countries Must Respect Russia” (ZeroHedge, May 9, 2014):
Hours ahead of Donetsk’ planned referendum this weekend, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin – speaking from a recently reclaimed Sevastopol (and denounced for being their by Ukraine’s acting government) – has made anything but the market’s much-needed diplomatic comments…
- *PUTIN SAYS OTHER COUNTRIES MUST RESPECT RUSSIA: INTERFAX
- *PUTIN SAYS OTHERS MUST RESPECT RIGHT TO HISTORICAL JUSTICE: IFX
- *PUTIN SAYS NATIONS MUST RESPECT SELF-DETERMINATION RIGHT: IFX
In other words, while he publicly asked for the referendum to be postponed; the people are demanding it and he will live by their will… and if they choose independence, he will enforce it. On a day when 20 have already died in clashes, is it any wonder event risk concerns this weekend are surging.
Ukraine is not happy about his visit…
Statement of the MFA of Ukraine on unauthorised visit by the Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol
Dr. Paul Craig Roberts: Moving Closer To War
Dr. Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury during President Reagan’s first term. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal. He has held numerous academic appointments, including the William E. Simon Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Georgetown University, and Senior Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University.
– Moving Closer To War (Paul Craig Roberts, April 26, 2014):
The Obama regime, wallowing in hubris and arrogance, has recklessly escalated the Ukrainian crisis into a crisis with Russia. Whether intentionally or stupidly, Washington’s propagandistic lies are driving the crisis to war. Unwilling to listen to any more of Washington’s senseless threats, Moscow no longer accepts telephone calls from Obama and US top officials.
The crisis in Ukraine originated with Washington’s overthrow of the elected democratic government and its replacement with Washington’s hand-chosen stooges. The stooges proceeded to act in word and deed against the populations in the former Russian territories that Soviet Communist Party leaders had attached to Ukraine. The consequence of this foolish policy is agitation on the part of the Russian speaking populations to return to Russia. Crimea has already rejoined Russia, and eastern Ukraine and other parts of southern Ukraine are likely to follow.
Tit For Tat: Ukraine Blocks Crimea Water Supply With Russia Set To Halt Ukraine Gas
– Tit For Tat: Ukraine Blocks Crimea Water Supply With Russia Set To Halt Ukraine Gas (ZeroHedge, April 26, 2014):
With a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine crisis now officially out of the window as an option to de-escalate the second Cold War, and yet with both sides still leery of engaging in an overt military campaign, there is one last trump card both sides can play – natural resources. Specifically, gas for Russia, and water for Ukraine. Not surprisingly both are in play now.
Moments ago, Russia casually hinted that Ukraine should use part of the IMF aid (which has been promised in virtually all increments between $1 billion up to $18 billion, but at last check not one penny has been wired) to repay Gazprom’s debt, which is anywhere between the $2.2 billion Gazprom has said Ukraine is delinquent on for 2014 gas supplies, and an additional $11.4 billion which is what Gazprom said Ukraine’s state-owned energy firm Naftogaz owes for unused take-or-pay arrangements in 2013.
And here Russia has laid a rather unpleasant, for the interim Kiev government, covenant-trapping Easter egg. As the WSJ explained previously, the additional cash demand adds pressure on Ukraine’s already battered economy and finances, “because its ballooning debt gives Moscow the right to demand an early repayment of a loan. That could theoretically cause a domino effect on about $20 billion of Ukraine sovereign and quasi-sovereign debt.”
Read moreTit For Tat: Ukraine Blocks Crimea Water Supply With Russia Set To Halt Ukraine Gas
Russia opening gov’t-backed startup accelerator in Crimea
– Russia opening gov’t-backed startup accelerator in Crimea (Venture Beat, April 26, 2014):
The Internet Initiatives Development Fund (IIDF, or FRII in Russian), a government-backed fund supporting startup development, will open a remote regional accelerator in Sevastopol, Crimea, as soon as this summer, the Russian business daily Kommersant reported last week.
The fund is expecting to support five to seven projects, which will be evaluated on the local and national levels. Funding will be received based on the results of three month’s work in the accelerator.
Read moreRussia opening gov’t-backed startup accelerator in Crimea
Putin Says ‘Use Of Force In Ukraine Will Have Consequences’ … As Column Of Military Vehicles Seen Heading Toward Border
– Putin Says “Use Of Force In Ukraine Will Have Consequences” As Column Of Military Vehicles Seen Heading Toward Border (ZeroHedge, April 24, 2014):
As expected, Russia has promptly responded to the latest “anti-terrorist” escalation in Ukraine both diplomatically…
- PUTIN SAYS USE OF FORCE IN UKRAINE WILL HAVE CONSEQUENCES – BBG
- PUTIN SAYS IF UKRAINE USING ARMY AGAINST PUBLIC IT’S A CRIME – BBG
- PUTIN SAYS EVENTS IN EAST UKRAINE COULD HAVE HAPPENED IN CRIMEA – BBG
- PUTIN SAYS NO SANCTIONS ARE EFFECTIVE IN MODERN WORLD – BBG
- PUTIN SAYS HE’S LEARNING ABOUT UKRAINE EVENTS FROM MEDIA – BBG
- Use of force against public in Ukraine would be a “very serious crime,” Russian President Vladimir Putin says at meeting w/ media in St. Petersburg.
- Putin said consequences for people involved will depend on how vents evolve in Ukraine
- Putin adds that events in eastern Ukraine could have happened in Crimea, show Russia was right to support referendum there and says that the Geneva accord is not being followed as extremist groups in Ukraine refuse to disarm
.. and militarily. A YouTube clip released moments ago and taken in the Rostov region, shows a large column of military vehicles moving in the direction of Donetsk region. On the highway M-4 are seen tanks, armored personnel carriers and infantry. Following the column are 12 combat helicopters. Written on the sides of vehicles “peacekeeping mission.”
The Man Who Saved Russia’s Economy Counts The Cost Of Crimea
– The Man Who Saved Russia’s Economy Counts the Cost of Crimea (Minyanville’s Wall Street, April 17, 2014):
If anybody knows how much Russia will pay for its confrontation with the West over Ukraine, it should be Alexei Kudrin. As finance minister from 2000-2011, Kudrin engineered his country’s transformation from bankrupt backwater to proud fiscal model. He oversaw 11 years of budgetary surpluses, and managed to sock away the savings in huge reserve funds that rescued Russia after the world crisis of 2008-’09. He finally left government, ironically, after publicly opposing then-President Dmitry Medvedev’s plans for a rapid increase in military expenditure.Read moreThe Man Who Saved Russia’s Economy Counts The Cost Of Crimea
White House Plans Biden Visit To Kiev Amid Eastern Ukraine Tension
Flashback:
– Joe Biden on Shalom TV: ‘I am a ZIONIST’
– White House Plans Biden Visit to Kiev Amid Eastern Ukraine Tension (The Moscow Times, April 13, 2014):
The White House said on Saturday that Vice President Joe Biden would travel to Kiev this month to show support for the Ukrainian government as U.S. officials expressed new concern over “violence and sabotage” by militants it said were apparently supported by Russia in eastern Ukraine.
Biden, set to travel to Kiev on April 22, will become the most senior U.S. official to visit the country since the crisis began there.
Read moreWhite House Plans Biden Visit To Kiev Amid Eastern Ukraine Tension
‘The Liberation Of Southeast Ukraine Has Begun’ – Crimean Vice Premier
– “The Liberation Of Southeast Ukraine Has Begun” – Crimean Vice Premier (ZeroHedge, April 12, 2014):
UPDATE: The Maidan are calling for the leaders to react “Don’t give up like in Crimea”
On the day in which “pro-Russian separatists” are again claiming one after another city in east Ukraine, and when Russia has formally warned that any crackdown on protesters is “unacceptable” implicitly threatening retaliation should the promised use of special forces be implemented, moments ago Rustan Temirgaliev, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Miniisters of recently annexed by Russia Crimea, poured some more fuel into the fire and announced on his Facebook page that “the liberation of Southeast Ukraine has begun.”
…
Meet The Americans Who Put Together The Coup In Kiev
– Meet the Americans Who Put Together the Coup in Kiev (rsn, March 25, 2014):
If the US State Department’s Victoria Nuland had not said “Fuck the EU,” few outsiders at the time would have heard of Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt, the man on the other end of her famously bugged telephone call. But now Washington’s man in Kiev is gaining fame as the face of the CIA-style “destabilization campaign” that brought down Ukraine’s monumentally corrupt but legitimately elected President Viktor Yanukovych.
“Geoffrey Pyatt is one of these State Department high officials who does what he’s told and fancies himself as a kind of a CIA operator,” laughs Ray McGovern, who worked for 27 years as an intelligence analyst for the agency. “It used to be the CIA doing these things,” he tells Democracy Now. “I know that for a fact.” Now it’s the State Department, with its coat-and-tie diplomats, twitter and facebook accounts, and a trick bag of goodies to build support for American policy.
Read moreMeet The Americans Who Put Together The Coup In Kiev
And Another Region Seeks To Join Russia
– And Another Region Seeks To Join Russia (ZeroHedge, April 7, 2014):
In the days after the Crimean referendum, we presented our take on “who is next” in the great annexation scramble and said that the most likely region to enter the USSR 2.0 next is Moldova’s Transnistira region, where in a 2006 referendum some 97% of the population had voted to become part of Russia.
Moments ago this appears to have been confirmed after the president of the territory said the following, via Bloomberg:
- TRANSNISTRIA SEEKING TO JOIN RUSSIA AFTER WINNING INDEPENDENCE
- MOLDOVA’S TRANSNISTRIA REGION SEEKS TO JOIN RUSSIA: PRESIDENT
- TRANSNISTRIA PRESIDENT SHEVCHUK SPEAKING TO REPORTERS ON RUSSIA
One thing is certain: the “west” will not be happy as the Russian territorial expansion continues.
Ukraine Loses State Buildings In Key Eastern Cities To Protesters; Blames Putin – Live Webcast
– Ukraine Loses State Buildings In Key Eastern Cities To Protesters; Blames Putin – Live Webcast (ZeroHedge, April 6, 2014):
Earlier this morning we reported that “Pro-Russia Protesters Seize Government Building In East Ukraine, Demand Autonomy.” We suggested that this was only the first city in eastern Ukraine that would see this kind of internal revolt. Sure enough, hours later, the largest city in East Ukraine and one located in close proximity to Russia, Kharkiv, also saw its state building fall to what appear to be pro-Russia protesters, making it the third major city after Donetsk and nearby Luhansk. This coordinated and largely unexpected pro-Russian action triggering accusations from the pro-European government in Kiev that President Vladimir Putin was orchestrating “separatist disorder.”
From Reuters:
Ukraine’s Interior Minister Arsen Avakov accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of being behind the seizure of state buildings by pro-Russia protesters in eastern Ukraine on Sunday and promised that police would restore order peacefully.
McDonald’s ‘Temporarily Closes’ Crimea Restaurants
McDonald’s has altered its operations in the Crimea after tensions between Russia and the West.
– McDonald’s ‘temporarily closes’ Crimea restaurants (BBC News, April 4, 2014):
McDonald’s has suspended work at its three Crimean restaurants following ongoing diplomatic tensions in the region.
The company said that it would try to support staff, and hopes to re-open its restaurants as soon as possible.
Why Did BRICS Back Russia on Crimea?
– Why Did BRICS Back Russia on Crimea? (The Diplomat, March 31, 2014):
The BRICS’s support for Russia shows the Western-dominated post-Cold War order is eroding.
There’s been no shortage of reports and commentaries on the crisis in Ukraine and Crimea, and Russia’s role in it. Yet one of the more notable recent developments in the crisis has received surprisingly little attention.
Namely, the BRICS grouping (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) has unanimously and, in many ways, forcefully backed Russia’s position on Crimea. The Diplomat has reported on China’s cautious and India’s more enthusiastic backing of Russia before. However, the BRICS grouping as a whole has also stood by the Kremlin.
‘They Never Learn’ – Russia’s Take On The ‘West’ And The Shifting Geopolitical Balance Of Power
– “They Never Learn” – Russia’s Take On The “West” And The Shifting Geopolitical Balance Of Power (ZeroHedge, March 30, 2014):
Over the past month, there has been a lot of “Hilsenrathing”, or the biased media urgently “explaining” to the Western world, just what Russia’s actions mean both tactically in response to Ukraine developments, and strategically as part of Putin’s global perspective. So instead of relying on the broken media narrative which serves merely to perpetuate US corporate interests and rally the public behind this or that company’s geopolitical interests, here, straight from the horse’s mouth, in this case Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, how Russia sees itself in a world in which it is allegedly “isolated”, and “threatening Ukraine” with further invasion but more importantly, how the Russians view the rapidly changing global balance of power, in which post-USSR Russia has emerged from the backwood of slighted nations and stormed to the stage of nations who dare defy the former global hegemon, the US.
Some notable highlights by Lavrov from the interview conducted with Rossiya 24: