Saturday, February 22, 2014

Ukraine updates February 22 , 2014 - Eastern Russian speaking regions breaking away ? Ukraine president goes missing as protesters seize office - looks like the great peace talks from yesterday and the truce between the Opposition and the Government wasn't accepted by the protesters on the street ( the ones taking the bullets ) ...


Where things stand today 2/23/14........ With Sochi over today , the Ukrainian Games truly begin......


http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-02-23/eu-offers-conditional-aid-ukraines-catastrophic-pre-default-economic-state



EU Offers Conditional "Aid" For Ukraine's "Catastrophic, Pre-Default" Economic State

Tyler Durden's picture





 
"There is no money in Ukraine's Treasury account," exclaimed 'Interim President' Oleksandr Turchynov to the Ukrainian parliament; adding that the Ukraine economy is in a "catastrophic state."
  • *THERE ARE PROBLEMS WITH BANKING SYSTEM AND HRYVNIA: TURCHYNOV
  • *PROBLEMS WITH PENSION FUND ARE "COLOSSAL": TURCHYNOV
  • *UKRAINE'S ECONOMY IS IN A `PRE-DEFAULT' SITUATION: TURCHYNOV
Hardly surprising given the months of protest; but with Russia 'conditionally' postponing its EUR2bn 'loan', the Europeans are riding to the nation's aid with promises of EUR20bn (if Ukrainian authorities meet certain conditions). But, as the map below shows, a great deal of the nation's wealth lies in the eastern (pro-Russia) region.

  • *NEW UKRAINE GOVT'S PRIORITY IS TO RETURN TO EU PATH: TURCHYNOV
  • *RUSSIA SHOULD RECOGNIZE UKRAINE'S EUROPEAN CHOICE: TURCHYNOV

Russia is on hold but the Europeans are willing... conditionally...
The European Commission has said it is ready to conclude a trade deal with and offer aid to Ukraine once a new government is in place in Kiev, Reuters reported Feb. 23. An EU official added that the European bloc could give the country more than 20 billion euros (some $27 billion) if Ukrainian authorities meet certain conditions, The Wall Street Journal reported. According to the official, this figure is a conservative estimate of the potential assistance Ukraine could receive from EU members. Russia is currently holding out on economic aid to Ukraine as it waits to see how the country's political crisis plays out.
But as a reminder, a great deal of the nation's wealth resides in non-pro-Europe eastern Ukraine...
The Economic Consequences of Ukrainian Federalism (via Stratfor)
For a country like Ukraine, the appeal of federalism, which divides authority between the central government and its constituent regions, is undeniable. Located in Europe's borderlands, Ukraine has been contested by its neighbors for centuries, a competition that has left it internally divided along linguistic, cultural and religious lines. Broadly speaking, Ukraine is divided between the east and the west, with eastern Ukraine favoring Russia and western Ukraine favoring Europe. Ukraine's regions are also distinct economically. The country's industrial base is located in the east. The east's close proximity to Russia creates strong cross-border trade that enriches regional economies.According to Ukraine's government statistics service, manufacturing contributes at least three times more than agriculture to the country's gross domestic product. Thus, eastern regions generally have higher per capita GDP rates. In 2011, the per capita GDP in the eastern region of Dnipropetrovsk, the country's most important industrial center, was 42,068 Ukrainian hryvnia ($4,748), while it was only 20,490 hryvnia ($2,312) in Lviv region, which is one of western Ukraine's industrial centers.
Seven of Ukraine's 10 largest private companies by revenue are either headquartered or maintain the majority of their operations in eastern Ukraine. These firms are owned by some of Ukraine's wealthiest and most influential individuals. Three of these 10 corporations -- mining and steel company Metinvest, energy firm DTEK and its subsidiary Donetskstal -- are based in the eastern industrial city of Donetsk and are owned by Ukraine's wealthiest man, Rinat Akhmetov. Interpipe, the company that controls 10 percent of the world market share of railway wheels and more than 11 percent of the world market share of manganese ferroalloys, is based in Dnipropetrovsk and belongs to businessman and politician Victor Pinchuk.
The country's most important businessmen are embedded in the east, where their businesses make disproportionately high contributions to the Ukrainian economy and national budget. Westerners staunchly oppose federalism because they believe it would threaten their economic and security interests. Others believe it could dissolve Ukraine as a country, leaving the west weak and defenseless against the Russia-backed east. Whether or not these concerns are misplaced, federalism would in fact benefit eastern regions disproportionately by giving them more control over state revenue, aggravating the socioeconomic tensions between the regions.

However, the Ukrainians are keeping their options open...
  • *`WE ARE READY TO HAVE A DIALOG WITH RUSSIA:' TURCHYNOV
  • *UKRAINE TIES WITH RUSSIA SHOULD BE ON EQUAL FOOTING: TURCHYNOV



http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-02-23/russia-add-stealth-subs-mediterranean-force



Russia To Add "Stealth" Subs To Mediterranean Force
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 02/23/2014 15:45 -0500

Ukraine




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Many have been surprised by the lack of public response by Russia to the ongoings in Ukraine. Aside from some comments by Siluanov, the response has been concerning in its absence from the iron fist. However, quietly and with little new coverage, RiaNovosti reports that the combat capability of Russia’s naval task force in the Mediterranean will increase significantly - for the first time in decades - following the first deliveries of Varshavyanka-class submarines (with advanced stealth technology dubbed "black holes in the ocean") to the Black Sea Fleet.



Via RiaNovosti,

Russia formed a permanent naval task force in the Mediterranean last year to defend its interests in the region. The move was widely seen, however, as a response to calls for international intervention in the worsening civil war in Syria, Russia’s longtime ally.

The task force currently consists of 12 warships and auxiliary vessels, including the nuclear-powered missile cruiser Pyotr Veliky and aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov.



According to Chirkov, the Russian warships are taking part in an international operation to remove chemical weapons stockpiles from Syria.

“In general, the tasks assigned to the Mediterranean group are absolutely clear: to thwart any threat to Russia’s borders and security,” the admiral said, adding that it is normal practice for any country to keep naval assets in vital regions around the globe.

Chirkov said that the first Varshavyanka-class diesel-electric submarine, the Novorossiisk, will join the Black Sea Fleet in 2015.



The Defense Ministry has ordered a total of six Varshavyanka-class subs, dubbed “black holes in the ocean” by the US Navy because they are nearly undetectable when submerged.

...

The Varshavyanka-class (Project 636) is an improved version of the Kilo-class submarines and features advanced stealth technology, extended combat range and the ability to strike land, surface and underwater targets.

The submarines are mainly intended for anti-shipping and anti-submarine missions in relatively shallow waters.

...

The Black Sea Fleet has not received new submarines for decades and currently operates only one boat: the Kilo-class Alrosa, which joined the navy in 1990.







Ukraine speaker given presidential powers

Authority handed over by parliament but legitimacy of vote muddy as location of President Yanukovich unclear.

Last updated: 23 Feb 2014 11:25
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Yulia Tymoshenko told crowds on Independence Square they were "best thing in Ukraine" [AFP]

Ukraine's parliament has voted to temporarily hand over the duties of president to the speaker of the assembly, Oleksander Turchinov, who told deputies to agree on the formation of a national unity government by Tuesday.

"This is a priority task," Turchinov said in parliament.

He said discussions on the new government should begin immediately, one day after the chamber voted to oust President Viktor Yanukovich and two days after an agreement was reached with Yanukovich on the need to form a national unity government.

The legitimacy of Sunday's vote is unclear. Yanukovich has said that a flurry of parliament decisions in recent days are illega and that the parliament is now illegitimate.

The Verhovna Rada voted overwhelmingly to temporarily hand the president's powers to Turchinov, a close ally of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, the president's main foe.

Parliament also voted to oust the foreign minister and was told by the country's acting prosecutor that and order had been given to detain the former incomes minister and the former prosecutor-general.
The whereabouts of Yanukovich remained unclear on Sunday, a day after he left the capital and rival Tymoshenko was freed from prison and returned to Kiev to address a massive, adoring crowd.

Ukrainian news agencies, citing the deputy head of the State Border Service, reported that a chartered airplane with Yanukovich onboard was denied permission to take off from Donetsk, a city in eastern Ukraine that is the president's base of support.

The center of Kiev, meanwhile, was calm as the sun came up Sunday, the Associated Press news agency reported, after a day that saw a stunning reversal of fortune in Ukraine's political crisis.
Protesters on Saturday took control of the presidential administration building, and thousands of Ukrainians roamed the  suddenly open grounds of the lavish compound outside Kiev where Yanukovich was believed to live.

The political crisis in the nation of 46 million, strategically important for Europe, Russia and the United States, has changed with blinding speed repeatedly in the past week.
First there were signs that tensions were easing, followed by horrifying violence and then a deal signed under Western pressure that aimed to resolve the conflict but left the unity of the country in question.

'Tymoshenko's fire'

Former prime minister Tymoshenko was both sad and excited as she spoke to a crowd of about 50,000 on Kiev's Independence Square, where a sprawling protest tent camp was set up in December.

Addressing her supporters, she praised protesters who were killed this week in clashes with police that included sniper fire and entreating the living to keep the camp going.

The Health Ministry on Saturday said the death toll in clashes between protesters and police that included sniper attacks had reached 82.

The president's authority in Kiev appeared to be eroding by the hour. He spoke on television in Kharkiv, the heartland of his base of support and ironically the same city where Tymoshenko was imprisoned.
"Everything that is happening today is, to a greater degree, vandalism and banditry and a coup d'etat," he said. "I will do everything to protect my country from breakup, to stop bloodshed."

Ukraine is deeply divided between eastern regions that are largely pro-Russian and western areas that widely detest Yanukovich and long for closer ties with the European Union.

Yanukovich's shelving of an agreement with the EU in November set off the wave of protests, but they quickly expanded their grievances to corruption, human rights abuses and calls for Yanukovich's resignation.
















Aftermath of the fall of Yanukovych views ..... Two observations

http://cluborlov.blogspot.com/2014/02/shock-over-ukraine.html


SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2014


Shock over Ukraine


Pawel Kuczyński
[Update: I am pushing this live a few days early, because the Ukrainian situation is evolving so rapidly. One political corpse (Yanukovych) is out; apparently he has fled to Russia. Another political corpse (Tymoshenko) has been hastily rehabilitated and is ready to be put on the ballot for elections in May. Question is, Will there still be a country for her to (pretend to) run? Financial reserves are down to a few days, federal structures are being dismantled throughout the country, regional governors are fleeing, and a default on some €60 billion of Ukrainian bonds, many held by Russian banks, seems likely. Could this be just the kind of financial contagion needed to finally pop the ridiculous US equities bubble? At least two Ukrainian provinces are openly talking secession; one (Crimea) wants to immediately join Russian Federation. A question for US State Dept. flunkies and EU functionaries: What does that do to your geopolitical calculus? At risk are five nuclear power plants and a lot of Russian gas that transits Ukraine on its way west. Ukraine is shaping up to be a lot like Yugoslavia, except with more than twice as many people, lots of crazed street fighters who think they now own the place, and a role critical to European energy security. If you aren't in shock about this, then you haven't been paying attention.]

I've been receiving a lot of emails asking me what I thought was happening in Ukraine. It took me a while to formulate an opinion, but what I now think is happening is this: a complete and utter failure of politics on every level.


Everyone has failed: the EU representatives, the US State Department with its Victoria “Fuck the EU” Nuland, the Yanukovych government, its political opponents, and the Kremlin. And now they are all in shock and nobody knows what to do. Except for the protesters, who do know what to do: continue to protest. Most of them don't even know what it is they are protesting, but, in essence, they are protesting the very existence of their country, which is made up of two parts: Eastern Poland, which is Ukrainian-speaking and predominantly Catholic, and Western Russia, which is Russian-speaking and predominantly Orthodox. The “Russians” outnumber the “Ukrainians” two to one. The ultimate resolution to the crisis lies in partitioning the country. Nobody has the stomach to even talk about it—yet. But until that happens we will continue being subjected to this strange spectacle, where every single actor in Ukraine does everything possible to undermine the country's political system. Deep down, the Ukrainians don't want there to be a different government in Kiev—they don't want there to be a government in Kiev at all.

I now turn it over to Andrey Tymofeiuk, a Kiev resident who posted the following on his Facebook page, in obscenity-riddled Russian. (The Russian language is remarkably rich in obscenities, which pack tremendous expressive power but don't translate into English with its paltry collection of four-letter words.) I think he provided a good, information-rich summary of the situation from all the angles, his graduate-level potty-mouth notwithstanding, so please give him props. Translation and clean-up are mine.


I think that the current situation is such that everyone is in terrible shock over what's happening.
The EU representatives are shocked most of all. They were playing at being skillful diplomats, who stooped to work with the barbarous dictator of a third-world country. He was supposed to quiver with anticipation over his handout, in the form of an EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, which would have allowed him to don the mantle of the great Euro-integrator and win the 2015 elections.

Gazing down from their lofty diplomatic perch, these experts were blindsided when the barbarous dictator suddenly decided to do a bit of arithmetic, spotted a flaw in the deal (Ukrainian national bankruptcy) and swiftly decided to take his 46 million slaves away from the EU and give them to Moscow instead. And then, due to their ridiculous bureaucracy and complete lack of understanding of Ukrainian reality, they allowed an initially peaceful protest to develop into something like civil war.

The EU representatives really don't need a bloody quagmire with a humanitarian crisis, hundreds of thousands of refugees, terrorist attacks, tanks on the streets and other such joys, and they will try to do all they can to prevent it, even if this means that the thick-headed barbarous dictator has to stay in power. But the problem is that the barbarous dictator seems to have lost his mind.

Now the EU representatives will have to answer some very difficult questions from television viewers back home. Such as: “Why are the people waving EU flags wearing Nazi emblems? Are we supporting Nazis?” or “If they are peaceful, then why are they throwing Molotov cocktails at policemen and taking them hostage?” That's just for starters. Here is a more serious question: “Do we really want 46 million of these violent barbarians to join the EU?” And how about this one: “What makes you think that the five Ukrainian nuclear power plants will remain safe if the country falls into chaos?” Just one more, but it's a doosie: “If Ukraine becomes ungovernable, how are we going to get our fix of Russian natural gas next winter? Are we going to freeze to death?” But the EU representatives may not have to field such questions much longer because their diplomatic careers may be at an end. After all, they haven't been too effective, have they? To transform a perfectly peaceful protest into a bloody mess is not exactly the pinnacle of European diplomacy. A few mid-level al Qaeda operatives could have managed the job just as well.

Ukrainian opposition leaders are in shock as well. They were all ready to use the energy of the demonstrators to advance their own political ambitions—but now these ambitions seem rather beside the point. They are politicians, not field commanders, and now they don't know what to do. Their task is an immensely intricate one: on the one hand, they must act like ardent revolutionaries, or the crowd will turn against them, haul them off the podium and string them up; on the other hand, they have to placate the Europeans and somehow make them believe that they still have influence, that this is still a peaceful protest, and that they are not leading illegal combatants to overthrow lawful authority, but legitimate, peaceful protesters. They still hope that the Europeans will give them jobs in the new puppet government once this is all over. So far, this is not working, and they themselves no longer believe that they are in control of anything. They sign agreements to end hostilities, and hostilities continue.

The barbarous dictator, Yanukovych, is in shock too. His luck has been quite good until now, but has suddenly run out. He rose from low ranks, became one of the kingpins of the Donbass region, survived the collapse of 2004 and then got rich and built himself a palatial estate complete with a Solid Gold Toilet. Up until now he had several different ways of winning the elections in 2015. After that, he could have borrowed a page from Lukashenko's playbook and fashioned himself into Ukraine's president-for-life. But now that dream is gone.

He had a couple of chances to resolve the situation, but he made missteps, constantly listening to the hard-liners in his administration, and now the situation is serious and his options quite limited. After the events of February 18 there is no way for him to even claim to be a caretaker president, in power until the 2015 elections. His special forces can't disperse the protesters. He was counting on Putin's help, but Putin is less than pleased with his avarice and stupidity, and is noncommittal even about granting him asylum should he need to escape from Kiev. Plus, he'd be leaving behind the Solid Gold Toilet. But if he sticks around the people might hang him. He has gone from trying to survive the next election to trying to survive until the next election.

The administration's hard-liners are in shock too. They sincerely believed that all they have to do is wave some night-sticks and the crowds will disperse. They trucked in special forces, traffic cops, criminals under their control, assorted zombie idiots, and ordered them all to attack the protesters. They tried it once—nothing; tried it again—still nothing. Protesters aren't dispersing. Just the opposite: the more they beat on the protesters, the more their numbers grow and the more violent their tactics become. Once they saw an armored personnel carrier —a symbol of their invincibility—engulfed in flames, their hands started to shake. They don't think that Yanukovych will abandon them, but what can he do? Order in the army? But the army people haven't been placated with special privileges like the special forces and the police, don't have much to lose, and could easily cross over to the other side.

The special forces are in even greater shock. A lot of them also worked as policemen, happily beating up football hooligans and collecting bribes from businessmen. And now they are confronted with a most unwelcome situation: the hooligans and the businessmen are united against them. In the beginning it was fun for them—beat on defenseless people in the center of Kiev, receive medals and money, and go home. But things have dragged on and on. The the stupider ones (the majority) are now furious, can't understand why they haven't been ordered to just shoot everyone, and think that Yanukovych is a sissy. The smarter ones (the minority) understand full well how dangerous that would be. First of all, success is not guaranteed and losses are likely to be high on both sides—but they have no desire to lay down their lives in defence of the Solid Gold Toilet. Second, even if they manage to suppress and disperse the protesters, the day after that they would start getting killed off one by one, because there exists a database with their names and addresses. Unlike the higher-ups in the administration, they won't have the chance to flee abroad, and will stay to experience popular anger firsthand. They really want Yanukovych to magically return the situation to the way it was before, but the probability of this happening is dropping every day.

The Kremlin is in a bit of shock as well. They were carefully masterminding the situation, supporting the Donbass thugs, gradually ramping up their influence in Ukraine and buying up key stocks. They were methodically planning to annex half of Ukraine as a “voluntary incorporation.” But then this idiot Yanukovych started giving them a hard time trying to extort money in return for joining the Customs Union, and then he made a series of mistakes leading to the current disaster—in the middle of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, no less! The right thing to do would be to send tank columns into Donbass and Crimea, but that would put a damper on the Olympics. Plus, nothing is ready—Ukraine is not tiny Georgia, and a beautiful textbook military operation would not be possible without preparation. And a less-than-stylish military operation could lead to visa problems and international banking difficulties for the Russian leadership at a minimum, and World War III at a maximum.

The Kremlin's propaganda people are observing the formation of the contemporary Ukrainian nation right on the streets of Kiev, and they are crying bloody tears. How are they going to be able to explain to these people that their country is not Ukraine but “Little Russia,” that their national language is made up, and that they should come home to Mother Russia and start sending their taxes to Moscow? More importantly, what about the average Russian, who is used to thinking that “nothing can be done” but is now seeing right on his television screen how for three months now special forces, armed to the teeth, haven't been able to do much of anything to put down a ragtag mob of provincials? Thoughts are starting to course through his brain—dangerous thoughts. And the average Belarussian is even further ahead in his thinking. He has stopped looking at the television screen, has walked over to the window, and is looking at the door of the nearest government office, where local officials recently beat a bribe out of him.

The Americans and the Brits are also in shock. They couldn't possibly care any less about the sufferings of the Ukrainian aborigines. All they care about is that Russia doesn't grow stronger. Until recently Yanukovych seemed like a pleasant sort of dictator—not too accommodating toward the Russians, and willing to talk business with the West, about shale gas and other natural resources in particular. But now there's a bloody mess, with Molotov cocktails, troop carriers on fire, catapults, snipers... They could dismiss Yanukovych, but then who would honor all the agreements and contracts he has signed? And who will they talk business with? The guerilla warrior nationalists from The Right Sector? The club-wielding Cossacks? And what if the Russians achieve some kind of breakthrough, absorb Russian-speaking Eastern Ukraine into the Russian Federation, and grow even stronger?

Even China has something to think about. China has its own interests in Crimea, and is not so much shocked as perplexed: why can't the local barbarian put down his opponents? There was a similar problem in China in 1989 on Tiananmen square, but there they mowed down hundreds of unarmed students without any undue excess of emotion and it was all over quickly. The West grumbled for a bit, but then resumed economic cooperation as if nothing happened. The Chinese can't grasp why this dictator can't do the totally obvious thing, but in general they don't care. Ukraine is far away, and they have no desire to play a part in Eastern European conflicts. They have more important things to think about, like winning every single medal at the Olympic games in 2016 and putting a red flag on Mars.
The active population of Kiev has been in shock for a few months now, continuously, more and more every day. But at some point shock was replaced with active enthusiasm: it is better to go carry medicine to the wounded and to hurl shingles at police on Independence Square than to watch horrors unfold on television.

The passive population of Kiev is still quietly drinking beer and poking around with social networking apps. They don't understand what's happening yet. But if the unofficial state of emergency (including limitations on access to the city) last a few more days—and food and drink running out—then they will end up in a state of shock more serious than anything they have ever experienced.

So, who isn't in shock? I saw him today on Independence Square: a Cossack dressed in national garb, who, with a smile on his face, was marching off to skirmish with the special forces. In one hand he held a shield with “Glory to Ukraine” written on it, and in the other a frighteningly big club. He was singing a patriotic song. It occurred to me that this man isn't bothered by questions such as “How will I get home tonight?” or “What if something happens to me?” or “What is going to happen to us all?”

He isn't in shock. He no longer gives a damn, bless him.

http://www.moonofalabama.org/2014/02/ukraine-from-the-spirits-that-i-called-sir-deliver-me.html#comments



February 22, 2014

Ukraine: "From the spirits that I called - Sir, deliver me!"

What a deluge! What a flood!
Lord and master, hear my call!
Ah, here comes the master!
I have need of Thee!
from the spirits that I called
Sir, deliver me!
J.W. Goethe - The Sorcerer's Apprentice
The opposition in the Ukraine and its paymasters in the U.S. and EU called up the spirits of the right, the fascist, to wage a coup against the elected president and to push their selfish objectives onto the Ukrainian public.

Now those spirits won't go away:
It was difficult to know how much of the fury voiced on Friday night in Independence Square was fiery bravado, a final cry of anger before the three-month-long protest movement winds down or the harbinger of yet more and possibly worse violence to come.Vividly clear, however, was the wide gulf that had opened up between the opposition’s political leadership and a street movement that has radicalized and slipped far from the already tenuous control of politicians.
...
Dmytro Yarosh, the leader of Right Sector, a coalition of hard-line nationalist groups, reacted defiantly to news of the settlement, drawing more cheers from the crowd.
“The agreements that were reached do not correspond to our aspirations,” he said. “Right Sector will not lay down arms. Right Sector will not lift the blockade of a single administrative building until our main demand is met — the resignation of Yanukovych.”
Even if Yanukovych resigns the demands of the fascist rioters will not end. Ukraine's chief rabbi tells Kiev's Jews to flee city and he has very good reasons to do so. Right Sector and the Svoboda party are well known for acute anti-semitism.

Yesterday sixty eight members of the ruling party of the regions changed over to the opposition which now has a majority in parliament. The parliament then changed the constitution to dismantle presidential powers, fired the interior minister who commanded the police force to defend government buildings and freed the corrupt gas-princess Tymoshenko from jail.

Putin will be smiling.

What the propagandists in the "west" always fail to mention is that Tymoshenko was jailed for a gas deal that favored Russia. She was in jail for agreeing to pay, allegedly, too high prices. Yanukovych, the man Putin hates and despises as a loser, is now out. Tymoshenko, the woman Putin loves signing lucrative trade deals with, is in. As the Ukrainian industry is not viable without access to Russian markets and the Ukrainian energy supply depends on Russian gas deliveries Moscow still has, and will continue to have, the upper hand over the Ukraine. At least half of the Ukrainian population is pro-Russian. No color revolution version 1.0, 2.0 or 3.0 and no IMF austerity loan will change those facts.

Parts of the Ukraine will soon show signs of anarchy with those that protested and rioted without having any real aim moving towards criminal activities. The opposition, which is now empowered and will have to deliver results, will soon squabble and will again fall apart. The fascist forces, euphemistically called "nationalists" in "western" media, will win more power.

The sorcerer's apprentices in Washington and Brussels will come to understand that they can not control the spirits they called upon. They will need to call the master to put the spirits they awoke back into their holes. The international number they will need to call starts with 007 495.



















Did Ukraine's Ousted President Yanukovych Just Disappear?

Tyler Durden's picture





Having already fled Kiev and his compound for the more hospitable eastern are of Ukraine, perhaps it was Tymoshenko's comment that...
  • *UKRAINIANS OBLIGED TO BRING YANUKOVYCH BACK TO KIEV: TYMOSHENKO
...that was the final straw. Interfax is reporting that, for now, Customs have lost track of the deposed leader...
  • *UKRAINE CUSTOMS SVC STOPPED DEPARTURE OF PRESIDENT'S PLANE: IFX
  • *UKRAINE CUSTOMS SVC SAYS YANUKOVYCH LEFT AIRPORT IN CAR: IFX
  • *YANUKOVYCH HASN'T SHOWN UP AT OTHER CHECKPOINT: CUSTOMS TO IFX
Cue - webcams at Moscow International...
This follows the earlier capture of another cabinet member trying to cross the border:
  • *UKRAINE EX-INT MIN CAUGHT TRYING TO FLEE BY BORDER SERVICE: IFX
  • *UKRAINE BORDER SERVICE SAYS CAUGHT MINISTER ZAKHARCHENKO: IFX
















Yulia Tymoshenko (Ukraine's "Iron Lady") Freed, Vows To "Run For President"; Addresses Protesters - Live Feed

Tyler Durden's picture





Yulia Tymoshenko was the heroine of the 2004 pro-Western Orange Revolution in Ukraine. But, as DPA notes, the two-time former prime minister was convicted in 2011 of abuse of power in connection with a gas deal with Russia (detailed below).

This morning she was freed from prison in Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine after parliament voted for her release...
  • *TYMOSHENKO LEAVES HOSPITAL WHERE SHE WAS UNDER GUARD: WEBSITE
  • *UKRAINE'S TYMOSHENKO GOING TO KIEV SQUARE: IFX CITES YATSENYUK
  • *UKRAINE'S TYMOSHENKO SAYS SHE WILL RUN FOR PRESIDENT: ITAR TASS
and is set to address the protesters in Independence Square... (full chronology below)
The US is pleased:
  • *U.S. PLEDGES TO WORK WITH RUSSIA FOR `DEMOCRATIC' UKRAINE
  • *WHITE HOUSE WELCOMES TYMOSHENKO RELEASE IN UKRAINE
Russia's not:
  • Lavrov phones Kerry, blames opposition for Ukraine violence
  • KERRY VOWS TO PUT PRESSURE ON UKRAINE OPPOSITION - RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY
  • LAVROV TELLS KERRY UKRAINE OPPOSITION CANNOT HONOR AGREEMENT
And ex-ministers are fleeing...
  • *UKRAINE EX-INT MIN CAUGHT TRYING TO FLEE BY BORDER SERVICE: IFX
  • *UKRAINE BORDER SERVICE SAYS CAUGHT MINISTER ZAKHARCHENKO: IFX















Russian reaction and concerns......


Russia Angered At Ukraine Government Vote To Remove President After "I Won't Resign" Comments

Tyler Durden's picture





UPDATE
Remember that (laughable) agreement that was signed less than 24 hours ago and was grandly endorsed by all European nations, and which delineated the next legal presidential election sometime between September and December? Good times.
With 328 (of the 450 seats) voting in favor, the Ukraine parliament has agreed to removed President Viktor Yanukovych:
  • *UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT VOTES TO REMOVE PRESIDENT YANUKOVYCH
  • *UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT VOTES TO HOLD EARLY ELECTIONS ON MAY 25
“Yanukovych, in an illegal manner, removed himself from his constitutional duties,” Turchynov says in chamber before vote. The Russians are not at all happy with Siluanov exclaiming these actions "pose a direct threat to Ukraine's sovereignty and constitutional order."

As Martin Armstrong warns:
I believe the nation will survive divided for there is far too much resentment to simply put this all behind and walk forward. Divide Ukraine along the historical language faultline and there is a chance to calm things down.Otherwise, this will flare up and take others with it.

My position is consistent – ALL governments are only a necessary evil. They should never be allowed to have such power over the people for it will also be abused to sustain that same power. It does not matter what form of government – they are all the same.

It would appear we are getting closer to a divided/split nation...

+++++++++++++++
In the minds of so many western journalists, yesterday's "deal" to reform the constitution, hold new elections in 10 months or so, and generally all 'just get along' was a victory but this morning it is clear that very little has changed.
  • *YANUKOVYCH SAYS HE WON'T LEAVE UKRAINE OR RESIGN: INTERFAX
Late last night Ukraine time, President Yanukovych (and some of his key advisers) fled Kiev (amid so-called threats) and headed to the eastern part of the country. Then following rumors he would resign, he stated in a TV address that he would not and that pro-EU forces had staged a "coup d'etat". This has left a troubled nation with just as divided a future asprotesters have taken back control of Kiev.
Russia is not happy; blaming extremists for threatening order.
  • *RUSSIA URGES GERMANY, POLAND FRANCE TO INFLUENCE UKRAINE OPPOS.
  • *RUSSIA SAYS UKRAINE OPPOSITION FAILED TO FULFILL OBLIGATIONS
  • *RUSSIA SAYS UKRAINE OPPOSITION THREATENS SOVEREIGNTY, ORDER
  • *RUSSIA SAYS UKRAINE OPPOSITION `FOLLOWING LEAD OF EXTREMISTS'
The government has moved in his absence:
  • *UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENTARY SPEAKER TURCHYNOV SPEAKS IN ASSEMBLY
  • *UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT VOTES TO REMOVE PRESIDENT YANUKOVYCH
  • *UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT VOTES TO HOLD EARLY ELECTIONS ON MAY 25
  • *UKRAINE PARLT VOTES TO REMOVE PRESIDENT WITH 328 OF 450 SEATS
Putin will not be happy:
Russia's foreign minister on Saturday accused Ukraine's opposition of failing to fulfill its side of a peace deal intended to end the nation's political crisis and urged Western mediators to intervene.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called his German, French and Polish counterparts, who helped broker Friday's agreement between Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and the opposition. Yanukovych agreed to hold early elections this fall and surrender much of his powers, but opposition supporters have kept pushing for his immediate dismissal.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said Lavrov urged his counterparts to use their influence with the Ukrainian opposition, which he said "not only has failed to fulfill any of its obligations, but keeps making new demands under the influence of armed extremists and rioters."

Their actions "pose a direct threat to Ukraine's sovereignty and constitutional order," he said.




Via WSJ,
From Deal to Defection...
*YANUKOVYCH SAYS SOME PARTY MEMBERS DEFECT IN BETRAYAL: UBR TV
Government authority appeared to melt away Saturday, leavingprotesters in control of the capital's center. President Viktor Yanukovych left the capital for a city in the country's Russian-speaking east and said he would work to prevent the country from splitting up.
In a television interview Saturday afternoon in Kharkiv, where Russian-speaking supporters had gathered, Mr. Yanukovych denounced the events in Kiev as a "coup d'etat" that he blamed on "bandits." He said he wasn't stepping down and vowed to remain inside the country. He said parliament's decisions today are "illegal" and that he would refuse to sign them. Asked about his plans, he said he will travel in the Russian-speaking south and east of the country, "where for the moment it's less dangerous."
Opposition leader Vitali Klitschko earlier had called on parliament to vote to oust Mr. Yanukovychand announce presidential elections in May, as police withdrew from the center of the capital Saturday.
Ukraine opposition leader and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was expected to be released from prison within hours, according to a spokeswoman for the opposition.
The army has said it will not get involved...
*UKRAINE MILITARY, DEFENSE MINISTRY `REMAIN FAITHFUL TO PEOPLE'
*UKRAINE DEFENSE MIN: ARMY WON'T BE INVOLVED IN GOVT CONFLICT

Opposition leaders signed a peace deal with Mr. Yanukovych Friday after dozens were killed in clashes between protesters and police. The deal proposed power sharing and presidential elections by the end of the year. But protesters weren't satisfied and called for his immediate ouster.

In Kiev on Saturday, volunteer security brigades from among the protesters took over security at government buildings, and journalists reported around 300 people had entered Mr. Yanukovych's opulent suburban residence without resistance.

Oleh Tyahnybok, an opposition leader, called on parliament to adopt a resolution calling on police and protesters' "self-defense" forces to work to prevent looting in Kiev and other cities.

Outside the Kiev headquarters of Ukraine's security service, plain-clothed men wearing earpieces stood at the street corners, eying those who passed. They wouldn't say who they worked for.

...

With truckloads of activists armed with baseball bats driving the streets of Kiev, the security service appeared to be taking no chances. In the interior lobby and parking lot of the building, fire hoses and fire extinguishers were piled in the corners.

The Interior Ministry said in a statement that "it serves only the Ukrainian people and fully shares the desire of citizens for immediate change." It called for cooperation from all sides to ensure public order.
A power vaccum has developed...
Opposition lawmakers in parliament called for calm amid concerns over a power vacuum, calling on state officials and religious and civic leaders to work together to ensure order.
Parliamentary speaker Volodymyr Rybak, a close ally of Mr. Yanukovych, handed in his resignation Saturday. Lawmakers elected opposition leader Olexander Turchinov to replace him. It wasn't immediately clear whether the opposition could muster sufficient support to vote Mr. Yanukovych out.
The European Union is prepared to offer Ukraine financial support,European Commission President José Manuel Barroso said on Saturday.
"If there is a reform-minded government in Ukraine, we will work with the international community and international financial institutions to support Ukraine," Mr. Barroso told German newspaper "Welt am Sonntag."


and.....



The "Ukraine Situation" Explained In One Map

Tyler Durden's picture





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.
h/t JS



Overnight news........


Ukraine President Flees Kiev After "Coup D'Etat" As Protesters Storm Presidential Palace, Plunder Gold; Army On Hold

Tyler Durden's picture





It has been a busy night in the Ukraine.
First, the newly-installed interior minister declared that the police were now behind the protesters they had fought for days, giving central Kiev the look of a war zone with 77 people killed, while central authority crumbled in western Ukraine. Then despite yesterday's latest anti-crisis "agreement" which we said would last at best hours, the protesters continued their pressure against embattled president Yanukovich, demanding his outright and unconditional resignation, leading to his fleeing Kiev by airplane overnight to the far more pro-Russian city of Kharkiv located in the Eastern Ukraine, even as his arch rival, Yulia Tymoshenko, who is held in prison in the same city, was rumored to have been released on her way to the far more anti-Russian city of Kiev - it turns out those rumors have so far been incorrect.
Then there was a plethora of rumors that he has or is about to either escape the country and/or resign, sparking celebrations in Kiev, only for him to appear on TV subsequently and not only deny a resignation is coming, but that he accused the current leaders in Kiev of staging a coup d'etat and that all parliamentary decisions today have been illegitimate, saying "I did all I could to avoid bloodshed" while comparing recent events in the Ukraine to the "Fascist Revolution" in Germany. This was promptly rebutted by the Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski who tweeted there is no coup in Kiev and President Viktor Yanukovych has 24 hours to sign re-adopted 2004 constitution into law.
The just released interview is below:
Most importantly, all of this is happening as governors, and regional legislators in eastern Ukraine question authority of national parliament. Meanwhile over in the "western" Kiev, Parliament members of the opposition began laying the groundwork for a change in leadership, electing Oleksander Turchynov, an ally of the imprisoned opposition leader and former prime minister, Yulia V. Tymoshenko, as speaker. And Mr. Klitschko called for new elections to replace Mr. Yanukovych by May 25. “Millions of Ukrainians see only one choice — early presidential and parliamentary elections,” he tweeted.
Members of an opposition group from Lviv called the 31st Hundred — carrying clubs and some of them wearing masks — were in control of the entryways to the palace Saturday morning. And Vitali Klitschko, one of three opposition leaders who signed the deal to end the violence, said that Mr. Yanukovych had “left the capital” but his whereabouts were unknown, with members of the opposition speculating that he had gone to Kharkiv, in the northeast part of Ukraine.

Protesters claimed to have established control over Kiev. By Saturday morning they had secured key intersections of the city and the government district of the capital, which police officers had fled, leaving behind burned military trucks, mattresses and heaps of garbage at the positions they had occupied for months.
All of this is pointing to a national schism between the pro-Russian east, and its new de facto capital, Kharkiv, and the western part of the nation, where the EU (and CIA) influences are strongest. Luckily, for now there won't be a military involvement:
  • UKRAINE DEFENSE MIN: ARMY WON'T BE INVOLVED IN GOVT CONFLICT
... for now.This will likely change: moments ago Russia's Foreign Minister said Ukraine's opposition is led by "armed extremists" and their actions pose direct threat to Ukraine's sovereignty, which means a Russian involvement in some capacity is imminent.
Perhaps more important was the following statement:
  • UKRAINE TO ENSURE SMOOTH NATGAS TRANSIT TO EU, DEP PREMIER SAYS
That would the Russian gas which traverses the country, which can be halted with the turn of a spigot.

Bottom line, the situation is fluid, and is increasingly bordering on an all too real threat of civil war between the country's linguistically and affiliation-divided west and east.

The one thing that is clear is that the former presidential compound is now in the power of the people. From CBS.
The protesters, who are angry over corruption and want Ukraine to move toward Europe rather than Russia, claimed full control of Kiev and took up positions around the president's office and a grandiose residential compound believed to be his, though he never acknowledged it.

At the sprawling suburban Kiev compound, protesters stood guard and blocked more radical elements among them from entering the building, fearing unrest. Moderate protesters have sought to prevent their comrades from looting or taking up the weapons that have filled Kiev in recent weeks.

The compound became an emblem of the secrecy and arrogance that defines Yanukovych's presidency, painting him as a leader who basks in splendor while his country's economy suffers and his opponents are jailed. An AP journalist visiting the grounds Saturday saw manicured lawns, a pond, several luxurious houses and the big mansion itself, an elaborate confection of five stories with marble columns.

Protesters attached a Ukrainian flag to a lamppost at the compound, shouting: "Glory to Ukraine!"

A group of protesters in helmets and shields stood guard at the president's office Saturday. No police were in sight.
Which brings us to the most interesting finding of the day: what has so far been plundered from the palace:
Inside Yanukovych's private residence
Pictures emerging from the president's private residence in the outskirts of Kyiv after protesters stormed the building.
View image on Twitter
"It's just like being in Monaco" - man on phone next to me at Yanukovich's residence outside Kiev






http://www.debka.com/article/23700/Yanukovych-leaves-Kiev-Opposition-leaders-lose-control-of-hard-core-protesters


Saturday, Feb. 22, saw the unraveling of the deal clinched less than 24 hours earlier between Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych and opposition leaders - with the help of three EU foreign ministers - for ending their deadly three-month stand-off. As thousands of hard-core protesters refused to abandon their barricades in Kiev’s central square Saturday, the president left the capital for an unknown destination.

In the face of the protesters’ boos, opposition leader Vitali Klitschko backed out of the Friday deal and took up their call for Yanukovych’s immediate resignation. The protesters claimed to have seized control of the president’s office and security guards were withdrawn from his residence.

Klitschko then sought a parliament resolution calling for Yanukovych to step down at once and an early election on May 25, instead of December as they had agreed earlier. The Speaker, a key supporter of the president, resigned.

The missing president is reported to be still in Ukraine. An aide says he has no intention of leaving the country. Opposition leaders, divided among themselves, appear to have lost control of the hard-core protesters and bowed to their determination to keep the fires of resistance to Yanukovych rule going at full blast.

As the crisis again threatened to career out of control, Ukrainians were asking in desperation: Where is the popular former Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko? The Yanukovych regime has kept her in jail for two years. Her release was ceded in the deal he concluded with the opposition Friday, but so far this has not happened.
Our Ukraine specialists say that if she were free, she would occupy center stage of the protest movement as the most credible opposition leader, a role which none of the incumbents would be happy to relinquish. But behind bars, Timoshenko is available for the president to whip out as a high card as his confrontation with the opposition enters its next stage. It also indicates that he still exercises control over events in Kiev.

Read DEBKAfile’s earlier report Friday, Feb. 21 on how the radicals took control of Independence Sq.

The issues between Ukraine president Viktor Yanukovych and opposition protesters led by Vitaly Klitschko, which spiraled Thursday, Feb. 20, into gun battles with live rounds, appear at first glance to be black and white – but that is true only up to a point. Is Ukraine clearly divided between pro-Russian and pro-European factions? That too is an over-simplification – much like the determination that US President Barack Obama’s backing for the protesters, countered by President Vladimir Putin’s support for Yanukovych, is the genesis of a new cold war.

Both Obama and Putin have kept their intervention in the Ukraine conflict low key. Obama has no inclination to challenge Putin, at the risk of losing his understandings with Iran and a free ride out of the Middle East by courtesy of Russia’s entry.

Neither does the US president want to be dragged into European affairs after he and three of his predecessors in the White House expended considerable energy on disassociating America from the continent and pivoting the US eastward.

The bloody confrontations in Maidan Square (renamed Independence Square by the protesters) were for him an unnecessary distraction from his chosen course. His warning of “consequences if people step over the line” was meant to sound grave, but  people remembered his warning to Syrian President Bashar Assad seven months ago since when Assad is still going strong.

Vice President Joe Biden could not have expected his demand to pull security police back from the embattled Kiev square be taken seriously by that President Yanukovych, because it would have amounted to his capitulation and handover of rule to the protesters after three months of strife.

Putin has also been careful to skirt the conflict. Although he promised the Ukraine president $15 bn in economic aid and cheap Russian gas, he has not so far laid out a single dollar or ruble. Neither has he stepped forward to mediate dispute, leaving the task to the European Union, which sent the French, German and Polish foreign ministers to Kiev to broker a deal for ending the clashes.

On the ground, casualties soared and armed gunmen went into action Thursday, Feb. 20, raising the conflict to its most violent stage hitherto. Although neither side is likely to admit this, the escalation was not spontaneous; it happened after both quietly threw bands of armed, out-of-control radicals into the fray in order to finally end the standoff.

Yanukovich enlisted Ukraine nationalist extremists, some of them fervently pro-Russian, from the eastern provinces, where more than half of the 46-million strong population is Russian-speaking and close to Moscow.

The opposition rounded up armed radicals from the west, a part of Ukraine which a century ago was under Polish, then Austro-Hungarian rule. Here, Russian is not spoken and Moscow is anathema. These gangs seized the barricades in Independence Square.

The gunfire across the square Thursday came from the shooting between the warring camps of radicals. They also accounted for most of the fatalities.

Friday morning, Ukraine’s Health Ministry said 75 people had died and more than 570 were injured in the violent clashes in the capital this week.

After this explosion of violence, both sides understood that an agreement could not longer be postponed, both to stop the bloodshed and to prevent the armed radicals taking over and throwing Ukraine into full-blown civil war.

Neither Yanukovych nor Klitshko was prepared to let this happen.

Amid a shaky calm in Kiev Friday morning, President Yanukovych announced that all-night talks with the opposition, led by Klitschko and assisted by the European mediators, had culminated in an agreement to resolve the crisis.

Before this was confirmed by the opposition or the European ministers, the president’s office revealed that it centered on his consent to an early general election in December and the formation of a coalition within 10 days - provided that the violent protest was halted and order restored to the capital. Some Kiev sources added that Yanokovych has agreed to constitutional reforms for reducing presidential powers.

In the electric atmosphere in the Ukrainian capital, it is to soon to evaluate the life expectancy of this agreement or determine whether the two parties are capable of getting past their differences and forming a working coalition government.








Ukraine president goes missing as protesters seize office

February 22, 2014 6:55AM ET
Whereabouts of Viktor Yanukovich unknown as demonstrators occupy compound and opposition calls for resignation
Topics:
 
Ukraine Uprising
 
Ukraine
 
Europe











Ukraine











Anti-government protesters ride in a truck as they mark a day of mourning for victims of the clashes in Ukraine, in Kiev, Feb. 22, 2014.
Yannis Behrakis/Reuters
Protesters in Ukraine have seized the Kiev office of President Viktor Yanukovich and the opposition has demanded that a new election be held by May, as the pro-Russian leader's grip on power eroded and his whereabouts were unknown.
Anti-government demonstrators entered Yanukovich's compound in the capital on Saturday and were controlling the entrance, a Reuters news agency journalist at the scene reported.
Security guards were present inside the building but were not trying to expel the protesters.
The president's residence outside the capital appeared to have been abandoned. Local media said protesters had entered the sprawling grounds, but it was unclear whether they were inside the building. Interfax, a Russian news agency, said some security guards were present.
Ukrainian opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko said earlier Saturday that Yanukovich had left Kiev, and that the country must hold early elections.
"Today he left the capital," Klitschko told an emergency session of parliament, which was debating an opposition motion calling on Yanukovich to resign, in the wake of a deal aimed at ending days of carnage in the capital.
"Millions of Ukrainians see only one choice: early presidential and parliamentary elections," Klitschko said.
Thousands of protesters on Kiev's Independence Square are demanding Yanukovich go immediately. They are skeptical of a European Union-brokered accord under which the embattled leader agreed to give up powers, hold early elections by the end of the year and form a government of national unity.
The UDAR (Punch) opposition party of Klitschko submitted the parliamentary resolution calling on Yanukovich to quit to clear the way for early elections.
Lawmakers elected a close ally of opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko to the powerful post of parliament speaker on Saturday, replacing a loyalist of Yanukovich. Tymoshenko was charged with abuse of power and jailed after signing a natural gas deal Russian oil giant Gazprom in 2011. Her conviction was seen by many as political retribution. 
The crisis in Ukraine began with protests in November after Yanukovich turned his back on a far-reaching economic deal with the EU, in favor of closer ties with Russia instead.
Events have been moving at an accelerating pace that could see a decisive shift in the future of a country of 46 million people away from Moscow's orbit and closer to the West, although Ukraine is near bankruptcy and depends on Russian aid to pay its debt.
Addressing the crowd on Independence Square earlier, Klitschko said he would seek support from lawmakers "to get rid of" Yanukovich.
Protesters cheered and chanted "Bandits out!"
The EU-brokered deal followed two days of violence that turned central Kiev into a battle zone and left at least 77 people dead.
"I believe parliament today will be dissolved and Yanukovich will be ousted," said 58-year-old protester Vasyl Lubarets.
As the parliament sitting opened, the pro-Yanokovich speaker of the assembly, Volodymyr Rybak, said he was standing down due to ill-health.
Meanwhile on Saturday, leaders of mainly Russian-speaking regions of eastern Ukraine that are loyal to Yanukovich challenged the legitimacy of the national parliament, and said they were taking sole control of their territories.
Mikhaylo Dobkin, Governor of Kharkov region in northeast Ukraine, told regional leaders meeting in the city of Kharkov: "We're not preparing to break up the country. We want to preserve it."
But a resolution adopted at the meeting said that "the decisions taken by the Ukrainian parliament in such circumstances cause doubts about their ... legitimacy and legality."



http://rt.com/news/kiev-clashes-rioters-police-571/


Ukraine chaos LIVE UPDATES

Published time: February 18, 2014 15:03
Edited time: February 22, 2014 14:17


A general view of the Independence Square with smoke billowing in the foreground on February 21, 2014. (AP Photo/Genya Savilov)
A general view of the Independence Square with smoke billowing in the foreground on February 21, 2014. (AP Photo/Genya Savilov)
Protests in Kiev continue despite President Viktor Yanukovich and opposition leaders signing an EU-brokered agreement which seeks to end the bloody political crisis in the country.

Saturday, February 22





Yulia Tymoshenko has declared that she will run in Ukraine's upcoming presidential election. Ukrainian parliament has scheduled the nationwide vote to take place on May 25. She added that she is currently headed to Maidan in central Kiev.



Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko (C) reacts after she was freed in Kharkiv February 22, 2014. (Reuters)
Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko (C) reacts after she was freed in Kharkiv February 22, 2014. (Reuters)






CONFIRMED - Tymoshenko left the prison hospital and now on her way to Kiev


“We are facing the threat of a return of Nazism,” the president told UBR channel.

Yanukovich said that he would do everything to stop further bloodshed, and mentioned that 200 regional offices of his Party of Regions have been torched.


14:40 GMT:

President Yanukovich has claimed his car was fired at on Friday.

“In Kiev my car was fired at. But I have no fear,” he told the UBR TV channel. The President added that his car was targeted as he was on his way to the airport to fly to Kharkov.

Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovych (AFP Photo / Presidential Press-service)
Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovych (AFP Photo / Presidential Press-service)

14:40 GMT:
Viktor Yanukovich has said he is expecting the international community to fulfill its commitments.
“What we are going to do depends on the reaction from the international community, how they are going to meet their responsibilities,” Yanukovich said. “The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, still legitimate, reported yesterday he was speaking with Europeans, with Poland’s head of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, called the US. I hope to hold negotiations in the coming days.”
14:30 GMT:
Viktor Yanukovich says that some members of his party have joined the opposition under duress.

“Some people couldn’t bear the pressure, and feared for their families, though there are also traitors,” the president told the UBR channel in his first interview since fleeing Kiev on Friday night.

More than 30 of Yanukovich’s Party of Regions deputies have switched sides in recent days. The defectors’ votes have allowed the opposition to reverse recent constitutional reforms and to order the release of Yulia Tymoshenko.

Yanukovich also said some of his supporters have been subjected to outright violence.
“[Former Rada speaker] Vladimir Rybak was beaten up. He came to me and asked me to take him away. He said he was shot at along the way. I’ve sent him to Donetsk to receive medical help.”




14:17 GMT:
Ukraine’s armed forces cannot and will not be involved in political conflict, the Ministry of Defense has stated.
“Units of the armed forces of Ukraine are located in places of permanent deployment and perform scheduled tasks,” the statement published on the Ministry’s webpage reads.
“Armed forces are faithful to their constitutional duty and cannot be dragged into an internal political conflict,” the Chief of General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said. “Now I am fully controlling the situation in the Armed forces of Ukraine."
14:06 GMT:
Yanukovich has accused the opposition of staging a coup d’etat and has no plans to resign, according to advisor Anna German, a Party of Regions deputy, who was interviewed by UNIAN news agency.
13:48 GMT:
Party of Regions deputy Vadim Kolesnichenko has blamed “foreign agents” for the unfolding events.
"The situation in Kiev has taken years to prepare. Foreign agents of influence have spent over $10 billion in recent years to execute this coup. The money has been channeled into so-called non-governmental organizations,” Kolesnichenko told the ITAR-TASS news agency.
13:47 GMT:
Opposition deputies claim they have received verbal assurances from Yanukovich that he will resign.

“We have received a verbal promise from Yanukovich that he will step down. Now, we are waiting for written confirmation,” said Nikolay Kerinchuk from Yulia Tymoshenko’s Fatherland party.
13:46 GMT:
Presidential advisor, Anna German, who represents the Party of Regions in the Rada, says that Yanukovich has not resigned.
“[Acting parliament speaker] Aleksandr Turchinov did phone the president and ask him to issue a statement about his resignation, but the president said that he had already made a different statement,”German told the media in Kharkov.
She called the rumors of Yanukovich’s impending resignation “an attempt to seize power.”
12:54 GMT:
CORRECTION: Yulia Timoshenko has not been freed. Earlier confirmation came from the AP, citing the ex-PM's spokesperson. The agency has since retracted the news.
12:16 GMT:
Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko's freedom has now been officially confirmed by the AP, citing the ex-head of government's spokesman.
The decision was made earlier in the weekend, with 322 of 331 MPs in favor. The "new format", or, the way the parliament has been functioning ever since the president's whereabouts have become a mystery, allows for the passing of such acts without Yanukovich's signature, the Rada claims, according to RIA Novosti.
(FILE) Yulia Tymoshenko supporters stage picket rally at Kiev's Pechersky court (RIA Novosti / Grigoriy Vasilenko)
(FILE) Yulia Tymoshenko supporters stage picket rally at Kiev's Pechersky court (RIA Novosti / Grigoriy Vasilenko)

12:15 GMT:
Two buses which departed from Lviv carrying activists on Friday, arrived in Kiev on Saturday morning, following a nine hour journey.
The trip to the Ukrainian capital was relatively uninterrupted, even though the busses passed through several checkpoints. Once inside Kiev, the bus was stopped about 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) from Independence Square.
Activists marched towards the square and had their names, year of birth and blood group noted at a barricade. They then made their way to their temporary accommodation near Independence Square.

12:01 GMT:
The Ukrainian Rada has ruled that freeing the former PM Yulia Timoshenko from prison will be done swiftly, in accordance with “international duties,” Itar-Tass quoted the parliament as saying.
The vote was 233 in favor of the decision.
11:47 GMT:
The Supreme Rada has named Arsen Avakov the acting head of the Ministry of Interior of Ukraine, Itar-Tass reports.
Arsen Avakov (RIA Novosti / Chekachkov Igor)
Arsen Avakov (RIA Novosti / Chekachkov Igor)



Ukraine's Southeast seeks to restore constitutional order, thousands gather in Kharkov

Published time: February 22, 2014 11:21
Edited time: February 22, 2014 14:11

(Still from ustream.tv/kharkov-stream)
(Still from ustream.tv/kharkov-stream)
The public gathering of deputies from local councils of southeastern Ukraine have declared they are taking responsibility for constitutional order in the country, as thousands of people have assembled in the city of Kharkov.
Follow RT's LIVE UPDATES
“We, the local authorities of all levels, the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Sevastopol region decided to take responsibility for ensuring the constitutional order and the rights of citizens on their territory,” their resolution said.
The Kharkov public gathering has announced a number of measures local authorities should take in response to the developments in Kiev. They should take full responsibility for all decision in respective regions with no regard to authorities in Kiev until the constitutional order in Ukraine is restored, a resolution of the gathering says.
They authorities should take measures to protect arms depots and prevent their take-over and looting by radical opposition activists.
The deputies have criticized the decision adopted by the Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) in the last few days, saying they are raising doubts about its legitimacy.
The gathering says the legislative acts may have been passed involuntary and are neither legitimate nor lawful.
The resent decisions of the national parliament were taken in conditions “of terror, threats of violence and death,” the resolution says.
Meanwhile, citizens are encouraged to form local militias to protect public order. Local authorities are to fund and support those militias.
Over 10, 000 people have gathered at the city’s Sport Palace, where a total of 3,477 deputies have been holding a meeting.
The situation remains generally quiet with the crowd being partly in good spirits and partly subdued and concerned, Itar-Tass news agency reports from the Palace.
“3, 477 deputies from local councils in southeastern Ukraine have gathered. We have gathered here not to separate the country, but to save it,” the regional governor, Mikhail Dobkin, told the crowd.
The head of the Kharkov administration, Gennady Kernes, has called the public gathering “an attempt by qualified deputies from the east of the country to stabilize the situation.”
"My colleagues and I have been personally threatened. But today we have gathered to change the situation,” he said. “We will not give in; we will fight till the end.”
The statement has been echoed by Rada’s Party of Regions deputy, Vadim Kolesnichenko, who also said that politicians are being threatened and “their families are basically hostages [of the situation].”
Russia sent several officials in the capacity of observers to the gathering, including Aleksey Pushkov, the head of Russian parliamentary commission on foreign affairs, Mikhail Markelov, Pushkov’s counterpart in the Council of Federation, the upper chamber of the parliament, and several governors from regions in eastern Russia.
“The decisions taken here are positive and concrete. What is important is that everything voiced here was implemented in the interests of the Ukrainian people and the entire Ukraine. What Ukraine needs now is common sense and a survival instinct,” said Evgeny Savchenko, Governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, commenting on the Kharkov gathering.
Meanwhile, parliament (Verkhovna Rada) is holding a new emergency session on Saturday. While the whereabouts of Ukrainian President Yanukovich remain uncertain, opposition leaders passed the law on the return to the 2004 Constitution without the president's signature.
They have also elected Aleksandr Turchinov the new head speaker of the Supreme Rada. He will be taking over the cabinet’s work until the formation of a coalition government.
Among new appointees is Arsen Avakov, who was named the acting head of the Ministry of Interior of Ukraine.
With 233 voting in favor, the Ukrainian Rada has ruled to free the former PM Yulia Timoshenko from prison.
A day after Yanukovich agreed to opposition demands and signed an EU brokered deal, his residence in Kiev was abandoned and left virtually unguarded. Some media reports speculate that the president has left for Kharkov in the east of the country.

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