The "Ukraine Situation" Explained In One Map
Sadly, everything you need to know about the crisis in Ukraine in one worrisome map which summarizes all the relevant "red lines."
Given this - is there any doubt this will not end with peaceful resolution.
As Martin Armstrong warned this morning:
BOTH the USA and EU will now fund the rebels as Russia will fund Yanukovych. At the political level, Ukraine is the pawn on the chessboard. The propaganda war is East v West. However, those power plays are masking the core issue that began with the Orange Revolution – corruption.Yanukovych is a dictator who will NEVER leave office. It is simple as that. There will be no REAL elections again in Ukraine. This is starting to spiral down into a confrontation that the entire world cannot ignore.
EU imposes sanctions on Ukrainian officials |
Bloc agrees to put travel ban and asset freeze on officials as dozens of people are killed in the capital Kiev.
Last updated: 21 Feb 2014 00:42
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| The European Union has agreed to impose a travel ban and asset freeze on Ukrainian officials who are deemed responsible for the violence in the country, according to EU foreign ministers and officials. Thursday's announcement came hours after at least 70 people were killed in the anti-government protests in Ukraine, a day after the US imposed its own targeted sanctions on various Ukrainian officials.  "In light of the deteriorating situation, the EU has decided as a matter of urgency to introduce targeted sanctions including asset freeze and visa ban against those responsible for human rights violations, violence and use of excessive force," Catherine Ashton, EU foreign affairs and security policy chief, said in a news conference after the meeting, reading the EU statement. "Member states agreed to suspend [Ukrainian] export licences on equipment which might be used for internal repression." Speaking as she left the Brussels gathering, Emma Bonino, the Italian foreign minister, said that the EU sanctions would be imposed very rapidly. "The decision is to proceed very rapidly, in the next hours, to a visa ban and asset freeze on those who have committed the violence," she told reporters. She also said EU member states also agreed to offer medical assistance and visas to the injured and to dissidents. Bonino said the position had been agreed with the French, German and Polish foreign ministers, who are currently in Kiev negotiating with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. The three foreign ministers, who met Yanukovych in Kiev on Thursday, have extended their stay until Friday. They were reporting back to the emergency ministerial EU meeting in Brussels. An EU diplomat told Reuters news agency that the number of people on the list however "will depend on developments on the ground". US warning Joe Biden, the US president, also warned Yanukovych that the US was ready to impose sanctions on officials guilty of ordering troops to fire on protesters. Biden spoke to the Ukrainian leader by telephone and "made clear that the United States is prepared to sanction those officials responsible for the violence," the White House said in a statement. At least 70 people were killed during street fighting between protesters and riot police in Kiev on Thursday, while the country's interior ministry announced that 67 police officers were seized by the protesters. Ukraine is the object of a geopolitical tug-of-war between Moscow, which sees it as the historical cradle of Russian civilisation, and the West, which says Ukrainians should be free to choose economic rapprochement with the EU. The protests by EU-supporters in the country have been going on since late November. Russia, which has been holding back new loan installment until it sees stability in Kiev, has various times condemned EU and US support of the opposition demands that Yanukovich, elected in 2010, should share power and hold new elections. |
Snipers..........
Dozens Killed In Ukraine's (Not Quite) Civil War, White House Outraged Again
The Ukrainian health minister just state that at least 64 have died since February 18th; protesters claim the number is over 100 - either way, this is horrific (and we suspect, once the Olympics is over, will get worse). As Martin Armstrong outlines below, Ukraine is the pawn on the chessboard. The propaganda war is East v West.
- WHITE HOUSE URGES UKRAINE PRESIDENT TO IMMEDIATELY WITHDRAW SECURITY FORCES FROM DOWNTOWN KIEV, RESOLVE CRISIS BY POLITICAL MEANS
- WHITE HOUSE SAYS OUTRAGED BY IMAGES OF UKRAINIAN SECURITY FORCES "FIRING AUTOMATIC WEAPONS ON THEIR OWN PEOPLE" (more YouTube justifications)
And Russia proclaims US/EU calls for sanctions as "Blackmail"
Via NY Times,Russia on Thursday denounced moves by the United States and Europe to impose sanctions on Ukrainian officials following the eruption of violence in the capital, Kiev, and other cities, saying they amounted to blackmail against the government of President Viktor F. Yanukovych.Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, also criticized a visit by the foreign ministers of France, Germany and Poland, saying the European Union had dispatched its “latest uninvited mission” to Ukraine’s capital, Kiev, to impose a solution by forcing Mr. Yanukovych to compromise.“How can you expect that your services will be in demand when the parallel threat of sanctions makes everything very similar to blackmail?” Mr. Lavrov said in remarks during a visit to Iraq, according to Interfax.
However, those power plays are masking the core issue that began with the Orange Revolution – corruption. Armstrong warns that"Yanukovych is a dictator who will never leave office. It is simple as that. There will be no real elections again in Ukraine." This is starting to spiral down into a confrontation that the entire world cannot ignore.
h/t @VICEUK
The Funding Begins
For months before the proposed alignment with the EU, there were signs all over Ukraine pro and con about joining Europe that was a campaign in part funded by the EU to sell the idea to Ukraine. This funding has been CONFUSED with the funding for the “rebels” to engage in revolution that Putin calls a coup. There is HUGE difference from the funding Germany and the EU was providing to sell Ukraine on the idea of joining the Europe compared to funding a revolution as the Saudis are doing in Syria.
But overlooked, was the resentment with corruption. After all, Ukraine’s 2004 Orange Revolution that toppled the government without a shot fired. That too was over corruption. For you see, the Orange Revolution swept then-prime minister Yanukovych out in 2004 and that brought Tymoshenko to power. It is widely viewed that Yanukovych stole his current position of power and his decision not to sign the deal with the EU centers on the EU’s demands that he release from jail former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, his political opponent who he had imprisoned. So you are starting to get a sense of the depth to this corruption.
The changes that followed the Orange Revolution simply weren’t deep enough and Yanukovych has always been more pro-Russian. To the Western Ukrainians, this is a chance to get on a different trajectory and they did not expect this would turn violent since there was no such resistance during the Orange Revolution. On this score, they are wrong.
This resentment toward corruption has been rising sharply once again. Make no mistake about it, at the core is ALWAYS economics. Ukraine is desperately in need of a cash injection because the government is so corrupt. Yanukovych, who has been in power since 2010, and he said that Ukraine could not afford to sign the EU deal. The question was really who was putting more money is his pocket.
Germany is now starting the funding or the “rebels” as is the USA. Russia is funding the mercenaries and gave Ukraine $2 billion with demands to crush the rebels. Russia is portraying this as a coup funded by the USA. Ironically, funding is now starting. Nobody funded the “rebels” initially for had they done so,they would have been armed. The Orange Revolution was bloodless and they expected the same result so they did not seek funding for that purpose.
Of course, there was funding for “promotion” selling the EU deal to the people coming from Germany and the EU. But this was more directed into a marketing campaign that filled the cities with signs and posters. That was NOT funding that was going in with the expectation of civil war. There is a GREAT difference. Nonetheless, the violent attacks by Yanukovych’s mercenaries is now showing the West they need to fund the rebels.
The constitutional reforms that are demanded by the protesters demonstrates that this is at its core about corruption and not about joining the EU or Russia as the media is playing up. Nor are the reforms just about money. This is all about political power. This is about Yanukovych who has effectively established a de facto dictatorship. The opposition have called for the ouster of Yanukovych and the ordering of new elections for he stole the elections and imprisoned the former President who ousted him. The general view is that control of the government is a dictatorship for far too much power rests with Yanukovych and not enough with parliament. There are no checks and balances. This is the corruption that lies at the core demand – something that Yanukovych will sooner murder the entire West before ever letting go of any power. This is the core issue and why thousands of protesters have staked their lives on their desire for political change. This is NOT about joining the EU v Russia. They want HONEST government.
The very next day when protester approached his mansion, he enacted a law that it was illegal for more than 5 cars to travel together. He had his mercenaries not “killing” people but imprisoning them as hostages and others were being left in the forest stripped of all identification to die. One girl who was just helping the protesters as a nurse was seen at the train station taken by Yanukovych’s goons, and left in the forest at night to die.
BOTH the USA and EU will now fund the rebels as Russia will fund Yanukovych. At the political level, Ukraine is the pawn on the chessboard. The propaganda war is East v West. However, those power plays are masking the core issue that began with the Orange Revolution – corruption. Yanukovych is a dictator who will NEVER leave office. It is simple as that. There will be no REAL elections again in Ukraine. This is starting to spiral down into a confrontation that the entire world cannot ignore.
+++++++++++++++++
So does sniper-fire at your own civilian population cross Obama's red line?
UKRAINE TRUCE SHATTERED — 50 MORE DEAD
REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko
A woman reacts as anti-government protesters place a dead body on a stretcher after violence erupted in the Independence Square in Kiev February 20, 2014.
The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Poland were to report back in Brussels later in the day to EU colleagues, who will decide on possible targeted sanctions against those deemed responsible for the bloodshed.Russia criticized the European and U.S. measures, saying they would only make matters worse.
A Ukrainian presidential statement said dozens of police were killed or wounded during the opposition offensive hours after Yanukovich and opposition leaders had agreed on a truce. Witnesses said they saw snipers firing during the clashes. The Health Ministry said two police were among Thursday's dead.
That raised the total death toll since Tuesday to at least 51, including at least 12 police - by far the bloodiest hours of Ukraine's 22-year post-Soviet history. Local media said more than 30 protesters were killed in Thursday's flare-up.
The country is the object of a geopolitical tug-of-war between Moscow, which sees it as the historical cradle of Russian civilization, and the West, which says Ukrainians should be free to choose economic rapprochement with the EU.
The renewed fighting, which subsided after about an hour, heightened concern voiced by neighboring Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk that Ukraine could descend into civil war or split between the pro-European West and Russian-speaking east.
The EU ministers' meeting with Yanukovich was delayed for security reasons but began an hour late. They expected to present him with a mixture of sanctions and enticements to make a deal with his opponents that could end the bloodshed.
A statement from Yanukovich's office said: "They (the protesters) are working in organized groups. They are using firearms, including sniper rifles. They are shooting to kill.
"The number of dead and injured among police officers is dozens," the statement on the presidential website said.
Opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko said on Sky TV: "As we can see the truce has broken."
Television showed activists in combat fatigues leading several captured, uniformed policemen across the square.
POLICE OFFICERS CAPTURED
Activists who recaptured the square, known as Maidan or "Euro-Maidan" to the opposition, appeared to lead away several uniformed officers. Dozens of wounded protesters were being given makeshift first aid treatment in the lobby of the Ukraine Hotel, where many foreign correspondents are staying.
Reporters said there were bullet holes in the walls and windows of the hotel overlooking the square. Both sides have accused the other of using live ammunition.
"Black smoke, denotations and gunfire around presidential palace ... Officials panicky," tweeted Polish ministerRadoslaw Sikorski to explain the delay in the meeting at Yanukovich's office, a few hundred meters from the square.
Pro-EU activists have been keeping vigil there since the president turned his back on a trade pact with the bloc in November and accepted financial aid from Moscow.
Russia, which has been holding back a new loan installment until it sees stability in Kiev, has condemned EU and U.S. support of the opposition demands that Yanukovich, elected in 2010, should share power and hold new elections.
In an apparent criticism of Yanukovich's handling of the crisis, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday that Moscow could only cooperate fully with Ukraine when its leadership was in "good shape", Interfax news agency said.
The crisis in the sprawling country of 46 million with an ailing economy and endemic corruption has mounted since Yanukovich, under pressure from the Kremlin, took a $15-billion Russian bailout instead of a wide-ranging deal with the EU.
The United States stepped up pressure on Wednesday by imposing travel bans on 20 senior Ukrainian officials, and European Union foreign ministers are due to meet in Brussels later on Thursday to consider similar measures.
A statement on Yanukovich's website announced an accord late on Wednesday with opposition leaders for "the start to negotiations with the aim of ending bloodshed, and stabilizing the situation in the state in the interest of social peace".
Responding cautiously, U.S. President Barack Obama deemed the truce a "welcome step forward", but said he would monitor the situation closely to "ensure that actions mirror words".
"Our approach in the United States is not to see these as some Cold War chessboard in which we're in competition with Russia," Obama said after a North American summit in Mexico.
At Russia's Winter Olympics in Sochi some members of Ukraine's team have decided to leave because of the violence at home, the International Olympic Committee said on Thursday.
COMBATIVE MOOD
Protesters were in a truculent mood despite the overnight lull and columns of men, bearing clubs and chanting patriotic songs headed to Independence Square at 8:30 a.m. (0130 ET).
"What truce? There is no truce! It is simply war ahead of us! They are provoking us. They throw grenades at us. Burn our homes. We have been here for three months and during that time nothing burned," said 23-year-oldPetro Maksimchuk.
"These are not people. They are killers. Sanctions will not help. They all should be sent into isolation in Siberia."
Serhiy, a 55-year-old from the western city of Lviv who declined to give his surname, added: "It is bad that Ukraineis already broken into two parts. In the west the police and army are with us but in the east, they are against us.
"It is the 'Yanukovichers' who are dividing us."
In Lviv, a bastion of Ukrainian nationalism since Soviet times, the regional assembly declared autonomy from Yanukovich and his administration, which many west Ukrainians see as much closer to Moscow and to Ukraine's Russian-speaking east.
Yanukovich, who replaced the head of the armed forces, had denounced the bloodshed in central Kiev as an attempted coup. His security service said launched a nationwide "anti-terrorist operation" after arms and ammunition dumps were looted.
The EU ministers were expected to consider a series of possible steps including asset freezes and travel bans, even though diplomats doubt the are effective.
Jumping out ahead of its EU allies, Washington imposed U.S. visa bans on 20 government officials it considered "responsible for ordering human rights abuses related to political oppression", a State Department official said.
"These individuals represent the full chain of command we consider responsible for ordering the security forces to move against" the protesters, the official said.
EU officials said Yanukovich himself would be excluded from such measures in order to keep channels of dialogue open.
Diplomats said the threat of sanctions could also target assets held in the West by Ukrainian business oligarchs who have either backed Yanukovich or are sitting on the fence.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has met Yanukovich six times since the crisis began, has kept quiet on the flare-up. But Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov blamed the West for inciting opposition radicals and called the threat of sanctions blackmail.
Ukraine's hryvnia currency, flirting with its lowest levels since the global financial crisis five years ago, weakened again on Thursday.
Possibly due to the risk of sanctions, three of Ukraine's richest magnates have stepped up pressure on Yanukovich to hold back from using force.
"There are no circumstances which justify the use of force toward the peaceful population," steel and coal magnate Rinat Akhmetov, who bankrolled Yanukovich's 2010 election campaign said in a statement late on Tuesday.
(Additional reporting by Natalya Zinets, Pavel Polityuk and Alessandra Prentice in Kiev; Writing by Richard Balmforth and Paul Taylor; Editing by Alastair MacDonald)
http://rt.com/news/ukraine-blackmail-west-sanctions-910/
Threats of sanctions against Ukraine look like blackmail - Lavrov
Threats of sanctions against the Ukrainian government look like blackmail, and a demand for early elections is a way to force Kiev towards the EU, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. The sanctions will only encourage extremists, he added.
Lavrov on Thursday blasted the sanctions against Ukraine, some of which have already been imposed by the US, and are now being eyed by the EU, as “double standards.” Such actions will only encourage extremists to continue violence in the country, he said.
“The [Ukrainian] opposition cannot or does not want to dissociate itself from extremists. The US lays all the blame on the Ukrainian government – this is a double standard,” Lavrov said.
“The EU is also trying to discuss the imposing of sanctions, at the same time there are uninvited missions coming to Ukraine. Such actions resemble blackmail,” the minister said.
Not only are such threats “inappropriate,” but also will aggravate the conflict in Ukraine, Foreign Ministry spokesman, Aleksandr Lukashevich, has said.
There is “no doubt” there is a “plain coup attempt” going on in Ukraine, with armed rioters widely using firearms, the spokesman added.
“We strongly condemn the actions of radicals and extremists, who are mostly responsible for violence and bloody riots. Serious responsibility also lies with the opposition, who have been unable to fulfill the agreements reached with the government,” Lukashevich said.
The so-called Maidan leaders must “immediately stop bloodshed” and “continue seeking a peaceful resolution to the crisis without threats or ultimatums,” he stressed.
Moscow is not interfering in the internal conflict in Ukraine, Lukashevich said, adding that there are plenty of “false flag reports,” such as Russian riot police taking part in quelling the riots, which are distributed over social networks and by “some politicians.”
The individual sanctions that the US and the EU are trying to impose are “absolutely illegitimate” from the point of view of the international law, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
The only legitimate sanctions can be imposed by the UN Security Council, the ministry stressed.
The only legitimate sanctions can be imposed by the UN Security Council, the ministry stressed.
http://rt.com/news/ukraine-maidan-rioters-offensive-880/
The battle for Kiev’s Independence Square has reignited as rioters clash with security forces amid sniper fire. The death toll has increased to 35, the Ukrainian Health Ministry confirmed.
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It has also announced that 505 people have been injured in the turmoil, with around 300 of those admitted to hospital.
Rioters have reached the Rada building (the country's parliament), while the police have been pushed back into Mariinsky park nearby. An emergency evacuation has been declared and parliament members and employees are leaving the building.
Protesters hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails at the police on Thursday morning as violence broke out once again in spite of the day of mourning that had been declared as a mark of respect for the 35 people who have died in the unrest. Ambulances have been sent to Maidan and video footage shows several people carried away on stretchers. Police are throwing tear gas grenades at protesters, according to Unian news agency.
Protesters pushed security forces off Independence Square and seized Oktyabrsky Palace - a major concert hall in the Ukrainian capital - and Hotel Ukraine. Gunfire can be heard throughout the Ukrainian capital.
Furthermore, a dozen police officers have reportedly been captured by demonstrators on Independence Square.
The Interior Ministry of Ukraine said that at least 23 police officers had been injured by sniper fire on Independence Square. The protesters are “openly using fire arms against the Berkut [Special Forces],” wrote the Interior Ministry in a statement.
“The injured are currently receiving emergency medical help,” said the Interior Ministry.
Police say that the sniper fire originated from the roof of Kiev’s Conservatory and targeted officers. The Ukrainian opposition claims that protesters were also caught in the gunfire.
“I think the opposition has crossed the line. I think the policy of negotiations has exhausted itself,” said the deputy head of the Party of Regions, Oleg Tsarev, in parliament.
Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovich met with opposition leaders on Wednesday evening where a temporary truce was agreed to mourn the victims of the mass unrest. Hardline opposition group Right Sector rejected the truce and urged its followers to continue the offensive.
In response to the continuing violence in Ukraine, the international community has threatened sanctions if both sides do not return to the negotiation table.
Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovich met with opposition leaders on Wednesday evening where a temporary truce was agreed to mourn the victims of the mass unrest. Hardline opposition group Right Sector rejected the truce and urged its followers to continue the offensive.
In response to the continuing violence in Ukraine, the international community has threatened sanctions if both sides do not return to the negotiation table.
Foreign Ministers from Poland, France and Germany were scheduled to meet with Yanukovich and opposition leaders on Thursday, but left the city unexpectedly for security reasons.
US President Barack Obama spoke out against the violence in Kiev on Wednesday evening, warning of“consequences.”
“We’ll be monitoring very carefully the situation, recognizing that, along with our European partners and the international community, there will be consequences if people step over the line,” Obama said.
“We’ll be monitoring very carefully the situation, recognizing that, along with our European partners and the international community, there will be consequences if people step over the line,” Obama said.
http://rt.com/news/kiev-clashes-rioters-police-571/
Embattled Ukraine: Kiev’s vicious cycle of violence rages on
At least 35 people have died in the street violence, as the broken truce between the government and the opposition has turned the Ukrainian capital into bloody turmoil.
Thursday, February 20
12:18 GMT:
Officers of the Berkut special police task force have been armed with combat weapons, announced the press-secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Sergey Burlakov.
“The situation is complicated. Snipers have been targeting our officers. The shooting came from automatic weapons and sniper rifles. We have 29 people wounded, and one officer has died in hospital,”Burlakov said.
The police press-secretary refused to comment on the overall number of victims in the Kiev firefight, saying he only has reliable information for law enforcement victims.
Fierce clashes in Kiev as new wave of unrest grips Ukraine
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